PfISD Employee Express

Below are some important dates and a few others to spark creativity or ideas for fun with your students or family.

Days

• April 2: World Autism Awareness Day
• April 2: National Children’s Picture Book Day
• April 3: National Film Score Day
• April 4: National School Librarian Day
• April 8: National Zoo Lovers Day

March Month Holidays

• Women's History Month
• National Athletic Training Month
• National Music in Our Schools Month
• National Reading Month

Dear Friends,

I recently opened up a social media post about World Down Syndrome Day, and saw an inspiring story about one of our students, as well as lovely photos of some of our wonderful staff members.

Ronnie Brown, the 2019 Hendrickson High School Homecoming King, and his sister Latasha Rodgers, who teaches language arts at Park Crest Middle School, were featured in a film series produced by The Lucky Few Foundation, a nonprofit devoted to those with Down syndrome and to creating a more inclusive world for them and their loved ones.

Ronnie has walked the catwalk during New York Fashion Week, loves him some fries, and as his sister said, is the “Life Enthusiast.” His is a heartwarming story, not only because he is a kind individual overcoming obstacles, but because of those around him, supporting him through love and understanding. Bravo to everyone involved in the project:

https://theluckyfewfoundation.org/the-ronnie-series#Latasha

Speaking of support, I’d like to recognize Athletic Director Todd Raymond, whom you might know will be leaving us soon. “Coach” Raymond, as many know him as, has been a whirlwind of activity in his five years here, supporting our students and staff in a variety of different ways.

He has set up the operating practices of The Pfield, helped PfISD garner recognition for its gameday hospitality at the stadium, kept us all informed on the successes of our kids and coaches, and provided support to our athletic staff/programs. The man tweets more than the rooster crows, but all for recognition of our programs. Thank you, Coach.

More on some of those athletic programs down below, plus we have some exciting news regarding recent Academic UIL competitions.

I’d also like to recognize our high school color guard teams that competed in the TCGC State Championships last weekend. I hope everyone got a chance to see our teams compete this school year, as they truly exhibited amazing skill and grace in action. I can’t wait to see more from our teams in the future. Great job, color guard team members.

In the best interest of children,

Douglas Killian, Ph.D.

Proud Superintendent

Last week’s storms left many in our area devastated and in need of assistance. Optum EAP is offering their support to anyone impacted by the recent severe storms. Anyone can call the Optum Public Crisis Line in the flyer below to speak with a counselor. Optum has other services to help like their Disaster Planning & Recovery Center, coping services and more.

We highly encourage anyone impacted by the storms to reach out to their immediate community and to other services like Optum to get the financial, material and mental help you may need.

PFISD has added a digital option to pre-register and consent for COVID-19 testing. The program is called CrisisGo. Over Spring Break parents and staff should have received an email from CrisisGo asking them to pre-register for COVID-19 testing.

We will be resending the notification and link to staff and parents at the end of the week as many thought this was a phishing attempt. We apologize for the confusion, but we are glad to see your annual training on technology safety is keeping you sharp, and on your toes, when it comes to cybersecurity!

The need for the pre-registration and consent is to speed up the process when students are showing symptoms and need a COVID test. If a parent has already completed the consent form online, our nurses can proceed with the test and not wait to contact a parent and for that parent to come to school to provide authorization. Please be aware that no student test will be performed without communication with a parent/guardian at the time of testing. Parent permission will be gathered over the phone at the time of testing.

This email will link you to a pre-registration form, there is NO mandatory requirement for student or staff testing and consent may be withdrawn at any time by reaching out to your campus nurse. If you do not receive this email by next week, please reach out to Lorie Killian, BSN, Lead Nurse at lorie.killian@pfisd.net. We will no longer be able to conduct a COVID test unless you are pre-registered.

Employee’s enrolled in the District’s medical plan are eligible to be reimbursed for at-home COVID-19 test kits through Express Scripts (our pharmacy vendor). Bring the test kit to the pharmacy counter (not the regular check-out) and the test will automatically ring up at no cost to you. Please review the attached flyer for more information.

Beginning with the 2022-23 school year transfer process, for the first time, PreK and Kindergarten students will be eligible to apply for transfers. PreK transfer applicants must submit the Pre-K Eligibility Screener before applying for a transfer request via the Student Affairs application. Submitting a PK eligibility screener and transfer application is not a guarantee of transfer approval.

The application window is from March 21 through April 29. Please visit our Student Transfer Information page for more: https://www.pfisd.net/Page/7316

The Pflugerville Education Foundation is now accepting applications for its latest run of Innovative Teaching Grants. The goal for these grants is to select projects and/or programs for funding that are innovative and stimulate students’ learning and creativity by enhancing the existing curriculum.

PEF awards Innovative Teaching Grants up to $2,000 for programs or projects initiated by an individual educator or up to $5,000 for projects initiated by teams or departments.

Applications are open now. Get to innovating your students’ learning and apply today! The final day to apply is March 31.

If you have questions, please visit www.thepfoundation.org or call 512-594-0375.

These grants have helped our campuses provide important resources for our teachers and students and as the name suggests innovative ways to provide educational materials to our students. Recently, Park Crest Middle School librarian Kimberly LaMarre finished her project funded by a PEF grant. Her Literacy Lockers are officially complete and ready for Pumas to use for their book clubs and more!

Do you know a senior in PISD? The Pflugerville Education Foundation has four scholarships available for seniors to apply for. The deadline for all four scholarships is March 31.

Visit: www.thePfoundation.org to apply. Details and eligibility requirements for each scholarship are linked below. Scholarship winners will be notified on April 15 and a reception will be held in May for the winners.

• Mott Scholarship
• EDP Scholarship
• Provan-Lockhart Scholarship
• Luminary Awards

Summer Camps for Outstanding 4th-8th graders
Outstanding students from across Texas meet in Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin/San Antonio, or Houston/Galveston for a week of fun, learning, leadership development, and visits to unique and historically significant Texas destinations. Each day students explore notable Texas sites and learn about unique careers from professionals at sites visited with a focus on leadership. In addition to improving their leadership abilities, participants gain self-confidence and independence and develop new friendships with other high-achieving students from across the state. All facilitators are Texas teachers.

For more information or to apply, visit www.educationinaction.org/LSLA or contact admissions@educationinaction.org or 817-562-4957.

Hendrickson Dominates UIL Academics Meet

Hendrickson High School captured the overall title at the Class 5A District 18 Academic Spring Meet on March 25-26.

Hendrickson accumulated 913 points as a team, with Pflugerville High School totaling 381 and Bastrop finishing with 137. Weiss and Connally had 82 and 41, respectively.

Hawks placed in the top five of each team and individual event except individual Chemistry. Sam Brown and Kaitlyn Nash each captured two titles and medaled in a third event for Hendrickson.

PHS won three team titles, while Weiss won one and was one of three teams advancing in One-Act Play, along with Hendrickson and Pflugerville. PHS captured six individual titles, with Kenneth Kalu winning a pair (Current Issues and Social Studies). PHS also swept the top three individual spots in the Spelling and Vocabulary category.

Connally’s Anthony Rojas took home the Computer Science title for the Cougars.

Top performers at the district meet advance to the regional event, taking place April 22-23 at Foster High School in Richmond, Texas and San Jacinto College Central in Pasadena.

Full results are at http://utdirect.utexas.edu

Theater Programs Advance to Area Competition

Hendrickson and Weiss high school theatre programs advanced to the area round of the UIL high school one-act play contest after faring well at the bi-district competition.

The Region 3 area contest takes place March 31 in Bastrop.

Pflugerville ISD individual awards at bi-district were as follows:

Weiss High School:

• Crimson Mack: Outstanding Technician
• Carlise Rosa: Honorable Mention All Star Cast
• Jack Huval: Honorable Mention All Star Cast
• Terrell Simpson: All Star Cast

Hendrickson High School:

• Jaden Jamis: Honorable Mention All Star Cast
• Kayden Plemons: Outstanding Technician
• Chloe Lemley: All Star Cast
• Kyra Carr-: All Star Cast
• Tori Ybarra: Best Actress

Pflugerville High School:

• Andrew Speichinger: All Star Cast
• Ethan Visness: All Star Cast
• Heidi Hughes: Best Actress

Soccer playoffs are still rolling, and we’ve got teams headed to the third round! Congratulations to the Hendrickson Lady Hawks and Weiss Boys Soccer for winning their matches Tuesday night to stay alive. The Hendrickson Girls defeated Katy Jordan, 1-0, and the Weiss Boys bested Magnolia West. The Weiss Boys face Jordan on Thursday in the Regional semifinals, and the Hendrickson Girls take on A&M Consolidated Thursday evening.

Unfortunately, it was the end of the road for Pflugerville Boys Soccer and Weiss Girls. PHS fell to College Station, giving up a goal with just 1:30 left in the match. Weiss lost to Magnolia after scoring with less than 10 seconds left to tie the match and send it to overtime. After overtime, it went to penalty kicks and Weiss lost 4-6 there.

Congratulations to Weiss Boys Golf for winning District 18-5A Championship on Tuesday! The Wolves are back-to-back champs! And great job to the Hendrickson Hawks for taking second. Weiss took the top three places individually on the leaderboard with Ali Williams, Dayne Bachmeyer and Dylan Hansen finishing 1-2-3, respectively. The Wolves and Hawks head to the Regional Tournament in Montgomery on April 18-19. The top three teams at regionals advance to state. Good luck, Wolves and Hawks!

PHS hosted the UIL District 18-5A Tennis Championship this week, and we came away with two titles! Hendrickson Girls Tennis repeated as champions, and Connally Boys claimed first place. Next up for both teams is the regional round of competition set for Willis on April 13-14.

Congratulations to Roman Mason from Connally HS. He finished 13th in his weight class at the state powerlifting championship last weekend!

Hendrickson Track & Field standout Suzan Ogunleye finished second in the triple jump at the Texas Relays last week. It’s early in the outdoor season, but her wind-aided mark of 42 feet even ranks her second in the U.S. in the junior ranks (Under 20)!

Congratulations to our middle school track & field athletes for completing their seasons this week! This year the boys and girls district meets were split into separate locations and both meets saw some tremendous performances by these budding student-athletes. Congratulations to Kelly Lane on winning 7th grade girls, 8th grade girls and 8th grade boys. Park Crest won 7th grade boys.

During Spring Break, members of the Texas Public Safety Association Career & Technical Student Organization at Hendrickson High School took home hardware from their regional competition in Hutto. In total, the six students competing in the Fire/EMT regional grabbed five wins, a runner-up finish and three 3rd-place finishes.

Maximillian Garcia took first place in First Responder and Search and Rescue events.

Aero Collins claimed first in Firefighter Agility – Team and Male Firefighter Agility Individual.

Ashly Collins finished third in First Responder and Bunker Gear Race.

Isaac Huerta was part of the Firefighter Agility – Team victory and also took third in the Male Firefighter Agility Individual competition.

Jacqueline Newson also was on the Firefighter Agility – Team win and won the Female Firefighter Agility Individual category.

Hayden Nguyen-Moore was a member of the Firefighter Agility – Team victory and claimed silver in Search and Rescue.

All six of these Fire/EMT Academy students have qualified for the state competition April 25-27 in Allen. Congratulations!

Learn more about the Fire/EMT Academy and other CTE programs and more at our PfISD CTE website!

And don’t forget that applications to both of our P-TECH academies are open until April 15!

Apply to P-TECH here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdl79qbg92GOVfEQx8xe75NUNRDO57G48T_TObqjkDSN1hjfQ/viewform

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, PfISD needs more substitute teachers than ever. Beginning substitutes earn $120 per day, and this can go up based on certification and the number of days worked. To qualify to serve as a substitute in the Pflugerville Independent School District, you must be at least 21 years of age and have a high school diploma. All applicants must complete the online substitute application and attend a Guest Educator orientation.

Each week I like to recognize some of our staff members who have made a positive impact. If you know someone who deserves to be recognized for the passionate service they provide to their coworkers, students or any other member of our community, you may nominate them.

Please use the link below and bookmark it for future use if you happen to know lots of worthy Pfamily members and plan to submit Kudos every week.

Kudos submission form

Now on to this week's Kudos!

Nyisha Causey of Pflugerville High School (via Valorie Salcido): “Thank you, Nyisha, for helping to keep my sanity (mostly) in-check and for everything you do for our team here at PHS. You have been such a fast learner and open to all the changes here at PfISD from your previous school district. I very much hated losing our previous ARD facilitator, but I am thankful you are her replacement. You rock, girl!”

Marcela Cepeda of Dessau Middle (via Catherine Zimmerman): “Hard working, true dedication to our students and staff. Punctual and her love for her job shines.”

Bronwyn O’Jack of Dessau Middle (via Catherine Zimmerman): “She is an amazing teacher and is loved by her peers and students. She is always full of amazing plans and ideas for our students. I've seen significant growth from each student and they continue to amaze me with how much they have learned in her classroom setting.”

Adelma Peña, Maria Treviño and Cheryl King of Caldwell Elementary (via anonymous): “These women are amazing! They are always willing to help the students and teachers of our campus … always willing to hear the teachers’ concerns and give suggestions on how to improve their students’ behavior in their classes. Thank you so much for everything you do on a daily basis. Way to go!”

Juana Bazan of Riojas Elementary (via Jeff Hughes): “Coach Bazan has been a PE assistant coach for more than 12 years. She is amazing with our students and is the hardest working person I’ve ever worked with, (and I was in retail for 16 years and now teaching for 24 years). She adjusts so well when weather or other factors cause us to have to immediately change PE plans, and she has been the PreK PE coach for several years and has been amazing with them.”

Isaac Medina of Hendrickson Band and Noel Esquivel of Kelly Lane Middle School Band (via Nicole Long of Dearing Elementary): “Mr. Medina and Mr. Esquivel have been incredibly welcoming to my son even though he is not in band this school year. My son will be starting band camp at HHS this summer. They have helped me find a private tutor to get Sterling ready for summer band camp. They have made Sterling welcome in all the current activities for band so he will be plugged in before the summer. As a parent, I am cannot express enough how much that has meant to me. They both are setting Sterling up for success academically and socially. Thank you both so much for everything you do for all the students, not just your band students. You will not be forgotten.”

Windermere Elementary Principal Jennifer MacAllister (via anonymous): “Ms. Mac has been a blessing to our campus. She has positively impacted our students and staff in so many ways, and in just three weeks! We are so appreciative to have a leader that allows for staff input, is genuine, kind, and proactive. Thank you for all that you are doing for Windermere, Ms. Mac!”

Adelma Pena, Caldwell Elementary Special Education educational associate (via Maria Trevino): “Ms. Pena is one of the best and knowledgeable person I have had the pleasure of working with. Since I entered her unit she greeted me and showed me what I had to do. She works very hard and cares for the students she services. She goes the extra mile to doing her work and more. She is ready to do her work and offers to help if needed somewhere else. She is ready early in the morning and continues until the time she clocks out in the afternoon. It is a pleasure working with her. Thank you ma’am for all you do!”

Nadia Ramirez of Parmer Lane Elementary (via Sandy Gonzalez): “Nadia always makes sure any administrative procedures that we need help with are taken care of. She helps out in any way possible and gets the job done. Thank you so much for your support to our school.”

Tammy Morrison of Northwest Leadership Academy (via Brytish Jordan): “Tammy is truly an educator! We have a vacancy in one of our 4th-grade self-contained classes. While we have an amazing permanent sub (Mrs. Boykin), our students needed some intense ELAR instruction to keep them on-track. Without hesitation Tammy has stepped up and created lessons to connect her reading classes with the other group. She has even gone to the extent of teaching reading lessons in both classes on the same day. She has even enhanced the climate and culture of the grade level by having the two classes collaborate during activities so that all of our 4th-graders are receiving high-quality instruction and building positive relationships with their peers. She is continuously going over and above, simply because it serves the students’ best interests. I am honored to be her instructional coach.”

Purity Austin of Caldwell Elementary (via Tyler Shelnutt): “Purity does a wonderful job of creating engaging library lessons for our students. Going to the library is one of our favorite things to do each week. Not only is she great with the students, but she is always flexible with any changes that need to be made to our schedule. I am very grateful for her positive attitude and love for our students!”

Cynthia Hernandez of Caldwell Elementary (via anonymous): “Cynthia led by example. She arrived at our recent grade-level PLC with enough hard copies of third nine weeks District assessments and grade-level results for our entire team to dig deeper. She supplied a digital link to Lead4Ward with example problems for additional understanding and analysis. Cynthia was energetic and humorous. She created a fun and relaxed atmosphere.”

Lisa Trittin of Caldwell Elementary (via Amanda Hoffman): “Lisa has worked so hard to get our kiddos ready to sing songs for Rodeo Day and is willing to video-record the performances for the parents. Thank you for all you hard work!”

Renee Ramirez of Bohls Middle (via Tylene Cunning of Technology): “Renee, librarian of BMS, has been such a joy to work with and I have loved her positivity despite the many challenges she has endured with trying to meet her staff and student needs between Cele Middle and Carpenter Elementary (where they were for the first semester) and opening a brand new library with its own little problems. She has worked so hard to get her students excited and involved with the library from the very beginning. She has also been my main point of contact with addressing the Chromebook needs of the students and she has taken that with stride and done an amazing job. This week I got to observe her with an upset student and her patience and kindness but firmness was amazing to watch. Renee, you are doing an amazing job! I just want to be sure you know it.”

Jeff Cernoch of Technology (via Terri Thompson of Hendrickson High School): “Jeff Cernoch went above and beyond the call of duty in helping get the computers and network ready for UIL computer science district competition. He’s a total IT rock star!”

Jeff Cernoch of Technology (via Marijean Azrak of Weiss): “The computer science teachers of all four high schools would like to recognize Jeff Cernoch for his help with the district’s UIL Computer Science Hands-on Competition that took place on March 25. Due to a scheduling conflict, this was the first time that the competition was ever administered internally. The software to run the competition had never been used or tested in the district. Two days prior to the competition, the software still had setup bugs, which Jeff was able to troubleshoot over the course of four iterations of testing. Jeff’s willingness to jump into a project and help without any background information saved the competition. He also stayed throughout the competition to ensure it ran smoothly. We are so thankful to have him as our IT guru!”

Michele Hunter of Caldwell Elementary (via Tierra Pitchford): “Ms. Hunter is always willing to collaborate and think of ideas to help the students that we share be more successful on a day to day basis. She is also very supportive, understanding, and willing to communicate to stay on the same page. Thank you so much for all you do!”

Margit Heath, Monica Manco-Bastida and Brenna Link of Caldwell Elementary (via Jennifer Ziegler): “These ladies have been so amazing this year since I switched grade levels from 3rd-grade to 1st-grade. They are always available and willing to answer my questions and have helped guide me in targeting all of the needs in my class. Thank you for being so supportive!”

This school year, we will continue to find learning opportunities and activities to prepare our students for success in and out of the classroom.

Together this Pfamily can do anything, and through the challenges, we are #MovingPforward.

In the best interest of children,

Dr. Douglas Killian

PfISD Superintendent of Schools