Dear Kingsley families,

Despite the rainy start to the school year, there were plenty of smiles and excitement as we welcomed our students back. It felt amazing to fill the hallways with the energy of our students. Our staff and students did a great job transitioning back to school! A BIG thank you to our Kingsley PTA for hosting our annual Ice Cream Social and back-to-school coffee. Staff and students are beginning to make new connections and learn new routines.

As a friendly reminder, when dropping off and picking up, vehicles should not be left unattended in the carline. Also, only staff vehicles are permitted to enter/exit the back lot during arrival/dismissal. We appreciate your cooperation in ensuring the safety of our students during these busy times.

Please read below for important information about MAP testing, schoolwide behavior expectations, playground fundraising updates, and more.

Have a great weekend,

Chuck Brewster & Eleni Gajewski

Reminder Monday is our first early dismissal for Professional Learning Mondays. Please remind your friends and neighbors. Kindergarten will still dismiss at the regular time (11:20a.m.). OKEEP and grades 1-6 dismiss at 2:00p.m.

The Kingsley staff is starting the year by building relationships with students, while reviewing what students currently know. This is also the time of year that we administer our fall benchmark assessments for Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) and Aimsweb.

Beginning next week, all K-6 students will participate in MAP and Aimsweb assessments. The MAP test is an adaptive assessment given to all students. However, the test is not the same for all students and is divided into three different levels (K-1, 2nd-5th, 6+). All kindergarten through 6th grade students will take both the reading and math assessments. Aimsweb is a universal screening tool that we use to assess early literacy and numeracy skills, as well as reading fluency, math, and writing. The MAP and Aimsweb windows are open through September 16th.

It is important to keep in mind that while these assessments give us important and useful information to assist in our instructional planning, these results are not the only measure by which we determine a student’s skill level. They serve as one tool in our toolbox of strategies to gain more information and inform our instructional practices.

School will be closed on Monday, September 5th in observance of Labor Day.

Mark your calendar for Curriculum Night, which will be on September 14th, 6:00pm-7:30pm. Stay tuned for more details.

School Hours:

Tuesday-Friday:

Kindergarten (AM Only Students) - 8:15am-11:20am

Grades 1-6 and OKEEP - 8:15am-3:00pm

Mondays:

Kindergarten (OKEEP) -6th grade dismisses at 2:00pm

AM Only Kindergarten still dismisses at 11:20am

Arrival

For safety purposes, we ask that you stay in your car when dropping off and picking up students.

Students may arrive beginning at 8:05am when adult supervision begins. To assist with a timely and safe arrival process, the school playground is closed before school.

Upon arrival, students line up by their assigned door and will enter the building at 8:10 am. Anyone arriving after 8:15am should enter through the main entrance to check in at the office.

Arrival/Dismissal Doors by Grade Levels:

• Kinder/1st - Door 2
• 2nd Grade - Door 3
• 3rd Grade - Door 4
• 4th Grade - Door 5
• 5th/6th Grade - Door 6

• Car Riders: Car riders for grades K-6 should be dropped off on Norfolk Street in the designated “red zone” drop off area (see map below). Adults should remain in the vehicle when dropping students off. Students should only exit the vehicle on the sidewalk side.

• Bus Riders: Bus riders are dropped off on Norfolk and Saratoga. A Kingsley staff member escorts them to the building.

• Walkers: Report directly to their grade level's hallway entry door. Parents should remain on the Norfolk sidewalk or grassy field behind the intermediate blacktop to alleviate congestion at the doors.

Dismissal/After School

Following dismissal (2:00 p.m. on Monday and 3:00 p.m. Tuesday - Friday), all students who are not scheduled to remain in the building must leave the school grounds and check in at their destination, as there is no supervision on school grounds. This ensures the safety of all students.

Students may return to the playground after 3:45pm and/or on the weekends. This will be done at your family's discretion, as our district playgrounds also function as community parks outside of school hours.

• We use a staggered dismissal process. Walkers and bus riders are dismissed first at 1:58pm on Mondays and 2:58pm Tuesday-Fridays.

• Car Riders: Car riders are dismissed in order of their guardian's car arrival on Norfolk Street (see map).

• Parents should use the car rider sign like the image below (or a piece of paper taped to the passenger window or passenger visor) with child's first/last name and grade. Please note that they are difficult to see if on the dashboard. See the example below.

• Please follow the car rider traffic flow (westbound Palmer --> northbound Powell --> eastbound Norfolk). Please do not travel eastbound from Dunham and Norfolk. We ask families to be patient as this process takes less than 10 minutes from the start of dismissal when we all work together.

• Walkers: Please identify a meeting spot for your child. The intermediate blacktop and corners of Powell and Norfolk and Barrett and Norfolk are best as both have crossing guards.

• Please do not block the sidewalk on Norfolk in the car rider zone.

• Walkers should leave right away to alleviate congestion for the car rider line.

• Bus Riders: Students are lined up inside and escorted by a staff member to the bus on Norfolk, near Saratoga. If a bus is running late, families will be notified via email. For primary children, please have an adult waiting to greet them as they get off the bus.

*Please note that entrance times may change as students build routines. We have not used our normal entrance procedures in several years, and we recognize that it may take students longer at the start of the school year to be ready to start the school day. The District also recognizes that bus arrival times vary during the first few weeks of school as drivers learn new routes. As students build routines and bus arrival times become more consistent, student entry times may get pushed back. This will allow our teachers the necessary time to prepare for the day. Supervision times will remain the same and any changes will be communicated in advance.

For those students who take the bus, route information can be found in Powerschool.

Lunch and fruit break procedures will be the same as the 2021-2022 school year.

Fruit/Snack Break

Please make sure your child has a snack each day. Snack breaks should consist of nutritious food choices such as fruits and vegetables. This aligns with Policy 6:50. The health and safety of our students are our highest priorities. Therefore certain snacks or foods may be prohibited in your child’s classroom due to food allergies.

LUNCH/RECESS SCHEDULE:

11:30-11:50

Grades K, 1, 3, 5 eat lunch /

Grades 2, 4, 6 have recess

11:50-12:10

Grades 2, 4, 6 eat lunch /

Grades K, 1, 3, 5 have recess

Entering our second year, administrators and staff from each building participated in a workshop centered on Shawn Achor’s two books, The Happiness Advantage and The Orange Frog. In these two books, Shawn Achor reveals how rewiring our brain for happiness helps us achieve more in our careers and our relationships (source: The Happiness Advantage). Several staff members who participated in the summer workshops shared that the work is transformational. We can’t wait to share it with all staff on Aug. 23rd, and to see how this positively impacts our students--both socially-emotionally and academically.

If you are interested in hearing more about positive psychology, here is a Ted Talk from Shawn Achor for you to view.

Our focus this year is "Progress over Perfection." We will be celebrating the many successes we have along the way, both in and out of school. Let's focus on the progress we make towards achieving our overall goals. We hope you will join us in recognizing the great things we do throughout the year!

August 27 - Kingsley Playground Fundraiser: Decades Trivia Night @Moose Lodge (see flier below)

August 29 - MAP and Fall Benchmarking Testing starts

September 5 - No School. Labor Day.

September 8 - Mums orders due (see flier below)

September 14 - Curriculum Night 6:00 - 7:30pm

September 17-10 -Education Foundation Oktoberfest

September 26 - Kingsley Playground Committee meeting

October 4 - Picture Day

October 10 - No School. Columbus Day

October 11 - Board of Education meeting

October 18 - 5pm-8pm Parent Teacher Conferences

October 20 - 5pm-8pm Parent Teacher Conferences

October 21 - No School. Parent Teacher Conferences

*MUST MENTION KINGSLEY*

• • Every Thursday – Cozzi Corner – 20% of sales — ALL DAY LONG
  • 9/09 - Mum Order Forms due
  • 9/15 – Orange & Brew - $1 of drinks and 5% of all sales
  • 9/19-21 – Home Run Inn – 30% of sales of frozen pizzas - Orders are due 09/14 - https://hrifundraising.raisely.com/kingsley-sept2022
  • 9/29 – Uncle Bubs – 25% of sales - ALL DAY LONG
  • 10/21 — Board and Brush
  • 11/8 – Cadence Kitchen – 20% of sales

Kingsley Playground Update:

Kingsley Plays Together (Playground Committee) and PTA have joined forces. Please see the fliers below about the fall mum sale.

This year's proceeds support our December 2022 goal of $320,000 for a new playground.

How else can I support the Kingsley Playground efforts?

Will your company consider a corporate match? Looking to donate using your expertise? We welcome all types of support to raise awareness. Please reach out to Mr. Brewster, Mrs. Gajewski, or the Kingsley Plays Together committee.

Donations can be made at https://www.kingsleyplaystogether.org