The LIFT -

Austin Elementary School celebrated Leadership Day on its campus on Friday, March 8, with guest speakers talking to students in each grade level about leadership, social and emotional health, and having a growth mindset. The theme for this year was The Greatest Show. Each session was led by a community leader, who talked to the students about learning to hone their skills in each of the three leadership categories. Thank you to the Austin staff and the community leaders who made the last day before Spring Break started a special one for each student at Austin.

The LIFT Center will once again offer summer camps for elementary and middle school students beginning in June. The camps are open to any child in those age groups, whether they are enrolled in Abilene ISD or not. The LIFT will host Maker Space Camp June 4-6 and June 11-13 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. or 1-3 p.m. Those camps will be for current 2nd-4th graders. The LIFT will also host a Career Exploration Camp, May 28-30, from 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. each day. That camp will be for current 5th-7th graders. The LIFT will also host Career Academies June 4-6 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. for all current 5th-7th graders. The camps are $75 for three days with lunch provided. For AISD students qualifying for free and reduced lunch, the fee will be reduced. Learn more at www.takethelift.org!

Fine Arts Roundup: The Abilene High School choir will host its Graduation Concert at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, March 25, in the AHS Auditorium. … Dyess Elementary School will host its Block Party and Campus Art Show & Literacy Night from 5-7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 26, on the Dyess campus. … The Taylor Elementary School second-graders will present “The Lone Star State of Texas” show from 6:30-7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 26, in the Taylor media center.

AISD Athletics Roundup: The Class 5A soccer playoffs begin next week, and three of the four Abilene ISD teams are in the postseason. … The Cooper boys – who finished fourth in District 4-5A – will begin their playoff run Monday at 7 p.m. when they take on Amarillo Caprock in the b-district round at Frenship High School in Wolfforth. The Cougars enter the playoffs at 9-11-2 overall but riding a two-match winning streak after victories over Lubbock High (1-0) and Lubbock Coronado (4-0) to end the regular season. … The Abilene High girls and boys teams will play a doubleheader Tuesday night at Lubbock Cooper High School, and both teams will be playing their counterparts from Amarillo High School. … The Abilene High girls – who finished fourth – are 6-8-4 overall (5-5-2 in district play) and reached the playoffs on the strength of a 3-1 win over Lubbock Cooper in the March 12 regular-season finale. The Lady Eagles and Lady Sandies will play at 5 p.m. … The Abilene High boys – who finished second in District 4-5A (7-2-3 in district play) carry a 14-4-4 record into Tuesday night’s 7 p.m. match at Lubbock Cooper HS. The Eagles are unbeaten in their last nine matches (6-0-3) dating back to Feb. 6. The Sandies are 10-6-3 overall after finishing third in District 3-5A. … The Cooper girls finished their season last Friday with a narrow 2-1 loss to Lubbock Coronado, which finished second to Wylie in the District 4-5A girls race. The Lady Cougars were a much-improved squad under first-year head coach Alejandro Chavez, finishing 8-11-2 overall and 2-9-1 in district play. … All three playoff matches involving AISD teams will be streamed on AISD Live. … The Abilene High softball team has won two straight games and three of its last four heading into a Friday night game at Lubbock Cooper and then back-to-back city rivalry games next week against Wylie (March 28 at AHS Field) and Cooper (April 2 at CHS Field). Abilene High is now 14-10-1 overall and 3-2 in the district. AHS senior pitcher Diana Silva recorded her 300th career strikeout and went 2 for 3 at the plate Tuesday night in Abilene High’s 6-0 home win over Lubbock Coronado. … The Cooper softball team will host Lubbock High tonight at 6:30 p.m., hoping to get its first district win of the season. Cooper is 9-15 overall and 0-4 in district play. The Lady Cougars will play at Lubbock Coronado next Tuesday and at Lubbock Cooper on March 28 before returning home to play Abilene High at the CHS Field on Tuesday, April 2. … The Abilene High and Cooper baseball teams have also gotten started with district play, and through the early going, Abilene High and Lubbock Cooper are tied for first at 5-1 in the league. … The Eagles are 11-6-1 overall and 5-1 in district play, and have won four straight games, including a 4-1 win at Lubbock Monterey earlier this week (Tuesday). The Eagles are back in action tonight at 7 p.m. when they host Wylie (18-1 overall and 4-1 in district play) at 7 p.m. at Blackburn Field on the AHS campus. The Eagles will be at Cooper next Tuesday (7 p.m.) for the second of three Crosstown Showdowns and will also be back at Blackburn Field next Thursday against Lubbock Monterey in a 7 p.m. game. … The Cougars are 7-10 overall and 1-5 in league play, having suffered two one-run losses in the first half of district play (2-1 to AHS and 6-5 at Lubbock Coronado). Cooper is at Lubbock Cooper tonight at 7 p.m., followed by the March 26 game at home against Abilene High, and a March 28 game at Wylie at 7 p.m. … The Abilene High-Cooper game set for next Tuesday at 7 p.m. will be broadcast on AISD Live, but because the soccer playoffs are also being played next Tuesday, the baseball game will be presented as an audio-only stream on AISD Live.