Here are a couple of items to know:

• All students will be allowed to make their own choice. Students should not be asked to wear a mask or be given incentives for choosing to wear a mask.
  
• Masks are optional during all athletic events and performances for both students and guests.
  
• Close Contact - Individual classroom letters will no longer be sent home.

• Any asymptomatic individual (except those who have tested positive) may remain at school as long as they are asymptomatic.

• For close contacts, asymptomatic individuals may remain in school.

For more information click link below

AISD Mask optional

Hello families,

We are now in our final week before Spring Break. We are excited to have Samantha Bates start in the Science 6 classroom tomorrow and have interviews scheduled for our English Language Arts 7 vacancies. We will look to schedule interviews for other vacancies before leaving for Spring Break. Our goal is to find a quality candidate for each vacancy before leaving. This past week I worked collaboratively with 4 amazing parents and 3 teachers to create questions for and interview candidates for our next Magnet Director. We now have 3 finalists we are all excited about and will interview on Tuesday to see which will be the best fit for our campus. I will continue pop in meetings and surveys to gauge the climate of our campus as we move forward. The results of our 2/25 biweekly survey indicated the climate is still not where we would like it and the main issues shared were hallway behavior, Walkthroughs, and uncertainty. Actions to address these concerns are below in the action plan update. Our main goal at this time is keeping each and every teacher we have and filling the vacancies that exist at this moment. Rest assured, Kealing will stay the strong program Austin has learned to grow and love.

Thank you for choosing Kealing Middle School and Austin ISD, feel free to reach out to me directly for any reason at all: jerald.wilson@austinisd.org

Hornet Parents,

It is time to start planning for next year. We need three volunteers to serve on the nominating committee to find people to serve on next year's executive board. If you would like to serve on the committee or would like to serve on the board, please send an email expressing your interest to president@kealingpta.org.

Thank you to everyone who has donated to the We Love Kealing Spring Fundraising Drive! We have reached our goal and can fulfill our promises to our students, teachers and staff. We will be able to purchase items for fine arts and science, fund field trips, pay for the 8th grade end of year celebration, and much more. We appreciate every donation of any size. If you were planning to donate, it's not too late. We will continue to accept donations. Huge thanks to Helen Yang, Shannan Reimer, Jen Loving and Nisha Rocap for working hard on the campaign.

We have a lot of volunteer opportunities on campus - lunch and hallway monitoring, helping build IKEA closest for the choir room, coffee cart treats and distribution, Costco pizza pick up, copy room help, food pantry distribution and more. Our volunteer scheduling is now being done through Konstella. Various volunteer sign ups will be live later in the week, so if you have time in your schedule, we would love your help.

If you haven't signed up for Konstella, PTA's new communication tool, yet, please do. You can find volunteer information there as well as PTA and school announcements.

Monday - March 7th - B Day (5th - 8th Periods)

Tuesday - March 8th- A Day (1st - 4th Periods) - SCA 3 Testing Day - No Advisory

Wednesday - March 9th- B Day (5th - 8th Periods) - SCA 3 Testing Day - No Advisory

COVID 19 Vaccine Clinic

Thursday - March 10th - A Day (1st - 4th Periods)

CAC Meeting @ 4p

Friday - March 11th - B Day (5th - 8th Periods)

Tomorrow will be Ms. Bates' first day at KMS! Here's a little more about her:

College graduate in May 2021 with a degree in Bachelor of Science Education. Played volleyball, softball and ran track in high school and continued to compete at the collegiate level for track. I love being outside , staying active, hanging out with my dog "Indie", family and friends and trying new food!!

In May, students will participate in STAAR testing online. Students must use an AISD device to access the exam. As a result, we need to know which students currently use a personal device from home, so we can secure them an AISD device for testing. Please complete this technology survey by March 25th

FINALLY!!! After a long hiatus, the Kealing Bike Club will begin after spring break with ONE mandatory meeting and safety orientation on Thurs 3/24 OR Thurs 3/31 in room 215 (Mr. Hendrex's room). Even if you've ridden with bike club before, you MUST attend one of these meetings to participate in the spring 2022 rides. You only need to attend ONE orientation. Rides will occur on Thursdays from 3pm to 4:15pm from April 7 to May 19. We provide bikes and helmets; students need to bring a water bottle, wear closed toed shoes and dress comfortably for the weather. Email william.shoaf@austinisd.org OR alexander.hendrex@austinisd.org for more information.

Facebook -https://www.facebook.com/KealingMS/

Hornet Herald - https://kealing.austinschools.org/parents/archive

Twitter - @KTXHornets

Webpage - https://kealing.austinschools.org/