Hello Mighty Mustang Community and prospective future St. Elmo Mustangs.
I would like to thank our wonderful St. Elmo Elementary Community for an amazing 2021-2022 school year. We faced many challenges and tribulations, but we persevered—united as one— and we made it through successfully. Like our theme for the school year said, Boldly Go St.
Elmo.
We said goodbye to an incredible class of 5th graders at our Bridging Ceremony on May 26 and our student speeches from Jackie V. and Ahmed J. were inspiring and touching. We will never forget you St. Elmo class of 2022 and remember, Once a Mustang, Always a Mustang.
We also graduated a marvelous class of Kindergarteners On May 27 and I couldn’t have thought of a better way to end the school year. If you haven’t had a chance to watch the video of a few of them giving their wise advice to this year’s AISD graduating seniors, here’s a link to check it out: St. Elmo Kindergarteners Advice to Graduating Seniors
While we re-charge our batteries this summer, we want to remind all our families of the importance of reading and practicing math facts. Please continue to read with your emerging reader students for at least 30 minutes a day and to ensure that your established readers read 30 minutes on their own as well. This will be crucial for our kiddos to maintain their skills. We are SO proud of the academic, social, and emotional growth they showed this year. Thank you, families, for all of your hard work and support.
Here are a few things we’d like you to know about that we are planning for next year:
- We will have a Elmo Elementary Yard Sign Event sometime in mid to late July. The purpose of this event is for families to pick up a new, custom, St. Elmo Elementary Yard sign and to have popsicles with the principal. We also encourage you to bring a neighborhood friend who maybe doesn’t go to St. Elmo so we can show them how cool our school is! You know I can’t go too long without knowing what you’re all up to so please be on the lookout for an announcement concerning this.
- If you would like to help with summer garden maintenance, please fill out this short google form: Summer Garden Maintenance Form
- Our PK-3 program will be moving inside the main St. Elmo campus beginning next year and will no longer be located inside the Learning Center at Sierra Vista. We are currently working hard to secure funding to keep it a full-day program, however, it may change to a half day PK-3 program if we can’t secure the outside funds necessary. We will let our community know as soon as We would like to thank F.C. for this multi-year partnership.
- Foundation Communities will still partner with Elmo for after school programming and they are hoping to hire enough staff to raise the number of available spots for the 2021-2022 school year. They will be doing enrollment for the Fall in July/August. As usual, priority will be given to residents and current participants
- We are also attempting to secure after school programming through the Boys and Girls Thanks to all of you who have already filled out the interest survey for this programming. If you haven’t already, here is a link: Boys and Girls Club Interest Survey. More information on this will be forthcoming.
- We’ve already selected a themefornextyear and we’d love help from our families to realize it The first thing would be to help with decorations for our 2022- 2023 school year kick-off in August. If you’re interested in helping with this, please email me at ben.mccormack@austinisd.org
As I begin to decompress and reflect on the school year that just ended, I find myself smiling as I think about all the strength it took to for our students, staff, families, and community to never give up, and to “boldly go” forward. We did it y’all!!! I am truly honored to serve as
the lead learner of the St. Elmo Community and am excited for what’s to come! Rest up, don’t forget to read… and let’s get “Back to Our Future!”
Your loving principal,
Ben McCormack
p.s. Yes, there is a HINT to next year’s theme thrown in this communication toward the end.
