JFK Elementary School
October 13, 2023
Hawks’ Herald
SOARing through the Week at JFK
Hello JFK Families!
Our students have been hard at work this week at JFK! As I’ve visited classrooms students have been excited to show me their thinking around challenging math work, how they have demonstrated kindness in our school, and I’ve been able to see some fantastic phonics work. Our kindergarten students had a special visit from the Milford Fire Department today!
I know our JFK staff is eager to share students’ Hawk-mazing learning with families this coming week at Parent Conferences. If you haven’t already signed up for a conference, it is not too late! Sign up information is included below in this newsletter. I am a firm believer that a strong school to home connection contributes to students’ success in school. I encourage all of our families to take advantage of the opportunity to meet directly with your teacher, so that you can partner together to best meet your child’s needs. Conferences are the perfect opportunity for the teacher to share what they have learned about your child during the first few weeks of school as well as for parents to share important information about your child with the teacher. Please remember that on our conference days, October 18th, 19th, and 20th, school dismisses at 1:15pm.
We are also excited that our PTO along with Mrs. Soder, our Library Media Specialist, is hosting the Scholastic Book Fair during our conferences days. Students are excited to visit the book fair during school. Information was sent home with students today, so be on the lookout. The book fair will also be open to parents during conference times if you would like to shop as well. We look forward to seeing you next week, JFK families!
That’s all for now, JFK! SOAR into the weekend with Hawk Pride and most of all, remember to 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:
Week of October 16th - Fire Drill
October 18, 19 & 20th - Conferences/Early Release 1:15 PM & Scholastic Book Fair
October 25th- JFK Pink Out for Breast Cancer Awareness (Get in Touch) $1 donation
October 27th (Rain date Nov. 3rd)- Trunk or Treat
October 27th- Hawk-a-thon Whole School Prize (PJ &a Movie Day!)
October 31st- Halloween Parade
November 3rd - Spirit Day - Hat Day
November 10th - Veterans Day
Parent/Teacher Conference Site Is Open: It Closes Monday, October 16th
It’s not too late to Sign Up
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.
Students will be dismissed on October 18th, October 19th, and October 20th at 1:15pm.
Fire Drill Week of October 16th: Conducting emergency drills (fire, crisis, lockdown, etc.) is one of the most important ways we enhance our preparedness for students and staff during an emergency. Drills allow us to practice what we need to do when an emergency arises in our school.
JFK School will be conducting a fire drill next week. This will only be a drill and will be conducted in accordance with the School Incident Management Protocols established by the district, and in collaboration with our local first responders. Please discuss the importance of our emergency drills with your children. If you have any feedback please reach out to Mrs. Rizzo (arizzo@milforded.org) or Mrs. Koosa (dkoosa@milforded.org). We thank you for your cooperation and partnership with making our schools a safer place for learning.
Join us for MPS Community Conversation: Think Big! Dream Big! October 16th JLHS
Veterans Day - In celebration of Veterans Day we will be honoring those people in our lives who have served or are actively serving as members of the armed forces. We will hold an in-school assembly on Friday, November 10th. More details will be shared soon including an RSVP for veterans who would like to join us that day.
We will also create a Wall of Honor to recognize and celebrate the veterans in our lives. Please click on this template to make a copy of the Wall of Honor slide. You and your child(ren) can add a picture and type a brief summary of why that veteran is special to you. Be sure to include your veteran’s name and armed service as well as your student’s name, grade, and room number. Families can honor more than one veteran too! Please send submissions to Mrs. Koosa dkoosa@milforded.org by Friday, November 3rd.
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.
Community Connections News - This week's CCC News contains information and links for:
Milford's National Drug Take Back Day
CT FoodShare
CT Historical Barns Trail &
The Riverton Country Fair.
Remember that the CCC Website is updated with links to community resources.
Have a Great Weekend!
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!
Mary-Kathryn Williams, Coordinator
Milford Community Connection Centers
203-882-6094
.
¡Hola from Señorita Polansky!
Welcome to another exciting year of Spanish! I am so excited to share that this year we finally have a complete elementary world language program starting with Prek4 through 5th grade! PreK 4’s are receiving Spanish instruction once a week for 10 minutes as an introduction to the language and culture through music, stories and dance! All grades started off the year with “Getting to Know You” activities and collaborating on making classroom charters. In grades 3-5, we set goals and talked about the “Path to Proficiency” which outlines their abilities at each level and how we can “level up” our language skills.You can learn more about our program by visiting our Elementary World Language Website.
I am so REALLY excited to share that at the end of September, JFK hosted an incredible professional learning opportunity for all of Milford’s Prek-12 World Language teachers, led by Annabelle Williamson, or ‘La Maestra Loca’. Annabelle is a Spanish teacher based out of New Orleans, who took the time to coordinate an amazing day of learning about language acquisition that was full of inspiration and new takeaways for all who attended.
As always, please feel free to contact me at any time at rpolansky@milforded.org. ¡Gracias!
News from the JFK PTO:
Be sure to check out the Newsletter from the JFK PTO this week that includes important information on upcoming events, programming and fundraisers! When you support the PTO you are directly supporting our school community.
Lyman Pie sales have been extended until next Friday, October 20th.
-------------------------------------------------------
Look at some of the HAWK-SOME learning that happened at JFK this week!
JFK: A Community Where ALL Learners SOAR!