KENNEDY ELEMENTARY

Main Office: 651-480-7221

Nurse: 651-480-7224

Kids' Campus: 651-480-7257

Hastings Bus Company: 651-437-1888

Kennedy Elementary Website

Elementary Handbook

District Calendars

NOVEMBER

5 - Daylight Savings - Turn clocks back

7 - Voting Day

10 - Veteran's Day Program at Hastings High School at 10:00 am

13 - PTA Monthly Meeting, 7:00 pm in Media Center

23 & 24 - NO SCHOOL - Fall Break

25 - Holiday Hoopla, Kennedy Cougar Choir performance

27 - NO SCHOOL - Staff Development

DECEMBER

1 - Movie Night / Grinch Party sponsored by the PTA at 6:00 pm (movie starts at 6:30 pm)

1-9 - 10 Days of Giving Food Drive

11 - PTA Monthly Meeting, 7:00 pm in Media Center

25 - January 2 - NO SCHOOL - Winter Break

8:50 am: School begins

3:25 pm: Dismissal for all students

Benny L, Sam L, Henry W, Hailey H, Charlotte W, Liam R

This month, our schoolwide theme is empathy. In our morning announcements, we’ll be reminding students to have empathy, identify their own and others’ feelings, notice and respect same and different feelings, and show compassion. When students can identify, understand, and respond in a caring way to how someone else is feeling, it helps create a positive and accepting school climate.

The Second Step Empathy Unit specifically teaches these skills. Please notice students who demonstrate empathy and compassion this month and reinforce their behavior with specific verbal feedback or Recognition Tickets. Remember to model these behaviors too. This will make it easier for students to learn and show empathy and compassion every day.

These students have been showing Cougar CARE in our building and were recognized in our biweekly drawings. Ask your students about how they can earn Kennedy Cougar CARE tickets.

Come One, Come ALL!

PTA Monthly Meeting

Monday, November 13th, 7:00 pm in the media center

Come for a snack, stay for the meeting!

Check out the PTA Website for more information: https://www.kennedycougarpta.org/home

Join the Kennedy Cougar PTA for a Grinch Party!

Friday, December 1st MOVIE NIGHT

Kennedy Elementary Gym

More information to come - keep an eye on the PTA Website, Facebook page and check your emails!

Upcoming performance at the Downtown Hastings Holiday Hoopla on Saturday, November 25th, time TBD - watch for communication from Ms. Auby, choir teacher. The 4th grade choir will perform with Pinecrest, McAuliffe and the Hastings Middle School Spiral Singers.

As the weather begins to cool, please be sure your child is dressed appropriately for playing outside. Students spend twenty minutes outside for noon recess.

When the temperatures start to dip into the 40’s and 50’s, we do require students to wear a light jacket or sweatshirt outside. When winter arrives, winter clothing will be required.

Just a reminder that if your child is having a birthday party and wants to invite their friends from school, we are not able to give out names, phone numbers or addresses of the students. While we know it is exciting for children to have a birthday party and invite their school friends, we ask that you not send invitations to school with them to pass out. It can cause hurt feelings for those students who did not get invited to the party.

The district has adopted a wellness policy. We are still celebrating student birthdays; we are just not doing so with birthday treats. We ask that students not bring any treats in honor of their birthday.

What is the Minnesota Free School Meals Program?

The Minnesota Free School Meals Program provides state reimbursement to schools participating in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program so that students can have one breakfast and one lunch at no cost at school.

Can the meals be picked up or brought home like we did during the pandemic?

No. Congregate meal service is required in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program. Meals may not be taken off campus, sent home, delivered, or picked up by parents or others.

Do I still need to complete the Application for Educational Benefits?

Families need to complete the Application for Educational Benefits. Applications for Educational Benefits determine how much funding your child’s school receives for educational programs and support. Additionally, eligible families can qualify for other benefits, such as:

• WIC Benefits
• Metro Transit Assistance Program
• FCC Affordable Connectivity Program/Reduced price internet programs
• Some summer camps, athletics programs, and child cares offer scholarships or discounts

What is included in the MN Free School Meals Program?

The student must choose at least three items to be counted as a reimbursable meal at breakfast. The student must choose a ½ cup serving of fruit or vegetable as part of their breakfast. At lunch, the student must choose at least three components to be counted as a reimbursable meal. The student must choose a ½ cup serving of fruit or vegetable as part of their lunch.

What is NOT included in the MN Free School Meals Program?

Single-item purchases and non-reimbursable meals are not free. Some examples include: a carton of milk, snack items, a second entrée, a second breakfast, or a second lunch, meals that do not meet the minimum requirements, and meals served to teachers, staff, and other adults.

The price for breakfast and lunch meals will be $0 for all sites.

Fill out the Form! The Application for Education Benefits helps determine how much education funding your school will receive. Complete an application for your student for the school year 2023-24.

• Students and families may qualify for other program fee reductions based on their eligibility for free or reduced-price meals. Parents should complete an Application for Education Benefits.
• Only meals that meet the requirements are reimbursed. Students that want additional or single items will be charged for those items.
• The 2023-24 Free and Reduced Meal Application will be available online this summer on the district website under Food Service, and a paper application has been mailed out to families.

For more information, please call Andrea Seleski 651-480-7050 or Brittney Hirschauer 651-480-7126

Illness and Keeping your Child Home

A student should not come to school (and may be sent home from school) if they have or have had:

• a fever of 100 degrees F or more in the past 24 hours

• vomiting or diarrhea in the past 24 hours

• an undiagnosed skin rash

Reporting Absences

If your student will not be at school, please call and report the reason for their absence at 651-480-7220. If your student is ill, please report their symptoms and/or any diagnosed communicable condition like chicken pox, strep throat, cough and fever, influenza, or pink eye. It is recommended that you follow the MDH and CDC exclusion guidelines for communicable diseases.

Immunizations
In order to attend school, students must show that they're in compliance with Minnesota School Immunization Requirements (see the Minnesota Department of Health Link below for more Information). Hastings School's immunization policy states that students who are not up to date on their immunizations will not be allowed to start school until they provide the school with documentation that they have received the required immunizations.
Parents/guardians may check their student's immunization status by logging on to the parent portal in Infinite Campus. To see the immunization records, click on the HEALTH tab. If your student's immunization status says "current for grade" in ALL immunizations required by law, then the student is up to date and ready for the start of school. If your student is not current, they will need to get the required immunizations to attend the first day of school. Yearly physicals with their healthcare provider are strongly encouraged for students to have optimal health.

Parents/guardians may choose to decline immunizations for their students by filing a legal exemption with the school. Student Immunization Form

If you have further questions, please reach out to your building nurse.

Your child's safety is of prime importance to us. There are a few procedure guidelines that help us maintain a secured building and limit the number of distractions to our classrooms. Our building is designed to have a single entry point during the school day. Please keep the following in mind:

• Always check in at the office whenever you are at school.
  
• We have a new secure entrance, please ring the doorbell and state your reason for visiting.
• When delivering things for your child (ex. snow gear), please drop them off at the office. We will deliver articles or call your child down to the office.
  
• When picking up your child early from school, please do so by signing them out at the office. The office personnel will contact your child’s teacher to dismiss them and meet you in the office.

Please bring your driver's license with you when you are checking out your student, volunteering, or visiting at lunch.

If the Hastings Public Schools are closed due to inclement weather conditions, the Kids Campus Program will also be closed. If school is delayed two hours in opening, Kids Campus will be open at the regular time (6:30 am).

If school closes two hours early, then Kids Campus sites will close two hours early

(4:00 pm). Parents will be called and notified by Kids Campus staff to pick up their child.

Please pick up your child by 4:00 pm or authorize someone else to pick up your child by that time. Please listen to the radio and TV for school closing announcements.