JFK Parent News

JFK Families,

Since returning from winter break, our staff and students at JFK have been SOARing (Safe, On Task, Always Kind, Respectful)! Students are starting to practice, discuss, and learn what it looks like to SOAR in all areas of the building at JFK. Classrooms are busy decorating their door with SOAR messages, we have updated some of the signage in the building, and everyone is using common language to ensure consistency K - 5.

We have also set a school wide goal for students to earn 700 positive SOAR slips through the month of January. Students can earn a SOAR slip by being Safe, On Task, Always Kind, or Respectful. When students earn a SOAR slip, we celebrate their achievement and work. If we reach our goal as a school, we will earn PJ day on January 31st.

Looking ahead, JFK will have Parent-Teacher Conferences on February 6th and February 9th. Conferences are an important opportunity to learn about the growth your child/ren have made and look ahead for the rest of the year. Please watch for sign up links to be coming to your email in the next few weeks.

If you have a student entering Kindergarten next year, registration will open through your Parent Portal on February 1st, 2023. The District is hosting Here Comes Kindergarten, an informational event, on Monday, February 13th at Garfield Elementary. More information can be found on the District website.

Finally, we do not have school on Friday, January 13 or Monday January 16th. Have a wonderful weekend.

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:

· Jan. 17: Recognizing Unhealthy Eating

· 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