December 7, 2022 edition

Share appreciation and gratitude for a fellow CIS employee. Giving a shout out is a great way to recognize an individual or group for their extra effort and talent, and to contribute to a culture of appreciation, community, and kindness.  

SAFA Updates:

Coats For Kids Distribution will be December 13 – 15. Please designate one CIS program staff per campus to pick up coats. Sign up to pick up coats for your campus - Coats for Kids Pickup.xlsx   After we pick up coats this Friday, December 9, we will notify program staff via email about how many coats they can expect to pick up. The number of coats CIS receives is dependent on the community response to the Junior League coat drive. 

Project Linus: Blankets will be available for pick-up during the Coats For Kids distribution. 

Financial Assistance Deadline – The last day to request financial assistance this fall is December 9^th at 10am. Financial assistance requested by December 9^th will be ready on December 16^th. This ensures all assistance can be processed and distributed to families prior to the break.

Coats for Kids Pickup.xlsx

Youth Enrichment Department

• Site Supervisors: Please complete the End of Term Performance Evaluation via DocuSign for your Fall Only EAO Member. If you need the document resent, email Ali. 
• Members are not allowed to complete data entry/phone calls/projects, etc. from home. Site Supervisors can contact us for clarification. This is to safeguard the education award and to maintain work/life boundaries. If Members need hours, there are plenty of other preapproved options in the handbook. 
• Our next Collaborative Learning Space is January 13^th. All prior CLS recordings can be found on Auzmor, and materials are here: S:\Shared Folders\Members Only Documents\AmeriCorps\Member Training and Resources\CLS 2022-2023. If you have individual training needs for your Member, please let Casey know. 
• If Members have helped with a Tier 1 Support, please remind them to fill out this form. It is a requirement that members support a Tier I event and fill out the form.   
• Please RSVP below for our Member Recognition! ALL AmeriCorps Members (Mentors, Squad Leaders, ASPIRE, EAOs) are invited to attend. Check below to see if it is required or optional by position type: 

§ ASPIRE: Optional 

§ Mentors/Squad Leaders who normally serve on Fridays: Required 

§ Mentors/Squad Leaders who do not normally serve on Fridays: Optional 

§ EAO Interns: Optional 

• Program Managers and other staff are welcome to join us for any or all of the event as well! Just reach out to Casey for details. 😊  

Mental Health and Wellness Update

Reminder! Ethics training: Practical Applications of Ethics in School-Based Mental Health Services. Please sign up in Auzmor at https://ciscentraltexas.learn.auzmor.com/user/events/4420/detail

Partnerships Department Updates

21-22 Input Session Feedback: What have we been up to? Read the Program Support Services Department Status Updates here!

Spring Partner Group Services: The Partnerships Dept has reached out to our group service providers to assess capacity for any additional group services starting in the Spring. Any new group availability will be shared with PDs and PMs by 12/16.

College and Career Success Department

Click here to find a list of scholarships that are currently available to Seniors! This link will be updated throughout the school year as more scholarships become available. If you and your Senior would like some support completing any scholarship application, please reach out to Jami Herrera with the College and Career Success Department at jami.herrera@ciscentraltexas.org

The winner in last week's Apple drawing for a Target Gift card was Gracy Lopez!

Lindsay Razzaz enjoyed building partnerships, meeting families & sharing about volunteer opportunities at the San Marcos Stronger Together Resource Fair on Saturday!

Orville Morales from The Case Made at the CISCT Fall-Staff. Orville shared how we can begin to change the narrative about how we talk about our students and families and work through strategic case making – starting our messaging with the results – the hope – the positive outcomes.

https://www.thecasemade.com/

All Staff Group Photo

Students at Andrews Elementary are learning how to stay hydrated. Thank you, Common Threads, for sharing your lessons with us!

AmeriCorps Member at Mina ES met with Mentee and Pre-K student for a tea party.

Congratulations to our newest graduates of Strong Voices public speaking training – Casey, Keyanna and Meghan. Great job y’all!

The Central Office team getting into the holiday spirit!

Communities In Schools of Central Texas surrounds students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.