Hello JFK Families,
It was such a great day so see our students in the costume parade! It seemed like our students really enjoyed the time! Thank you to all the families in attendance.
I would like to give a special thank you to our 5th grade music team, Ms. Voss, Mr. Boots, and Mr. Burns for organizing and preparing for a wonderful performance last night. Our students did an amazing job and should be very proud of what they accomplished!
Also, don’t forget this is the weekend is the last chance to get your orders in for the book fair. If you are interested in purchasing something, please see the information below in our PTO News section.
Have a great weekend,
Mr. Brennan
Remote Learning update
Please take a moment to review the shifts in the MPS Remote Learning Update that was sent out last week. As such, the MPS attendance and Engagement: Guidance for Remote Learning document has been updated to reflect these shifts. Please take a moment to review.
Water Bottles Reminder
Please remember to send in a reusable water bottle with your child. They have access to our water stations and can refill as necessary throughout the day.
Community Connection Center
In this week's CCC Newsletter you will find information about CDC's handwashing guidelines, UniteCT program for rental assistance, eight fall chores that will save you money & family fun Halloween spots! Click here for this week's CCC Newsletter! And don't forget that the CCC website is also updated with links to community resources. Have a Safe & Fun Halloween!
Specialist Spotlight - Music News
We’ve had a great start to Music learning at JFK! I’m sure your Pre-K, K, and grade 1 students have shared some new songs with you. Ask them to sing their favorite...it might be “No More Pie”, or maybe “Pitter Patter”. We are focused on being tuneful, beautiful, and artful; in other words, learning new melodies, learning to keep a steady beat, and performing music with expression. In grades 2, 3, and 4, we have focused on music literacy, reading both pitch and rhythm. Ask your child to show you the hand signs for Do, Re, and Mi (and maybe a few more for gr 4!) Grade 3 is now studying the instruments of the orchestra, so they may be able to name the four families of instruments if you ask. In gr 5, we have spent several classes preparing for yesterday’s “Music Night”, our first return to live music performance since the pandemic! It was a smashing success. A big ‘thank you’ to all the families who were present.
Coming up next, grade 4 will learn all about one of our favorite ballets, “The Nutcracker”. And grade 5 will switch focus to creating original music, using mallet instruments and hand drums.
I am really enjoying getting to know your children here at JFK! Feel free to reach out to me with any music questions at tvoss@milforded.org.
Goodie bags - at this time we are continuing to ask our families to not send in goodie bags or other items from one family to the rest of your class. While in-person visitors are not currently allowed, an alternative option families can participate as a virtual “mystery reader” to read a book to their child’s class as a way of celebrating special occasions. This should be worked out in advance with the classroom teacher and the teacher can set up a google meet with the family.
Important Dates:
Tuesday, November 2nd- No School for students (Staff Professional Learning Day)
Wednesday, November 3rd for PTO the Meeting
Wednesday, November 24th- Early Dismissal for Thanksgiving Recess @ 1:25 p.m.
No School Thursday, Nov 25, 2021 and Friday, Nov 26, 2021 for Thanksgiving Recess
PTO NEWS
Last Call for Book Fair!
This year’s virtual Scholastic Book Fair is open through Sunday, October 31st! Don’t forget to get those orders in, and get free shipping on orders over $25. The school earns money from every purchase. Who doesn’t need fun books right before the holidays? Here's the link to start shopping - thank you for your support!
Last Week of Hawk-A-Thon!
We’re in the final countdown to Hawk-A-Thon next Friday, Nov. 5th! The PTO and staff are working together to create a full day of JFK fun for our kids, so check out our website for more information on how you can donate funds and support these kinds of activities all year long.
Right now, 2nd grade is in the lead to win free Carvel ice cream! Can anyone out raise them??? And don’t forget - if you’ve raised $50, you can decorate your own JFK sign to go out front of the school! Just email us, ptojfk@gmail.com, and we’ll get everything over to you.
As a reminder, this is the biggest (and final!) fundraiser of the year for JFK PTO. Plus, you could win great prizes such as Yankee v. Red Sox tickets, Kindle Fire tablets and more! If we meet our school-wide goal Mr Brennan will wear a silly wig to school! Who doesn’t want to see that??
If you haven’t yet, you can still create a profile for your kids on our JFK Hawk-A-Thon fundraising page to share with friends and family at: https://app.99pledges.com/fund/jfkptohawkathon/addme
Spirit Fridays Start Next Week!
Don’t forget that our monthly Spirit Friday starts next Friday for Hawk-A-Thon! The theme is JFK spirit wear AND crazy hair day. If you need to restock your tie-dye shirts or JFK masks, check out the online spirit wear store, and we’ll get them to you in plenty of time for next week’s fun.
Trunk or Treat was Spooktacularly Fun!
A huge thank you to everyone who came out and made Trunk or Treat a huge success! Especially big gold stars to Collen Tuba and Nikki Cadigan for all their work in making it happen this year. If you missed it, check out photos of our awesome trunks on the PTO website.
Look at some of the great learning that happened at JFK this week!
Costume Parade Success
The staff had fun too!
