On Thursday, May 23, a 17-year-old male student at Aledo High School was arrested for creating a false alarm. School officials worked in conjunction with police to make the arrest. AHS Principal Dan Peterson reminded students today of the importance of staying focused and finishing the school year on a positive note. He also said that pranks and poor decisions can create serious consequences for students.

Read about the McCall Austin trip here.

Fifth-grade students at McCall Elementary met this week to discuss the book “The False Prince” by Jennifer Nielsen. Reading the novel was optional for students. Those who had finished the novel ate lunch together and discussed their favorite parts of the book, how the author used foreshadowing, and what direction they thought the sequel—“The Runaway King”—would take. ELA teachers—Kortnye Victory and Tanya Smith facilitated the discussion.

In the 2013 ATPI Hal Fulgham Memorial Scholarship Awards, AHS student Briley Sexton won Honorable Mention in the Fine Art category. Congratulations to her and her instructor, Sandra Sawyer!

The Association of Texas Photography Instructors has selected Sarah Burger as one of the Top 10 photographers in Texas! Great news for Sarah and her instructor, Sandra Sawyer! The Texas Imagemakers are the top 10 students in the state based on awards received in state and national photo contests during the school year. Students are selected by the awards received in contests approved by the Imagemaker Committee. This includes state, national and international contests which are open to Texas students, and judging took place between May 2012 and April 2013.

 

Jay Stringer was named president of the Aledo Independent School District’s board of trustees at the board’s May meeting. He formerly held the position of vice president and has been on the board since 2009. Trustee David Davis was named vice president of the board, having served since 2008. Trustee Johnny Campbell remains in the position of secretary and has been on the board since 2005.

Severe Weather Reminder

Aledo ISD monitors severe weather very closely and would like to remind families of the District’s procedures.

When severe weather impacts AISD campuses and facilities, the following guidelines apply:

1.      Per AISD safety procedures, during severe weather watches, students are brought inside the building and outside activities are suspended.  

2.      Campus administration will utilize local media, weather radio and/or internet for the most up-to-date weather information to be used to determine next steps for their campus/facility.  http://www.wunderground; http://forecast.weather.gov

3.     Read more. 

Across the country, kids are finding ways to make their schools safe for everyone by utilizing a program called Not In Our School (NOIS). The Aledo High School Choir students have decided to take action against bullying by designing a musical performance which encourages the audience to stand up to bullies. They want to empower younger students to create a climate of safety, respect and inclusion. Their performance engages their audience with choreographed musical numbers and audience participation. There is one remaining performance on May 29 at 1 p.m. at Coder Elementary. These high-school students volunteered their time and work hard to produce a spectacular musical performance. Their choir director, Ms. Paul, ensured excellence. This is a must see for everyone!!

Class AAAA Softball Region 1 Final
Aledo Ladycats vs. Frenship Lady Tigers

Game 1:        Frenship is Home Team
Friday, May 24, 7 p.m.
Abilene Christian University Poly Wells Field 

Game 2:        Ladycats are Home Team
Saturday, May 25, 12 noon
Abilene Christian University Poly Wells Field

Game 3:  (If Needed)
Saturday, May 25, 30 minutes after game 2
Abilene Christian University Poly Wells Field

Tickets:  $5 / $3
District 7-AAAA UIL Passes will be accepted (NO Coaches Passes Accepted)

AHS Promenade 2013 from BearcatVision on Vimeo.

McCall Elementary fourth-grader Brady Wood was honored by the Texas State Historical Association for a question he submitted to their “Are you Smarter than a Fourth-Grader” contest. The questions are used during the annual Texas Quiz Show where qualifying middle-school students compete. Fourth-graders from around the state submitted their questions for the honor of having them read during the quiz show. Brady’s question was:

El Paso is so far away from every other city in Texas that it is in a different time zone. What time zone is it in?

Answer: Mountain 

Vandagriff students in fourth grade have enjoyed learning about the life cycle and inherited traits by incubating chicken eggs. The students learned about the life cycle of a chicken and how long a chicken egg takes to hatch. Students were able to monitor the development of the chicken embryos by candling the eggs. They enjoyed getting to see some of the eggs hatch, and they now have 12 baby chicks. Now that the chickens have hatched, the students are learning about inherited traits vs. learned behavior.

Aledo ISD honors its employees each year at an Employee Appreciation Banquet for years of service in five-year increments. This year's event also included several retirees, and was an enjoyable evening for all. See a slideshow of the banquet. Pictured below is Debbie Reedy, retiring kindergarten teacher at Vandagriff Elementary of 38 years. She and our other retirees will be missed by all. She is accompanied here by Superintendent Dan Manning, AISD Board President Bobby Rigues, and Board Trustees Steve Bartley and Hoyt Harris.

Last week's reception honoring retiring AISD Superintendent Dan Manning was a combination of AISD faculty, staff, students, family and friends. Among those attending were individuals from other school districts where Mr. Manning worked prior to joining Aledo ISD. It was a meaningful event, complete with laughter from comments his comrades shared, and a few tears for those that realize we will miss our superior leader. Click to view the "TOP 10" video from the event. And, click to see the slideshow.

Congratulations to our State Track Meet athletes! Danielle Trought placed Fourth and set a new school record in the 100-meter hurdles, Shea Paul Wood placed Seventh in pole vault, and Ryan Newsome placed Eighth in the 100-meter dash. Great job, Bearcats! 

Some reserved seats are still available for the 2013 Bearcat football season. Tickets may be purchased at Bearcat Store during normal store hours. Payment is required at the time of purchase for tickets and parking. Cash, checks, MasterCard and Visa are acceptable forms of payment. Call 817-441-8327 for information. Go Bearcats!

Vandagriff Elementary student Colby T. was invited to be a guest speaker in Professor Gaffner’s class at Texas Wesleyan University recently. Colby is in Mrs. Allcon’s class and uses a DynaVox to communicate, along with several other tools, including an iPad.

Colby spoke to the college class about using computers as classroom tools. He and Mrs. Allcon demonstrated the DynaVox, and Ipod Touch/Ipad and the usage of various applications. A DynaVox is a communication and education tool that helps individuals living with speech, language and learning disabilities communicate and reach their potential. Read more.

Here is an article about Colby from the Texas Wesleyan campus newspaper.

To order school supplies for the 2013-14 school year, click on the link(s) for the school(s) your child(ren) will attend for the 2013-14 school year. Print out the form(s) and return to the appropriate school no later than June 7.

Aledo Middle School
McAnally Intermediate School
Coder Elementary
McCall Elementary
Stuard Elementary
Vandagriff Elementary

Not everyone nominated for awards for the annual Marva Collins Teaching Excellence Awards could possibly win, yet the evening celebrated some of AISD’s finest. Winners at the event were:

Catharine Clay, Teacher of the Year
Mary McLellan, Secondary Teacher of the Year
Dave Marcath, Intermediate Teacher of the Year
Susan Stirewalt, Elementary Teacher of the Year
Lisa Abbett, Beginning Teacher of the Year
Ron Miller, Don R. Daniel Principal of the Year
Zachary Tarrant, Marsha Miholovich Professional Support Award
Vince Matej, VLK Architects Technology Award
Martha Ritter, Buford-Thompson Company Transportation Award
Roddy  McCurley, Buford-Thompson Company Maintenance Award
Melissa Schneider, Moritz/Hardick Child Nutrition Award
Jenny Psota, Moritz/Hardick Paraprofessional Award


Catharine Clay, Teacher of the Year

See a slide show of the event.

Marva Collins Teaching Excellence Awards from BearcatVision on Vimeo.

The Aledo ISD Board of Trustees met during a specially called school-board meeting on April 23, 2013, as part of the continuing superintendent search process. April 17 was the deadline for interested candidates to apply for the Aledo ISD Superintendent position. 

At the meeting, the board reviewed and discussed 52 applications. Topics of consideration included tenure, history, accomplishments, educational philosophy, experiences related to the duties of a superintendent, community involvement. It also included the applicant’s remarks to a criteria list of Qualifications and Characteristics that were developed from community input. The board approved six applicants and one alternate as qualifiers for the first round of interviews to be held in May.
Read more.

Students will have early release on June 5 and 6, and buses will run accordingly.

Wednesday, June 5: Grades 6-12 release at 12:40 p.m.
Thursday, June 6: Grades K-5 release at 11:40 a.m.; Grades 6-12 release at 12:40 p.m.

Information about Summer Camps is now posted on this homepage under the orange Summer Camp tab on the lefthand-side of the page. As more information about additional camps is received, it will be posted there as well.

Parents can go to www.Texas.gov to order birth certificates online. They may order a certified birth certificate for $22, the same price as a walk-in or mail order. This easy-to-use online service is offered in English and Spanish, and provides parents with a straightforward, secure option for ordering their child’s birth certificate. The orders are fulfilled by the Texas Department of State Health Services. Here are flyers in English and Spanish with more information.

The Aledo High School graduating class of 2003 is having a reunion. Please click here for additional information. 

All Bearcat fans can download the Aledo ISD phone app on smart phones. Go to iTunes or the app store and search for Aledo on your iPhone, or access the Android Market on your Android phone. The download is FREE. It's easy access to District News, Parent Portal, Calendars, Menus and more! And, go to the top of this screen to “Like us on Facebook” and “Follow us on Twitter.”