Hello JFK Families,
I hope everyone is looking forward to the snow storm this weekend. I know I personally do not like the shoveling part of it, but I am really excited about playing around and building some snow forts with my kids, Jake and Jocelyn!
Next week we will have our next PTO meeting on Wednesday, February 2nd. The meeting will be at 7 pm and will be virtual. The meeting link is below in the PTO section of the newsletter. Hope to see everyone there.
Have a safe and warm weekend!
Mr. Brennan
School Attendance
Regular school attendance and overall student safety and well-being are always vital for laying a foundation for success during the school year. Paying attention to attendance is even more essential this year, given the unique challenges created by COVID-19 for schools, families, students, and community providers.
Stay home if you are sick! Complete the COVID-19 Daily Self Checklist at home before you send your child to school. If your child(ren) has any symptoms, no matter how mild they seem, do not send them to school. Notify your school of the absence using the current MPS Student Absence Reporting Procedure and your School Nurse will follow-up regarding next steps.
If your child is feeling well and answered “no” to the COVID-19 Daily Self Checklist, please send your child into school. We know that students learn best with regular attendance. In-person attendance each day is the best school experience for our students when other challenges do not prevent students from getting to their schools.
Milford Fire Prevention Poster Contest
This year marks the 28th year for the Annual Fire Prevention Poster Contest. We would like to give a special congratulations to Deekshavardhini Satheesh in grade 4 who came in 3rd place for her grade level across the district!! Great work!!
Arrival/Dismissal
These are just friendly reminders about drop off and pick up procedures. If you arrive early in the morning before school begins, please pull up as far as possible to help with the flow of traffic. Please also make sure you are creating two lines in the outer parking lot as you are waiting to enter the drop off lane. This will help limit the traffic backing up onto West Ave. Also, if you are picking up your children early and a line has already started in the outer parking lot, please enter the school’s parking lot through the bus entrance (opposite the car pick up entrance) and proceed to the front of the school. Please unload and load your children from the car as quickly and safely as possible. Safety is always our number one priority!! Thank you for all your efforts to make these two times run smoothly!!
Vaccine Clinics
The district, in partnership with Griffin hospital, has scheduled a series of vaccination clinics for our students aged 5 - 11 at our elementary schools during the week of Jan 31- Feb 4 and during the week of Feb. 21- Feb. 25. JFK clinics have been scheduled for Feb. 3rd and Feb. 24th from 4:00 p.m.- 8:00 p.m. Students can attend any clinic (Full Schedule below). Please click HERE for more information.
Voluntary COVID Testing for Students
All students eligible regardless of vaccination status - More information can be found here. Update: The start of the COVID-19 DeteCT program has been postponed until 2-8-22.
ASAP!'s Celebration of Young Game Designers (grades 3-12)
This opportunity promotes creative thinking, problem-solving, writing, storytelling, visual arts while showing students the process of video game development. Top selected students will work virtually with professional video game developers to bring their video game to life! The deadline is Feb. 1st, 2022. Please see the flyer for more information.
Important Dates:
Friday, February 18th and Monday, February 21st: No School Winter Recess
Wednesday, February 23rd: Early Dismissal for Teacher Professional Learning. Students dismissed at 1:25
Older but still relevant News
Attendance
If your child is out don’t forget to complete the form on PowerSchool and send a follow up note, email or doctor note to excuse the absence.
Masks
Students were sent home with three disposable 3 ply masks earlier this week. We have not acquired viable child size N95 masks. Using the 3-ply mask is optional (wearing a mask is still state-mandated in all Connecticut public schools).
COVID Vaccine upload
Parents may voluntarily provide a copy of their child’s COVID immunization card now by uploading it using our secure form here. This information will only be accessible by school nurses and school administration solely for the purpose of contact tracing and quarantining.
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.
District Communications
District Communications - Please take a moment to review:
Dr. Cutaia’s Update from Jan 7th
Dr. Cutaia’s Update from Jan 5th
Dr. Cutaia’s Update from Jan 1st.
Specialist Spotlight - Spanish
"Hola from Srta. P!
In Spanish, Kindergarten classes have started a new unit "Discovering Our World" focusing on Family. Students have been working on identifying members of the family (including pets!) and answering questions about who makes up a family. 1st graders have started a new unit "Discovering Our World" with a focus on animals. Students are able to identify different types of animals around the world and their habitats. Lastly, 2nd and 3rd grade students are finishing up a unit on "Families and Communities" focusing on their school neighborhood. Students have also been able to "virtually" travel to different Spanish speaking countries and compare those neighborhoods to their own in Milford."
PTO News
Important Dates
Wednesday, February 2nd - World Read Aloud day featuring K-2 virtual author visit with Janet Lawler
Wednesday, February 2nd - PTO Meeting (virtual)
Friday, February 4th - SPIRIT FRIDAY: National Wear Red Day
Family Game Night Recap
Thank you to the families that joined our virtual game night last week - we loved seeing you there! Congrats to the BINGO winners - Riley DeGregorio, Leena Rocco and Ryan Shipman!
Welcome Author Janet Lawler for a virtual PK-2 Special Event!
To celebrate World Read Aloud Day on February 2nd, we are excited to announce that children’s book author (and MIlford native!), Janet Lawler, will be conducting a virtual presentation with our PK-2 students on “The Lifecycle of a Picture Book.” We’re thrilled to share Ms. Lawler’s work with our kids, and can’t wait for her presentation!
Join Us Virtually this Wednesday for our February PTO Meeting!
Our next PTO meeting is on Weds, February 2nd. If you’re wondering what’s in store for the rest of the year, this is a great chance to come hear about all the fun we have planned! This month’s meeting will be virtual on ZOOM, please join using the link below ALL ARE WELCOME!
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81360344716?pwd=YVhWdGt0Y1YwUW5BRE5sTkhWRkh0QT09
Valentine’s Day
JFK PTO purchased crafts for all students as a fun Valentine’s Day activity - we love our JFK Hawks!
Spirit Wear Store is stocked!
We have updated our JFK PTO store with some stock items from our recent spirit wear sale. Ordered items will be sent home from school with your student or you can arrange for alternate pickup. We have adult and youth size t-shirts, baseball tees, baseball hats, masks, bows and even a few hoodies!
https://john-f-kennedy-elem-pto.square.site/
Spirit Fridays
At JFK we celebrate the first Friday of every month with a SPIRIT DAY!
Friday, February 4, 2022 - National Wear Red Day
Friday, March 4, 2022 - Tie Dye Day
Friday, April 1, 2022 - Mismatch day
Thursday, April 14, 2022 - Hat day
Friday, May 6, 2022 - Dress like a teacher for Teacher Appreciation Week
Friday, May 27, 2022 - Red, white and blue day!
Friday, June 3, 2022 - Crazy sock day
Look at just a few pictures of the great learning that happened at JFK this week!
