Week 17: 12/16/24 – 12/20/24

This week we have some changes to our usual routine — Santa Visits, Assembly, Holiday Celebrations and sharing holiday wishes. Then on Friday, we all head home for Winter Break where our celebrations continue with our family and friends.

From Jennifer Dinielli’s Blog:
“True for some, not for all. As Winter Break draws near, along with all of the excitement, it is not uncommon to see an increase in undesired behaviors and regression to previous behaviors in our students. For many of our students, home is a place where relationships are unhealthy, meals are not prepared, and drugs/alcohol or violence are part of daily life. For these students, many of whom we may not even be aware of their circumstances, the most consistent, positive and secure part of their life is time at school. No wonder they are exhibiting some stress. When these students walk out of our doors on Thursday, there may be no breakfast or lunch, no counseling services, no celebrations, no gifts, and no one to encourage and support them.

So we support our children. We collaborate with our community to provide basic necessities (food, coats, boots, meals). We give our kids books from our classrooms to read over the break. We express that we are thankful for each other and look forward to being together again as a school community in the new year.

And even though we are tired and looking forward to a much-needed break ourselves, we keep an eye on those who are acting out more than usual. We give them structure and routine. We give them a break. We give them encouragement. This may not be their favorite time of the year.”

Thank you for ALL YOU DO for our Kennedy Kubbies EVERYDAY!

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, December 16th
Santa’s Secret Shop (THIS WEEK)
Happy Birthday, Sue O’Connell 🙂
Reading Challenge Committee Meeting @ 2:35pm
Wear anything that sparkles or lights up!

Tuesday, December 17th
MTSS Committee Meeting @ 2:45pm
3rd Grade After School Clubs (2:30pm-4:00pm)
Wear your favorite seasonal color like red, blue or green!

Wednesday, December 18th
Happy Birthday, Kim Sendelbach 🙂
Happy Birthday, Denisse Barrios 🙂
Board of Education Meeting, 7pm
Wear a festive holiday headband, hat, necklace or glasses!

Thursday, December 19th
December Buddy Event
Happy Birthday, Marcela Barron 🙂
NO Kennedy Singers
Wear your favorite holiday socks, flannel shirt, something plaid or a scarf!

Friday, December 20th
Spirit Assembly!
Santa Visits Kennedy
Wear your holiday pajamas!

WINTER BREAK! 🙂

12/25 Happy Birthday Kathy Risolvo 🙂
1/2 Happy Birthday Chrysanthe Agos 🙂

1/6 – Teacher Institute Day
Happy Birthday Mayra Tellez 🙂

1/7 School Resumes for Students

Week 16: 12/09/24 – 12/13/24

December can be a crazy time in the classroom. The kids are antsy, your personal to-do list is a mile long (professional and person), and you’re still trying to cover the curriculum while you can. But it’s also a time for gratitudetradition, and reflection, which is why Tales from a Very Busy Teacher created the December Kindness Calendar (above) for the classroom! Download it, print it, and share it with your students!

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, December 9th
MAP Fluency Testing This Week
8th Grade Buddies Visit 3rd Grade (10:15am-11:30am)
New Teacher Meeting @ 3:05pm

Tuesday, December 10th
7th Grade Buddies Visit 2nd Grade (10:15am-11:30am)
Yearbook & STEM Club
3rd Grade After School Clubs (2:30pm-4:00pm)

Wednesday, December 11th
Kindergarten Gingerbread Hunt
6th Grade Buddies Visit 1st Grade (9:15am-10:30am)
CPT Meetings
BPAC Winter Holiday Fest (3:30pm-4:30pm)


Thursday, December 12th
5th Grade Buddies Visit Kindergarten (8:45am-10:00am)
Kindergarten Gingerbread House Making (1:30pm-2:00pm)
Kennedy Singers (2:30pm-3:00pm)

Friday, December 13th
Vision & Hearing Re-Screening
4th Grade Buddies Visit PreK (8:45am-10:00am & 12:30pm-1:30pm)

(12/15) Happy Birthday Kat Zoladz & Anastasiya Todorova

Week 15: 12/2/24 – 12/6/24

Welcome Back! 

I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving Break, spending time with family, friends & those you love. As we move to the month of December, full of learning, fun, and special events…and a holiday break to enjoy in just a few weeks! We have lots to do with our kids from now until December 20th, and look forward to their growth when they return in January. They always seem more grown up right after the break…happens every year!

Things to keep in mind:

* For some of our students who will say “it’s almost Winter break” and lack motivation, it is time to push them & keep them excited and eager to learn

* For our students who come from challenging circumstances at home and are feeling anxiety about not being at Kennedy for over two weeks (and acting out because of it), it is time to show them how much you care & make the most of these next 14 days.

* For our students that just keep smiling & working hard each day, it is time to pull them aside and tell them how much you appreciate them (Positive Postcard? Good News Call Home?)

Be proud of what we’ve accomplished with our students so far this year, but please keep the focus on learning in your classrooms as we return from Thanksgiving Break. In addition, I’d encourage you to:

*Take a second and tell a colleague that you’ve noticed how hard they are working and that you appreciate them working so hard. Gratitude and appreciation are also essential for a healthy work environment. A simple thank you and a show of appreciation can make all the difference.
*Make time to reflect on some of the positives that we’ve had this year that may have been overlooked as we have overcome the challenges of not having enough time.
* Set a tone for your students that regardless of how much time is left before a long break that all of us will work hard and make the most of our school days.

Celebrate being a member of our Kennedy School family

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, December 2nd
No Student Attendance / Parent-Teacher Conferences
Scholastic Book Fair Week~!

Tuesday, December 3rd
After-School Clubs (2:30pm-4:00pm)
Book Fair PREVIEW Day

Wednesday, December 4th
Happy Birthday Michelle Miro 🙂
Kennedy Singers to LMS for Rehearsal (8:45am-10:30am)
Book Fair BUY Day

Thursday, December 5th
Kennedy Singers to LMS for Rehearsal (8:45am-10:30am)
*Winter SLC/SLBC Celebration – Kennedy to Washington (8:45am-10:30am)
Book Fair BUY Day
Winter Choral Concert (3-8th) 6:00pm

Friday, December 6th
PreK Screenings
3rd Grade Field Trip to Tivoli Theater (8am-12:15pm)

Week 14: 11/18/24 – 11/22/24

Please know that we are all here to support each other and our entire learning community through this difficult time. Please communicate openly if you believe a student may be in need of support, or if you may need anything, as well. As you know, the district will have counselors and extra support available for both staff and students during this difficult period. Our learning community will come together to uplift and support one another.

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, November 18th
DoubleGood Fundraiser (Shop Closes 2:30pm on Friday)

Tuesday, November 19th
DoubleGood Fundraiser
Happy Birthday Shandi & Alissa Hammer 🙂
Kennedy 3rd Grade Clubs (2:30pm-4:00pm)
SEL Committee Meeting @ 2:50pm

Wednesday, November 20th
DoubleGood Fundraiser
CPT Meetings
Board of Education Meeting, 6pm

Thursday, November 21st
DoubleGood Fundraiser
Faculty Thanksgiving Feast in Lounge
Happy Birthday Emily Kronlage 🙂
Reading Room Plan/Progress Monitoring Day
Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast (1:30pm-2:00pm)

Friday, November 22nd
DoubleGood Fundraiser (Shop Closes 2:30pm on Friday)
Reading Room Data Day
Staley the Bear – Bear Down on Bullying Assembly
Happy Birthday Suzanne Scott 🙂

Thanksgiving Break (11/25 – 11/29)
11/30 Happy Birthday Barbara Zawadzka 🙂
12/2 – Full Day Parent/Teacher Conferences
12/3 – School Resumes for Students

Week 13: 11/11/24 – 11/15/24

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, November 11th
3rd & 4th Grade Veterans Day Performance 9:30am
National School Psychologist Week

Tuesday, November 12th
3rd Grade Clubs (2:30pm-4:00pm)
Yearbook & STEM Club (2:30pm-4:00pm)

Wednesday, November 13th
Grade Level MTSS Meeting – 2nd Grade
Family STEAM Night @ Washington School (6:00pm-7:30pm)

Thursday, November 14th

Friday, November 15th
Happy Birthday Sandy Montes de Oca
Vision & Hearing Screenings for PreK
D81 Holiday Party

**Looking Ahead: DOUBLEGOOD Fundraiser Next Week!

Week 12: 11/04/24 – 11/08/24

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, November 4th
New Teacher Meeting (3-4pm)
Veterans Visiting 3rd Graders

Tuesday, November 5th
NO SCHOOL – ELECTION DAY

Wednesday, November 6th
CPT Meetings
3rd Grade Team MTSS Meeting

Thursday, November 7th
K-3 Vision & Hearing Screenings (Conference Room)
Happy Birthday Julie Taggart 🙂
3rd to LMS for Veterans Day Rehearsal (9-10:30am)
SLT Meeting @ 2:45pm (Kindergarten Project Space)

Friday, November 8th
Trimester 1 Ends
*Reading Room Plan Day / Progress Monitoring Day
Happy Birthday Maria Rodriguez 🙂
K-3 Vision & Hearing Screenings (Conference Room)
3rd to LMS for Veterans Day Rehearsal (9-10:30am)

Week 11: 10/28/24 – 11/01/24

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, October 28th
World Occupational Therapy Day
*If any HIP ornaments come in today, bring them to office!
RALLY IN RED

Tuesday, October 29th
Fall Picture Retakes
Happy Birthday Ashley Barrios 🙂
Kennedy MTSS Committee Meeting @ 2:40pm (Conference Room)
TEAM SPORTS DAY

Wednesday, October 30th
Culture/Celebrations Committee Meeting (Rescheduled from last week) 2:50pm
WILD WILD WEST (WEAR WESTERN GEAR OR FLANNEL/PLAID

Thursday, October 31st
Happy Halloween!
Parades @ 8:45am (AM PreK), 9:30am (K-3) and 12:30pm (PM PreK)
SPOOKY KUBBIES: WEAR HALLOWEEN COSTUME OR ORANGE/BLACK

Friday, November 1st
KUBBIE SPIRIT: WEAR KENNEDY KUBBIE BLUE

Week 10: 10/21/24 – 10/25/24

School? It’s about the kids. Society loves to simplify our jobs. Make it about facts and kids knowing stuff. Make it about graphs and charts that display our school’s weak points. But what aren’t people seeing? The kids.

The kids whose parents no longer live in the home. The kids who get one meal a day, their school lunch. The kids who cry at night because they are the adult in the house. The kids who have amazing potential buried in trying to help raise a younger sibling or who have big struggles caused by the fact that they are caring for themselves. The kids whose parents have a terrible drug problem and are headed to prison. The kids who haven’t lived more than six months in the same place since they were born. The kids who don’t know what Santa visits are like. The ones who don’t have a Crockpot with warm meals filling their house when they hop off the bus.

Every teacher knows a student whose story would break your heart.

A story that would stop you in your tracks.

A story that would remind you what education is about. Education? It’s about the kids.

The charts & graphs in the paper are just numbers. Teachers? We impact lives.
Thank you for all that you do to make an impact on our Kennedy Kubbies each and everyday! They are blessed to have you in their lives.  

Make some AWESOME connections with students today…..let them know you see them!

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, October 21st
Happy Birthday Andy Hohmeier 🙂
1st Grade Field Trip to Safety Town (B107, B108, B111) 8:45am-11:00am

Tuesday, October 22nd
Happy Birthday Jimmy Cahill 🙂
Happy Birthday Michelle Dionido 🙂
Yearbook/STEM Club (1st Grade Project Space) 2:30pm-4:00pm

Wednesday, October 23rd
1st Grade Field Trip to Safety Town (B101, B102, B105, B106) 8:45am-11:00am
Culture/Celebrations Committee Meeting (2:50pm)

Thursday, October 24th
October BUDDY Event

Friday, October 25th
Kennedy Spirit Assembly 9:00am
Trunk or Treat (4:30pm-5:30pm)

Week 9: 10/13/24 – 10/17/24

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, October 14th
NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, October 15th
Happy Birthday Rose Karas 🙂
Happy Birthday Kirby Meza 🙂

Wednesday, October 16th
Happy Birthday Rosa Worwa 🙂
Board Meeting, 6pm

Thursday, October 17th
The Great Shakeout (Earthquake Drill at 10:17am)
Kindergarten Field Trip to Johansen Farm (9:15am-1:00pm)

Friday, October 18th
Reading Room Plan Day
PreK Student/Parent Workshops

(10/19) Happy Birthday Eva Popowska 🙂

Week 8: 10/07/24 – 10/11/24

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, October 7th
W
ear Pajamas or Cozy Socks
New Teacher Meeting @ 3:00pm (Room E206)

Tuesday, October 8th
Wear Camo!

FIre Marshall Visits D81 – see Melissa’s email to prepare for visit
Bilingual Coordinator Meeting @ 4:00pm

Wednesday, October 9th
W
ear Fall Colors!~
Happy Birthday Stephanie Moreno 🙂
ALL HANDS ON DECK for Literacy Night! 6:00pm-7:30pm

Thursday, October 10th
Wear Flannel or Plaid

Friday, October 11th
Wear Football Hat or Jersey

5 by Friday! Make 5 Positive Connections with Families!
PreK Field Trip to Johansen Farm (9:00am-1:30pm)

NO SCHOOL (10/14)