Cougar Paw Prints 9/2

Thank you to everyone who attended open house! We had such an incredible turnout and we appreciate all of your support. Please forgive me if you were trying to speak with me that night and did not get to. Send me an email if you need to touch base with me or have any questions/concerns to discuss.

If you missed the open house, you might have missed our incredible book vending machine. In order to get a token, students must have earned five cougar tickets for their positive behavior. We have also stocked a prize store. Ask your student how many cougar tickets they have earned and thank you for encouraging positive behavior.

Kellond is partnering with Literacy Connects to bring the amazing Stories that Soar program to our school. Stories that Soar encourages students to use their imagination and creativity to write stories and place them in a 'magic box.' Stories can be about their lives, their experiences, their dreams, completely made up, or any relevant topic as long as it is school appropriate. Students have until Friday, 9/6 to turn their stories in to the magic box. At which point, professional performance artists will make their stories soar to life. Please mark your calendars to celebrate literacy and inspire creativity on Friday 9/27 at 9:30am in the courtyard.

Conferences are right around the corner. Wednesday 8/18 - Friday 8/20 dismissal is at 12:25pm. Teachers will be reaching out to you to schedule a parent teacher conference.

We do have a cross country coach this year and we are very excited about it! Please make sure you fill out the correct paperwork and get a physical turned in to be on the team. Practice starts on Monday 9/9.

In order to kick off NFL season, we are encouraging our students and staff to wear their favorite NFL gear on Friday 9/6.

Kellond PTO has proposed changing the use of the Cougar Campaign 20% earnings for the 24/25 academic year. In previous years, each classroom received 20% back of what they raised. This could be used for classroom supplies, or items for the students, and was an incentive for teachers to encourage their students to donate. This year, Kellond PTO has proposed using the funds to pay for a school wide field day instead of giving it to each individual classroom. In the spirit of transparency and inclusion, they would like teachers and parents to have the opportunity to vote! Voting deadline is 11/1/24. Only 1 vote per parent and 1 vote per teacher.

Cougar Campaign 20% Earnings Voting Form

We have been a teeny tiny bit relaxed with this the past two weeks, but starting tomorrow we will not allow adults in the building from 8:30am-4:00pm without authorization from the front office. This means that parents cannot walk students to class in the morning, cannot pop in to chat with a teacher in the mornings, and cannot walk through the building to get from one location to another. This also includes bringing your child any material from home. If you need to get a forgotten item, like a lunch or a backpack to your student, please bring it to the front office and we will deliver it for you. Exceptions to this are below:

• For special occasions, like a birthday or celebration, please notify the teacher at least 24 hours in advance that you would like to be a visitor in the classroom. Come to the front office that day to sign in and get a visitor badge.
• If you would like to have lunch with your student, please come to the front office to sign in and get a visitor badge. Please remain in the cafeteria and do not go to the playground or in the instructional building.
• If you would like to consistently volunteer in your student’s classroom, please register with tusd1 as a volunteer. The process is easy, and the application is on the TUSD Volunteer Website. Once TUSD approves the application, we will give you a Kellond badge to wear with pride! Make sure to work out a consistent schedule with your student’s teacher and approve it with Ms. Schiavone.

The construction at Palo Verde Park has started and will be going on for almost the entire school year. The entire park is closed including the parking lots to the north and south of the park. This means that if you utilize the park for drop off or pick up, you will need an alternative plan. I know this is an inconvenience, please let me know how we can help.

This year, we've expanded our 'dine for dollars' program to offer a variety of family dining nights. Now, you have the flexibility to choose when and where you'd like to support Kellond.

• In N Out Night, Wednesday 9/4
• Raising Canes Night, Tuesday 9/10
• Skate Country Night, Wednesday 9/18
• MOD Pizza Night, Thursday 10/4

Thank you to Ms. Leftwich for finding our new coffee truck, Adelita Cafe. The cold foam pumpkin latte was delicious. Mark you calendar for the last Wednesday of the month to park and get yourself a cup of coffee. Next one is on 9/25.