JFK Weekly Update
September 29, 2024
Dear Families of JFK,
Next week marks the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, the commencement of the spiritual New Year in the Jewish faith. This year, the holiday celebration encompasses the time between sundown on Wednesday, October 2, through sundown on Friday, October 4, 2024. Happy New Year to those who celebrate.
We are looking for additional family members to join the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. The mission of the committee is to create a school environment that is inclusive and equitable through the celebration of diversity in partnership with our community. Our goals are to promote cultural events and provide new opportunities for learning. If you are interested in hearing more about the committee please email me (watsons@cantonma.org) or Kate Gallahue (gallahuek@cantonma.org).
Please use this Book Wish List Link to share any book titles, including the author, that are special to you and your family. If you are interested in reading a special story to your child’s class please include your email address as well. Our hope is to add to our classroom libraries in order to portray a broad sense of human diversity.
At the beginning of each school year, the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) requires districts to notify in writing the families/guardians of students attending a Title I school that they may request information regarding the professional qualifications of their student’s classroom teachers. Please see the attachment below from Deborah O. Rooney, Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Title 1 Coordinator.
Sincerely,
Saundra Watson, Principal
What's Coming Up
- October 3, 2024: No School, Rosh Hashanah
- October 14, 2024: Indigenous People's Day
- October 23, 2024: Early Release, 12:20 PM Dismissal
- October 30, 2024: Picture Retake Day
- November 5, 2024: No School
- November 11, 2024: No School, Veteran’s Day
- November 19, 2024: Evening Parent Conferences
- November 20, 2024: Early Release (Conferences), 12:20 Dismissal
- November 27, 2024: Early Release (Thanksgiving Break), 12:20 Dismissal
- November 28 & 29, 2024: Thanksgiving Break
- December 11, 2024: Early Release, 12:20 PM Dismissal
- December 12 & 13, 2024: Holiday Shop
- December 20, 2024: Early Release (Winter Break), 12:20 DIsmissal
- December 23, 20024 - January 1, 2025: No School, Winter Break
- January 2, 2025: School Resumes
Calendars/Information Sheets
STAR Assessments
We will be using the Renaissance STAR 360 universal screener in grades K-5 to monitor student progress in reading and math again this year. The STAR assessment will be given three times; Fall, Winter and Spring. Please see the attached letter below regarding understanding the family report.
Gym Shorts
We are off and running with a new school year of Kennedy PE. It has been nice to see all our returning students as well as meeting our new incoming students. We have many new students and I’m doing my best to learn all their names and individual strengths. Classes have been working hard on learning our routines and focused on our golden rules of “Play Safe, Play Fair, Play Hard, and Have Fun”. All students are expected to be respectful and prepared to move for PE class. These expectations will be a focus throughout the year, along with the many skills we will seek to improve. Please remind your child to be prepared for PE by wearing sneakers and appropriate clothing for movement when they have PE. Boots, Crocs, sandals, are not ideal for PE!
In October, grade 3-5 students will be working on a variety of coordination and skill challenges/games using basketballs. We will focus on coordination with dribbling and moving as well as some shooting activities. Grades K-2 will focus on a variety of manipulative skill challenges and games. They will be improving manipulative skills that use the hands (dribbling, catching, shooting, etc.) as well as their feet (kicking, punting, foot dribbling, etc.).
We will be starting the Grade 5 “Get Fit” calendar program in October. Participating students will keep track of their fitness activities on a calendar throughout the month. At the end of October, participating students should be sure that they have completed a minimum of 16 days of physical activity on their calendar, have a parent/ guardian sign it to verify their activities, and return it to me in the gym. Students participating will earn a “fitness foot” token for each month they hand in as well as be on my fitness chart outside the gym. This is a nice way for students to ensure that they are getting enough physical activity outside of school. I encourage all grade 5 students to take part and see if they are dedicated enough to complete every month of the program this year. Extra calendars are always available for 5th Graders in the file outside the gym.
Monthly PE Sneaker Award Winners for Excellence in PE
Gold Sneaker- Mrs. MacKay’s Class (1st Grade)
Silver Sneaker-Tie, Mrs. Huffstutler’s Class (2nd Grade) & Mrs. Saldi’s Class (3rd Grade)
PE Star Students of the Week for September
Siena Cotter (2nd Grade)
Johnny Ricci (3rd Grade)
Nicholas Romans (4th Grade)
Gabby McKendall (5th Grade)
Robotics
Please see the flyers below for Robotics Club sign-up information.
JFK Policies and Procedures
The Elementary Handbook contains important information regarding school operations, policies, curriculum, and discipline. Please take a moment to review it.
Please remember that students are not permitted to wear SmartWatches at school and cell phones must be put in their backpacks for the day. We encourage you to send your children without these devices. Please communicate with your classroom teacher, the Nurse and front office if your child needs their device for a medical issue.
Arrival & Dismissal
An important aspect of our community is keeping children safe during arrival and dismissal. I'd like to share our longstanding protocols and ask you to please comply. School administrators and the School Resource Officer will be working to enforce our procedures for the safety of everyone.
ARRIVAL:
Students arriving by car are dropped off in the parking lot by the playground. Please follow the flow of trafffic to assist us in making morning drop off as smooth as possible.
Parking is limited. All students K-5 are encouraged to walk or use the driveline.
Do not get out of your car in the driveline to assist your child. A staff member will be there to assist you.
Kids should exit on the passenger side only.
DISMISSAL:
Students are dismissed beginning at 3:25 PM. Parking is limited. Some suggestions to make the situation less stressful for everyone:
Avoid the traffic. You are encouraged to walk or park on streets adjacent to JFK.
Encourage independence. Pick a nearby meeting spot in the neighborhood and have your child walk off campus to meet you.
Avoid the awkwardness. You don’t want a staff member to talk to you about parking in the middle of the lot or in the handicap parking spots -- and we don’t want to talk to you about it. Please park in legal, marked spots only. If none are available please exit the lot and come back in five minutes.
Walkers will be dismissed onto the playground blacktop. An adult will wait with students until 3:40 PM. After that point students will be brought to the front office and a parent will be called.
Dog's are not allowed on the JFK property while school is in session, including during arrival and dismissal. Simply put, not everyone loves dogs as much as dog owners. In fact, your friendly, bouncy pup might be terrifying to someone who is two and a half feet tall. Dogs are welcome to ride along in the car for carline drop off and pick up. I'd especially ask community members who run their dog on the field (which is not technically allowed) to pick up after their dog so that teachers do not have to add student shoe-washing duty to their list of responsibilities. Thank you in advance.
CAPT Corner
Family Photos are back! Book your mini session now HERE!
Parent’s Night – Music Bingo is back! October 25th at 7 pm at the Town Club. Mark your calendars now! Ticket link will be available soon!
CAPT Meetings are on the second Tuesday of each month at 7 pm in the JFK Library. Join us!
Family Resources
The Food Pantry has moved to 1860 Washington Street (formerly St. Gerard’s).
The Canton Farmers Market also accepts SNAP and HIP
Join the Canton Public School celebrations and highlights by following our social media platforms! #CantonBulldogs #ChampionsofExcellence
Around Town Events
Canton Public Schools has a Community Resources and Information Page on its website titled Around Town. This page lists resources and events taking place in our community. To access the information on this webpage, use this link: About/Around Town.
This webpage will be updated periodically.
School Info.
School Hours: 9:10 AM - 3:25 PM
Adult supervision provided at 8:50 AM for breakfast or morning recess
Breakfast: 8:50 - 9:05 AM
Early Release: 12:20 PM (no lunch served)
John F. Kennedy Elementary School
Alana Marino, Administrative Assistant
Kathryn Gallahue, Assistant Principal
Email: watsons@cantonma.org
Website: https://www.cantonma.org/kennedy/index
Location: 100 Dedham Street, Canton, MA, USA
Phone: (781) 821-5080
Twitter: @JFKGallahue
Office hours will be 8:30 AM - 3:45 PM.