Spring Break always arrives at the perfect time of the year! As we head into the final 5 days of school prior to break, I’m hopeful that students & staff will take full advantage of their time off, resting and rejuvenating and spending quality time with family & friends. Regardless of how you plan on spending the break, I hope you soak up every single moment and come back re-energized in April for the home-stretch! Safe travels for those of you who are flying or taking a road trip. Donna & Jane look forward to welcoming you back on April 7th!

PS: Thanks to everyone for the well wishes and emails about Baby Alexa’s arrival. I can’t wait for Alexa to meet her Kennedy Kubbie family! 

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, March 24th
Cycle 5 Assessments This Week
Celebrations Committee Meeting @ 2:30pm (Room 104)

Tuesday, March 25th
1st-3rd Grade to LMS to see Seussical @ 9:00am
Faculty Meeting @ 2:30pm
Mentor Meeting @ 3:45pm (LMS)
New Kindergarten Student Information Night @ 6:00pm
Happy Birthday Diane Serio 🙂

Wednesday, March 26th
SLC/SLBC Outing to Jewel
2nd Grade Young Authors @ 11:00am

Thursday, March 27th
Happy Birthday Lindsay Dudal 🙂

Friday, March 28th
Spirit Assembly (Integrity)
1st Grade (Room 110) Young Authors @ 12:00pm
1st Grade (Rooms 100, 102, 108) Young Authors @ 12:30pm

(03/29) Happy Birthday Eric Humbles
(03/31-04/04) Spring Break
School Resumes Monday, April 7th

Ideas Worth Checking Out….
Safely Using YouTube in the Classroom: Have you ever wanted to pull up a You Tube video on your Promethean Board, but were afraid of what links were going to appear next to it? Click on the link above to learn a tip on how to get rid of those side-bar “related videos” that can sometimes be inappropriate!

March Madness: Book Edition: This blogger uses the excitement of the March Madness college basketball tournament in her classroom by creating brackets and having a march madness with books! Check it out!

Some Neat Classroom Management Ideas: Looking for some new classroom management ideas to excite/motivate your students? Click on the link above to see some ideas from Pinterest, pinned by a fellow principal.

Google Ad-Ons: Recently, Google added their new Add-ons feature into Google Docs & Sheets. Ad-ons are new tools created by developer partners that literally “ad-on” capabilities to your Google documents & spreadsheets….and they’re FREE! Check out the video below:

**Update**
Over the weekend, I’ve been experiencing contractions & went to the hospital late Saturday night, only to be sent back home, as it wasn’t time yet! I plan on being home this week until Baby girl K decides to make her arrival. As always, please email me should you have any questions, as I’ll remain in close contact during my leave and in close communication with Donna and Jane (who is set to begin as Interim Principal on April 7th). 

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, March 17th
Happy St. Patrick’s Day 🙂 Donna & I wish you a very special, lucky day! Enjoy the sweet treat in your mailboxes!
Book Fair (browse day) continues
March Buddy Event

Tuesday, March 18th
NO SCHOOL: Teacher Institute Day

Wednesday, March 19th
Book Fair (buy day)
Dress Rehearsal for Talent Show @ 9:00am
SCOTY Awards @ 4:00pm (West Leyden HS)
Board of Education Meeting @ 7:00pm

Thursday, March 20th
Book Fair (buy day)
Talent Show @ 9:30am Teachers are welcome to bring their students to the gym to see the performance. It should last 1-1.5hrs. If you are unable to stay the entire time, or the gym is already full when you arrive, we will be emailing a link to the Kennedy Conference where you can watch the Talent Show via the web being streamed live on your Promethean Board.
Talent Show @ 6:00pm (Doors will open at 5:00pm and Book Fair will be open before/after show)

Friday, March 21st
2nd Grade/7th Grade Buddy Activity
Happy Birthday, Karolina Gicala 🙂

(03/22) Happy Birthday Sharon Heitz (red bus)

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, March 10th
PATS Field Trip to Wonder Works
Buddy Committee Meeting @ 2:45pm (Room 109)
Project Unify Basketball Game @ LMS (3:45pm)

Tuesday, March 11th
Multiage (101/109) Young Authors Day @ 10:00am
Multiage (103/107) Young Authors Day @ 1:30pm
Faculty Meeting @ 2:30pm

Wednesday, March 12th
CCSS Common Plan

Thursday, March 13th
PreK Field Trip to Brunswick Zone
Talent Show Practice (2:20pm-3:50pm)
Baby/Bridal Shower @ 2:30pm (Cafeteria)

Friday, March 14th
Reading Room Plan Day
Spiritwear Sale Ends (turn in any orders to the office)
Kindergarten Field Trip to Field Museum
Luncheon for Staff in lounge sponsored by the ABC Parent Group 🙂
Book Fair Preview Day
ISAT Testing Window officially over! Phewww!
5 by Friday! Let’s send those positive postcards home! 🙂

Here’s a great article about formative assessments & using assessments thoughtfully by  Carol Ann Tomlinson entitled “The Bridge Between Today’s Lesson and Tomorrow’s” from this month’s Educational Leadership magazine.

Google Apps Tip:
Do you use Google Forms but hate the way the ‘survey’ results look in a spreadsheet? Check out this tip to make your Google Spreadsheets easy to read!

Front Row: A differentiated math program Erin Klein writes about in her blog Kleinspiration

Spread the Word to End the Word is an ongoing effort by Special Olympics to inspire respect and acceptance through raising the consciousness of society about the R-word and how hurtful words and disrespect can be toward people with disabilities.

The campaign, created by youth, is intended to engage schools, organizations and communities to rally and pledge their support & to promote inclusion and acceptance!

When one student has an attitude of acceptance & inclusion toward people (especially fellow students) that is a wonderful thing. When that one student becomes many….when an entire school has a climate of acceptance and inclusion…it becomes a powerful community! Ultimately, when a school climate conveys and fosters understanding, inclusion and respect for all, the students internalize those lessons for their lives both within and beyond school.

Our goal is to educate the Kennedy students, staff and community that we should love everyone for who they are and accept all differences. Please be sure to check out the email Donna will be sending regarding Kennedy’s approach this year to teach our Kubbies about diversity, acceptance & perseverance. On Wednesday, we will “Spread the Love” by having students sign a pledge, promising to use kind words. Our theme this year is “Respect is the Key”.

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, March 3rd
ISAT Testing Begins (There will be NO announcements during ISAT. Please check your email in the Kennedy Conference to see if it will be indoor or outdoor recess*) Alternate specials schedules begin today & Reading Room will be on a cart!
Spiritwear Sale Begins
Happy Birthday Natalie Barcas 🙂

Tuesday, March 4th

Wednesday, March 5th
“Spread the Love”: Students will sign a pledge banner promising to use kind words
National Day of Awareness use kind and respectful language.

Thursday, March 6th
Happy Birthday Debi Cesario 🙂
SLT Meeting @ 3:00pm

Friday, March 7th
Non-Tenured Teachers: Summative Conferences