Preview:

• Principal's Message

• Come see The Lightning Thief!
• Course Fair - Thursday, 1/22/2026
• IB Information Lunches for Sophomores
• School-based SAT for Juniors - March 3, 2026
• Counselor Update

• Tutoring Center Schedule

• Saturday School Schedule

• Upcoming Events

• Kudos!

Hello everyone, and happy Friday before a three-day weekend!

A few quick points of interest before I move into the important news for the week.

Registration Is Happening!

I will send out more detailed information next week, but registration is an incredibly important process for EACH school year. Making sure we have the most up-to-date forms and information for students and contacts is an essential part of school operation.

For any IB students, prospective IB students, or IB transfers, the registration window is open January 12 - February 6.  

For any transfer or general enrollment student, the window is from February 16 - April 10, and reopens on April 13. 

It is ESSENTIAL that all families register every year.  Please see this site for more information.

A Note About Building Hours

Opening: Our building opens its doors at 8:30am.  Teachers have the opportunity to let students in before then if they are attending that teacher's tutoring session, and coaches can let their student athletes in the school. Other than that, we do not allow students or visitors in the building before 8:30.  As it gets colder, it's important to consider the weather as you drop your students off in the morning.

Closing: Our school day ends at 4:35.  Students are expected to vacate the building as soon as possible unless they are under the direct supervision of a teacher or coach.  In the interest of student and campus safety, we are securing the campus after the bell rings and the buses leave, and any students who frequently attempt to stay on campus after the school has closed will receive Criminal Trespass Warnings.  

Seniors with 1st/5th off-periods: Any student with a 1st/5th period off-period, please wait to come to the front door to be let in to campus until 11:05.  The volume of seniors coming on to campus between 10:30 and 11:05 has become problematic, especially since those students have not been reporting to the library as requested, and that has caused us to make the change to hold off on student entrance after off-periods until 11:05.

And, as a final reminder, NO SCHOOL MONDAY! Anyway, here's the fun stuff!

Come join the Anderson Theatre Department for a night (or afternoon!) of monsters, mayhem, and music. Our hero, Percy Jackson, has newly discovered powers he can’t control, monsters on his trail, and he is on a quest to find Zeus’s lightning bolt and prevent a war between the Greek gods. Normal is a myth when you’re a demigod. You will have four opportunities to catch the magic: 

Thursday, January 15th, 7:00 pm

Friday, January 16th, 7:00 pm

Saturday, January 17th, 2:00 pm

Saturday, January 17th, 7:00 pm

Tickets can be purchased HERE, $10 for students and $15 for adults.

Every year, as we approach the class choice sheet deadline, we hold a course fair so that students and families can come to Anderson and find out more about programs they might want to join, classes they might want to take, and other important information as they decide what to do for the 26-27 school year!  Attendees at the Course Fair can even take a tour!

This year, the course fair is Thursday, January 22, 2026. Please plan on attending to find out more about all the amazing things that Anderson has to offer!

VERY IMPORTANT: The Anderson PTSA Spirit Store will be open during the Anderson Course Fair on Thursday, January 22, 5 - 7 PM. Stop by and stock up! ApplePay, Cash, and Credit Cards accepted. The Spirit Store is located between the cafeteria and big gym.

Are you a current sophomore interested in Anderson’s International Baccalaureate program?  If so, choose one of the dates above, grab your lunch and join us at the beginning of lunch in the Library's Digital Den or Learning Lab for an information session.  There will be a lot of good information shared about the IB program and upcoming course selections for the next school year.

Tuesday, January 20th - Sign up HERE

Wednesday, January 21st - Sign up HERE

Thursday, January 22nd - Sign up HERE

Free SAT School Day for Juniors – March 3, 2026

All Anderson HS juniors will take the SAT during the school day on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. Students are automatically registered by Anderson HS, and there is no cost to families.

The SAT is an important milestone in 11th grade. In Texas, qualifying SAT scores can be used to demonstrate Texas Success Initiative (TSI) college-readiness exemptions, which are used by Texas public colleges for enrollment and placement. SAT scores are also widely used in college applications and scholarship consideration. SAT scores can also help students meet TEA CCMR Markers.

In preparation for the test, Anderson counselors have given SAT Prep presentations in English 3 classes. Students were also provided an SAT Prep Toolkit with free practice resources to support independent preparation via College Board's BlueBook/Khan Academy and students created personalized practice plans in IXL via the student portal.  

Students in 9th, 10th, and 12th grades will have a normal school day on March 3rd. Additional details about test-day procedures and reminders will be shared with students as the date approaches. 

If you're looking for a quiet place to study and receive help on academic work, you have access to free tutoring from Anderson teachers and NHS tutors TUESDAYS and THURSDAYS in the library from 4:45 to 6:00.

After tutoring, there is a late bus that will take students home. Students MUST be in the tutoring center in order to ride the late bus home. Bus stops for the late bus are listed below.

Last Saturday, the girl’s & boy’s swim team placed 3rd at the Cedar Ridge New Year’s Classic.

Diving:

Iggy Gonzalez made his diving debut & finished 4th overall!

Girls:

200 Medley Relay- 3rd  (Anna Csizmadia, Grier Tobin, Kiersten Taylor & Phyllis Shields)

200 m Freestyle-   3rd- Kiersten Taylor, 6th - Ellie Buhro

200 yard IM-   4th Aubrey Peterson, 6th- Charlotte Banister

100 Fly- 6th- Kiersten Taylor

500 Freestyle- 3rd- Charlotte Banister, 6th- Anna Csizmadia 

200 Free Relay- 4th (Kiersten Taylor, Ellie Buhro, Aubrey Peterson, Phyllis Shields)

100 Breast-  2nd- Mya Hsia, 5th- Grier Tobin, 6th- Madeleine Murphy

400 Free Relay- 5th (Ellie Buhro, Mya Hsia, Charlotte Banister, Alessandra Christmas)

Boys:

200 Medley Relay-  3rd (Ty Felan, Brandon Farrens, Gus Lott, Korvin Chawla)

200 IM-  5th- Gus Lott, 6th- Carl Marti

50 Freestyle-  5th- Brandon Farrens

100 Freestyle- 3rd- Brandon Farrens

200 Free Relay- 3rd- (Gus Lott, Carl Marti, Korvin Chawla, Brandon Farrens)

400 Free Relay- 5th- (Korvin Chawla, Logan Livingston, Jasper Christmas, Ty Felan)

Our District Meet will be on Saturday, January 24th @ the Round Rock Aquatic Center at Cedar Ridge High School.

Boys' basketball moved to 3-0 in district after beating Bastrop on Tuesday.  Shout out Luke McReynolds for his 3 made 3's and the team making 22 out 25 free throws to seal the victory. Good luck at Navarro tonight!

Anderson Lady Trojans Basketball beat Ann Richards on Friday and Bastrop on Tuesday, and is 4-2 in district play!

The Varsity Latin League team defeated the  Amarillo HS Gold Team 48 - 35!

Team members are: Olivia Bereuter, John Michael Hubik, Luke Kirkovits, Mara Kornblith, Phyllis Shields, Will Veeser, and Cody Vela.

Congrats to our very own Larry Mok (Bass Clarinet) on being selected to perform in the 5A All-State Band at TMEA this February!

We are pleased and proud to announce that we just received results from the Annual Regional Scholastics Art & Writing Competition for the 2025-26 School Year! This year, the Austin Texas Art Region received over 1900 individual submissions that were adjudicated by a panel of creative professionals. 

This past January 10th our students’ work(s) were reviewed and recognized by a panel of creative professionals, and awarded for their outstanding merit in originality, skill, and the emergence of a personal voice and vision.

Since 1923, the Awards have recognized some of the nation’s most celebrated artists and writers while they were teenagers, including Tschabalala Self, Stephen King, Kay WalkingStick, José Parlá, Amanda Gorman, Charles White, Joyce Carol Oates, and Andy Warhol. 

We are pleased and proud to count our students among these esteemed Scholastic Art & Writing Awards alumni!

Keeping with tradition, our students did exceptionally well and will be rewardingly recognized for their artistic achievements this upcoming Sunday January 25th at the Scanlan Gallery on St. Stephen's Campus for the 2025-26 Scholastics Art & Writing Awards Ceremony! 
 
Please congratulate the following students for their respective artistic achievements! 
 
Students receiving Scholastics Gold Keys are: 
Reyna Giles (3), Elizabeth Tucker (3), Phyllis Shields (2)
 
Students receiving Scholastics Silver keys are: 
Reyna Giles (7), Rae Cerda (1), Rory Goldman (1) 
 
Students receiving Honorable Mentions are: 
Mara Kornblith (2), Phyllis Shields (1), Amerah Haggag (1), Savina Brandt (1), and Flavia Peralta (1)

In addition Reyna Giles has received the coveted American Visions Nominee recognition for her work.
 
The 8 Scholastic Gold Keys awarded to our students are currently being reviewed in New York for National Competition. 
 
We are working on putting a slideshow of the selected works for your viewing pleasure along with a formal invitation for the opening of the exhibition next week!

Please wholeheartedly congratulate these amazing students and all they continue to artistically achieve! 
 
Go Trojans!!!

Zoe Taylor placed 4th in a pool of 61 students at the Churchill tournament and earned a bid to the Tournament of Champions! 

At Churchill, Lauchly Johnson and Lucie Flynn advanced to the semifinals!