Family Newsletter
8/16/20
Welcome Letter 20-21
Dr. Wilson and I would like to welcome you to Robinson Elementary for the 20-21 school year. Our staff is so excited to see you and the kids and begin the new year together.
Although the start of the year is online, we know that we are ready to provide high quality opportunities for kids to build relationships, have fun, and engage in new learning. The staff has received professional development and we have bought additional resources to ensure that every child has a successful online learning experience. We listened to families feedback regarding learning in the spring and took opportunities this summer to build on and improve our teaching from last year. We will be offering a webinar to go over questions, concerns, and gather feedback regarding online learning in mid-September (information to register coming in future newsletter).
We'd like to take the opportunity to share our priorities for the online learning. Our first priority is social and emotional learning. The pandemic has been a time of stress and could be traumatic to many of our students. We are going to focus on helping students to identify their emotions, build a toolbox of coping strategies to utilize when they're dysregulated, and provide daily community building to help students to connect and build friendships with their peers.
We know that all students will be behind where they are typically performing at the start of the year. Because of the pandemic and the closure last year, the district has purchased additional assessment tools which will help teachers to identify skill gaps and receive targeted lessons to build their lagging skills. All students will need additional support of some type during the first nine weeks (reading, math, social emotional, etc). Our team of interventionists, counselors, special education teachers, and Reach teacher may be reaching out to you to schedule time with your child. You will be provided the link as well in case you'd like to join in to support the work outside of the time with the specialists. It truly takes a village and we are so fortunate to have so many dedicated, hard working, and positive people in our village who will do whatever it takes to reach and support each child.
Of course our hope is that we get to return to school in person this year. The district will continue to monitor and follow all health guidelines to ensure a safe return to the building. We look forward to serving our families and engaging students in a fun and memorable school year. This will definitely be one for the record books and one that I know that I will never forget.
As always, please reach out to me via email or phone and I will get back with you. I will be in the building daily, if you want to make an appointment to come in person. I am so excited to be at Robinson this year and Dr. Wilson and I are here to support you.
Take Care-
Angeline & Christina
Mark Your Calendars
You only need to attend this if you are not planning to do the in person meet & greet with your teacher. Supply Pick Up dates are:
August 19th and 20th from 8:30-10:30 or 5:00-7:00
Please pull around the back of the building by the gym doors to get your supplies.
Kindergarten Welcome Zoom
Join via this link:
https://kirkwoodschools.zoom.us/j/94298493346
August 19th from 6:00-7:00
Our kindergarten teachers will introduce themselves, share what the day will look like, and then respond to the questions that are submitted on this google document- please add your questions prior to the start of the zoom.
Here is the link to the kindergarten update that was sent earlier this week.
K-2 Teacher Meet & Greet
Your teacher will send their welcome letter and class roster to you tomorrow morning by noon. In the letter will be a sign up genius link for you to click to register for your 15 minute time slot to meet the teacher in person at Robinson. Your day and time is:
August 24th from 8:00-11:00 and 4:00-7:00.
If you are uncomfortable coming on campus, you will still choose a 15 minute time slot and designate- zoom. You need to come to supply pick up if you are doing a zoom meeting.
3-5 Teacher Meet & Greet
Your teacher will send their welcome letter and class roster to you tomorrow morning by noon. In the letter will be a sign up genius link for you to click to register for your 15 minute time slot to meet the teacher in person at Robinson. Your day and time is:
August 25th from 8:00-11:00 and 4:00-7:00.
If you are uncomfortable coming on campus, you will still choose a 15 minute time slot and designate- zoom. You need to come to supply pick up if you are doing a zoom meeting.
First Day of School
August 26th- we will not have morning announcements for the first few weeks. We are working on a plan for these, thank you for your patience.
A Memorial for Mr. & Mrs. Moore
School Supply Clarification
- The supplies that we are providing are in addition to the supplies that you need to purchase.
- You need to purchase their full supply list which is posted on our website. Additional supplies may be required for online learning. Please refer to last week's newsletter for an online purchasing tool and the additional supply list by grade level.
Request For Internet Hotspot
KSD Back 2 School Website
Schoology Reminder
Monday, August 17, 2020, look for an email from news@kirkwoodschools.org that will provide a Schoology log-in code for parents. Please take a moment to create/sign in to the parent Schoology account. Parents need to have a parent Schoology account to receive important messages related to your child's learning. You may share this code with anyone supporting your child's learning.
If you do not receive this e-mail, it is because you have an activated Schoology account. If you can't remember your username and password, please visit the Schoology website to reset your password.
Please note: Student courses will not be viewable until Monday, August 17. Courses become active on the first day of school.
Universal Schoology Structures
We heard you—KSD teachers developed a new universal Schoology structure for student learning. The universal structure of Schoology will ensure a streamlined process of learning for Kirkwood students (K-12). The screen capture of this structure is included.
Monday, August 17, 2020, look for an email from news@kirkwoodschools.org that will provide a Schoology log-in code for parents. Please take a moment to create/sign in to the parent Schoology account. Parents need to have a parent Schoology account to receive important messages related to your child's learning. You may share this code with anyone supporting your child's learning.
KSD Virtual MoCAP
All K-12 students in the Kirkwood School District will begin the year online. If a decision is made to return to any form of in-person learning before the end of first semester, families who are uncomfortable with a physical return to campuses will have options to continue learning online.
- Students in middle and high school will be allowed to continue their semester-based coursework online. Every effort will be made to continue this instruction with a Kirkwood teacher and Kirkwood curriculum.
- Students in elementary school may be allowed to continue learning with a Kirkwood teacher and curriculum, OR they may transition to quarter-based instruction through Launch, Kirkwood's preferred virtual course assess provider.
Under MOCAP legislation, all KSD families have the option to choose Launch to begin the school year, instead of online schooling through the Kirkwood School District. If you are interested in pursuing this option for Fall 2020, please visit our Virtual Learning/MOCAP website.
Instrumental Music Information
After careful consideration, we have decided to temporarily change the way we present beginning instrumental music classes since we can't currently meet in person. Beginning strings and beginning band students will have 30-minute Zoom classes every Thursday at 7:15am, beginning September 17. This is the plan for the first nine weeks of school, which includes the first five weeks of Elementary Instrumental Music.
Ordinarily we help students establish proper hand position, instrument assembly, embouchure and air support in the first weeks of class but since these details don’t lend themselves to remote learning, we will save them for later. There are plenty of other skills we can work on so that we can hit the ground running when we can meet in person. Students will get acquainted with their teachers, parts of the instrument, note values and rhythms. We will play some games to help with fine motor skills and coordination and teachers will demonstrate proper technique and play for the students.
Except for percussion, students will not need to rent instruments until we can meet in person. Ms. Alison Smith, percussion instructor, will reach out to percussion families with a detailed equipment list. If you have already rented an instrument, we recommend putting it away for these first few weeks to keep it safe.
Please plan to attend the beginning elementary music Zoom webinar at 6:30pm Thursday, September 10. We will send a link to the webinar closer to the date.
Second year strings will have Zoom classes with instruments Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 7:15-7:45am, beginning September 14. Links for all Zoom classes will be in student’s resource files in Schoology.
It’s not too late to register your rising fifth grader in beginning band! For more information and to sign up please see our website.
Best regards,
Kirkwood Music Staff
Tech Help Chat
For returning families to KSD,
As we prepare for the 2020-21 school year, please report school supported device issues or breakages to the “Tech Help Chat” so we can ensure student devices are ready to go in August.
The chat line is available beginning Monday, August 24, Monday-Friday from the following hours based on school:
KHS: 7:30a-3:30p
Middle Schools: 8a-4p
Elementary Schools: 8a-4p
Infinite Campus
The Kirkwood School District uses Infinite Campus for 6-12 student grades. Parents can access Infinite Campus via the Infinite Campus Parent Portal.
Please complete this form if you need to create an Infinite Campus account or recover your username/password for an existing account. For other questions or issues with Infinite Campus please contact icportal@kirkwoodschools.org. Please allow 1 to 2 business days for a response as they are receiving a high volume of requests right now.
Free & Reduced Lunch Information
Please note that all these forms may be emailed directly back to shanon.orelup@kirkwoodschools.org, may be dropped off at our front office, or may be mailed to:
Kirkwood School District
Attn: Shanon Orelup
11289 Manchester Rd
Kirkwood MO 63122
All information and inquiries will remain confidential.
District FSM Policy for Meal Charges
KSD NOW
KSD N.O.W. - Nutrition on the Weekends
Registration for the 2020-2021 School Year
Kirkwood School District offers the KSD N.O.W. program to supply an array of nutritious, non-perishable meals and snacks for children experiencing food insecurity over weekends and extended breaks, free of charge. During the 2020-21 school year, boxes will be distributed to families at their homes via delivery in a discrete and caring manner once per month.
If you wish for your child(ren) to participate in the program, please complete the online form. Only one form is needed for all the school-aged children in your family, but please include information for each child on the form. This information is kept confidential between KSD N.O.W. and your child’s school.
Once your child is signed up, they will receive boxes of food each month of the school year or until you no longer wish to participate. KSD N.O.W. operates with a first come, first served model. If your form is received after the capacity has been reached, you will be placed on a waitlist.
If you have any questions or need a paper form, please contact program coordinator Emilie Lytton at ksdnow@kirkwoodschools.org. All inquiries will remain confidential.
Thank you.
If you have unmet food needs for your family, including older children, babies, or toddlers, please contact KirkCare at 314-965-0406 or dial 2-1-1 for referrals to food banks and social services in your area.
In order to receive support through KSD N.O.W. for the 2020-21 school year, please complete the online registration at https://www.kirkwoodschools.org/KSDNOWRegistration.
ALL FAMILIES MUST COMPLETE THIS FORM TO PARTICIPATE IN KSD N.O.W. Students who currently participate will not automatically be re-enrolled.