Hornet Herald

Hello families,

We are now in our 8th week of the new semester and just 3 short weeks away from Spring Break. Our goal is to make this the best 3 weeks of the school year for both the teachers and students. I am excited to continue the work of the action plan to improve our campus' climate and culture. Status updates are below and will be discussed at upcoming Principal's Coffees. Please take a moment to use the links below to stay abreast on what's happening in regards to the action plan and vacancies on our campus. this past weekend we were able to have our Magnet Choice Fair for all of the new hornets accepted into the program and at the same time our Band program was able to conduct instrument try outs. 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

The 2/9 Climate and Culture Exit Ticket survey given to staff revealed our staff's highest concerns was the possibility of the 7/8 teaching schedule for next year.

*All teachers did not complete the anonymous survey

2/22 - Meeting with Counselors and Administrators to observe trends and collaborative problem solve Attendance & Behavioral Concerns (In person - 3:15p - 4:15p)

2/22 - Magnet Director Profile Meeting (Virtual - 4:30p - 5:30p)

2/23 - Meeting with Instructional Coaches and Administrators to observe trends and problem solve Instructional and Professional Development needs (In person - 3:15p - 4:15p)

2/23 - Magnet director Committee Hiring Committee Question & Task Creation Session (Virtual - 4:30p - 5:30p)

2/25 - First biweekly Climate survey to be sent to Kealing Middle School Campus

PTA FAQs

Magnet Director timeline

Magnet Director Interview Committee Interest Form

2/17 Principal's COffee Responses to Questions/Concerns/Statements

KMS Current Vacancies

1/28 - Receive budget for 2022-2023 school year

Week of 2/21 - Share budget details with staff

Week of 2/21 - Share budget details with PTA

Week of 2/21 - share budget details with CAC

Week of 2/28 - workshop with CAC

3/3 - Budget workshop with PTA

3/11 - Budget due to AISD

4/15 - CAC signature Sheets due

Hornet Parents,

Thank you to everyone who attended our recent PTA meeting (Feb 3). At that meeting, we approved a letter to the superintendent and trustees opposing the proposed change in planning time for teachers for next year. Many parents and organizations throughout the district opposed the proposal and on Friday we heard that the district will stay with a 6/8 schedule for middle and high school teachers next year as well as schedule planning time for elementary teachers. This means that the budget deficit will have to be made up elsewhere. Please continue to pressure your state representatives to change the recapture formula that takes nearly half of collected property taxes for education in Austin and sends them to elsewhere in the state.

TEACHER APPRECIATION
This week we will be having our second Secret Pal gift drops. If you’ve signed up as a secret pal, you’ll be dropping off your gifts on either Tuesday or Wednesday of this week. Make sure they are well labelled and have your student drop the gift off to the front office.

We all know that teachers are feeling beleaguered these days. Please encourage your student to write a note, make a video or post on this padlet (https://padlet.com/vpmembership3/qarn8d4kph7fa5jw) to show some love and appreciation to our teachers. You’re welcome to send notes as well!

MEMBERSHIP
Our hive is strong with a whopping 509 members; currently, Kealing has the highest Middle school PTA membership in Austin ISD. We only need 126 members to receive Texas PTA all-time high award. If you haven't joined the KealingPTA, it's not too late! You can join Kealing PTA at www.kealingpta.org

COMMUNICATION
PTA is adopting a new communication tool, Konstella, to provide Kealing with a voluntary, opt-in Directory for current families (and teachers/staff), and the ability for PTA to easily communicate direct to email. In the future Konstella can also be used for volunteer sign ups, committee organization, and more. Konstella can be accessed via your desktop or by mobile app by downloading the Konstella app on iOS or Android.

To start with Konstella, please visit: https://www.konstella.com/cd/DZLPNN which will take you through the Kealing Konstella registration process. Like the Kealing MS Parents Facebook group (which can be found in the Kealing Middle School Facebook page), Konstella activity should pertain specifically to Kealing and remain kind, courteous, and respectful of others' privacy. Hate speech/bullying, self-promotion or spam are not allowed.

We hope Konstella makes connecting with each other even easier. Please reach out to Jen Loving at jen.loving@gmail.com with any questions about registering an account or using Konstella.

HOW TO HELP
Sign up to monitor lunch (gives the teachers a break during the day!) or monitor hallways during passing periods. Sign ups are found in Konstella. You can sign up as often or as rarely as you like. If you're going to volunteer on campus, please register as a volunteer here: https://austinpartners.org/volunteer/

NEXT MEETING
Our next meeting will be on March 1 immediately following the regularly scheduled Principal's Coffee. We had discussed calling an extra meeting, but feel that the topics we would discuss there are being covered in the extra Principal's Coffees.

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

- staggered release

Classrooms

- We are seating/desks at least 3 feet apart when feasible

- Each classroom has a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filtration unit

- Personal Protective Equipment will be available in each room

- Plexiglass dividers available

- Additional outdoor seating (2 outdoor classrooms & the courtyard if teachers plan to use)

Breakfast & Lunch

- Assigned seating

- Students are allowed to eat lunch both inside the cafeteria and outside in the courtyard

- Plexiglass accordian dividers

-Volunteer lunch monitors

- The courtyard comfortably seats 4 classes, which is from 25% - 100% of the lunch capacity for each lunch period.

Dismissal

- we will have staggered dismissal where scholars will be dismissed by areas of the building to reduce traffic.

Monday - February 21st

Student Holiday, no school

Tuesday - February 22nd - B Day (5th - 8th Periods)

Wednesday - February 23rd - A Day (1st - 4th Periods)

Math Placement Exam

Thursday - February 24th - B Day (5th - 8th Periods)

Basketball playoffs round 1, tba

Friday - February 25th -A Day (1st - 4th Periods)

Saturday - February 26th

Instrument Selection, 9a - 12p then 1p - 4p (Large & Small Gym)

3/1 - NAEP Assessment

3/3 - PTA Meeting

3/4 - AISD Employee Appreciation Holiday

GEAYA is now registering Spring Softball. We need more girls to fill out our 14 U and 12 U teams! Softball is a great way to build strength, meet new friends and discover how powerful you are. Come play with us!

http://www.geaya.org

Throughout the month of December NJHS held a winter wear drive, and was able to collect over 200 clothing items. These items were used to create a winter closet for the Kealing Community. We were able to help so many families and community members only because of YOU! Now, we are looking to expand our service past the school community and into the greater Austin area.

- Our next student-selected service project is a COVID-19 Protection Drive in which we are asking the Kealing Community to donate PPE and other related items to unhoused Austin community members.
- We need disposable masks (preferably surgical masks, KN95s, or N95s), hand sanitizer, and sanitizing wipes.
- The drive will run from February 1st through the 28th.
- Drop off items at Ms. Chambers’ room (116)

Hello community! Thank you so much for showing up for Kealing time and time again! Be it your time, your talent, or your treasure--we appreciate you! Supplies are running low again and many of y'all know we basically do not have a supply budget as we previously had. Additionally, we are working hard to welcome refugee students to our campus. Their teachers providing resources to engage them and make them feel supported, so we have included several books and language acquisition resources to the Amazon wish list. I cannot express how much we appreciate you all. https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/B7BQHNMLAOP?ref_=wl_share

The details: We've increased the base rate of substitute teacher pay for all levels. For example, degreed substitutes can now earn between $140 and $200 per day for filling a teacher assignment. We’ve also added compensation for supporting campuses when Austin-Travis County is in Stages 4 and 5.

• We also expanded our eligibility requirements so that people with fewer than 60 college credit hours are eligible to work in elementary or middle schools.

• Hopefully, we’ll get back to normal soon. In the meantime, if you know someone who would excel in a substitute role in AISD, point them to our website and encourage them to apply online.

Kealing prides itself on fostering a supportive & caring community, and one way it does that is through the Parent-Teacher Association. The PTA comprises families, teachers, administrators, students, and community members dedicated to enriching every student learning experience.

Your PTA membership makes Kealing a great community and unique learning environment. While our memberships number is at an impressive 486 members, we are 150 members short of the Texas PTA 3-year-high award. Let's finish this year with the largest PTA that Kealing has ever seen!!

To join the Kealing PTA hive, click the link below:
www.kealingpta.org

If you have Kealing PTA membership questions, please email Shannan Riemer, vpmembership@kealingpta.org.

Why Join PTA? Watch this video to learn more about why you should join the Kealing PTA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzGtGcYdEFs

Please contact Kealing membership VP, Shannan Riemer, vpmembership@kealingpta.org, with any membership questions, comments, or concerns.

Hello Hornets Community! Yearbook recognition ads are currently available through the Josten's website (www.jostens.com > search Kealing)! Recognition Ads a great way for parents, families and friends to commemorate student achievements and important milestones. Limited ads are available so be sure to secure your space now! Recognition and Personalized Yearbook Ads start as low as $35!

How To Order Guide (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1b6bv9eEqfKqLAyzyyYIIeYCaz3_e_xXY/view?usp=sharing)

Thank you for all your generous contributions to our campus! We appreciate you and all the many ways you show up for our Kealing Community. We have started a Community Donates spreadsheet in order to repurpose household items to our campus. There are two ways to contribute--1. Drop off the requested item to the front office labeled with the requesting teacher's name. 2. If you have item(s) to offer that might have a second life on our campus, please add a description to the spreadsheet. Teachers can then go in and claim the item. HERE is a link to the spreadsheet. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1IOK7cMk99UZtIQcClIWNQ8Wgc3_nBQ0tBrj7amKXLro/edit?usp=sharing

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Twitter - @KTXHornets

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