JFK Elementary School
September 22, 2023
Hawk’s Herald
SOARing through the Week at JFK
Hello JFK Families!
It’s been quite a Hawk-mazing week here at JFK! On Monday we began the week with a successful lockdown drill using our new Alertus system. We were proud of how the students and staff handled the drill. We then welcomed so many families to our Open House on Tuesday, and we had a wonderful first assembly from Ben’s Bells on Thursday. A special thank you to our PTO President, Kate Aldrich, for organizing our first assembly of the year (check out some pictures from the Ben’s Bells assembly below), and Mrs. Koosa for her work in organizing our learning community for the assembly. Our PreK-5th grade learners were a fantastic and engaged audience!
If you don’t already know, Ben’s Bells is a non-profit organization that focuses on spreading kindness.The gorgeous one-of-a-kind “Inspire Kindness” mural in our entryway is part of our partnership with Ben’s Bells. (Thank you again, PTO!) During our assembly yesterday, we continued with the learning that the mural focuses on. Our community learned about how kindness is contagious and spreads from one person to another. We discussed how communities thrive when kindness grows. Mrs. Koosa and I are excited to announce that JFK is now a Ben’s Bell’s Kind Campus! Throughout the year we will be focusing on promoting kindness within our learning community. I encourage you to talk to your child about the assembly and about ways they can make a difference by spreading kindness in our school and within our community. If you’d like to learn more about Ben’s Bells origin please click here and be on the lookout for future communication about how kindness grows at JFK!
Lastly, I’d like to point out a few reminders heading into next week. Please note that Milford Public Schools has no school on Monday in observance of Yom Kippur. On Thursday JFK staff and students will wear gold in support of pediatric cancer awareness, and Friday is one of the most exciting days of the year…(drum roll, please)...our annual Hawk-a-thon! Please keep collecting those pledges and if you have any questions about the Hawk-a-thon please reach out to ptojfk@gmail.com
That’s all for now, have a HAWK-SOME long weekend, JFK, and most of all, BE KIND!
In partnership,
Amy E. Rizzo
Amy E. Rizzo, Principal
Follow me on X (formerly Twitter) @JFKPrincipalRIz
Important Dates & Information:
Upcoming Dates to Note:
September 25th- No School (Yom Kippur)
September 28th- Wear GOLD to support Childhood Cancer Awareness
September 29th- Hawk-a-thon
October 6th - Picture Day
Picture Day is Coming - Friday, October 6th pictures will be taken at JFK. Our school prepay is now active until October 20th. If there are siblings in the same school, then you may enter the next child's name after placing the first child's package in the cart.
Also note, Robert Taylor offers the 3rd child free package in the same school. You may prepay the first and second child's orders in the school's prepay. This is a special only available thru the end of the prepay period (Oct. 20th) and at the same school.
The link is listed below and on the information sheet, along with instructions:
JFK photo prepay active until Oct. 20 code "jfks"
Upcoming Elementary Parent Conferences:
Wednesday, October 18th 1:45-3:45 p.m.
Thursday, October 19th 5:30-8:00 p.m.
Friday, October 20th 1:45-3:45 p.m.
Please note that we will have a modified early dismissal time on the conference days to accommodate the conference schedule. Therefore, students will be dismissed on October 18th, October 19th, and October 20th at 1:15pm.
Parents/guardians will once again have the opportunity to select a conference time through My Conference Time. All conferences will be in person unless a parent/guardian requests a Google Meet link directly from the teacher. Fall conference sign up information will be live on our school website from Friday, October 6th, at 9:00 a.m. through Monday, October 16th, at 12:00 p.m. If you prefer a virtual session, please contact the teacher to request a Google Meet link to conduct your conference virtually after you have confirmed your conference time through My Conference Time Online Scheduler. We are looking forward to meeting with you to discuss your child’s learning!
Quick tip: Look for emails from “noreply@myconferencetime.com” when searching email for conference confirmation communications.
JFK Parent Book Club - Are you interested in participating in a JFK Parent Book Club?
This year Mrs. Swope, JFK's School Counselor, will be holding a book club with parents/guardians. We will be reading the book "Anxious Kids Anxious Parents" by Reid Wilson and Lynn Lyons. This book is most appropriate for caring for children aged 8-18.
There will be both a virtual and in-person book club. Meetings will take place at JFK during the school day and virtually in the evenings. Members are invited to join whichever sessions best fit their schedule. The book club will meet 10-12 times over the course of the year, once a week. Meeting dates will be determined once information is collected from potential book club participants.
Books will be provided to book club members.
If you are interested and would like more information, please complete this form
News from the Nurse - For current Illness Guidelines including COVID-19 recommendations please visit the JFK Nurse’s page on MPS website and click on the Illness Guidelines icon to review the current Health Department letter to parents.
Coffee with the Instructional Coaches
Coffee with coaches will be rescheduled to a later date. Stay tuned for more information from Mrs. Apicella, Mrs. DePuma, Mrs. Rosengrant, and Ms. Taylor.
Community Conversation: Think Big! Dream Big!
Community Connections News - 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!
This week's CCC News contains links to register for The Circle of Security Parenting Class, Milford Recreation Department's Adaptive Programs, an app called ConnTours that you can use to find historic places in Connecticut and the Durham Fair.
Remember that the CCC Website is updated with links to community resources.
Have a Great Weekend!
Mary-Kathryn Williams, Coordinator
Milford Community Connection Centers
203-882-6094
Food Services Reminders: Breakfast: Breakfast meals will be FREE OF CHARGE for ALL students in the Milford Public Schools. Lunch: For students who QUALIFY for free or reduced-price meals, (determined by the completion of the Free/Reduced Price Meals Application or via Direct Certification), lunch meals will continue to be offered FREE OF CHARGE. We strongly encourage everyone to click on the appropriate link below to complete the form; many of the income benchmarks have changed over the past 2 years – and you may now qualify even if you haven’t in the past.
Free/Reduced-Price Meals Application Online
September Elementary Lunch Menu
Chromebook Insurance- You Can Renew Right on the Parent Portal - Our low-cost Chromebook Insurance program is WELL worth the annual renewal fee ($25 per year). If you’ve got kids, then you already know there’s always the potential for something to happen to the Chromebook during the year: lost (~$230 replacement cost), replacement mainboard (~$90), cracked screen (~$40), broken hinges (~$15), or broken keyboard (~$60), just to name a few. For $25, you can have peace of mind and save a lot of aggravation when something goes wrong. You can reserve your Chromebook insurance right on your Parent Portal account. If you have any questions, please contact our BIDS dept. at (203) 783-3446.
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Specialist Spotlight - ART
Art has been amazing so far at JFK this year! PreK-5 students began the year learning how to draw self-portraits, exploring different watercolor techniques, and adding features that make each student who they are.
As fall rolls in, all grades are going to be creating their own fall inspired pieces. Kindergarten students will soon be working on skills such as cutting, gluing, and painting to create their own apple baskets. Grade 1 is learning about symmetry, monarch butterflies, and how to use oil pastels while making their symmetrical butterflies. Grade 2 is also learning about symmetry and composition to create a sunflower field. Grade 3 is taking a look at Vincent Van Gogh’s sunflowers, learning about composition and creating their very own still life! Grade 4 will be analyzing the work of Japanese artist Yayio Kusama to create pumpkins. Grade 5 will be working on one point perspective to create autumnal scenes!
This last month has been wonderful creating with everyone! I am so excited to see what's in store for us as the year progresses! If you want to reach out, feel free to email me at kbenedetti@milforded.org
News from the JFK PTO:
Be sure to check out the email from the PTO this week that includes important information on upcoming events!
Hawk-a-thon- is coming soon! It’s our biggest fundraiser of the year! Click to learn more.
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Look at some of the HAWK-SOME learning that happened at JFK this week!
JFK: A Community Where ALL Learners SOAR!