From The Admin Team 1/19/2021
Bernice Kiker Elementary School
Upcoming Events
18 - No School in Observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day
21 - Lifetouch retakes for in-person learners
21 - PTA Coffee Talk with Mrs. Matheny 8:30 am
29 - AISD Asynchronous Learning Day (more information below)
February
9 - Benchmark: In-person Writing (4th grade) and Science (5th grade)
10 - Benchmark: Remote Writing (4th) and Science (5th)
15 - No School for Students, Staff Development Day/Conferences as needed
26 - AISD Asynchronous Learning Day
March
1-12 - Map Growth Window - Reading and Math for Grades 3 - 5
5 - AISD Asynchronous Learning Day
15-19 - Spring Break
22 - April 2 - Map Growth Reading and Math for Kindergarten Only
April
2 - Staff Development / Student Holiday
5 - 30 CLI (Creative Learning Intiative) Engage Pre-K4 Assessment Window
9 - AISD Asynchronous Learning Day
12 - 23 - Map Growth Fluency Window for Kindergarten
May
10 - 21 End of Year Map Growth Window for Reading Math Grades K - 2
31 - No School / Memorial Day
June
3 - Last Day for Students
4 - Staff Day
District Benchmark Days for Grades 3 - 5 Only
Jan. 19 - In-person Reading (3 - 5)
Jan. 20 - Remote Reading (3 - 5)
Feb. 09 - In-person Writing (4) and Science (5)
Feb. 10 - Remote Writing (4) and Science (5)
AISD's Asynchronous Days
The asynchronous days are listed below.
Friday, 1/29
Friday, 2/26
Friday, 3/5
Friday, 4/9
Part of the TEA requirement for utilization of asynchronous days is that “during these days, districts are still required to allow all students to access on-campus instruction who come from households without internet access or appropriate remote learning devices.”
We have a plan to accommodate students who may need to access the campus, but it will not be with their homeroom teacher. The admin and/or counseling teams will be available to support students who need access to campus.
Staffing Updates
We previously shared the news of Ms. Duncan's retirement in December and are excited to welcome Ms. Carissa Basco to the art team. Ms. Basco student taught at Kiker during the 2019-2020 school year and knows our campus and systems well. A big Comet welcome to Ms. Basco!
Teaching Assistant:
Mr. Corder also used this new year as an opportunity to begin his retirement. He will be greatly missed! We are conducting interviews and hope to find a great hire in the next week or two.
Speech and Language Pathologist:
AISD's Special Education Department has reassigned some SLPs due to campus size/case load and other factors. Ms. Jane Soltero will no longer be assigned to Kiker. We welcome our new SLP, Ms. Lena Rahman to campus.
Apply to be a substitute:
If you or anyone you know is interested in supporting our campus as a substitute teacher, we encourage members of our Kiker family to apply and become a substitute teacher. It is extremely rewarding and provides our teachers peace of mind knowing their students are in great hands when our teachers or their family members are ill.
Registration for 2021-2022 Has Begun
1) the information you enter drives our systems for data such as your email address, phone number, etc. Please double check that all items are up to date. Once you complete the registration process, it can'not be updated/corrected without sending an email or contacting the parent/family support hotline. This includes opting in or out of campus messages. We get many emails from families wondering why they are not receiving Kiker email blasts. This is based on preferences checked in the registration process.
2) Check the boxes carefully for permission to be in the yearbook or be photographed.
3) Registration in AISD is a multi-step process. AISD will conduct various phases including 'commitment cards,' online registration, and emails/surveys. All of these items affect our staffing allocations for next year. It is so important to our campus that we get everyone to complete online registration so we can keep and maintain our amazing staff!
4) Parents who are registering a new Pre-K or Kinder student will need to have the following documents on hand to upload.
- birth certificate
- immunization record
- current utility bill - electric, water, or gas
- lease or closing paperwork for your new home
- parent driver's license
Family Surveys Are Out
For 5th Grade Families: Lively Middle School Information
Lively Magnet Program:
This is a reminder that students need to attend a virtual testing session for their essay and record their virtual interview at home in order for their application to be complete!
Please find important Lively Magnet Dates and Deadlines below: Families must complete Part 1, the Intent to Apply and Part 2, the JotForm of the application process to receive instructions for testing.
January 16th: Magnet Testing Session 1
8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m. Last Names A-L
11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Last Names M-Z
January 23rd: Magnet Testing Session 2
8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m. Last Names A-L
11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Last Names M-Z
January 27th: Magnet Testing Session 3
4:00 p.m.-5:30 p.m. Last Names A-Z
February 5th @ 4:30 p.m.: Application Deadline
Get to Know the Staff: Each week we will feature a few staff members and their "I Am Kiker" poem.
January Birthdays
1 - Danilo Bigiornia
4 - Kathryn McLaughlin
9 - Stefanie Torres
16 - Marcelina Ibanez
22- Jan Squyres
Bernice Kiker Elementary Administration Team
Alma Chapa Moore - Assistant Principal
Kelly Meyer - Assistant Principal
Email: cory.matheny@austinisd.org
Website: https://kikerelementary.org/
Location: 5913 La Crosse Avenue, Austin, TX, USA
Phone: 512-414-2584
Facebook: facebook.com/CMathenyPrincipal
Twitter: @KikerComets