Mathews Messenger, 26

Hello, Wonderful Mathews Community! Can you believe we’re already in March? We wrapped up February on a high note with a dynamic performance from the Soul Train Drumline (Northeast ECHS). This Friday, the celebration continues at our assembly as our own students help us honor African American Heritage Month. I can’t wait to see them shine!

Speaking of shining, I want to take just a moment to acknowledge some of the accomplishments of our students last month:

Science & Engineering Stars

Last weekend, several students represented Mathews at the Greater Austin Regional Engineering and Science Fair. I am incredibly proud of these young scientists for their curiosity and hard work:

• 1st Place & Dell Healthy Living Award: Connor Machicek (Physical Activity & Heart Rate)

• 1st Place: Ava Crane, Makenna Gorton, & Antonia Scheinfeld (Compost & Water)

• 1st Place: Leen Oshaish & Dula Gunamuni (Acid Rain & Plant Growth)

• 1st Place: Rayan Marwah & James Mitchell (Juice Box Dynamics)

• 1st Place: Rowan Ragsdale & Max Renick (Bicycle Speed & Cargo Release)

• 1st Place: Yahya Oshaish (Water Filtration)

• 2nd Place: Alex Pana (RC Plane Cargo Mass)

• 2nd Place: Ezri Levy-Deangelo (Parachute Materials)

Writing Excellence

Congratulations to 3rd grader Esme Hannan, who won 2nd Place in the district-wide African American Heritage Writing Contest! Her essay on local artist Deborah Roberts was insightful and beautifully written.

In other good to know news, I have an update on this spring's Human Sexuality & Responsibility (HSR) lessons. On Wednesday, March 4th, you will receive an email from your child’s homeroom teacher containing a Google Form regarding our upcoming HSR lessons.

• The Curriculum: Lessons are developmentally appropriate, scientifically accurate, and based on Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).

• Your Choice: Parents may opt-in to all lessons, select individual lessons, or opt-out entirely. We ask that every family completes the form, regardless of their choice.

• Preview Content: You can view all K-12 lessons and handouts on the AISD website here.

Thank you, as always, for being a part of this beautiful community. Here’s to a fantastic first week of March!

Monday, March 2:

• HEB Plastic Bag Challenge Opens! - Check out the Video featuring Mathews students!

Tuesday, March 3:

• Parent Orientation for Human Sexuality and Responsibility at 7:45 am in the Library

Wednesday, March 3:

• HSR Family Permission Form Emails Sent Home in the Afternoon

• HRP Meeting at 7:45 am in the Cafeteria
• 5th Grade Science Interim Assessment

Friday, March 6:

• School-wide Assembly at 8:00 am in the Gym
• 6th Grade Community Movie Night at 6:00 pm on the Blacktop - All Invited

• March 9: Author Visit - Duncan Tonatiuh
• March 10: School Visit
• March 14: Happy Birthday, Cameron Rodriguez! 🎂
• March 16-20: Spring Break!
• March 26: PTA Meeting
• March 27: International Festival!
• March 30 - April 6: 3rd Grade HSR Lessons (2 days per week)
• March 30: CAC Meeting
• April 7: Evacuate Drill
• April 9: STAAR Reading Exam for 3rd-6th Grades
• April 10: STAAR Reading Make Up Day
• April 13-17: Kinder HSR Lessons
• April 15: Spring Picture Day
• April 16: STAAR Science Exam for 5th Grade
• April 17: STAAR Science Make-Up Day
• April 23: STAAR Math Exam for 3rd-6th Grades
• April 23: PreK Field Trip to the Nature Center
• April 24: STAAR Math Make-Up Day
• April 27 - May 1: 2nd Grade and 5th Grade HSR Lessons

Registration for the 2026-27 school year opened on February 16th. After a week, we jumped from 21% to 40% of our current students registered for the next year. Let's keep going!

Enrollment is important because the number of expected students impacts how we staff (how many teachers per grade level) and are funded by the district (non-staff funds are based on a per-pupil allocation). So, the more we know, the better we can plan. If you haven't already, please take just a few minutes to take care of registration/enrollment today!

It's time for the H-E-B School Plastic Bag Recycling Challenge event! The challenge runs from March 2 - April 3...collection bins will be delivered beginning next week. Check out this great video (much of it filmed at Mathews last year!) to learn more.

NEW for 2026! Every participating school will receive a gift card as a token of appreciation. The more bags your school collects, the higher the gift card value! It’s our way of saying thank you for helping protect Texas’ environment.

🎉 Join Us for our Annual International Festival & Feast! 🌍✨

Please mark your calendars for Friday, March 27th, from 4:30 PM to 7:00 PM! This exciting tradition celebrates the rich cultural diversity of our school community, and we’d love for you to be a part of it. New to Mathews? Here’s what you can expect:

🍴 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM: International Feast Potluck Dinner
Kick off the evening with a FREE potluck dinner featuring dishes from around the world! Bring a dish that represents your culture and heritage– whether it’s homemade or store-bought, we want to taste your traditions. Don’t forget to share with friends and family!

🌏 5:30 PM – 6:00 PM: Parade of Nations
Celebrate the unique cultures of our school with the Parade of Nations! Students will proudly wear traditional attire, carry flags, and greet the audience with messages from their home countries. It’s a beautiful, colorful celebration you won’t want to miss!

💃 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM: Grade Level Dances
Watch as students from all grade levels and teachers perform dances from around the world! It’s a vibrant display of culture, creativity, and unity.

🎤 Sign Up to Participate!
Please click the links or QR codes below to record BOTH responses

Parade of Nations Sign-Up
Note: Parade of Nations sign-ups are DUE March 21st. First Rehearsal is March 23rd at 7:10am-7:40am in the Gym. *Failure to attend a scheduled rehearsal will results in a student forfeiting their spot in the Parade of Nation.

Our after-school Running Club is officially gearing up for the Statesman Cap 10K! Whether you’re a seasoned sprinter or looking to crush your very first 6.2 miles, this is the perfect place to build endurance, find your pace, and have a blast with your friends.

We’ll focus on consistent training, proper form, and—most importantly—crossing that finish line together.

Key Details:

• Target Race: The Cap 10K

• Goal: Building fitness, community, and race-day confidence.

• Registration: The official Sign-Up Form will be published this Monday, March 2.

Don’t miss out on the chance to be part of the team. Keep an eye on Konstella this Monday to snag your spot!

The submission window for the GT District Showcase is now open and will close on April 10, 2026. The flyer can be found in English and Spanish at the link below:

Hi Mathews! We have Session 2 of AYF Biking Club coming up! Our biking club provides a safe, supervised, and engaging environment where students build biking skills, fitness, confidence, and community while having fun outdoors.

AYF Biking Club @ Westenfield Park ( Bike Train from Matthews Available)
K-5th
Fridays | 3:30–5:00pm (no bike train)| 3:00-5pm (w/ bike train)
Session 2: March 27 – May 1
Cost:
• With Bike Train: $312- Register Here
• No Train: $234- Register Here

AYF Beginner Biking @ Westenfield
Prek-3rd
Tuesdays and/or Fridays | 3:30–5:00pm
Session 2:
• Tuesdays: March 24 – May 5 (no class 3/31)
• Fridays: March 27 – May 1
Cost: $234
Registration Link

AYF Biking Club @ Pease Park
K-5th
Mondays | 4:30–6:00pm
Session 2: March 23 – May 4 (no class 4/6)
Cost: $234
Registration Link

Sibling Discount:
Registering more than one child? Get 15% off each additional sibling!
Reach out to info@austinyouthfitness.com for discount code.

Teacher or Military Family?
We’re proud to support our teachers and service members with a 50% discount.
If you’re a teacher or part of a military family, please reach out to info@austinyouthfitness.com to inquire about available discounts.

Coach Cantrell is currently on leave, and we are looking forward to his anticipated return after spring break. In the meantime, students continue to enjoy PE with a dedicated long-term substitute (and former Mathews parent), Olivia Castilleja, who is working alongside our amazing teaching assistant, Josefa Rosado, to keep classes active, fun, and engaging.

We appreciate your support as we ensure our students continue to have a positive and enriching PE experience.

It's that time of the year! It’s time to start thinking about Summer Camps! We’re bringing back Mathews very own Summer Day Camp after a short hiatus last summer, and this year we’ll be offering 4 weeks of activities and fun!

Students choose their daily class sessions. We offer everything from Sports and Gaming to Jewelry Making and Costume Designing. Each day, students attend their 3 sessions and then spend the afternoon doing a fun activity with the whole group. Water Day, Movie Day, Game Day, and more! We are also introducing some NEW class sessions this year!

Please read below for information on how to join us this summer for Camp!

• Dates: June 8th-July 3rd. Students can attend as many or as few weeks as they’d like, or they can attend the entire 4 weeks for quadruple the fun!
• Times: M-F 8:30am-3:30pm. Early drop-off (8am) and late pick-up (4:30pm) will be available for an extra fee.
• Cost: $375 per week, per child. There may be opportunities for scholarships this year. Please email us at campzillaatx@gmail.com for more information on that. Austin ISD employees can also receive a special offer. Please email us for more information.
• Registration: Registration will open promptly on February 9th at 7am. In order to make sure your student gets into their first choice classes, make sure to set your alarm! Students will be placed in classes based on when they were registered. If a class fills up, they will be moved into their 2nd choice class. If an opening for their 1st choice class becomes available, we will let you know. If your student is attending all four weeks, you will have an opportunity to do ALL classes (more information on that later).

For questions, concerns, and more information, please email us at (campzillaatx@gmail.com) Classes will be announced on February 5th!!!

We hope to see you this summer!

Robotics Summer Camps by LASA Robotics!
SMART (Science, Math, and Robotics Technology) Camps are week-long (5 day) STEM discovery camps for incoming 2nd - 7th graders. Facilitated by members of the award-winning LASA Robotics team, SMART students learn basic engineering and design principles through fun, hands-on STEM challenges and building/coding LEGO® SPIKE™ Prime, LEGO® Mindstorms® EV3s, and VEX V5 robots
Summer 2026 SMART Camps will be taking place at LASA High School on June 8-12 and August 3-7, with morning (9am-12pm) and afternoon (1pm-4pm) sessions. Students will be separated roughly by age into different classrooms. We will begin the day with fun STEM-based activities to help the kids get to know each other as well as a tutorial about the robotics kits that they will work with. They will then spend the following three days designing, building, and testing their robots, and the final day will involve a competition with prizes!

Students of all experience levels are welcome to join! Tuition is $300 per camp ($360 for VEX Camps, which are for the oldest campers), and need-based scholarships have applications available in registration. For more information and links to register, please visit this page: https://my.cheddarup.com/c/2025-smarties-camp-registration-copy-80797, and reach out to us with any questions at outreach@lasarobotics.org. We can’t wait to see y’all this summer!

¡Campamentos de Verano de Robótica de LASA Robotics!
Los campamentos SMART (Ciencia, Matemáticas y Tecnología Robótica) son campamentos de descubrimiento STEM de una semana (5 días) para estudiantes que ingresarán a los grados 2 a 7. Facilitados por miembros del galardonado equipo de LASA Robotics, los estudiantes SMART aprenderán los principios básicos de ingeniería y diseño a través de divertidos desafíos prácticos de STEM y la construcción y codificación de robots LEGO® SPIKE™ Prime, LEGO® Mindstorms® EV3 y VEX V5.
Los campamentos SMART de verano 2026 se llevarán a cabo en LASA High School los días del 8 al 12 de junio y del 3 al 7 de agosto con sesiones en la mañana (9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.) y en la tarde (1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.). En los campamentos SMART, los estudiantes serán separados aproximadamente por edad en diferentes aulas. Comenzaremos el día con divertidas actividades basadas en STEM para que los niños se conozcan, así como un tutorial sobre los kits de robótica con los que trabajarán. Luego, pasarán los siguientes tres días diseñando, construyendo y probando sus robots, ¡y el último día implicará una competencia con premios!

¡Los estudiantes de todos los niveles de experiencia son bienvenidos! La matrícula es de $300 por campamento ($360 para campamentos VEX, que están dirigidos a los estudiantes de mayor edad), y las becas basadas en la necesidad tienen solicitudes disponibles en el registro. Para más información y enlaces para registrarse, por favor visite está pagina: https://my.cheddarup.com/c/2025-smarties-camp-registration-copy-80797, y comuníquese con nosotros con cualquier pregunta en outreach@lasarobotics.org. ¡No podemos esperar a ver a todos este verano!

Please remember to keep crosswalk areas clear of parked vehicles during arrival and dismissal. In particular, the crosswalk on the south side of the school, by 9th street, becomes hazardous when cars parked near the crosswalk block the view of turning vehicles.

Cars should be parked at least 16.4 feet away from crosswalks. It's good to know that citations will be given for cars that are parked too close to the crosswalk.

Regular attendance helps students learn and keeps our school strong. In Texas, school funding is directly tied to student attendance, and so far this year Mathews has lost over $40,000 in funding due to absences. Those funds support our district programming and student support.

We always want children who are sick to stay home and get better and we also ask families to plan vacations and appointments around the AISD calendar whenever possible. The official attendnace time for this school year is 9:45 am. If your child is not in class at 9:45 am, they are considered absent for the day. Every day in class makes a difference for our students and our community!

To learn more about attenance, click HERE.

Families - please make sure to follow our school procedures for a safe arrival and dismissal. There is no parking in the bus lane from 7:00-8:00 am and from 2:30-3:20 pm. If you would like to walk your child to the front of the school, please park in the neighborhood and walk in. This helps keep traffic flowing. Thank you for your cooperation!

The Elementary Curriculum Parents’ Newsletters for Humanities and STEM are finalized and ready to be shared with parents. These newsletters are designed to keep families informed, engaged, and supported in their child’s learning. Please click on the button below to access the newsletters:

Want a smoother check-in when you come to school?

Download the Raptor App to save time at check-in and ensure your ID is in our system and ready to go!!

1. Download the app

2. Snap a picture of your ID

3. Creates your QR code

Did you know that Mazilla Cares is here to support our Mathews community? Through this program, we’ve been able to provide (through donations):

• Grocery gift cards

• Weekend food baskets

• Entrance fees for school fundraising events

• Scholarships for after-school enrichment programs

• Outerwear and footwear

• School supplies

Our Mazilla Cares Liaison, Valerie Pardo-Jules, works alongside the school counselor to coordinate parent help during times of need, such as the winter holidays, meal assistance, and school supply drives.

All family information remains 100% confidential and is known only to the school counselor. Families who need support should contact Stephanie Reyna, School Counselor, at stephanie.reyna@austinisd.com.

How you can help:
If you’d like to join the Mazilla Cares committee, share new ideas, or connect us with resources that could benefit our families, we’d love to have your support. Every contribution—big or small—makes a difference.

Together, we can ensure that every Mathews family feels supported and cared for. 💚

If you have not completed the new required consent forms for Physical and Health Related Services, Mental Health Related Services, and School Sponsored Clubs, please see the links below. These are new forms required by SB12 and must be completed for each student.

• Mental Health Services Consent Form: English Spanish
• Physical Health Services Consent Form
• Student Club Participation Consent Form

Of course! Here's a version tailored for a school newsletter:

📣 Stay in the Loop with Konstella!

We use Konstella as our official school communication platform and we want all families to be connected! Sign up now to recieve communication from Mathews. You'll add connect your account with your child's teacher after classes are announced on the 14th.

Konstella makes it easy to receive important announcements, classroom updates, event details, and volunteer opportunities—all in one place. It’s quick to sign up and even easier to stay informed and engaged in your child’s school experience.

✨ Don’t miss out—sign up today and stay connected all year long!

Need help getting started? Click the button below for directions!

Please click on the button below to access the 2025-26 AISD Student Success Guide (Code of Conduct).

Please click the button below to access the 2025-26 Mathews Parent/Student Handbook:

We’d love for you to join our PTA! By becoming a member, you’ll help support our students, teachers, and school community through events, volunteer opportunities, and important initiatives. Whether you have a little time or a lot, your voice and involvement make a big difference. Join us in creating an amazing school year together!

Scan the QR code or click the button below to join our amazing PTA!

Did you know that 9:45 a.m. is our official attendance time each day? This is earlier than last year when the official time was 10:30 am. According to the State of Texas Attendance Policy, students must be present at school at 9:45 a.m. to be counted for the day. Any student who is not on campus at that time will be marked absent, even if they arrive later.

Whenever possible, we kindly ask that you schedule medical or other appointments to ensure your child is in school at 9:45 am so your child is counted present and their learning time is maximized.

Attendance not only supports your child’s success in the classroom but also directly affects our school’s state funding. Thank you for your partnership in helping every student shine!

Are you interested in volunteering at Mathews? We'd love to have you! Austin ISD uses Voly for all volunteers in our school and everyone is required to sign up through the system. Please see below for information on how to sign up to volunteer at our school:

Volunteer Requirements and Application Process

To ensure student safety and maintain a secure environment, all volunteers must meet the following requirements:

• Complete a Volunteer Application, which must be renewed each school year.
  • The application takes approximately five minutes to complete and should be submitted as early as possible.
  • Applications can take up to five business days to process.
• Pass a background check as part of the Volunteer Application process.
• Present your photo ID at the campus to be scanned into Raptor
• Represent yourself and Austin ISD in a professional manner and treat students, staff, and other volunteers with respect.

Additional Information:

The Volunteer Application is separate from the campus Raptor check-in process, which ensures all names are screened for safety and security purposes. All campus visitors are required to sign in and print either a visitor or volunteer badge.

How to Become a Volunteer

1. Create an Account: Visit austinisd.voly.org to sign up.
2. Complete the Application: Fill out your profile, select the schools you’d like to volunteer with, and submit the required information, including:
   • Full name
   • Email address
   • Address
   • Confidentiality agreement
   • Volunteer guidelines acknowledgment
   • Background check consent form
3. Pass the Background Check: Background checks typically take 2 hours to 5 days to process.
   • You must wait until your background check is cleared before volunteering.
   • Once cleared, you will receive a notification email confirming your approval.
4. Find Opportunities: After receiving your clearance, explore and sign up for volunteer opportunities that match your interests.

Meal Application Information

• Austin ISD works with local agencies to identify all children who are categorically and program eligible for meal benefits through state funded programs and will notify the households of these children that they do not need to complete an application.
• Only one application is needed for an entire household.
• Families must complete a new application each school year.
• The outcome of the application is determined by household size and income; please include all household members to ensure accurate eligibility.
• Austin ISD follows the Texas Department of Agriculture income guidelines to determine if a student is eligible for free or reduced-price meals.
• Students are permitted to receive meal benefits based on last year’s meal status only until October 1, 2024 or until a new meal application has been processed.

How to Apply for Free or Reduced-Price Meals

• Online: Preferred method for faster processing.
  • Create an account and apply at www.SchoolCafe.com/AustinISD, or
  • Download and complete an English or Spanish application; email to foodservicebusinesssupport@austinisd.org.
• Paper Applications:
  • Available from school front offices beginning in August.

Questions about meal applications? Please contact Food Service at 512-414-0251.

School meal resources:

• SchoolCafé - One app for all your school meal needs.

• View daily breakfast and lunch menus for our school.

• View nutritional information, ingredients, and allergens for each menu item.

• Make prepayments for additional servings of food or healthy a la carte snacks.

• Set a la carte restrictions.

• How to create a SchoolCafé account, add student(s), make payments, set up automatic payments, and low balance alerts - English / Spanish

• Request for Dietary Accommodation Form

• AISD Wellness Policy English / Spanish (Guidelines surrounding food and beverages provided on campus, celebrations, food for instructional purposes, rewarding with food, and fundraising)

• Connect with AISD Food Service on Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (X)