⭐️ We were so pleased to host members of the Athens Chamber of Commerce's "Leadership Athens" class today. The group gathered at Athens High School where Superintendent Dr. Janie Sims and other district personnel discussed AISD's victories and challenges before touring the campus. Members of Leadership Athens visit many area institutions and organizations over several months in order to gain an in-depth understanding of the community. 🐝 We're proud to be part of such an important undertaking! #HornetNation
❄️ Hornet Nation, after much consideration, we’ve decided to cancel school tomorrow. These decisions are almost never easy to make. It involves a great deal of weather watching, communication with other superintendents, and a healthy dose of intuition. 🥶 Our area happens to be teetering on the forecast dividing line between "this looks really bad" and "maybe it won’t be too bad." While we’re pretty confident about the safety of morning travel, we’re much less confident about everyone getting home safely in the afternoon. Ultimately, that’s not a risk we’re willing to take. 🐝 Calling off school is always a balancing act between keeping our students and staff safe, minimizing disruptions to learning, and understanding that last-minute changes can be tough on families. In the end, whether we get it right or wrong, the motivation is as simple as it is powerful: We want everyone to be as safe as possible. 🙏 Stay warm tomorrow, Hornets!
🔔 Our amazing NHS students are representing Hornet Nation on Friday by ringing the Salvation Army bell outside Walmart from 8am-6pm. The money raised through the Red Kettle campaign allows The Salvation Army to help meet the needs of food and shelter for many in need. If you're at Walmart Friday, please give what you can, if you can.
🎉🏈 Congratulations to three of our senior Varsity football players for earning Texas State Coaches Association Academic All-State Team recognition! 🏆 (From left) Andrew Thong was named Second Team All-State, while Isaac Pineda and Shelby Akin received Honorable Mention. We're so proud of you all! 👏 #HornetNation 🐝
👔 Each Wednesday, the AHS coaching staff picks a lesson to impart on the boys in athletics class to help them prepare to become men. This week, the lesson was "how to properly tie a tie," along with a discussion on professionalism. We love it. It's a great day to be alive and a Hornet! #SWARM #HornetNation
👏 The Athens High School debate team competed this past weekend at the University of Texas Longhorn Classic, widely regarded as the most challenging CX debate invitational in Texas. In a major achievement for the program, seniors Isaac Hoch and Cooper Rich became the first varsity policy debate team from Athens to advance to elimination rounds at this prestigious tournament. They ultimately finished in 12th place as octofinalists. 🙌 Sophomores Liam Tinsley and Ariel Silas also delivered an impressive performance, finishing the tournament with a 3-3 record. They narrowly missed advancing to elimination rounds, a remarkable accomplishment for underclassmen competing against such a formidable field. 🐝
The competition included private schools and much larger public schools, presenting a tough challenge. But with their signature Athens grit, these Hornets showcased the talent and determination of our school. We couldn’t be prouder of their outstanding achievements!
🏀 The Annual Athens Basketball Invitational is here! 🏀 Twenty-two varsity teams from across East Texas, Dallas, Houston and Temple will be at Athens High School for three days of hooping action. The first of 48 games will start at 8am Thursday and finish with the championship games at 5pm (girls) and 8pm (boys) on Saturday. Tickets (for students & adults) are $5 per day or grab a $12 tournament pass for all three days. The public is invited; so swing by AHS at 708 East College Street and pack the stands! 🏀🎉 #HornetNation
🎭 Athens Creates Theatre proudly presents Puffs! 🧙♂️ For seven years, a certain boy wizard went to a certain Wizard School and defeated evil. But this is NOT his story. This is the story of the Puffs—the ones who were there, too! A tale for anyone who's never been destined to save the world. 🌟 Tickets are $10 online 🎟️, and staff members get in free with a badge 🆓🎫. Don’t miss this enchanting performance! Get your tickets here: https://act4490.weebly.com/fall-production.html
🎉 Big shoutout to our Athens Debate Team for rocking the Grandview TFA tournament! From left to right: Marlie Adair, Hannah Priddy, Rainy Ibarra, Kraven Parker, Samuel Hart, Cooper Rich, Camden Garner, Ariel Silas, and Sebastian Campa. 🏅 Cooper Rich and Camden Garner took the championship in CX debate, outshining 18 teams. Sebastian Campa and Ariel Silas made it to the CX debate quarterfinals. First-time extemporaneous speakers Hannah Priddy, Samuel Hart and Rainy Ibarra took second, fourth and sixth places, respectively. Marlie Adair clinched fourth in program oral interpretation. 🙌 These wins are racking up points for the TFA State Tournament in March at Prairie View A&M University.
📣 Congratulations to the AHS Hornet math team on an outstanding performance at the Lindale UIL Academic meet! 🏆 They brought home eight individual medals and two team plaques! 🥇 The Number Sense Team (pictured) of Gaden Riquelme, Gage Stasko and Kobe Calloway clinched first place. Riquelme won the bronze medal, while Stasko and Calloway tied for fourth. Special shout-out to Calloway for his personal best score of 86! 🥇 The Calculator Team (pictured) of Olivia Silva, Donna Carpenter, Riquelme, and Logan Castaneda also took first place with Riquelme, Castaneda and Carpenter placing second, third and fourth, respectively. Castaneda scored a personal best of 135! 🥈The General Math Team of Riquelme, Stasko and Jose Pimentel finished strong in second place behind Lindale. Riquelme earned a silver medal, and Stasko placed fifth. 👏 We love to see success in UIL academics like this!
🏈 HEY, HORNET NATION! We hope to see you all at our community pep rally this Thursday, 6pm at the Athens High School coliseum (708 East College Street). Help us support our varsity football team as they battle Van Friday night at Rose Stadium during the first round of playoffs! Remember, there is a bag policy in effect for all public events at AISD. (See details here: https://www.athensisd.net/page/bag-policy-for-public-events). Let's come together and make some noise! 💥🎊
🎃🏆 And the winners of the Athens High School Health Science Pumpkin Contest are… 👹 🏅 Best Overall: Naomi Gonzalez, who went all out with a nurse pumpkin administering a shot to a wee punkin'. Most Scary: Jaylin Bautista with an artistic vampire pumpkin. 🎨 Most Creative: Kaydence Cook with her “giving birth” pumpkin. 🩺 Best Health Science Themed: Camdyn Rodrigues & Addie Disotell’s COVID-inspired display featuring a masked pumpkin on a tray. Great work, ladies, and kudos to health science technology instructor Natalie Tappan on a fun project! 🐝 #HornetNation #HealthScience
👏 Our National Honor Society officers—Gaden Riquelme, Sebastian Campa, Cooper Rich, and Andrew Thong—came together for an amazing cause! These leaders organized and counted all the goods collected through their Trick or Treat service project, where NHS members went door-to-door around Athens to gather donations for local food pantries and Love in Action. A huge thank you to everyone in the community who contributed! Your generosity will help make a positive impact right here in Athens. ❤️ #HornetNation
🎉 Oops, we did it again! Senior Isaac Hoch (right) claimed the championship at Monday's UIL Congressional Debate Regional competition in Kilgore, securing a spot at the state tournament in January. Fellow senior Cooper Rich finished 7th as the second alternate. This achievement continues the extraordinary legacy of the AHS Speech & Debate program, which includes the recent UIL 4A CX state championship (the FIFTH in a decade!!) and qualifications for the NSDA National Tournament in Congressional Debate. Congratulations to our talented debaters and Coach Will Honea! #HornetNation is making waves at every level! 🐝💪
🏈 The Hornets are heading to Bullard this Friday for the regular season finale, competing to secure the second-seed spot in the playoffs! Kickoff is at 7:30pm, so don’t miss out on the action! Tickets for both Thursday’s middle school games and Friday’s varsity game are only available online. Grab yours here: https://my.hometownticketing.com/agency/5b6f33c6-17c6-4afe-81c8-c9f9e79657aa #HornetNation
🥁 Let’s show our support! 🎺 The Athens High School Pride of the Hornets Band is headed to Waco on Tuesday for the UIL State Military Marching Band Championship! Inside AHS, the student body will be cheering the band to victory as they leave the building. At Bruce Field, the community has an opportunity to cheer them on as they leave town. Let's gather in the visitors parking lot on Owen Street at 11:25 a.m. to send our students off with pride as they represent Athens ISD! 🎶 #HornetNation
❤️ A picture doesn't do justice to the kindness on display here. More than a dozen Athens High School Key Club members spent their Saturday in service to others. These dedicated students volunteered at the Athens Soup Kitchen, sorting and distributing food parcels to support community members in need. The Key Club is a student-led organization that fosters servant-led leadership. These students make us proud. #HornetNation 🌟 #ServantLeadership
🥁🤩Wow, wow, wow! Congratulations to the Athens ISD Pride of the Hornets Band on their outstanding Division 1 performance this weekend, scoring straight 1’s! A huge shoutout to all our hardworking students under the leadership of Director of Bands Nicholas Durham. The march to state continues! They'll be at Baylor’s McLane Stadium on October 29. Keep up the amazing work! #HornetNation
🏃♀️🔥 Donna Carpenter is heading back to regionals in cross country! With a 3rd place district finish in a tough field of 41, she’s now set to represent Athens at the UIL Region II 4A Cross Country Meet in Grand Prairie on Monday! 👏 After making it to state last year (as a freshman!), Donna’s got her sights on Austin again, and we’re all behind her! ❤️ Let’s go, Donna! 🙌 #XCStrong #HornetNation
💗 Tomorrow is PINK OUT DAY at AISD! Show your support by sporting pink shirts with dress code pants on Thursday, and don’t forget to wear pink again at Friday night's varsity football game at Bruce Field! Kick off is at 7:30. Let’s paint the stands pink and cheer the Hornets to victory against Carthage! 🏈🎉 #PinkOut #BeatCarthage #HornetNation