Falcon Family Newsletter
September, 2023
Falcon Families,
Welcome to the Falcon Family Newsletter! Each month, we will send out information and updates from KAMS. We hope you'll spend some time reading through the newsletter to learn more about KAMS and any important updates.
As school is now in full swing, it is so wonderful to have students back on campus. Students have been busy getting to know their teachers and earning their Falcon Feathers. These Falcon Feathers are given to students when they are "caught" doing something positive, following our behavior expectations, or simply helping each other or staff members. We appreciate all the positive things that our amazing students do on a daily basis!
Thank you to all of you who joined us on campus this week. On August 23, we had a campus full of families and students as teachers gave presentations about their classes at our annual Back to School Night. Combine the teacher presentations with food trucks and it made for a great night to be a Falcon!
During the week of August 21-25 we were able to welcome over 600 family members to our Family Lunch on the Quad Kickoff Week. We are so fortunate to have such supportive and involved families in this community! If you missed the Family Lunch on the Quad, we will be having monthly opportunities for you to join your child while here at KAMS.
Please read through the rest of this newsletter to see updates from the start of school as well as opportunities and events coming up!
Sincerely,
Chris Rauschenfels
KAMS Principal
Upcoming Events
Falcon Friday
Friday, Sept. 1
Wear your Spirit Wear to School!
No School
Monday, Sep. 4
Labor Day Observance.
Club Rush
Thursday, Sep. 7
During Lunch, find a club to get involved with and join!
Kevin Bracy Assembly
Friday, Sep. 8
Motivational Speaker Kevin Bracey will present to both 7th and 8th grade students.
Make Up/Retake Pictures
Tuesday, Sep. 26
Please see below for more information.
School Site Council Meeting
Tuesday, Sep. 26
3:30pm - 4:30pm
Join Me At School Day
Friday, Sep. 29
Parents can sign up and join their student for the day at school.
Join Me At School Day
Mark your calendar for "Join Me At School Day" on September 29th, 2023. This day will allow you to experience middle school all over again by attending classes with your child. Keep an eye out for an email in the next few weeks for ways to RSVP. Please note that due to space restrictions, we have limited availability. Registration will be accepted on a first-come, first served basis.
On Thursday, Sept. 7 KAMS will have our annual Club Rush. This is an opportunity for students to see all the clubs available here at KAMS and get involved. To see a list of the clubs we currently have, please click HERE.
Superintendent's Parent Advisory Committee
The Superintendent's Parent Advisory Committee provides an important opportunity for families to communicate directly with administrators. These meetings provide an open dialogue for representatives to share input about District issues. If you are interested please click HERE to nominate yourself, or another parent you know who is interested. If multiple nominations are received, we will have an election to identify the representative and an alternate. Thank you for your consideration.
Retake/Make Up Pictures
Retake/Make Up Picture Day is Wednesday, September 27th in the KAMS Dance Room.
- 7th Grade will take pictures during 1st period.
- 8th Grade will take pictures during 2nd period.
Only students who were absent on Picture Day (8/15 & 8/16) or are new students will be allowed to take Make Up pictures.
Other than being absent or being a new student, you can only take Retake Pictures if:
- If you purchased photos and you did not like them. Bring back those photos or you will not be able to take them.
- If you want to purchase them and you forgot to purchase them.
More information will be sent in the coming weeks.
Important Links and Documents
Drop Off & Pick Up
Pleaser remember, with almost 1,400 students at KAMS and over 2,500 at our neighboring PGHS, mornings and afternoons are very busy times with a lot of cars! While drop off and pick up traffic is so busy, we appreciate your patience and helping to keep the lines moving as steadily as possible. When staff are out and helping, please do your best to follow any prompts as staff tries to get everyone in and out as quickly and safely as possible.
Parking is also extremely limited based on our staff size and limited spaces. Please go slow, give space, and act safely! Our students' and staff's safety depend on it.
- Please stay in line and do not pull around another car and get back in line to drop off your student.
- Traffic moves slowly, BUT steadily if all drivers pay attention and act safely.
- The inner loop (left lane) is not to be used for drop off or pick up. Please drop off and pick up all students along the Drop Off Curb.
- Once your student has exited/entered the car, it is safe to pull away from the curb and proceed to exit if other cars are aware.
- Please use your signal lights!
- Please follow the directions of any staff member directing traffic in the crosswalk and be aware of pedestrians!
Attendance
Students are expected to attend all scheduled class sessions.
Please contact the Attendance Office at 916-686-5210 for attendance related questions or to clear a student absence.
7th Grade: please use extension 30012
8th Grade: please use extension 30013
If email is more convenient, please email kamsattendance@egusd.net with student name, ID number, your name and relationship to student and reason for absence.
For all information related to attendance, including classification of absences, arrival/dismissal policies, early dismissal policies, campus hours, extended absences for vacation, and how to clear and absence, please click HERE to access the KAMS Handbook and got to the Attendance section starting on page 13.
Guidelines for Extended Absences Due to Vacations
The Secondary Division of the EGUSD firmly believe that a strong home and school partnership will help our students achieve in a positive and effective academic environment. To that end, your assistance is critical in ensuring that your child misses as little school as possible. There is great academic value in a student being present in class, in participating in the lessons, hearing the explanations of teachers, and in discussing subjects with other students. While there may be instances when extenuating circumstances require you to pull your student out of school, please make every effort to plan any family vacations during the scheduled breaks.
Because family vacations are defined by California Educational Code as unexcused absences, teachers may elect to provide makeup work for the student, although they are not required to do so. In the event that students have two or more concurrent weeks of unexcused absences, they may be dropped from their school and may need to re-enroll upon their return.
Key Contacts
KAMS Administration and Student Services Offices
Hours 7:30am - 4:00pm
(916)-686-5210
(916)-686-5538 fax
Activities: Donna McNeel & Mary Hazdovac
Athletics: Traci Seto
Food Services
(916)-686-7735
Student Attendance
(916)-686-5210
Synergy/ParentVue
(916)-686-5210 Student Services Office
Transportation
(916)-686-7733
Counselors-contact directly.
- Concerns about your student's performance in two or more classes.
- Concerns about your student's transition to middle school, socialization, emotional development.
- Questions about college/career guidance programs, middle school credits toward promotion, course requirements, schedule.
Teachers-contact directly
- Questions about work, student performance, or behavior.
- Questions about curriculum.
- Questions about course placement.
- Classwork/Homework/Grades
The classroom teacher should always be your first point of contact. Most times, the classroom teacher can answer your questions and address concerns. If you do not believe your child's teacher has satisfactorily resolved your concern, contact your child's counselor. If your child is having problems in several classes, you may request to meet with each teacher, and/or you may contact the counselor and request a consult regarding the next most appropriate and effective steps to take in the process of addressing the problem. It is our goal to return all calls and email messages within 48 hours. If you do not receive a response within that time, please contact administration.
Administration
(916)-686-5210 Administration
(916)-686-5538 Fax
- Concerns about discipline or negative interactions between students.
- Concerns about teachers.
Vice Principal, Joel Kunisaki
Vice Principal, Mary DeStefano Weis
Teacher-In-Charge, Chris Woods
Principal, Chris Rauschenfels
- Any concerns that the above Administrators have not adequately addressed (including not responding to phone calls/emails within 48hrs).
Counseling
Counseling Staff Team Members:
- Mr. Caston (M - R)
- Mr. Mendez (F - L)
- Mr. Mendoza (A - E)
- Ms. Miller (S - Z)
Other Resources and Tips:
Please visit the KAMS Counseling Connection page for articles, ideas, tips, and other resources to support you and your child in having a successful middle school experience. Please note that you do not have to have your parent account established in order to access our counseling page – just visit the KAMS homepage and click on the counseling tab.
Library
Library Hours & Services
PGHS/KAMS Library is open 30 minutes before school, during lunch breaks, and 10 minutes after school ends. While at the library, all students are expected to follow our library 3B's rules that are posted on every table in the library. Due to limited seating, we ask that students come to the library with a school-related purpose, such as:
- Quiet study of complete homework assignments
- Check out a book or textbook required for class
- Use a computer for school-related assignments
- Attend a library related event and/or library club meeting.
EGUSD Chromebooks
All KAMS students are expected to bring their EGUSD assigned Chromebooks to school daily for academic use. If you have a damaged or lost Chromebook, please come to the PGHS/KAMS Library to get a replacement. All damaged and lost Chromebook issues will be reported to EGUSD Technology Services.
PGHS/KAMS Library also provides daily Chromebook loaners for students who may have forgotten their Chromebooks at home. Students must return their daily loaner to the library at the end of the school day. (Loaners can NOT be taken home.) Students are asked to limit the number of Chromebook loaners requested from the library during the school year.
Library Website
Have you visited the library website at http://kamslibrary.info to see all the great resources available to support classroom assignments, recommend reading lists, student homework help resources, textbook information, library video, and more! The library website is available 24/7 to all KAMS students.
Athletics
Falcon Athletic Information
- KAMS Athletics Website
- Athletic Director, Traci Seto
- Please click HERE to enter the Athletic Clearance Website. (For help with the online application, please click HERE.)
ELIGIBILITY
All student athletes who wish to participate in an athletic activity in the Elk Grove Unified School District must meet the following requirements:
INITIAL ELIGIBILITY
- Have earned a 2.0 GPA or better on the previous grade of record.
CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY
- Have earned a 2.0 GPA or better on all grades of record and progress report grades.
- Satisfactory citizenship
- Must not be on No Activities list
2023-2024 EGUSD Calendar
Katherine Albiani Middle School
9140 Bradshaw Road
Elk Grove, CA 95624
Phone: 916-686-5210
Fax: 916-686-5538
Chris Rauschenfels, Principal
Joel Kunisaki, Vice Principal
Mary DeStafano Weis, Vice Principal
Chris Woods, Teacher-In-Charge
Cheryl Russell, Secretary