Raptor Report

Spring Break is so close you can almost feel it!! This meeting started with an announcement of a change in the Board for the current year. Our co-treasurer Lisa Hill needs to step down due to the heavy demands of her job. Thank you, Lisa, for your service. And, the Board has voted Lara Wilcox into Lisa’s place. Thank you, Lara!!! It’s really a privilege to serve with these amazing and dedicated volunteers.

The rest of the meeting was brisk with updates on the upcoming Raising Healthy Raptors event, Master Classes and Project Graduation (venue contract signed and tickets on sale!)! Also, our New Parent Coffee where we host the parents of newly accepted Baby Raptors is going to be a bit different this year. Due to scheduling demands it will be held in conjunction with Choice Sheet Day on Saturday, March 29th. The coffee will be in the library while students attend the elective fair! But we still need volunteers to successfully answer parent questions. Sign up to volunteer for the New Parent Coffee.

The rest of the meeting was devoted to answering parent questions before we got an update from Principal Crescenski. With our recent survey on why people attend PFLASA meetings, the thing I hear is that it is a great way to get answers to your questions. It’s true! The PFLASA Board, Chairs, and other attendees are experienced parents who know a lot about how things run. And the after-meeting updates from the administration are very informative. I understand that most people don’t show up to hear us approve minutes and conduct board business, so we try to keep that part short and fast. But in a school that I think is complex, nothing cuts through all the noise like a parent explaining exactly how something works.

One example is Summer PE. Are you stressing about how to fit in those two ½ credits your kid needs to graduate? This is exactly the kind of thing we discuss, and experienced parents can tell you that a quick way to knock this out is the Summer PE classes that LASA offers. In one week, your kid can do the necessary fitness gram testing and other required education to earn one of those ½ credits. LASA offers two weeks of Summer PE (Novice and Advanced) so you can get all the credit needed by attending both. And just in case you worry about whether your kid can handle “Advanced” PE, don’t. Anyone can do both or either session. If you are now wondering when and how to sign up for Summer PE, I don’t have that info. But I can tell you it is supposed to be in the Principal’s Message after Spring Break. And while I’m sure you all delight in reading my recaps most weeks, I know for a fact that it is far more fun to discuss this with all the wonderful, funny, and smart parents at the meetings. And no matter how long I make these posts, I will never answer all the questions.

For those of you staying in town I wish you the beautiful March weather Austinites love. Safe travels for the rest of you.

Happy (Almost) Spring Break,
Ellen Stewart-Klein
PFLASA President

Please help PFLASA correctly budget for next year.

The online directory software we use costs $850 per year, so we would like to know how important the online directory is to our PFLASA community.

Please complete the survey to help us decide if this is a good use of our funds. If you have additional comments, you can email directory@pflasa.org.

Thank you!

Sorry about any confusion I caused last week by dating my post incorrectly. I was in fact referring to the 2/21 joint meeting with PTSA not 12/21! If you skipped my post last week because you thought it was old, I encourage you to look it over. I’m not sure if that’s why but there was some confusion over whether there was a meeting this past Friday. But the meeting is this Friday, 3/7 at 8:15 am in the PFLASA Portable next to the tennis courts. Just a quick reminder all the meeting dates are listed here: https://pflasa.org/pflasa-meetings/.

I know we are all anxious for Spring Break and this year we get an extra Friday but believe it or not the busiest times of the year lie ahead. If you thought the fall semester went quickly, hang onto your hat because it’s going to fly by. Before we quit March, we have the New Parent Coffee on Saturday 3/29. We need lots of volunteers to talk to Parents of new baby Raptors (sign up coming soon). Then April and May (and very early June) are when we need lots and lots of help (AP Tests, AP Breakfast, Coffeehouse, Senior Salute and Project Graduation-updates to come on all of this). Just in case that wasn’t enough PFLASA also needs to prepare a budget for next year and elect new officers to the Board.

This is a crucial time to get involved in PFLASA if you care about any of the specific programming we offer (tutoring, petting zoo, teacher grants, appreciations, etc.). The budget is our guiding tool for all next year. And the Board is the entity that makes all the hard decisions (we also have some fun and get a unique perspective on this fabulous school). This year we are also planning to amend our bylaws to allow for flexibility in scheduling meetings. So now is an excellent time to get involved in all these decisions. Specifically, the Board needs an assistant secretary for next year. All Board positions are two years with the first year to help, shadow, and train. For reasons, I don’t fully understand but this position seems to spook people. It is not intensive note taking and we aren’t asking for a full transcription. But we do need someone to record our votes. If you are interested in joining the Board, any other volunteering opportunities, or just have questions, please email me at president@pflasa.org.

Please join us,
Ellen Stewart-Klein
PFLASA President