*September is Attendance Awareness Month and Hispanic Heritage Month*
9/15 - 10/15 Hispanic Heritage Month Begins
9/18 - Derby Day Pep Rally 9:10 AM (Cafeteria)
9/19 - National Instructional Technology (IT) Professional Day
9/19 - 9/29 PAC Elections
9/20 - Donuts with Grown Ups & PTO Board Meeting
9/22 - Individual Picture Day
*9/25 - The Energy Bus Song Challenge
- A Big Shout Out to the Dunwoody Cheerleaders for helping us celebrate our first Walking Wednesday of the school year. Thank you, Dr. Hamilton and Mrs. Smith for coordinating KES's Walking Wednesday. Thank you to all the parents that helped our students walk to KES safely ❤️💙.
- Thank you staff for your flexibility and assistance during "Goodies with Grands". A very special thank you to my prep team for your assistance: Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Alicea, Dr. Hamilton, Dr. Ingram, Mr. Don, Mrs. Cornelius, Ms. Bishop, Ms. Ashley, Ms. Martin, Mr. Higgins, Mr. Morrison, and Tiffani Thompson. It truly takes a village! ❤️💙
- Shout out to Ms. Rocky and our morning student announcers for our daily KES Morning News! Thank you for keeping us informed.❤️💙
I want to take this opportunity to update you on the current status of our staff openings:
- We will be adding an additional kindergarten teacher to our team soon.
- I have recommended two candidates for our MID/MoID positions (preschool and 1st/2nd grade MID/MoID teachers).
- Kingsley will have an in-person speech therapist very soon.
We are still seeking highly qualified teacher candidates for the 3rd-5th grade MID/MoID position.
- We are still in need of one school nutrition assistant and one star substitute.
We understand the importance of having dedicated educators who can cater to the unique needs of our children. While the hiring process has been ongoing, we want to assure you that your child's education remains our top priority. In order to ensure a smooth continuation of their learning journey, we have enlisted the help of some dedicated substitute teachers. Our substitute teachers have worked with all our students previously and are committed to maintaining the high standards of education and care that you expect from us.
We genuinely appreciate your patience and understanding during this transition period. Your support is invaluable to us, and we remain committed to providing a safe, nurturing, and enriching environment for your child. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. Thank you for entrusting us with your child's education. We look forward to the opportunity to introduce your child to their new permanent teacher soon.
Dr. Harris-Thompson
Reminder - Student Activity Fees
Please don't forget to pay your Student Activity Fees on our website or return the paper form that you received in your students' STAR folder with payment to their homeroom teacher as soon as possible.
The student activity fees that we collect allow us to provide enrichment activities and benefits to the school and community that would not otherwise be funded. This includes:
- $10/student field trip stipends
- teacher and specials stipends that are used to purchase classroom and instructional materials as well as supplies for our art, music, PE and STEAM programs
- special school-wide assemblies
- parent engagement events such as our New Parent breakfast
- hosting family events such as Donuts with Grownups, STEAM night and movie nights
Kingsley PTO spends approximately $100 for each student in our school every year and we need the student activity fees to make this happen!
While paying the student activity fee qualifies you as an active PTO member, it does NOT obligate you to volunteer - but we'd be happy to have you!
Parent Volunteers
If you plan to volunteer as a reading buddy, field trip chaperone, help in the media center this school year, you will need to be approved by public safety.
Level III volunteers must be approved by Public Safety AND the local school principal prior to the volunteer participation in activities involving direct, unsupervised interaction with students. Examples of Level III volunteers include chaperones on overnight field trips, chaperones or volunteers for local school events, volunteer tutors, office/media center volunteers, or any other volunteers who will have any unsupervised interaction with students. Level III volunteers shall be fingerprinted by the district and have GBI/FBI criminal background checks on file prior to rendering volunteer services.
You may view Board Policy IFCD: School Volunteers by clicking below.
The candidate declaration window for Fall 2023 Principal Advisory Council (PAC) elections will be open through 5:00pm, August 25, 2023. Complete the appropriate candidate declaration form using the links below to run for a position on your school's PAC.
Voting is September 19 – September 26, 2023
Complete the form below to run for a position on your school’s Council.
PARENT REGISTRATION: https://www.bigpulse.com/179344/register
PARENT REGISTRATION (ADDITIONAL LANGUAGES): https://form.jotform.com/230888535249165
Principal Advisory Councils (PACs) bring parents, school employees, students and community members together to create a better understanding of and mutual respect for each other's perspectives and share ideas for increasing student achievement and performance.
What is the role of the Principal Advisory Council (PAC)?
- Act as a link between the school and the community
- Encourage the engagement of parents and other stakeholders within the school community
- Work to increase student achievement through transparent operations and shared best practices
- Review the Continuous School Improvement Plan and monitor progress toward goals
- Participate in the selection of the school principal
If you declare your name, please email Dr. Harris-Thompson at tyra_harris-thompson@dekalbschoolsga.org with your bio and picture. Thank you!
To learn more about the work of Principal Advisory Councils, visit: http://www.dekalbschoolsga.org/principal-advisory-councils.
Updates!
NEW Transportation Changes
For the safety and security of all students, It is important to keep afternoon transportation consistent. If a change of transportation is necessary, parents are asked to email a note to kestc@dekalbschoolsga.org AND send a message to your child’s teacher that includes the child’s name, the date of the change, and phone number in the event there is a question. For your child’s safety, transportation changes are not taken over the phone. All changes must be made by 1:00 PM. Please do not ask us to make exceptions that compromise our security and your child’s safety.
Lunch Visitors
- You can begin eating lunch with your child on Tuesday, September 5th.
- Birthdays can only be celebrated during lunch. No balloons, stuffed animals, gift bags, etc. please. Only store bought items can be provided.
Parent Visitors and Volunteers
We encourage parents to visit the school, but for the protection of all children, parents and visitors must follow these procedures.
- For the safety of our students, ALL visitors who enter any DeKalb County Public School must report to the front office/lobby to sign in.
- It is important that you bring your driver's license if you are wanting to volunteer or eat lunch with your child.
- You must wear a visitor sticker at all times while on school property. Teachers have been instructed to monitor our visitors and to contact the office if there is anyone without a badge.
- To help provide you with our undivided attention, parents and visitors should make an appointment in order to meet with teachers, administrators, counselors, or to visit classrooms.
- When leaving the school, return to the front office to sign out.
Carpool
- Please have your assigned Silent Dismissal car tag visible on your dashboard during afternoon dismissal.
- If you need a replacement dismissal car tag please email Mrs. Bari marian_lamson@dekalbschoolsga.org
- We ask that you have your child seated on the passenger side whenever possible so that he/she can easily load or unload using the doors of your car that are closest to our curb.
Carpool Guidelines
Parents are encouraged to use carpool when dropping off their child for school. Parents should not drop off students on Brendon Drive in the morning.
- Get in the carpool line by 7:05 AM (morning) and 2:05 PM (afternoon) to ensure that you get through the line quickly.
- The carpool line closes at 7:35 AM to prepare for morning announcements and instruction. Parents may drive around to the front of the building (bus lane) to drop off their child/children between 7:35 AM - 7:40 AM. Parents do not need to escort or check their children in until 7:41 AM.
- The doors open for carpool at 7:10 AM - 7:35 AM for morning arrival. Afternoon dismissal for carpool starts at 2:20 PM - 2:35 PM.
- Be kind to the carpool staff that are taking their time to keep all children safe.
- Do not park on the opposite side of the street and send your child across the street alone.
- Do not drop off your child in front of the school during morning arrival.
- When ENTERING the side parking lot- please DO NOT turn left into the parking lot. Please go around the neighborhood and turn RIGHT to enter the parking lot. (Brendon Drive is considered a one-way during arrival and departure times)
SILENT DISMISSAL SYSTEM
We will continue with our Silent Dismissal System. An Inside Look into Afternoon Dismissal - Students are all dismissed directly from their classroom. We started our dismissal system in March of 2021 when students returned back for face-to-face learning. The dismissal system ensures a safe exit for all. We use a live spreadsheets on all classroom Promethean boards. We have staff members stationed all over the school grounds working on the spreadsheets to dismiss students and ensuring students stay distanced and get to the right location. Once students see their name pop up on the spreadsheet, they exit the class. Bus riders are dismissed using the silent dismissal system. We have improved our dismissal system and will continue to make the process better. Thank you so much for your patience as we dismiss students safely from our school into your care.
School Safety
School Safety remains top of mind for me, the staff, and I know for you as well.
Every precaution will be taken to ensure the safety of your child during school hours. One safety measure practiced are safety drills (fire, tornado, intruder), which are conducted throughout the school year. Fire drills are held once every month. Tornado drills are held twice a semester. Intruder (Lockdown) drills are held three times a semester. Schedules, exits, and procedures are a part of these important drills to keep our students and staff safe in the event of an emergency. The administrative team and all staff members will be in position to aid in a safe, quick evacuation. Routes of exit are posted in each room of the building. Our number one priority is the safety and security of our students and staff.
During the school day, we ensure the following safety measures are taken:
- All classroom doors remain closed and locked at all times.
- Exterior doors remain locked at all times and are not propped open for any reason.
- Exterior doors will not be opened for visitors.
- All visitors must come to the front of the school to receive assistance.
- All visitors must press the entry button outside the front door and show photo identification. The front office staff will assist all visitors from this point.
- If a visitor does not have an appointment with staff, volunteering, is not checking out a student, or is not receiving assistance from the front office, they will not be allowed inside the school.
- If parents would like to drop off items for their child, they will utilize the black cart outside the front door and complete a drop off slip. Front office staff will retrieve the items off the cart and ensure your child receives the item.
- Students are monitored by staff members in all areas of the building and on the recess field.
- Outside of traveling with their class to other parts of the building, students will travel in pairs when leaving their class independently to go to the restroom, nurse, or front office.
- Every classroom is equipped with a telephone and panic button in the event of an emergency.
- For afternoon dismissal, students are only dismissed from class when their name appears on the dismissal spreadsheets and/or their bus is called.
- Staff are strategically stationed all around our building and campus to ensure students arrive and depart safely from school.
- NEW THIS YEAR: every staff member will have a crisis alert badge that they wear daily. In the event of an emergency, staff will press a button on this badge to alert administration that they are in need of help.
Our school resource officer does stop by the school on a consistent basis and walk the grounds to ensure order is maintained.
In the event of an emergency, we will communicate with all parents via School Messenger and Class Dojo. Please ensure you are connected and signed up for both on your mobile phone. It is important that parents read all text messages from the school thoroughly and follow next steps as outlined.
Safety will always remain our top priority. We appreciate your partnership and collaboration as we work together to maintain a safe learning environment for all students and staff.
2023-2024 PARENT/STUDENT HANDBOOK
A comprehensive student/parent handbook is attached below that outlines our school policies and procedures.
In addition to everything included in the parent/student handbook, I want to point out several updates for this school year.
- Parents should try to avoid dropping off items late to the school (i.e. lunch boxes, instruments, homework, projects, water bottles, etc). This greatly interrupts instructional time, teachers teaching, and students learning. Students should bring all items they need to school when they arrive each day. We understand there will be times when students forget items, but please know that if students forget their water bottles at home, water is provided at school. If they forget their lunch, a school lunch will be provided. We want to instill responsibility and independence in all of our students. In the event of an emergency or a medical need, parents are free to bring medications to the school nurse.
- No outside vendor/fast foods or deliveries can be brought in for students (i.e - Chick Fil-A, McDonalds, etc). Students should bring in a lunch packed from home if they are not eating school lunch. If students forget their lunch, we have a very nutritious lunch being provided daily in the cafeteria. Our goal is to always support our school lunch program.
- Parents are not able to eat lunch with their students at this time. During the first few weeks of school our students will be learning the rituals and routines for their classrooms, library, hallways, bathrooms, cafeteria, playground, etc. Parents will be able to eat with their child after Labor Day.
***Please download the handbook using the attachment below and save it to refer to throughout the school year.
Thank you for continuing to partner with us in ensuring our school year runs smoothly!
Medication Form
If your child needs to have medication administered at school, please download the form below and have your physician to complete it. On the first day of school, please place the form and medication in a ziploc bag clearly labeled with your child's first/last name. Bring these items into the school to hand deliver to the school nurse. If you are not able to do so, inform the teacher that these items are in your child's bookbag and we will be sure the nurse receives them.
If you have questions, please contact our school nurse: Nurse Nobles: caroline_nobles@dekalbschoolsga.org
