Hornet Herald

After a week full of rain, the sun and warmer weather this weekend was a welcomed sight. I hope everyone took the opportunity to get outside and enjoy the weather.

We enjoyed a week full of exciting performances and winning awards at the Hornets Nest. In addition to the great work our students are demonstrating in the classroom, the Kealing Band, Science Olympiad, Robotics teams, Art students, as well as our basketball and soccer teams earned awards/big wins. The students who presented the 2023-24 musical, High School Musical Jr. put on a phenomenal show. You can read more and see some of the highlights below.

I look forward to celebrating additional achievements of our students and staff throughout the spring semester. Here's to more success and sunny days ahead.

Mr. Estes

• January 31 - McCallum Elective Fair @ 5:30pm
• February 1 - Boys' Basketball vs. Gorzycki
• February 1-2 - Eastside ECHS Campus Choice Sheet Completion
• February 3 - Girls' Soccer vs. Gorzycki
• 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 16 - Anderson High School Campus Choice Sheet Completion
• February 19 - NO SCHOOL

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. Krumrey: Haskall Kirchner deserves a shout out for Kindness and Loyalty because he is always so pleasant to interact with and is also very engaged in his own learning and our ELA class discussions.

From Teacher Almore: Payne Wilson been doing awesome in art. He’s shown loyalty and respect by making great art, cleaning, helping, and putting in extra time after school, all with good humor.

From Mr. Kent: Student Council students who are leading the tours for 5th graders were absolutely crushing it - they were cheerful, informative, organized, and overall great representatives for what we’re trying to do here at Kealing.

I want to extend a big congratulations to Cora Truskett for their incredible artwork in the Reflections PTA art contest. For the first time in Kealing MS history, we have an artwork that is advancing to the State level art competition!

Please see the attached artwork and artist statement.

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.

Congratulations to 7th grade A and B teams as well as 8th grade B team for impressive wins against Lively Middle School. 8th grade A team played very well coming up short as the last second shot rimmed out causing the Hornets to lose by 2.

This Thursday, February 1st we take on Gorzycki Middle School. The 7th grade team is home and games begin at 6:00.

Our first games of the season against Murchison Middle School were filled with excitement. Our "A" team competed without four of our starters and ended up winning in penalty kicks. The "B" played strong but fell 0-2.

We return to action on Saturday, February 3rd at Gorzycki 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.

The cast and crew of High School Musical Jr. put on an entertaining show this past weekend. The audience of each sold out show were treated to amazing acting and singing from some of our most talented Hornets.

We would like to congratulate and thank every student and staff member who helped put on this amazing show. You hard work was instrumental in the success of this year's musical.

Just wanted to share bits of the awesome weekend our hornets had at this year's AISD All City Band and Jazz Band Festival. Help me congratulate the following students on a weekend of hard work and fun music making:

Hudson Bounds - All City Jazz - Trumpet

Abbey Wu - All City Band - Flute

Elanna Dominguez - All City Band - Clarinet

Vincent Wang - All City Band - Horn

Margaret Davis - All City Band - Trombone

Violet Maas - All City Band - Trombone

Quinn Papendieck - All City Band - Percussion

Here are some photos of the event!

Congratulations to our Kealing Robotics Teams: The Crimson Coders and The Power Hornets. They each competed against 53 other teams in San Antonio this past Saturday in the First Lego League Qualifier Robot Competition. Students have worked hard all semester building and coding a robot to complete 15 missions in two and half minutes. Our Power Hornet Team placed 1st and The Crimson Coders tied for 17th. Big shout out to our Kealing Crimson Coders: Daanish Ali, Charlie Gaventa, Shane Light, Adya Sastry, Avi Singhal, Sarah Shafi and Kealing Power Hornets: Ishaan Adoni, Neel Akerkar, Tejas Bhagawatula, Liam Browne, Arjun Sharma, Sahana Vijay.

First Inspires will announce Thursday the overall scores for the robot design, innovation project and core values which will determine who will advance to the regional level competition.

Congratulations to Kealing's Science Olympiad team for earning 2nd place at The Texas A&M Science Olympiad invitational this past Saturday.

The award show was special as one of our former Hornets presented our team with the trophy.

What kind of volunteering do you do at Kealing?

I’ve been volunteering with the grade 7 science classes doing labs. I work with Anna Walker, the STEM instructional coach. Recently we’ve been doing a series on microscopes and different cell types.

What’s the time commitment?

I come in every Friday for about 2-3 hours. I have a full-time job and a five-month old baby, but I have a flexible schedule.

How has your experience been?

I’ve been learning things, because biology has changed since I was in school, and the kids have been really receptive. Recently we were looking at cells under microscopes, and then the kids wanted to see what their hair looked like under the microscope, or a Dorito. It’s great when the kids get excited.

What’s something you’ve learned?

A fun fact that I didn’t know before is that kelp is a single cell type. I had no idea that such a huge organism could be just one cell type!

Check out the latest newsletter from our Instructional Coaches, Mr. Kent and Ms. Walker.

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.

Austin ISD has partnered with WestEd, a third-party research firm, to lead the districtwide equity assessment. WestEd is hosting focus groups for staff, students, and parents in mid-January through February 2024. There will be separate focus groups for principals, teachers, campus staff, parents, and of course, students. This is a great opportunity for folks to share their experiences in AISD, specifically how policies and practices impact them and students every day. Interested in participating, click this form- there is a $50 gift card incentive for focus group participants!

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.

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.

Community award nominations have been extended to January 30, 2024.

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.

Parents of incoming 9th-grade Knights, we invite you to McCallum's Expo Knight on 1/31! Join us at 5:15 in the gym for an illuminating elective fair. Explore the diverse courses McCallum offers to help guide your child's academic journey. At 6:30 in the Mac theater, we'll host a comprehensive presentation, covering the course registration process and offering insights into life at Mac. Empower your child's high school experience by being a part of Expo Knight!

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.

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

The Proclamation 2024 materials that are being considered for adoption are available for the public to review and provide feedback. The materials are displayed at Metz Elementary - 84 Robert T Martinez Jr St, Austin, TX 78702. The materials will be available to review January 22 - 25 and January 29 - February 2 from 4:00PM - 6:00PM. Please reach out to Danielle Perico via email (danielle.perico@austinisd.org) with any questions you may have.