LASA Earns the TX PTA Early Bird Award!

LASA PTSA earned the Texas PTA September Early Bird Membership Award! This award is given to PTSAs who reach 100% of the previous year’s membership before the October deadline. That’s not just early, it’s extraordinary!

Thank you to everyone who has joined us already. Every membership matters. If you haven’t had a chance to join us yet, it’s not too late! We are still accepting members for this year. Everyone is welcome to join!

https://www.lasaptsa.org

LASA VOLLEYBALL IS HOSTING A COFFEE TRUCK!!

LASA Volleyball is hosting Travelin’ Toms Coffee Truck on November 3rd from 6:30am-8am for Students, Teachers and Staff.

Come grab a beverage (you’ve earned it!) before class.

As part of the fundraiser, you can show your Teachers and Staff appreciation by donating towards the purchase of a beverage for them at: https://customer.travelintomscoffee.com/#T136X3677759

And it will be delivered by your LASA Booster club.

A variety of caffeinated and non-caffeinated beverages will be available.

PTSA LASA Advocacy: Student Advocacy Group Meetings

LASA PTSA Advocacy invites your student to join the Student Advocacy Group.

This school year, we want to expand our student advocacy curriculum beyond preparing our students for the legislative session. Two areas that we want to explore are (1) what entities exist that directly impact education, and (2) how our students can engage with these entities.

We will meet at the library from 12:05 to 12:55 p.m.

Our esteemed speakers include:

  • Friday, 11/7: Lynn Boswell, Member of Texas Association of School Boards and Trustee for AISD Board of Trustees
  • Friday, 12/5: LaRessa Quintana, Trustee for AISD Board of Trustees (District 2)
  • Friday, 1/23: Edna Ramon Butts, J.D. and Director of Intergovernmental Relations & Policy Oversight for AISD; and
  • Friday, 2/20: Mario Pina, Senior Advocacy Director of Raise Your Hand Texas

Sign-up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0C4AA4A92CA2FB6-59752877-student#/

Advertising booster club fundraisers and spirit night via PFLASA

We are seeing an influx of requests on the FB group. While we want to support everyone, we also would like to keep its primary focus on information sharing. Should you like to advertise an event (and we’d love to know about it!), here are guidelines to optimize your advertising:

  • All posts must be LASA related.
  • First submit your content to the Raptor Report by Sunday midnight to see it in the following Wednesday’s RR (for up to 3 consecutive weeks!). This goes out to the most eyes.
  • On FB, ONCE PER EVENT, as per our group rules 4 and 5 (see below). Posts that contain links to fundraisers in the body of the text are automatically flagged as ‘spam’ by FB. Please post relevant links in the comments.
  • Spirit Nights can only be advertised ONCE on FB, on the day before or day of the event.

P.S. We don’t use the Google groups to advertise these events as we would be overwhelming our families with constant asks.

Thank you all!

PFLASA FB admins

The CONNECT-7 Masterclass: Your First Step into AI-Driven Innovation

Nov. 6th 6:30-7:30p

Introducing students to a practical framework for research-driven innovation. Students gain hands-on exposure to systematic research methods, AI-powered solution-building, and entrepreneurial thinking used to develop startup prototypes, competition pitches, and research publications. It also includes a live AI demonstration showing how to convert data into actionable insights – no coding background required. Participants will leave with a practical roadmap of the framework used for producing independent, evidence-based work that sets them apart in academic and professional environments.

Register here

Great Gathering News

NEW this week!
The Mardi Gras Great Gathering is now open to ALL classes!

NEW this week as well!
The BBQ and Beers is now open to both 2028 AND 2029!

As I type this, we still have:
– 5 SPOTS LEFT for 2026 Ugly Sweater on 12/5

If you’d like to submit your Great Gathering, please fill out this interest form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScr3u7FIMP2kVt-_wE9Hb2byqiaUkvDsLlQQvVpXn3MXGGLYQ/viewform

Thank you for your support of the class of 2026’s Senior Events!

Manue – Great Gatherings chair

LASA Baseball Pointsettia Fundraiser

Support the Raptors Baseball Team by purchasing beautiful poinsettias this fall! 🌺

Plants are $15 each and come in a 6.5 inch pot. Poinsettias will be delivered before Thanksgiving and make wonderful holiday decorations and gifts!

This annual fundraiser not only supports Raptors Baseball, but also benefit Down Home Ranch — a wonderful nonprofit in Elgin, TX that provides opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities through meaningful work, education, and community.

Order now: https://tinyurl.com/3b2p63j4

Thank you!

5th Annual Halloween Costume Fashion Show help needed

The Raptor Library will be hosting it’s insanely popular Halloween Costume Fashion Show on Friday, 10/31, and Ms. Switek could use some help. Set up and clean up will entail moving lots of tables and chairs to create a “runway” and working the event itself could mean handing out candy to participants and signing them in.

Check out the SignUpGenius if you’ve got time to help: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040845A8A722AAFA7-59696644-halloween

Curious what all the spooky fun’s about? Take a peek at the student event flyer!

PFLASA’s Upcoming Great Gatherings!

NEW!! For 2026+2027: Sangria and Tapas, Sat Jan 31, 6-9pm

All other ongoing offerings:

We would love to list something for 2029! Feel free to reach out with questions at greatgatherings@pflasa.org, or submit your Great Gathering here: http://tinyurl.com/GGatherings

As always, we aim to sell out!

Thank you kindly for your support of the Class of 2026, this benefits their Project Graduation!

PFLASA Notes: What have the Parents and Friends of LASA been up to?

An army of PLFASA volunteers have been hard at work planning senior events, building community, and supporting our students, teachers and staff. In November, we will start helping with LASA’s recruitment efforts and application process to bring in new Raptors for next year. Here are a few notes about what we’ve been working on. Thanks to everyone who donated to PFLASA’s No Hassle Fundraiser, we have the financial resources to get it done!

This coming week is Bus Driver Appreciation Week. PFLASA will be showing our appreciation by handing out cards and treats to our hardworking bus drivers. Remind your kids to thank their bus driver. They work hard to get our kids to and from school safely.

In November, PFLASA will be organizing our annual Giving Thanks Pie event where parents donate lots of pies, and teachers and staff can come choose their favorite to take home for the fall break. Sign up to bring a pie (or two!). A SignUpGenius form will be coming out in a few weeks for this. It will contain information and signup options to accommodate various dietary restrictions. Teachers and staff absolutely LOVE this event.

Many PFLASA volunteers have been hard at work planning, booking, and getting contracts lined up for end-of-year events including Senior Salute, Project Graduation, and Coffeehouse. These events all happen at the end of May, but planning starts in the fall. These are all big events that require a lot of planning, hard work, and volunteer time and talent. Coffeehouse is LASA’s yearly music and talent festival – three hours packed with amazing student entertainment. It is quite the show! Senior Salute is the ceremony where our graduating seniors receive their hard-earned Magnet Endorsements. Project Graduation is the senior lock-in on the night of graduation where our graduating seniors  go to have a blast with their friends and more importantly stay safe on graduation night (one of the deadliest nights of the year for teenage drivers).

Project Graduation is such a large event that it has its own supplemental fundraiser — the Project Graduation Auction — which raises funds specifically earmarked to help make Project Graduation a success. Historically, close to 100% of our seniors participate, and we would like to keep it that way by continuing to make it an awesomely fun event. The Project Graduation auction team is still accepting donations. So if you have any items like gift cards, experiences, or really cool objects that you would like to contribute, now’s the time. The Auction will open on Friday, November 7th. Get ready to bid on some great stuff!

Master Classes and Great Gatherings have begun in earnest. Master Classes are zoom-based mini-lectures that anyone can sign up for to learn about anything from Yoga to College Admissions, to how AI works. Great Gatherings are fun, community-building, micro-events like happy hours, crafting, special tasting sessions, and other group activities where folks can meet other LASA parents and have lots of fun. Some are grade-specific, and some are for all grades. Both the Master Classes and the Great Gatherings are fundraisers for PFLASA. Tickets for Master Classes and Great Gatherings can be purchased in the PFLASA online store (https://pflasa.org/store/).

The first Master Class was this past Thursday and was well-attended. “Inside the Admissions office” had great info about how to get ready to be able to tell a good story on your college application. Lots of great Master Classes are coming up. Registrations close at 10pm the night before the class, so make sure to register before the deadline.

Did you know that PFLASA organizes the after school science study groups and provides tutors to answer questions and help students at those study sessions? Students who need extra help in Biology, Chemistry, or Physics can attend after school study group sessions to get the help that they need. Did you know that PFLASA also provides subsidies for AP testing fees? PFLASA’s Raising Healthy Raptors committee also hosted a timely talk this past Sunday about “Supporting Students Through Academic Stress.” These are just a few of the many ways in which PFLASA directly supports our students in their academic pursuits.

PFLASA helps to recruit each new generation of Raptors and mentor them through the application process. We’ll be on-hand at Showcase (Thursday, November 13th from 6-8pm) to answer parent and student questions. PFLASA also provides a meal for the teachers who come in on their off-time to help out. Showcase is our open-house for prospective parents and students. Help get the word out! We also mentor students through the application process, including outreach sessions at Title 1 schools and zoom-based sessions to help any prospective student with their application essays. Volunteer training sessions are coming up soon. If you are interested, please fill out this form. Contact Emily Robson at mentoring@pflasa.org with questions.

All of this is only possible because of the heroic efforts of our amazing No Hassle Fundraiser team, from which a large portion of our funds come. I know you’ve heard it before, but I’d like to say it again… Thank you to all of the folks who donated and contributed to making this year’s No Hassle Fundraiser such a success. Your money is hard at work improving the LASA experience for everyone.

– Angela Graveline, PFLASA Vice President