Panther Pamplet

Dear Families,

Welcome back to a new school year! We hope you and your children had a wonderful summer filled with joy and adventure. As we embark on this exciting journey together, we want to share some important updates and celebrations with you.

Important Announcements:

• Teacher's Welcome Letters:
  We sent out the teacher's welcome letters last week. Hopefully, you have either received them or will get them in the mail by Monday or Tuesday. We will also have the class lists posted during our BBQ for those who did not receive a letter.

• Address Updates:
  If you have recently moved, please ensure your address is updated in our system. You can reach out to our child accounting secretary for assistance at steckeras@kalamazoopublicschools.net.

• Classroom Schedules:
  Your child’s classroom schedules and specific procedures will be included in your teacher's first classroom newsletters once school starts. Be sure to look out for:

  • Physical Education days
  • Music days
  • Art days
  • Library days

  It helps if students wear tennis shoes on PE days, clothes that can get messy on Art days, and return library books on their library day. Our K-2nd grade students keep their library books at school for activities, while older grades will bring them home. We encourage them to return books as soon as they finish reading. If your child needs new gym shoes, you will soon have the opportunity to order them through the First Day Shoe Fund (FDSF). More information about FDSF is listed below.

Celebrations from the Week:

We are thrilled to welcome everyone back to school! Join us for our back-to-school BBQ this upcoming Thursday, August 27th. It’s a great opportunity to reconnect with friends and meet new families. If you know anyone not receiving our Panther Pamphlet newsletters, please encourage them to email me so I can make sure their email address is correct in our system to be able to receive the newsletters.

We are grateful for your continued partnership and support as we embark on this school year together. Thank you for being an essential part of our school community.

We look forward to a fantastic year ahead filled with learning, growth, and collaboration!

Warm regards,

-Principal Jessica Rosecrans

Rosecransje@kalamazoopublicschools.net (269) 337-0720

Below is a map with our options for arrival and dismissal. More details will be shared in future newsletters as well. Here are a few quick tips for now:

• Park Street (in front of the school) will be closed with cones between 8:30-8:44 and 3:40-4:00 for bus loading. No exceptions.
• Please do not use the parking lot to circumvent the 3 arrival/dismissal options below. We have a very small parking lot that is typically full.

1. Families may choose to park on side streets and walk to meet their child by the garden.
2. Stay in their car and follow the car rider line around the back playground, where we will send your child out to you. If you would like to utilize this option at all this year, please fill out the below car rider form as soon as possible. We will pre-make a sign you can hang in your window to allow us to quickly send your student out to your car.
3. The third option is if you are in Parkwood boundaries and more than a mile away your child may ride the bus. Bus information will be sent by transportation to families at the end of the week. Unfortunately, the school will not have that information at the building, until after families receive it around August 28th. We know this is a tight timeline for our families that like to have the information well in advance, but with all of the additional enrollments this upcoming week, transportation will need the full week to make adjustments to bus routes as these enrollments are processed.

Thank you for your support! Our number 1 priority is student safety, and helping the transition to and from school to be as smooth as possible in a tight location! 🐾💙

For those of you that are new or a refresher for returning families, we give PURRS at Parkwood Upjohn!

• PURRS stands for Parkwood Upjohn is Respectful, Responsible, and Safe.
• Often teachers and staff will pass out PURRS slips to students being role models and following our school's positive behavior expectations.
• The first week of school all staff will spend significant time modeling, reviewing and celebrating our positive behavior expectations for different areas including lunch, recess, hallway, office and bathroom expectations.
• If your child ever brings home a PURRS slip make sure to give them lots of congratulations, and let them know how proud you are, that they are going above and beyond to build our caring Parkwood Upjohn school family!

Ten Positive Behavior Strategies to Support Families at Home

KPS is fortunate to have a collaboration with the nonprofit organization First Day Shoe Fund. This organization provides no cost gym shoes for all students! To support being inclusive for all of our students, any one no matter the need or income, can sign up for a new pair of shoes. This helps students feel excited and inclusive that anyone can get shoes. We encourage everyone who has a child who might be excited to get a free new pair of gym shoes at school with their friends to sign up!

Ordering is all online and opens on August 24th. You can view the video or link below to learn more!

Flyers and more information will be coming soon on how to order once ordering is opened and available.

August 27th- Welcome Back BBQ 4:00-6:30 PTO sponsored BBQ *Teachers who are available will be there between 4:00-5:00

Aug. 31st- First Day of School K-12 Half Day 12:06 Dismissal No PEEP

Sept. 1st- First Full Day of School K-12

Sept. 4th - No school for students

Sept. 7th- Labor Day No School

Sept. 14th- First Day for PEEP students

Sept. 17th- Open House 5:00-6:30

Sept. 30th- FDSF Shoe Distribution

Oct. 20 PreK-12; no students

Oct. 30 PreK-12 half day; records day 12:06 Dismissal

Nov. 5. K-8 half day 12:06 Dismissal

Nov. 6 K-5 half day 12:06 Dismissal

Nov. 13 PreK-5; no students

Nov. 25-Nov 27 Thanksgiving Break; all buildings closed

Dec. 9 PreK-12; no students

Dec. 21 - Jan. 1 Winter Break

My name is Katie Kelly, and I will be one of the two new PE teachers at Parkwood this year. While I am new to Parkwood, I am not new to KPS. This will be my 19th year teaching PE in Kalamazoo. I have taught in many buildings, but Woodward has been my "home" school for most of my career. I also serve as the lead teacher for the district's Health, PE, and Life Skills department.

I grew up near Detroit, graduating from Plymouth Salem High School where I played basketball and softball. I studied physical education and health at Albion College, and played softball. Once I moved to Kalamazoo, I earned my Master's degrees in physical education pedagogy at WMU. I am a wife and a fur & feather parent to 3 dogs and 7 chickens! I love my job and can't imagine doing anything else. I am just a big kid that loves sharing the joy of physical activity and learning life's lessons through play.

Hello! I'm Mrs. Zedrick, and I'm thrilled to be your PE teacher this year. My favorite part of teaching is seeing students succeed at developing new skills and discovering the joy of staying active. Originally from Indiana, I've lived all over the country and am happy to be here with you. When I'm not in the gym, I love hiking, backpacking, enjoying the lake, and cheering on my favorite sports teams (Go Broncos!). I look forward to a fantastic year together!

Hello, my name is Rebecca Nevala and I am excited to begin my new position as your Library Assistant! I am in my third year as the Library Assistant at Lincoln Elementary and I look forward to getting to know the students and staff at Parkwood-Upjohn. My husband and I live in Portage, with our 14 year old daughter and three dogs. I love books (obviously!) and I am excited to share my love of reading with all of the students this year!