Kelly Newsletter

Dear Kelly Families~

Thank you for a seamless start to the school year. It was so nice to see our families at Open House and we appreciate all the support you give. Our staff members and students were excited to get back to school and we have been working hard to establish & communicate clear expectations so we are set up for a successful school year. Our fall assessment window opens the week of September 9th, so we will begin gathering baseline academic and social emotional data very soon. Data from these assessments will be analyzed during our Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) which will meet the afternoon during our first early dismissal. Student achievement data will be used to develop programming for individual students.

PBIS~Our Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) tagline for the 2024-25 school year is #buildingcharacter. You may have noticed our classroom and hallway bulletin boards decked out with Lego themes & slogans when you came for Open House! We will be learning about the pillars of character throughout the school year and will tie in our Lego theme for some added fun! Our kickoff assembly for the students will be on September 19th @ 2pm. The students are excited about our new theme for the year. In addition to planning for the school year, our PBIS team has revisited our school wide expectation matrix and the behavior flowchart that we introduced last spring. Some changes have been made and the plan will be shared with families at parent teacher conferences in October. During the month of September, we will be focusing on teaching and reteaching our expectations and using lots of positive reinforcement (including Cougar Cards) to recognize students who are making good choices.

Sincerely,

Kelli Tannahill

#buildingcharacter

Deadline for device protection is Oct. 18, please use myschoolbucks to pay.

Intramurals also have started. If your child would like to participate please go to myschoolbucks to register.

Tuesday, September 10th-School Pictures

Friday, September 13th-Flu Shot Clinic in the Morning

Wednesday, September 18th-1:30 Dismissal

Tuesday, September 24th-Parent RED Event at 8:30am

Wednesday, October 2nd-1:30 Dismissal

Thursday, October 3rd-Parent/Teacher Conferences 4:00-7:00pm

Friday, October 4th-NO SCHOOL FOR ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL

Friday, October 4th-Parent/Teacher Conferences 8:00am-4:00pm

Tuesday, October 8th-Parent/Teacher Conferences 4:00-7:00pm

Wednesday, October 16th-1:30 Dismissal

Friday, October 18th-NO SCHOOL

Wednesday, October 23rd-Parent RED Event at 2:30

LEAVING SCHOOL EARLY

If you are taking your child out of school early for any reason (i.e. vacation, activities, appointments) please let the office know ahead of time. Students aren't necessarily in the classroom so it helps us locate your child in a timely manner so the checkout process goes smooth. You will also need to come into the office and sign your child out.

ABSENCES AND TARDIES

If your child is absent or late, please call the attendance line by 8:30am. Communication between home and school ensures the safety of your child.

701-746-2269-attendance line

701-746-2265-school office

ENCORE/EARLY RELEASE PICKUP PROCEDURE:

If you need to pick your child(ren) up before 3:00 from Encore on early release Wednesdays you can text/call the Kelly Encore number 701-787-1829 when you are here.

PARAPROFESSIONALS & AN AFTERNOON SCHOOL SECRETARY ARE NEEDED FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR!

We have full-time positions available for paraprofessionals at Kelly School supporting students in our autism classrooms. We would love for you to join our Kelly Team! If you are interested or know someone who may be, please contact LuAnn or Kelli at

701-746-2265.

We ask that students be dropped off between 8:15-8:20am at their designated door. As a reminder, there is no morning supervision on the playground. If your child arrives early and does not attend breakfast, he/she will be unsupervised until 7:55am. Entryways will be supervised by paraprofessionals from 7:55-8:20.

At the end of each school day, older siblings will meet their younger siblings at their classrooms and will exit the building together at the youngest sibling's door. Teachers will walk their classes to their assigned doors at 3:00 for dismissal.

Students riding the bus or childcare vans will be dismissed through Door #1.

ASSIGNED DOORS:

Door 1: All Kindergarten

Door 2: Cebula, Miller, Restad, Klingler

Door 4: All 3rd Grade, Kossan, Sorensen

Door 5: Aubol, Pederson

Door 11: All 5th Grade

Door 13: All 1st Grade

Door 16: Special Education Bus

Please label all of your child's outerwear including coats, hats, mittens, scarfs, boots, snowbags, etc. Our lost and found is always overflowing with clothing that is missing its owner. The lost and found table is located in the front entrance of the school. Any unclaimed items are periodically donated to the thrift stores throughout the year.

Nothing is more important than the safety of our students. For those of you returning to Kelly School, you are aware that the congestion in our parking lots at arrival and dismissal time can be a source of frustration.

We are asking all families to review and follow the traffic flow procedures outlined in the maps below. They have been designed to ensure the safety of all and to expedite the arrival and dismissal process.

NOTE: TRAFFIC ONLY FLOWS ONE DIRECTION IN THE NORTH PARKING LOT. Please adhere to following this traffic flow pattern at all times. Traffic should only flow into the north lot from Oak or 29th and out onto Cherry Street before, after, and during the school day. The same traffic pattern must be also be followed on early dismissal days as well. Please do not exit the north parking lot onto Oak Street. This slows down traffic by causing congestion and puts our students who walk across the parking lot at risk.

Thanks in advance for your cooperation in advance.

Kelli

• The cost of student's lunch is $2.20, reduced is $1.20. The cost of student's breakfast is $1.20, reduced is $0.00.
• Please click on this link for the Fee and Reduced Lunch Application: https://www.myschoolapps.com/
• IF YOU QUALIFIED FOR THIS PROGRAM IN THE PAST YOU WILL STILL NEED TO COMPLETE THE FORM FOR THE 2024-2025 SCHOOL YEAR.
• You can check your child's lunch account balance and meal purchases or pay for your child's lunch by going to myschoolbucks.com. It's super easy and convenient.
• In accordance with the Grand Forks Public School Wellness Policy #6175 we strive to be superior in our nutrition standards. This means that no fast food or other restaurant food is allowed in the lunchroom for any student.
• Our district campuses are PEANUT & TREE NUT restricted. We have children in our building that have severe life threatening allergies to peanuts, nuts and products that have peanut or nut traces in them. Please check labels when packing school lunch or snacks for your child.
• If paying by check, please make the check payable to GFPS or Grand Forks Public Schools.

We ask parents to pay for Device Protection (for both Chromebooks & iPads) and intramurals online through MySchoolBucks.

Create your free account today and never worry about having to send cash/checks to school with your student again. Visit myschoolbucks.com or download the app today to get started.

How do I enroll?

• Go to www.myschoolbucks.com and click enroll now.
• Create an account for yourself and your children. You will need to know your student’s district ID number, date of birth, school and grade.
• Provide credit or debit card information.

Why should I sign up for this service?

• You can view your child’s cafeteria purchases.
• You can sign up for free e-mail notifications when the lunch account is low in funds.
• You may prepay their lunch account without sending money to school.
• My SchoolBucks will charge a $2.49 service fee when adding money to a lunch account.

• If your student needs any medication given at school, a Medication Authorization Form must be filled out and signed by the health care provider and the parent/guardian. This is required for all medications including inhalers and over the counter medications.
• Parents or guardians may drop off student medications along with the corresponding Medication Authorization Form at Open House.
• Medications must be in their original containers.
• Students are not permitted to bring any over the counter or prescription medications to school in their backpacks and take it without adult supervision. All medication must be administered by authorized personnel in our school office.
• Additional GFPS Medical Information and Forms: https://www.gfschools.org/departments/nursehealth-office

Grand Forks Public Schools believes that regular school attendance is the joint responsibility of the student and their parent(s)/guardians(s), and it is essential for student success in school.

The school system shall abide by compulsory attendance requirements in state law for students ages seven through sixteen. In order to comply with and enforce these requirements, the Grand Forks School Board establishes the following attendance policy:

Students shall be in attendance a minimum of 160 days per school year to be considered for grade promotion.

In order to ensure that a student has completed what has been determined to be sufficient for course work completion towards graduation, school work missed by the student during an absence shall be made up regardless of the reason for the absence.

Students in grades K-5 whose poor attendance has caused a notable deficiency in learning may be retained at their present grade level if such a course is advantageous to the student. This decision is made in accordance with the Retention Procedure.

Building administrators are granted the right to make exceptions to this minimum standard. For more information please visit: https://www.gfschools.org/link-2/resources/stay-in-school

Student Absence: If your child is absent or late, please call the attendance line by 8:30am.

701-746-2269-attendance line

701-746-2265-school office

Telephone Calls: Calls do not ring into the classroom during school hours to minimize interruptions. Messages for students can be left on the teacher’s voicemail.

Peanut/Tree Nut Restricted: When sending a snack or packing a lunch, please remember to check labels to make sure it does not contain or have any traces of peanuts/nuts. We have students with severe peanut allergies in our building.

Birthday Snacks: Due to the increase of students who have severe food allergies and the higher levels of severity, we no longer celebrate student birthdays with a “birthday snack” in our schools. Parents are welcome to find other non-food items to send to school if they wish. Please discuss with your child’s classroom teacher for ideas or preferences.

Arrival:

The first bell rings at 8:20 am. School begins at 8:25 am. Breakfast is offered 7:40-8:15 am. All students coming to breakfast must use Door 16.

Dismissal: The safety of our students is a top priority for us at Kelly School. As per district policy, schools will have parents meet their child(ren) at a designated location outside the school at dismissal time.

• Teachers will bring their students to a location outside the school at their classroom’s assigned door. Students will meet their parent or person picking them up at a prearranged meeting place near the assigned dismissal door.

• Older siblings meet youngest sibling at youngest sibling’s assigned door.

• Bus/Daycare van students will walk through the school to Door #1 to board their bus or van.