Dear Mark Twain Families,

We are off to a GREAT start!

On Friday, you received your child’s progress report and BOY (Beginning of Year) testing data. These results are a helpful snapshot of where students are starting the year and will help our teachers support their continued learning and growth.

Want to learn more about your child’s results? You can find family resources for NWEA MAP data here and DIBELS (Kinder–2nd grade) here. If you have questions about your child’s individual results, please reach out to their teacher. We are here to partner with you and support every student’s growth this year!

And we have something exciting to celebrate: Last year, Mark Twain had the most students reaching their growth goals on DIBELS! Way to go, Tigers! 

4 Ways to Support Learning at Home — Little Things Add Up!

📚 Read
Reading to and with your child is one of the best ways to strengthen reading skills. Mix it up with fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and other genres.

➕ Make Math Fun
Math is everywhere! Talk about distance, time and money. Cook together, measure ingredients, or solve everyday problems as a family. Bedtime Math is another fun resource to make math part of your daily routine.

✏️ Write
Encourage your child to write stories, letters, and thank-you notes; keep a journal. Every opportunity to write builds confidence and skills.

🌎 Explore
Visit museums, libraries, zoos, and nature centers. Learning happens everywhere!

Absences & Tardies

Being at school every day and on time is so important. Those first few minutes of the morning matter! Students connect with classmates, settle into their routines and get ready for a successful day of learning.

Attendance is taken each day at 9:00 a.m. If your child is in class at 9:00 a.m., they are counted present. Please be mindful of this time and help us make every school minute count.

Attendance matters for another important reason: Mark Twain receives funding based on our average daily attendance. Being here and being on time supports both your child and our entire school community.

Fun Run Is Here!

We officially kicked off the Mark Twain Fun Run on Friday, and our students had a GREAT time at lunch learning about all the fun — including the prizes!

Fun Run is a BIG fundraiser for Mark Twain, and your support makes a tremendous impact. PTO funds help support important programs and resources across our campus, including:

• IB programming — materials, training, teacher planning, and dues

• Hourly teachers who provide additional support for student learning

• Additional police officers to help keep arrival safe and running smoothly

We are so VERY thankful for YOU and your continued support of Mark Twain. These funds go a long way toward making our amazing school even stronger.

Most of all, I am incredibly proud of our Mark Twain students. They are working hard, growing every day and demonstrating the qualities of the IB Learner Profile throughout our school.

Way to go, Mark Twain Tigers! I’m so proud of you!

Respectfully,
Michele Rawson
Principal

As we encourage our students to inquire and think critically and creatively - how do we help students to confidently talk and write about what they are learning, and explain how they have constructed their ideas?

We continually ask, “How do you know this?” Beginning in kindergarten, we teach students to cite their sources – where they find information. In the following years, we teach how to accurately cite and reference their sources.

Questions? Contact:

Kathleen Blakeslee, IB Coordinator

GENERAL VOLUNTEER INFORMATION

Reminder that any type of volunteering at Twain requires VIPS approval through the school district.

FIND YOUR PLACE AT TWAIN!

Ready to get involved? We'd love to have you!

Whether you have an hour to give, want to help in your child's classroom, or are ready to join an event committee, there's a place for you at Twain.

Visit our Volunteer Hub to tell us what you're interested in and explore current volunteer opportunities.

We have openings for helping in the Cafeteria and the Library, so please sign up, even if you only have a few minutes a day!

ONGOING FUNDRAISERS

1. Mabel's Labels - Go to Mabel's Labels, select Mark Twain and start shopping!

2. Minted - 20% off your entire order! 

               Use Code: FUNDRAISEMARKTWAIN

3. Box Tops - Your normal grocery shopping can help support Twain. Download the app to see hundreds of different products (not just cereal!) that can help out: Box Tops for Education

Have You Registered for Friends & Family yet?

Our Friends & Family Fundraiser is underway, and we want to get every Twain Tiger registered!

REGISTER BY SEPTEMBER 11 AT 3:00 PM and your student will be entered into our Spooky Wristband Raffle! We’ll have one lucky winner per grade!

4th & 5th Grade — We Need You! If we reach 75% registration in 4th & 5th grades, students will unlock a COLOR RUN on Fun Run Day! 

Remember, registration is FREE and no donation is required to register. 

Every registration helps us get closer to unlocking our school-wide incentives!

Let’s go, Twain Tigers!

Register, share your page with friends & family, and help us reach our goals!

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Fundraiser: September 4 – October 4
Fun Run: September 25

Get ready to RUN, Tigers! 

NEXT STOP ON THE TWAIN TIGERS WORLD TOUR! 🌎

Pack your appetite and join us for one of Twain's favorite community traditions! Our International Potluck is an evening to celebrate the cultures, flavors, and families that make our Twain community so special.

Bring a favorite dish to share and enjoy an evening of food, friends, and flavors from around the globe!

No entry fee...just bring a dish from your country/culture to share!

Homemade or store-bought dish ok (please indicate any common allergens)

Feel free to dress in cultural wear or sports jerseys.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Wednesday, September 23
6:00 PM • Twain Cafeteria

Questions? Contact our Cultural Exchange Directors:
Elizabeth Wagner, Farrah Najmuddin Lang & Danielle Ward-Griffin

COVER ART CONTEST

Submit your rocking art for the chance of it being our 2026-2027 Yearbook Cover!

Submissions due Friday, September 25th!

Your submission and all of its elements must be your original creation. 

Drop your finished artwork in the front office or in the Library in the “Yearbook Cover Contest” box

Spooky Spectacular T-Shirt Art Contest!

Spooky Spectacular is Mark Twain Elementary's Fall Festival.

Calling all Twain artists! All students are invited to submit their original artwork for the 2026 Spooky Spectacular T-Shirt Contest!

The Grand Prize winner will see their artwork featured on the front of the official 2026 Spooky Spectacular T-shirt and will receive a Spooky prize package including:

• Festival wristband to Spooky Spectacular
• Meal ticket
• Spooky Spectacular T-shirt
• Spooky Spectacular Gift Bag!

Grade-level winners (Kinder through 5th) will be recognized and receive a Spooky gift bag full of goodies!

Submissions are due on Monday, September 14th!

MARK YOUR CALENDAR (more details to come!)

Saturday, October 24
10:00 AM - 02:00 PM • Twain Campus

Questions?

Contact our Spooky Chairs: Connie Pei, Gavin Erie, or Jennifer Floyd

Q&A with Principal Rawson 

Thank you to all who made it to the Q&A and coffee with Principal Rawson.🐯☕

GT (Gifted & Talented)

Testing Requests are due by September 25th. All 2nd graders are universally tested, so no need to request them.

This year uses NGAT. Each section is 30 minutes, entirely online. Results available in December for use next school year.

Reminder that once a student qualifies as GT, they remain so for their entire HISD tenure.

GT Students need to qualify for all 4 subjects (Math, ELA, Science, & Social Studies) to be entered into lotter for Vanguard programs.

504 Plans/IEPs

The school does NOT diagnose ADHD, as that is a medical diagnosis. Having that diagnosis is taken into consideration with Twain's MTSS - Multi-Tier Support System.

This helps to determine whether a student needs more help in the classroom, or more involved help.

Arrival time & Attendance

Please try to get kids to school by 7:10 so they can snag a free breakfast, but also have time to socialize from 7:20 until instruction starts at 7:30. That can add up to an hour or 90+ minutes for the week, which is huge for kids.

Reminder that attendence needs to be above 90% for the year, or else a student will need to attend summer school.

Religious holidays are NOT considered absences. If HISD does not celebrate a specific holiday that your family does, please send a note (or email) to Denise Rodriguez and the teacher with what the holiday was.

Parent Lunch Sign-Ups

Parents will be able to sign up to have lunch with their kids starting in October. Reminder that students cannot invite friends. Check the start times for each class and grade level. Each class will have 5 signups per day.

Part-Time Employment Opportunity (Extended Day)

A great gig for High School or College-Age kids! Flexible hours, but a minimum of 2 days/week, at a minimum 2 hr block. Can be as many as 3 hrs (2:45 to 5:45) for 5 days/week.

Please reach out to the front office if you know someone who would be interested!

FIRST FRIDAY PARENT COFFEE 

Thanks to everyone who joined us for our September First Friday Parent Coffee! We loved seeing so many familiar faces, welcoming new ones, and spending a relaxed morning together. These casual get-togethers are all about connecting and building our Twain community — and little kiddos are always welcome!

We missed getting a photo of the whole group, but we managed to grab this one with a few of our last coffee crew standing as we wrapped up the morning! 

SAVE THE DATE — NEXT FIRST FRIDAY PARENT COFFEE
📅 Friday, October 2 • 9:00 AM
📍 La Tazza

Grab a cup of coffee, meet some new parents, catch up with friends, and join us for a fun morning with our Twain community.

We hope to see you there! 🐯☕

Looking for Twain gear, spirit wear, personalized goodies, or a special way to celebrate your Tiger? We've got you covered! Visit the Twain Marketplace to explore all the ways to shop, show your Tiger Pride, and support our school.

SCHOOL STORE
Stock up on Twain essentials, school gear, and more.

SUGAR LAND INK SPIRIT STORE
Show your Tiger Pride with spirit wear for the whole family.

LET JEN DO IT!
Shop personalized Twain favorites and custom goodies.

BIRTHDAY GRAMS
Make your Tiger's birthday extra special with a birthday celebration at school!

Did you know we're looking for parents to help bring new clubs to Twain? If you have an interest or talent you'd love to share with our Tigers, we want to hear from you!

Service Club • Chess Club • Art Club • Drama Club • And more!

Have another great idea? All ideas are welcome! Visit our Clubs page to explore current clubs and learn how you can help start something new at Twain.

Don't wait until the end of the year to order your 2026–2027 Twain Yearbook! Purchase your copy now to take advantage of early-bird pricing and guarantee you'll have all the memories from our Twain Tigers World Tour to look back on for years to come.

Submit your first day of school photos to share!

Tiger Tracks – Good News Edition is all about celebrating the people, moments, milestones, and everyday wins that make our Twain community so special!

Saw a kind moment on campus? Want to shout out a teacher or staff member? Have a student accomplishment, team victory, community achievement, or simply something that made you smile?

Big wins, small victories, and everything in between—we want to celebrate it!

Want an easy way to support our amazing teachers and staff? Shop the Amazon wish list by clicking on the link below - help keep the teacher workroom stocked with snacks and other much needed items.

Every purchase, big or small, helps keep our teachers fueled and appreciated!

First Pershing Boys Lacrosse Practice:

Monday, September 21st 4:30-6:30PM

Pershing Middle School fields off Stella Link

NEVER MISS A BEAT! 

From school events and PTO meetings to parent gatherings and special Twain traditions, stay up to date with everything happening in our community.

Have news, an event, or an announcement for a future edition of Twain Times? Submit your content through our website and we'll help get the word out!