KES News

January 27, 2023

Dear KES Families,

Happy Friday! I hope you are all well today. Since it has been a short week due to Snowdays, I have less to share than usual, but the information is important as always, so thank you for reading! 

Even though it seems like winter has just arrived, it is actually time to start thinking about baseball. Kennebunk Little League registration is now open with Early Bird pricing for Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Arundel students ages 4 to 12. Please access the following link to the website www.KennebunkLittleLeague.com to register. For more information on divisions, pricing, and opportunities to volunteer, please check out this FLYER. Feel free to email kklittleleague@gmail.com if you have any questions. Play ball! 

Thank you to the parents who were able to attend Monday’s session on Attention, Focus, Energy and Big Feelings with Linda Price.  We realize that many people were without power during that time.  We are so grateful that we were able to record this valuable webinar.  Please click this link Linda Price Webinar if you would like to watch this session at a time that works for your schedule.  As always, please feel free to reach out to Mr. Muir and/or Miss Wright with questions or thoughts. 

If you did not see the information regarding Community Resources in the district newsletter, I’m sharing it again here for your convenience. In a moment of crisis, you do not have to be alone. Sometimes you need a conversation…not an internet search…and you can dial 2-1-1 for the Maine Hotline. This service can help with issues like acute crisis, financial assistance, mental health, addiction treatment, health care, or heating and utilities assistance. Additionally, the national Suicide Hotline is 9-8-8. Here is a list of more resources available to everyone throughout our district and beyond.

Thank you to all who are diligently updating the KES Absence Reporting Form each day when students are going to be out for any reason. This information is so critical to Nurse Allison and a great help to the office staff as well.

And finally, KES was highlighted in the district’s first Weekly Review Video Series, sharing clips of our first Assembly of the year, and information about bringing back parents and guests for lunch. If you did not see it on Social Media, you can check it out here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxZ0uKRNy68.

Have a great weekend! 
Yours in Education,

Mr. Quinn

January 13, 2023

Dear KES Families,

Happy Friday! I Hope you are all well today! Today provided a busy end to the week at KES. I want to thank the many families who joined us for our 1st KES Friday Morning Meeting in almost three years. Our current second graders were in Pre-K the last time we were all together as one school in the gym. Giving our students the opportunity to sit together as a student body with staff, parents and families, is really the best way to help them see themselves as part of a larger whole school community. KES Friday Morning Meetings also allow us to recognize the many great things that happen at KES regularly, and to share school-wide topics with everyone all at once so that everyone hears the same message. And finally, our assemblies also provide authentic opportunities for students to sing, co-host, perform and learn good audience behaviors alongside their peers.

Beginning Tuesday, January 17th, we are ready to welcome parents/guardians to the KES cafeteria to join their Kindergarten, 1st Grade or 2nd Grade children for lunch. Reservations will need to be made via the KES LUNCH RESERVATION LINK a minimum of 48 hours in advance to come in for lunch. We are going to limit the number of attendees at each meal period per day, so please make your reservations well in advance so if we are “overbooked” we can reach out and reschedule you. Parents who attend lunch will have to bring their driver’s license and get a visitor pass for lunch. We ask that after you are checked in that you wait to  join your child’s class when they arrive outside the cafeteria. At the end of lunch, please plan to say your goodbyes outside the cafeteria before the teachers walk the children back to class. Parents and guardians will need to either bring their lunch from home or purchase school lunch in the cafeteria. We are requesting that parents not bring in restaurant/fast food for either themselves or their child. Parents who are scheduled to volunteer directly after lunch will have to get a volunteer pass before heading down to the classroom. Please let the office know if this is the case when you arrive.

Ranger Tom Wall along with assistant Rangers from Rachel Carson National Wildlife Preserve at Laudholm Farm joined Mrs. French’s class in the KES Learning Lab after the assembly this morning. The Rangers offered a winter milkweed seed sowing and pollinator program for our youngest students, The program was active, interactive, and developmentally perfect for our four-year-old population. The kids loved the role-playing and the costumes, while the grownups loved how engaged the presentation kept the children. Congratulations to Mrs. French's students! 

We had such a wonderful turn out at the parent education session with Linda Price back in December.  We are excited for the additional upcoming opportunity with Linda on January 23rd from 5:45 PM-6:45 PM. Our focus for this webinar will be learning  about supporting our children with big emotions, staying on task, following directions and other executive functioning skills. Here is the Minding Your Mind FLYER . Please reach out to Mr. Muir and/or Miss Wright with any questions you might have.  

 On Wednesday, January 18th from 5:00-7:00 PM, KEPTA and Kennebunk Parks and Rec are hosting a Skate Night for families at The Waterhouse Center. Here is a FLYER with the details.

Just a reminder that we do not have school on Monday in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King’s Birthday. Enjoy the long weekend! 

Yours in Education,
Mr. Quinn

December 22, 2022

Dear  KES Families,

I hope you are all well today. In the spirit of the season, I just want to share that one of the nicest things about the month of December has been all of the wonderful donations (many of them anonymous) and philanthropic work which happens in our school community. These efforts, in many ways, define this time of year. Special thanks to the Kennebunk Rotary, CS3, Lifetouch Photography, and so many anonymous donors for helping make this month a little brighter for everyone, including children and families, who are struggling this year.  

If you did not see the district’s recent Tweets, KES First Grader, Fin Titcomb, and his mom, Sandy, volunteered to load 47 hand-made hats and scarves into their car last Friday in spite of the sloppy, snowy weather and transport them to Mail-it-Unlimited to send off to Operation Gratitude. These hats and scarves were collected and donated by the KES Community over the past few weeks as an annual contribution and continuation of the school's work with this wonderful program. Operation Gratitude includes these items as a part of large "Care Packages" that are sent to US military personnel actively serving during the holidays.  This donation totals 727 hand-knit items sent to Operation Gratitude by KES families over the last 12 years. If you or someone you know was one of our anonymous knitters, THANK YOU!! The items sent in this year were particularly beautiful. For more information on Operation Gratitude access this link: Operation Gratitude: Homepage.

Second, I want to share that throughout the month of December, Second grade classrooms at KES once again participated in a whole-grade effort to support Lucky Pup Rescue.  Each year, Lucky Pup is one of the beneficiaries of an "Adopt-A-Tree" event where fully decorated themed trees are donated to be raffled off. The theme for the KES second grade tree was "all about dogs". Students made homemade dog biscuits, tree ornaments made from tennis balls and Milkbones, as well as a newspaper garland with dog and cat faces. Student families donated dog toys and treats to put under the tree. The second grade teachers took all of the decorations and gifts and assembled the tree together the night before the event and lots of our students brought their families to check out the tree! For more information on Lucky Pup Rescue, follow this link: Dogs | Lucky Pup Rescue Maine | United States

We know that a lot of illnesses are circulating in the community. The nurse’s office here at KES has been out straight with sickness including Influenza A, COVID19, and other infectious illnesses. We appreciate the degree to which parents have kept children home over the last couple weeks when symptoms are present. I know this can be extremely challenging, especially for parents who work, but if the pandemic taught us nothing, we have learned that erring on the side of caution can significantly decrease the spread of infection. Thank you for continuing to be supportive in this regard.

We also appreciate that families are using the KES Absence Reporting Form when your children are absent for any reason. This is important as the nurse accesses this information to track health trends here at KES. When we have an absence that is not on the report or hasn’t been communicated, we require office personnel to follow up by phone each day to clarify all unexcused absences. Thank you for your help with completing the absence report whenever your student will not be in school.

And finally, I want to say again how nice the first half of this year has been when it comes to normalcy regarding family involvement. In fact, it was so nice seeing so many parents and caregivers here at KES for Gingerbread activities this week. We hope you continue to join us in 2023 for special opportunities, school events, and general volunteerism.  For the coming days, whether you celebrate big, small, or not at all, we wish you all warm wonderful moments with family and friends, and both good health and happiness in the new year. We look forward to seeing everyone right back here in 2023! 

Yours in Education,
 

Mr. Quinn
KES Absence Reporting Form

December 16, 2022

 Dear KES Families,

 I hope you are well today! Just a heads up that we will reschedule this morning’s KES Friday Morning Meeting to occur on Friday, January 13, 2023.

Also, I was supposed to include this message from Mrs. Wright and Mr. Muir in my newsletter earlier this week and I neglected to do so… so here it is! 

Thank you to those who were able to attend the session with Linda Price around supporting children with anxiety. There was a great deal of interest in this presentation (55 attendees!).  It was recorded. You can view the recording at this link.  It would also be extremely helpful if you could fill out the survey at this link.  We value the feedback, especially as we plan our second session in January.  This date is still being worked out, but it will be toward the end of the month.  We are planning to start a bit earlier.  We are hopeful that this will allow folks to attend while avoiding the precious moments during  bedtime routines.  

 Have a good weekend!

Yours in Education,

Mr. Quinn