SOARing through the Week at JFK
January 10, 2025
Dear Hawk Families,
It sure has been a cold and blustery week here at JFK! While conditions kept students indoors several days this week, the students were enthusiastic about having outdoor recess today. We are grateful for today’s sunshine! We know how important fresh air and outdoor play are for our students, so we aim to get them outside whenever the weather permits. Please help us by ensuring your child comes to school dressed appropriately for winter conditions, including a warm coat, hat, and gloves. Thank you for your continued support in keeping our students safe, warm, and ready to learn!
Remember to take care of yourself, our community and most of all BE KIND!
In partnership,
Amy E. Rizzo
Amy E. Rizzo, Principal
Follow me on X (formerly Twitter) @JFKPrincipalRIz
Important Dates:
January 11th- MPS Community Conversation- Long Range Planning
Meeting at Law 9:30am
January 13th- NOVUS STEM Club Make Up Session
*January 15th- 4th & 5th Grade Band & Strings Concert @ Parsons
6:30pm
January 20th- No School - MLK Day
January 21st- PTO Sponsored Programming- Sky Dome
January 22nd- Early Dismissal- Staff Professional Learning
January 25th- JFK Skate Night 6:15-7:45 pm
February 5th- Early Dismissal- Staff Professional Learning
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📷A Glimpse at the Week:
Click here to view pictures of some of the HAWK-SOME learning and events that happened at JFK this week!
Upcoming Fire Drill: JFK will be conducting a fire drill next week. 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.
Smart Watches, I-Phones and other Personal Devices
Teachers have noticed that some students have returned to school from the winter break with new personal technology. While we know that these new devices are exciting, we appreciate your help in keeping these items at home or in backpacks so that they do not become a distraction to our learning environment.
Please note the MPS BOE Policy regarding personal technology in our schools:
At the elementary level - No use of a cell phone/smartwatch or other personal communication device will be permitted during school hours. These devices must be turned off or on silent and left in backpacks, stored in a student’s locker/cubbie or other place designated by building administration. MPS Policy
❄️JFK Community: Winter Traditions❄️- We need your help to build our display of family winter traditions. It’s not too late to participate in this great family project!
Winter officially began on December 21, 2024, and ends on March 20, 2025. There are MANY winter holidays, events, and traditions that families take part in from December to March to celebrate winter. We want to learn more about our JFK family traditions and ways you spend time during winter!
All JFK families are invited to share a winter tradition or winter holiday tradition with our school community by completing this Google Slide template. The template includes a space for your family name, a picture, and a brief description of your family tradition. Families are welcome to submit more than one slide.
Slides can be returned as soon as they are completed. Share your slide(s) with Mrs. Koosa (dkoosa@milforded.org) or print your slide at home and return it to the Main Office. Hard copies can be sent home by request. Please contact your classroom teacher or Mrs. Koosa if you have any questions.
Slides will be displayed in our school hallway for our community to see throughout the winter season.
Band & Strings Winter Concert Information
Attention all 4th and 5th Grade instrumental music students and families (Band and Strings)
Our 4th and 5th Grade Band and Strings Winter Concert will be held on
Wednesday, January 15th 2025 at 6:30 PM in the Parsons Complex Auditorium
This concert will feature band and string students performing from Mathewson, Meadowside, JFK, and Pumpkin Delight Elementary Schools.
Students should arrive at Parsons at 5:45 pm. Doors open for families at 6:15 pm.
Students are requested to wear a white or light top and black or dark bottoms.
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* I am recommending that students take a few minutes this week to write their name(s) on their books and instrument cases as well as practice their songs.
Thanks again for letting me share music with your children. I am looking forward to our show and it will be a fun experience for the kids. I am also aware that some families will not be able to attend, so I wish them well. See you next Wednesday.
Thank you,
Brian Boots
Band and Strings at Mathewson, Meadowside, JFK and Pumpkin Delight Elementary Schools
Kindergarten registration for SY 2025-2026 is now open!
We are pleased to announce that Kindergarten Registration for the 2025-2026 school year opened on Monday, January 6, 2025. If you have a child who will be starting Kindergarten in the fall, registration information will be posted to the district website www.milforded.org. You must register your child for Kindergarten at the school determined by your street address, unless placed by Pupil Personnel Services. School/Street Assignments are available on the district website under “District Information.”
Children born on or before September 1, 2020 are eligible to register for Kindergarten. If your child is not age eligible (born September 2, 2020 through December 31, 2020), please use the online registration form to request a waiver.
Any current MPS Preschool or Ready To Learn (RTL) students will not need to complete an online registration form. However, we ask that you complete the Kindergarten Notification Form located in PowerSchool.
If you need assistance with the registration portal, please contact the main office of your district assigned school. School contact information can be found on the district website under “ Schools.”
We are excited for your children to join us! Fully registered families, please be on the lookout for more information from your school’s Principal about an in person kindergarten event in the spring. In the meantime, click here for a sneak peek of what to expect in Kindergarten!
We look forward to welcoming the Class of 2038!
Specialist Spotlight: STEM with Mr. Messina
In Pre K and Kindergarten, students are working to understand how pushes, pulls, and forces are able to make objects move. In these units, students will investigate the motion of objects by changing the strength and direction of pushes and pulls. Students will engage in hands-on activities that will enable them to construct understandings of forces and how they can affect the motion of objects. In Kindergarten, students are expected to demonstrate grade-appropriate skills in planning, participating in investigations, and then analyzing and interpreting data.
Our first graders are being introduced to the concept of light and sound waves; how people are able to see in the dark and able to hear sounds. They engage in several light investigations and identify areas in their own school where it would be desirable to be able to communicate with others without making any noise. Students figure out new ways to use light to communicate (send and receive information), and that a situation or phenomena that people want to change can be approached as a problem to be solved through engineering. Additionally, students investigate how sound is produced and investigate by designing their own kazoos! They will make a cause and effect vibration relationship through playing the kazoos.
In this second grade unit titled, students learn about how the Earth’s surface is constantly changing. These changes can be fast or slow through Earth’s processes of wind and water erosion. Students will be able to use maps to show how Earth has changed over time. Students will also understand that maps are used to show the shape of the land and water in an area and can be used to identify patterns in the natural world. To date we have explored the water cycle and how any particular phase could be harmful to the ecosystem. For example, excessive precipitation would result in a flood and excessive evaporation could result in a drought.
Our Grade 3 students are beginning their second unit, weather and climate. The focus of this unit is understanding that weather and climate are not the same, but do have a relationship that impacts a region. Students will understand that weather is a constant change of daily conditions with the ability to be predicted. Generally speaking, predictions are made within a region based on temperatures, wind speed, and tends to form a seasonal pattern within a region. Students will also understand the impact of climate and weather varies within and between regions of the Earth. Students will understand that humans cannot eliminate natural hazards but can take steps to reduce the impact of natural hazards.
In fourth grade our students have begun their second unit, Waves and Energy Showcase. Students will be exploring energy through a cross-curricular journey that includes generating ideas about transforming energy, renewable energy, and how to solve real-life problems regarding energy. We investigate sound and electrical energy transfers. We also explore how energy is generated and transferred to our homes. Later we will delve into renewable and nonrenewable resources with a culminating project where students design a method to reduce energy waste or consumption at school.
In this fifth-grade, the students have also begun their second unit, The Energy Cycle. This unit focuses on interrelationships in ecosystems. Students investigate the apparent disappearance of dead trees and the body of a dead raccoon over time. Their findings lead them to uncover the role of decomposers in this process, as well as the role of decomposers in the disappearance of plant debris over time. Students ultimately track down where the materials come from that all living things need for repair and growth and where the energy comes from that they use to move and stay warm.
Reminders!
Winter Attire
Whenever the weather permits, our students have outdoor recess. Please ensure that your child has proper attire to stay warm when they are outside. We recommend a warm winter coat, hat, and gloves. If you need assistance please reach out to our school Social Worker, Mrs. Dougherty.
Return Library Books
Please return any JFK library books your student has finished reading. We have many popular books checked out that other students are waiting to read!
Please label your child’s sweatshirts, jackets, lunch bag, and water bottles. Our Lost and Found continues to grow! Please have your child check the lost and found email Mrs. Koosa (dkoosa@milforded.org) or your child’s classroom teacher if any of these items belong to your family.
Hawks SOAR Awards - Our JFK Hawks SOAR award is designed to recognize student and staff behaviors and actions that enhance our school community and those individuals who exemplify citizenship within this community beyond the expected norms. When your child comes home with a sticker, please ask them how they SOARED that day!
Attendance Reminder
A reminder that absences should be reported in PowerSchool.
Click HERE for instructions on how to report absences. Be sure to update the date on the top of the form each time you fill it out.
Arrival and Dismissal Information -
Please do not leave students unattended at the school prior to 8:20 am.
Please note that our Walker Pick Up should be utilized for families who are walking to the building. If you are driving to JFK to pick up your child, please use our car pick up procedure. Families of students who are being dismissed as walkers should not be parking in our parking lot and then picking up at the walker door. Doing this interferes with the flow of traffic in our car pick up line. Thank you for adhering to our dismissal procedures.
Parents, please be sure to drive slowly and safely through our parking lot at drop off and pick up times. We understand that mornings can be hectic getting students off to school and adults off to work, but please drive slowly and with caution on our school grounds.
If you are dropping off your child please pull all the way forward in line and remain in the car for safety. If you wish to get out of the car, please park in a designated parking spot and walk your child to the parking lot crosswalk. Mr. Kee will assist your child in crossing safely.
Dismissal Car Tags should be placed on your dashboard/mirror when lining up for pick up. We ask that you please do not line up in the parking lot prior to 3pm.
❤️🩹News from the Nurse
MPS Health Department Guidelines
With the weather getting colder please make sure your child has appropriate outdoor clothing for recess. Additionally, we have many students with very chapped lips as the weather is getting colder. Please provide chapstick for your child as needed.
If clothing is borrowed from the school health office please wash and return :)
If possible, pack a spare set of clothes in your child's backpack. Accidents happen! Students can get wet on the playground or spill on themselves at lunch. It's always helpful to have extra clothing available
~Nurse Jacqueline Campbell
Community Connections Center
CCC News for the week of January 10, 20245
This week's CCC News is packed with helpful information and fun activities! We're excited to highlight Beth El's "Kicks for Kids" program, which provides free shoes for children in need, and Milford Youth & Family Services' "Build Strong Families" series. Plus, we've got three free events that are sure to be a hit: Milford Arts' "Goldilocks & the Three Bears" Puppet Show, the Connecticut Valley Siberian Husky Club event at Lyman Orchards, and a Robotics Workshop for kids in Naugatuck, CT. For all the details, check out our CCC Newsletter. And if you're looking for more community resources, be sure to visit the CCC Website. Wishing you a wonderful week ahead!
Mary-Kate Wiliams & Cara Dascenza
Mary-Kate Williams & Cara Dascenzo
Milford Community Connection Centers
203-882-6094
The CCC honors all family inquiries as private and confidential unless parent permission is given or Connecticut mandated reporting applies
Circle of Security Parenting Workshop
Tuesdays, February 4, 11, 18, 25 & March 4, 11, 18, 25 from 6:30-7:30pm for parents and caregivers
Parents and Caregivers, we invite you to join us for an enriching 8-session program where we'll spend quality time exploring our roles and the connections we build with our children through the Circle of Security model.
In this program, we’ll dive into attachment styles and the vital importance of connection in our relationships with our kids. Together, we'll reflect on our parenting approaches and examine the cues—and occasional miscues—our children give us as we navigate the challenges and joys of daily life.
This 8-week journey is designed to offer live facilitation, video content, and group discussion, providing both insights and practical tools to support your growth as a parent or caregiver. We’ll meet once a week to connect, learn, and grow together.
This program is brought to you thanks to the partnership of the Milford Public Schools and the Milford Public Library. Registration is required. Please contact Cara Dascenzo at cdascenzo@milforded.org or Mary-Kate Williams at mwilliams@milforded.org with questions.
Sign Up for STEAM Explorers Club
Community Conversations Letter
Join the JFK PTO! It’s not too late and our PTO supports so many of our wonderful school community events. Your membership matters!
We welcome and encourage everyone to join the JFK PTO. Membership is simple and in no way commits you to volunteer and/or attend meetings (although we would love to have you). Simply click the link below and submit your dues/donation. Don't forget to fill out the membership form as well. Once both steps are complete you are able to join our PTO Membership page which has all upcoming events and updates! https://john-f-kennedy-elem-pto.square.site/
Additional MPS information can be accessed through the district website at www.milforded.org.
JFK: A Community Where
ALL
Learners SOAR!