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://www.iowacityschools.org/Domain/447
Location: 1401 9th Street, Coralville, IA, USA
Phone: 319-688-1120
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kirkwoodelementary

Hello Kirkwood Families -

Happy New Year! We hope you had a wonderful Winter Vacation and are ready to get the second half of the school year underway as we welcome in 2024. We will begin our Winter FAST Benchmarking assessments for reading and math in the coming weeks, and Spring Conferences will be right around the corner in February and March. See you tomorrow, Eagles!

Thanks!

Ms. Person

• Monday, January 8: School Resumes
  
• Wednesday, January 10: Winter Clubs @ 3:00-4:00pm
• Monday, January 15: No School (District Closed)
• Tuesday, January 16: Beginning Orchestra Concert @ 7:00pm (West High)
• Wednesday, January 17: Winter Clubs @ 3:00-4:00pm
• Tuesday, January 23: Advanced Orchestra Concert @ 7:00pm (West High)
• Wednesday, January 24: 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

Our #1 priority is ensuring school safety. In light of the tragic and senseless incident that occured in Perry, IA last week, we want to remind all families of a few safety protocols that pertain directly to families:

Office Check-In: As a secure building, we ask that all families and visitors check in through the office at all times of school operations (7:30am-2:55pm). This includes drop-off in the mornings - please do not enter the building through the lower doors at drop-off time. If you need to come into the building, enter through the Office at Door 1 and check-in. All Visitors and Volunteers are required to sign-in on the iPad in the Office and should wear the badge received at all times while in the building.

Absence Communication: It is essential that we know where students are each day. If your student will be absent, please communicate the absence (with a specific reason) to the Office ASAP. You can call during office hours (7:15am-3:45pm) or before/after hours and leave a message. You can also email Cybil at miller.cybil@iowacityschools.org

Infinite Campus Information: Please make sure your contact information (including Emergency Contacts) is up-to-date in Infinite Campus. This will assure you receive school communications.

Gun-Free Zone: The Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, makes it illegal for any individual to knowingly possess a firearm in a school zone. The term school zone means in or on the grounds of a public, parochial, or private school, or within a distance of 1,000 feet from school grounds.

Say Something: To help ensure a safe environment in all of our schools, we encourage students to say something when it comes to bullying, racism, discrimination, harassment, assault, and/or school safety.

You can report an incident or concern in one of two ways:

• Use our anonymous reporting tool, Say Something. Here's how:
  TEXT: @SAYIT
  TO: 833-769-0372

• Contact your school administration or a trusted adult

Please report as soon as possible.

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.

Dear Students, Families, and Staff,

We are writing to provide an important update regarding Senate File 496, which was signed into law in May 2023. The law contains numerous provisions affecting school districts across the state and specifically impacting LGBTQ+ students and staff. Due to a recent ruling in two ongoing lawsuits, one in which the District was named as a defendant, certain portions of SF 496 are now no longer enforceable.

The Court granted a preliminary injunction regarding certain parts of the new law. This means that aspects of the law will not be in effect when we return from winter break. Specifically, the court ruled that the following portions of SF 496 are no longer enforceable: 1. require removal of books from school libraries that are not ‘age appropriate’; and 2. The prohibition in grades kindergarten through grade six against or offering or sponsoring any program, curriculum, test, survey, questionnaire, promotion, or instruction relating to gender identity or sexual orientation.

In this same ruling, the Court denied the preliminary injunction with respect to the requirement that a parent or guardian be notified if a student requests an accommodation relating to gender identity. The parental notification portion of SF 496 remains in effect and fully enforceable. All Iowa school districts, including Iowa City, must continue to comply with this portion of the law. Other provisions of Senate File 496 that are not being challenged in the lawsuits, such as the requirement to obtain parental consent before requiring a student to take part in certain surveys, also remain in effect and fully enforceable.

In response to the injunction, the Iowa City Community School District will pause any work related to curtailing the books available in our libraries or classrooms and will return books that have been removed from library shelves. We will also lift the new restrictions placed on teaching LGBTQ+ topics at the elementary level. In essence, we are returning to our practices that were in place before the implementation of 496, except for those portions of SF 496 that we must continue to implement.

Please know that we will not have long-term clarity on the impact of SF 496 until the lawsuit is completed. While we navigate the legal landscape surrounding Senate File 496, the federal lawsuit, and the newly issued injunction, our primary focus remains on maintaining a safe, welcoming, and respectful space for every student. We will continue to work with legal counsel and closely monitor the legal developments.

Please rest assured that the well-being and inclusivity of our community continue to be our top priorities. We appreciate your ongoing support as we navigate these important matters together.

Sincerely,

Matt Degner
Superintendent
Iowa City Community School District

Please review our process for drop-off and pick-up, including Carline expectations.

We have a bus that needs access to the front of the building each morning and afternoon - please be mindful of this.

Additionally, as a secure building, we ask that all families and visitors check in through the office at all times of school operations (7:30am-2:55pm). This includes dropping off in the mornings - please do not enter the building through the lower doors. If you need to come into the building, enter through the Office at Door 1 and check-in. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!

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.

As we enter into the second half of the school year, teachers and staff will be reviewing our PBIS Schoolwide expectations, along with classroom expectations. You can review the expectations with your student(s) with the graphics below!

Technology continues to evolve and play a key role in learning. One recent emerging technology claiming to transform education is artificial intelligence (AI). As the district explores both the potential and pitfalls of AI, we wanted to gain your insights. The questions within the survey will help us better understand your knowledge of AI, what concerns you may have, as well as what hunches you have about its ability to enhance student learning. In addition, your expertise will assist in the creation of guidelines for both teachers and students as they use artificial intelligence in the classroom. Your anonymous feedback will play a crucial role in ensuring artificial intelligence is not only accessible but used responsibly and effectively to enrich student learning experiences. We greatly appreciate your time and thoughtful responses to the probing questions.

Please click on this link or the link below to take the survey!

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.