December 2023

KANGA WINS! Thanks to our community, Killeen High School's mascot Kanga, won the Community Impact Award from the Mascot Hall of Fame. Congrats Kanga!

We hope you and your students had a restful Thanksgiving break last week and are ready to finish the semester out strong with just a few short weeks left before the end of the grading period. Please help us encourage your student to complete their final assignments and to ask for help when needed by visiting the free Killeen ISD tutoring center. The grading period will end December 22 and report cards will go home when we return in January.

The results of our annual Qualtrics Climate and Culture survey are viewable online, www.killeenisd.org/survey The public dashboard allows you to easily compare data to last year and identifies areas of growth. We appreciate everyone that took the time to provide us with feedback.

Get your Flu Shot! Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center's Army Public Health Nursing team will offer the flu shot to all Tricare eligible beneficiaries from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on December 2. The hospital is located at 590 Medical Center Road, Fort Cavazos, Texas 76544.

Mark your calendar: Killeen ISD will be closed Monday, December 25 through Monday, January 8 for Winter Break. Additionally, Friday, December 22, will be a 2-hour early release day. School will resume for students on Tuesday, January 9, 2024. Happy Holidays! Download our Killeen ISD mobile app to stay informed of our upcoming holidays, events, and important dates!

Dec. 2- Special Education Day

Dec. 4- Hiring Event: School Nutrition, 9:30 a.m., JPLC Conference Room B

Dec. 5- Special Board Workshop, 9:00 a.m., Central Admin

Dec. 5- Virtual Q&A Info Session- Hiring Auxiliary Positions

Dec. 11- Military Family Connect, 5:30 p.m., Bronco Youth Center

Dec. 12- KISD School Board Meeting, 6:00 p.m., Central Admin

Dec. 22- Student Early Release (2 hours early)

Dec. 25-Jan. 5- Winter Break, District Closed

Looking Ahead to January

Jan. 8- Student Holiday, Teacher PD Day

Jan. 15- Martin Luther King Jr. Day, District Closed

Jan. 16- KISD Board Workshop, 9:00 a.m., Central Admin

Jan. 23- KISD School Board Meeting, 6:00 p.m., Central Admin

Dr. Jimmie Don Aycock Middle School is set for completion by Summer 2024 and will be the newest KISD campus.

The campus mascot is a roadrunner and the brand features similar colors to it's neighboring campus, Chaparral High School. Check out the new JDA Middle School seal and logos. Go Roadrunners!

The Killeen ISD Police Department is hosting a toy drive for KISD HARP and the Foster Care Toy Store. They are accepting new, unwrapped toys for ages 3-17. Donation centers are located at all of the KISD high school and middle school campuses, Pathways Academic Center, KISD Police Department, and the Central Administration Building. Toys are being accepted until December 11th.

Early College High School allows students an opportunity to earn a high school diploma and an associate degree. Students have access to Central Texas College facilities, resources and services, including the faculty, libraries, labs, artistic and cultural activities, and extracurricular activities.

There is no cost to the student to attend. KISD will pay for tuition, fees and required textbooks.

KISD and CTC's Early College High School include strategies and activities to create a college-going culture and enable students to build the skills and knowledge, including academic behaviors, necessary for college success.

Students can apply to Early College High School through Naviance, or the Clever App. For a step-by-step and to log in to get started, click here.

Students can stay engaged in learning by using the fun app called ST Math through Clever. It's a visual supplemental instructional program that leverages the brain's innate spatial-temporal reasoning ability to solve mathematical problems. Its unique, patented approach provides students with equitable access to learning through challenging puzzles, non-routine problem-solving, and formative feedback.

Students can access ST Math and Istation at home through the Clever portal. To access Clever, click here. ST Math can be used as often as need for the student.

Cheer on your favorite teams! You can find the schedules for basketball at www.killeenisd.org/athletics. Download the Killeen ISD mobile app, follow your preferred school and see the athletic events on your calendar icon.

Congratulations to the more than 80 football players in KISD who earned Academic All-District.

The Harker Heights High School Knights Football Team by winning the title of District 12-6A District Champions! Both the Knights and the Greywolves had a great season in playoffs, as well as the Lady Eagles and Lady Bobcats in volleyball.

Cross Country had another record setting year, highlighted by the Ellison Eagles sweeping the district championships for both boys and girls team titles. The season culminated with Harker Heights Knights Ella Perry and Ellison Eagles Ethan Carranza qualifying for the UIL State Meet.

See where your favorite middle school teams stand and placed by clicking the links below:

• 7th Grade Cross Country
• 8th Grade Cross Country
• Volleyball
• 7th Grade Football
• 8th Grade Football

Volunteering creates opportunities to positively impact the lives of our students. How can you share your skills, talents, and experiences with others? Even if your time is limited, we needyou! If you are interested in volunteering, scan the QR Code below or go to https://www.killeenisd.org/volunteer to access the volunteer application.

The December Character Trait word is Empathy.

School counselors and Social Emotional Learning Specialist will provide Character Education lessons on Empathy. They will also provide the campus and assist with Social Emotional Learning lessons on Perspectives, Fairness, and Self-Awareness.

4 Students win spots in the TMEA All State Orchestra

KISD received its first TMEA All-State results for orchestra. We are excited to announce that Killeen will have 4 Harker Height HS Orchestra students participating in the Texas Music Educators Association All-State Ensembles. On Viola, Wonkuk Lee will play as part of the All-State Philharmonic Orchestra.

Hanah Kim and Rebekah Koh, playing 1st Violin, will perform with the All-State Symphony Orchestra and Alexander Kim will play viola with the All-State Sinfonietta.

Visual Art Students Claim Top Awards at Central Texas Art Competition

Students from Chaparral High School and Killeen High School programs competed with high school and college students from across Central Texas in the Temple College 44th Annual Central Texas Competition & Exhibition. Chaparral High School student Angela Barzana received the Award of Distinction for her artwork, Biggest Insecurity. Killeen High School student, Yaireth Garza received an Honorable Mention Award for her artwork, My Mind. Additional students exhibiting include Aiyhana Cleto, Ty Fellows-Wong, Amarillis Otero, Emily Parsons and Royale Cross. The artwork was on display at Temple College in November. You can still view our students’ artwork on the Fine Arts website.

Theatre Art Students Qualify for Nationals

Three Chaparral High School thespians qualified to compete at the national level in the International Thespian Excellence Awards or Thespys. The Thespys recognize the highest level of achievement in school theatre performance, technical theatre, writing and filmmaking. These students have the opportunity to compete at the International competition this summer.