COVID Vaccine Clinics for Children Open
The Kalamazoo County Health & Community Services Department will start vaccinating children ages 5-11 years old with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 6, at the health department located at 311 E. Alcott St.
Parents/guardians wishing to protect their children from COVID-19 may schedule an appointment with the health department at www.kalcounty.com/covid19vaccine or by calling the COVID-19 Call Center (269) 373-5200 (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday). Appointments are required for the Nov. 6 clinic.
Parental/guardian consent details for health department clinics:
• 5-11 year olds must be accompanied by an adult at the clinic.
• If the adult present is not the parent or legal guardian, a pre-filled Registration Form must be completed and signed by the parent or legal guardian and brought to the vaccine clinic.
• Only one adult should accompany the minor to the appointment due to space limitations.
If unable to attend the health department’s Nov. 6 clinic, parents and guardians may schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment at the health department during regular clinic hours, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday through Friday, beginning Monday, Nov. 8.
There will be no walk-in appointments available at the health department for the 5-11-year-old age group for their COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine. An appointment is required.
The COVID-19 vaccine is widely available in the community. To find other vaccination clinics in the community, you may contact your child’s doctor or visit www.vaccines.gov.
KSP-OPT Food Drive This Weekend
Kalamazoo Support Professionals Union-OPT (Office, Paraprofessionals and Transportation) is excited to hold its annual Stuff the Bus food drive once again — after two years off because of the pandemic.
The event is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 6, at Town & Country Supermarket, 1824 Portage St. Food and cash donations will be accepted for the Kalamazoo Loaves & Fishes food bank.
Members of the Loy Norrix football team and National Honor Society will be on hand to help with the food collection. Please come out and help KSP-OPT support this essential community partner.
Arcadia Students Participate in Amanda Gorman LIvestream
Arcadia Elementary fourth graders participated in a livestream with other classrooms around the country this week with poet Amanda Gorman and Loren Long, the illustrator of Gorman's new book "Change Sings." The students created a poem with them and took a few "selfies" with them. Gorman rose to fame as the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, when she read her poem "The Hill We Climb" at the inauguration of President Joe Biden. The award-winning writer has also written for the New York Times and has three books forthcoming from Penquin Random House.
Open Enrollment for 2022 Runs Nov. 1-19
Learn About FMLA & Maternity Leave
Learn more about FMLA, STD, maternity leave, and leaves of absence with a presentation by Heather Hayner, benefits specialist, and Dan Emmons, human resources, at 4:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12, in the Administration Building, Curriculum Lab.
RSVP to Heather Hayner at haynerhm@kalamazoopublicschools.net, (269) 337-0165.
Career Development Month Resources
November is National Career Development Month. The week of celebration is Nov.15-19. The day of celebration is Nov.17. Apprenticeship Week is Nov. 15-21.
Tracy Miller has created a KPS National Career Development Month Resources slide deck for staff, with information on CTE opportunities for students.
Maple Street Presents: 'I Never Saw Another Butterfly'
Maple Street Magnet School for the Arts will present a production of "I Never Saw Another Butterfly," at 7 p.m. Nov. 12 and 13 at the school. Tickets are $5, $3 for students.
The play tells the story of the children at Terezin, a Czech Republic resort that was turned into a ghetto and concentration camp during World War II. Based on the book "I Never Saw Another Butterfly: Children's Drawings and Poems from Terezin Concentration Camp 1942-1944," the play focuses on the character of a teenager who attempts to educate the younger children and give them a sense of hope.
Food Service Unveils New Mobile Unit at Phoenix Celebration
KPS Executive Chef Samuel Dunn and Kirsten Strong, the new assistant director of food service, brought their new mobile cooking unit to Phoenix High School last week to prepare breakfast for the classes that won the school's Spirit Week competition. Students and the winning teachers, Gwen Evans and Scott Hunsinger, enjoyed a breakfast of made-to-order omelettes and pancakes.
Kalamazoo Public Schools will be applying for federal funding through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief or ESSER program. This funding will last for three years and it is intended to help sustain the safe operation of schools and to address the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on students.
ESSER funding must be used to meet the needs that have resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. We are seeking input from stakeholders to help the district finalize the major areas of need for ESSER funding. Survey responses will be collected through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 7.
Link: https://forms.gle/wH9dmvoc19pdEtkQ8
KPS Job Listings
Virtual Secondary Teacher - KFLEx
Admin Building
Job ID: 3892
Instructional Secretary
Admin Building
Job ID: 3893
Activity Helpers
Various elementary schools
Job ID: 3324
Hourly Tutor (10-Month)
$12.00/hour
Kalamazoo Innovative Learning Program (KILP)
Job ID: 3891
Daylight Savings Time Ends Sunday!
