Kiker Comments: November 8, 2022

November

9 - Bus Roll Call Day - Expect Slight Delays

9 - Double Dave's Spirit Night - 10% of all sales, in person or take out

9 - Last Day to Send in Candy for Candy Buy Back

11- Veterans Day Assembly 9:00 am

15 - Final Call for Art Fundraiser Orders

17 - cafe menu is Thanksgiving meal

17 - Third Grade Musical 6:30 pm

18 - Deadline for HSR Opt In Permission Forms (Permission Forms Below)

18 - Flu Clinic 3:30-5:30; See Below

21 - 25 No School, Thanksgiving Break

28 - DEI Committee Meeting 6:00 in the Library

December

5- CAC

8 - Kiker Gives Back

21 - Last Day for Students, End of 2nd Nine Week Grading Period

January

9 - Staff Development, Student Holiday

10 - First Day Back for Students After Break

Please help our students and teachers start the day off right by being on time for school. We are seeing a large trend in students arriving late and it interrupts the flow of our morning instruction. Our teachers greatly appreciate your effort to arrive by 7:35 so students are in their classrooms by 7:40.

The sale, benefitting the Kiker Art Department, will run through this week and end Tuesday, November 15th. Orders placed during the 5th -15th dates will arrive before the winter break, and orders placed after the 15th will ship out after winter break.

Please celebrate your child's creativity! They are great young artists that put a lot of hard work into their art. Thank you, and enjoy! Don't hesitate to contact Ms.Swint at danielle.swint@austinisd.org with questions regarding the art fundraiser.

There has been an abundance of Strep and Flu running through Austin ISD. If your child says that they aren’t feeling well, be sure to take their temperature before sending them to school.

Also be aware that the policy for AISD is that a child must be fever free for 24 hours without a fever reducing medication before sending them back to school.

However, many doctors are currently recommending that they be fever free for 48 hours in order to be sure that students are no longer contagious.

Please help us keep our Kiker kids healthy and well by adhering to the recommendations.

Sincerely,

Your School Murse,

LTC Tarren Kingsley, RN

The Texas Education Agency requires school districts to conduct a roll call of all eligible students riding buses at least twice during the school year. We will conduct roll calls on November 9 and February 15.

When the roll calls are conducted, there may be delays in bus arrival and departure times across the district as drivers confirm students’ names and addresses. For example, there is additional time needed to confirm information with some of the youngest elementary students. These delays can, in turn, affect the middle and high school routes.

Drop off your unwanted Halloween candy to the Kiker front office by November 9! Becher and Gil Orthodontics will pay Kiker $1.00 for each pound of candy we collect! They will send all of the candy to the troops overseas AND you will fight cavities (win-win)!

This week we are finishing our guidance lessons on conflict. Conflict can happen internally or externally. External conflict can controlled through resolution from both parties. Self-defeating thoughts can prevent us from learning new skills or creating new friendships, never listen to self-doubt. Apart from our guidance lessons we are excited to continue our second week of group counseling.

Your counselors: Vicente Macias and Niki Muller

A group of parents, caregivers, and staff are in the process of forming a Diversity and Inclusion Committee at Kiker. All are welcome to join! The first meeting was held on Oct. 24 at 6 pm in the Kiker library. Our next meeting will be on Monday, November 28. If you'd like more information or want to be involved, please email Kristin Finan at kristinfinan@yahoo.com.

Dr. Mays, our Interim Superintendent, is challenging our school community to read one million minutes this school year. The reading challenge is open now and runs through April 30, 2023, across all AISD campuses. Students will log their minutes read on this Google form, so you might want to bookmark it or record by going to the Library Blend Course and clicking on the Million Minutes icon.

For ease, you might want to record in the form once a week by adding up your child's minutes read at home on a weekly basis. All reading counts!

Interested in how we're doing compared to other schools? Check us out HERE.

Good luck, Kiker Readers! Let's show this city how much we read over at Kiker.

Kiker Elementary will be hosting a Staff & Student Fall Flu Clinic on Friday, November 18, 3:30pm - 5:30pm. All Austin ISD staff and students with insurance can receive a Flu shot at the Fall Flu Clinic at no cost. The cost for flu shots is $40 without insurance.

Appointments will be taken from 3:30pm - 4:00 pm, walk-ins will be accepted whenever possible. Sign up for your flu shot by clicking here: FLU SHOT REGISTRATION

If you are unable to attend Kiker's Flu Clinic, please help us fight the Flu and get your Flu shot with one of these local resources found here: https://www.austinisd.org/student-health/flu-clinics

Flu Clinic Reminders:

• Please double check the reminder email you receive the day prior to our event for your exact arrival time for your appointment.

• (Some appointments may vary by a few minutes to aid in social distancing).

• Please bring your insurance card and photo ID

• Remember to wear a short sleeve shirt

• Please come at your allotted time to help with social distancing

• Please wear a mask or face covering for your entire visit.

• We will conduct a touchless-thermometer temperature check prior to vaccine administration

• You must have a temp of 100.4 or less at the time of service

Contact health@austinisd.org for any questions

We have created the comprehensive document below to outline everything you might want to know. Please take some time to review this and complete one form per child. All lessons are 'opt-in' so anyone who doesn't complete a form will be considered an 'opt-out.' However, it would greatly help our record keeping if you would fill out the form either way so we have a documented record of your request.

EVERYTHING YOU NEED/WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE HUMAN SEXUALITY AND RESPONSIBILITY LESSONS

Shortcut to forms:

Kiker HSR Permission Form-Kindergarten

Kiker HSR Permission Form-1st Grade

Kiker HSR Permission Form-2nd Grade

Kiker HSR Permission Form-3rd Grade

Kiker HSR Permission Form-4th Grade

Kiker HSR Permission Form-5th Grade

Austin ISD special education department will conduct monthly power hour meetings for parents and community members.

Next Parent Power Hour will be Nov 30, 2022 via Zoom

This month’s topics include: Organizational Strategies; Executive Functioning

Please see attached flier in both English and Spanish for information on the November Parent Power Hour.

This coming Wednesday, November 9th, is our first "Eat Pizza/Wear Your Blues Wednesday!"

Visit our local Double Dave's (at Arbor Trails) OR call in OR order online and our school will receive 10% of all sales from 5:00-8:00 pm. Applies to dine-in, take out, AND delivery.

Also, don't forget to dress your Comet in blue on Wednesday for the class spirit competition at school.

In the event that your child will be missing school, please follow these steps:

1) Email both your child's teacher and Ms. Amy McGovern, our registrar. Amy.mcgovern@austinisd.org

2) Please include your child's first and last name

3) Please provide the reason for the absence so we can code it correctly in our attendance system.

In Austin ISD, staff can be recognized with a RAVE award - Recognizing All Valuable Employees. Anyone can submit a RAVE award to any staff member, just use the link at the bottom of this S'more to send a positive note to a staff member.

The October Recipients Were:

Edward Swan

Pooja Mulgaonker X 2

Paige Hariharan

Abbey Raymond

Ashley Cross

Laura Davis

November

25 - Candance Cotten

25 - Suzanne Hoelzel

25 - Danielle Swint

New Sessions Starting Soon! Sign up today using the links in the calendar.

Steam Works Lego Powered Robotics, Oct. 31-Dec. 12

Sticky Fingers, Nov. 2-Dec. 14

Track & Field by ATX Ballers, Oct. 31-Dec.12

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

Cory Matheny - Principal

Alma Chapa Moore - Assistant Principal

Kelly Zilem - 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