Kiker Comments October 19, 2021

• Upcoming Events
• Attendance Notes
• Love Your Brain Dress Up Week
• GT Nominations for Grades K-2 Coming Soon
• PTA News: APEX Fun Run, Pumpkin Patch, Costume Parade, Reflections
• Announcements: Report Cards, Transportation Week
• Library Update
• Special Education Update
• 5th Grade Family News
• October Staff Birthdays
  
• Get to Know the Staff
• Repeated Information (from previous newsletters)
• Quarantine and Ill Person Requirements for Return
• After School Programs
• All the Links to Everything You Need

October

19 - Drills: Evacuation and Shelter

20 - 5th Grade Middle School Visit via Zoom

20 - Flu Shot Day - pre-registration was required

20 - Beginning of Kiker Pumpkin Patch

21 - Fun Run Day - all classes during Essential Areas

22 - Deadline for PTA Reflections Art Program

25 - Dress up - Jerseys

26 - Dress up - business on top, casual on bottom

27 - Dress up -Mismatched day

28 - Dress up - silly sock

28 - Read for the Record

29 - Kindergarten gets a visit from the Fire Department

29 - Dress up - book characters

29 - PTA Dress Up Parade Evening Event 5:30 pm

November

1-5 Book Fair

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

Austin ISD will celebrate Love Your Brain Week, which is a drug and alcohol use prevention and healthy coping skills week held October 25-29, 2021. This week is a collaborative effort between School Counselors, School Administration, Coordinated School Health Leaders, Austin ISD Peer Assistance Leadership Service (PALS) Student Peer Mentors, Licensed Mental Health Professionals, and School Nurses with support from departments across the district.

The goal is to promote healthy choices, positive activities, and encourage students to avoid drugs, tobacco and alcohol.

We will be accepting nominations for Gifted and Talented testing for two weeks. The window for K-2 is October 25 - November 5.

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 November 5 at 4:00.
• To nominate your child, please check back next week when the nomination link is added to the newsletter.
• An information session via Zoom will be available November 3 at 5:00. Zoom link will be shared prior to the event.

⭐🎉 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆! 🎉⭐ Our Apex Fun Run event is just around the corner – Thursday, October 21! You are welcome to come cheer and your student can collect pledges until midnight, Saturday, October 23. The Fun Run will be in the staff parking lot off Dahlgreen.

Sign up to help volunteer at the Fun Run here. Students will get their official running jersey at school and will run during their regular Essential Areas time.

So far our students have learned the leadership habits of: Aspire, to be a Self Starter, to Own It, and that every day is a New Day. We are so proud of our students, families, and teachers for working together AS ONE and helping make this program a success!

• Classes will run during their Essential Areas time in the staff parking lot on Dahlgreen
• Pre-K will run from 8:10-8:40
• 8:45-9:30 - All 5th grade
• 9:30-10:15 -All 4th grade
• 10:20 - 11:05 3rd - Fuerte, Maywald, Wallace, Krueger
• 11:05- 11:50 3rd- Ponsart, Shoppa 1st- Prickett, Raymond, Toman
• 12:40-1:25 1st-Gilliland, English, Kruszona
• 1:25 -2:10 - 2nd - Vasquez, Blake, Dow, Kinder- Cardenas, Haschke
• 2:10 - 2:55 2nd- Hunt, Dean, Purcell, Kinder - Bredl, McKaskle

Since the event is all outside, you do not need to sign in to the office if you are only here to watch. Volunteers' please check in and get a visitor badge so that we can clearly identify who is here to help and who is here to watch.

We can't wait to see your spooky, funny, and creative creations. Please include your name and grade on the back or bottom of your pumpkin and pick it up by Friday, October 29 at 5pm. Any pumpkins not picked up will be thrown away.

Kiker students and their families are invited to our Halloween parade! The parade will begin in the front circle drive at 5:30pm, on Friday, October 29. Immediately following the parade, the Kiker PTA is treating Kiker students to a frozen treat from Mister Softee. Tickets will be passed out to students at school on Friday. If you are a virtual Kiker learner, the PTA will have your ticket at the event. Additional treats for parents, siblings, or visitors may be purchased directly from the Mister Softee truck.

If possible, please let the Kiker PTA know if you are planning to join us using the link below. This helps us get an idea of the headcount for the evening, but you are not required to RSVP to attend. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c4aa8ae2daafe3-kiker

Please bring your own mask. A mask will be provided at the event if you do not have your own. We will practice social distancing during the parade and while enjoying ice cream.

Look for the spirit wear table to buy Kiker tie-dye shirts, scrunchies, and socks!

The deadline to submit your Reflections entry is this Friday, October 22. Submitted works of art can be in one or all the available arts categories: Dance Choreography, Film Production, Literature, Music Composition, Photography, and Visual Arts. Official submission guidelines are on our website.

Report cards are scheduled to be available on Wednesday, October 20 to families in their PARENT portals and parents/guardians will be notified via an AISD email with a link to their portals. You must have a PARENT portal account to download and view the report card. If your child logs into their student account on the device you are using, this may require you to log out and log back in again.

AISD joins school districts and transportation agencies throughout Texas and the nation to celebrate the importance of school bus safety.

Dress up as a Book Character on Friday, Oct. 29th!

Celebrate your love of books by dressing up as one of your favorite book characters the day before Halloween! This is totally optional, but if your child would like to participate, here's how:

1. dress up as a book character
2. dress up in their costume of choice and create a book character to match
3. wear your pjs (lots of books have characters in pjs 😉

Our fair will be open to the kids all day November 1-5 and open to parents to shop at the following times:

Tuesday, Nov. 2: 10:45-1:15, 3:10-3:45

Wednesday, Nov. 3: 10:45-1:15, 3:10-6:30 (extended hours)

Thursday, Nov. 4: 10:45-1:15, 3:10-4:45 (extended hours)

Friday, Nov. 5th: 10:45-1:15, 3:10-3:45

*Parents may NOT pull their children from class to come shop the fair during school day hours

Interested in Volunteering for the fair?

Sign up HERE to help volunteer for the book fair.

No cash to send with your kid for the fair? No problem with eWallet!

Set up an eWallet for your child to make shopping seamless with no cash needed on book fair days. You can also share your eWallet with family and friends to drop some money on your kiddo at the fair!

The Jungle Book Fair is a great way to get those holiday gifts that are around the corner and shipping times are fast if you shop online from our book fair home page (beginning Oct. 28). Looking forward to seeing everyone soon!

Updates to this year's applications for choice middle schools:

• Families will complete one common application (School Common Application) to apply to the various school choice programs in AISD.

• The application will remain open from September 13, 2021 - January 7, 2022.

Calling all current and future middle school families. Mark your calendars for our Middle School Fair on November 13.

Why it matters: Our middle schools offer a bundle of diverse and innovative programs that your child can take advantage of. Programs include athletics, fine arts, dual language, STEM, tech and film, after-school clubs, and more.

This year's fair is being held at Martin Middle School, 1601 Haskell Street.

• You’ll learn about our programs offered across our 19 middle schools, enjoy performances from talented students, and meet with other students, families and staff from our middle schools.

Kealing Parent Information Nights are virtual and families must sign up to receive a zoom link (Spanish translation available)

Thursday, October 21, 2021

Thursday, October 28, 2021

Thursday, November 4, 2021

6:00 – 7:00 PM

Kealing Showcase is an annual in-person event for families to tour the campus, visit with staff and students, and learn about the innovative curriculum Kealing has to offer. (Spanish translation available)

Thursday, November 11, 2021

5:30 – 7:30 PM

Kealing MS Courtyard Entrance (Pennsylvania Ave)

No Sign Up Required – Come and Explore at Your Leisure!

Greetings from Lively Middle School,

We invite all interested students and parents to attend our fall events to learn about Lively’s amazing Law, Humanities and Global Studies Magnet and Spanish Dual Language Programs.

Please share this flyer with all of your families and join us at the following events:

• Tuesday, October 19th 6:00-7:00 pm: Virtual Prospective Parent Information Night
• Tuesday, November 9th 6:00-7:00 pm: In Person Prospective Parent Information Night
• Tuesday, December 7th: 5:30-7:30 pm: Lively’s Showcase: The Evening of Wonder (In-person)
• 
  

For students applying to our Law, Humanities and Global Studies Magnet Program, the application process can be found on our website. Please find a summary of the components below:

1. Parents apply through their AISD Parent Portal using the Intent to Apply tile
2. Parents also need to fill out our electronic application on our website
3. Students submit a 2 minute virtual interview. Prompts, assessment rubric and a sample interview are on our website.
4. Students attend an In-person Essay Session on one of the following dates:
• Saturday, December 4th
• Last Names A-L 9:00-10:00 a.m.
• Last Names M-Z 11:00-12:00 p.m.
• Saturday, December 11th
• Last Names A-L 9:00-10:00 a.m.
• Last Names M-Z 11:00-12:00 p.m.
• Saturday, January 8th
• Last Names A-L 9:00-10:00 a.m.
• Last Names M-Z 11:00-12:00 p.m.

THE DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS IS EARLY THIS YEAR! JANUARY 7TH, PLEASE START APPLYING NOW!

1 - Donna Kilpatrick

3 - Chris Bryson

4 - Raven Jeffrey

5- Ashley Cross

11 - Veronica Taylor

19 - Nicole Kruszona

20 - Anmarie Bochey

26 - Paige Hariharan

31 - Kim Reiman

Each week we will feature a few staff members.

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