October Family Newsletter!
P.S 219 The Kennedy-King School 2025-2026
Greetings Kennedy King Families!
Welcome to October!
October is here, and with it comes fresh beginnings, purposeful shifts and focused energy! As the seasons change, we too are shifting—from beginning of year goals of settling into routines to thriving diving into rigorous instruction and making data-driven decisions after our first round of diagnostics for the school year. Families, will receive the results of their scholars reading and math diagnostic by end of week. Please make time to connect with your scholar's teacher, if you have any questions.
The first weeks of school have been filled with building strong classroom communities, getting acclimated to a new schedule and core curriculum, and creating spaces that support the whole child—intellectually, socially, and emotionally.
We remain committed to HONORing authentic partnerships with families and ensuring relationships are at the center of our work. The incredible turnout at our Dads Take Your Scholar to School Day shows our shared commitment to the journey of love and learning for every child at P.S. 219.
Thank you for your patience and feedback as we made important adjustments these past weeks. Together, we’re ensuring every scholar receives the best learning, care, and support to thrive this year!
Together In Partnership,
Mrs.Williams, Proud Principal
929-202-3293
Every scholar was sent home with a diagnostic data sheet for families in both iReady + Acadience. Please check your scholars folder to receive the results and to understand how we are supporting in school to close the academic gaps.
This form will also share how you can support your scholar at home. In school, scholars will receive small group instruction to target the skills that they need the most support with.
Here are two short videos to guide you: Both are great!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUfS3LY6M8U (Provides a general overview of the data + content)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtQ4U089rsY (Provides an Overview + Family Resources from various websites)
Acadience Reading: An overview of the assessment system
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNp57RTcorY
We can't wait to see our scholars GROW!
IMPORTANT DATES
- Oct. 1st: Back To School Bash!
- Oct 2nd: NO SCHOOL
- OCT. 6TH: Small Group Intervention Begins
- Oct.13th: NO SCHOOL
- OCT. 15TH: BULLYING INTERVENTION WORKSHOP
- Oct. 20th: NO SCHOOL/ SLT (Remote)
- Oct. 21st: PTA Meeting
- Oct. 27th: SLT (IN PERSON)
- October 31: Storybook Character Day (wear a costume that celebrates your favorite book, school appropriate costumes - no gore, nothing scary, etc.) RAPID DISMISSAL FOR ALL SCHOLARS-NO UNIVERSITY SETTLEMENT: ALL SCHOLARS PICKED UP AT 2:10PM
If you ordered from Milk Uniforms and you are having issues with your orders, please email
Customerservice@milklifestyle.com with your confirmation and order number and they will support you.
All students must come to school wearing a P.S 219-Kennedy King uniform with pride! The basic uniform items without a school logo can be purchased from Ideal uniform store, cookies, young world, old navy, etc. Uniform items purchased with the school logo can be purchased on line from https://www.milkuniforms.com/p-s-219
The unform is as follows:
Uniforms (3K-5th Grade) can be purchased as follows:
- Tops: Royal Purple and/or white solid polo shirt with/without the logo is required every school day.
- Bottoms: Navy, or black, slacks, joggers, dress, skirt, etc. (Families may purchase bottoms/skirts/dresses from any store of their choice)
- Shoes: A “safe shoe” that covers all or most of the foot, adequate for walking up and down stairs all day. A sneaker is preferred. Sneakers can be any color to celebrate the students' style and flair. Crocs, other foam shoes, and UGG slip-on shoes (any type of slipper) are not permitted.
- Belts: If needed, a solid color is preferred
- Tights: any color and pattern (no lace is preferred)
- Socks: any color and pattern
- Gym Uniform: Grey or navy jogger suit. Options can be found on the uniform website with the school logo or purchased without from any store of your choosing.
PURCHASING INFORMATION
Website: https://www.milkuniforms.com/p-s-219
- Online Purchasing
- Families can purchase uniforms online from the website above.
- Online purchases will be shipped to the families’ homes.
- Free shipping is offered for orders of $75 or more.
- Shipping time can be expedited but 10 business days is suggested for standard delivery.
- Pricing: see website
Thank you so much and we look forward to seeing you soon. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or the main office at 929-397-9566 ext. 0.
Celebrating Latinx Heritage Month (Sept. 15th - Oct. 15th)
We have been celebrating histories and cultures of Americans who have roots in Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America! We honor and empower our Hispanic and Latinx families, and uplift Hispanic and Latinx voices and contributions both this month and every month!
Some resources for families:
Go on a Virtual Visit to some exhibitions featuring Latin American artists
Learn and be inspired!
Learn about LatinX scientists
Great video intro for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor
More Latinx and Hispanic women who have taken charge this year!
Play games like Maya Math Game
Visit the Smithsonian Latino Center (Here is the virtual museum to explore)
Bully Prevention & Awareness
Bullying can occur in many different ways - verbal, emotional, physical, and as we have seen an increase with remote/hybrid learning - cyberbullying. Engage in conversations and activities with your kiddos to help them lift up peers, stand up for others, and be kind.
Questions you can ask your child:
What does the word “bullying” mean to you?
What can bullying look like? (including cyberbullying and the importance of digital citizenship)
Who can you talk to if you see or experience bullying?
What do you think teachers can do to help stop bullying?
Resources for engaging in conversation around bullying:
Resources from StopBullying.gov
Elementary Age Activities designed to engage students through conversation, activities, art and music to build their understanding of how to handle bullying situations
The power of engaging in Read-Alouds: National Bullying Prevention Center has books grouped by grades/ages
In order for families to stay in the loop with their scholars' progress, we are asking that all families/caregivers download the Class Dojo app and create an account using the classroom code from your child's teacher. You will then be able to verify your email address, set a password, and log in. When you set up your account, you'll receive notifications on the following:
- How your scholar's day is going
- Notes from the staff regarding your scholar's day
- What classroom points they earned and why
- School-wide updates
If you need assistance or have any questions, please feel free to contact your child's teacher or myself! YOU CAN ALSO FIND ALL OF OUR LIVE LINKS HERE: https://linktr.ee/PS219
In order to further support our ongoing home-to-school partnership, we'll also be sending home i-Ready diagnostic reports. In addition, all teachers are going to continue to send home daily homework. Please feel free to reach out to your scholar's teacher with any questions, and we look forward to continuing to collaborate with you!