December 14, 2022 edition

This is the last edition of The Apple until after the winter break.

The next edition will be on Wednesday, January 11th, 2023. 

Happy Holidays everyone!

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.  

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

Employee Excellence Nominee: Crystal Chilcoat Program Manager at Decker Elementary School

"Crystal is always willing to go above and beyond because it is who she is naturally. Crystal once saved a cat from under the portable while it was crying in the rain. Another time, Crystal stayed an extra 2 hours at school to ensure a student went home safely. She knew in her heart she couldn't leave until she was sure the student was safe. Crystal sticks up for others and is very compassionate and understanding. She takes the time to help you out even in her free time or outside of work. She is always willing to help because she leads by her heart. She will give you the advice you need to hear and will sit there with you to ensure you have a clear understanding.”

Thank you Crystal for being #AllinforKids!

1. The PMD team has new purpose and vision statements, and a new mascot!  Check them out here.
2. CIS-NAV updated last Friday, 12/9 – if you’re curious about what’s changed, you can see a summary here.
3. Campus-Based Services team & AmeriCorps Mentors, please remember that all Fall semester data should be up to date in CIS-NAV by Friday, 1/6. This includes all students, assessments, individual service logs and group service logs. If you have questions about this, please refer to this guidance from 11/16. 

City of Austin Quality of Life Commissions Town Hall Events

PDF Information

Estancia's Affordable Homes Program

Estancia in South Austin is currently selling homes as part of an Affordable Homes program. Estancia follows the City’s SMART Housing guidelines, allowing households that earn 80% or less of the region’s median family income or MFI, could qualify. For example, this means that a single person with no kids making up to nearly $55,000 and a family of four making up to approximately $78,000 could qualify. Here's some more info on the program: http://www.cwhaustin.com/now-selling.html

Click to read the most recent updates from the CISCT Leadership Team 

Meghan Williams is coordinating the Grab N Gos and can answer any questions you have.

The AmeriCorps Site Supervisor Application for the 2023-2024 school year is now open! Click here to review the Application Overview and for a link to the application.   

Spring AmeriCorps Site Supervisor Training will be held Friday, January 13^th from 1:30-3:30pm in the Community Room at Central. You will also have an option to join us virtually via Teams. Snacks will be provided.  

• Click here to sign up for the AmeriCorps Site Supervisor Application Info Session (open to all Program Managers).
• Click here to sign up for AmeriCorps Site Supervisor Spring Training (open to current AmC Site Supervisors).  

Mental Health and Wellness Update

GRIEF AND LOSS TRAINING

Interested in more information about Grief and Loss and how to support students? Please watch The Christi Center’s training, “Grief and Loss” on Auzmor. If you are interested in a deeper discussion, please send an email indicating so to [email protected] and we will work to schedule this.

INTERNSHIPS

Hello program staff,

We know that interns come to us in lots of different ways, and we want to ensure we remain accessible. However, be sure you connect the intern with Internships by having them submit their resumes and CIS Internship Application which can be found on the CIS website.

Hello Field instructors! Please take advantage of this workshop hosted The University of Texas at Austin Steve Hicks School of Social Work.

Register now for The Spring 2023 Field Instructor Development Institute

January 20, 2023 - All-day Field Instructor Development Institute at the Thompson Conference Center

Dr. Esther Calzada, Associate Dean for Equity and Inclusion

“From exclusion to inclusion: Identifying and interrupting microaggressions in field placements”

1. Login: https://employer.gradleaders.com/UTSSWField/Employers/Login.aspx?jprid=7073 
2. Select the “Event Registration” tab on the left side of your Dashboard
3. Select “+ Add Request” at the top of your screen.
4. Select “Field Event” for Event Type and click continue.
5. Find and select “Spring 2023 Field Instructor Development Institute”.
6. Add any notes in the “Comments or Special Requests” text box.
7. Click Submit.
8. Complete the additional FIDI Survey: https://utexas.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_25eu0lKhAmwJXZI

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]

CAN invites interested individuals and organization to participate in the Spanish Resource & Engagement Committee (SREC), that involves various stakeholders including NAMI Central Texas, Contigo Wellness and Integral Care. As part of CAN's Language Access Project for Mental Health and Wellness, this collaborative is in the initial stages of creating informational tools & navigation resources to help Spanish-speaking community members better understand and address their mental health and wellness needs.

If you are interested in participating in the SREC in 2023, please email Jelina Tunstill, CAN's Program Coordinator: [email protected]

The winner in last week's Apple drawing for a Torchy's gift card was Lorena Garcia!  

The Grab N Go Breakfast in Manor last week offered a great chance for connection.

Thanks for everyone who came out for it!

Happy Holidays! from the NAV AISD Regional Team

AmeriCorps Members were celebrated last Friday at our “Winter Cozy” Member Recognition event! We had an awesome time building community, playing games, making gingerbread houses, and reflecting on the service year so far. Shout out to the Member Recognition Committee and all those who helped make this event happen!

Notorious PD Team: Emily Demerath, Emily Schenk, Kiki Williams, Natalia Ornelas and Erica Gallardo, baking together and enjoying community! 

Program Manager Laura Stradling and some of the sponsored gifts from Emile Elementary Giving Tree. She had 69 students sponsored and was able to fill all requests through the help of Blue Saints and a CIS sponsor! 

Mina Elementary students practicing mindfulness outdoors.

Northeast vertical team’s holiday party! 

Asia Eblen, Reyna Ostos, and Itai Almor on the last day of SmartKids with the middle school students before Asia starts a new position as Program Manager at Akins High School!

Throwback pic - CIS Officers at Food for Thought - Karen Gonzalez, Program Officer,

Wayne Williams, Innovation Officer, and Amanda Miller, Impact Officer (L to R)

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