May 2024

A Note from Ms. Palmer, KJHS Principal

Dear Kingsley families,

And just like that, it's May. In the midst of the flurry that is the end of the school year, I want to take a moment to thank you. Thank you for sharing your children with us. Thank you for the support you have shown us all year long. Thank you for coming to events, picking up children from practices, and coordinating your schedules around everything that's going on so your children can be involved here at KJHS. Thank you for picking up the phone when we call and working with us to provide your child with the best support possible. Parenting is not easy nor for the faint of heart and I appreciate all you do to support your children during what can be a very tumultuous time of life. Enjoy the last few weeks of the school year - we're going to finish strong!

Ms. Palmer

KJHS Updates

KJHS Fine Arts Night

KJHS is hosting a fine arts night on Monday, May 6th. Please join us for an evening of both visual and auditory enjoyment.

KJHS PTO Happenings

Upcoming Meeting

The last PTO meeting of the year is Monday, May 13th at 6:30 pm in the KJHS IMC. Please join us in person or virtually.

Leadership Opportunities

The KJHS PTO has some leadership opportunities for the 24-25 school year. Due to student graduations, the positions of president, vice president and secretary are available. If you are interested in serving in one of these positions, please contact PTO president Nikki Maurer at kjhspto@gmail.com.

Fundraisers

Below are opportunities to help the KJHS PTO raise money to support the KJHS students and staff by doing things like funding teachers' classroom grant requests to enhance instruction, provide staff with uplifting luncheons and treats, purchase furniture to allow for flexible learning spaces, and much more!

PTO No Hassle Fundraiser: The easiest way to support the important work of the KJHS PTO is to make a donation through our No Hassle Fundraiser.
The PTO is selling Papa Murphy coupon cards for $5. If you are interested in purchasing one, please email the PTO at kjhspto@gmail.com.
The Gobena Coffee Fundraiser is an ongoing one and an excellent opportunity to try some new, local coffee as well as raise money to help the PTO support our KJHS teachers.

Want more information on the KJHS PTO?

Visit the KJHS PTO Web Site

8th Grade Activity Night - May 22nd

KJHS will celebrate the Class of 2024 on Wednesday, May 22nd from 6-8 pm with an activity night. Plans include dancing, games, and refreshments. Tickets are $5 and will be on sale at lunch from May 13th - May 17th. We're looking forward hosting this celebration of our outgoing 8th graders. Want to help out? See the message below from the steering committee:

Dear KJHS 8th Grade Families,

We are so excited to host an 8th grade Dance & Activity Night on Wednesday, May 22nd, from 6-8 PM at KJHS! This will be a wonderful opportunity for 8th-grade KJHS students to spend time together celebrating all they have accomplished as they look forward to the exciting high school times ahead. We can't, however, do this without all of you as the Eighth Grade Parents host this evening*!

Here's how you can help:

1. Make a purchase from the Amazon wish list for decorations and favors. You can ship to the school by typing in the Kingsley address:

KJHS Attn: 8th Grade Dance

303 Kingsley Street

Normal, IL 61761

2. Sign up on the Sign Up Genius to donate food and drinks. You can drop your donations at the school, or Sam's Club Plus members can have purchases delivered to the school for free.

3. Donate by sending a check to the office, PayPal to KJHSPTO@gmail.com as "Friends" with a memo to 8th-grade dance, or Venmo Sara Piotrowski in(@Sara-Piotrowski-3)

4. Sign up on the Parent Volunteer Sign Up Genius to help the night of the event. We need adult volunteers helping that night to make this a safe and memorable event for our kids. Parent* volunteers must complete the Unit 5 volunteer screening by May 12th to assist.

* Parents is meant to be an all-inclusive term, including guardians, grandparents, and responsible adults. Siblings and other children will not be able to attend the event.

Have questions? Check out the KJHS Family 8th Grade Dance FAQ! Thank you in advance for your support!

The KJHS 8th Grade Dance Planning Committee

Cubs vs Cardinals Tickets

Our annual PBIS fundraiser is currently underway! We have a block of tickets available for the Cubs vs. Cardinals game at Busch Stadium on Friday, July 12th, at 7:15 pm. If you are interested in purchasing tickets, please complete the form linked in the fundraiser flyer. Thank you in advance for your support!

8th Grade Closing Ceremonies

We will be hosting 8th grade awards on Thursday, May 22nd, from 9 - 10 am in the KJHS IMC. Families whose students are receiving an award will be notified by Monday, May 13th so they can make plans to attend.

Unit 5 Summer Sing

If your student enjoys singing, check out the Unit 5 Summer Sing!

Unit 5 Summer Camps

KJHS is offering both a volleyball camp and a softball camp this summer. Want to know about more camps being offered in Unit 5? Checkout the Unit 5 Peachjar site!

EOY Information

Just a reminder that our last day of student attendance is Thursday, May 23rd and students will be released at 11:45 am. Students will be turning in their Chromebooks and chargers that morning.

Tardy Initiative Updates

We are happy to share that tardies were down 5.4% this year as compared to the 22-23 school year. We are seeing the largest numbers of tardies to 1st hour classes (31.4%) so one of our intiatives for the 24-25 school year will be reducing the number of 1st hour tardies.

KJHS PBIS Updates

KJHS PRIDE

This month's KJHS PRIDE focus is E is for "Excellence". Students will be discussing what determination looks like when tackling a challenge.
March's KJHS PRIDE focus was D for "Determination". Here is the lesson that was shared with students in March.

Behavior Updates

We are continuing to see behaviors improve overall as the school year continues. For the 3rd quarter, here are the top 5 (actually 6 because of a tie for 5th) behavior issues:

Insubordination/noncompliance: 16.4%

Unauthorized Area: 15.1%

Disruptive Behavior: 14.9%

Cell Phone: 6.7%

Disrespect to Peers: 5.8%

Excessive Tardies: 5.8%

K-Cart Wish List

The KJHS K-Cart is an integral part of our PBIS system, providing opportunities on a weekly basis for students to purchase items with the K Cash they earned by showing appropriate school behavior. The K-Cart cost approximately $200/week to operate and we operate it 12 weeks each semester. The KJHS PTO provides a $1000/semester stipend to assist with these costs but that leaves a remaining cost of approximately $1400/semester. BELT students worked concessions throughout the fall semester to help raise funds but they could use some assistance in purchasing K-Cart items for the spring. If you would like to make a donation, please check out the K-Cart Amazon Wish List. Please have any items ordered sent to the address below. In addition, feel free to purchase any of the items locally and drop them off at the KJHS main office. Thanks so much for your support!

Kingsley Junior High School Attn: KCart

303 Kingsley Street

Normal, IL 61761-2941

Continuum of Engagement

Many adult conversations focus on how engaged students are in class. Here at KJHS, we are using the Continuum of Engagement Framework as a way to get students thinking about how engaged they are in their own learning. We encourage you to examine this framework and use this when talking to your student about how engaged they are in their classes when it comes to learning.

IMC Wish List

The KJHS IMC is hoping to "shower" the shelves with some great new titles for your students. Want to help us out? Simply click on our wishlist, purchase any title, and it will automatically be shipped directly to Kingsley Junior High School for the IMC.

KJHS Essentials

Navigating Student Conflicts

Given the fact that we have over 700 students in our KJHS community, conflicts are bound to occur. If your student is experiencing an issue with another student and needs adult assistance to help work things out, please encourage them to complete the "What's Up Kingsley?" form. This will alert the adults in the building to the issue and we will direct the students involved to the KJHS resource best suited to the conflict.

Who Do I Contact at KJHS?

Knowing who to contact at KJHS about certain issues can be challenging. We hope this mini-guide helps as to who to contact first when you are needing assistance.

Absences (partial or full day): KJHS Attendance line (309-557-4456)
Classroom level issues (grades, behavior, etc.): Your student's teacher(s)
General questions about KJHS: KJHS Main Office line (309 - 557-4407)
Student information/registration updates: KJHS Guidance office (557-4899)
Sports related questions: Mrs. Menken (557-4862 or menkenk@unit5.org) or Mr. Davis (557 - 4962 or davissy@unit5.org)
Student behavior issues: Student's AP
- - - - Last name A-K: Mr. Larson (557-4858 or larsond@unit5.org)
        Last name L-Z: Mr. Davis (557 - 4962 or davissy@unit5.org)
Student schedules: KJHS Guidance office (557-4899)
Student support services: KJHS Guidance office (557-4899)

Monitoring Student Progress

Infinite Campus: Infinite Campus is the main tool that we use to communicate students' progress and attendance with our KJHS families. You can set the Infinite Campus to send you notifications regarding your student's attendance and grades. Don't have the app yet? Visit the Unit 5 link to the Infinite Campus Parent Portal and download the app. Here are some helpful hints:

a. When looking up the district, enter "mcl", select "Illinois" and then hit "search". McLean County Unit 5 will pop up.

b. Your username and password are the same ones you use to log into IC on a computer. Don't remember your password? Call the KJHS Guidance Office (309) 557- 4899 and we will reset your password so you can get access to your account. Trying to access after office hours? Drop Ms. Palmer an email (palmere@unit5.org) and she will get you set up as soon as she can.

The online gradebooks in Infinite Campus should reflect your student's current performance in their classes. If you have a question about what is appearing online in the gradebook, please reach out to your student's teachers. Please remember that KJHS uses standards based teaching and learning. Here's a reminder of what those numbers you are seeing represent. Want to learn more? Check out the Unit 5 SBG Guide.

Temporary Changes in Busing

If you are wanting your child to ride a different bus on a certain day (i.e. , they are riding home with a friend), please contact the Transportation Office (309-557- 4287) to make this arrangement as they will need to notify the bus driver. Please do this as early as possible in order to ensure that the message is communicated. KJHS cannot make this arrangement for you.

Outside Food & Drink

Just a reminder that while students are allowed to bring lunch from home, they are not allowed to have food from outside restaurants delivered to KJHS during the school day (by family, delivery service, etc.).

Unit 5 Updates

Unit 5 Podcast

Want to know more about Unit 5? Check out our new podcast, Inside Unit 5!

This monthly podcast is dedicated to highlighting information and news for Unit 5’s parents, students, educators, and community members.

Athletics & Clubs

Stream Team is Bringing KJHS Home Games to Your Home!

Want to enjoy KJHS home games from the comfort of your own home? Check out our Kingsley Activities You Tube page for live streams of all home events and enjoy how our student led Stream Team broadcasts each and every game!

23-24 Athletics

Kingsley Clubs and Activities

Incoming students & families often ask "how can my child get involved & participate in the Kingsley community?" Great question!

Off of the main page of the Kingsley website, there is an "extracurriculars" page with our club and activity information. For students, we post club information in the daily announcements & on "What's Kickin' at Kingsley?" bulletin boards throughout the school. Here is a list of our current clubs:

Black Student Union Flobinet Choir Not In Our School

Board Game Club GSA Percussion Club

Byte by Byte Club Harry Potter Club Pokemon Club

Chess Club Jazz Band Rubix Cube Club

Drama Club Kingsley Bible Club Speech/Debate Team

D&D/MTG Club Kingsley News Spirit Club

FCCLA Kingsley Stream Team Tech Club

Fellowship of Student Athletes (FCA) Kingsley Student Council Yearbook

KJHS Book Club Crochet Club Animal Wellness Club

Dates to Note

May

6: Fine Arts Night
8: Chorus Concert
13: PTO Meeting (6:30 pm KJHS IMC)
22: Field Day
22: 8th Grade Activity Night (6-8 pm)
22: 8th Grade Awards (9 am)
23: Last Day of School (11:45 am release)

Stay Up to Date!

23-24 Unit 5 Calendar

Be sure to mark school holidays, teacher institute days, and early release days on your calendar!

Daily Announcements are shown each lunch period daily & posted on the main page of the KJHS website.

Stay Connected

To stay connected to our Kingsley community, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, &/or Twitter.

You can also visit our school website for additional information. Please be patient as changes are being made to the website to ensure the most updated information is provided.

At any time you can also reach out by email to palmere@unit5.org

#KingsleyCARES

Student Council is putting on a dance from 3:45 - 5:30 in the KJHS cafeteria. The theme is "Winter Glow" and tickets are on sale now. Attendance is limited to 250 students and students with a 2nd quarter ISS or OSS will not be allowed to attend the event.

Report abuse