Kennedy Newsletter for Families
Week of April 19, 2020
A message to my Coyotes:
Principal's Post
Hello Kennedy Families,
When I sent my last newsletter, I didn't know we would be saying goodbye for this school year. It honestly has been devastating to our faculty and staff. We love our jobs so much. In fact, most of us feel our jobs are more of a "calling" than something we have to do.
Keeping that in mind, please know that our teachers are here for you until the end of the actual term. We will continue to Zoom and communicate through Class Dojo.
Most of you know I have a child at Kennedy, and I share your questions about progress. We are not collecting the packets due to germs, logisitics, etc. and some of us are worried our children won't work as hard as they should if they know this. I have a solution for all of us...Come close...I am going to whisper this...
Lie. ***Insert laughing emoji here***
I am telling my child that the packet is a must.
Is that a total lie? Well, not really. Here is how I am justifying this:
Does her teacher want her to complete the packets? Yes.
Does her principal? Yes.
Is this work that has been put together purposefully? Yes.
Are these packets just busy work? No.
Is Kennedy collecting the packet and grading it? No.
Am I? Yes.
Do I occasionally make up things her teacher has said to get her to work? ...I mean...maybe...
Seriously though, please make sure your child at least continues to read. If we do nothing else, that's still going to help tremendously.
Please let me know if we can be of assistance to your family during our school closure. We are looking forward to the day we are back in the hallways of John F. Kennedy!
I miss you all so much!
Janice Irvin
How do I pick up my child(ren)'s 2nd Packet?
- Do not come into the office this time.
- Drive to the front door area. You'll see us there.
- Do not get out of your car. :)
- Teachers will have on masks and gloves.
- Roll your window down a little bit and we will hand you your packet.
- Wave goodbye and give "air-hugs" or "air-high fives".
FUN IDEA!
Make a sign to hold up in your car as you drive through to send a message to your teacher. They love you so much and are so excited about the possibility of seeing you at the times below.
PLEASE NOTE:
YOU CAN PICK UP YOUR CHILD(REN)'S PACKET(S) AT ANY TIME DURING THE HOURS BELOW!!!! YOU DO NOT HAVE TO COME WHEN YOUR CHILD'S GRADE LEVEL IS SCHEDULED. YOU CAN PICK UP ALL THE GRADE LEVELS IN YOUR FAMILY AT THE SAME TIME.
If you want to see your teacher(s) when you pick up your packets!!!
FRIDAY, APRIL 24 (PreK-2 Teachers)
PreK & K - 8 am -10 am
- Bogle, Nida, Davis, Trent (Green's new classroom teacher)
1st Grade - 10 am- 12 pm
- Whitaker at 10am
- Hodges at 11am
2nd Grade - 12 pm- 2 pm
- Hilton and Taylor
2 pm- 5 pm Office Personnel
MONDAY, APRIL 27 (3-5 Teachers)
3rd Grade - 8 am -10 am
- Trent and Johnson
4th Grade - 10 am- 12 pm
- Smith, Ryan, Fielden
5th Grade - 12 pm- 2 pm
- Pangle and Paupeck
2 pm- 5 pm Office Personnel
New Packet (#2) Pick-up information.
Dear parents of KCS PreK - 5th grade students,
With the announcement that we will not be able to return to our school buildings this spring, we wanted to make you aware that a second round of learning packets are being prepared to help engage your child in continued learning. These packets will be distributed at your school beginning next week:
Packet Distribution for Students in Grades Pre-K-5
Friday, April 24, 2020: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Monday, April 27, 2020: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Pick up at your home school
PreK students will pick up from their home elementary school (Palmer Center students will get their packet at Palmer)
Please do your part!
It only took me 4 minutes to complete. It's worth our time.
Library Books Due
If you didn't complete the survey last week, please let me know how we are doing (see below)!
KCS Math Resources
Our Investigations 3 curriculum now has a link with additional resources to support families. You no longer have to login to Pearson Realize to access these resources. Use this link: https://investigations.terc.edu/at-home-resources/ to access:
· Math at Home collection
· Investigations 3 Games Online (Grades K-5)
· Math Words and Ideas (interactive review of concepts)
Related Arts Website!
Online Book Fair is here!!!!!
https://www.scholastic.com/bf/kennedyelementaryschool63
We will receive 25% in rewards for all sales and the fair will last until May 3. All orders ship to the student's home.
We miss you so much!
Helping Others
Overcoming Challenges
Willingness to Learn
Leading with Respect
Low-cost Internet Information
(WJW) — Amid the coronavirus pandemic that is closing schools, businesses, attractions and events across the country, Comcast Cable is reaching out to low-income families to offer assistance so they can stay connected.
“For millions of low-income Americans who don’t have Internet service at home, this uncertain time is going to be even more difficult to manage,” Comcast said in a press release. “As schools and businesses close and families are encouraged, or even mandated, to stay home, Internet connectivity becomes even more important.”
Starting Monday, Comcast is putting in place two program enhancements to help low-income families.
Here is the breakdown on the packages:
- Low-income families in the Comcast service area can sign up for 60 days of complimentary Internet Essentials service, which is normally available to all qualified low-income households for $9.95/month.
- Also, we are increasing Internet speeds for the Internet Essentials service from 15/2 Mbps to 25/3 Mbps for all new and existing customers, which will be the speed of the service going forward.
To sign up, applicants can simply visit www.internetessentials.com. There are also two dedicated phone numbers 1-855-846-8376 for English and 1-855-765-6995 for Spanish.
Playgrounds Still Closed
As we continue to work with and align with the city on safety decisions, please note that playgrounds will now be closed to the public, starting immediately.
At this time (based on information from the city), other outdoor spaces, such as tennis, tracks, and walking paths, have not been closed. If anything should change regarding this, we will let you know as soon as we are able. This makes me incredibly sad and I can't wait to open it again.
Kennedy is a Bully-Free Zone! #CoyotesAreKind
**** Kennedy Office Staff ****
Cindy Salyer - Office Assistant
Kem Padgett - Award Winning KCS Secretary
Debbie Allen - Family Liaison
Kim Oaks-Blair - School Counselor
Heather Hobbs - Associate Principal
Dr. Janice Irvin - Principal
Kennedy Constants (always included)
We hope you find it helpful! Please let us know if we can clarify anything for you.
Attendance, Absences, and Tardiness
Birthdays
Please only send healthy snacks as a birthday treat for your child's class. We cannot accept cupcakes, cakes, or homemade items. Please make arrangements with your child's teacher before sending in healthy treats.
Flowers, balloons, etc. should not be sent to the office for students. Please give these sweet gifts at home.
Breakfast and Lunch Programs
Ice-cream day is Friday and must be purchased ($1)
Healthy chips can also be purchased ($1)
Bus Transportation
The number to the transportation garage is 392-4416, if needed.
Carline
- During AM drop off, please stay in your car and allow your child to exit independently.
- During AM drop off, please unload at all 4 numbers/lanes. No need to stop at the bottom of the hill.
- During AM drop off, students can walk into the cafe from 7:30-8:05.
- In the afternoons, 4th and 5th grade cars (side parking lot) please turn RIGHT after you pick-up.
- In the afternoons, PLEASE USE YOUR CAR TAG! :) There is often a glare and I cannot see faces until you are right beside me. This helps our line move as quickly as possible.
Communication & Class Dojo
Contact us!
857-2700 - Main Office
857-2704 - Cafe, Karen Mullins
857-2702 -Nurse Lundy
378-2340 -Fax
1500 Woodland Avenue
Kingsport, TN 37665
Discipline
They are:
H- Helping Others
O- Overcoming Challenges
W- Willingness to Learn
L- Leading with Respect
Hear us HOWL!
In addition to these expectations we use Positive Discipline with Lifeskills at Kennedy Elementary. We know that a part of growing our students as leaders includes citizenship and character. We believe our students are the best in Tennessee.
Kennedy Family Lifeskills for Reference
Kennedy Family Positive Discipline Reference
Positive Discipline really boils down to discipline that is kind and firm. We focus on fixing the behavior, not necessarily punishment. It's based on respect and character building.
Drills/AED
Health and Medical
Additionally, we have a tele-medicine program where a child can be seen via a camera and equipment in Nurse Lundy's office. They can receive antibiotics through this program if needed! We encourage you to use this program! It's awesome!
Homework
Lost and Found
Opportunities for Coyotes
AM Tutoring (5th Grade)
Big Brothers Big Sisters (all grades)
Chorus (all grades)
DBYes (DB student mentors)
HOWLers (Boys, 4th and 5th)
Kiwanis Club Readers (volunteers)
RTI - Response to Intervention (time set aside to catch up academically)
STREAM Club
Ladies of Lynn Garden (Girls 4th and 5th)
Lego League
Maker Space (only one in a KCS elementary school!)
Morning Mile (Coach Robbins - 7:45-8:00)
Speech Services for approved students
Spelling Bee (3rd, 4th, and 5th)
Snacks/Water Bottles
Testing Policies
Our KCS Website can be found here: https://www.k12k.com/
Zones of Regulation
In addition to addressing self-regulation, the students will be gaining an increased vocabulary of emotional terms, skills in reading facial expressions, perspective on how others see and react to their behavior, insight on events that trigger their behavior, calming and alerting strategies, problem solving skills and much more. You can connect this work to parenting as home. We are excited to help our Coyotes stay in the Green Zone!
Taken from Zones of Regulation Content
Zoning and Tuition
If you have any questions feel free to contact Alisa Strong (astrong@k12k.com) via email or by calling (423)378-2100.
Approvals are based on: Attendance, Behavior, and Classroom Space