TSD students honored first responders with coffee and treats during National First Responders Day in late October.
 
TSD Homecoming Royalty Erin C. and Trent G. delivered donuts and coffee to APD officers, AFD firefighters, and TXDPS troopers.
 
APD took to Twitter soon after their visit and tweeted, "Today, Texas School for the Deaf visited APD in honor of National First Responders Day. Thank you for the donuts and coffee! Special thanks to second graders that sent their beautiful drawings to share with our officers!"

TSD's cafeteria staff hosted the annual Thanksgiving Holiday Luncheon on November 18th. They were joined by staff volunteers who helped serve meals for TSD students and prepare approximately 275 to-go meals for TSD staff.
 
Appreciating the work of TSD cafeteria's staff, Superintendent Claire Bugen said, "As I returned to my office after my shifts with a slight ache in my lower back, I'm reminded of how hard our cafeteria staff work every day."
 
Beth Smiley shared, "I LOVE seeing students' eyes widening when they see a variety of staff from different positions team up with the Food Service workers. It is my FAVORITE part!"
 
TSD also participated in its first Big Thanksgiving Food Drive to support over 20 TSD families. Thanks to Bianca DeChristofaro for helping to coordinate this effort.

TSD’s High School Forensic Science class was provided the opportunity to witness the sentencing of a 1st degree murder at the Travis County Courthouse in early November.
 
Marshall Edward Vogt, who was an investigator with Travis County District Attorney’s office,  helped coordinate the visit with Forensic Science teacher Tara Holaday. Students were able to meet with the 299th Criminal District Court Judge Karen Sage and Amber Farrelly, a criminal defense attorney who specializes in defending Deaf clientele.
 
Of the experience, Holaday said, “It is always nice to see our students interacting with adults of different professions that we don't see on a day -to -day basis. For this event, our students were able to experience first-hand the judicial system and how counties may run their cases differently. They were able to see how critical it is to preserve and analyze evidence for the authorities."

As part of their unit of study on Government, the 2nd grade team was honored to welcome Phil Campero Brual to present to their students.  Phil, an Austin Mayoral candidate and CODA, jumped at the opportunity to meet with our Rangers.
 
Phil reviewed different concepts related to government and the role of different elected officials.  He also gave the students the opportunity to vote on things such as their favorite animal and ice cream flavor.  Then, they worked collaboratively to create posters, explaining what changes they would like to see in our city.
 
When discussing voting with the Elementary students, Phil emphasized, “It’s okay to disagree.  We can still be friends, even if we have differing opinions.  It’s important to respect everyone’s opinion."
 
The students held onto every word Phil said during his presentation.  He had them laughing, asking questions, and making connections.  It’s no surprise that Phil is a natural when it comes to engaging students.  After all, it’s in his blood; his mom is HS Social Studies teacher, Jennifer Campero.
 
The 2nd graders came prepared with a list of questions they wanted to ask Phil. One student inquired about why he wants to be Mayor, and Phil explained that he feels he can fix the problems Austin is facing and help the people in our city.

Phil reflected on his experience, sharing, “It was really amazing to be able to give back to the future generation. I’m glad they were so excited to learn about government and how they can change the world themselves."