Knights News

The Kendall Elementary School community works collaboratively to empower our students to develop the skills and character needed to become responsible, productive citizens and dedicated learners.

Knowledge - empowering students to be life-long learners

Network - linking home, school, and community

Individuals - meeting the needs of every student
Growth - building healthy minds and bodies

High Expectations - striving for academic excellence for all

Technology - developing skills necessary to compete in the 21st century

Safe environment - providing a nurturing environment for teaching and learning

Greetings Knight Families,

This was a great week at KES! The rain at the beginning of the week was a nice treat. We are hopeful that this will bring some cooler Fall weather to accompany this exciting season of football!

As we are moving farther into the school year, the rigor of the curriculum increases and attendance is extremely important. Please make sure that your child attends school each day and for the entire day. We understand that things come up unexpectedly but your help in ensuring that your child receives the required instructional minutes each day is much appreciated. Early outs and tardy minutes add up very quickly.

Thank you to our amazing PTO for all your hard work this week preparing for Family Game Night! We appreciate all you do for our school and community!

We have the most incredible Teaching Assistants in BISD! We are happy to recognize them today and everyday for all that they do.

Our Custodial Crew is the by the far the shining stars of KES! We appreciate all that they do to keep our school clean and well maintained.

Have a great weekend!

Jennifer Escamilla

Principal

Link to KES website: Kendall Elementary / Homepage (boerneisd.net)

October: National Principal's Month

October: Fire Prevention Month

October 1: World Teacher's Day

October 2: School Custodian Appreciation Day

October 5: Dual Language-Passport to Kendall 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm KES Library

October 12: BOA Pre-Camp Meeting 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm KES Cafeteria

October 13-16: Holiday Student & Faculty

October 17: Staff Development

October 16- 20: National School Bus Safety Week

October 18-31: Book Character Pumpkins KES Library

October 20: PTO Sponsored Pumpkin Decorating Family Event

October 23-31: Red Ribbon Week

October 23-25: 5th Grade BOA

October 23: Fall Individual Picture Retakes

October 27: Character Book Parade 8:30 am - 9:30 am KES

It is our goal that students be in school unless they are sick or there is an emergency. If students must be absent ensure that a doctor's excuse or note from parents explaining the reason for absence is turned into the front office. Excuses can also be e-mailed to laura.kanter@boerneisd.net.

Students with 3 or more unexcused absences as of 9/7/23 will receive a letter with the dates of their absences. If your student received a letter be sure to send in the excuse for their absence to the front office or Ms. Kanter as soon as possible after their absence.

We will be implementing various measures to follow-up with students on absences this school year, they are as follows:

• Phone call home from teacher at 3 absences.
• Teacher will conference with student at 5 absences.
• Phone call home from administration at 9 absences.
• Attendance letter sent home and parent conference with administration at 10 absences.

It is imperative that students be present whenever possible, when students are absent or tardy, they are missing out on instructional minutes.

It is very important that students get to school by 7:35 am each morning to begin the school day. The doors to the main hallway will lock at 7:40 am each morning. If your child arrives after 7:40 am you will need to sign them in at the front office. It is equally important that students be at school for the entire day, so they do not miss out on instruction. Being on time will contribute to their continued academic success.

Please note the following procedures that will be in place to help this process go smoothly.

• Visitors MUST check in at the front office by presenting their ID and obtain a visitor's pass. Visitors MUST check out at the front office and exit through main doors.
• Visitors will be able to eat with their student(s) on the stage in the cafeteria. No friends or classmates will be able to join. Parents are permitted to sit on the stage or outside in our new outdoor dining area. Please do not sit at the tables designated for students.
• Parents, if you eat with your child in the outdoor dining area, please remember they have to return to the cafeteria and return to class with their teacher.
• You are welcome to bring food for your student(s), but it cannot be shared with other classmates.
• Visitors will NOT be able to walk with students back to their class after lunch.
  

Pre-K: 10:55

Kindergarten: 11:00

1st Grade: 11:05

2nd Grade: 11:35

3rd Grade: 11:45

4th Grade: 12:10

5th Grade: 12:35

Please take a moment to complete the

• Online Application for Free & Reduced-Price Meals

  https://www.mealappnow.com/manboe/splash.php

As we are nearing the end of our 1st nine weeks, it has been wonderful to visit each class and provide a lesson on Optimistic Thinking. We have held discussions on the importance of exercising our brains, overcoming mistakes, and asking for help while believing in the power of yet. Along with practicing optimistic thinking, it is important to practice social awareness. Social awareness is defined as the ability to understand other perspectives and show empathy with others which includes individuals from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and contexts. When put into action, people have compassion and respect for others, openness towards social norms across cultures, and the ability to see things from different points of view. People also see strengths, are concerned about others’ feelings, and recognize the influences of behaviors across settings. To sum it all up, social awareness is the path to follow when it comes to understanding others around us, especially those who have differences from ourselves, and treating others with care, kindness, and respect no matter how different or alike we are. At Kendall, we incorporate these skills and more into our morning meetings and KNDL news each day. We encourage you to partner with us and have conversations at home regarding the practice of optimistic thinking and social awareness outside the academic setting.

We also have kicked off our BMSS Charger & Kendall Knight mentoring program. We are excited to have these middle school students assisting in our Kindergarten and Third grade classes three times a week.

Front Office Hours are 7:00am - 3:30pm

Emergency Contact

Parents, please review your emergency contact information in Skyward to be sure it is up to date.

Lost and Found

Lost and found is located on a table in the back of the cafeteria. Lost and found items will be set outside the cafeteria doors on Friday afternoons and remaining items will be donated on Mondays.

Early pick up

Parents, if you need to pick your child up early, please, when possible, try to do before 2:30 pm.

Birthday Treats

Birthday treats and cupcakes can be dropped off at the front office to be sent to classrooms. For safety reasons balloons are not permitted in classrooms.

Information about the flu

Flu season is upon us! Here is some information to help your family stay healthy this flu season. The flu is spread from person to person by droplets made from coughing and sneezing. It can also spread through germ-infested surfaces such as desks, counters, doorknobs, and more.
The flu can vary in length and severity from year to year. Children are two to three times more likely than adults to get sick with the flu, and on average, one in three children in the U.S. is affected by the virus each year.

Flu Vs. Cold

It is important to know the difference between cold and flu. Common symptoms of the flu include high fever, severe headache, muscle and body aches, chills, sore throat, exhaustion, and dry cough. Children may also have nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Often cold symptoms come on gradually and they include stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat, and cough.

How to protect my students from catching the flu

Here are some tips to help in the fight against the flu:

· Wash your hands frequently with soap and water

· Cover your mouth and nose with tissues when you cough or sneeze

· Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth

· Stay away from others as much as possible when you are sick

· Avoid or minimize contact with sick people

· Get the flu vaccine

What should I do if my child is sick?

As always, you should keep your sick child home. Do not send your child to school with a fever. Children who are sick with flu-like illness should stay home for until they are 24 hours fever free without fever reducing medications.

Use your judgment to decide if your child can recover at home with fluids, over the counter medication, rest, or needs to see a doctor. Call your family doctor if you have questions.

Today’s safety brief is an informational about a tool Boerne ISD uses to enhance the safety of campuses – P3. What is P3? P3 is a reporting system that community members can utilize to report health and safety issues involving students to campus administration. Reports can be made online and anonymously. The school district website has a link to P3 at the top of the page “SEE SOMETHING SAY SOMETHING”.

Concerning event types which can be reported through the system include theft, fighting, possession of contraband, threats, and depression. Anytime a report is generated, campus administration and school resource officers receive notification of the report, and an investigation is opened. It is important to provide as much information as possible when submitting a P3 report so that responding personnel are able to determine who is involved and what sources of evidence may be available during the investigation. For example, if a report about “a blue car driving unsafely on campus” is submitted, it would be difficult to investigate because of the sheer number of blue cars that drive on campus every day. However, if the report contained a license plate number and stated the car was driving the wrong way in the car loop, it would be much easier to address the safety concern. All P3 reports are investigated regardless of the quality of information provided. Students are taught to analyze situations by asking the questions, “who, what, when, where, why, how”. A quality report will address these questions if the reporter has the information available.

During the investigation of a P3 report, any persons involved will be contacted in a professional and discreet manner. If you submitted the report, you may receive a response asking for additional information. Faculty, parents, or teachers will be interviewed to determine the severity and validity of the issue. Action will then be taken by campus administration or law enforcement based on the results of the investigation. At the conclusion of the investigation, the P3 tip status will be updated.

The P3 reporting system is a resource which enhances the safety of schools and helps district personnel ensure a quality learning environment. Parents of students are encouraged to report any health or safety issues to the school through traditional methods or the P3 reporting system. It is better to report an issue for investigation and have the investigation conclude the report was unfounded then to not report a potential issue and accept the associated risk.

Thank you,

Officer Russell

Mission

Knights on Duty is an organization consisting of Kendall Elementary School parents who want to be a positive influence to students and who are committed to supporting a safe and secure learning environment.

Job Duties

Knights on duty sign up for a three-hour shift in the morning or afternoon. During the shift, a knight may conduct perimeter checks, monitor campus activity including lunch/recess, sign up for a classroom visit, or fulfill other duties. The goal is to be watchful for suspicious activity on/around campus and to be a positive role model to students.

Management

The Knight’s on Duty program exists under the authority of Kendall Elementary School. All knights on duty must follow Boerne Independent School District policy and state law. The program is managed by the school resource officer.

Check In

Knights on duty will check in at the front desk. Each knight will be issued a lanyard and tag for identification, a radio for communication with staff, and an access card to get into the building. The knight will be briefed by the school resource officer on any campus activities or needs occurring during the knight’s shift.

Guidelines

Knights on duty are encouraged to be positive role models to students. This can happen a variety of ways including engagement during extracurricular activities or in student classrooms. In order to be respectful of the campus learning environment, classroom visits should be scheduled with teachers before the knight’s shift. A knight should refrain from joining a class or extracurricular activity without communicating with the faculty member in charge. All disciplinary issues are to be handled by faculty members only. If a disciplinary issue is observed, it should be promptly reported to a faculty member or the school resource officer. Report any emergency immediately. It is better to report a suspicious circumstance, accident, or disciplinary issue immediately than to ignore or put off the issue and take the chance that it will develop into a more severe problem.

If you would like to volunteer to be extra eyes and ears on campus, the first step is to ensure you have an up-to-date background check. You can start that process here: https://www.boerneisd.net/Page/11632

Once this is completed, please reach out to Officer James Russell sro.james.russell@boerneisd.net

Thank you all for making Kendall GREAT! Enjoy your weekend!

-Your Kendall PTO

Kendall Elementary PTO - Boerne ISD, TX - KES Volunteer Opportunities (membershiptoolkit.com)