Dear Kingsley Families,

I hope everyone has had a relaxing and terrific summer with family and friends. We look forward to welcoming students back to Kingsley in a couple of weeks! Please review the information below about the return to school.

I’ve shared information that is specific to Kingsley and information that has been shared by District 65. There is a lot of information below but this information will provide you with what you need to have a great beginning to the school year.

Please look out for additional information in the weeks leading up to the start of the school year. If you have any questions please be sure to reach out to our team.

Thank you for your ongoing partnership and support.

David Davis (he, him, his) - Schedule a Meeting (Office Hours)

Principal

Tiffany Chapman (she, her, hers)

Assistant Principal

Thank you to those who attended our recent Fifth Ward School Groundbreaking and Construction Update Meeting!

Sign up to receive emails and/or texts regarding project and construction updates for the new school in the Fifth Ward! (https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/rRhqFfr)

¡Regístrese aquí para recibir correos electrónicos y/o mensajes de texto relacionados con actualizaciones acerca del proyecto y de la construcción de la nueva escuela en el 5to distrito! (https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/KvvZq5M)

Please follow this link to complete the application at your earliest convenience.

A NEW meal application must be submitted every school year. In order to ensure benefits are received by the first day of school, Thursday, August 22, families are required to submit a completed online meal application by Thursday, August 15, 2024.

There are students who will qualify for free meals without an application. If you receive an email from us confirming your student’s meal status for this school year, you DO NOT need to submit a meal application for the upcoming school year. Your student(s) will automatically receive free meals. Please ensure that each of your students are listed in the emailed letter that you receive. If you notice a discrepancy, we ask that you call the D65 Nutrition Services office (847-859-8130) as soon as possible.

Please welcome the following educators who will join the Kingsley School community during the SY24-25 school year.

• Clara Estrella - is our new Administrative Assistant

• Marell Alvarez - is our new School Psychologist

• Krystal Luce - is our new Kindergarten educator
  

• Brandon Howe - is our new 4th Grade educator
  

• We are welcoming two new Special Education educators

• Ty Dassler

• Emily Manes

• Robin O’Hara - is our new English Learner (EL) educator

• Dana LoGiudice - will join Kingsley as a Social and Emotional Learning educator

• Thomas Brenner - will join Kingsley as a new Physical Education Educator

• Erika Hollenback - will return to Kingsley and support General Music along with Ms. Abudayeh

Thank you to the following educators who moved from our Kingsley community this year. We appreciate all that they did to support our students and community over the years that they were part of our school community at Kingsley!

• JoDe Dietsch - Retired at the end of the last school year!

• Pam Weir - Retired at the end of the last school year!

• Kim Policape - Retired at the end of the last school year!

• Sue Larson - Retired at the end of the last school year!

• Cheetara Hudson - Decided to take a leave of absence while finishing up her post-graduate education

• Dino Jakupovic - Transitioned to another school district

• Sharon Springer - Transitioned to another school district

• John Gallagher - Will join and support another District 65 school this year.

• Beth Galliani - Will join and support another District 65 school this year.

Please review the Kingsley Family Welcome Packet SY24-25 for more information about the school year.

We are so excited to welcome our new and returning students to Kingsley! We also understand that starting a new school year — whether as an incoming kindergartener or at a new school — can come with big feelings. Our team recommends PBS’s back-to-school page for tips on establishing routines and preparing for the first day of school. There are also suggestions for coping with first-day jitters, building relationships by showing kindness, and planning easy lunch recipes and activities! For more, learn about our Social-Emotional/Equity Learning (SEL) curriculum on our website.

Please save the date for our in-person Curriculum Night on September 12, 2024 - 6:00-7:30 PM

• We want to empower our families by connecting them to important information about their child and their learning. District 65 uses a secure, web-based system called PowerSchool which parents/guardians can access through its Parent Portal. This system contains real-time access to student information provided at the time of registration and also has student schedules, attendance information, student grades and assignments, health information, and more! Information may vary by grade level. Student report cards and progress reports are also available via PowerSchool. (More information about access will be shared by the district soon!)

• Kindergarten families will receive information from their assigned teacher to schedule a meet-and-greet opportunity before the first day of school.

• 2024-2025 Student Schedules and Classroom Assignments: Information will be posted in the PowerSchool Parent Portal. All families will receive an email with instructions for accessing the portal.

Please bookmark this information, as there are many links and resources that may be helpful throughout the school year!

• English
• Spanish

Incoming Kindergartener Playdate - Tuesday, August 20th

Our last Incoming Kindergartener Playdate is Monday, August 20th at 5:00 pm on the Kingsley Playground. These events are a great opportunity to get to know other incoming kindergarten families, speak to current families, and get comfortable with the school.

If you know of an incoming kindergartener or family who is not on the Kingsley e-mail list, please have them register for the Kingsley Contact here.

As always, don’t hesitate to reach out if there is anything that we can do to help or if you have any questions or concerns.

• August 22, 2024: First Day of School
• September 2, 2024: Labor Day (No School)
• September 12, 2024: Curriculum Night 6:00-7:30
• September 18, 2024: School Improvement (No School)
  
• October 3, 2024: Non-Attendance Day (Rosh Hashanah)
• Week of October 7, 2024: Parent Teacher Conferences
• October 11, 2024: Student Non-Attendance Day
• October 14, 2024: Non-Attendance Day (Indigenous Peoples Day)
• November 5, 2024: Election Day – No School
• November 13, 2024: School Improvement Half-Day
• November 25-29, 2024: Fall Break – No School
• December 4, 2024: School Improvement Day Half-Day
• December 23, 2024 - January 3, 2025: Winter Recess
• January 6, 2025: School Improvement Full-Day
• January 7, 2025: Students Return
• January 20, 2025: Martin Luther King Day – No School
• February 5, 2025: School Improvement Half Day
• Week of February 10, 2025: Parent Teacher Conferences
• February 14, 2025: Student Non-Attendance Day
• February 17, 2025: Presidents’ Day – No School
• March 5, 2025: School Improvement Half Day
• March 24-28, 2025: Spring Recess
• April 9, 2025: School Improvement Half Day
• April 18, 2025: Non-Attendance Day (Good Friday)
• May 7, 2025: School Improvement Half Day
• May 26, 2025: Memorial Day – No School
• June 5, 2025: Last Day of School for Students (K-8)

Website: https://www.district65.net/kingsley
Location: 2300 Green Bay Road, Evanston, IL, USA
Phone: 847-859-8400