Kirkwood Elementary Newsletter

Welcome to Kirkwood Elementary School, where Kirkwood Eagles S.O.A.R. by being safe, taking ownership, and showing respect. Our Kirkwood family is filled with dedicated teachers, a caring staff, supportive families and community, and a wonderful group of scholars. Student agency is at the core of what we believe as an AVID Elementary: we nurture choice-ready scholars who can confidently navigate their futures. High expectations are paired with high support, and together we ensure that each child has a quality education, a safe learning environment, and a caring school community.

Email: person.renee@iowacityschools.org
Website: https://kirkwood.iowacityschools.org/
Location: 1401 9th Street, Coralville, IA, USA
Phone: 319-688-1120
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kirkwoodelementary

Hello Kirkwood Families -

It has been a wild couple weeks back with all of the snow and sub-zero temperatures. We hope this next weeks brings some reprieve to that - AND a full week of school! We've got lots to get to as we get the second half of the year underway! Winter FAST Benchmarking assessments for reading and math continue, and Spring Conferences will be right around the corner in February and March. See you tomorrow, Eagles!

Thanks!

Ms. Person

• Tuesday, January 23: Beginning & Advanced Orchestra Concert @ 6:00pm (West High)
• Wednesday, January 24: Winter Clubs @ 3:00-4:00pm
• Wednesday, January 31: Final Winter Clubs @ 3:00-4:00pm
• Thursday, February 8: Preschool Registration Event @ 3:00-7:00pm (Coralville Public Library)
• Friday, February 9: No School (District Closed)
• Monday, February 12: No School
• Wednesday, February 28: Spring Conferences @ 3:30-7:00pm
• Friday, March 1: End of 2nd Trimester
• Monday, March 4: No School - Spring Conferences @ 8:00am-7:00pm
• Monday, March 4: Kindergarten Registration @ 8:00am-7:00pm
• Monday, March 11-Friday, March 15: No School - Spring Break

Orchestra Ensemble & Lesson Day: Wednesdays

Band Ensemble & Lesson Day: Fridays

Big dreams start with young minds! We’d love to welcome your little one to our preschool family, where countless opportunities await. All of our teachers are certified in both general and special education and we offer free half-day programming for 4-year-olds in all of our elementary schools with full-day options in certain locations*.

Do you have a child who will be turning 4 years of age on or before September 15, 2024? If so, we invite you to stop by one of our preschool registration locations on February 8, 2024, to learn about our preschool program, ask any questions you may have, and register your child on-site. Interpreters will be available at each location. Feel free to bring registration documents with you, including your child’s immunization records, birth certificate, and health physical. Don’t worry, if you don’t have the records available on February 8th, we can still get your child registered!

Online registration will also be available beginning February 8, 2024, at 3:00 pm.

Winter weather has arrived! Just a friendly reminder that our District's Inclement Weather Guidelines, outlining decisions for delays, cancellations, and early releases, are available on our website at www.IowaCitySchools.org/WeatherGuidelines. Please note the change to the school day if there is a late start issued on a Thursday.

When we make decisions about changes to the school day, we are committed to keeping families informed in a convenient and timely manner. Alongside our email, phone, and text notifications, we encourage you to follow us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram. Additionally, we recommend downloading our mobile app, which provides a centralized hub for all school and district-related information.

If you have any questions, please contact our Educational Services Center at (319) 688-1000.

As the colder weather sets in, so do the typical cold weather illnesses. Please take special note to the points below:

Communicate

• Student absences are marked as Unexcused until we receive a call or message from families notifying us of the absence reason. If your child is gone from school, please notify the office ASAP. Medical excused will be required after eight excused absences.

• When reporting an absence for your child due to illness, please state the nature of their illness or symptoms they are experiencing. This will help us to track excess absences in a specific room – for notification of families as necessary and/or to encourage extra cleaning from school staff.

Keep at Home

• Please keep your children home if they are not feeling well or have a fever, diarrhea, or vomiting. Keep them home for 24 hours after these symptoms are resolved without the use of medication.

• If your child is sent home from school due to fever or vomiting, they cannot return to school until they are symptom-free for 24 hours without the use of medication.

Prevent

• The most effective illness prevention is thorough and frequent hand washing. Hand sanitizer kills some germs, but often does not kill the germs that cause most diarrhea and vomiting illnesses. Remind your students to wash their hands often with soap and water—especially before and after eating, using the restroom, and touching their eyes, nose, or mouth.

• Encourage “covering your cough” in your elbow, not your hand.

• It is important that your child is well rested and eating healthy foods to help their immune system work properly.

• If you haven’t already, schedule an appointment for the influenza vaccine.

This year, 5th and 6th grade students will be invited to Career Cafés to learn more about careers in our community and beyond. Through our AVID career focus, our older students will identify career areas that align with their skills and interests. Volunteers will then join students in-person or virtually to help them learn more about their careers in a fun, one hour introduction and question-and-answer session. Kirkwood is looking for volunteers like you to talk to our students! If you or someone you know is willing to help with this great program, you can sign up for a time using this Calendly link. For any questions about the program or how you can help, please email our school counselor Allison Otting at Otting.Allison@iowacityschools.

At Kirkwood, we practice Positive Behavior Interventions & Support (PBIS). Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based three-tiered framework to improve and integrate all of the data, systems, and practices affecting student outcomes every day. PBIS creates schools where all students succeed.

We have a Schoolwide Motto, which gives our Kirkwood community a clear, concise way of thinking about our expectations. The motto is shared daily in announcements and is also posted visually in common spaces and classrooms. The motto is reinforced through specific feedback.

We also have Schoolwide Expectations, which provide clear, explicit, teachable expectations for schoolwide procedures. Teachers utilize schoolwide expectations posters to explicitly teach and reference schoolwide procedures.

Be sure to follow us on Social Media for the latest news and updates!

Attendance Calls:

In an effort to ensure the safety of our students, beginning this school year Automated Attendance Notifications will go out at 8:30 am for students who have been marked absent, and we have not received communication from the guardian of the absence.

Notifications will consist of an automated phone call, email, and text message notifying the parent/guardian that their student has been marked absent, and to contact the school as soon as possible. If you receive one of these notifications, please contact the school right away to avoid follow up calls, and potentially calls to your emergency contacts.

If your student is going to be absent or late to school please enter an absence request using the Infinite Campus Parent Portal, or call the attendance office at 319-688-1120 before the start of the school day to prevent absence notifications.

Attendance Letters:

Attendance letters will be sent out weekly as emails, initiated at the ESC. Schools will follow up with families who receive 5 Unexcused Absence, and 10 Unexcused Tardy letter emails to make sure attendance meetings are scheduled.

We are excited to announce the new ICCSD RayGun store is now open! The items offered in this online store are available to anyone for purchase. A portion of the proceeds of each sale will go to the Foundation for the ICCSD.

A special thank you to RayGun for partnering with us on this project!

The Iowa City Community School District remains committed to our COVID-19 health and safety practices. The well-being of our students, staff, and families is our first priority. We are following Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) guidelines to ensure we can safely, effectively, and consistently provide access to learning and co-curricular and extra-curricular activities. The District’s measures are meant to keep our community safe, but they are only fully effective if we are diligent and responsible in adhering to them. For further information on our COVID-19 safety protocols, please visit www.IowaCitySchools.org/HealthandSafety

Students, Families, and Employees - The Ombuds Office is here to help!

Visit www.IowaCitySchools.org/Ombuds to learn more!

It is the policy of the Iowa City Community School District not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, creed, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity and socioeconomic status in its educational programs, activities, or employment practices. There is a grievance procedure for processing complaints of discrimination. If you have questions or a grievance related to this policy, please contact Eric Howard, Director of Equity and Employee Relations, 1725 N. Dodge St., Iowa City, IA 52245, 319-688-1000, howard.eric@iowacityschools.org.