Hornet Herald

As we enter the month of February, it is difficult to believe how quickly this semester is progressing. Time flies when our Hornets are engaged in learning and growing together.

As we continue to progress through cold and flu season, I would like to remind families to keep your student home if they are not feeling well or have a fever to help ensure a healthy environment for our community. Our teachers are happy to assist any student get caught up on missing assignments.

Over the past few weeks, our teachers and staff have been voting for this year's Teacher of the Year and Teacher of Promise. The results are in and I am excited to announce Kealing's 2023-24 Teacher of the Year is Mr. Gilbert. Mr. Gilbert is our SBS teacher, Special Education Department Chair, serves on several campus committees, and dedicates a lot of his time coaching several sports at Kealing. His dedication and passion for education has made a great impact on all of our Hornets. We wish Mr. Gilbert the best of luck as he moves forward to complete for Austin ISD's Teacher of the Year.

The Teacher of Promise award goes to a first year teacher who has made an impact on student growth and the school community. This year's Teacher of Promise award goes to Teacher Almor. Teacher Almor teaches Art and has been instrumental in Kealing's Art Club as well as starting other clubs on campus. Congratulations to all of our nominees and finalists for these two campus awards.

Thank you all for you continued support of Kealing Middle School. Here's to a successful and healthy remainder of the school year.

Mr. Estes

• February 5-9 - National School Counseling Week
• February 6 - Kealing Magnet & High School Application Deadline
• February 8 - Boys' Basketball vs. Lamar
• February 9 - NO SCHOOL
• February 10 - Girls' Soccer vs. Lamar
• February 12 - 15 - STAAR Interim Assessments
• February 15 - CAC Meeting
• February 15 - Boys' Basketball vs. Murchison
• February 16 - Anderson High School Campus Choice Sheet Completion
• February 17 - Girls' Soccer vs. Lively
• February 19 - NO SCHOOL
• February 22 - PTA Meeting
• February 28 - McCallum High School Campus Choice Sheet Completion

Each week, we will recognize our fellow Hornets who exemplify our campus-wide values and who have been MEETING and EXCEEDING our campus-wide expectations. We are ALL working hard each day to show each other and our school community kindness, respect, loyalty and safety. Here are this week's salutes.

From Ms. Rieck: Kudos to the Cast and crew of High School Musical Awesome job on the performance! Way to show the community the excellence Kealing is capable of! I know you all worked hard and I am so proud of every single one of you. You shine! Love, Ms. Rieck

From Mr. Shettron: Shout out to Alma Brandyberry, Lillian Cribbs, Vivienne Bhargava, and Jo Andreani who passed their auditions and performed at the TMEA region choir concert! They put in so much hard work and excelled through the auditions and concert!

From Ms. Krumrey: Candido Verastegui deserves a shoutout for respect! He has been putting in lots of effort in ELA - coming to office hours and working diligently to stay on track with his assignments. He has also shown respect for me and his classmates in the process.

From Ms. Krumrey & Mr. Garcia: Olive Wang & Clara Kountoupis deserve a big shoutout for participating in the African American Culture & Heritage Essay Contest and having their essays chosen as the top two from Kealing. Way to go, Olive & Clara! We wish Olive the best of luck in representing Kealing with her essay at the District Level!

From Ms. Krumrey: Theron Ashbaugh deserves a Stinger Salute for his kindness and loyalty. He has been giving it his ALL this semester. I really appreciate his determination and hard work.

From Ms. Lorenz: Jaylen Speed gets a shout out for being an awesome student in class and showing respect to teachers and peers.

From Mr. Shettron: Alma Brandyberry, Lillian Cribbs, Vivienne Bhargava, and Jo Andreani deserve KUDOS because they Passed their auditions and performed at the TMEA region choir concert! They put in so much hard work and excelled through the auditions and concert!

Hi! My name is Camden Harlan and I am so excited to join the Kealing Middle School family. I am teaching 8th Grade Science and Animal Science this semester. I was born and raised in Nebraska in a small town 11 hours directly north of Austin. I come to the family fresh off of the Big Island of Hawaii where I had the opportunity to teach and guide 9th graders to recognizing the fullest potential available for them to see individually. My favorite part about teaching is that no matter where I go, I get to build relationships with kiddos and help them get to know the parts of themselves that are excited about life and learning. If you catch me outside of the classroom, you’ll find me exploring different parks and hiking trails or trying out a new restaurant! I’m a huge nature lover and dive into different cultures in the city by first learning through food! :) I look forward to getting to know you and your students as the semester progresses! Thank you to all I have already met for welcoming me in with so much warmth and support!

My role as the sixth grade counselor is first to ensure the academic integrity of every student assigned to me. Then, I serve as one of a few mental health service providers on our campus, making sure students’ needs are met here at school and refer help at home. I also am part of a team that works to provide school counseling to all students. Sometimes in class, sometimes individually. I also do a lot of things you won't see, mostly paperwork and meetings too boring for you to read about.
Overall, I am here for you, our students: An ear to yell at, a shoulder to cry on, and a smiley face to try to make a student’s day better.

A little about me.

Originally from El Paso, I moved to Austin in 1992 to work for the City of Austin/Travis County Health Department. Missing the classroom, I started work for Austin Independent School District and taught eighth grade Science for 17 years at Murchison Middle School, earning my Masters in Science Education from the University of Texas at Austin (Hook ‘Em!) and my National Board for Professional Teaching Certification in the meantime. I left the classroom full time to pursue a position as one of AISD’s REACH Mentor Teachers. I worked directly with novice teachers at Martin, Pearce, and Webb Middle Schools. I earned my School Counseling Certification and was happily accepted to be a school counselor here at Kealing.

I retired in December of 2022, took 2023 as my GAP year and now I'm back. I love it!

This is my 29th year in Austin ISD and 30th in Texas Public Schools – every single one of them at the middle school level. I seriously enjoy being here at Kealing: great kids, great faculty, great administration; and I hope to stay as long as you’ll have me.

Attention current 6th and 7th graders! The time has come for you to select your courses for the 2024-25 school year! Beginning next week, your grade level counselor will meet with you during your Social Studies class to complete a choice sheet. Please begin previewing your 7th/8th grade options now so that you are prepared for their visit. It is important that you read course descriptions carefully before making your selections!

7TH/8TH GRADE COURSE BOOK | 2024-2025

7th Grade Course Planning Sheet | 24-25 School Year (for current 6th graders)

8th Grade Course Planning Sheet | 24-25 School Year (for current 7th graders)

Salute is AISD's annual event recognizing some of the district’s outstanding campus-based team members for their continued dedication to student excellence and achievement in our schools. If you would like to nominate a Kealing staff member to be recognized, please do so by clicking here. Nominations close on February 9, 2024.

Last week four of our Kealing choir students made the TMEA All-Region Choir, which is the highest honor individual choir competition for middle school. Congratulations to the following students for earning this great honor.
Lillian Cribbs - Sop 1, 3rd Chair
Alma Brandyberry - Sop 1, 17th Chair
Vivienne Bhargava - Sop 1, 19th Chair
Jo Andreani - Alto 1, 13th Chair

It was a tough week for Kealing basketball as we fell to Goryzcki Middle School.

This Thursday, February 8th we take on Lamar Middle School. The 7th grade team is home and games begin at 6:00.

Kealing soccer played two great competitive matches Saturday against Gorzycki but were edged out at the end.

We return to action on Saturday, February 10th at Lamar Middle School. Games begin at 9:00 AM.

Friendly reminder that the enrollment application is fast approaching on February 6th. For students applying to Kealing Magnet or application-based high school programs (LASA, Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders, and McCallum Fine Arts) ensure all requirements are submitted by this date. You can access Austin ISD's Enroll Austin Application here.

If you have questions regarding Kealing's Magnet Program, please contact Ms. Williams at rolanda.williams@austinisd.org.

If you have not already done so, please consider joining Kealing's PTA today.

Some of the ways the PTA has helped Kealing students, staff, and administration get the year started include:

- Partnered with Kealing administration to support New Student Orientation.

- Purchased “Thrive in the Hive” staff shirts.

- Hosted two Teacher Appreciation luncheons.

- Hosted Welcome Back Sunset Cruise for teachers.

- Partnered with administration to support Back to School Night.

- Kicked off the Secret Pals Program

- Purchased Spanish software subscriptions.

- Purchased classroom supplies for teachers.

- Purchased tools and novels for ELA classrooms

Your membership empowers us to continue these efforts. Join us today and help make a difference in your child's education.

Student council students will be giving prospective magnet students and their families tours next Wednesday, January 31st at 8am and 10am. We need parent volunteers to pair with each student tour guide to assist as needed. Student tours will be 30 minutes long while parents meet in the library for a Q&A with the Magnet Director, Ms. Williams, and the PTA President.

Please show up 10 minutes early for your tour, so you can greet prospective students as they arrive. You will meet Ms. Williams, the Magnet Director, at the front entrance. If you have any questions, please email vpmagnet@kealingpta.org.

The Destination…Life Regional Transition Fair and Conference helps Central Texas families prepare and support their student(s) with disabilities for life beyond high school. Families can expect to gather information and gain access to experts on how to help their student(s) with disabilities ranging from early childhood through high school to successfully transition to adulthood.

Multiple vendors, state and local agencies will be present, in addition to various programs that assist students with disabilities and their families. See logistics below:

• When: Saturday, February 24, 2024

• Where: McNeil High School; 5720 McNeil Dr, Austin, TX 78729

• Time: 9:00am-1:30pm

Registration Information: RSVP for this event

Austin ISD is working to streamline communication and simplify the tools staff and families must access to get the information that matters to them most. Help Austin ISD streamline communications with families and staff by completing the Communications Tools Survey.

AISD Technology remains committed to providing students the devices they need to fully participate in blended learning environments. Device distribution, however, can be costly. Our warranties do not cover loss or intentional damage, an increasing issue the district is experiencing.

We have reviewed our internal student device loss and damage incident data and now need feedback from staff and families to inform our next steps. The Everyone:1 Student Device Feedback Survey begins January 11, 2024, and is open to faculty, staff, and AISD families.

Join Austin ISD in celebrating Black History Month throughout February! Every year, to honor our Black students, staff and families Austin ISD celebrates Black History Month, a time to highlight the district's commitment to creating a safe, supportive and inclusive environment.

Save and share the date for the African-American Heritage Celebration at 6:30 p.m., Friday, Feb. 23 at the Austin ISD Performing Arts Center, 1500 Barbara Jordan Blvd. Austin, TX 78723. This year’s ceremony features student performances and hosts from Crockett Early College High School.

Importance of voting as it relates to the 2024 Texas Primary

• Voting in a primary lets you impact who will be elected in November to national, state and county offices.

• Only 14% of eligible Texans vote in the March primaries, and that’s when most races get decided.

• If more voters cast ballots in the primaries, leaders will be elected who better reflect the spectrum of ideologies and will work across the aisle to make government more functional and representative of the vast majority of Texans.

Polling information

This link takes you to polling locations and times for both early voting and election day for the 2024 Texas Primary.

Voter education programs

Want to vote in the primary but not registered to vote? Click here to fill out an application and to learn more.

Review the Voting Guide for the 2024 Texas Primary.

The McCallum Youth Dance Company is excited to announce our Winter Dance Concert: Progressions. We will have performances on February 9 and 10 at 7pm each night at the AISD Performing Arts Center.

The show will highlight the dance program at the McCallum Fine Arts Academy. Our dancers will perform a range of genres from flamenco to modern, with choreography from guest artists in collaboration with the students. We will also feature the Mac Knight Steppers, a club that has been organized within McCallum High School.

Tickets are available at www.mccallum.ludus.com. If there are individuals who wish to attend the performance, but are not able to attend because of the financial burden, we are happy to work with the school counselor to accommodate those requests. Have them reach out to us at boxoffice@mccallumdance.org.