KES 2026 April Newsletter 🌎

Spring Break is March 30- April 3.

School resumes on Monday, April 6.

Happy holiday to those of you celebrating Passover and Easter!!!

Tuesday, May 26 is a school day for students and staff.

We will soon begin the process of creating student groupings for class placement for the 2026-27 school year. This is an extensive collaboration that includes the classroom teachers, service providers, specialists, administration, and parents. If you choose to participate, please click the link below to access the Optional Parent Feedback Form for your child.

The only accepted feedback regarding class placement can be through the form which is equitable and in the best interest of all children. This optional online input form may be used to provide us with unique insights about your child, including strengths and needs.

Please know that we may not be able to honor requests for children to be placed with or separated from other students. Please refrain from making requests for preferred teachers and from making negative requests for specific teachers unless your family has had direct previous experience, in which case, the request will be considered. Additionally, please include information from previous years if it is still relevant as we do not keep a complete record of parent input from year to year.

The form should be completed by the parent/guardians of students currently in grades K-4 only. Also, please complete a separate form for each child in your family.

If you choose to provide feedback, you must complete the form by Thursday, April 30 at 4pm. The input form will no longer be available beyond this date and time. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

As the warmer weather arrives and spring schedules begin to shift, we’d like to share a few important reminders regarding attendance and dismissal procedures:

• Please be sure to update Visitor Aware each day if your child will be absent, arriving late, or being picked up early.
• All dismissal changes should be entered in Visitor Aware by 12:00 PM. Requests submitted after this time, or sent via email or phone, can be disruptive to the flow of the school day.
• If your child will be going home on a different bus, the change must be entered in Visitor Aware. In addition, the Transportation Team requires a physical bus note provided by a parent/guardian.

As a reminder, when we return from Spring Break, a new session of Buddy's Bonus activities will begin. Please be sure to update your child’s Visitor Aware defaults for those days and carefully note the specific dates that each class meets.

Your cooperation helps us ensure a safe, smooth, and efficient dismissal process for all students.

Thank you for your continued support.

Families with a child turning five years old on or before December 1, 2026 are eligible for Kindergarten Registration.

Online Registration is available on the link below.

In The Keeper of Wild Words, a young girl named Brooke and her grandmother Mimi embark on a

nature walk to collect "wild words" —words from the natural world that are disappearing from

everyday language. As they explore meadows, fields, and forests, Mimi shares the magic of

language and the importance of preserving both words and the wild places they describe.

Why We’re Reading This Book at School

This book supports our focus on: mindfulness and being present, appreciating the natural world,

emotional connection and memory, the power of words and language. It also helps children

understand that words shape how we see and care for the world around us.

We’ll be sharing fun facts, simple tips, and inspiring ideas all about how we can take care of our planet. Students will view short segments focused on caring for our planet—featuring fun facts, simple eco-friendly habits, and ways we can all make a positive impact. From recycling and reducing waste to protecting our natural resources, these messages are designed to inspire our students to be thoughtful, responsible citizens of the Earth.

We look forward to sharing these important ideas and encouraging our KES community to think green both at school and at home!

If your K-5 child is interested in sustainability and "being green", they may want to attend and/or present at the KLSD Sustainability Showcase.

The annual KLSD Sustainability Showcase is an opportunity to celebrate the growth of our sustainability work and integration efforts across campus, curriculum, and community.

In accordance with Desha's Law and guidance from the New York State Education Department, students will receive developmentally appropriate instruction on heart safety and emergency awareness during their regularly scheduled Physical Education classes.

Physical Education teachers will use age-appropriate training videos and guided discussions to present the information in a clear, supportive, and reassuring way. This instruction is awareness-based only. To see videos please visit the Athletic website.

What Students Will Learn

Our introduction is gentle, supportive, and designed for young learners. Focus areas include:

• Simple explanations of what a “heart emergency” (such as Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA)) might look like.

• Recognizing warning signs such as chest pain, dizziness, or fainting.

• How and when to quickly get help from a teacher, staff member, or other trusted adult.

• What students are expected to do during an emergency (stay calm and get an adult right away).

• What an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is, and where AEDs are located in the school.

• Understanding that AEDs are special tools trained adults use to help in an emergency.

Students will be reassured that heart emergencies are rare and that adults in the building are trained and prepared to help.

Our goal is to build confidence, awareness, and safety—without causing fear. ❤️

This notice is to inform you of the updated KLSD policy regarding the management of head lice in our schools.

Summary:

- Head lice are considered a nuisance and not a medical emergency.

- If lice are suspected, the teacher should notify the health office.

- The school nurse will assess the student.

- If lice are found, the guardian will be contacted for pickup to treat or refer.

- The student may remain in school until picked up or dismissal.

- After treatment, the student may return to school with no restrictions.

- Residual nits do not warrant dismissal from school.

- Classroom notifications will not be sent out.

- Transmission is primarily through head-to-head contact and is uncommon in school settings.

Reminder that on Friday, April 24 we have a professional learning day for staff. The KES team is excited about participating in a full day of professional learning with a focus on our new literacy program, UFLI and Morpheme Magic.

As a reminder, the Literacy Leadership Team (LLT) has selected a new literacy curriculum for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Fishtank Plus will be adopted for language comprehension in grades K-5. For word recognition, students in K-2 will use UFLI Foundations, while children in grades 3-5 will transition over different times to programs focused on morphology: Morphemes for Little Ones and Morpheme Magic.

Visit the literacy curriculum website to watch the Board of Education presentation (starting 51:05), read about the LLT's step-by-step process, and learn when grades will transition to the new curriculum. We are excited for this new chapter in our students' education and these professional learning days are imperative to a thoughtful and knowledgeable implementation.

Each month, we will be providing curriculum highlights from each grade level. Please know that these are snapshots and do not reflect all the curriculum and learning in the classroom.

Students in kindergarten will build on their reading knowledge of CVC words and include digraphs in their repertoire. In writing, students will explore persuasive writing. We will use all of our strategies to hear more sounds in words, and begin to use writing conventions, like upper case letters at the beginning of sentences and punctuation at the end. In math, students will continue to gain fluency in adding and subtracting within 10, and build upon their number sense with the introduction of teen numbers. Children will practice reading, writing, and counting to 20. In science, we will continue our Pushes and Pull unit.

Students in first grade will work on important reading skills like sounding out words and reading smoothly. They will practice tricky vowel sounds like “ou” and “ow” and learn to read with expression. In writing, students will share their opinions about places they love and activities they enjoy. They will also learn how to make their writing even better by revising their work. In math, students will continue learning about place value and practice adding and subtracting using tens and ones with tools like number lines and blocks. In science, students will become “Sky Scientists” as they begin an exciting new unit about the Earth and how it spins. In Social Studies, students will learn about different groups they belong to, like their families, their school, and their community.

Students in second grade will be engaged in a cross-curricular unit studying insects. Our young entomologists will continue learning how to research and take notes in reading workshop to help us as we write nonfiction chapter books in writing workshop. To celebrate our work, the 2nd graders will be creating their own informational books modeled after the popular book series, “Diary of a Worm.” It's going to be an impressive way to finish off our nonfiction reading and writing in 2nd grade! In math, the second graders will continue learning about time and money. We will also begin exploring graphs and data, learning how to collect information and represent it in different types of graphs. In social studies, we’ll begin to explore how our government works and what it means to be a leader within our community. We’ll be starting a new science unit in April! We will be investigating the inter-relationship between plants and animals. As scientists, we’re excited to ask questions, take notes, investigate and learn more about the world around us.

Students in third grade will soon begin working in research clubs during reading and writing. Students will explore topics of interest while learning how to synthesize information across multiple texts, organize their ideas, and record their learning into clear subtopics. This work will help strengthen both their comprehension and writing skills. In math, students will focus on telling time to the nearest minute, measuring elapsed time, and solving problems involving units of time. They will also begin exploring liquid volume and mass, building their understanding of measurement in real-world contexts. In social studies, third graders will begin a unit on economics, where they will learn about choices in a free market and how decisions impact individuals and communities.

Students in fourth grade will wrap up an ELA unit on reading and writing strategies in preparation for state testing. Students will work on strategies such as annotating the texts, making inferences about character traits, identifying figurative language, as well as test-taking strategies, such as using the process of elimination, picking the best answer, and analyzing prompts to ensure we are properly answering written questions. At the conclusion of ELA testing, fourth graders will begin an exciting unit analyzing power and perspective in historical fiction texts. In math, students will be covering topics in geometry, such as area and perimeter, identifying patterns in shapes, and identifying and measuring angles. Throughout April, students will continue our science unit, taking on the role of systems engineers, investigating the flaws in the electrical system in the fictional town of Ergstown, and coming up with solutions to help solve their frequent blackouts!

Students in fifth grade will be starting several new units. In ELA, fifth graders will read non-fiction books and articles about Civil Rights, as they strengthen their research and note-taking skills. In math, fifth graders will continue to work on multiplying and dividing fractions followed by an exploration of data analysis, geometry, and volume concepts. To demonstrate their understanding, students will be creating a volume project involving the design of different size cereal boxes. In science, fifth graders will be continuing the science unit—Modeling Matter. In social studies, fifth graders will be learning about the Triangle of Trade and enslaved people.

This spring, all KLSD students in Grades 3-8 will be taking NYS ELA, Math and Science tests via Computer-Based Testing.

The testing dates are listed below:

English Language Arts: Tuesday, April 14 and Wednesday, April 15

Science (Grade 5 only): Thursday, May 7th

Mathematics: Tuesday, April 28th and Wednesday, April 29th

General Information

• Students should get plenty of rest the night before the tests
• Students should hydrate and have breakfast the morning of assessments
• Students should have at least two #2 pencils and a book to read after they finish the assessment

The tests themselves are just one measure of your child’s abilities, and do not define your child; we ask that you share this sentiment with your child. “Just do the best you can.”

You may access the additional links below for more information.

Parent Resource Regarding NY State Assessments

NY State Assessment FAQ

The results will be reported to parents as soon as they become available.

If you have any questions about testing, please reach out to Kweon Stambaugh at kstambaugh@klschools.org.

As part of the implementation of the new Computer Science Digital Fluency Standards,Technology Teaching Assistant, Tenesha Mezzo will continue teaching lessons in each classroom, K-5.

A topic summary of these Digital Citizenship lessons can be viewed HERE.

You can find the complete CSDF Standards HERE.

April is Poetry Month in the KES library and we’re celebrating the power of words and the joy of poetry! Students will be immersed into the rhythm and creativity of poems, discovering a variety of forms from rhyming verses to free verse. Throughout the month, they'll learn about different types of poetry and even try their hand at writing their own!

A fun part of our celebration will be "Poem in Your Pocket Day." Each student will write or pick a poem to carry and share with friends, teachers, and family. We’ll also read poetry with partners and work together to enjoy the beauty of words.

April is an exciting month in the KES library, as we explore the world of poetry and celebrate the magic of storytelling through poems!

We would like to welcome our leave replacement Art Teacher, Stephanie Carpenter, while Mrs. Eckler is out on leave for a few months. If your child has Mrs. Altizio, they will continue to have her art class. We are shifting our Art Show date to June 8.

In Kindergarten, students will continue to build their music skills by learning proper playing techniques on a variety of percussion instruments. They are also enjoying playing simple songs on bell sets while practicing how to use mallets correctly and identifying notes E, F and G on the treble clef. In addition, students are having fun singing and moving to a variety of folk songs and dances.

In first grade, students are continuing their work with Orff instruments and percussion. They are learning to perform rhythms that include eighth notes, quarter notes, and rests. Students are also exploring multicultural songs as we celebrate the arrival of spring and Earth Day.

In second grade, students are using xylophones to play music in small groups, with parts that fit together like a musical puzzle. They are working on important ensemble skills, such as keeping a steady beat and listening carefully to balance their sound with others. Students are also learning multicultural songs connected to spring and Earth Day.

In third grade, students are playing both recorders and xylophones. They are continuing to build their recorder skills using the notes B, A, G, D, and C, and are growing more confident as performers.

In fourth grade, students are busy preparing for their musical production of Schoolhouse Rock Jr. They are practicing their songs, choreography, and transitions as they get ready for their performance on April 17 at 7:00 PM.

In fifth grade, students are exploring creativity through improvisation and composition using classroom instruments. They are also expanding their skills with music technology by creating their own pieces in GarageBand. In addition, students are learning multicultural songs as we celebrate spring and Earth Day.

We are excited to let you know that in April our physical education classes will be rolling into an amazing Disco Midnight Aerobic Bowling Unit! This fun twist on traditional bowling will take place in a darkened gym with black lights, glow in the dark pins and neon artwork made by KES students. Disco music will be playing in the background so students can get their groove on during class! Throughout the unit, students will practice proper bowling techniques including correct grip and footwork while engaging in games that promote fitness, teamwork and sportsmanship. Students are encouraged to wear white or neon colored clothing on their PE days to maximize the glowing effect under the black lights. This unit is always a fan favorite and we can't wait to share in the kids' excitement as they participate in Disco Midnight Aerobic Bowling!🪩🕺🎳

DASA seeks to ensure a safe and supportive environment for all students, free of discrimination, intimidation, harassment, taunting and bullying. If you are aware of an incident or have a concern, please contact one of us listed below. You will be asked to complete the BOE Incident Reporting Form (see "button" below for attachment).

Cristy Harris, Principal and KES Dignity Act Coordinator 763-7700 or charris@klschools.org

Kweon Stambaugh, Assistant Principal (designee) 763-7705 or kstambaugh@klschools.org

Jessica Fulton, Social Worker (designee) 763-7669 or jfulton@klschools.org.