Hornet Herald
News and notes for the week of 8/30/2021
Principal's Message to Hornet Families for the week of August 30th, 2021
Week two was interesting and eventful. It was great to see teachers getting more settled into being back in the classroom and students more comfortable with being around each other. Community has been built in most classes and now its time to shift our focus to aligned instruction. This past week we focused posting objectives and success criteria to assure students were aware of the learning targets and what should be accomplished along the way. As an instructional leadership team, we completed our first round of learning walks and were pleased with what was happening in our classrooms.
This past week, we also started our after school activities and started our volleyball season. We now look forward to our football opener which is delayed at the moment and Back to School Night. We realized an error in our part to the back to school night plan and decided to shift our dates. We still have two dates, September 9th (virtual session) & September 14th (in person session). There is a survey in the announcements below to capture how many people prefer to attend each session. More details will come but for now we are still fine tuning our plan. We look forward to what week 3 has to offer as we progress through this unpredictable school year, striving to be better today than we were yesterday. #ProgressNotPerfection
#BEGREATmentality.
2021-2022 Initiatives and Goals
1.) Daily Formative Assessment
2.) Literacy in Every Classroom
3.) Standards Aligned Instruction
4.) Progress Monitoring
Academic Goal
Utilizing an array of assessments (MAP- Measure of Academic Progress, SCA - AISD Short Course Assessment, and STAAR - State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness), the percentage of each demographic/special group of students performing at the meets level in Math & English will increase by at least 5% - 10% from August 17th, 2021 to May 27th,2022.
Social Goal
- TBA (we are still working on this but planning to look at the types of counseling visits our students are requesting)
Parent Drop Off
Our student drop off process has gone really smooth these past couple of weeks. Please follow the reminders below to continue this smooth process.
- You may drop off on the side opposite of the school ( please let students out on the left side and they can walk down to the cross walk)
- Pull up past the cafeteria before pulling over to drop off (at the very least go past the cross walk)
- Do not drop off in the bus lane (marked off by cones)
- Do not drop off in the middle lane (this is not safe and causes traffic to back up)
Side of School (Salina Street)
-Drop where you stop (If traffic stops, let your scholar out here to move through traffic quicker)
Back of School (On campus)
- there are 2 lanes (please follow Mr. Petteway's instruction to avoid accidents)
- Most common spot for drop off
What happens if A scholar needs to quarantine
Students will have access to work and learning asynchronously through their current BLEND courses (and Seesaw for our K-2nd grade students).
Please reference the parent/guardian resources for how to support with BLEND and Seesaw on our AISD website: https://www.austinisd.org/technology/family-technology-resources
Teacher(s) will communicate with parents/guardians via email, BLEND inbox, or phone periodically.
Please reach out to the teacher(s) with questions.
Teachers will not teach both virtually and in person at the same time.
Students can access tutoring support/homework help (coming soon per AISD).
Ensure your student has their AISD-issued device during their time of quarantine to access BLEND.
Unlikely Heroes! Thank you for helping out!
Thank you James Hawkins for coming over to get our rental chiller back online Tuesday!
Thank you to our PTA Board members for coming over to scout outdoor learning spaces!
Thank you to Mr. Natenberg who took the time to step outside and sit with a scholar!
KMS Safety Protocols as of 8/29/2021
All Day
Mask wearing is mandatory
Before School
All staff, students, and visitors are encouraged to self screen for COVID 19 symptoms before entering into a campus or other Austin ISD Facilities each day
Arrival
- We will maintain outdoor markers to social distance
Transition
- we will encourage moving halls where students are encourage to not stop while transitioning to classes
Classrooms
- We are space seating/desks at least 3 feet apart when feasible
- Each classroom will have a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filtration unit
- Personal Protective Equipment will be available in each room
Breakfast & Lunch
- students are allowed to eat lunch both inside the cafeteria and outside in the courtyard
Dismissal
- we will have staggered dismissal where scholars will be dismissed by areas of the building to reduce traffic.
Upcoming Dates
Monday - August 30th - B Day
Tuesday - August 31st - A Day
Wednesday - September 1st - B Day
Thursday - September 2nd- A Day
PTA Membership Meeting @ 7:45a in zoom
Lady Hornet Volleyball vs O. Henry @6p, 7th grade will be at Kealing, 8th grade will be at O. Henry
Friday - September 3rd - B Day
Saturday - September 4th
Monday September 6th - Labor Day Holiday (No School)
Lady Hornet Volleyball opened their season!
Announcements!
Date Change! Back to School Night is September 9th (Virtual) and September 14th (In person)
Back to School Night 2021-2022 Attendance Survey
So far we have 262 responses
New Business Sponsor!
email: marmstrong18@gmail.com
website: www.midtownrulers.org
phone: 512 663 3475
This Past Week on Campus
Our counselors unveiled a new qr code process to set appointments with students
Mr. Rowan utilizes a question at the door method for students to gain entry
Young Scientists had their first meeting of the year
Ms. Jones and Mr. Denhollem helping scholars
Ms. Lee utilizes the edu display to model thinking
Our socially distanced physical education class!
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Facebook -https://www.facebook.com/KealingMS/
Hornet Herald - http://www.kealingmiddleschool.org/parents/hornet-herald
Twitter - @KTXHornets
Webpage - https://kealing.austinschools.org/