President’s Message

Hello Travis Community!

We are roaring our way through the first week of our CastleQuest FUN RUN and we have already raised almost $100k!! - WOW! Thank you to every single student and family who is sharing their PLEDGE PAGE with friends and family far and wide! Every dollar and donation matters!

Check out our current grade level leaders for pledges:

Kinder - Castrejon
1st Grade - Harrington
2nd Grade - Treadway
3rd Grade - Smith
4th Grade - Grinfeder
5th Grade - Landau

TOP 3 Classes Overall! - Go Tigers!
Castrejon
Treadway
Strempel

MONDAY is NEON Day in celebration of unlocking our $80k fundraising goal - next up is $120K - We got this!!!

Wishing you well!

Andrea French
Travis PTA President

Travis Fun Run - Sept. 20th

The annual Travis Fun Run is Friday, September 20th, and is the culmination of 2 weeks of fundraising for our school. So what are some things Fun Run funds pay for? We are so glad you asked! The funds we raise pay for: field trips, camping trips, our garden staff and supplies (including the salary for our two amazing garden teachers), and so much more. But in order to fund these things, PTA needs your help! Pledges can be made as a flat donation or per minute to Boosterthon. Use Travis ID 222-986, and donate now!

Parents can cheer from the fences of the Spark Park - see the schedule below.

K 8:00 - 8:35am

1st 9:55 - 10:30am

2nd 10:30 - 11:05am

3rd 9:15 - 9:50am

4th 8:35 - 9:10am

5th 11:10 - 11:45am

Parents who are VIPS approved can volunteer to help out during the Fun Run by signing up on Parent Square. Let us know if you have any questions by emailing Health and Wellness Co-Chairs!

Grandparents’ Day Lunch

Grandparents and family members are invited to join their student during their designated lunch period on Friday, September 13th. Admission tickets were sent home through classroom teachers for parents to distribute. Family members will wait in the library until their grade level lunch begins. This is a free event - guests may bring their own food or purchase an optional cafeteria meal separately through the front office for $5. PTA recommends advanced purchase if you plan to buy the cafeteria meal.

Travis Running Club

If your 3rd-5th grader is interested in joining the Travis Running Club, then read on! This will be Travis’ fourth season to participate! The Club's grant from the Houston Marathon Foundation has been renewed and the students will train for the opening race of Houston Marathon weekend, the We Are Houston 5K on Saturday, January 18, 2025. There is a $25 participation fee to join the Club. Running experience in a 5K race (or other distance) is NOT required. Race participants may run at any pace. Attendance will be taken at each practice, as required by our grant. Exceptions will be made for illnesses/injuries. The interest form is online or can be accessed by scanning the QR code above. The Running Club interest form is due by the end of school Friday, September 13th with student response. There are 40 spots available for this season.

Season Start Date: Friday, September 27, 2024
Season End Date: Friday, January 17, 2025
Number of Practices: 10 (+ recommended running during school breaks)
Practice Day/Time: Fridays, 6:45 - 7:15am @ the Travis Track
Drop-off Location: Florence Street Travis Spark Park entrance

Please email Kristian.borden@houstonisd.org with any questions!

Garden Work Days

Join fellow Travis families for garden workdays on Saturday, September 14th and Sunday, September 22nd from 8 - 10 am.  We will be cleaning and preparing garden beds for the upcoming Fall planting season. Please bring garden gloves and your water bottle.  For questions, please contact Kasey Todd and Kat Robinson at environmental@travispta.org.

We hope to see you in the garden!

GT Testing:

If you want your Travis Tiger to GT tested, make sure to see Mrs. Lytle’s message in Parent Square for more info and fill out the GT Testing Request Link by September 16, 2024.

Travis Fun Run - Halfway to Our Goal!

As we outlined above, the funds raised by Fun Run as so important to Travis. That’s why our goal this year is $160,000.00, and we are halfway there! In celebration of hitting $80,000.00, our Travis Tigers get to dress up in their finest neon on Monday, Sept. 16th. So get those neon clothes ready and make sure to keep sending those fun run donation emails to family and friends!

Travis Spirit Day & Night - Dish Society!

Mark your calendars for the next Travis Spirit Night (& Day!) - Thursday, Sept. 26th ALL DAY at Dish Society on Yale St. Mention Travis Elementary at check-out to earn our school 20% of sales. Thanks Dish Society and go Travis Tigers!

Report Cards!

First six weeks report cards will go home on Friday, September 27th.

Odyssey of the Mind

Odyssey of the Mind is the ultimate creative problem-solving program! Students form teams of 5-7 students to creatively solve a unique open-ended problem each year (click here for a breakdown of this years problems).  Preference will go to already formed teams, with two adult volunteer coaches. If you are an individual that is interested, we will work to place you on a team, as long as there are extra spaces available. Team meeting times and locations will be managed by each individual team, so work together with some friends to create your group! District Competition is Feb 22, 2025. A $30 fee will cover all competition fees (scholarships available). Volunteer Coaches are provided training and have fees waived. Fill out a google form if interested in participating: https://forms.gle/q8TVTbgL3kABCVjo6

SAVE THE DATE: Travis Fall Carnival

Mark your calendars! The Travis Fall Carnival is Saturday, October 26th from 11am-3pm. More details to come. And many thanks to our lead carnival sponsor, Kasia McCormick with Compass!

Hospitality Shoutout of the Week

Travis PTA would like to give a BIG thank you to neighborhood businesses that give us discounts and donations for our various events. Thank you to La Mex and Uncle Bean’s Coffee for the generous donations at last week’s Coffee with Mr. Church! We appreciate their continued support!

Meet Your PTA

PTA Board is proud to present our STEM Co-Chairs, Michelle Maddox and Alyssa Mays. Michelle is a mom of three, Elliott (2nd grade), Elizabeth (Kinder), and Everett (1 year old). When she isn’t chasing Everett around, she loves to read and spend time with friends and family. Alyssa is mom to third grader Kai Mays. Being raised by a Science teacher and currently being a Development Manager to Engineers has played a big part in her interest in STEM. When she isn't working or trekking to Kai's many activities and sports, she enjoys reading and dreaming of her next trip to Disney.

The STEM Committee spearheads three major activities throughout the year: (1) Travis' Odyssey of the Mind Teams, (2) STEM Night, and (3) Travis' Robotics Teams. Odyssey of the Mind is an afterschool activity that is a creative, problem solving competition, which culminates in a competition against other schools in our region. STEM Night gathers STEM members of the community to come to our school and present their science/technology projects to our Travis Tigers. PTA’s STEM Committee also provides programming and scholarship support for Robotics.

If you are interesting in volunteering for any of these amazing activities, please reach out to the STEM committee! at stem@travispta.org!