September PFLASA Meetings Zoom and In Person

This Friday, 9/6 at 8:15 am PFLASA will meet in the Portable (the only trailer on campus, next to the tennis courts). Please join us for committee updates, an exciting announcement, and LASA stickers!

PFLASA will also host the once-a-semester Zoom meeting on Monday 9/9 at 6pm. The link to register for the zoom meeting will be pushed out through a Raptor Special Edition and posted on Facebook the day of the meeting. Registration is required.

Can’t make either of those meetings? Don’t worry PFLASA is also scheduled to meet Friday 9/20 at 8:15 in the portable. This is after BYPTS (Bring Your Parent to School) days on 9/18-9/19.

PFLASA Parenting Connection Corner: Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders in Teens

Whether your kid is new to LASA, adjusting to new teachers and new expectations, or in the thick of college applications, there are lots of reasons that their anxiety may be spiking right now. Please check out this Google slide presentation, “Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders in Teens,” which was put together by the PFLASA Raising Healthy Raptors Committee (formerly PFLASA Health and Wellness Committee). In it, you will learn strategies to help your teen manage the physical and mental manifestations of anxiety (including panic attacks) and what you can do if you suspect your teen’s anxiety may have progressed into an anxiety disorder. Raising Healthy Raptors is a group of LASA parents with lived experience with a variety of mental and physical health struggles that seeks to support other parents, end stigma, and decrease isolation. To connect with other families, reach out to Kristi at wellness@pflasa.org.

PFLASA 8/23 Meeting Recap

PFLASA hosted its first meeting of the year and there was a lot to discuss.

First, we explained for new parents what PFLASA is and does. For anyone who doesn’t know we are our non-profit group that exists solely to support LASA. LASA has two parent organizations PTSA (advocacy outside of the school) join them at https://www.lasaptsa.org/ and PFLASA which concentrates on supporting the needs of LASA. We like to focus on the three “C’s”:  Community, Communication and Cash. Every LASA parent/guardian, teacher and staff member is automatically a member of PFLASA (no dues or application necessary). PFLASA works hard to support our community not just with supplies and appreciation for teachers but also events for students and parents. In this vein, we held our first community coffee at Central Market North for parents to informally gather and meet each other. There will be more of these so keep checking the Raptor Report (subscribe here to receive our weekly newsletter if you haven’t already).

As for communication, this new tool, the Raptor Report, is our primary one but we also support the zip code and class Google groups, the Facebook page, and Instagram account. We have a few requests to post our meeting minutes and while we can’t do that, I will be providing these recaps for those who can’t make it to meetings. I also highly encourage you to attend a meeting if you can. You can come to any meeting the whole schedule is posted and we have our first evening Zoom meeting coming up on September 9th. I have never attended a meeting where I didn’t learn something important. Our next in person meeting is September 6th at 8:15am in the portable and we will have an update frm our PFLASA Health and Wellness Committee Chair (not to be confused with the LASA Wellness counselors) and much more.

We also had updates from our unofficial fourth “C”, the committees. We are currently trying to fill several vacant chair positions. See our updated graphic (below) but most of our committees are looking for help including appreciations and tutoring. Our first update was from one of the BYPTS (Bring Your Parent to School) Chairs. Mark your calendars for September 18th & 19th and look for information to come about parking, registration, and volunteering.

We also heard from our Master Class chair. Master Classes are online classes sold by PFLASA for fundraising on a variety of topics. If you have an idea for a class or think you could teach one please reach out to us. And keep your eyes peeled for announcements of classes including one on executive functioning.

Great Gatherings are the newly renamed former Happy Hours which is where a parent throws a party or class or activity. These events are in person and in the past were largely grade level based but have opened up to include whatever people dream up. This is another fundraising vehicle that traditionally supports Senior Salute with the ticket sales to these Great Gatherings. Again please reach out about hosting one if you are interested. And look for those to go on sale later in September so that you can mix and mingle with other awesome LASA parents.

And our past president Nicole Trueluck and current Senior Auction Chair spoke about senior fundraising. Nicole oversees the mini-auction and the auction which both raise funds for Project Graduation. Project Graduation is the all-night, drug and alcohol-free lock-in that many schools host on graduation night for their seniors. Graduation night can be the deadliest night of the year for celebrating high school grads and so the US Department of Transportation gives grants to support these events. The grant is a small part of the overall cost to ensure the safety of our community and support our LASA grads. The auction is an online event with classes, gift cards, and items that are sold. But because some events occur before the auction, Project Graduation hosts the mini-auction which is traditionally tickets to UT football games and ACL passes. If you have these items or any other tickets to events that you won’t use please reach out to donate them!

We also had updates from our Grants committee, the PTSA, and Tutoring but please forgive me for not making this recap even longer.

Which leads us to the final “C” – cash. PFLASA strives to support the school and community in numerous ways but to do that we need funds. While we have some creative fundraising events, the bulk of our budget comes from our biggest fundraiser the NHF (the no-hassle fundraiser). And yes, we have lots of acronyms (sorry). This is where PFLASA asks for donations of any amount directly from parents and friends. The NHF will launch on Labor Day with the PM but for now anyone who works for an employer that matches funds we implore you to figure that out now. Also an important reminder from our Treasurer be sure you have selected PFLASA and not LASA high school. Donating the funds to LASA creates red-tape nightmares for the poor LASA bookkeeper.

Regards,

Ellen Stewart-Klein
PFLASA President

We want your seat! your wristbands! your tickets!

Support the CLASS OF 2025 PROJECT GRADUATION AUCTION.

We want your seats, wristbands, or tickets! Do you have tickets to an event that you can’t go to now? Rather than let your tickets go unused, donate them to the 2025 Project Graduation Auction! We are looking for ACL tickets, UT Football, Austin FC, Broadway shows, Zach Scott, ANY TICKETS TO ANYTHING!

Informal Parent Coffee

Our first Informal Parent Coffee of the year! What a great way to recap the first week of school! Stop by Central Market North Lamar. This is a fantastic opportunity for new and seasoned parents to meet and get to know each other. We are starting early at 8 am to try to beat the heat! No meeting! No agenda! Just some good LASA coffee talk! Sign up here so we know how many tables to grab.

Host a Master Class

Would you like to share your expertise with the LASA community? Master Classes can range from cooking, crafting, cocktails to college – no, they don’t have to start with a “c”! LOL. These classes are all hosted virtually. If you have a passion for something and want to teach it to all of us, please fill out the Master Class Interest Form. We already have several amazing Master Classes in the works, so be on the lookout for announcements for purchasing tickets.

Firsts for the First Week of School

The first week of school brings the first PFLASA meeting of the year! Please join us in the PFLASA Portable on Friday, August 23rd, 8:15am!

If you can’t make it Friday, come and join us at any of our meetings. Check the PFLASA meeting schedule here.

The first week of school also brings the first PFLASA coffee of the year on Saturday 8/24 at 8am at Central Market North. This is not a meeting but an informal gathering of LASA parents. As a magnet school, LASA doesn’t have a typical geographical community so PFLASA works hard to connect parents. The perception is that most of LASA comes from Kealing and parents already know each other but I swear that isn’t true. This is a great community and if you have never had a high schooler you need other parents to show you the ropes!

Finally, PFLASA needs help. We still need a VP in addition to the other open chairs! Please email Ellen at president@pflasa.org, if interested.

Start of PFLASA Study Groups for 2024-2025 School Year

Who: Current parents and students of LASA High School

What: PFLASA Study Groups

When: We are slated to start on Tuesday, September 3rd. Tutors will be available to work in small groups or individually with students from 4:15pm to 6:15pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

The general schedule for subjects offered is below:

  • Chemistry: T, W, Th 4:15–6:15pm
  • Physics: T, W, Th 4:15-6:15pm
  • Biology: We are working on hiring a biology tutor and will announce when biology tutoring starts

Where: LASA Library; look for the signage as you enter through the library.

Why: These started a number of years ago to give students another place to ask questions and receive support in specific subjects. Think of it as small group private tutoring—free to the student! We have seen this service help students make great academic strides when they attend regularly.