JW Killam Principal's Corner
Ms. Leveque's Weekly Newsletter
From the Desk of Ms. Leveque
With the support of the Killam School Council, I am pleased to present the 2019-2020 Killam School Improvement Plan. The Killam goals are closely aligned with the District goals and support the teaching and learning that our students and staff are participating in this school year. After carefully considering a wide range of data to determine challenges our students are facing, and looking at curricula areas of professional development and need, we have decided on two goals for the school year. The first goal supports the literacy development of our students, particularly our most struggling students, and the second goal supports the social-emotional learning of our students across all areas. While this document does not reflect the full scope of work that happens each and every day, it is important that we capture two of the main learning objectives or focus areas for the year.
I appreciate the collaborative effort of the School Council members in making this document become a reality: Tonia McGuire, teacher, Kim Adamo, teacher, Christine Strack, parent, and Paula Smart, parent. As the year progresses, I will provide updates on our progress towards attaining the goals. To access the School Improvement Plan, please visit https://www.reading.k12.ma.us/killam/parents/.
Best,
Ms. Leveque
Our Killam Koala mascot greeting our students on Spirit Day!
Important Killam Dates
Week of December 9th: "Hour of Code" week at Killam. To access more information, visit https://readingstem.blogspot.com/2019/12/hour-of-code.html
Third Grade Colonial Day Celebration
Accessing Report Cards
Attendance Matters
At Killam, we strongly believe in the importance of regular attendance at school. Students are expected to attend school 180 days during the school year. Overall, most of our families do a great job of ensuring children are in school and ready to learn each day by 8:15 a.m. If a child has been absent for more than 5 days since the beginning of this school year, we are required to notify those families and build an action plan to improve attendance. During the month of November, some families received a letter providing information about the importance of attending school, especially at the elementary level. By building those habits early, students are more successful in middle and high school.
If you have any questions or concerns about this process, please reach out to Ms. Leveque directly so we can set up a time to meet.
PTO Corner
Gift Card Fundraising - $ for Killam while Shopping: Please consider supporting our school by purchasing gift cards through the Shop With Scrip Program. The retailers sell the gift cards at a discount, you pay face value and Killam receives the difference as revenue. Physical gift cards and ecards are available along with reloading options. This is a great way to support Killam with your everyday and holiday shopping. Physical cards are ordered in bulk and shipped in bulk to minimize shipping fees and maximize rebates. A full list of retailers and the rebate percentage can be found on the website, https://shop.shopwithscrip.com/Login. You can skip the login and click on SHOP to just browse. Killam’s enrollment code is D55318B4173L8
December order deadline for physical cards is Tuesday, December 10th
Please contact Kate DePalma at kate.w.depalma@gmail.com if you have any questions.Killam PTO thanks you for your support!
New in 2019 - Pay PTO dues with Venmo at @KillamPTO!
Please be sure to include your child/family’s name in the notes when you submit your Venmo payment so we can credit the dues to the appropriate family.
Wall of Thanks
Killam Koalas Outdoors
This week marked our first snowfall. We had a few confusions at arrival on Wednesday which is bound to happen every first snow. We'll get better as the winter continues! We want students to have a consistent outdoor experience between grades and classrooms. To support this, we have set guidelines for temperature/weather type when deciding morning drop-off and outdoor vs. indoor recess for all classrooms. Below are guidelines for morning drop-off and outdoor recess for ‘19-20 school year.
·Students will be outdoors if the temperature (including wind chill) is 20 degrees or warmer and it’s not raining, sleeting, hailing, or blizzarding. We use the WeatherBug app to check in throughout the day so feel free to check it from home!
-For indoor morning drop-offs: The timeframe remains the same as outdoor days. Supervision and doors open at 8:10am. Students in grades K-2 head to the gymnasium. Students in grades 3-5 head to the cafeteria. Students in half-day K always go directly to their classroom (same 8:05 arrival as outdoor days). At 8:15, students head to their classrooms.
· On questionable, cold days the office will make an announcement before the first recess announcing outdoor or indoor recess. If no announcement is made then it is outdoor recess. Again, please send your child with appropriate outdoor clothing because if the temperature rises to 20 or above during the day, we will head outside.
· If students want to play in snow they must be wearing snow pants, boots, jackets, and gloves/mittens. If students do not wish to play in the snow, they will remain on the blacktop.
· With a large amount of students out on the playground at each recess, we need to be extra vigilant about safety. There is no throwing of snowballs or ice. A reflection form will be used to re-teach and discuss the safety concerns if a student does not follow this rule.
· Label each article of clothing so that if something is misplaced, it can be returned to you as quickly as possible.
Please be aware that all students go outside when the weather meets these conditions. Additionally, please send your child to school wearing appropriate outdoor clothing for the weather. We highly encourage you to practice getting dressed in the snow gear as quickly as possible- make a game of it and time it! The expectation is, if you child is well enough to come to school, they are well enough to go outdoors.
Thanks for taking the time to remind students of the winter expectations. Snow play is beloved by many and we want to make sure that everyone has an opportunity to safely enjoy their recess time during these months.
2020-2021 Incoming Kindergarten Information
SEPAC
The SEPAC meets throughout the school year in the RMHS Library Media Center at 7:00 p.m. Please plan to attend on the following dates, or click here for additional information:
- Tuesday, December 10th: A representative from the DESE (Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) is scheduled to present about the new Tiered Focused Monitoring (TFM) parent information plan.
- Tuesday, January 14th
- Tuesday, February 11th
- Tuesday, March 10th
- Tuesday, April 14th
- Tuesday, May 12th
About These Services
Ms. Sarah Leveque, Principal
Email: sarah.leveque@reading.k12.ma.us
Website: http://reading.k12.ma.us/killam/
Location: 333 Charles Street, Reading, MA, USA
Phone: 781-944-7831
Facebook: facebook.com/JWKillamSchool
Twitter: @Killamnews