JFK Parent News

JFK Families,

On January 31st, we celebrated as a school with PJ day as we earned over 700 SOAR slips in the month of January. Students were constantly being Safe, On-Task, Always Kind, and Respectful! We have set a school-wide goal of 800 SOAR Slips for the month of February. If we achieve this goal, every classroom will earn an extra recess in early March! As a school, we will continue to recognize the great work students are doing. Please take time to celebrate with your child/ren when they bring a SOAR slip home! If you have not seen our JFK video regarding our PBIS Implementation, I invite you to watch it on the link below.

https://youtu.be/Gw1G-P86YRo

Parent-Teachers conferences start Monday, February 6th from 12 - 7 p.m. and Thursday, February 9th from 3 - 7 p.m. Conferences are a great opportunity for parents/guardians to learn about the progress their child has made at school and hear about their goals for the remainder of the school year. We look forward to seeing everyone next week.

With all of the snow we have received this year, the snow hill on our playground is not safe for students to play on. The snow is hard, slippery, and very high. During the hours of 7 a.m. - 6 p.m., Monday - Friday, the snow hill is closed for students to play on. This would include after school when students are being picked up. We will continue to remind our students of this during the day, but please reiterate this to your child at home as well.

We look forward to a great February!

Get ready! The Scholastic Book Fair is coming our way (YAY!). Choosing their own books empowers kids and inspires them to become Bolder, Prouder, and Stronger Readers. AND—as always—every book they buy earns rewards for our school.

Here’s what you need to know about the Fair, which will take place in the JFK Library during conferences on February 6th (12:00 – 7:00 pm) and 9th (3:00 – 7:00 pm).

This year, say goodbye to cash and hello to eWallet—your child’s digital payment account. Before the Fair, set up eWallet for worry-free, cash-free purchases. Anyone can contribute! Share each child’s eWallet so friends and family can add funds and give your kids more books to enjoy. At the Fair, we take credit cards or checks, no cash please.

If you can’t make it to the Fair, then shop at our school’s Online Book Fair. Online ordering will be available February 6th to the 19th. All orders ship directly to your home, and shipping is free for book orders over $25. Your online orders will also benefit our school.

Visit our Book Fair homepage to learn more and get started with eWallet and online shopping:

https://www.scholastic.com/bf/johnfkennedyelemschool2

The countdown to more Book joy is on! Catch you at the Fair!

Happy reading,

Mr. Gene Meyer, Librarian

Mrs. Krystine Reavis, Librarian

John F. Kennedy Elementary School

Welcome Class of 2036!

On March 2, JFK will hold our annual Kindergarten/Junior Kindergarten Preview Event. At this special event, you and your child will meet the school’s administrators kindergarten teachers, junior kindergarten teachers and staff. The Sioux Falls School District is committed to providing a safe, nurturing environment for your child to begin their educational journey.

Students are eligible to attend Kindergarten, according to South Dakota Codified Law, if they are 5 years old on or before September 1st of the current school year. If your child meets these criteria, we would welcome them to Kindergarten.

Important Dates

• February 1 - Kindergarten enrollment begins

• March 2 - Kindergarten Preview Event at JFK

Once online registration has been completed, please bring your child's birth certificate, immunization records, and address verification to the JFK Office.

Current district families will register through their existing Parent Portal. If you need assistance in accessing your Parent Portal, please contact the office.

If you have any questions about the registration process, please reach out to the JFK Office--we would be happy to help!

For information about Junior Kindergarten, or to fill out the Junior Kindergarten Application, please visit the District Website

The Sioux Falls School District and Avera Health are partnering to strengthen families in the 2022-23 school year. Experts from Avera and SFSD will host free virtual forums once a month.

These virtual sessions on a pre-selected topic will be held the third Tuesday of each month at 6pm through a secure webinar platform. Your anonymous participation provides a safe space to learn about challenges facing today’s students and the resources available for help. The series does not offer personal medical advice but rather general information to build knowledge.

Whether you have children of your own, are curious about learning more to build knowledge in your classroom, or know someone who may be interested in attending one of these confidential sessions, they are open and free to all. Sessions will be approximately 40 minutes long. Recordings of the session will be posted for on-demand playback at your convenience.

Session dates and topics are:

· Feb. 21: Vaping and Children’s Health

· March 21: Grief and Loss

· April 18: Helping Your Child Resolve Conflicts

· May 16: Community Resources Available During Summer

The Sioux Falls School District remains committed to helping you and your student(s) feel connected to your current and all future schools. As part of this commitment, the four high schools have recently started sending out a monthly Futures newsletter to families K-12. This informative e-newsletter will keep you up to date on your future home attendance high school's upcoming athletics and fine arts events, camps, K-8 student opportunities, and ways to get involved. Whether you are a future Cavalier, Patriot, Rough Rider, or Warrior, we want you to feel part of the family now!

Example of what the Futures newsletter looks like depending on your home attendance school:

The 22-23 JFK Parent Handbook is filled with information about daily routines, general school rules and expectations, as well as the required annual policy notifications.

As a reminder, elementary school students who require medication during the school day must have orders from a doctor on file for the medication to be given by staff. Please contact Linda Sutter, JFK School Nurse with any questions at 605-362-2784, or by e-mail linda.sutter@k12.sd.us.

As indicated in a message sent last spring, the federal government is ending free meals that were granted during the pandemic to all students. It is imperative that families who MAY qualify for free/reduced meal prices complete the application each year.

Good News! That application can now be found in the Parent Portal of Infinite Campus. Simply use the same login where you check grades and where you provided the annual information update to complete the application. From the left menu, click More, then Meal Benefits, then on the link that says Meal Application. An electronic signature PIN is required to submit your Meal Benefits Application. If you do not have an electronic signature PIN created, you will be prompted to do so prior to starting your online Meal Benefits Application. It takes 5 to 10 minutes to complete the application.

Parents/Guardians will incur meal costs in the 2022-23 school year, unless the Free/Reduced Application is approved based on income guidelines. Completing the form now will allow your child a seamless start to the school year. Thank you!

Please see the linked document above if you have a student who is receiving special education services through an IEP.

The Sioux Falls School District offers free developmental screenings for children from birth to age five who reside within the district’ boundaries. We will check your child’s development in the areas of motor skills, concepts, and language. We also complete a free vision and hearing check. Screenings are done throughout the year from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm Monday through Friday. We can also get your child registered for Head Start if you meet eligibility requirements. For information or to schedule a free appointment, call the Early Childhood screening office at 367-8488. The Early Childhood Screening office is located at 2205 N. Career Avenue.

The Sioux Falls School District holds student and staff safety as its highest priority. Our schools have always displayed care and concern remarkably well, but especially so since March 2020 when the global COVID-19 pandemic impacted nearly every aspect of life. Since that time, we have created, revised, adapted, and closely followed plans that have kept our schools open and operating; allowing students to learn while their parents continued to meet community needs through their work. Information contained in this plan is current and overall reflects the best-practices and expectations of our community, region, state, and nation. If necessary, this plan will be revised in consultation with local medical partners if/when our community experiences changing COVID-19 conditions

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 School Hours are 7:40am-2:25pm

The JFK office is open from 7am-3:45pm Monday-Friday.

Email: joseph.wright@k12.sd.us
Website: https://www.jkes.sf.k12.sd.us/o/jkes
Location: 4501 South Holbrook Avenue, Sioux Falls, SD, USA
Phone: 605-362-2784
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jfkelementaryschool/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel