Mills FAQ

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Hello from the Mills Elementary Front Office Staff,

Hopefully this FAQ will answer some of your questions or at least lead you in the right direction. 

 

The Best Front Office Crew in AISD

 

 

Clerk & Chaos Calmer: 

Ara.doffing@austinisd.org

Attendance Specialist & Registrar:

Courtney.cartlidge@austinisd.org

Administrative Assistant & Bookkeeper:

Susan.jetton@austinisd.org

 

 
 

Quick Jump

  
Absence Reporting Arrival & Dismissal Student Devices
Drop Off Items Early Pick Up Student Account Locked
Mills Health Questions Rainy Day Procedures School Performances
Payments to Mills Want to volunteer Scheduling a Tour
Lunch Questions Staying Connected Parent & Student Handbook

 

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

 

  • Can I register for the 25-26 school year yet? 

 

  • How do I view my student's grades? 
    • If you registered your child with Mills, you probably have a parent portal account! This portal has access to so many wonderful things including your child's grades, absences, and other valuable information. Frontline is the best place to get grades!

 

  • How do I pay for things at Mills?
    • Throughout the year, your students may have fees (example: Enrichment fees, Choir Shirt, Birthday Book Club, etc). You can pay online at Mills' Webstore: Millselem.myschoolcentral.com.
      • You will need to create an account for your student. You may need to create two if you have students at multiple schools. For example, if you have a student at Small Middle School AND you have a student at Mills, you will have TWO different accounts, one with Small and one with Mills. 
      • If you get a message that says "Your user session has expired," press the "Please start again" button, and it will send you to the store.
      • If you have multiple students at Mills, you will need to attach each students to your account: They can be found by their full registered name or their student ID (without an "S" in front).
    • Want to pay with Cash or Check? 
      • ALL checks must be written in blue or black ink
      • Make check payable to "Mills Elementary"
      • Be sure money is delivered to the front office, in an enveloped with the following information written on the envelope:
        • Student Name
        • Student's Homeroom Teacher
        • Amount Included
        • Reason for Payment (ex: "Lost Book", "School Donation", etc)
    • If you have any questions, please contact Mills' Magnificent Bookkeeper Susan Jetton at susan.jetton@austinisd.org.

 

 

 

  • How do I get help with my student's Device? Here is a Device Troubleshooting Guide. Please review this thoroughly before reaching out to the Help Desk or our technology wiz Ms. Sanchez. You can also visit our technology page.
    • PK-2nd Grade will have classroom sets of Chromebooks. These will only be used in class and will not go home with students.
    • 3rd-5th Graders will be assigned a Chromebook after school starts. It will be up to the grade level if or when students can take their devices home. 

 

 

  • Bell Schedule:  Be in the building by 7:35AM.  Learning starts at 7:40 and your student will be marked tardy if they are not IN THEIR CLASSROOM by 7:40am. Any student arriving after this time will come to the front office and be marked tardy for the day. Students are dismissed at 3:10pm, except for Pre-K (2:55PM) and Kinder (3:00PM).

 

  • What are the arrival & dismissal procedures? Please review our Arrival & Dismissal Safety page for complete details and a handy map. 
    • Arrival -
      • Arrival Car Ride Drop Off: You can drop off your Mountain Lion by car in two different spots - the front and the side (bus lane). In the front, doors open at 7:15AM. Your child will be ushered into the cafeteria to await the morning trek to class. In the cafeteria, Mountain Lions are organized by grade level and then released to class by grade starting at 7:30AM. The back doors are for walkers only and open at 7:30AM for students. Please do not park in the staff parking lot. Parents can drop kids off at the side bus lane, but again, the doors will not open until 7:15AM
      • Arrival: Walker Drop-Off

        • For First Grade walkers, the students can enter through the side door near the first grade hall. You will usually see a large group of parents waiting near the bike rack in the morning. That door opens at 7:30AM.

        • For Second Grade walkers, the students can enter through the portable gate. Again, you will usually see a large group of parents waiting there in the morning. The gate opens at 7:30AM.

        • For all other walkers, come in the front or side starting at 7:15AM. The back doors are opened at 7:30AM for students. All doors except the front doors will close right before the tardy bell at 7:40AM. After that time, students must go in the front entrance. 
    • Dismissal - 
      • Escorted Pickup
        • PK, Kinder and their siblings will be dismissed in the back blacktop area at 2:55PM and 3:00PM.
      • Car Riders 
        • For first through fifth grade, your Mountain Lion will walk out of Mills at 3:10PM, but they will come out earlier if you are in the car rider line. The car rider line will extend from the flagpole at the front of the school to Lantana and beyond. Please have your student dismissal number in the passenger window of your car. A staff member will come by and text to have your student sent to you. 
      • Walkers 
        • First will exit through the side door near the portable gate. 
        • Second & Fifth will exit through the portable gate.
        • Third and Fourth will dismiss out the front doors.

 

  • What are rainy day procedures?

    • The administration closely monitors all weather. Out of an abundance of caution, some days Mills may enact a rainy-day dismissal to get students home safely and efficiently. Dismissing hundreds of students on a bad weather day means that you should expect possible delays. Thank you in advance for exercising patience. Here are the rules:

      • Parents/caregivers should email teachers no later than 2pm if they are changing their child’s mode of dismissal.

      • Siblings of Pre-K & Kindergarten students will dismiss together and exit out the back door leading to the blacktop. 

      • 2nd Grade Parents who walk home with their children can go directly to the portables to pick up their child. Gates will be open by 2:50pm.

      • Do not crowd the front entrance area or area near the back blacktop doors. Please clear a space so that school staff can help assist students to parents/cars. 

      • If you do not notify school staff for your child who is a walker, the student will be dismissed at normal time. 

 

  • What if our plan for after school pick up changes?   After school change of pick ups should be done as early as possible via email with the teacher.  Change of dismissal message after 2:30 does not guarantee that it will be executed accordingly.

 

  • How do I drop off items for my student?
    • Parents/Guardians will be buzzed into the front vestibule. At the wooden desk, please attach a note to the item and leave it there. It will be delivered asap or a student will be asked to come pick up the item. 

 

  • How do I report an absence? Please review our attendance page. If your child is ill, you have two choices to report the absence:
    • 1) Send an email to the office, mills@austinisd.org, and copy your child's teacher. Please include the date, the student's name, and the reason for the absence. You most likely will not get an automated AISD call about the absence. 
    • 2) Fill out AISD's new absence reporting form. Please scroll to the bottom of the page & do not forget to hit that submit button. Documentation can be uploaded online or turned into the front office. You still may receive an automated AISD call about the absence, but it's ok. The system will update it in a few days. 

 

  • What if my child has a doctor appointment and need to pick up my student early? 
    • If you need to pick your child up for early from school, do so by 2:30pm.
      • No pick ups after 2:30pm due to preparation for end of day dismissal procedures.
    • Notify your child's teacher in advance and and plan to arrive early
      • Parents/Guardians need to a provide driver's license at pick-up.
      • Parents/Guardians cannot call in advance to have students retrieved from class.
      • Parents/Guardians must be on the Mills Campus and physically visible on the front security camera in order for us to release your student from our building.
      • Once at school, buzz the front office with the doorbell outside our main doors, and come inside to request your student. 
      • For medical appointments, make sure you get a school note from the doctor's office. The doctor's note must be submitted within two days. It can be delivered to the front office, submitted via email or submitted via AISD Webform at https://austinisd.org/attendance/report-absence.

 

  • What if I need to reach my child's teacher?    

    • You may email your teacher, but calls will go directly to their voicemail box. Please view our directory for their contact information. 

 

  • What if my child has a medication they need to take while at school?   
    • _______________________ is Mills' school nurse. If your student has medications, they will need while on campus, please fill out this form and email it to our nurse at __________________. Please visit our nurse's corner for more information and rules like your child must be fever free (without fever-reducing medicine) for a full 24 hours or if your child throws up at school, they cannot return that day or the next.

 

  • What if my child has Covid?   

    • If your student is feeling sick, regardless of whether you are vaccinated or not, please stay home, contact your medical provider and email our attendance specialist, mills@austinisd.org. 

    • If you test positive, AISD Health Services and Nursing recommends students and staff to be out for 24 hours after the date of test positivity. Masking upon return to school will remain optional, but recommended for 5 days if symptomatic.

      If you child has COVID and you have questions about when they may return to school, please contact our school nurse,________________________ at _____________________________.

 

  • Where can I view a school performances?

    • The Mills Google Classroom is new to Mills this year. It will be where you can find all the precious school performances we record. We do record most of them. To join the classroom, follow this two page instruction sheet. Our classroom code is mh25ztfh, but first you have to login as your student on the AISD portal! It's all in the instructions.

 

  • How can I become a volunteer at Mills?

    • Please visit our volunteer page for various volunteer opportunities.

    • If you want to help support Mills and volunteer, register at VOLY  and then contact our front office once all the digital paperwork gets processed! You should receive an email.

 

  • Can I have lunch with my child?    
    • Yes, you can have lunch with your child after September Date TBD.
    • At the beginning of the year, students are learning and adjusting to the cafeteria schedule & rules.

 

  • What time is my student's lunch?
    • You can visit our directory for the quickest answer. Your student's teacher might have emailed or given you the information during our Meet the Teacher or Back to School Night events.
    • You can always call the office and ask. 

 

  • How do I add money to my student's cafeteria account?

    • For everything you need to know, visit our Cafeteria page.

    • To add money, please visit the School Cafe website or for greater convenience, download the app for your Apple or Android mobile device.  School Cafe allows parents to put restrictions on purchases.

    • Breakfast in the cafeteria is from 7:15AM until 7:40AM. Below are the costs for meal prices at Mills. 

 

 

  • My student cannot login to their Chromebook. What do we do?

    • If it is Monday - Friday from 8AM to 5PM, you can call the AISD Help Desk at 512-841-4357. They will assist you in unlocking the account.

    • If it is after hours & your student has a pressing educational need to login to their Chromebook at home, please email Ms. Sanchez. She is unable to unlock student accounts as well.