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• KFCS Board of Education
  

Winter break begins at the end of the school day Friday, December 16, 2022. We will return

to school Tuesday, January 3, 2023. Over the winter break, I hope all of you are able to rest, relax and rewind. The winter break is a time for hope and joy. We also celebrate the end of 2022 and the

beginning of 2023. In the new year, we will set new goals and work hard to reach them.

At KFCS, we are very proud of our staff and students. They have enjoyed having school this fall

while getting back to the traditions and daily routines that make school in EC-12 magical.

This week when I walked into Pelican Elementary, I enjoyed seeing what the students hung on the hallways. The hallways were decorated very bright and the staff and students were very busy finishing up the fall school session. In the Lucile O’Neil Education Center, we held our first holiday potluck meal since 2019. Our staff at LOEC made some delicious food, and most of all, we shared in fellowship to celebrate the holidays and enjoy our work family. We have many of examples of creative, passionate, engaging employees that are student centered working at KFCS.

I was honored this week to be inducted into the Klamath County Rotary Club. The participation in

Rotary allows me the opportunity to serve and change lives while sharing our story at KFCS.

I look forward to what the year 2023 will bring to all of us at KFCS. I am grateful for all the

opportunities we enjoyed during 2022. I wish each and every one of you a happy holiday season. If you and your family will be traveling, I wish you traveling grace.

May Peace be with you.

Keith A. Brown, Superintendent

Klamath Falls City Schools

“Every student, every day, whatever it takes!”

This past Thursday, KFCS Superintendent Keith A. Brown joined the Klamath County Rotary Club along with fellow member, Omar Cisnero.

Brown took a moment to share with the rotary club and update members about KFCS.

There might not be a better Christmas gift than the gift Klamath Falls City Schools 21st Century Community Learning Centers Center Coordinator, Kyra Morris, is planning to give this holiday season.

Morris leads the after-school program at Roosevelt Elementary School and has been busy the last month with the desire to bring a heartwarming activity to her after school students.

Morris, a renewable energy engineer major at Oregon Tech, came across an activity she could bring to her students through one of her classmates, Bronwyn Hoffman.

Hoffman’s mother works at OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital and specifically works in the NICU, which stands for neonatal intensive care unit.

Hoffman and Morris together take a speech class at Oregon Tech which requires them to work in small groups. Hoffman mentioned to Morris about her mother’s job working in the NICU and how there is a need of having blankets to cover the incubators from the harsh lighting at the hospital.

It was then when it clicked for Morris on how she could have her students help.

“I was like, hey, I run this after school program and on Wednesdays we have this extra hour and I can use it as a way for my kids to decorate and make customized blankets,” Morris said. “To personalize it instead of a bunch of 20-year-old college students coloring fabric.”

From there, Morris began planning, and took a dedicated amount of time cutting out fabric, seven yards total, for her students to begin the project.

Morris decided to have Roosevelt’s second through fifth graders in the after-school program take part in order to make the blankets look presentable. Morris wanted her students to do their best but the dilemma came on how she was going to explain what the blankets were going to be used for.

“It is hard to tell the little ones that these are for babies that are in the hospital and are struggling,” Morris said. “I told them ‘these are for the babies who were born early so they need a little extra time. We are going to make these blankets so they can take them home with them when they are feeling better.’ I wanted to make sure they understood what they were doing.”

The message was easier to tell the school’s fourth and fifth graders.

“Their parents are really struggling; it is a hard time when your child is in the NICU. I told them the blankets needed to be appropriate and wanted them to show some empathy,” Morris said.

Morris’ students grew anxious and constantly asked her when they would begin the project weeks before their first day writing and coloring on the blankets.

A message from the heart

The students’ messages on the fabric were heartfelt. Some students wrote simple messages, encouraging the babies and other students drew images and drawings. The fabric itself did not have stitches but the coloring and images left by the students appeared like a design or stitch.

The activity meant something more to Roosevelt student, Kati Jones.

Jones, a 9-year-old, herself was a premature baby. Her message will be forever felt for whoever receives her blanket.

“Hi, I am Kati. I was a NICU baby too! Now I’m 9! Love Kati,” Jones wrote.

Just in time for Christmas

Morris’ Oregon Tech classmates London Argyle, Colton Taylor, along with Hoffman, are going to sew the blankets together before Hoffman takes them to Doernbecher during the Christmas break.

Morris intends on making seven blankets. Each blanket will be 18 by 18-inch squares. They will be sewn together to make a full 36 inches to help cover the incubators.

The blankets are not going directly on the premature babies but the parents can take the blankets home with them as a keepsake.

“That is why I wanted them to write messages so the families can keep them. It would be so cute if my kid wrote, oh, hi, it is me. 10 years later, the kid is like ‘I remember I got this blanket from Calvin or Kendall from Roosevelt Elementary School.’ I want it to be special,” Morris said.

Sadly, sometimes the babies do not survive but the parents can still take the blankets home with them.

“It is nice to know a bunch of kids are rooting you on,” Morris added.

Among having a difficult engineering major, a writing minor, running the after-school program and working during Oregon Tech sporting events, Morris has not complained or rethought what she is doing.

“It is three jobs in of itself. It goes by quickly if you love what you do … that is why I love being here. It is a lot of work but the kids make it worth it to be a little stressed once in a while,” Morris said. “I know all of the kids. I love them so much. They are my favorite little people ever. I love seeing my favorite people wanting to help other people.”

~By KFCS Media Relations Specialist, Joaquin Aguilar-Flores

Southern Oregon Public TV profiled the KU Culinary Program during one of its recent episodes on the Student Showcase.

Various KU students and Rhiannon Kerr showed off their skills and interests in culinary arts during the video. Click below to see the two-minute video.

The new district website has an Alumni page for graduates of KU. This past week, six KU alumni sent us updates on their lives since they graduated. Take a look on the KU Alumni page on the district website. And, if you are an alumni, be sure and send us YOUR update!

Read about our alumni

Send us your information

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES - JOIN OUR TEAM!!

Apply for a District Job Opening

Become a Substitute Teacher or Paraprofessional in our District

PARENT LINKS
Click Here for the Family Friendly 2022-2023 School Year Calendar - English

Click Here for the Family Friendly 2022-2023 School Year Calender - Spanish

Parent Tyler SIS Portal

Electronic Flyers for Your Students School
School Messenger - To opt-in to text messaging text YES to 68453

How Will I Know if School is Cancelled?

January 5, 2023

Board Work Session

6:00 pm In-person only

Dear KFCS Families & Community:

We need your input on "What is working well, and what opportunities are there for improvement in our schools regarding school breakfast and lunch?" To gather your feedback, we are using a tool called ThoughtExchange. All our voices matter, so your participation is crucial and valued.

Click here to participate: https://tejoin.com/scroll/174787286

You will be asked to respond to one open-ended question, consider and assign stars to some of the

ideas shared by others (20 to 30 is ideal), and learn what is important to the group. Your thoughts and stars are confidential. You can come back as often as you would like to participate and, in fact, we ask that you do come back to star some of the new ideas shared since you first participated. The ratings will help us understand the most important areas to focus on.

The last day for your input to be received will be Dec. 20.

If you need technical help, please call ThoughtExchange at 1-800-361-9027 ext. 4 or email help@thoughtexchange.com

Thank you in advance for your help and input.

For more information visit: https://www.thoughtexchange.com

Carol Usher, Zone 1, Roosevelt - carol.usher@kfcityschools.org

Lori Theros, Zone 2, At-Large - lori.theros@kfcityschools.org

Vanessa Bennett, Zone 3, Conger - vanessa.bennett@kfcityschools.org

Kathy Hewitt, Zone 4, Mills - kathy.hewitt@kfcityschools.org

Trina Perez, Zone 5, Pelican - trina.perez@kfcityschools.org

Patrick Fenner, Zone 6, AtLarge - patrick.fenner@kfcityschools.org

Ashley Wendt-Lusich, Zone 7 At-Large - ashley.wendt-lusich@kfcityschools.org