Kennedy News

February is here and we are ready for a great month of learning at Kennedy! In this edition of the Kennedy News, you will find information about the importance of daily attendance. Please take some time to read through that information and watch the short video to learn about how much attendance matters at school. Our goal is to have students reach their greatest academic potential while also getting their social and emotional needs met. This goal is attainable when students are at school and engaged in the lessons that their teachers have prepared for them. If you have a student who is struggling with attendance, please reach out to me, our counselor Ms. Jenna Helget, or our social worker Ms. Megan Schultz. We want to partner with you to help your student be at school as much as possible.

Enjoy the warm weather!

Steve Rustad

Be Safe * Engage*Show Empathy*Together WE are Kennedy!

January was roller-skating month in PE! The Kennedy Cubs had a great time working on balance and agility while cruising around the gym. They celebrated the end of the unit by turning the gym into a roller rink. Check out some of the pictures below!

December Students of the Month were celebrated on Friday, January 19th. Students of the month are selected by their teachers for showing Kennedy BEST throughout the month. Congratulations to all of our students of the month!

Kennedy families, did you know that if your Cub misses 17 or more days of the school year that they are considered chronically absent by the state of Minnesota? We know that students miss school for many reasons such as illness, vacation, or family emergencies. It is expected that a student will miss a few days throughout the year. However, when students start to miss more than a few days of school, it can be detrimental to their academic growth. Research shows that students who miss 7 or more days of school are more likely to struggle to be at grade level academically. Here at Kennedy, we want to see our Cubs in school as often as possible so that they can continue to get what they need to succeed in school.

Here are some important things to know about how we will be approaching attendance for the remainder of the year:

• Mr. Rustad will be sending a message out to all families who have students on pace to miss more than 17 days of school this year. We have about 10% of students who are at this point. Our school goal is to have less than 5% of our students missing 17+ days this year. If you receive that message from me, know that we are looking to partner with you to make a plan for better attendance for the remainder of the year.
• If you have had a student who has missed up to 7 days because of illness, we will be requiring a doctor's note to excuse any further absences for illness. If your child isn't feeling good but they seem like they could be at school, I encourage you to bring them to school and have them checked out by our school nurse, Wendy Allen. She will let you know if your student should stay at school or go home for the day.
• When a student has 8 or more unexcused absences, our school partners with Blue Earth County to support families with a plan to get their students to school more often.
• Please take a few minutes to watch a great video on the importance of students being at school every day. Click here or on the Attendance Matters picture to watch the video.

Thank you for your partnership around attendance. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at srusta1@isd77.org.

Thank you,

Steve Rustad

Kennedy is a schoolwide Title 1 School. In the past, Title 1 funds were available to

provide additional support to students who qualified based on their test scores. As a schoolwide Title 1 school we are now able to utilize those resources more flexibly to support any students that would benefit. This fits wonderfully with our small group instruction blocks when students receive acceleration or enrichment based on their specific needs. For further information, contact Steve Rustad, principal at Kennedy Elementary.

This store will be open and accepting orders all year long, at any time! All orders will be shipped directly to your home and 10% will come back to our Kennedy PTO. Stay warm and cozy with some new Kennedy gear!!

Shop Now: https://1stplace.sale/49843

Each week we will feature a different product line at a discounted price! Upcoming promotions include:

1/29: Crewneck Sweatshirts

2/5: Pajama Pants Take a look: