JFK Elementary School September 1, 2023

Hawk’s Herald

SOARing through the Week at JFK

Hello JFK Families!

It has been a simply magical week here at JFK! The classrooms, hallways, and lunchroom have been filled with smiles, laughter, and joyful learning. Our Hawk-some staff has worked hard to make sure that every student feels welcome in our school. Families, I would also like to take a moment to sincerely thank you for your support of our learning community! In the short time I have been here, it is evident how much the JFK staff and the JFK families care about our school. We are a Hawk Proud community of learners! The partnership between home and school is vital to a successful school year. We appreciate your involvement in ensuring that each student comes to school ready to learn. On Fridays you can expect to receive a Hawk’s Herald that will include important information from the “Hawk’s Nest.” We ask that you take time to read it carefully each week. Please reach out to your classroom teacher if you have any questions or concerns- we are a team working on behalf of “every student, every day.” We look forward to a wonderful partnership in the school year ahead!

I encourage you to mark your calendars for some special upcoming events at JFK. Next Friday, September 8th, our HAWK-MAZING PTO is hosting a Back-to-School Family picnic (more details below) and our primary fundraiser, the Hawk-a-thon will be held on September 29th. Thank you to our PTO for organizing these community events. Please be reminded that one of the best ways that families can be involved and show support to our school community is by joining our PTO. Joining does not put you under any obligation to volunteer (though we hope you might choose to at some point this year). Our PTO is so supportive of our school and welcomes any and all participation!

In reflecting on this week at our school, my principal heart is full of joy, gratitude, and tremendous pride! ❤️ Together we are SOARing into an amazing 23-24 school year!

In partnership,

Amy E. Rizzo

Amy E. Rizzo, Principal

Follow me on X (formerly Twitter) @JFKPrincipalRIz

Important Dates & Information:

Upcoming Dates to Note:

September 4th- No School (Labor Day)

September 6th- PTO Meeting

September 8th- JFK PTO Back-to-School Picnic 6-8pm

(September 15th- JFK PTO Back-to-School Picnic Rain Date)

September 19th- Open House 6-7:45pm

September 20th- Early Dismissal (Professional Learning for Staff)

September 25th- No School (Yom Kippur)

September 29th- Hawk-a-thon

Thank you to all the families who attended our Kindergarten playdate and Popsicles with the Principal this past Saturday. The weather was quite sticky and warm, but perfect for popsicles. Thank you to our PTO for sponsoring this event! It was a treat to start the school year by meeting so many students and families before the first day of school

Arrival & Dismissal - Please make sure arrival and dismissal plans are accurate for your child. If there are any changes in dismissal for your child please write a note or an email to your child’s teacher and Mrs. Kirby.

Community Connections News - WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL !

Today August 30, 2023 our CCC Community Connection Center's CCC News has gone live! Milford’s Community providers information & updates can be found on our NEW CCC district website along with the CCC’s programs! To locate the CCC’s web page go to Milford’s main page and click on the Menu tab & scroll down under district Information to find the Community Connections Centers!

Remember that the CCC Website is updated with links to community resources.

Thank you to Jeff and the Milford IT team for all of their wonderful work in adding this page to Milford's website!

Grade 4 & 5 Music Instrument Selection: It's that time of year where our 4th & 5th grade students may choose to play an instrument at school. We have many opportunities available -- woodwinds, brass, percussion and strings. To get started, click on THIS LINK to see the many choices -- then click on the REGISTRATION form to let us know what you would like to try! (And, for families, there's lots of other great information on the website, too - check it out!). If you have already signed up for an instrument - thank you. Scheduling is underway and more information will follow soon. Any questions, feel free to reach out to Mr. Boots at bboots@milforded.org. Happy New School Year!

Specialist Spotlight - This week we are highlighting all our AMAZING Specialists at JFK.

STEM- Mr. Sabo - Hi JFK Families! I am looking forward to another great year of experiments and engineering. This is my fourth year at JFK and I am really looking forward to covering all kinds of science concepts this year including space, weather, and energy. Please check out this folder to see some easy science experiment videos that I have created that you can try at home!

Spanish - Ms. Polansky - ¡Hola! My name is Señorita P and I am the Spanish teacher at JFK! I am so excited that we are starting our 5th year of the Elementary World Language Program in Milford, making it a complete Pre-K4 through 5th grade program this year. I am also excited to share with you that we are fortunate to have a Spanish classroom now! Prek4 will meet once a week for 10 minutes (in their classroom), while Grades K, 1 & 2 will come to the Spanish classroom 3x a week for 20 minutes and grades 3,4 & 5 will come 2x a week for 30 minutes. Please feel free to check out our EWL Program Website by clicking HERE for more information. You can reach me at rpolansky@milforded.org with any questions, comments or concerns- or if you would like to come in for a read aloud in Spanish or even another language- we would love to have you join us! Looking forward to another great year in World Language at JFK!

Physical Education - Mrs. Anastasiou - Hi JFK! I am the P.E. teacher! I have been teaching in Milford for 12 years and have been at JFK for 9 years. I love softball, the Yankees and Disney. I also have a 4 year old black lab, Jordan and an 18 month old son, Tino. I am super excited for this school year!

Media Center - Mrs. Soder - I am starting my third year as our community's School Library Media Specialist. It's great to see all of the returning learners and I'm excited to meet all of the new ones!

Art - Ms. Benedetti - Hi JFK Families! I’ve been teaching at JFK for 3 years now and have been loving every second of creating with you! A little about me: I love Disney, I have two cats named Finn and Sabby, I love to take pictures, and I enjoy hiking and being outside. I’m super excited to be back creating with everyone and hope everyone had a wonderful summer!

MUSIC - Ms. Voss - Welcome to Music at JFK! In music class, PreK - 1 will learn new songs, rhythms, and movements to help us become "tuneful, beat-ful, and artful". Grades 2 - 5 will focus on music in our community and around the world, as we learn how to read it, listen to it, respond to it, and create it. I can't wait to make music with your students! tvoss@milforded.org

News from the Speech Department -Welcome back to school from the Speech-Language department: Mrs. Kristan and Mrs. McConachie! We look forward to assisting students with their communication skills this year. We are also glad to have Ms. Nicole Robbins, a Speech-Language intern from the University of New Haven join our team for the fall semester. Have a great year!

News from the JFK PTO:

Thank you to the PTO Sign Fairies and Ninjas for surprising our incoming K students with signs in their yards before the first day of school and for “Chalking the Walk” before our PreK and K Meet and Greet. Thank you to PTO parent, Mrs. Conroy for adding beautiful flower pots in front of our building. They add such a cheerful welcome to our entrance! 5th Graders Gina and JJ helped to water them this week!