WHO:              Students, staff and families from Thomas Haley Elementary School, Travis Middle

School and Singley Academy

Irving ISD Parent and Family Engagement Department

Parents Step Ahead

Nissan

WHAT:            Three Irving ISD campuses will get a makeover, thanks to a special partnership with Parents Step Ahead, Nissan and the district’s parent and family engagement department. Thomas Haley Elementary School, Travis Middle School and Singley Academy were each awarded $4,000 to purchase supplies to spruce up their campuses. Students, staff and families from each of the schools will donate their time and efforts to these beautification projects as part of a Family Day celebration this weekend.

Diversity blooms and is on full display at Thomas Haley. To greet all who enter the campus, “welcome” will be painted across the foyer in 24 languages to represent the dialects spoken by students. In each student restroom, quotes of love and encouragement will be on display to remind students just how unique and special they are. In addition, a weather center will be created outside of the library to be used during the student morning broadcast. Volunteers will also sand and stain a symbolic bridge donated by a parent to be utilized during end-of-year “bridging ceremonies” denoting a students rite of passage from elementary to middle school.

Travis Middle School will get a new outdoor classroom to allow teachers to take learning outdoors – plants will be used for biology learning, and the upkeep of planters will give LIFE classes learning opportunities. Murals with inspirational words and images of encouragement will be painted around the school, vinyl banners will be hung on stairways and decor and furniture will be added to make the campus more inviting.

The projects at Singley Academy are intended to “spark the joy of a Phoenix.” Volunteers will create a Sip & Read area in front of the library, complete with eye-catching modular seating. On the northside of the campus, garden planter boxes will be revitalized to grow flowers and vegetables, and volunteers will add storage areas to organize all of the necessary supplies, decor and other items needed to execute a popular Singley celebration – posada.

WHEN:            Saturday, March 30

8 a.m. – Breakfast and opening ceremony at Travis Middle School

9 to 11:30 a.m. – Beautification projects at T. Haley, Travis and Singley

                         12 p.m. – Lunch and closing ceremony at Travis Middle School

WHERE:           Thomas Haley Elementary School

                        3601 Cheyenne St.

                        Irving, TX 75062

                        Travis Middle School

                        1600 Finley Road

                        Irving, TX 75062

Singley Academy

                        4601 N. MacArthur Blvd.

                        Irving, TX 75038

WHY:               What begins within the household is what will form the foundation of a child’s

future. Parents Step Ahead (PSA) targets the formation of sustainable partnerships with school districts, parents, teachers, corporations and community organizations to promote family unity and student academic success. Through activities such as Family Day, PSA fosters a sense of school service through family educational activities.