Highlights & Action Items

Welcome Back!
New lunch program: Haute Lunch
Lunchtime visits can start Sept. 11th
How to navigate the GSA car line
GSA's directory: Membership Toolkit
Please bring a smock for art class
Back to School Nights- Sept. 5 and 19
Afterschool program deadline extended- please sign up!
Volunteer with the GSA
Spirit Shirts- Missing shirts and another chance to order
Lend a helping arm- GSA Blood Drive
Save the Date! Fall Celebration

On The Horizon

Welcome back to another exciting year of learning at the Girls' School of Austin! Every Friday, we send out "On The Horizon," our weekly email update. This email will provide you with important announcements, reminders, and dates. We ensure each week brings fresh content to avoid repetition, making each email essential for its unique information. "On The Horizon" and the weekly emails from your child's teacher are the primary school communications. This email may appear in your spam folder initially, so please add us to your “Safe Senders” list. Please make sure to read it thoroughly each week to stay informed!

New Lunch Program: Haute Lunch

Haute Lunch (pronounced Hot Lunch!) is a local Austin company, owned and managed by Austin parents who are also food service professionals. Their goal is to provide a balanced menu with healthy food that your kids will love - familiar choices and healthy options. Please read the welcome letter from our new lunch program!

Lunches can now be ordered throughout the week instead of for the whole week. Orders must be submitted two days before the meal date. For example, if you would like to order lunch for Tuesday, the order will need to be submitted by 11:59pm on Sunday.

The menu for August can be found here.

The menus for the next month will be posted no later than the 25th.

You can set up your account an place your orders here.

Lunchtime Visitors

The start of the school year is a time for setting up routines and expectations for how things work: drop off, dismissal, and lunch. Since this time is so crucial in developing expectations for the whole year, we ask that parents do not come for lunch visits until after clear lunch routines have been established. Back-to-School night is a good milestone to indicate that the school year is fully underway. Parents are welcome to join their students for a lunch visit (11:35am-12:00pm) starting the week of Sept. 11.

Car Line Reminders

As we settle into our routines for the year, we wanted to share some very important reminders about drop-off and pick-up. Our parking lot is on the small side, so we ask that everyone follow these guidelines to help things run smoothly and, most importantly, SAFELY! Thank you in advance for your patience as everyone gets back into the rhythm of our drop-off/pick-up routines. Please read through this important information about dropping off and picking up through the car line.

GSA Directory

In the past, GSA printed a paper directory. Now, we use an app-based directory called Membership Toolkit. The Membership Toolkit app is a great resource for quickly looking up parent names, email addresses, phone numbers, and even addresses if needed. You will find instructions for setting up your account and downloading the app here.

Due to an update, you will need to go through the process of re-connecting your user account online, even if you have done it before.

This tool is INCREDIBLY useful, and we hope you all will take advantage of it! The rosters that were included in your Summer Packets do not reflect the complete roster for your class, so please use Membership Toolkit instead.

Please note: the GSA directory is for school & personal use only.

Smocks for Art Class

Please send your child to school on Monday with a smock for art class to protect their uniforms as they begin working with paint. A smock could be an apron, an old button-down shirt, or even an over-sized t-shirt.

Details for Back to School Night

Please be sure to join us for Back to School Night! Our teachers will be sharing important information about the year. We look forward to seeing you there.

Lower School (K-4th) - September 5th

Happy Hour: 5:00pm

Presentations: 5:30pm-7:00pm

Middle School (5th-8th) - September 19th

Happy Hour: 5:00pm

Presentations: 5:30pm-7:00pm

Afterschool Programs Need Sign-Ups!

Our afterschool programs need your help! We are at risk of having to cancel the following programs due to low sign-ups:

Mad Science (LS- Wednesdays)
Running Club (LS- Thursdays)
Brixology (LS- Fridays)
Dungeons and Dragons (MS- Mondays)
German (MS- Tuesdays)
Yoga on Fridays (MS- Fridays)
Biking Club (MS- Thursdays)

In an attempt to save these offerings, we are extending registration for one more week. (password: welovelearning) Please spread the word among your friends and classmates. We worked hard to create a robust list of offerings for this Fall, and we do not want to cancel any classes if possible. Please help us recruit more students so that our students can all enjoy these enrichment opportunities!

We Love Our Volunteers!

GSA relies on parent and caregiver volunteers in many ways throughout the school year. We encourage every parent to get involved! This not only enhances the GSA experience for our students, but for you as a parent as well. Individual classes will also notify you about other opportunities throughout the year. Please sign up here, and feel free to select as many opportunities as you would like!

Spirit Wear: Missing Shirts and Second Order

Thank you to those of you who came by the MUB on Monday to pick up your spirit shirts! After distributing all of the shirts we had, we were missing 15 shirts. If your child brought home a shirt but you already have one, please send it back with her. If you ordered a shirt and did not receive it, we apologize for the shortage. We should have your shirts ready to hand out by next week. Again, we apologize for the delay.

For those of you who were unable to order Spirit Wear shirts over the Summer, we are opening the order form back up to print another batch of shirts. Please order your shirt(s) by next Friday, August 25th. This will be the last order for the year, so please make sure to get your orders in for this special spirit shirt designed by our 8th Graders!

Order your spirit shirt here!

Calling all Donors: Blood Drive at GSA

Friday, September 8th

1:00pm – 5:00pm

The Girls School of Austin is hosting a Blood Drive in the MUB. This is a great way for GSA parents, teachers, and faculty to support our community and save local lives.

It is easy; just CLICK HERE to schedule your appointment.

Appointments are strongly encouraged, but walk-ins are welcome.

For your eligibility questions, as well as the new FDA guidance issued in April 2020, please click here.

For questions specific to our drive, our “We Are Blood” contact is Crystal Moreno at 512-206-1230 or cflores@weareblood.org

Here at the school, our Blood Drive Coordinator is Jackie Magno - jmagno@thegirlsschool.org

*Remember! Eat a full meal before donating and bring your photo ID.

SAVE THE DATE! Fall Celebration- Sept. 23

Girls and STEM:

Free Community Event

Girlstart presents:

Back to School STEM Extravaganza!

Saturday, August 26th • Times: 9:30am - 12:00pm

Join Girlstart for free, hands-on STEM fun for the whole family at the Girlstart STEM Center at 1400 W. Anderson Lane. Come celebrate back to school and participate in STEM activities for all ages, discover STEM careers, and enjoy star shows in their mini-planetarium!

More info and RSVP here!