Cougar Clips

Happy Friday Kipling Families,

I hope everyone had a great week!

Thank you to all who attended our PTO Pumpkin Fest last weekend! It looked like everyone was having a really great time. Thank you to our INCREDIBLE PTO and to all our volunteers for the countless hours that went into planning and working the event. Our parent community never ceases to amaze me - thank you for your overwhelming support. The afternoon was filled with fun, prizes, pizza, and community building…what could be better than that?!

On Wednesday, I came across a podcast that partners nicely with the conversations we have been having as a community centered around The Anxious Generation book. I have said for years, and I continue to say, the only thing harder than teaching is parenting. I, like most of you I am sure, have never encountered anything close that comes as perplexing and confounding as trying to be the best parent you can. Parenting is a game where the players, the rules, and the field conditions change moment to moment. Even Tom Brady and Michael Jordan had less variables to deal with. I hope you have a few minutes this weekend to listen to this podcast. Please give yourselves and your children some grace, please know we are in this together with you, and please don’t forget that our unwavering and supportive partnership is the best thing we can do for our kids.

In the spirit of partnership, I am asking all parents who drive to and from school to please be mindful of our crossing guards. Ms. Foran, Ms. Soderlind, and Ms. Cohen are outside every morning and every afternoon ensuring the safety of our students as they cross our street. There have been several times this past week where one of them has almost been hit by a car trying to enter or exit our lot. I understand your time is very important, and I know we all have places we need to get to immediately before or after drop-off/pick-up, but the safety of our students and staff is paramount, and I need all of us to be more careful. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

As a reminder, there is no school on Monday. All my best to you and your families over the long weekend.

Respectfully,

Mr. Matthew O. Lombardo, NBCT

Principal

Kipling Elementary School

Don't forget to log in/sign up at the PTO site. Visit https://kiplingpto.membershiptoolkit.com/home to get started!

Thank you to everyone who came to Pumpkinfest last weekend! Thank you also to our incredible Pumpkinfest Committee for yet another great event and thank you to all of our volunteers for helping make Pumpkinfest happen!

Thanksgiving Pies:

Thanksgiving is just over a month away! Get your delicious pies ordered today!

BONUS: A portion of each sale goes back to the PTO.

Orders due by October 31st. ORDER HERE

Wolves Tickets are now available! Click here to get your tickets!

Shout out to Ms. Allam for organizing these resources and this awareness for us! Unity Day is Wednesday, October 16. WEAR AND SHARE ORANGE!

Send a visible message of building commUNITY through kindness, acceptance, and inclusion to prevent bullying. If you would like to purchase a Unity Day T-shirt through PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center, please click HERE.

Your purchase of the $15 signature orange Unity Day T-shirt helps the National Bullying Prevention Center (NBPC) continue to provide free bullying prevention resources to students, families, and educators. To guarantee delivery by October 16th, all orders must be placed by October 6th. Orders/money will NOT be collected at Ogden. Please note bulk orders shipped to the same address reduces postage price per shirt. Find a group and place one order!

We hope you’ll take this opportunity to talk to your children about bullying prevention and all the positive things we can do to make healthier communities. For more information on the history of Unity Day and its impact, please go to https://www.PACER.org/bullying/about/history.asp.

Mark your calendars! Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held on Thursday, October 24th from 1:00-4:00 pm & 5:00-8:00 pm and on Friday, October 25th from 8:30-11:30 am. All DPS109 schools will hold in-person parent-teacher conferences this year with an option to attend virtually for parents/guardians who are not available for an in-person conference. Parents will sign up for a conference using Sign-Up Genius. I shared links for all teacher sign-up forms on Thursday, September 26th, at 12:00 pm.

It is best practice to hold one parent conference per child, to ensure that both parents receive the same information regarding their child’s strengths and needs. Therefore, I ask that parents sign up for one joint conference per student. Conferences are a discussion between parents and teachers. At this time elementary conferences do not include students and therefore we ask that children not attend the parent-teacher conference.

We look forward to seeing all of our parents during conferences.

Halloween is coming to Kipling on Thursday, October 31st! We want to remind families to be cautious when helping your child select a costume for Halloween. Using another's culture as a Halloween costume can be viewed as insensitive or offensive. In addition, we encourage students to be as inclusive as possible when dressing in group costumes so that students do not feel excluded during the Halloween festivities. P.E. classes will be run as close to normally as possible so please have your child wear gym shoes if they have P.E. on Thursdays.

Below are some additional reminders about wearing costumes at school.

-Please do not send students with accessories (e.g witch’s broom).

-Toy weapons are strictly prohibited.

-Students should either wear costumes to school all day or have the ability to change into costumes in the classroom. Students will not be permitted to change clothes in the bathrooms.

-Masks that cover the face as a costume accessory can be worn during the parade and party, not during class time as it may be a distraction during learning.

Parade

-Students will exit out the main entrance, walk around the entire school, and enter back through the main entrance

-If there is inclement weather the parade will take place inside the school. Parents and guardians will unfortunately not be allowed to enter the school if the parade is indoors.

Timeline

-2:05-2:30 - Costume Parade

-2:30-3:05 - Class Party (Party helpers and volunteers must come to the office to lobby guard before noon on 10/31 to expedite the process of entering to volunteer for the parties.)

-3:05-3:15 - Clean-up + Dismissal

Families who are not comfortable sending their child in costume, please reach out to your teacher so we can be sensitive to you or your child's feelings about dressing up for Halloween. We want everyone at Kipling to feel comfortable.

Reminder: Health Information Due Soon!

It is very important that we have the most up-to-date health information for your child. There are some important deadlines coming up soon.

PHYSICALS: All new students, Early Learners, kindergarteners, and 6th graders must have an updated health form on file by October 15th, or they will be excluded from school.

EYE EXAMS: Kindergarteners and new students must have an updated eye exam on file by October 15th, or they will be excluded from school.

DENTAL EXAM: All new students, kindergarteners, 2nd graders, and 6th graders must have an updated dental exam on file by May 15th of this school year.

Get more information by clicking here.

Save the Date: Chasing Childhood Film Screening

Join us on Tuesday, October 29, at 6:30 p.m. in the Caruso Middle School auditorium for a special screening of Chasing Childhood. This thought-provoking documentary explores the decline of free play and independence in children’s lives, replaced by a culture of perfectionism that has fueled increasing rates of anxiety and depression. An RSVP form will be sent out in the coming weeks. We look forward to seeing you there!