JKES Cardinal Chronicle
Week of October 7, 2024
π Dear Cardinal Families,
We are so proud of our Cardinals and their attendance during the first quarter of the year. As a reminder, we won the WPS September Attendance Challenge and we hope to see the outstanding attendance trend continue in October! We want to see every student, every day- we miss our Cardinals when they are out of the building. With that said, we have had a full clinic this week with students who have required parent pick-up due to illness. As much as we want our Cardinals in the building learning, we also want them in the building feeling good and ready to learn. If your child is sick (tummy concerns, respiratory issues, presents with a fever & requires medication, etc.) we respectfully ask that they stay home until they are well, fever and medication for 24 hours.
John Kerr had the first of many fall field trip and activities going this week with Kindergarten at Marker Miller and 3rd grade at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley. This coming week, our Pre-K classes will spend time at West Oak Farm Market and 2nd graders will attend the Vostrikov Academy of Ballet, while several of our kindergarten classes tour the Rouss City Fire Hall. We are so proud of our Cardinals and how they have embraced SOAR (Safety, Outstanding Effort, Accountability and Respect) this year and know that they will represent John Kerr proudly in the community.
Lastly, on Friday we held our first ATTENβdanceβ for the Grade level with the highest overall attendance for the month of September. Our 3rd graders had an opportunity to chill with their classmates and friends while having a frozen treat. Now, the challenge is on to see who will be our October ATTENβdanceβ winner- Good luck to all of our Cardinals!
Warmly-
Mrs. Pryor and Mrs. Houser
π Important Dates
Monday-Friday (October 7-11): BULLYING PREVENTION SPIRIT WEEK (SEE BELOW FOR INFO)
Monday, October 14: NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
Teacher Work From Home Day
Wednesday, October 23: PARENT CONFERENCES
Information should have been sent home for your childβs teacher for conference sign-up
While in the building, please take a look at the lost and found for anything your child might be missing after the first quarter of the school year- we have an abundance of water bottles, jackets, etc.
Thursday October 31:
Fun Run Boosterthon
Storybook Character Day (all grades): costumes should not portray stereotypes of a culture or a group of people & are not offensive to any racial, ethnic or religious group, anyone with a disability/illness or other group of people. Outfits and costumes should not include weapons or masks.
π¬ Talking Points
WPS Talking Points accounts are set up automatically based on contact information from PowerSchool. Please note that Talking Points accounts are only available for contacts who have custody of the student.
If you are asked for a Class Code by Talking Points or you are not receiving Talking Points messages, please sign into your PowerSchool Parent Portal to review your contact information and request any updates or changes.
National Hispanic Heritage Month
National Hispanic Heritage Month is annually celebrated from September 15 to October 15 in the United States for recognizing the contributions and influence of Hispanic Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States. This year's theme βPioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together,β signifies the diversity inherent within the Hispanic and Latino communities, as well as strength that comes with unity.
Below is a link to celebrations scheduled at Shenandoah University:
https://www.su.edu/diversity/hispanic-heritage-month/
Check the Winchester Star for information about what is happening around town to celebrate throughout October!
October is Bullying Prevention Month
This year John Kerr will recognize Bullying Prevention Month and conduct Bullying Prevention Week from October 7th-11th. During this week students will have the opportunity to discuss and learn about the importance of demonstrating kindness, compassion, and acceptance of peers. As a school, we want to diminish the occurrence of bullying and increase the frequency of respect and friendship. To help reinforce the significance of Bullying Prevention, we have planned a Bullying Prevention Spirit Week. We will share more information in the coming week regarding spirit week but to help with your childβs planning:
Monday October 7: Mismatched Tacky Day
Tuesday October 8: Hat Day
Wednesday October 9: Orange Day
Thursday October 10: Twin Day
Friday October 11: Athletic Day
What is Bullying?
"Bullying" means any aggressive and unwanted behavior that is intended to harm, intimidate, or humiliate the victim; involves a real or perceived power imbalance between the aggressor or aggressors and victim; and is repeated over time or causes severe emotional trauma. "Bullying" includes cyber-bullying. "Bullying" does not include ordinary teasing, horseplay, argument or peer conflict. (WPS Parent/Student Handbook)
What if my child is being bullied?
Confirm bullying behavior with your child (occurring multiple times with the intention of being hurtful). Ask if they have told anyone at school or if any adults have witnessed the bullying. Reach out to someone at the school who can help.
π Bus Safety ~ Important Information
Mrs. Pryor and Mrs. Houser met with all grade levels this past week regarding bus behavior and how to SOAR as bus riders. If your child is a bus rider, we ask that you partner with us to reinforce bus rider expectations/safe behavior with your child. Every Cardinal knows their #1 responsibility on the bus is safety (for self and others) and their #2 responsibility is to stay seated! We also ask that you encourage your child to share with the driver or a teacher if others on their bus are being unsafe or unkind. We want to ensure that everyone on the bus is able to ride without concern for their safety/wellbeing.
π Standards-Based Grading
The Winchester Public Schools report card was updated with new Standards of Learning for the 2024-2025 school year. Standards-based report cards communicate student progress in grades K-4.
What is Standards-Based Grading? Studentsβ most recent work is used to determine the level on their report card. This level reflects what they know or are able to do rather than an average of their performance throughout the quarter. Studentsβ performance can be measured in many ways such as assessments, student writings, and teacher observations. Student work that is sent home may be only a portion of the evidence that teachers use to determine studentsβ performance levels.
What are the Benefits of Standards-Based Grading? Subject areas are broken down by skills/standards providing a more detailed and complete representation of what students can do at the time of reporting. The report card levels focus on individual student progress within the standards and assist the teachers with adjusting instruction for all students based on individual progress.
How are standards-based report cards different from traditional report cards?
Standards-based report cards:
One mark for each standard within a subject area, providing specific indicators of student performance within a standard.
Traditional report cards:
One mark for all standards within a subject area, providing general indicators of student performance.
How will behavior be measured? Behavior will be measured through Profile of a Graduate Skills. The term Profile of a Graduate refers to a broad set of knowledge, skills, work habits, and character traits that are critically important to success in todayβs world. Generally speaking, Skills can be applied in all academic subject areas, and in all educational, career, and civic settings throughout a studentβs life.
How will academic progress be measured? Student progress will be reported in relation to the grade level expectations for the standard at that quarter. The following key will be used to report progress:
1 - Developing Proficiency - Student demonstrates progress toward initial foundational skills of the standard.
2 - Approaching Proficiency - Student demonstrates proficiency on foundational skills of the standard.
3 - Meets Grade Level Standards - Student demonstrates proficiency on all grade level skills of the standard.
4 - Exceeds Grade Level Standards - Student demonstrates understanding and performance beyond proficiency and has exceeded the standard.
A key component of standards- based reporting is that students have the opportunity to demonstrate mastery through re-teaching.
π₯ͺ Bright Future Friday Food Bags
Hello Cardinal families,
This year our Friday Food Bags will begin during the week of September 16th-20th. Food Bag forms were sent home on Tuesday (August 13th). If you are in need of another form, please let your students' classroom teacher know. If you are in need of emergency food assistance, please contact one of our school counselors. Listed below is a link that is available for volunteers to help with Friday Food Bags. This includes coming into JKES on Fridays and delivering Food Bags to classrooms. Dates and times are included in the link below. If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Davis, JKES School Counselor.
π Volunteers
John Kerr is always looking for volunteers. There are opportunities throughout the building to include support in lunch, at recess, in the library and other areas of the school. If interested, please reach out to your childβs teacher and they can provide information on next steps.
Donations
Donations continue to be needed for the John Kerr clinic: boys and girls clothes in a variety of sizes and, as we approach cooler weather we are in need of jackets, sweaters, long pants, etc. We appreciate your kindness and generosity.
Winchester Public Schools Parent Handbook
The Winchester Public Schools 2024-2025 PARENT/STUDENT HANDBOOK is a valuable resource to know and understand all things Winchester Public Schools, to include K-12 standards and instruction, the yearly calendar, discipline policies and more.
π Annual School Forms
Annual Verification Forms MUST be completed for each WPS student using the PowerSchool Parent Portal prior to the first day of school.
Use this step-by-step guide for completing the online process: https://bit.ly/WPSAnnualFormGuide (English and Spanish)
π Transportation Changes
Any change in a student's regular means of transportation in the afternoon must be by a written note from a parent/guardian or by email to mcnamara@wps.k12.va.us AND armistead@wps.k12.va.us by 1:30 PM Monday through Friday if there is a last minute change. We ask that you call the school to notify the office of your incoming email. Student safety is very important to us!
Between 2:15 PM and 2:40 PM, the office is open only to school personnel and volunteers. Students who are picked up by car will be dismissed to the car pick up line ONLY during dismissal.
Any questions, please call the school office.
π 2024 - 2025 Calendar Snapshot - English
π 2024 - 2025 Calendar Snapshot - Spanish
π Reminders
WinReady On Demand Transportation
No more waiting for a bus, transferring routes, or long walks to bus stops. WinReady is a point-to-point service that will pick you up when you need to be picked up and take you where you need to go within the City of Winchester within 30 minutes. You can request or schedule a ride directly from your phone, and WinReady will get you there. (click the link for additional information)
Opt-In to School Texts
Not receiving school-related text messages? You must OPT-IN to receive messages. Text "Subscribe" to 67587. You should receive confirmation that you are registered. Don't forget to ensure all of your contact information is correct at your student's school, too!