February 22, 2023 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.  

Save the Date! Input Sessions will be March 6-10!

Your input matters! Next week here in the Apple we will have links for all the input sessions you can sign up for this year, and they will also be available to access on the agency calendar. For now, you can see an overview of all the input sessions that will be happening below so you can make a plan to attend the ones you are most interested in. Please join if you can!

If you missed the first of 4 Values & Competencies intro sessions, click the link below to access the video recording. Password is empower to watch.

CIS DAY AT THE CAPITOL

On Tuesday, February 28, the hallways of the Texas State Capitol will be a filled with Communities In Schools (CIS) staff and supporters from across the state! The annual Communities In Schools Day at the Capitol event will start at 9:00 a.m. with a rally on the south steps. CIS of Texas will welcome attendees and former Communities In Schools participants will speak about the impact of the program. After the rally, Communities In Schools representatives will visit with their elected officials to share about the program. If you would like to attend the rally at 8:30 a.m. that morning, please submit this form by end of day February 23rd.

Nominate someone for Employee Excellence. Click here for the form and here to learn about employee recognition & appreciation at CIS of Central Texas. 

As chronic absenteeism rises in schools, officials search for ways to entice students to stay in the classroom

Absenteeism goes beyond empty seats in a classroom

Absences lead to learning loss, lower reading levels, poor transition to middle and high school, and lower graduation rates, according to education experts.

“Being absent, you’re missing out on the whole learning environment,” New Kensington-Arnold Superintendent Chris Sefcheck said. “Our battle is not just fighting attendance. It’s the learning loss that accompanies it that is the biggest issue". Read the Article

Request for Assistance

There is a family of 8 moving into a new apartment fairly quickly (yay!). They are looking for beds and furniture, household items, and little kid shoes size 13 for both girls and boys. If you can help, please contact Amy Pulido BSW, SmartKids Coordinator

Oak Springs Elementary, AISD

(737) 270-9087, [email protected]

W-2s

W-2s were mailed out on 1/25/2023 and delivery can take up to 10 days. If you did not receive your W-2 form in the mail by now, please reach out to Will Penny in Finance: [email protected].

"In Living Color" Affinity Group

In Celebration of Black History Month

A Moment in Black History:

Mariya Russell is an American chef and restaurateur. She became the first black woman to be awarded a Michelin star in September 2019 while working as a chef at Kumiko and Kikkō. Her work contributed to Kumiko winning the Best New Restaurant award from Food & Wine magazine in 2019.

After a brief hiatus, she’s back and doing pop-up shops around the Midwest! 

Performance Measures on Teams

Join the public Performance Measures Team for easy access to all past guidance and resources shared in the Apple. You can find us on Teams or click here to join. There’s a new MAP FAQ section that will be useful for elementary level staff!

PMD Office Hours

• Fridays from 2:00-3:00pm via Teams; if you have questions or need support, stop by and chat! No need to register, the link will always be the same. 

As a reminder, AmeriCorps Members do NOT have a Collaborative Learning Space this Friday. Our next CLS will be Friday, March 10. 

Mental Health and Wellness Update

Attention all campus-based staff

Deadline extension for Intern Interest Form: March 1st. Be sure to complete the form if you will have been in your role for at least a year, have some supervisory experience, and/or hold a BSW or LMSW, LCSW, or LPC. We are hoping to host a diverse group of interns and need a diverse group of supervisors to do so. Please note, that you do not have to have a social work or counseling degree to host some of the interns that we are recruiting.”

https://forms.office.com/r/da5BBBjBak  

The Mental Health, Partnerships, and Sr. Campus Program teams have recently begun meeting to discuss challenges / strategic needs related to substance misuse across the communities we serve. While we work to gather resources and identify partnerships and other areas to be further developed, we would love to hear directly from YOU to help guide this work.

Please use this Form to share trends, challenges, needs and resources you are seeing on your campus / in your program as it relates to substance misuse. This information will be used by the Sr. Leadership team to explore potential partnerships, resources and guidance to support staff and students around this issue. Additional opportunities for involvement and input will be shared in the coming months.



CIS Alumni Network Museum Day!



We will be visiting Austin's Only Black Owned Art Gallery-RichesArt Gallery! On Saturday February 25th from 11:30am-12:30pm! This is a free gallery, and we look forward to seeing you there. We will be walking over to Parque Zaragoza to have a BYOL (Bring your own lunch) afternoon in the park. We hope to see you there!

Volunteers Needed



Bastrop ISD and Communities In Schools will be hosting Dia de la Familia at Cedar Creek Intermediate School on Saturday, March 4th. We are looking to have about 20+ Volunteers assist with the event.

Please see volunteer shift times and duties below:

Morning Shift

8:00am – 12:00pm

• 8am-10am | Event Setup
• 10am-12pm | Assist with running Craft Activities and/or Games

Afternoon Shift

12:00pm – 4:00pm

• 12pm-2pm | Assist with running Craft Activities and/or Games
• 2pm-4pm | Event Breakdown

Paid opportunity for community members:

Travis County and the City of Austin are seeking input and feedback from community members about the activities we are currently planning in our digital equity study – and we’d love your help recruiting participants!

They are offering participants $50 Amazon, Walmart, or HEB gift cards, PayPal or Zelle to participate in a two-hour advisory workshop.

If you know a Travis County or City of Austin community member who has experienced difficulties with accessing, affording, or using the internet and wants to share their voice on the project plan, please help us share the registration form at https://traviscountytx.jotform.com/230387082370858 [traviscountytx.jotform.com].

When and where is it?

In-person workshop

Saturday, February 25, 2023

10:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Terrazas Branch Library (1105 E Cesar Chavez St Austin, TX 78702)

Virtual workshop

Monday, March 6, 2023

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

A Zoom link will be provided upon registration

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 [email protected]

Welcome Nathalie Bermudez, Bilingual Caseworker, Burnet Middle School

Mind Windows: The Art of Roberto Rios will be on view at six locations throughout San Marcos between January and March 2023.

Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos

January 17 - March 5, 2023

Hours: Tue-Fri 2-6pm & Sat 10am-2pm

The Price Center

January 14-February 25, 2023

Hours: Wed-Fri 12pm-5pm; Sat 10am-3pm

Walkers Gallery, San Marcos Activity Center

January 17- February 25, 2023

Hours: Mon- Thu 6am-9pm; Fri 6am-7pm; Sat 10am-5pm

San Marcos Public Library

January 14 - March 5, 2023

Hours: Mon-Thu 9am-9pm; Fri 9am-6pm; Sat 10am-6pm; Sun 1-6pm

Texas State Galleries

January 17-March 5, 2023

Hours: Mon-Fri 9am-9pm; Sat - Sun 12-6pm

San Marcos Art Center, Downtown

January 17^th - March 5, 2023

Hours: Wed-Fri 11am-5pm; Sat 10am-5pm; Sun 11am-5pm

The winner of the Apple drawing for a CIS Hoodie is Lauren Tamez!

6th Earth Day - It's About Relationship

Sunday, April 23, 2023 - 2-5pm

Free Event.

BRING YOUR BEACH CHAIR & MARACA !!

Join Yara Taino & Guaytiao to dance under the Pecan Trees! Activities will share ways the whole family can build a relationship with Nature -- everyday!

https://www.facebook.com/events/1540772176350113

This event will take place under the pecan trees of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center,

701 Tillery Street. Austin 78702. Free Parking.

YARA TAINO & GUAYTIAO is the Indigenous community of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center. Since 2007, our Cultural Center shares and defends Taino living traditions everyday.

Program managers Cynthia Cruz Ramirez, Kerline Bastien and Yoatzin Galvan took part in the Community Fair held last weekend at Elgin Middle school. “El Mariachi” Jose Sanchez, brought some musical soul to the Elgin Community Fair. 

Program Manager, Alicia Garza at Cedar Creek ES purchased 125 sonic cherry limeades as a special treat to celebrate Kindness week and Valentine’s day. Alicia and Faith (PSS) personally delivered them to each of the Cedar Creek staff and volunteers ( volunteers clocked in 72 hours for the month of January).

Saturday, 2/18, CIS staff participated in Casa de Miel’s spring volunteer kick off event! Activities included gardening, brush clearing, and feeding pigs and horses. We are grateful for the free, restorative spaces Casa de Miel provides for staff and enjoyed giving back to their community.

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