Dear Kildeer Families,
What a fun and exciting week with so many celebrations! We are well on our way with GOLDEN PAWS! Each morning I "spy" on our students looking at the running totals for each grade. It's been a friendly competition and 1st grade was our first weekly recess winner. Way to go first graders. We are looking forward to playing with you at an extra recess next week. I wonder...which grade will be next?!
On Tuesday, we had our monthly buddy classrooms to dig in even further on what our actions look like and sound like for respect, kindness, and responsibility. We then gave students an opportunity to share what they would like to get if our school can earn a set amount together. Mr. Higgins and I were cracking up at some of the suggestions. There may or may not have been the following submission, "Have Mr. Higgins wear a chicken suit and we get to throw pies at him." Next week we will share our total goal of golden paws and the prize we can earn.
Our ABC Countdown has officially started and we celebrated the incredible work of Mrs. Wright in the front office. She has been doing an incredible job in her role, handling everything that comes her way with grace. Thank you to everyone that made it such a memorable day for her. Our front office looks like a garden!
Let the celebration continue, Kildeer! We have 23 days left and we plan to make each and every day count!
Repeat *Golden Paws at Kildeer*
Golden paws are awarded to a class when they are showing Respect, Responsibility, or Kindness. Additionally, each grade level will incorporate activities and lessons over the next few weeks that focus on these key concepts. Mr. Higgins and I look forward to seeing who had the most paws for an extra recess with us! This challenge will go through the end of May and we can't wait to see where we go next!
We encourage you to ask your child what their class has done to earn Golden Paws. You can work towards showing Respect, Responsibility, and Kindness at home as well, challenge your child to come up with one way they could show each of these values at home next week!
Here are some ideas:
Kindness: Pick up litter around your neighborhood, leave a kind note for a neighbor, give a family member a compliment, or call a relative to tell them you love them
Responsibility: work on learning how to do a new chore around the house, help pack their own lunch, try to do homework without parent reminders
Respect: Be extra careful to use please and thank you, respect yourself by trying a new healthy food or outdoor activity, respect your things by keeping your room clean or making sure to put away toys you take out.
Repeat *PTO Volunteer Breakfast on May 4th at 7:45*
One of the reasons Kildeer is an incredible community is due to the contributions and volunteering from our PTO. I've served at many schools and the Kildeer PTO has a very special place in my heart. Whether you volunteer at class parties, helped support Bingo Night, or serve on the executive board, our staff would like to give back to YOU!
Please mark your calendars and consider joining our full staff for breakfast on Wednesday, May 4 at 7:45. You can RSVP here! It is a rich tradition and a small token of our appreciation for all that our incredible volunteers do for Kildeer staff and students!
Repeat *Spring NWEA MAP Testing*
All K-8 students will be taking the Spring NWEA MAP assessment on Monday, May 2nd, and Tuesday, May 3rd. Makeups will be scheduled on an as-needed basis.
Repeat *Curriculum Home Connections*
New Resource Page Designed, with Parents in Mind
In response to some parents' questions about how to best support their children with academic work at home, the district’s Instructional Coaches designed a one-stop resource that equips these families in doing just that.
The resource is a new District web page ~ the “Home to School Connections'' ~ designed for parents and filled with invaluable links to internal and external Technology and Curriculum Resources. Under the Technology Resources heading, for instance, parents will find the usual District resources used for assistance with iPads, frequently used apps, TeacherEase, SeeSaw and Schoology.
The page also features Curriculum Resources, which presents a wealth of resources ~ sorted by grade/grade levels ~ for help with literacy, math, and the other subject areas, and links to the District’s pacing guides (which indicate what a child is expected to know at each grade level).
Families will find resources to practice high-frequency words, strengthen their mastery of math-word problems or help them write more descriptively. There is also information on supporting a multilingual student at home and 10 of the best questions to ask your student to elicit more than a ‘yes,’ ‘no’ or ‘maybe’ response about what they’re learning or experiencing at school.
The resource was debuted at Thursday night’s Thought Exchange Partnership (TEP) meeting. Check it out for yourself:
Repeat *Registration Reminder*
A big thank you to those of you who have already registered your student for the 22-23 school year. For those of you who haven’t yet, we need your help! We staff our buildings based on completed registration. We like to keep class sizes low so that students have the best possible experience and the only way we can do that is by having the most accurate information. If you have not registered yet, please take a few minutes to complete this important process. If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact the school office and we would be happy to help.
Repeat *Summer 2022 iPad Information*
All Buildings:
- Students in grades K-7 will keep their iPad and all peripherals over the summer unless they are not returning to D96 for the 22-23 school year.
- Any non-returning students will need to leave their iPad (inside of the case), charging cable, charging brick, and Logitech Crayon, with the building Tech Aide for collection.
- Families who exit out of D96 after the last day of school will need to return all of their technology to the District Office over the summer. Any device not returned will be placed in lost mode and will not function.
- Over the summer, some apps and services will continue to work at the student’s 21-22 grade level. Apps and websites like Dreambox, Lexia, Typing Agent, (etc) will be available to use over the summer but are not guaranteed to work at all times. The technology department will only be supporting the use of these apps in ESY or Summer School.
- As we get closer to August, we will roll-up student data and new services. Apps will also become available to them relative to their 22-23 grade level.
Willow Grove Specific:
- EC iPads will be collected at the end of the year. We ask that devices and peripherals (charging cable, charging brick, and case) that are kept at home be returned to Willow Grove and made available for collection no later than Wednesday, May 25th. Note that EC students do NOT receive Logitech Crayons.
- Current Kindergarten students will keep their iPads over the summer. New grade-level content and services will be made available on their iPads sometime in August.
- Any non-returning students will need to leave their iPad (inside of the case), charging cable, charging brick, and Logitech Crayon, with the building Tech Aide for collection.
Middle School Specific:
- 8th Grade iPad collection will happen on Wednesday, May 25th. Students will be expected to turn in their iPad (inside of the case), charging cable, charging brick, and Logitech Crayon.
- Any non-returning students in grades 6 and 7 will need to leave their iPad (inside of the case), charging cable, charging brick, and Logitech Crayon, with the building Tech Aide for collection.
Repeat *End of the Year Dates of Interest*
There is a LOT that happens in the last 8 weeks of school. Here are a few things you may want to know about! This does not include everything, yet puts some important dates on your radar!
- April 29: 5th Grade Night Out (see PTO for more information)
- May 2-6: Staff Appreciation Week!
- May 4: PTO Volunteer Breakfast- all parents that have worked to volunteer alongside the PTO will be invited to a gathering at Kildeer before school. More to come!
- May 11: 5th Grade Musical- we are trying an outdoor musical this year as of right now! The rain date will be May 24th. More to come from Mr. Tatar in the coming weeks!
- May 17: Kindergarten transition day- Incoming Kindergarteners will take a field trip to Kildeer to meet our 1st-grade teachers and specials team. More to come from Willow Grove!
- May 18: Field Day-this fun tradition returns with a rain date of May 19. More information to come from our PE teachers.
- May 20: Family Picnic & Music performances from 1st, 2nd, 3rd, & 4th graders- This is an incredible tradition hosted by the PTO! Given that we were unable to hold musicals for all grades, 1st-4th graders will be featured this evening at the picnic. More information coming soon!
- May 31: 5th grade transition day- 5th graders will take a field trip to Woodlawn Middle School in the morning, followed by fun afternoon of activities planned by the PTO!
- June 1: 5th Grade Variety Show- we had to reschedule this a couple of times this year. More information coming about this Kildeer tradition put on by the PTO!
- June 2: Last Day of School!
Repeat *Parent Input for 2022-2023 Class Placement Survey* (LAST CALL.....4/29 AT MIDNIGHT)
Creating balanced class lists that meet the needs of all students is a tremendously difficult job that takes many hours of thoughtful dialogue between classroom teachers, administrators, and specialists. We at Kildeer School take this process very seriously. The process for class list creation is as follows:
-Teachers think about the social and academic needs of each of their current students while recording pertinent information to assist in the decision-making process.
-Grade level teachers, the principal, specials area teachers, and specialists meet together to form class lists that are balanced in terms of academic, social, and emotional needs as well as considering friendships. This is no easy task and often takes several meetings. This team of educators considers each child’s personality, academic needs, friendship patterns, etc. as they make a match for each individual child.
-This team of educators creates a draft set of class lists taking into consideration parent input.
-Class lists are then revised in August with summer changes for students who move in or out of the district.
-Class rosters are never final until they are released to families in August.
This process happens at grades 2-5. Willow Grove creates the class lists for our incoming 1st graders. Our 5th-grade team provides data to Woodlawn related to placement decisions at the middle school level.
We strongly believe that this detailed and collaborative process creates learning environments that benefit all students. It is a delicate balancing act that takes much consideration and thought by professionals who know and care about your children. Our goal is to create balanced class lists that promote the success of each child. Please know that your child is placed in a classroom for very specific reasons. The process benefits all students. Because of the input and thought given by teachers, specialists, parents, and the principal, we are very reluctant to make changes once this process occurs, as removing or moving one child can disrupt the balance of an entire class, impacting all students.
We welcome any insight you wish to share about your child’s strengths, needs, and learning style. We will take into consideration pertinent information received on or before FRIDAY, APRIL 29th. Please remember, while we welcome your input, specific teacher requests will not be honored.
If you'd like to share your input, please take the following survey: Kildeer Class Placement Survey for 22-23.
Repeat *APRIL Vernon Area Public Library Book Talks*
For more book talk recommendations, please visit our Book Talks Help Guide at https://guides.vapld.info/booktalks. For graphic novel suggestions, please visit our J Graphic Novel Help Guide at https://guides.vapld.info/graphic novels or our Junior High Graphic Novel Help Guide at https://guides.vapld.info/jh graphic novels.
*Tech Hub*
KCSD96 Family Technology Hub! The District 96 Family Technology Hub is designed to guide families through technology tools.
Please email [email protected] with any tech-related support needed.
*** STUDENT COUNCIL NEWS***
Click HERE to see the ABC Countdown for the remainder of the school year!
*** PTO News ***
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Check out the blog!
Oh Kildeer, what a bittersweet announcement that was made this week. I showed up on Wednesday morning and saw a student looking sad. When I bent down to get to eye level, he looked at me with his big eyes and said, "I'm going to miss you." The feeling is mutual Kildeer. I have so many more words that will come in the following weeks, but please know what an honor it has been to serve as the principal for the last six years. Also, I have appreciated each and every person that has reached out this week! I'm soaking up every drop of the next 23 days with our kids, staff, and community.
With that being said.....
It's staff appreciation next week. Our PTO has done an incredible job planning a very fun week with lots of goodies and treats. This is a time when we can honor the incredible work of our educators. I have always felt like the luckiest principal because our staff shows up each day, committed to doing great things for kids. Truly, if you were a fly on the wall you'd see some pretty amazing things!
As in past years, I'd like to once again give families the opportunity to submit a shout-out for any staff member HERE! I will send it to them personally to ensure they are feeling the love!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Fondly,
Mrs. Vail Kieser
Principal