Raptor Report

No meeting to recap but we are holding our joint meeting with PTSA and will welcome the Trustees. It’s really nice for them to get a sense of how involved our parents are so even if you don’t normally come, if you can, I highly encourage it. And we are stuffing acceptance envelopes afterwards! Say it with me now: Friday 2/21 @ 8:15am in the PFLASA Portable by the tennis courts.

In the spirit of transparency and inclusiveness. I’d like to highlight some other needs for next year. First, we need a Vice President for next year. The structure of the board is that the VP shadows the President and takes over the following year as President. Freshman parents I’m looking to you. You’ve had a year to acclimate to LASA and get some idea of all that PFLASA does to support your child’s education. The VP job is really fun and being President also has some unique joys. I love passing on praise that we get to our hardworking volunteers. I know it is a big commitment, but the organization will not run without a chief officer.

Did your kid love the petting zoo? Did holding a hedgehog or bunny melt their pre-finals stress away? We need two co-chairs to host this event next year. This is not a big-time commitment because it only requires being at the school the day of the event. And former chairs are still here for questions and it comes with a checklist made by past chair Geeta!

Finally, we have no takers for the PFLASA webmaster spot. This is an excellent job for a techy dad who doesn’t have the ability to make it to school. Again, expressing interest does not commit you to anything. Email me at President@pflasa.org

Again hoping everyone keeps water and power to survive the cold!
Ellen Stewart-Klein
PFLASA President

First, I want everyone to know that the next PFLASA meeting (2/21) with be a joint meeting with PTSA AND afterwards volunteers are needed to help stuff LASA Admission Acceptance Letters. PTSA is bringing in two AISD Board Trustees including newly elected District 2 Trustee LaRessa Quintana. LASA is in District 2. Also Trustee and former LASA parent, Lynn Boswell, will be there. This is an excellent time to ask questions about the budget and the process as AISD seeks to cut millions of dollars from the budget. These decisions will affect every student in AISD so this in an excellent forum to become more informed.

Second, in one of the most fun PFLASA activities of the year, volunteers will stick around after the meeting (so save an extra 30 minutes or so) to stuff acceptance letters. You might remember getting that special envelope with confetti and an invitation to the New Parent Coffee (set for 3/29—signups coming shortly). This is your chance to prep those letters for next year’s freshman class. And no this will not give you inside information on who is admitted because the acceptance letters are not personalized, they will be addressed by LASA staff. The sign up will be out soon but I want everyone to have the chance to participate if they want.

Next, the PFLASA meeting was kind of fun with a lot of parent questions and answers. We know there are a lot of acronyms (WHAP, IEP), confusing requirements, things to do over the summer (PE camp, Garza Health online) and PFLASA meetings are an excellent forum to get some answers. We also heard about new and upcoming Master Classes, a new event from the Raising Health Raptors committee, the upcoming Meditation Great Gathering (for all classes) (details on or to come to our website pflasa.org). And PFLASA considers Great Gatherings to be community building more than fundraising events. The money and the motivation are nice, but we really want people to interact. If that appeals to you, then fill out this form.

After we concluded our meeting, we had a presentation from Ms. Cherry on AP exams. This year LASA is set to administer over 4000 AP Tests! That’s a lot. And the mechanics of administering that many tests, finding the number of rooms, having enough proctors and monitors, is also a lot. Here are three really, really, really important things to know about AP exams.

1. AP Exams start at 8am (school starts at 8:15), every year students get locked out of test.
2. Many kids have two exams on the same day and with testing periods running over sometimes those kids don’t have time for lunch. PFLASA provides breakfast every morning and grab & go snacks, so these kids (and all the stressed out kids) have something to eat.
3. PFLASA subsidizes tests for those who need and ask for it. This is one of the things I’m proud that PFLASA does, and no student or financial information is ever given to PFLASA. LASA Admin oversees this, so it is confidential. The tests are very expensive especially if taking multiple tests. Please ask for help if you need it.

This is the part where I ask for help but I’m going to highlight a variety of tasks and events that need volunteers. As mentioned above, the New Parent Coffee is March 29th. We need lots of parents to answer the questions from the parents of “baby Raptors.” You might think you don’t know enough about LASA to answer questions, but you know so much more than those incoming parents. Also if your student has an interest (math) or activity (band), you know about that. I promise its also okay to not know and to tell them to call the counselors or talk to another parent. Sometimes new parents need the “permission” to contact the school. It’s a fun time and is so helpful for our Raptor Community.

Finally, I’m going to highlight an open chair position. We need two co-chairs for the Appreciations Committee for next year. This is a fun and flexible job where you get to show teachers, staff, bus drivers, everyone who works for LASA how much they are appreciated. The good news is that the former chairs will be here next year for advice. Please write me at president@pflasa.org for more information.

Happy Valentines and Three-Day Weekend,
Ellen Stewart-Klein
PFLASA President