JFK Parent News

It is hard to believe that we are in the last month of the school year and there are only thirteen days of school left! With the end of this school year also comes the last day in my school career. It has been bittersweet personally for me as I love being with your children and the wonderful staff at JFK. I have appreciated working with your family and will have many fond memories of my time at JFK. Thank you.

Mr. Wright and I had a meeting recently with the team doing the construction project for the new gym and permanent classroom walls. The tentative schedule for construction will begin the following week after school is out on May 25th. They will be setting up the construction staging area on the north side of the building. They will work on the front drop-off lane and parking lot first. The front driveway will be closed for most of the summer. They also will be working on the inside of the building in the classrooms in 4th, 5th, 2nd, and 3rd replacing the temporary walls with permanent walls and installing new ceilings. It is hopeful that some of the foundation of the new gym will be started this summer and the construction of the actual gym will begin mid-to-late November. Your patience and understanding will be required during the 2022-2023 school year while construction goes on during the school year.

The last day of school will be May 25th with dismissal at the usual time. At the beginning of that day, we will do our annual Fly Up. All students will get to meet their teacher for next year for a brief time. At the end of the day, be sure to check your child’s backpack for the letter letting you know who your teacher will be for the fall 2022.

We do have several staff changes for fall. Some teachers are moving within the District while others are leaving education or moving out of state. Here are the changes for fall:

Mrs. Amber Smith, Junior Kindergarten, will move to third grade at JFK.

Mrs. Rhonda Wilson, Junior Kindergarten at Harvey Dunn, moving to JFK.

Ms. Briana Larson, Kindergarten, will be leaving the District.

Mrs. Erika Trapp, moving into the District, to teach Kindergarten at JFK.

Mrs. Laurel Yeager, First Grade, will be leaving education.

Mrs. Beth Graham, Instructional coach in the District, moving to JFK.

Mrs. Pamela Ryan, Taught second grade at JFK, moving to first grade at JFK.

Mrs. Emily Dilly, RISE 2, moving out of District.

Ms. Nicole Higgins, New RISE teacher.

Mrs. Becca Frahm, RISE 1, moving out of District.

Ms. Carley Renken, New RISE teacher.

Miss Cailey Linn, RISE 3, moving to a new position in the District.

Ms. Haley Boyer, New teacher to RISE from Horace Mann.

Mrs. Stephanie Larson, Resource, will be moving to resource at Jefferson High School

Ms. Lia Hoffman, Transfer from HS resource to JFK resource.

All the staff at JFK wish you all a safe and wonderful summer!

It’s time! - Time to update your parent/student information for Fall Enrollment!

Parents/Guardians of students currently enrolled in the Sioux Falls School District can now complete the Annual Information Update for EACH of their students through the Infinite Campus Parent Portal. It is important that household information for ALL students is reviewed and updated prior to the start of each school year.

Please log in to your Parent Portal account using this link. https://parentview.sf.k12.sd.us/campus/portal/siouxfalls.jsp

After logging into the Parent Portal, select the ‘More’ option from the left Menu and then select the link for Annual Student Information Update. If you have forgotten your password, please call your school or Central Services at 605-367-8432 to reset your password.

If you have recently changed addresses, proof of residency must be supplied. Documents acceptable for proof of residency are lease agreement, mortgage documents, utility bill, property tax payment/receipt, homeowner’s insurance policy, or state/government agency mail. This information can be dropped off to the school your student attends.

Any student in grades 7-12 who intends to participate in activities at the high school level MUST have their information completed online before the first day of practice.

If you do not have access to a computer, one is currently available at all school offices. Please note that the Annual Student Information update must be completed on a desktop computer or laptop. This update does not work on cell phones.

Please contact the JFK Office (605-362-2784) if you need assistance.

If your child currently has medication at school, it must be picked up by a parent or guardian by the end of the last day of school (Wednesday, May 25, 2022) or it will be destroyed, as we are unable to store them over the summer.

Thank you!

Nurse Candace

5th Grade Group Photo (Rescheduled):

Monday, May 9th

5th Grade Presidential Awards:

Tuesday, May 10th, 7:30 am

Last Day of School/Fly Up:

Wednesday, May 25th

It’s time for JFK’s book swap! Here’s how it works:

Families may go through their book collection and choose books for K-5th in good condition they no longer need. Bring those books to school anytime between now and Friday, May 13th, if you’d like to participate in the Book Swap. A Book Swap form will be available through SeeSaw that you can print out at home or forms will be available in the Library.

Beginning the week of May 16th, your child will have an opportunity to “shop” for their books, equal to the amount they’ve brought (minus any donation) with a maximum of 10 books please. Each child will be able to shop for at least one book, even if they’re unable to contribute a book.

Our hope is that having a book swap will allow children to go home with more books than the usual one donated from the library each year, therefore putting more books in our children’s hands over the summer.

So, start evaluating your books at home and setting aside the ones ready to go to a new home. And please consider donating one or more as well.

Thank you for helping us have a successful swap!

If you know that your child will not be returning to JFK next year, please e-mail Mrs. Ulmer, Lead Clerical. Her e-mail address is megan.ulmer@k12.sd.us .

We do not need to be notified about 5th graders moving to middle school, unless you are moving or enrolling out of district.

See full listing and register online at Rider Camps

The lost and found is located inside the front doors (Door A). Please stop by anytime during school hours to take a look--if your child is missing something, there is an excellent chance that we have it in lost and found!

If your child will be tardy, please let the Office know by 7:50 a.m. so a hot lunch may be ordered if your child wishes to eat a hot lunch that day. Please call the Office by 7:50 a.m. if your student will be absent for all or part of a school day.

Students will continue to bring water bottles to be refilled at the bottle stations. If your child needs a water bottle, the school had many donated.

Hands and surfaces will continue to be sanitized as students enter classrooms and the building from recesses.

If you need to bring an item for your student after school starts, a table is in the foyer with bags and markers. Put the item in a bag, mark the bag with your child’s name and room number. We will be checking the foyer table frequently to insure we get those items to your child.

All visitors, mentors, volunteers will be required to check in at the Office. Please bring your government-issued photo ID upon check-in.

If parents want to visit the classroom during the day, prior arrangements are made with the teacher. This includes delivering items. Please see above regarding our procedure for dropping off items at school for your child.

Even though all meals are FREE this year to all students, we ask that interested families still fill out the Free/Reduced lunch application in order to receive reduced fees for other district services and programs (instrument rentals, Kids Inc, etc).

Only one application should be done per household, so please include ALL students on one application.

The Board approved the C2L plan on August 9th. Masks are encouraged, especially for nonvaccinated, but not mandated for staff and students. No student will be asked to wear a mask. You as a parent will need to make the decision for your child. We would encourage outside visitors wear a mask as JK-5th grade students are not able to be vaccinated.

We encourage our families whose students will walk to and/or from school to find a safe route to school and practice it several times prior to the first day. The map below shows streets that are well traveled, and that may have crosswalks or stop lights for added safety.

It is important to teach your children about best practices as a pedestrian, and for elementary students this includes crossing only at corners, and never midblock. While it may save a few steps, it can be very dangerous in high traffic areas, or in areas with cars parked on the street. Staff on duty at JFK will redirect students that they see crossing improperly, but it is important that the same message is given at home.

JFK Office is open Monday-Friday, from 7:30am-4:00pm.

Email: patty.vincent@k12.sd.us
Website: http://www.sf.k12.sd.us/john-f-kennedy/home
Location: 4501 South Holbrook Avenue, Sioux Falls, SD, USA
Phone: 6053622784
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jfkelementaryschool