Kiker Comments September 21, 2021

• Upcoming Events
• Attendance Notes
• AISD Events
• PTA News: Membership, Volunteers, Reflections, Spooky Game Night
• Announcements
• Upcoming GT Nomination Window
• Around the Community: Hunter 5K
• September Staff Birthdays
  
• Get to Know the Staff
• Repeated Information (from previous newsletters)
• Library Book of the Month
• Quarantine and Ill Person Requirements for Return
• After School Programs
• All the Links to Everything You Need

September

22 - GT Information Session for Parents/Guardians via Zoom, 5:00 pm

24 - Evacuation Drill - Morning

24 - GT Nominations for Grades 3 - 5 - FIRM DEADLINE

October

4 - CAC Meeting

11 - Parent / Teacher Conference Day

12 - APEX Fun Run Student Kick Off

14 - Fun Run Day - all classes during Essential Areas

16 - PTA Fall Clean Up Day

18 - PTA Exec Board Meeting

20 - 5th Grade Middle School Visit via Zoom

22 - Deadline for PTA Reflections Art Program

28 - Read for the Record

29 - PTA Spooky Game Night

Please send all attendance notes to the front office or email to amy.mcgovern@austinisd.org.

Austin ISD will celebrate the National Hispanic Heritage Month with the 2021 Virtual Talent

Show “Proud to be Hispanic”. Please inform your teachers, staff and families about this

opportunity! Students can submit their videos or pictures. More than $2,000 in prizes will be

awarded in a virtual ceremony on October 27.

This virtual talent show allows our students to participate safely from home and with the

support of their family. Fine Arts teachers are great motivators to encourage students to

participate. Teachers and staff can also participate as honorary guests.

What: 2021 Virtual Talent Show “Proud to be Hispanic”

Categories: Singing, Music, Dancing and Art (drawing or painting) Pictures and videos with

the highest number of positive reactions in each category will win desktop computers and gift cards!

When: Submission period from September 15 to October 15 via bit.ly/TalentoAISD21

Where: Accepted submissions will be posted on facebook.com/EducaAustin

PoP Membership Drive

Thank you to everyone who has already joined the PTA! Only three days left to become part of PTA (PoP) and help your child’s class win a PoP-tastic prize. Join on our website or scan the QR code.

Check out the classes in the lead!

If your family is in need of a scholarship for the cost of a PTA membership, please contact Ms. Matheny at cory.matheny@austinisd.org.

Committee Volunteers Needed

No experience needed; just a desire to serve our Kiker community! Email kikervolunteers@gmail.com to volunteer!

We are looking for:

• Kiker PTA Scholarship Committee Chairperson - be part of the selection committee this year, with expectation of serving as chairperson in future years. For more information about the Kiker PTA Scholarship, click here: https://kikerpta.membershiptoolkit.com/dr_schneider...

• Kiker Beautification Committee Coordinator - organize and facilitate landscape and groundskeeping volunteer efforts. Knowledge of landscaping is a plus!

• Book Fair Committee Volunteers - work with our librarian to facilitate the book fair, including decorating for, setup/cleanup, and operations of book fair

How to Enter:

1. Download the entry form here in English or Spanish.

2. Submit entries in this Google Form.

Deadline to submit entries is Friday, October 22, 2021.

Student's family must be a member of the Kiker PTA by October 31, 2021, to participate in Reflections.

All Comets (Pre-K to 5th grade) are encouraged to participate. Students participate in the appropriate division for their grade:

• Primary (Pre-K - Grade 2)

• Intermediate (Grades 3-5)

Spooky Game Night

Save the date for spooky fun and game on October 29!

See the button below to complete a nomination.

We are accepting nominations for Gifted and Talented testing for two weeks, September 13 - September 24, for our students in grades 3-5. The window for K-2 is October 15 - November 5, so please wait until the window reopens if your child is a K-2 student.

The process includes the following steps: nomination, screening, and selection. Information considered in the decision includes parent/guardian observations, teacher input, collection of a portfolio of student work, and standardized assessments. Students who are already identified as GT do not need to be reevaluated. Students identified as Talent Explore may be re-nominated for GT identification.

• Please note that the nomination process is time sensitive. All nominations are due by September 24 at 4:00.
• To nominate your child, please click the blue button below.
• An information session via Zoom will be available September 22 at 5:00. Zoom link: CLICK HERE
• Meeting ID: 984 8823 0669
• Passcode: BKE

About the Hunter 5K

Join us on October 30, 2021 for the third annual Hunter 5K Halloween Fun Run!

The Hunter 5K was created to honor and celebrate the fast and free spirit of four-year-old Hunter Henderson, who tragically passed away in December of 2018. Hunter loved Halloween and dressed up in costume throughout the year. Held on Halloween weekend, race participants are strongly encouraged to dress in their most creative Halloween costumes in his memory. The Hunter 5K is the inspiration of Chance Henderson, Hunter’s father. An avid runner, he was moved to create a fun and inclusive event that Hunter would be proud of.

Funds raised from the event benefit the Dell Children’s Medical Center who helped the Henderson family immensely during Hunter’s stay.

Register today at https://thehunter5k.com/!

18 Nadra Collins

22 Amanda Prickett

23 Marian Martin

25 Christina Haschke

Each week we will feature a few staff members. This week we will continue to feature some of our staff that is new to Kiker.

Purchase a book from our special collection of new books. Be the first to read it and donate it to the Bernice Kiker Library!

Formerly known as Birthday Books, our librarian, Ashley Cross, will present your child with the book he/she has selected and your child will have two weeks to enjoy the book before sending it back for everyone else to check out.

Each book is $15 and a special book label will be placed in the book showing your child’s donation to the Kiker Library. In addition, your child’s picture with his/her chosen book will be displayed in the hallway for the school to enjoy.

To join the Book of the Month Club, please fill out this form and return, we ask that you use austinisd.schoolcashonline.com for payment. If you need to send cash or check please send payment with the below portion to Ashley Cross. Your child will be called from class to choose a book and parents will be notified when this takes place. Your child will be recognized on the bulletin board outside of the library for the month.

Thank you for participating! We can’t wait for your student to come choose a book from the library. Your student is welcome to participate as many months as you’d like. Each month is an additional $15. If your preferred month fills up, we will notify you by email for another month preference.

Quarantine:

Day 0 is the last date of exposure.

Day 1 is the first day without exposure.

Day 5-7 the testing can occur.

Day 8 the student can return if a negative test result is provided.

At this time, for someone who is quarantined, we can accept a rapid test OR a PCR test from any testing facility that provides a paper document or email copy of the results. At home tests are not accepted.

Symptomatic / Ill students or staff:

For a student/staff member who was symptomatic (sent home from school sick or self-reported sick), a negative PCR or a doctor's note is required to return.

Staff or students who are symptomatic may request a rapid test on campus. However, rapid tests are not available for asymptomatic individuals at this time. With 760 students and almost 100 staff members, our one nurse is not able to provide peace of mind testing while still meeting the safety needs of those currently on campus daily. Our priority is to have our nurse available for those staff and students with an immediate need in the building.

After School Enrichment

Did you know our Comets have a variety of after school activities in which to participate? This fall, after school activities will include coding, art, cooking, Spanish, piano, and more. For a full listing, please visit the after school enrichment page on our website to learn more and see the wonderful variety of classes and programs offered!

https://kikerpta.membershiptoolkit.com/afterschoolenrichment

At AISD Food Service, our top priority is to ensure all students have access to healthy, tasty meals. The country is dealing with a nationwide food service worker shortage, directly impacting AISD; we currently have over 100 open positions, in addition to managing COVID-19 protocols. Because of this, changes in school meal operations and menus may occur. Please note, any menu changes will not be reflected on www.SchoolCafe.com or on printed menus.

Cory Matheny - Principal

Alma Chapa Moore - Assistant Principal

Kelly Meyer - Assistant Principal

Email: cory.matheny@austinisd.org
Website: https://kikerelementary.org/
Location: 5913 La Crosse Avenue, Austin, TX, USA
Phone: 512-414-2584
Facebook: facebook.com/CMathenyPrincipal
Twitter: @KikerComets