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

Dear Kirkwood Families,

I hope this message finds you well and warm. Here's what's happening this month and in the weeks to come:

📅 Spring Conferences

Mark your calendars! Spring Conferences will be held at the end of February and the beginning of March. This is a great opportunity to discuss your child's growth and set goals for the remainder of the school year. See information below for more details about scheduling your conference.

✅ Online Registration for 2025-2026 School Year
Registration in Infinite Campus for the 2025-2026 school year is now open! You can register your incoming Preschooler, Kindergartner, and 1st-12th grade students for next year. Remember, Online Registration needs to be resubmitted each school year. You can come in to the office at any time to get this done!

There is a lot of information below, including invitations to some great activities and events coming this Spring. Thank you for your continued partnership and support in your child's education. As always, please reach out with any questions or concerns.

Warm regards,

Ms. Person

• Wednesday, February 19: Winter Clubs @ 3:00pm-4:00pm
• Thursday, February 20: Spring Picture Day
• Wednesday, February 26: Spring Conferences @ 3:30pm-7:00pm
• Wednesday, February 26: 5th Grade Parent Information Webinars for NCMS and NWMS @ 6:00pm-7:00pm
• Wednesday, March 5: Winter Clubs @ 3:00pm-4:00pm
• Thursday, March 6: Spring Conferences & Kindergarten Registration @ 2:30pm-7:00pm
• Thursday, March 6: End of 2nd Trimester
• Friday, March 7: No School - Spring Conferences & Kindergarten Registration @ 8:00am-3:30pm
• Wednesday, March 12: Last Winter Clubs @ 3:00pm-4:00pm
• Friday, March 14: Early Dismissal @ 12:55pm
• Monday, March 17-Friday, March 21: No School - Spring Break
• Monday, March 31: No School
• Thursday, April 3: International Night Family Event @ 5:30pm-7:00pm

Reminder: Thursday Dismissal time is 1:55pm!

Mark your calendars! Spring Conferences will be held on:

• Wednesday, February 26th @ 3:30-7:00pm
• Thursday, March 6th @ 2:30-7:00pm
• Friday, March 7th @ 8:00am-3:30pm

This is a great opportunity to discuss your child's growth and set goals for the remainder of the school year. Click below to schedule your conference.

The PTO will be providing meals for the amazing teachers at Kirkwood on February 26, March 6th & March 7th. Kirkwood teachers provide our students with an excellent education and we would like to show appreciation. Please show your support and gratitude for our fantastic staff at Kirkwood by donating to this event. Donations can be made via the Signup Genius or by dropping off a check to the Kirkwood office. Checks can be made out to Kirkwood Elementary PTO. All donated items can be dropped off in the office on or before the conference date.

Spring Pictures will be on Thursday, February 20th. Students will bring home order forms, or you can order online using the link below. Please note that only students with a pre-placed order will have their Spring Photo taken.

As part of our commitment to student safety, we kindly remind you to review and/or update your contact information in Infinite Campus. Ensuring your details are current is a vital part of our comprehensive school safety plans.

Please take a moment to verify:

• Your personal contact information, including phone numbers and email addresses.

• Emergency contact details, ensuring they are accurate and up-to-date.

• Approved individuals who can pick up your child from school.

This information helps us contact you promptly and ensures proper procedures are followed, especially in the event of an emergency.

You can access Infinite Campus and update your details here: Infinite Campus Parent Portal.

If you have any questions or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact the school’s main office.

Preschool registration for the 2025-26 school year will open on Thursday, February 6, 2025.

Do you have a child who will be turning 4 years of age on or before September 15, 2025? If so, we invite you to register your child at Kirkwood!

All of our preschool teachers are certified in both general and special education, and we offer free half-day programming for 4-year-olds in all of our elementary schools with full-day tuition options also available in all locations.

Feel free to bring registration documents with you, including your child’s immunization records, birth certificate, and health physical. Don’t worry; if you don’t have the records available, we can still get your child registered!

We look forward to welcoming your little one to our preschool family! For more information, visit www.IowaCitySchools.org/Preschool.

Do you have a little one turning 5 years old on or before September 15, 2025? Then it’s time for Kindergarten Registration!

Mark your calendar and join us on one of our registration dates:

Thursday, March 6 | 2:10 - 7:10 PM
Friday, March 7 | 7:40 AM - 3:40 PM

You can also come in to the Kirkwood Office to register in-person anytime from 8-3:30 Monday-Friday.

We can’t wait to welcome your child to our Kindergarten family!

Learn more at www.IowaCitySchools.org/Kindergarten

Each spring, we invite our new kindergarten students to check out their school with Kindergarten Round-Up. Families will receive additional information about Kindergarten Round-Up after registration has started. This year's Kindergarten Round-Up will be held on Wednesday, April 16th from 5:30-6:30pm at Kirkwood Elementary. It's a great way to get to know your student's school and staff, and we look forward to meeting you and your family!

Registration for the 2025-26 school year is open! Families are welcome to come into the Kirkwood Office to register in-person from 8-3:30 Monday-Friday. You can also go online and register: https://www.iowacityschools.org/students-families/enroll-register

Join us on Thursday, April 3 from 5:30-7:00pm to celebrate the rich diversity of our school community during our Annual International Night! Enjoy cultural displays, performances, food samples, and more.

Families are encouraged to participate by sharing a display, performing, or bringing food.

Interested in getting involved? Click the link below to sign-up!

We look forward to celebrating with you! 🎉

Spring Clubs are coming in April and May!

The sign-up will be open during Spring Conferences on the following dates and times:

- Wednesday, February 26th from 3:30-7:00pm

- Thursday, March 6th from 2:30-7:00pm

- Friday, March 7th from 8:00am-4:00pm

Following Conferences, the sign-up will be open until Clubs are filled!

Please reach out to Ms. Tesdall with any questions at tesdall.michelle@iowacityschools.org.

As we look to the 2025-2026 school year, we are teaming up with Northwest Middle School (NWMS) and North Central Middle Schools (NCMS) to begin the transition process for our current 5th grade students.

Family Information Webinars:

Future 6th Grade Family Information Webinars for North Central Middle School and Northwest Middle School on Wednesday, February 26th at 6:00pm-7:00pm:

• North Central Link: https://iowacityschools-org.zoom.us/j/98613745169
• Northwest Link: https://iowacityschools-org.zoom.us/j/97634586260

Middle School Counseling Department Visits:

The Northwest and North Central Middle School Counseling Departments are excited to meet with our 5th grade students! As students prepares for the transition to middle school, it's important to ensure they are informed about what lies ahead. This includes providing them with details about their schedule, extracurricular activities, and what their days will entail in Middle School. To accomplish this, both NWMS and NCMS Counselors will be visiting our 5th grader students planning to attend each school. During the visit, they plan to cover various aspects of middle school life. Their goal is to ease any anxieties your students may have about the transition and to ensure they feel confident and prepared for the next phase of their education.

• NCMS Counseling Department Visit: Tuesday, February 25th at 8:30am
• NWMS Counseling Department Visit: Wednesday, March 5th at 2:00pm

Counseling Department Contacts:

• NCMS: Tim Sturgell (6th grade) sturgell.tim@iowacityschools.org
• NWMS: Emily Carew (6th grade) carew.emily@iowacityschools.org

We are looking for parent volunteers to help us escort students to-and-from classrooms for Hearing Screenings for Preschool, Kindergarten, 1st Graders, and 5th Graders on the following dates:

- Tuesday, April 1

- Wednesday, April 2

If you are interested in volunteering, please call Ms. Cybil in the office at 319-688-1120. Thank you in advance!

Illnesses

Please be aware that we have respiratory (Influenza, Covid), stomach related illnesses, and strep throat in the community and at school. You can help to prevent the spread of these illnesses!

Please continue to monitor your students' symptoms at home and keep them home if they have a fever, vomiting, or diarrhea.

• Keep your student home from school when they have a fever of 100.4 (F) or greater and for 24 hours after the fever has gone away, without taking Tylenol or Ibuprofen.

• Keep your student home from school when they have diarrhea and/or vomiting and for 24 hours after these symptoms have occurred.

• When your student returns to school after an illness they should be able to participate in the total school program including physical education. Your student will be excused from physical education after an illness or injury only by a written recommendation from your family doctor or primary health care provider.

• Please be sure the school has a telephone number where you can be reached in case your student becomes ill at school. Update your contact information in Infinite Campus.

• Please notify the school if your student will not be attending school because of illness.

• If your student is not feeling well while at school please have them come to the health office so they can be assessed before calling home.

• Students will be sent home if they are vomiting at school or if they have a temperature 100.4 or greater.

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!

This form needs to be filled out each year. If you feel like you would qualify, please follow the link below or call Nutrition Services at 319-688-1021. Please note that registering for school does not mean you have filled out this application!

The Iowa City Community School District Shine Award honors employees who go above and beyond for the students and schools in our community. Honorees positively influence, inspire, and leave a lasting impact in the work that they do every day, helping to fulfill the overall District mission.

Nominations can be submitted by students, parents, District employees, businesses, or community members by completing the following nomination form. District employees will be selected and honored throughout the school year to receive this prestigious honor.

The Shine Award program is graciously sponsored by the Foundation for the Iowa City Community School District.

Medications are administered to a student in school by trained school staff in the school health office. Parent/guardian must provide the medication to the school in a labeled bottle as well as a signed consent form. Medications may not be carried around by students and must remain in the health office.

• A consent form must be signed by a parent/guardian for prescription and non-prescription medications to be given to students at school. These forms can be found on the district website under Health Services. We also have copies of these forms at school readily available.

• All medications should be taken at home before or after school hours whenever possible. However, it is understood that certain medications may be required during the school day.

• Over the counter/non- prescription medications are to be provided by the parent/guardian and sent to school in the original medication container with the student’s name attached. The medication will be given according to package instructions unless otherwise directed in writing by the student’s health care provider/prescriber.

• The parent/guardian is responsible for notifying the school when a medication has been discontinued or changed.

Please see the District policy regarding medications at school:
https://www.iowacityschools.org/students-families/health-forms-information/medication-administration

We're committed to creating a safe online environment for all our students! Our student's Chromebooks are filtered whether the device is on the school’s network or not. When devices are on-campus, they are subject to the same content filtering policies as all of our internet-connected devices. For off-campus devices, we filter using the Securly service, which allows us to block content that is explicit or dangerous, as defined in federal law.

With Securly, you can view your child’s internet activity and set up additional controls for off-campus use. Parents receive weekly email notifications with internet activity reports. If you’re not receiving these emails, please contact your student’s school office to verify that the correct email address is listed in Infinite Campus.

Access this Parent Guide for step-by-step guidance on using Securly.

Parents can utilize the Securly Home app to adjust the settings for their child’s online activity. The app can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store and offers several features, including:

Pause the Internet: Control internet access with the tap of a finger.
Offline Schedules: Set device-free family time.
Live Activity Feed: Get real-time updates.
Push Notifications: Receive alerts for flagged activities.
Internet Rules: Easily set internet rules for your home.

If you have questions about accessing your Securly parent account, please contact your child's school for assistance. Thank you for partnering with us in our commitment to keep our students safe online!

State Attendance Requirements:

The Iowa Department of Education has implemented strict guidance that requires schools to address absenteeism. As part of this, schools will notify guardians when a student has missed 5%, 10%, and 15% of days each grading period. Based on State Law, schools must also notify the county attorney when a student is absent 10% of the days in a grading period. For more details, please visit the updated Attendance Page on our District website.

Reporting Absences:
If your child will be absent, please notify your school’s attendance office before the start of the school day. You can do this by creating an Absence Request in the Infinite Campus Parent Portal or by calling the school attendance office at 319-688-1120. If we do not hear from you, the school will reach out to confirm your student’s safety and ensure you are aware of their absence.

Important note: In the Attendance section of the Infinite Campus Parent Portal, you will see your child's total number of excused and unexcused absences. Following state requirements, ‘excused’ indicates absences that are exempt from state reporting requirements, and ‘unexcused’ indicates absences that the state requires us to categorize as non-exempt.

Absence:

A student is considered absent if they are not physically on school grounds, or are not participating in a required school-directed activity under the direction, supervision, or instructional guidance of educational staff at an approved off-grounds location (ie. a class field trip).

It is understood that students will be absent for a variety of reasons, including illness, family activities, vacations, dentist/medical appointments, funerals, etc. Parents should notify schools of the reason for the absence.

Some absences are exempt from these new guidelines, so it’s important to provide specific details when reporting your child’s absence. The following absence types will not count towards student absenteeism and will be coded as excused in Infinite Campus:

• Absences related to illness or medical appointment
  • After a student reaches the equivalent of eight (8) days of absence related to illness or medical appointments, parents will be required to provide documentation for the medical absence(s) to continue to be considered excused. Absences may be taken in hourly segments.
  • Families are encouraged to provide documentation to the school for ongoing health concerns so we can proactively work with your family to best serve your student.
• Absences related to a family medical emergency.
• Absences while attending religious services or receiving religious instruction.
• Absences excused for sufficient reason by any court of record or judge.
• Absences related to an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that affects attendance.
• Absences related to a Section 504 plan under the Federal Rehabilitation Act that affects attendance.

Due to the new State guidance, any absence that does not fall into one of the above categories will appear as unexcused in Infinite Campus and will count toward student absenteeism. As a reminder, our primary goal is for students to be in school daily and to confirm their safety with a parent or guardian if they are absent.

Process for Addressing Absenteeism

• Schools will send notifications to guardians when a student has reached the 5%, 10%, and 15% absenteeism threshold for the grading period (See chart below).Notifications are sent when a student has accumulated the number of absences that will result in the percentage of absenteeism at the end of the grading period. For example, if an elementary student has missed 6 days of school in a term, the student will be at 10% absenteeism at the end of the grading period, so the 10% notification is sent after the 6th day is missed.
• State law requires a certified letter be sent when a student has reached 10% absenteeism in a grading period. In addition the school is required by law to notify the county attorney.
• When a student reaches 15% absenteeism in a grading period, a School Engagement meeting is required by Iowa law. An Absenteeism Prevention Plan will be created at the School Engagement meeting. The goal of this plan is to work together to resolve absenteeism, address attendance barriers, and assist the student in attending school.
• If the student and/or the student’s guardian fails to attend a School Engagement Meeting, fails to enter into an Absenteeism Prevention Plan, or does not meet the terms of the Absenteeism Prevention Plan, Iowa law provides that the county attorney may initiate a legal proceeding.

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!

It is important to us that you are aware of the school-based support services that are available, as well as the local community resources that can provide support outside of the school setting. School Counselors, Student & Family Advocates, and District staff are available for students in each school.

Each and every person in our school district family matters. Please remember that we are here for you and it is okay to ask for help.

Care Solace is 24/7/365 Mental Health Care Coordination Service for Iowa City Community School District Students, Staff, and their Families

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 (for employment), marital status (for programs), sexual orientation, gender identity and socioeconomic status (for programs) in its educational programs and its 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:

Laura Gray, Director of Diversity and Cultural Responsiveness (programming), gray.laura@iowacityschools.org, 1725 N. Dodge Street, Iowa City, Iowa 52245, (319) 688-1000

If you are unsure how to proceed or would like assistance in discussing your options, you may also contact Janet Abejo-Parker, Ombuds, ombuds@iowacityschools.org or (319) 688-1312.