Kiker Comments April 26, 2022

• Upcoming Events
• This Week's Top News: Taco Tuesday at Torchy's, Registration Competition, Career Week.
• Announcements
• Gifts of Time Auction Recap
• AISD Devices - Summer Plans
• Art Show
• Attendance
• CAC Applications are Open
• PTA News - Family Dance, Art Night Recap
• April Staff Birthdays
• Summer Camps
• After School Care for 2022-23
• Repeated Information (from previous newsletters)
• Senior Walk
• Safety Patrol
• Culture Celebrations
• Covid Testing Hub Information
• Early Pick Up Reminders
• Lunch Menu
• All the Links to Everything You Need

April

25 - College and Career Week - See Below for Dress Up Days

26 - Taco Tuesday Bluesday - Spirit Day and Torchy's Night

May

6 - Kiker Family Dance 6:00 pm on the Blacktop

10 - 3-5 STAAR Math

11 - 3-5 STAAR Reading

12 - 5th STAAR Science and Make ups for 3rd/ 4th (Math/Reading Tests)

13 - STAAR Make up day

17 - 2nd Grade Market Day

19 - Field Day

19 - Evening Kiker Keynotes Show

20 - 8:30 am Kiker Keynotes Show for Students

20 - 9:30 5th Grade End of Year Pool Party

24 - Taco Tuesday Bluesday - Spirit Day and Torchy's Night

27 - 5th Grade Commencement Ceremony

Dine in or get your tacos to go, either way our school receives 15% when you order from Torchy's Tacos on Slaughter Lane today.

Our goal is to have 80% or more of our families registered by April 29. We need your help! We are currently at 70%.

All NEW and RETURNING students must register. (Even our 5th graders going to middle school!)

Please register your Comet for the 2022-2023 school year as soon as possible. We are at 70% and hope to reach our goal of 80% registered by the end of the week. To help get our classes and families motivated, we will be offering incentives to classes reaching 100% registration by Friday 4/29.

Teachers will share prize options with their students such as a Go Noodle Party with the Principals or being able to Silly String the Principals. Not returning to AISD next year? Just email Ms. McGovern in the front office so it doesn’t count against your class totals.

Registration is simple online using the Austin ISD Parent Cloud! If you need help, the district has published this handy guide to online registration.

all students will take home their Austin ISD 1:1 devices and chargers they have been using during the school year. Students will return with their device and charger at the start of the 2022-2023 school year.

For students who are graduating or will not be returning to AISD next year, devices and hotspots need to be returned to their campus. Students should also return any unused or no longer needed hotspots at the end of the school year.

Additionally, below are transition options for students moving from 2nd (iPads) to 3rd grade (Chromebooks) (pending available inventory).

• Option 1:

• 2nd grade students take home their iPad over the summer.

• Chromebooks will be delivered to the campus during the summer for August distribution to students.

• Students check the iPad into the campus at the start of the 2022-2023 school year and are issued a Chromebook.

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

Kiker's Campus Advisory Council is a committee of teachers, administration, parents, business and community representatives, and other campus staff. The mission of CACs is to promote excellence in education for all students through broad-based representation. Kiker’s CAC is in need of new members for the upcoming school year.

CACs provide valuable input to principals, who ultimately have decision-making responsibility for their campuses. Specific functions of CACs include providing review and comment on:

· Campus Educational Program

· Campus Performance

· Campus Improvement Plan

· Campus Staff Development Plan

· Campus-Level Waiver Requests to the State

· Campus Budget

Deadline for applications is Thursday, May 5, 2022.

Applications can be found here.

Email applications to KikerCAC@gmail.com by May 5, 2022. Kiker's CAC meets the first Monday of each month at 3:30pm. Email Katy Heisterman & Christina Haschke at KikerCAC@gmail.com with any questions.

We are thrilled to host an outdoor dance party on Friday, May 6 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. for all of our Kiker Comets and their families. We will be dancing the night away with a live DJ on the blacktop! We hope you will join us for dancing, food, games and lots of fun!

Register here!

We danced, sang, drew, created, played, typed, and celebrated Art Night away! More than 200 Comets and family members explored all the ways art can enrich our lives. A special thank you to the 20 volunteers who helped make the night a success and to Gorzycki Middle School band, orchestra, and theater students who performed and demonstrated their instruments.

Also a big congratulations to the students who participated in our Reflections Arts Program! The PTA is grateful to these art exhibitors who volunteered their time and talents:

The Art Garage

Balance Dance Studio

Carie Juettner, Author

Dance XPlosion

Evan Ritter Piano

Kate Winternitz Jewelry

Life Ki Do Martial Arts

Ms. Swint & Ms. Billman, Kiker Art Teachers

Ms. Machado, Kiker Music Teacher

Snapology

Typewriter Rodeo

Young Rembrandts

GMS Theater

GMS Orchestra

GMS Band

April

8 - Eileen Vasquez

9 - Kelly Meyer

15 - Georgea Siow

27 - Cynthia Gilliland

28 - Barbara Schaefer

James Bowie High School presents...

STARLIGHT THEATRE COMPANY SUMMER DRAMA CAMP

Camp Description

Children ages 5 - 11 will focus on:

​Creative Drama, Mask Making, Creative Movement, Poetry Interpretation, Theatre Games, and Story Dramatization

Children ages 12 - 14 will focus on:

​Stage Techniques, Interpretation, Improvisation, Theatre Games, and Stage Combat

Note - Students must be attending the afternoon or the full day session to participate in the Showcase on Friday, June 10, 2022.

Refund requests will not be honored after May 15, 2022

Session Information

Monday June 6, 2022 ​
through Friday June 10, 2022

8:00AM - 5:00PM

​The following session options are available.

Mornings sessions

8:00 AM - 12:15 PM

Afternoon sessions

12:45 PM - 5:00 PM

Full day sessions

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Please arrive 10 - 15 minutes early to drop off or pick up your camper

​Important Reminders
Because we are not registered as a State Daycare facility, we are unable to be claimed on tax documents.

● Please send your child with a lunch if they are registered for the full day session

● Lunch and snacks can be purchased from the concession stand in the morning. Menu options are available on our website.

● Each child will receive a T-Shirt on Friday to wear for the showcase performance. Friends and family are invited to attend the showcase (but not required). T-Shirt sizing is collected in the

● Elementary aged students perform at 4pm. Following a short intermission, middle school students will perform.

https://forms.gle/w6zNXbPYaPTziAaa9

This year we are encouraging 4th and 5th grade students to sign up for safety patrol for a two week block of time during the school year. Thank you for being a campus leader!

Students will drop backpack off in the front foyer/vestibule, sign in, grab a vest, and head out front. We need help waving cars to the front of the line, opening doors, and welcoming each child with a warm greeting or sending students off at the end of the day.

SIgn Up Genius Link

How To Video - This is the Training Video for Safety Patrol

Did you know that our campus announcements and videos highlight significant cultural events around the world? As a campus that celebrates the cultural diversity we have in our community, we love to feature how our Comets celebrate and what these events look like in real life.

Is there a special event for your culture coming up in the next month or two? Would you be willing to share how your family celebrates?

Please reach out to Cory Matheny if your family would be interested in putting together a 1-3 minute video to talk about any of these events (or others that we may have accidentally missed- list source: Nationaltoday.com) coming up in April or May:

Ramadan

Passover

Easter

Earth Day

Eid

Cinco de Mayo

Memorial Day

Kiker is a testing hub on site in Portable 6B daily. (FYI - there is no classroom on the 6A side of the portable.). The direct line is 512-841-7857, appointments are not accepted. This is a first come, first served process or, until they run out of tests for the day.

Why it matters: Research shows that the more people get tested, the safer everyone is from the spread of COVID-19. You’ll be able to access rapid antigen or PCR tests (when available) at 11 sites across Austin.

• Students and staff can get a test at will for any reason, whether you’ve been exposed or are just looking for peace of mind.
• Sites include: Travis, Northeast Akins, Norman-Sims, Pillow, Kiker, Eastside, Cunningham, Navarro, Blazier, McCallum .

• Testing will run 8 a.m. -2 p.m. Monday-Friday.

If you are picking your kid(s) up for an appointment it is helpful to notify the teacher in advance, including the approximate time you will be arriving. It helps things go smoother if students are ready to go and prepared with belongings if they are at recess or essential areas. We don't pull students out of class until the parent/guardian arrives, but we are happy to help get backpacks ready in advance.

Thank you.

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