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Sep. 4, 2010

 

OPEN HOUSE

You are invited to attend Walsh Open House and the Walsh Book Fair on:
Wednesday, September 22nd          
6:00 p.m.-PTA General Meeting (cafeteria)
6:30 p.m.-Meet teachers/walk schedule

Please join us for the opportunity to support our outstanding PTA as well as meet your child's teachers. (Please note that this event does not provide adequate time to conference with your child's teachers. Teachers must be back bright and early the next morning to greet our children!)

Parents will travel from class to class following their child's schedule with ten minutes in each class and a four minute passing period. Please print a copy of your child's schedule from Home Access Center by clicking on the student progress button. To assist everyone in making it to each class on time, all grade levels will travel at the same time (different during the school day as 6th graders have a different schedule than 7th and 8th grade), all exterior doors will be unlocked so you may enter at any location, and the traffic gates will be open to help with parking and traffic flow. Note that parking could be a challenge. If possible, please carpool or walk.

PRINCIPAL BROWN BAG

Brown bag luncheons provide a special time for parents to meet informally with the administrators and counselors to dialogue about school and community information. All parents are invited bring a brown bag and join us for lunch. Based on feedback from parents, we will have a guiding question at each brown bag. In addition to the guiding question, there will be an opportunity to ask any additional questions.

8th grade parents: October 6th from 12-1 (How will the upcoming End-of-Course Exams impact my child this year and through-out high school)

7th grade parents: October 27th from 12-1 (What are the pros/cons of specific high school credit classes at middle school)

6th grade parents: November 17th from 12-1 (How can I stay informed about what is happening at middle school)

BULLIES BEWARE

School Tip Line is up and running. Students or parents can report incidents directly to Walsh administration and counselors through www.schooltipline.com. You can also send a text message to 847847 and the message will be emailed to Walsh administration and counselors. The text must read @tip and then be followed by the report. More information about how to send a text message is available on posters throughout the school and will be shared on the student announcements. If you would like to visit the website, please go to www.schooltipline.com. This is one more venue to ensure safety and communication between students, parents and staff.

OLSAT Testing for 6th graders

As part of our district's testing program, 6th grade students will be taking the Otis-Lennon School Abilities Test (OLSAT) on Tuesday, October 5th. The OLSAT test is designed to assess abstract thinking, reasoning ability, and students' ability to cope with school learning tasks. This is not a pass or fail test and parents will be mailed a copy of the test results in January 2010. Questions about test content and test-taking strategies should be directed to ryan_smith@roundrockisd. 1;rg

SCHOOL PICTURES

Individual school pictures will be taken during the regular school day on September 29, 2010. Information will be sent home with your child as soon as it is made available by the photographer.

Walsh Middle School Pro Center

Invites you to an
Open House
Date: Wednesday, 9/22/10
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.
Location: The PRO Center (Located in the main office)
Resources: Educational and Community
*Make sure to sign in at the Pro Center. Your name will be put in a drawing for a parenting book by author:
 Annie Drake MA, RN, CS, LMFT
 http://schools.roundrockisd.org/walsh/school/backpack/PROOpenHouseFlyer2010.pdf

Greetings from the Walsh Guidance and Counseling Department

For the first time, the Counselor surveys are on-line. Please help us to establish our program priorities for the 2010-2011 school year by completing a needs assessment survey. The survey should take no more than 10-15 minutes to complete. Your input is very important to us. Please copy and paste the link below into your URL to access the survey.

https://www.roundrockisd.org/surveys/surveys/10counparent.htm

Presidential Address - Parents May Opt Out

President Barack Obama will deliver his second annual Back to School speech on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2010. Last year, President Obama encouraged students to study hard, stay in school and take responsibility for their education. It is not required that schools show the address, however, Round Rock ISD is treating this like any other national news event, such as an election or shuttle launch, and allowing individual teachers to determine if their class will view the speech if it aligns to the curriculum and is timely. Any parent who objects to their child viewing the Presidential Address can request that they be excused from the activity by contacting their child's teacher or campus. More details on this year's Presidential speech will be announced soon. Once the President's speech is available we will post a link to it on the district's Web site.

1st EARLY RELEASE

Please note that Wednesday, Sept. 15 is an early release day! School lets out at 1:30.

Register now for 5th Annual Parent Summit

Mark your calendars to be a part of the 5th annual Parent Summit on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010 at McNeil High School, 5720 McNeil Road, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and explore how schools, the business community and parents can work as partners to keep children safe and healthy.

The Summit is sponsored by RRISD, the RRISD Council of PTAs and the Safe Schools/Healthy Students grant and is designed to explore how schools and parents can work as partners to keep children safe and healthy and help them succeed in school. More than 30 parent-focused workshops are available focusing on wellness, special education, education, parenting and bullying. Some sessions will be offered in Spanish.

Upcoming Dates:

  • Sept 15 Early Release at 1:30

  • Sept 16 Interim Progress Reports mailed home

  • Sept 22 Open House

  • Sept 24 School Dance - Chaperones needed, please contact correne_sucrese@roundrockisd.org

  • Sept 29 School Pictures

  • Oct. 5 OLSAT - 6th grade only

  • Oct. 6 8th grade Parent Brown Bag

  • Oct. 6 OLSAT for 6th graders

  • Oct. 7 Report Cards go home with students

  • Oct. 11 Student Holiday

  • Oct. 18-22 Reading/Writing District Benchmark

  • Oct. 27 7th grade Parent Brown Bag

  • Nov. 6 Parent Summit