The Knightly News
Parent Newsletter for Kellam High School - October 2018
Powerful Beginnings
The power of Kellam lies in it's students. Nearly 2000 students entered our school on September 4... READY! Starting the year off with uKnight sessions that focus on ensuring students connect with at least on trusted adult sends a strong message that we believe in community. We recognize that collaboration and relationship building are necessary threads in the fabric of a great education; therefore we decided that paperwork would have to wait until the third day (we did not hear any complaints) Not to be missed were our first class meetings, where students met their class officers and were invited to become an active part of their class. Research indicates a positive relationship between student involvement and academic success.
Chromebooks and Schoology are becoming natural strands in our school's tapestry. Ask your student to show you how Schoology works! Teachers have committed to including calendars, learning targets and a repository of class materials as part of their course in Schoology. This format will fit naturally with our first Virtual Learning Day scheduled for October 8, 2018. We have three Virtual Learning days scheduled this year, where students will be assigned objectives to complete from home. They will have extended time (a 10-day window) to complete these activities and the day will count towards our mandatory 180 school days. Teachers will be available to respond to student questions regarding Virtual Learning Day assignments on October 8, from 1:00-2:00 p.m.
No beginning-of-school year activity in Hampton Roads would be complete without a hurricane scare. Florence tried her best to foil the start of our school year but thankfully, she will be recorded as a hiccup and not a game changer. Our thoughts go out to our families and friends in North and South Carolina.
Open House, held on September 25th, started with a brilliant assembly of no fewer than 40 clubs and activities and ended with an invitation to keep in touch with your student's teacher, school counselors and administrators. Using flexible spaces and hands-on stations or activities, the teachers were able to demonstrate approaches to learning that are unique to Kellam High. We look forward to our next opportunity to showcase why our school is truly exceptional.
Don't forget to follow us on Twitter: @KellamHigh and Facebook: KellamHS. Our website is updated regularly for more information: http://www.kellamhs.vbschools.com/.
Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA)
Reflections Contest:
The theme for the 2018-2019 Reflections contest is the "Heroes Around Me". Students can pick up an application outside of room D127, and all entries are due to Mrs. Peters in the art room (D127) by Friday, October 19th.
Fundraisers to support the PTSA:
One of our exciting fundraisers we have this year is Amazon Smile which allows us all to shop via Amazon, but percentages of the purchase will go to the Floyd E. Kellam PTSA. You must be logged into Amazon through www.smile.amazon.com. Once in your account, select “Change Your Charity”, select Kellam High School, and a portion of your purchase will be donated to the PTSA.
Panera Cashola Night, Thursday October 11th from 4-8pm. Please tell them that you are with Kellam High School as a percentage of sales to go to the Floyd E. Kellam High School PTSA.
"Property of the Castle" t-shirts will be sold for $12 each at the Friday, October 12th home football game.
How you can be a part of the PTSA:
You can join the PTSA! Click the following link for the membership form: https://kellamhsptsa.files.wordpress.com/2018/08/kellam-2018-19-ptsa-membership-form2.pdf.
Please join us for our monthly PTSA meeting Wednesday, October 10th at 5:30 pm in the cafe commons.
Attention Kellam Students: if you like planning, organizing and assisting with events, we would love help with the PTSA as Floyd Followers. Please contact Amber Sloan at kellamptsapresident2@gmail.com.
Community Engagement
Students from Ms. Land's PE class have partnered with the West Neck community! Their class mission is to have students participate in community fitness activities that are challenging, health-enhancing and provide opportunities for leadership, social interaction and personal enjoyment.
Volunteer dog owners in the West Neck community and the students began a dog walking partnership which will continue on a biweekly schedule. During class time, PE Students get their fitness steps in, while helping the residents walk their dogs.
Knight Trials
PSAT and CWRA on October 10
On Wednesday, October 10, 2018, all 9th , 10th, and 11th graders will take the PSAT (Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test) This test provides practice for the SAT as well as the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT) It measures reading, mathematics, writing and language skills.
Kellam will also administer the College Work Readiness Assessment (CWRA+) to all Seniors on October 10. The CWRA+ is an authentic, real-world assessment that measures students' globally competitive skills such as critical thinking, creative problem solving, and communication - skills that today's employers value most. Colleges and universities are aware of the power of this assessment and, the results of the CWRA+ are published on all senior transcripts.
Although we will have an adjusted schedule, all students will report to school at the regular time.
uKnight
Welcome to uKnight- Kellam HS’s advisory program which strives to to ensure that at least one adult in the school is getting to know each student well, making sure their learning needs are being met, and encouraging them to make good academic choices and plan for their future. Our uKnight program fosters stronger adult-student relationships and a stronger sense of belonging and community among students.
The opening week of the 2018-2019 school year included time for all students to meet with their advisory groups during uKnight and to acclimate themselves to the purpose and structure of the program. Our 9th and 12th graders met new faces and friends while our 10th and 11th graders reconnected with their uKnight crew from last year. Students updated their Schoology learner profiles and collaborated on the development of a social contract which outlines how we should treat one another during uKnight time.
As the year progresses, students will engage in advisory sessions focused on college and career readiness, goal setting, connection with the school community, and social-emotional well being. Stay tuned...
Counselors Corner
Happy October from your Counseling Team!
Please see the schedule of some activities happening from our department this month!
October 3rd: uKnight - Large Group Session with 9th graders to talk about the plan for registration and Small Group Rotations with Seniors to expand our recent offering of College Admissions Q&A sessions
October 17th: uKnight - Large Group Session with 10th graders for registration planning and continue Senior Rotations
September 24th- October 4th - continue and complete our one-to-one Senior Status checks….ask your senior for their Status Check Sheet they should have brought home!
On-going small group college visits - Here is a list of the colleges coming to Kellam this month so far...check schoology for additional dates/visits and to sign-up!
Culturally Speaking
The 2009 Virginia General Assembly passed a Resolution designating October as Disability History and Awareness Month in Virginia. At Kellam in the month of October we bring awareness to the many contributions of people with disabilities in a number of ways. We have a display in the Library Media Center (LMC) and morning announcements to name a few.
Most people know of the successes of our only disabled president, President Roosevelt or Stevie Wonder, a famous singer, who have disabilities that you can see. Did you know that Michael Phelps and Daniel Radcliffe also have disabilities? Daniel Radcliffe has difficult tying his shoes due to his dyspraxia and Michael Phelps used swimming to combat his severe ADHD when he grew weary of taking medication.
It is difficult to have a disability that you cannot see. Sometimes people just don’t understand why you can not do things as quickly as the next person. They may be confused by your actions or interactions. People with disabilities do not want to have to explain themselves or stand out. They would like to live a life just like yours.
William Arthur Ward, a famous American writer and teacher said, “A true friend knows your weaknesses but shows you your strengths; feels your fears but fortifies your faith; sees your anxieties but frees your spirit; recognizes your disabilities but emphasizes your possibilities.”
During this month, we want to celebrate people who have disabilities, seen and unseen, and all they do to live their best life. And we want to celebrate their friends too…the ones that see not just the disability but also the possibilities!
The Privilege of Parking!
High school students who meet the requirements and accept the responsibilities of driving private automobiles to school are permitted to do so (subject to availability of parking spaces). This privilege depends upon the student's willingness to follow the parking and vehicle usage regulations as prescribed by the individual high school. Failure to adhere to these regulations could result in forfeiture of the privilege of parking a motor vehicle on school property or, in the case of a parking violation, having one's vehicle ticketed and/or towed from the premises at the operator's expense.
Due to the limited number of parking spaces and the large number of students desiring parking spaces, permits will available to SENIORS and JUNIORS only. There are roughly 450 parking spaces designated for student use. The remaining areas are designated for staff, visitors and handicapped parking. To ensure students who are scheduled for late arrivals or returning from the Career Technical Center or Advanced Technology Center (ATC) have adequate parking, they have been given special tags and are allowed to park in the back of the staff parking lot. For safety reasons, student drop offs should be made using the first entrance, dropping students off at the front door, not in the staff parking lot. Because the number of student drivers increases every year it may be necessary to reserve the driving privilege for seniors only or eventually go to a lottery system.
Once parking passes are SOLD OUT no other students will be allowed to purchase a pass nor park on school property without a pass or special permission. Although it may appear that there are parking spots available please keep in mind that we have fluctuating student attendance and visitors everyday. There are very few parking passes available at this time. If your student has not purchased a pass please encourage them to do so this Tuesday. A waiting list will be available after all passes are sold to redistribute spaces as they become available due to transferring students etc.
From the Student Activities Office--Mrs. Katie Cosimano, Student Activities Coordinator
Underclassmen Pictures have been rescheduled for Monday, October 1 and Tuesday, October 2. All ninth and tenth graders will take pictures during Health and PE and eleventh graders during social studies classes. If your child is not enrolled in these classes, please have them attend during their study hall.
Make up day for senior portraits is October 9th in the Schola. Seniors sign up outside the guidance office. Cost is $35 for formal and cap/gown session, but there is no charge for a formal portrait only.
Deadline for choosing a senior formal portrait or turning in a digital file (if using a photographer other than Prestige Portraits) is 11/16.
Kellam Field Hockey FORD Drive 4 UR School Fundraiser
Mark your calendar now! Come out to Kellam on Saturday, October 13 from 9am-1pm and test drive a Ford in support of the Kellam Field Hockey team. See the graphic below for more information and email Katie Cosimano at Kathryn.cosimano@vbschools.com or Tess Carawan at carawantd@gmail.com with questions or if you would like to volunteer at the event.
Homecoming Activities
Themed Home Football Games!
Come pack the stands!!
SCA has designated themes for our Home Football Games.
October 12 is a Pink Out and Feeder School night
October 25 is a Blackout (Homecoming)
We are selling REAL KNIGHTS WEAR PINK T-Shirts in long and short sleeves for our Pink Out game. Short sleeve are $15 and Long Sleeve are $20. Orders must be placed by October 3rd
Shirts will be light pink with white writing.
The Homecoming theme is: Under the City Lights
The classes have chosen the following cities for their hallways and for their floats:
Seniors: New York
Juniors: New Orleans
Sophomores: Las Vegas
Freshman: Rio
Homecoming Spirit Week will be October 22-26.
Spirit Days are as follows:
Monday: I love America Day
Tuesday: Twin Day
Wednesday: Pink Out!
Thursday: Throwback Trend Day
Friday: Kellam Spirit Day!
Our Pep Rally, Homecoming Parade and Game will be Friday, October 26th.
The Homecoming Dance will be Saturday, October 27th from 7-10 PM.
Tickets are $15 or $10 with 5 cans of food.
Tickets will be on sale beginning Monday, October 22nd during lunch in B222.
There will be light refreshments for sale.
C-SPAN contest
Virginia Beach City Public Schools' Department of Teaching and Learning is promoting a national C-SPAN contest for students to produce a five- to six-minute documentary using C-SPAN programming. This year’s contest focus is: “What does it mean to be an American: Choose a constitutional right, national characteristic or historic event and explain how it defines the American experience.” There will be 150 student prizes and 53 teacher prizes totaling $100,000.
An overview, guidelines, application and more information can be found herehttp://www.studentcam.org/. Deadline for submissions is Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019.
Activity Bus Schedule
Do you have a child who stays after school for tutoring, clubs, sports, or any of our after school opportunities? We have activity bus runs every evening:
Monday - Friday, the bus departs at 4:45 p.m.
Monday and Tuesday ONLY, there is a 2nd run at 5:45 p.m.
This schedule will be used each day we have a full day of classes. Any exceptions will be announced as soon as possible. Each student who is riding a bus at this time should be in
front of the school near the gym no more than 5 minutes before these times.
Busses will be located outside of the gym.
Bus 567 – Ms. Briggs – Victoria Park, Courthouse Estates, Courthouse Woods, North Landing Rd, Indian River Rd, N Muddy Creek, Indian River Plantation, Newbridge Rd
Bus 249 – Ms. Harris – Christopher Farms, PA Crossing, Buryn Farm, Holland Woods, Holland Rd, PA Rd including: PA Quarter, Highgate greens, Three Oaks, Highgate Crossing, Southgate, Hunt Club area to London Bridge Rd
Bus 063 – Ms. Crayle – Ashville Park, Sherwood Lakes, Redmill, Lagomar, Heritage Park, Sandbridge
Bus 434 – Ms. Hall – West Neck Rd & Blackwater to NC line, North Landing Rd from Indian River to Chesapeake line
Bus 124 or Bus 813 – Mr. Bernard or Ms. Burnette – Princess Anne Woods, Seaboard Rd, Foxfire, Pungo to Knotts Island
**Students riding for the first time should check with the driver to make sure they are on the correct bus. Busses will deliver students to the nearest intersection to their homes. Students should not have to walk more than approximately 1.5 miles.
Upcoming Events
For all Beach District and VHSL sporting events involving YOUR Kellam Knights, click HERE.
For sports results and standings, click HERE.
October 3 - uKnight
October 4 No PSAT Prep session - this was a misprint.
October 8 - Staff Day (No school for students)/Virtual Day
October 10 - PSAT/CWRA+ Testing (See Alternate schedule here)
October 12 - Football game vs. Landstown HS (Kellam Feeder school night)
October 17 - uKnight
October 18-20 - Fall Show: A Midsummer Night's Dream
October 22-27 Homecoming Week
October 26 - Homecoming Football Game vs. Bayside High School
October 27 - Homecoming Dance
October 31 - uKnight
October 26 - Next issue of The Knightly News
November 6 - Staff Day (No school for students)/Virtual Day
Stay in-the-know:
The Knightly News
Email: dwsmith@vbschools.com
Website: http://www.kellamhs.vbschools.com/
Location: 2665 West Neck Road, Virginia Beach, VA, United States
Phone: (757) 648-5100
Facebook: facebook.com/KellamHS
Twitter: @KellamHigh