Great evening fantastic families,

We finally made it to a much-needed Spring Break. This past week we finalized our Magnet Director Interviews and submitted recommendations for hire for the Magnet Director Position, English Language Arts 7, Parent Support Specialist, Accountant, and morning custodian positions. We are also in final steps of acquiring references for an English teacher we are excited about and still scheduling interviews for Math, Special Education, and AVID Positions. Although, we are adding new members to Kealing family, we are still working on our campus climate and culture to make sure this is a place teachers continue to want to be. We are also working on campus climate for our scholars as well with many major social events coming in the remaining months. The algebra II Movie night fundraisers will take place 3/25, 4/1, and 4/8. Student council is also planning a Spring Fling that may take place at the end of April (date has not been finalized yet) and we will have attendance celebrations coming every remaining Friday of the school year. We will have special considerations for students who have factors out of their control to assure the celebrations are equitable to all. This past week we also sent out another biweekly campus survey, completed the reduced data meeting protocol, and conducted more exit interviews for teachers who have left. We are working collaboratively to assure Kealing is that shining star it has always been in Austin ISD. 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

This Past Week

• Conducted exit surveys for teachers who have left this year. (not completely done yet)
• Finalized Magnet Director hiring process. Human Capital is working on the last phase of hiring at this point.
• Submitted Recommendations for hire for : Magnet Director, English Language Arts 7 teacher, Accountant, Parent Support Specialist, and Custodian. Awaiting references for an additional English Language Arts teacher.
• Conducted exit survey with one former teacher.
  
• Worked with campus instructional leaders to reduce teacher workload with a team meeting data protocol.
• Distributed 3/7 Campus Bi Weekly Climate Survey.

This Upcoming Week

• Spring Break
• Hoping to conduct more exit surveys from former teachers

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

3/10- Budget workshop with CAC

3/11 - Budget due to AISD

4/15 - CAC signature Sheets due

Hornet Parents,

It is time to start planning for next year. We need three volunteers to serve on the nominating committee to find people to serve on next year's executive board. If you would like to serve on the committee or would like to serve on the board, please send an email expressing your interest to president@kealingpta.org.

Thank you to everyone who has donated to the We Love Kealing Spring Fundraising Drive! We have reached our goal and can fulfill our promises to our students, teachers and staff. We will be able to purchase items for fine arts and science, fund field trips, pay for the 8th grade end of year celebration, and much more. We appreciate every donation of any size. If you were planning to donate, it's not too late. We will continue to accept donations. Huge thanks to Helen Yang, Shannan Reimer, Jen Loving and Nisha Rocap for working hard on the campaign.

We have a lot of volunteer opportunities on campus - lunch and hallway monitoring, helping build IKEA closest for the choir room, coffee cart treats and distribution, Costco pizza pick up, copy room help, food pantry distribution and more. Our volunteer scheduling is now being done through Konstella. Various volunteer sign ups will be live later in the week, so if you have time in your schedule, we would love your help.

If you haven't signed up for Konstella, PTA's new communication tool, yet, please do. You can find volunteer information there as well as PTA and school announcements.

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

- 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.

Changes

- Masks are optional

- assigned seating for lunches is a discontinued practice

- We are debating staggered releases during transitions at this time.

Monday - March 14th - Friday - March 18th

Spring Break

CAC Meeting 3/24 @ 4pm

In May, students will participate in STAAR testing online. Students must use an AISD device to access the exam. As a result, we need to know which students currently use a personal device from home, so we can secure them an AISD device for testing. Please complete this technology survey by March 25th

All 7th and 8th grade students interested in participating on the Kealing Tennis team or the Track and Field team need to join us in the Large Gym after school on Monday March 21st. We will go over expectations, practice and competition schedules. Time permitting we will start practice after the meetings. Required materials to participate in practice include: A completed AISD physical packet, work out clothes and shoes, and a water bottle. For tennis questions contact Coach Hinojosa (veronica.hinojosa@austinisd.org). For track questions contact Coach Gardner (justin.gardner@austinisd.org)

FINALLY!!! After a long hiatus, the Kealing Bike Club will begin after spring break with ONE mandatory meeting and safety orientation on Thurs 3/24 OR Thurs 3/31 in room 215 (Mr. Hendrex's room). Even if you've ridden with bike club before, you MUST attend one of these meetings to participate in the spring 2022 rides. You only need to attend ONE orientation. Rides will occur on Thursdays from 3pm to 4:15pm from April 7 to May 19. We provide bikes and helmets; students need to bring a water bottle, wear closed toed shoes and dress comfortably for the weather. Email william.shoaf@austinisd.org OR alexander.hendrex@austinisd.org for more information.

Please help our Algebra 2 class raise money for our end of year project! We are making a dynamic art installation in the school and need some funding! This art installation will be an exciting addition to our school and will demonstrate the creativity and individuality of the Kealing students. All donations are appreciated and every dollar counts!

Link to the GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/kealing-algebra-2-end-of-year-project-funding?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1

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

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

Facebook -https://www.facebook.com/KealingMS/

Hornet Herald - https://kealing.austinschools.org/parents/archive

Twitter - @KTXHornets

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