Principal's Message to Hornet Families for the week of September 20th, 2021
9/19 Message
Great evening fantastic families,
It is hard to believe that 6 weeks have passed already and we are almost done with the first term. It is often said that time flies when you are having fun and it has been a blast from the ups of seeing students reacclimate themselves to in person learning and building community in the classroom to observing some of the chaos that took place last week with the tic tok bathroom challenge. I really appreciate the responsiveness and understanding of our community when these situations started occurring. Special thanks to our Parent Teacher Association who created cards and provided our custodians with a gift for their hard work and increased workload. I also want to give a special shout out to our student body who heard our cry for information and responded. Our scholars were vigilant in helping us catch the students causing damage to our restrooms. Those students have been addressed and will also complete a restorative component as a consequence this week as we continue to strive to create G.R.E.A.T citizens who will undoubtedly impact this world in a positive way. We will open restrooms again this week and if your scholars see anything on social media and our students are participating please let us know.
I would also like to give a special thanks to Austin ISD operations department who installed 2 new bottle fillers in our building and are scheduled to bring 3 more bottle fillers and plexiglass for classrooms and the lunchroom at some point this week. This has been a trying time but it is great to see everyone pull together to serve our scholars. Special Kudos to our coaches & custodians who had back to school night and events this week as well (not many people understand how taxing this is)
Coaches Jones & Kinsman for our 3rd and 5th place finishes Saturday morning at the St. Andrews Episcopal Meet
Coaches Gardner, Rost, and Rydolph for a 48-0 victory Wednesday night
Coaches Brynie, Fernandez, Longoria, and Jackson for Volleyball last night
Custodians: Will Palmer, Antonia Hernandez, Yaneth Fernandez, Joseph Martinez, Martha De Franco Carrasco, And Michelle Diaz (Thank you for keeping our restrooms clean!)
This week we will have our Title I Parent Meeting Monday night. We will talk about what Title I funding is and how we have allocated to use our title I funds this year. On Friday we also sent home income verification forms with students. It is very important we have this information on file as it impacts the funding our school receives so please take a moment to complete the form. Students have a physical copy received in their Science classes. Please complete and have students return the forms prior to Wednesday 9/22/2021 . Thank you all for choosing to have it all in Austin ISD and for choosing the GREAT learning experience at Kealing Middle School.
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)
KMS Safety Protocols as of 9/20/2021
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 - September 20th - B Day
Title 1 Parent & Family Meeting (Virtual). The meeting will explain the Title 1 funding and how it relates to our campus. Please join us.
Tuesday - September 21st - A Day
Hornet Football vs Bedichek @ House Park 7:30pm
Wednesday - September 22nd - B Day
Thursday - September 23rd - A Day
Lady Hornet Volleyball vs Burnet M.S. @6p, 8th grade will be at Burnet, 7th grade will be at Kealing Middle School
Friday - September 24th- B Day
Food Pantry Friday! Please contact Ms. Perez @ 512-414-6700 if your family is need of additional nutritional assistance.
Saturday - September 25th -
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Ultimate Frisbee!!
Fun Ultimate scrimmages and practices!
WHO?
All grades, all genders, all programs!
WHEN?
Thursdays, 3:00-4:45pm, September 30th - October 28th
*Limited to 40 players each week in the fall
HOW?
First, view this document and fill out our online waiver linked inside! [Parent/Guardian required!] https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QUkPMw17BwK51QCUjuI0jt9MKLd7Zj8l/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=117244494751661991340&rtpof=true&sd=true
Second, sign up outside Room 235 (Mr. Natenberg’s Room) each week -- the list will be posted on Monday mornings.
WHY?
Ultimate is like soccer, football, and basketball combined...with frisbees! Join us!
QUESTIONS?
Contact any of the coaches:
Cara Crouch -- cara.crouch@austinisd.org
Colleen Kepner -- colleen.kepner@austinisd.org
Michael Natenberg -- michael.natenberg@austinisd.org
NOTE:
Our official season is in the spring. We’ll have a full informational meeting in January / February to share more information.
Mexic-Arte Museum- National Hispanic Heritage Month
The American Statesman has great information on events and activities happening in Austin during National Hispanic Heritage Month.
You can support the works of Latino artists in Austin this fall.
Mexic-Arte Museum's fall 2021 exhibit grand opening will be Sept. 17 and will feature the following exhibits: "MX 21-Resistance, Reaffirmation & Resilience"; "Los Pueblos Originarios – Honoring the Dead – Continuing Traditions, Photos by Mary J. Andrade"; and "Nuestra and Comunidad/Our Community – Memory and Remembrance." For more information about the museum at 419 Congress Ave. and the exhibits go to https://mexic-artemuseum.org/exhibitions/.
Facility Assessment and Ed Specs Update Feedback Form
Help us envision our AISD future! The district’s draft facility assessment reports and Educational Specification updates are ready for your feedback!
Check out our school’s reports by visiting www.austinisdplanningtogether.com and fill out the feedback form no later than Sunday, Sept. 26
Visit https://bit.ly/3DntgJ2 to learn more about how these documents fit into the district’s long-range planning process—which will help determine which improvements and new facilities are included in our next bond!
The above message is also available in Spanish.
Please direct any questions to Karla Rivera and Ali Ghilarducci at karla.rivera-figueroa@austinisd.org and alison.ghilarducci@austinisd.org.
Teacher's Amazon Wish Lists
Thank you, to everyone that has contributed so far. The teachers and students are very appreciative. You all ROCK!
Secret Pal Program is back for the 2021-22 school year!
The Kealing PTA Secret Pal Program was created to help our hard-working teachers and staff feel a bit more appreciated throughout the year. The guidelines are general, but suggestions are to provide snacks, treats, small gifts, supplies or support to show our appreciation. There are 3 planned 'drop' dates to deliver gifts/treats: November, February, and April. Reminders will be sent out prior to drop dates. Please remember, Pals should be kept a secret!
Sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0E4AADAC29ABFD0-thekms
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Back to School Night We had a great turn out for the Back to School Night. Thank you to our amazing teachers for their dedication to the students and their families. We understand that BSN means that teachers stay later and longer than usual and we acknowledge your contributions to the campus, the students and the families! Parents, we applaud you as well! Thank you for making time to connect with our teachers. | Kealing Covid 19 Vaccine Clinic AISD is hosting a series of vaccine clinics at various campuses. Kealing has been selected as one of the sites. 29 people showed up on 9/15/2021. Our next clinic is OCTOBER 6, from 4-8pm. | Hornet Football Great game. Final 48-0. Go Hornets! |
Back to School Night
Parents, we applaud you as well! Thank you for making time to connect with our teachers.
Kealing Covid 19 Vaccine Clinic
Hornet Football
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Lady Hornet's Volleyball Teamwork makes the dreamwork. Come out and watch the Lady Hornet's. Most games are on Thursday. Wear red and come cheer on the volleyball team. | Bienvenido! Senora Flores-Wolsky speaking to parents at BSN. | Thank you ANGEL HOUSE Angel House is a huge contributor to the Kealing Food Pantry. We are fortunate for the bi-weekly donations in which Ms. Perez is able to supplement the pantry with extra items. |
Lady Hornet's Volleyball
Bienvenido!
Thank you ANGEL HOUSE
Follow Us on Social Media
Facebook -https://www.facebook.com/KealingMS/
Hornet Herald - http://www.kealingmiddleschool.org/parents/hornet-herald
Twitter - @KTXHornets
Webpage - https://kealing.austinschools.org/
