Kennedy Newsletter for Families
Late Spring Edition
Principal's Post
🌟 Principal's Newsletter: Ensuring Online Safety at Home! 🌟
Kennedy Families,
Being sent to the Principal's Office isn't like it was when I was in school! Students come here to be bragged on by their teachers, to show me their great work, and often to give me little piece of artwork they have drawn for me. LOVE!
BUT, behaviors are also corrected and guided in my office. More and more I'm seeing kids in trouble for things that end up being heard or seen on YouTube. It happens almost weekly.
As we continue to navigate the digital landscape, ensuring the safety and well-being of our students online remains a top priority. With more time spent online for learning and leisure, it's crucial to reinforce healthy internet habits at home. Here are some quick tips to help keep our students safe and secure online:
Open Dialogue: Start a conversation with your child about internet safety. Encourage them to share their online experiences, ask questions, and address any concerns they may have. Building trust and open communication is key to fostering a safe online environment.
Set Clear Boundaries: Establish clear guidelines for internet usage, including screen time limits and appropriate websites and apps. Encourage breaks from screens and promote offline activities to maintain a balanced lifestyle.
Privacy Protection: Remind your child to safeguard their personal information online. Emphasize the importance of not sharing sensitive details such as full names, addresses, phone numbers, or passwords with strangers or on public platforms.
Safe Browsing: Teach your child to navigate the internet safely by using reputable websites and avoiding suspicious links or pop-ups. Install and regularly update reliable antivirus and firewall software to protect against malware and viruses.
Digital Citizenship: Instill the values of respect, empathy, and responsibility in your child's online behavior. Encourage them to think critically, practice digital etiquette, and be mindful of the impact of their actions on others in virtual spaces.
Supervision and Monitoring: Maintain active supervision of your child's online activities, especially for younger children. Consider using parental control tools and monitoring software to track their internet usage and enforce appropriate boundaries.
Stay Informed: Stay informed about the latest trends and risks in online safety. Educate yourself and your child about common online threats such as cyberbullying, phishing scams, and identity theft, and empower them with the knowledge to recognize and respond to these dangers.
Remember, promoting online safety is a collaborative effort between parents, educators, and students. By working together and staying vigilant, we can create a safer digital environment for our children to thrive and learn.
Thank you for your continued partnership in supporting our students' well-being. I strongly suggest YouTube, SnapChat, and TikTok be inaccessible for children in elementary school based on what I see in the landscape with almost 300 students.
With love and support,
Janice Irvin, Ed. D.
Proud Principal
Kennedy Elementary
State Testing for Grades 2nd-5th Starts Tomorrow!
It's Testing Time in Tennessee!
TCAP (2nd through 5th grade): Apr. 16 - Apr. 30
Please:
- Make sure Coyotes are here and in their classrooms by 8:30.
- Students should not be picked up during the testing time window (before noon for most).
- Send students to school early enough to eat breakfast.
- Encourage them to do their Personal Best
- Note you'll get a Student Report at the start of next year with info from the tests.
- Our kids are more than a score! Their teachers have done a great job teaching this year and we are ready to rock these tests!
- After testing, $10 Walmart Gift Cards will be given at random to 4 students who have been here each day, on time! Thank you, PTA!
Recent Notes from our PTA!
Important Dates Coming Up!
April
- 16-26: TCAP Testing for 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th
- 25: Bus Driver Appreciation Day!
May
- 1: First Day of Asian Pacific American Month
- 3: Last Club Day (3rd-5th Grade)
- 3: Tribe Games
- 4: Dr. Ford's Birthday!
- 6-10: Teacher Appreciation Week!!!
- 10: PTA Coyote Color Run
- 12: Mother's Day
- 17: JFK Field Day! (Rain Date - 20)
- 21: K Promotion at 9:45
- 22: 5th Grade Graduation, 10am on the Basketball Court
- 23: Last Day of School, Dismiss at 12:30, Have a great summer!
It's an honor to serve you and your family!
Lorrie Linkous, R.N. - Nurse
Telehealth visits are with Ballad Health and will allow your child to see a Nurse Practitioner through a virtual visit. This service gives us the ability to test for strep and flu here at school. This service can be very beneficial especially if you are unable to get an appointment with your child's healthcare provider. Please feel free to call me if you have any questions or concerns and I will be glad to help.
Kennedy Policies and Procedures (Included each month)
Attendance, Absences, and Tardiness
Birthdays
Please only send healthy snacks as a birthday treat for your child's class. We cannot accept cupcakes, cakes, or homemade items. Please make arrangements with your child's teacher before sending in healthy treats.
Flowers, balloons, etc. should not be sent to the office for students. Please give these sweet gifts at home.
Breakfast and Lunch Programs
Our online payment system for school lunches has changed. Please see the information below or CLICK HERE to visit the KCS School Menus/Payments page.
Ice-cream day is Friday and must be purchased ($1)
Healthy chips can also be purchased ($1)
Bus Transportation
The number to the transportation garage is 423-578-1820, if needed.
Carline
- During AM drop off, please stay in your car and allow your child to exit independently.
- During AM drop off, please unload at all 4 numbers/lanes. No need to stop at the bottom of the hill.
- During AM drop off, students can walk into the cafe from 7:45-8:30.
- In the afternoons, 4th and 5th grade cars (side parking lot) please turn RIGHT after you pick-up. Leave a lane open for emergencies.
- In the afternoons, PLEASE USE YOUR CAR TAG! :) There is often a glare and I cannot see faces until you are right beside me. This helps our line move as quickly as possible.
Drop-off starts at 7:45am for K-5 and begins promptly at 8:30am for PreK students.
K-5 Students arriving after 8:30am must be walked to the front door by a family member.
Communication & Class Dojo
Contact us!
857-2700 - Main Office
857-2704 - Cafe, Karen Mullins
857-2702 -Nurse Linkous
378-2340 -Fax
1500 Woodland Avenue
Kingsport, TN 37665
Discipline
They are:
H- Helping Others
O- Overcoming Challenges
W- Willingness to Learn
L- Leading with Respect
Hear us HOWL!
In addition to these expectations we use Positive Discipline with Lifeskills at Kennedy Elementary. We know that a part of growing our students as leaders includes citizenship and character. We believe our students are the best in Tennessee.
Food City Card Reminders
Hint: You can even have other family members do this if they shop at Food City!
Drills/AED
Health and Medical
Additionally, we have a tele-medicine program where a child can be seen via a camera and equipment in Nurse Linkous's office. They can receive antibiotics through this program if needed! We encourage you to use this program! It's awesome!
Homework
Lost and Found
Opportunities for Coyotes
AM Tutoring
Big Brothers Big Sisters (all grades)
Chorus (all grades)
DBYes (DB student mentors)
HOWLers (Boys, 4th and 5th)
Kiwanis Club Readers (volunteers)
Multi-Tiered Student Support (MTSS) - time set aside to catch up academically
Ladies of Lynn Garden (Girls 4th and 5th)
Lego League
Lynn Garden Leaders (4th and 5th Grade Student Council)
Speech Services for approved students
Spelling Bee (3rd, 4th, and 5th)
Snacks/Water Bottles
Testing Policies
Our KCS Website can be found here: https://www.k12k.com/
Zones of Regulation
In addition to addressing self-regulation, the students will be gaining an increased vocabulary of emotional terms, skills in reading facial expressions, perspective on how others see and react to their behavior, insight on events that trigger their behavior, calming and alerting strategies, problem solving skills and much more. You can connect this work to parenting as home. We are excited to help our Coyotes stay in the Green Zone!
Taken from Zones of Regulation Content
Zoning and Tuition
If you have any questions feel free to contact Jim Nash (jnash@k12k.com) via email or by calling (423)378-2100.