KHS News
Saturday, September 29, 2018
In this week's newsletter...
Quick Reminders:
- Progress Reports are available via Powerschool
- All scholars must be picked up by 3:30 pm each school day. If scholars are being checked out early, they need to be check out before 2:30 pm. Students will not be called after 2:30pm.
- Students are tardy after 7:50 am and need to be signed in by the parent.
- Pre-order lunch Account Setup Instructions , How To Pre-Order Instructions , Lunch Payment/Ordering Portal
This newsletter contains the following information:
- Uniform Apparel
- Counselor Corner
- Lunch Menu
- Fundraising Event for KHS
- PTSO News
- Sports at KHS
- Clubs
- Classroom News
Upcoming Events:
- Rescheduled BBQ Fundraiser October 11th
- Book Fair, October 12th
- Wheels Spirit Night, Friday, October 19th from 6-9
- Fall Break, October 29th-November 2nd
- The Winter Showcase will be on Dec. 20, 2018 (See Classroom News for more information)
Uniform Apparel
https://kestrel.egovpayments.com/egov/apps/payment/center.egov?view=form;page=1;id=259
Order will be submitted on twice a month on the 1st and the 15th. If the date falls on a weekend the order will be placed that following Monday. It will take 5-10 business days for the order to come in. Apparel will be sent home with student when it arrives to the school.
All sizes are available in both polo and fleece; in navy blue, black, and red.
Happy ordering!
Counselor Corner
Our school counselors, Mrs. Kennedy and Mrs. Callahan, have been working hard to best serve the needs of all our scholars. Unfortunately, the logistics of being in two separate buildings have proved more difficult than anticipated. Because we are focused on doing what is best for all scholars and providing a comprehensive school counseling program, we have made the decision to change how we split our caseload.
We will be going back to a K-5/6-8 split for counseling caseloads. Mrs. Kennedy will now be the K-5 counselor and Mrs. Callahan will be the 6-8 counselor. In 5th grade, Mrs. Kennedy will be responsible for the day-to-day counseling needs of our scholars and Mrs. Callahan will provide classroom guidance and will work with scholars and staff in the transition to middle school. In this way, our scholars will be familiar with Mrs. Callahan by the time they arrive at the 6-8 campus. As always, any scholar who has a strong connection with or preference for either counselor may request that counselor for individual counseling.
We are disappointed that we were not able to make the previous caseload division work, however we believe this change will help us provide the best counseling services and availability for all scholars. We will continue to work together as a strong team to ensure a comprehensive, consistent counseling program K-8. Please do not hesitate to reach out to your counselor with any questions.
Counselor Wish List
Parents, did you know that your KHS Counseling Department has a wish list of most-needed items and books to support our scholars? This quarter, our focus is on developing a GROWTH MINDSET - a research-based approach to helping all of our students succeed. There are several additional resources on this topic we would love to have to use with our staff and students. Please check out the wish list - you can purchase items directly and have them shipped to us at school, easy peasy! Thank you for your support!
Link to wish list: http://a.co/8UoXmLE
Join us in our K-8 Fundraiser!
We are excited to announce we have partnered with City BBQ and we plan to hold multiple fundraisers with them throughout the school year. Our first one will be held on next week Thursday, October 11th and Kestrel Heights Charter School will get back 25%!
Please be sure to either print the flyer or bring up the barcode on your phone to be scanned (only available at the location provided). Without this information KHS cannot receive credit for your purchase. Please pass the word (family/friends/Co-workers) by emailing and/or texting the flyer-- there is enough BBQ to go around J
Kestrel Heights School Thanks You for your support!!!
When: September 13th
Where: City BBQ – 208 West N. Carolina 54, Durham, NC 27713
PTSO Upcoming Events
Tuesday, October 9th from 7:50-8:30 am.
Breakfast with the Principals & General PTSO Meeting
Location: K-5 Campus in Mr. Moore's Room
Please join us after you drop off your student in the morning for Breakfast with the Principals. Both Ms. Goff and Ms. Villegas will attend and are available to answer questions. Ms. Villegas will talk about PBIS. The PTSO will hold a general meeting to share upcoming plans! Everyone is welcomed!
Friday, October 12th from 5:00-8:00 pm.
Book Fair Family Night & Fall Fest
Location: 6-8 Campus
Save the Date! for our 2nd annual Book Fair Family Night & Fall Fest. Bring along your friends and family.
Event Highlights:
Book Fair Family Night
Haunted Trail
Hayride
DJ Love
Games and Booths
Food Concessions (Hot Dogs, Snacks and More!)
Pumpkins Sales (Small "pie" size)
Friday, October 19th from 6:00-9:00 pm.
Wheels Skate Night
Location: Wheels Family Fun Park, 715 N Hoover Rd, Durham, NC 27703
Cost: $7
Please join us for a fun roller skating night at Wheels Family Fun Park from 6-9 pm. Bring along friends and family. Cost is $7 per person. Don't forget to tell them you are with Kestrel. Non skaters are free to enter. Students, Remember to wear your spirit color to this event!
Send In your Box Tops
Sports at KHS
Basketball Fundraiser Sale
In case you missed out on the last sale, here is the link to the new sale for basketball. I think that you will really like this gear. It is just like the last one, just go online place your order and be done, just that easy. This sale goes until November 12, so that I can have the stuff back to you by Christmas.
http://shop.fancloth.com/27713/425313
Contact Coach Dale if you have questions
Clubs
Game Design Lab
Victor E. Bell, Jr. Scholarship Program
Ukulele and Guitar Club
Kestrel Heights is very fortunate to have two after school clubs this year under the direction of Vlad Kary. He is a professional musician with over 15 years of experience in playing and teaching music all over the world.To learn more about the classes and sign up, please, email: vladkary@gmail.com
“UKULELE CLUB” on Mondays 3:05-3:50pm Kestrel Heights Music Room
“GUITAR CLUB” on Tuesdays 3:45 - 4:30pm Kestrel Heights Music Room
Both clubs are designed to find out what students are interested in. Instruction is guided accordingly to keep lessons engaging and fun! The goal is to help students find their own path in a musical journey. Students learn about the ukulele or guitar as well as music reading, music theory, chords, scales, and improvisation. This program also strives to help students build self-confidence and self-discipline.
Please, sign up with the instructor by September 26th. Classes begin in October
Girls Who Code
Girls Who Code prepares local middle and high school girls with the problem-solving and computer science skills necessary to make an impact on their community and be competitive in the job market of the future. We offer free after-school programs to 6th-12th grade girls to join supportive peers and role models using computer science to change the world. In our programs, girls build character and coding skills as they learn, plan, build, and celebrate together to create a project they care about. Our curriculum designed for students with a wide range of computer science experience. We have activities for girls with zero computer science experience and activities that introduce college-level concepts. Students who wish to participate can choose to attend sessions on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday evenings. They meet at the UNC Computer Science Department from 5:00-6:30pm. We anticipate beginning sessions around early September. To register, simply fill out the form here:
Classroom News
Kindergarten:
October Newsletter is coming out Monday! Please remember to check Powerschool for your progress reports!
1st Grade:
First grade has spent this week learning the short e sound, reviewing subtraction strategies, learning different adjectives, going over the process for writing letters to friends, and discussing where people live around the world in social studies. My my, we've had a busy week!
2nd Grade:
2nd grade has completed our Iready and Mclass assessments. Look for the informational letters coming home in your scholars folders.
3rd Grade
Our peacock of the week is Jonathan.
Don't forget to submit payment for the field trip by October 5th.
We will send home information for chaperones, and parents on the scavenger hunt, student sign-out procedures, and student expectations in Friday folders on Friday October 5th
Please schedule your conference online with your 3rd grade teacher using sign-up genius before October 26th
This Friday ELA will be presenting their first book commercial to the class! Scholars also have a Social Studies group report that they will be working on over the next couple of weeks. Please remind students to bring their planners to school to write down assignments.
Scholars are pushing through the HMH curriculum despite the rough weather we have had recently. Planners have been sent home, so please be sure to check them daily for any assignments that are due or coming up in the near future. Also be sure to check the 4th-grade website for any additional information pertaining to the core curriculum. Have a great day!
5th Grade:
5th grade scholars have finished iReady testing in Reading and Math. We are excited to use the information to best meet the needs of each of our scholars.
We also encourage all parents and scholars to visit the 5th grade website frequently throughout the week for important grade level and subject news. Also, PowerSchool gives you a lot of information about the progress of each scholar and should be checked regularly.
Middle School Blurb
6th Grade:
Sixth grade has their class website up and running! The link is http://kestrel6thgrade.weebly.com/ and each teacher will be updating their class page.
Social Studies: We have begun a new unit this week on early humans. Characteristics, tool usage, migration, and the birth of agriculture with our early hominid (human like) ancestors.
7th Grade:
Access to the Online ELA textbook is coming soon! Stay tuned for more details!
8th Grade:
It's been another busy and productive week in the 8th grade! In social studies, scholars have finished the first Unit and a moving on into Unit 2, "The Age of Exploration." This week scholars will be designing and testing a vessel to simulate the trans-Atlantic journey. In ELA, research is in full swing as scholars are digging into their National History day projects. Scholars are also practicing paper presentations. There are still openings for the Washington D.C. trip as well. In Math and ELA, valuable data has been collected by using a program called iReady. We as a team are looking forward to using this data to better understand areas where our scholars can grow. In Science and Math, students are also practicing graphing data which is a vital skill in both areas. Also, this week Friday, 8th grade will be hosting pizza day. Proceeds from weekly "Pizza Fridays" will go towards the 8th grade class trip, Semi-formal, and promotion. Be sure to get a slice and support the 8th grade! Picture day is also coming up on October 12th.
Physical Education
K - 5 PE
Coach Ellis' classes are finishing up their soccer unit in which the lower grades are being exposed to some soccer game play, They are having tons of fun!
MS PE
Middle school PE students are all through with their football testing and have begun their volleyball unit, a challenging but fun unit!
English Language Learners (ELL) Program/Programa de Aprendices del Idioma Inglés (ELL)
AIG News
This week in AIG students have been busy building their first robots! Mr. Love has enjoyed the cooperation and collaboration involved in the activities.
The elementary art room is in need of milk crates to store sketchbooks for 25 classes.
From the Spanish Corner:
4-8 Great job with the Hispanic Heritage research. Exelente trabajo!
Dance
The Winter Showcase will be on Dec. 20, 2018 and the Spring Showcase will be on May 16, 2019. There will be 2 performances: Grades K-2 will be at 5:30 pm and Grades 3-5 will be at 6:45 pm (both performances will be held in the Middle School Gym). This is a REQUIRED performance, in which all students are expected to participate.
The Elementary Dance and Music Departments will be sending out more detailed information closer to the event.
Come Join Us
Website: kestrelheights.org
Location: 4700 South Alston Avenue, Durham, NC, USA
Phone: 919-484-1300
Facebook: facebook.com/KestrelHeightsSchool/
Twitter: @KestrelHeights