Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year. As we get closer to the start of school, I want to take a moment to tell you how appreciative I am to be working with our students, and how excited I am about the year ahead.

At Austin High School, our mission is to inspire, empower and accelerate the growth of every student. To accomplish this, we believe that it takes a holistic approach to education, recognizing that all students are capable of making a difference in the world. Our teachers and staff our committed to creating a safe and welcoming environment for our students so that they can all continue to grow academically, socially and emotionally.

We also look forward to working closely with parents and community members. Your support and involvement are important as we continue to create meaningful learning opportunities for our students. I consider our school district fortunate to have such a supportive community working with us.

Thank you for your support and commitment to Austin High School.

Matt Schmit

AHS Principal

• Austin Activities is excited to announce our new Digital Ticketing option for purchasing tickets to our events. Please be on the lookout for information in the coming weeks.
• AHS will have a new student group called Bleacher Captains for this school year. This group will help lead the student section at athletic events.

• Freshman will be taking the Packer Profile Seminar class for the fist time this year. Students will develop professional behaviors such as promptness, tone of voice, organization, and self-advocacy. Students will also focus on career exploration and development of their professional portfolio.

• All 9th graders will be on a BARR team this year. Teaming allows students to build relationships with the same cohort of teachers and students while transitioning to a high school.
• This year we have 3 cohorts of students in our ALC program
• Austin Online Academy continues to see growth in supplemental and comprehensive enrollments

• We are thrilled to welcome our new staff members, who bring a wealth of experience to our team. Our recent hires include new teachers, counselors, a coordinator, an administrative assistant, and paraeducators.
• AHS has upgraded our phone system for better network integration and installed new stoves in our FCS area, among other building projects.
  

To learn more about the Packer Profile and the district’s long-term strategic plan, please visit AccelerateAustin.org.

August 19, 2024 - Back to School Conferences 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Austin High School

August 22, 2024 - Link Crew 9th Grade Orientation (for incoming 9th grade students)

AHS Packer Gym

August 26, 2024 - First Day of School

Doors open at 8:15 AM and school starts at 8:30 AM

September 2, 2024 - No School - Labor Day

September 23, 2024 - No School - Staff Professional Development

September 24 - September 27: Homecoming Week

September 28, 2024 - Homecoming Dance

Wescott Sports Complex

General Guidelines

• Students may NOT use cell phones during class
• Device Storage: It is strongly suggested that all electronic devices be kept off and in a locker or out of sight during school hours.

• If you still have your device at home, please drop it off at the high school office so it can be reimaged and ready to go for the start of the school year.
• Senior laptops will not be given away to graduates starting spring 2025.

The grading system at Austin Public Schools will be changing beginning with the 2024-2025 school year as shown in the chart below.

For more information please click the image below to our Grading and Reporting webpage.

AHS is excited to be implementing SchooLinks, a modern college and career readiness platform to prepare students for what comes after graduation. SchooLinks helps students discover their interests and strengths, explore colleges and careers, and create a personal graduation plan that best reflects their post-secondary goals. The program will be used for all students as a part of the Packer Profile. All of the SchooLinks features are designed with students in mind to help them become career, college, and life ready. SchooLinks features are incredibly user-friendly.

Using SchooLinks, students and parents can:

· Access career interest, strength and mindset surveys

· Explore 2-year and 4-year colleges

· Create course plans based on career pathways

· Take virtual reality college campus tours

· Search for scholarships (both local and national)

· Learn about financial aid

· Find internship and volunteer opportunities

· Explore traditional, emerging and military career fields

· Create digital portfolios (Packer Portfolio) and resumes

· Communicate with counselors

· Request transcripts

· Seniors will be able to track college applications and request letters of recommendation

Student Onboarding

Student and parent onboarding will take place this fall. Freshmen will be utilizing SchooLinks in their Packer Profile Seminar Course, and grades 10-12 will be utilizing for their grade-appropriate activities.

More information about this program will be coming soon. For questions, feel free to contact Jane Carlson, Career Pathway Coordinator or visit their website at schoolinks.com.

Peer Power Partners (PPP) is a mentoring program that encourages students of ALL abilities to intermingle and grow together. We teach about differences and helpful techniques to encompass many different abilities, and we also do activities for peer interaction. This promotes an inclusive school environment and builds relationships both within the school setting that carries over to the community.

Our goals are to increase knowledge, understanding, acceptance, awareness and to promote friendship and advocacy. PPP is a beneficial program for ALL students.

We will only be able to accept 50 participants per school this year, applicants will be reviewed after the application deadline. Participants will be notified upon acceptance.

Application Deadline is October 31st

Please use this link to sign up: https://forms.gle/B8oK6BtJkxANZ89X6

Back to school conferences are coming up soon! Please enter door 1 or door 5 and check in at our information desk. We can't wait to see all of our families again soon!

• College ruled spiral notebooks, at least one for each class
• College ruled loose-leaf paper
• Pencils Pens Backpack Pocket folders, one for each class
• USB flash drive
• Pencil case/bag (optional)
• Colored pencils (optional)
• Calculator A scientific calculator, TI-30XIIS, is used in the following math classes: Algebra, Intermediate Algebra, Geometry, Advanced Geometry, Algebra 2, Honors Algebra 2, College Algebra Prep and Pre-Calculus. This calculator is the same one they used at Ellis.
• A graphing calculator, TI-83 or TI-84, is used in the following math classes: Honors Pre-Calculus, AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, Statistics and AP Statistics
• If you already have a calculator that is not shown, you can have your student show it to their math teacher to see if it has all the necessary functions. Once you have a calculator, please put your name on it with a marker or the teacher can engrave it.

This summer the ALC graduated 22 graduates. We are proud of you!