We hope everyone had a good first week back after the Christmas break and got settled back into a good routine to start the spring semester. Just a reminder that Monday (Jan. 15) is a holiday for all AISD students and staff as we remember the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. The entire community is welcome to attend the MLK Big Country Prayer Breakfast at Hardin-Simmons University on Jan.15, at 7 a.m. in the Johnson Building on the HSU campus. Rev. Demotis Sherman, pastor of Mt. Zion FBC, will be the guest speaker. Attendance is free and open to all. Please RSVP by emailing president@hsutx.edu. In addition, the public also is invited to assemble at 1 p.m. on Jan. 15, in the parking lot of the former Carter G. Woodson school, 3424 Cockerell Drive, for the annual MLK Day March. The march across the MLK Bridge will begin at 2 p.m.
The AISD Board of Trustees met for a combined workshop and regular meeting Monday night (Jan. 8), the first time the board has convened with Interim Superintendent Dr. Jim Largent leading the district. For a recap of the meeting, click here. As a reminder, the Board still seeks input from faculty, staff, and the public on the qualities you would like in the next superintendent. The anonymous superintendent search feedback survey is still open for your responses.
Fine Arts update: Congratulations to Abilene High School senior Hope Arrazola on making the Texas Music Educators Association All-State Choir for the fourth straight year, an accomplishment achieved by very few high school singers in Texas. Congratulations, Hope! … Congratulations also goes out to Abilene High freshman Hollie Nowlan, whose piece of artwork was selected for the 2023-24 TAEA Youth Art Month exhibition. This exhibit 
showcases Pre-K through 12th-grade works of art from across Texas. The selected works will be exhibited at the Bullock Texas State History Museum during March, and the exhibit will be featured on its website — https://thestoryoftexas.com/visit/exhibits/youth-art-month-2024. Nowlan and the other students who had pieces of artwork selected for the exhibition will be honored at an awards ceremony March 10 at 11 am. at the Bullock Museum. Congratulations, Hollie!
Forty AISD students – 20 from Abilene High and 20 from Cooper – will perform with other all-region band members at the all-region band concert this weekend at the Wagner-Noel Performing Arts Center in Midland. … Other AISD orchestra students from AHS and Cooper will also play in the all-region orchestra concert Saturday at 12 p.m. at Hardin-Simmons University. … Preparations continue on both sides of town for the musical presentations by the theatre departments at Cooper and Abilene High. … Cooper will present Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” (Broadway version) Jan. 25-27 at the CHS Auditorium. Abilene High will present Meredith Willson’s “Music Man” the same weekend at the AHS auditorium.
The AISD Memorial Park honors the memory of deceased AISD students and staff who honorably served in the United States Armed Forces. The park is located on the grounds of Dyess Elementary School and includes a Veterans Memorial Wall commemorating the names of those who served. If you want to nominate a loved one who has passed away for memorialization on the district’s Veterans Memorial Wall, please click here to submit their information. If you’d like to search the AISD database for the 77 names that already have their names etched onto the wall, click here.
Abilene ISD Sports Roundup: All four Abilene ISD basketball teams are in playoff position as we head into the meat of District 4-5A play. … The Abilene High boys (18-6 overall and 4-0 in district play) remained unbeaten in league play Tuesday night with a 57-56 win at Lubbock Cooper. Eric Salazar scored 15 points in the win for AHS, and Demarco Upshaw had a steal on the Pirates’ final possession to seal the win for the Eagles. AHS will be off Friday before hosting Wylie Jan. 16 at 7:30 p.m. at Eagle Gym and then going across town next Jan. 19 to play Cooper at Cougar Gym at 7:30 p.m. … The Cooper boys are in fourth place in district play after Tuesday night’s 53-30 win over Lubbock High at Cougar Gym. Kam Gray scored 19 points to lead the Cougars to the win, pushing them to 9-13 overall and 2-1 in league play. Coper will play at Lubbock Coronado (15-8 overall, 0-3 in 4-5A play) tonight at 7:30 p.m., followed by a key road contest next Tuesday at Lubbock Cooper and hosting AHS at home next Friday night. … The Cooper Lady Cougars got their first district win Tuesday with a 60-53 win over Lubbock High. J’Lee Sloan had a game-high 27 points and Jazlyn Hatcher added 17 for the Lady Coogs, who improved to 10-15 overall and 1-4 in the district, good for fifth place in the league. … The Lady Cougars are behind the fourth-place Abilene High Lady Eagles, which lost to Lubbock Cooper, 78-33, Tuesday in Lubbock. Myra Thomas led the Lady Eagles with eight points in the loss against the defending Class 5A state runner-up. The Lady Eagles are off tonight before hosting third-place Wylie next Tuesday and then going across town to take on Cooper next Friday at Cougar Gym. … On the soccer pitch, the Abilene High boys are off to a quick 4-1 start to the season as they ready themselves to play in the Kyle Fritz Memorial Cup in Hurst this weekend. AHS played Richardson Thursday afternoon and will take on For Worth Northside at 10:45 a.m. Friday before finishing the tournament Saturday at 1:45 p.m. against Birdville. AHS will host Odessa Permian next Tuesday (Jan. 16) at 7 p.m. at Shotwell Stadium. … The Abilene High girls are 1-1-1 on the season and will play at Andrews at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. They will return to action next weekend (Jan. 18-20) in the Governor’s Cup in Georgetown, where they will play Atascosita, Lucas Lovejoy, and Keller. … The Cooper girls picked up their first win of the season Tuesday with a 12-0 home win over Sweetwater to improve to 1-2. The Lady Coogs will be in action this weekend in the Castleberry Tournament, where they will play Ennis, Benbrook, and Lake Worth. … The Cooper boys dropped a tough 2-0 decision Tuesday to San Angelo Central to fall to 1-4 on the season. The Cougars will be in action this weekend in the Aledo Tournament, where they will play Mansfield Legacy, Fort Worth Western Hills, and Fort Worth South Hills. The Coogs will host Wichita Falls Hirschi next Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Shotwell Stadium.
UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER
Monday, Jan. 15 – MLK holiday (AISD closed)
Friday, Feb. 16 – End of 4th grading period (early release)
Monday, Feb. 19 – Student holiday / Staff Professional Development
Tuesday, Feb. 20 – Beginning of 5th grading period
Monday, March 11-Friday, March 15 – Spring Break
Friday, March 29 – Good Friday (AISD closed)
Sunday, March 31 – Easter
Monday, April 1 – Easter holiday (AISD closed)
Friday, April 5 – End of 5th grading period (early release)
Monday, April 8 – Beginning of 6th grading period
Sunday, May 19 – Baccalaureate Services, First Baptist Church
Thursday, May 23 – End of 2023-24 school year (early release)
Friday, May 24 – Abilene High graduation ceremony, Shotwell Stadium
Saturday, May 25 – ATEMS and Cooper High School graduation ceremonies, Shotwell Stadium