Kelly Newsletter

Dear Kelly Families~

The 2022-23 school year is just around the corner and it’s time to welcome both our new and returning students and families to Kelly School. Our Open House will be held on Tuesday, August 23 from 4-6pm. It will be a great time to welcome our new families and reconnect with old Kelly School friends. It will be nice to have the smiling faces of our students and their family members once again fill up our halls and classrooms. At Open House, you will be able to meet your child's teacher and drop off school supplies. We will also have tables set up in the gym to deposit money into your child's lunch account, purchase a Chromebook case, meet the nurse, visit with our PTO, purchase spirit wear, and get additional information about the upcoming school year. We can't wait to see everyone!

Time truly does fly and it seems like it was just yesterday I was introducing myself as your new principal. This back-to-school newsletter gives me the perfect opportunity to thank everyone for the warm welcome and support I received from the entire Kelly School community last year. It was truly a year that I will look back on with fond memories. I am fortunate to be part of such a strong school community and truly feel as though I have come back home.

As we look forward to the upcoming school year, we want you to know that our entire staff is eager to begin working with you as a partner in your child’s education. It’s going to be another successful academic year for our Kelly Cougars.

Please take some time to read through the information below. I realize it's lengthy, but the information included is relevant to the beginning of the school year and pertains to a wide variety of topics.

Looking forward to seeing you all very soon~

Kelli Tannahill

Principal

School Day:

The first day of school is Wednesday, August 24th. The school day is from 8:25am-3:00pm. The first bell rings at 8:20 am. School begins at 8:25 am. Breakfast is offered 7:40-8:15am. Students coming to breakfast must enter the building using Door 16 which is in the north parking lot.

Arrival/Dismissal:

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

Kelly School was a busy place this summer! All of the windows have been replaced in the classrooms along the front of our building, our roof underwent some major repair work, and a special education suite was constructed where our foyer and multipurpose room were previously located. The projects are on track to be completed prior to the start of the school year. It will be exciting for our families to see what's taken place when you visit Kelly School in the near future.

Our head custodian, Cory Vacura, and his team (Tim Pender, Jerry Guthmiller, and Eric Smith) have put in long hours over the summer to ensure that our building is in top-notch condition for the start of the school year. This team of professionals is a pleasure to work with and we are so lucky to have them at Kelly School. The construction projects caused chaos to their usual summer cleaning schedule and our custodians were incredibly flexible. They rolled up their sleeves and tackled projects as they were able to and didn't miss a beat! Thanks to this awesome team for ensuring that Kelly School is a safe & healthy place for our students and teachers to learn and teach!

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. Safe Kids has conducted a review of our traffic patterns and as a result of their findings, we have made some changes for the 2022-23 school year.

1. We have adjusted dismissal doors to decrease the traffic in some areas.

2. We will be training 4th & 5th graders to be safety patrollers.

3. We will be adding crosswalk supervisors to support Sheriff Bob.

4. New push to cross buttons are being installed at our crosswalk on Cherry Street.

4. All buses will pick up students in the designated area outside the main entrance.

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

If your student plans on returning to Kelly School please make sure you complete the registration process in the Parent PowerSchool Portal. This needs to be done for every child-new or returning.

How do I get started?

If you have not already done so, you will need to create a PowerSchool Single Sign-On Account that links all your school-age children to the same account. If you need the information to set up your account, please contact the school office.

Visit https://grand-forks.ps.state. nd.us/public/ and log into the PowerSchool Parent Portal. From the Parent Portal:

1. Select the student you wish to register at the top.

2. Select the Registration (22-23) link on the left side of the screen.

3. Agree to the terms and conditions

4. Click Begin Forms

For schools that have bus routes, parent(s)/guardian(s) will be able to sign up for regular route busing for the 2022-2023 school year while completing registration in PowerSchool. There is an August 10, 5 p.m. deadline for registration for transportation. Dietrich Bus Service will contact those who sign up in mid-August with specific information. Those who miss the deadline will not be guaranteed immediate ridership. If you complete the signup and require a change to your information at a later date, please contact your respective schools’ administration staff to update any information.

Individuals requesting transportation beyond August 10 will be required to utilize the signup on the Grand Forks Public Schools website, which will be active on August 11. Registration using that process will not guarantee immediate ridership.

Your child's assigned teacher will be available to view on August 19th. Lists will be posted at the main entrance of the school and will be visible in Power School as well. As we work to finalize class lists, please know that although you may be able to see them in Power School before the 19th, these lists are only drafts and changes may occur. To view your child's teacher on August 19th, go to the Parent Power School Portal at https://grand-forks.ps.state.nd.us/public.

Note: Teachers, specialists and administrators have spent numerous hours considering many variables while creating class lists. Changes will unlikely be made once lists are posted. Each child's academic and social emotional needs, personality traits, and learning style are taken into consideration when assigning him/her to a classroom teacher. Thank you for your trust and support in this area.

The Early Dismissal Program

This year, Kelly School will offer The Early Dismissal Program. This program operates from 1:30-3p.m. on early dismissal Wednesdays for the 2022-2023 school year. This program is free and is being offered in cooperation with Grand Forks Public Schools ENCORE program.

Registration for this program will begin Monday, August 1st, and remain open until August 24th, 2022. Registration is required. If your child was enrolled in our Fit and Fun program last year, their enrollment will not carry over. Registration options will be either online or paper form.

For additional information on the ENCORE program, please visit https://www.gfschools.org/encore.

Thank you,

Kayla Erickson, Director of ENCORE

Please welcome the following staff members to Kelly School:

Meghan Foy-Kindergarten

Emily Johnson-Kindergarten

Jenny Long-K-2 Teacher & Interventionist

Jonathan Mayo-Music

Paul Boese-Joining Ms. Claire Barhite as an orchestra teacher

Nichelle Radi-Afternoon School Secretary

Amber Basting-Process Facilitator Coach for our Special Education Team

Destiny Eakins-Special Education Strategist

Shyanne Moen-Speech Language Pathologist

Jessica Ryan-Physical Therapist

Wanda Rosenquist-School Nurse

Jerry Guthmiller-Night Custodian

Michelle Boyer-Paraprofessional

Myah Burckhard-Paraprofessional

PARAPROFESSIONALS NEEDED FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR

We have part-time and full-time positions available for paraprofessionals at Kelly School. 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.

Tuesday, August 23rd-Open House-4:00-6:00pm

Wednesday, August 24th-1st Day of School

Friday, September 2nd-NO SCHOOL

Monday, September 5th-NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, September 13th-School Pictures

Wednesday, September 21st-1:30 Dismissal

Remember there will be NO SCHOOL Friday, September 2nd AND Monday, September 5th.

• 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.gfschools.org/Page/8333
• IF YOU QUALIFIED FOR THIS PROGRAM IN THE PAST YOU WILL STILL NEED TO COMPLETE THE FORM FOR THE 2022-2023 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.
• If paying by check, please make the check payable to GFPS or Grand Forks Public Schools.

Grand Forks Public Schools will once again use TeacherLists (LINK: https://www.teacherlists.com/) to share 2022-2023 school supply lists with our families! This free tool allows families to find and shop their student's supply list easily with the convenience of one-click shopping or in-store pickup from several national retailers, including Target and Walmart.

If you'd rather complete your shopping in-person, just visit the TeacherLists website to view/print your student's supply list or you can find the supply list attached at the bottom of this newsletter. Here is a quick demo video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky63BjX4FYI

We ask parents to pay for Chromebook cases, Device Protection and intramurals online through MySchoolBucks. This will help minimize the amount of cash/check deposits being handled throughout the day.

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.

• To alleviate transportation barriers to and from school, Grand Forks Public Schools will not charge for bus tickets for the 2022-2023 school year.
• During PowerSchool registration, you were asked if you would like your student(s) to ride a regular route bus to/from school during this school year.
• For those families who indicated they would like to utilize regular route busing, Dietrich Bus is now creating their routes/stops and Dietrich Bus will notify your family directly with route information.
• For families interested in busing but did not complete the request form in PowerSchool, please complete your request through this Google Form (LINK: https://forms.gle/pVjxTJV7QCxRGemj6). As these requests are being submitted after the deadline, there is no guarantee of ridership. Dietrich Bus Service will contact you directly with further information.

Please note: this is for general route busing only. For special education or EL busing, please speak with the main office at your student's school.

Thank you for your time and attention. We want each student to have a safe ride to and from school.

• 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 the open house on August 23rd.
• Medications must be in their original containers.
• Additional GFPS Medical Information and Forms: https://www.gfschools.org/P

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/Nut Free School: When sending a snack or packing a lunch, please remember to check labels to make sure it does not contain or have traces of peanuts/nuts.

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.