Kestrel Heights News

Printed progress reports will go home on Monday. If you would like to see your student's grade prior to Monday, please feel free to log into your Powerschool Parent Portal to view grades. You can also download the app on your mobile phone and get notifications as grades are posted.

Kestrel Heights School K-8 yearbooks are on sale now online at ybpay.lifetouch.com.

School Code: 11496918

The cost is $22.00 for a softcover. Many upgrades are available for purchase including personalization, zoom insert, hardcover, autograph pages and more!

The last day to purchase a yearbook will be April 6th. Don’t wait, order yours today!

Inclement Weather Makeup Days

Below is the make up schedule for the school hours missed due to inclement weather. While we do have a small bank of hours that can still be used, there is always the possibility of additional inclement weather; if we were to have a school closure we would exhaust our remaining bank.

Our Board and Administration are meeting to determine the best solution for our families if we exceed our bank of hours, a plan will be announced following the February board meeting.

Date........ Weather Closure.......... Time Lost (MIN) .............................Make up day

1/2/2018............2 HOUR DELAY.......................120.........................................USE BANKED HRS

1/3/2018............1 HOUR EARLY REL..................60.........................................USE BANKED HRS

1/4/2018............CLOSED...................................350.........................................1/22/2018

1/5/2018............CLOSED...................................350.........................................3/29/2018

1/17/2018..........CLOSED...................................350.........................................4/20/2018

1/18/2018...........CLOSED..................................350.........................................5/18/2018

1/19/2018...........CLOSED..................................350.........................................USE BANKED HRS

Kindergarten would like to remind you that we have our Cat & The Hat field trip on February 26th! Please send your child in their school uniform with a RED shirt. On February 28th, we will have a Mystery Reader Visiting us! Next week is Literacy Spirit week and we couldn't be more excited! on March 2nd, we will be celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday!

Literacy Spirit Week

February 26 - March 2, 2018

Please join us in celebrating Dr. Seuss’s birthday by participating in the following school wide spirit days!

Mon.: “Red Fish, Blue Fish, One Fish, Two Fish”

Wear a red or blue Kestrel uniform shirt.

Tues.: “Fox in Socks”

Show off your crazy or mismatched socks with your Kestrel uniform!

Wed.: “Wacky Wednesday”

Let’s get silly! Wear your clothes backwards, inside, or mismatched!

Thurs.: “The Cat in the Hat”

Wear your favorite hat with red and white!

Fri.: “Celebrate the World of Dr. Seuss”

Dress up as your favorite Dr. Seuss character! **Green eggs and ham breakfast will be available for $2. (submit your order by Wednesday, February 28th.

We will be going on a field trip to the Museum of Life and Science on March 21st! The permission form was sent home with students this week. We are looking for lots of chaperones on this field trip so please let your teacher know if you are available to come help. Please DO NOT send in cash to pay for the trip. Payments need to made online or through money order/cashier's check. See your child's form for more details!

First grade is also excited for Literacy Spirit Week next week for Dr. Seuss's birthday! A BIG thank you to Mrs. Felicien for planning this event for the school! A flyer was sent home this week explaining the dress up days for the week and the activities that will be taking place. Don't forget to send in $2 so your child can participate in the Green Eggs and Ham breakfast and be sure to let your teacher know if you would like to come read a story to the class one day next week.

Second Grade is continuing to research and diligently work on their historical figures project. We will celebrate Reading Across America and Dr. Seuss's Birthday next week

Third grade has finished watching the plant life cycle. We started 3 weeks ago by planting different types of seeds, all of which can be a healthy snack when they are fully grown into plants! We planted red radishes, lima beans, corn, peas, and marigolds! Almost all of our seeds sprouted in a week and now have outgrown our classroom and have been sent home to be planted in the ground! We are now getting ready to watch the animal life cycle of a tadpole!

Stagville Under the Stars

Free Family Fun!

English Language Arts + Science + Social Studies

This Family Field Trip is an activity that we recommend to our 5th grade families that help to support our “Literacy is a Lifestyle” theme. These are unofficial, non-school sponsored activities, that take place after school hours and sometimes on weekends. Families are encouraged to attend.

Tomorrow, Friday, February 23, the Historic Stagville and Morehead Planetarium will present a stellar program that focuses on the astronomy and night sky myths and legends told in African cultures, as well as the related stories told by scientists today. The program will begin with storytelling and after that, guests will peer through telescopes for a constellation tour looking at the same stars as our ancestors. In case of inclement weather, the program will take place entirely in the visitor center. Meet in the Visitor Center and then head outside to use telescopes on the grounds. (from www.durham-nc.com).

This is event is from 6-8pm. Try to arrive early - seats fill up fast in the Visitor Center! Historic Stagville, 5828 Old Oxford Hwy, Durham, NC 27712. Click on Stagville Under the stars for directions.

8th grade is creating an Arts & Crafts basket for the Spring Fest Silent Auction. Please help by donating items for the basket. Homeroom teachers will be collecting these items. If you have any questions, please contact an 8th grade teacher.

Thank you to everyone who came out Tuesday night for the History Project Judging. It was a great night and many projects are moving on to regionals.

Well, the Elementary Dance students are finishing their studies in Ghana, West Africa learning the social dance, Kpanlogo. We met with the Ga Tribe and they taught us to speak in their native language called, Twi (pronounced "CHWEE"). They taught us a few of the movements for the dance, and we learned songs that are sung while dancing. We found that to be extremely tricky!

The last country that we're visiting, on the continent of Africa, is Guinea (also, in West Africa). The Malinke (pronounced, "MA-LEEN-KAY") tribe/people will be meeting us to teach us the dance, "Kou Kou." This is a dance of celebration, often done at weddings. It's a "high energy" dance and lots of fun!

We'll check in with you next time and share more adventures with you.

K-5 Music students are being introduced to America’s Music: Jazz. They are learning about the history of Jazz and some of the great Jazz musicians. Students are learning how to improvise and harmonize. Make sure you put the dates below on your calendar for: Gotta Be Jazz!

Thursday, May 10, 2018 Spring Show for All K-5 students

Performances will be in the High School Gym Annex.

K-2nd Grade Performance 5:30pm

3-5th Grade Performance 6:45pm

*Any conflicts should be submitted to Rhonda Harrison by April 15, 2018. A make-up assignment will be given to students if their absence is excused by April 15th. Participation is mandatory because of the many benefits that children reap from participating in a performance. Email conflicts to: rharrison@kestrelheights.org

The Spanish department is going to North Carolina Fútbol Club opening day on Saturday March 17 2018 at Wake Med in Cary NC and everybody is invited to participate. Tickets are on sale $10. You must provide your own transportation. TIME TBD

Please see Mrs. Altman to buy tickets.

Still accepting empty cereal boxes, glue sticks and Kleenex. Thank you to those of who you have already donated!

Please follow "artmohn" on Instagram! I highlight student work and the fun things we are doing in class.

Kindergarten:

The kindergarteners finished their Beautiful Blackbirds, inspired by Ashley Bryan's book. If you haven't read it, go to your local library and check it out. Ashley Bryan is an American treasure and has a trove of poetry and books for children.

Third, Fourth and Fifth Grade:

All three grades worked on current projects. A few early finishers and Thursday's classes made these winter Olympians!

Middle School:

I have to show off this beautiful student work. 6th, 7th and 8th grade learned about the North Carolina artist, Minnie Evans. She is a folk artist known for her visionary work done in symmetry. I've been impressed with the details students have included.

*2nd quarter student projects have been posted to the Kestrel AIG Site. Student work will be showcased each quarter for review by parents and students.

*Parents.... make sure you have connected to Prodigy and Seesaw so you can see what your children are doing in AIG class in real time! Connecting to these digital tools as parents allow you to keep track of your child's productivity in class, and the students enjoy seeing the comments and encouragement from parents!!!

Students will continue taking the ACCESS for ELLs through the end of this week. The ACCESS test measures the student's progress in listening, speaking, reading and writing English language skills. Later this spring, your student will receive an Individual Student Report that provides information about how well he or she is progressing in the English language. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at: rivera-lang@kestrelheights.org

Free Family Days take place on select Sundays from Noon-4 PM. On these days families visiting the museum enjoy live entertainment, create hands-on projects and explore exhibitions with a gallery hunt.

• Next Free Family Day: March 18, 2018 from 12pm-4:30pm

• Theme: Art of Science & Science of Art

• The Nasher Museum partners with Sarah P. Duke Gardens and the Duke Chemistry Society to explore the crossover between art and science as we create artistic chemical reactions and investigate the beautiful designs found in nature.

• Get wowed by Nasher Family Day favorite magician Joshua Lozoff as he does close-up magic in the Great Hall and performs a stage show in the lecture hall!

Nasher Teen Meetups are free and open to ALL area teens. Explore art on view at the museum and create your own in these workshops led by local artists and Nasher staff. Programs are free but space is limited and advanced registration is required. Registration links will be posted to this page in advance of each Meetup. Email meg.williams@duke.edu for questions about Teen Meetup registration.

• Next Teen Meetup: March 8, 2018 from 5pm-7pm

• Theme: Abstract Expressionism

• All area teens are invited to discuss critical contributions to abstract art by artists of African descent within the exhibition Solidary & Solitary. Explore abstraction during a painting workshop led by Durham artist Candy Carver .

Discover inspiring programs happening daily at your local Apple Store. Below are a couple of the many programs offered locally. To find out more information or to RSVP go to: https://www.apple.com/today/

• Saturday, February 24th from 5pm-6pm

• Theme: Program Robots with Swift Playgrounds

• Bring robots to life in a hands-on session featuring MeeBot and Swift Playgrounds. Learn coding concepts and explore how to program MeeBot robots using Swift Playgrounds—an app for iPad that makes it fun to learn and experiment with real Swift code. Bring your own iPad running iOS 10 or later, or we’ll provide one. Recommended for ages 12 and up.

• Sunday, February 25th from 12pm-1pm

• Theme: Sphero Maze Challenge

• Kids Hour is designed to spark imagination and creativity through fun, hands-on projects. Kids will explore coding with Sphero robots by programming simple movements, loops, and more. Then they’ll design a maze and navigate their robot through the obstacles. Kids can bring their own iPad and Sphero Sprk+ robot, or we’ll provide them. Recommended for ages 6 to 12.

The Durham YouthWork Internship Program offers Durham youth ages 14-24 the opportunity to gain work experience and develop skills through paid summer internships in local businesses, nonprofits and City and County government.

• The 2017 Durham YouthWork Internship Program application period is now open.

• Youth ages 14-24 must apply online (Job title is Durham YouthWork Intern) and are required to participate in a screening interview.

• Applicants are placed in internships based a variety of criteria including applicants’ interests, strength of interview, fit for internship and requirements of funding sources. Interns are not placed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Congratulations to the following students for making the Track and Field Team.

D'Maria Powell

Anna Gibson

Sydney McCree (Manager)

Kiara Graves

Mercedes McCoy

Arianna Parker (Manager)

Jaymes Lewis

C.J. Barber

Jonathan King

Josefa Velasquez

Elise Talford

Rafia Ansari

Lillian Scott

Raymond Allen

Gyasi Spruill

Hanna Herring

Kayla Graves

Zachary Florack

Amba Hattimore

Cate Weddendorf

Victoria Green

Email: barber@kestrelheights.org
Website: kestrelheights.org
Location: 4900 Prospectus Drive, Durham, NC, USA
Phone: (919) 484-1300
Facebook: facebook.com/KestrelHeights
Twitter: @kestrelheights