Please have students take the 2nd Semester Advisory Survey during advisory time on May 15th. The feedback gathered will be used to shape next year's advisory plans. 

KJHS will be hosting a BOGO Book Fair in the IMC May 15 - 18. Families can set up an e-Wallet for cash free shopping for their students. For more information, please visit the KJHS Scholastic Book Fair site. 

PBIS Field Day is on Monday, May 22nd and there will be no advisory that day. Field day will be held during 6th, 7th, and 8th hours. Here are things teams need to be aware of...

• Teams need to start collecting $5 from all students to cover costs of Inflatables & Kona Ice.

• There will be 3 rotations during Field Day. Come Back rooms will be during 6th and 7th hours with those students then being sent to participate in the third rotation (8th hour). Here is the rotation schedule with maps. 

• Students and teachers will need to clean up at their last station and students will be dismissed for the day from that station.

• Teachers are to actively remain with their team and assist with the stations.

• In event of rain: 1 station would have to be classrooms/Arends.

• Rotation Supervision will be coming out soon.

Congratulations to the following KJHS staff members for their years of service:

                           Val Ambrose: Retiring

                           Darrin Kimmel: 25 years

                           Mindy Leverton: 25 years

                           Jennifer Dierkes: 15 years

                          Bernadette Lighty: 15 years

                          Janel Sebeny: 15 years

                          Rebecca Spears: 15 years

Val's retirement reception will be held after school on Friday, May 19, from 4-6 at Pub II.  

From Elisa...

Update: I am 58% of the way to my fundraising goal. I appreciate any help you can give! 

The Child Protection Network is having its annual CASAnova Competition for the Crown fundraiser and I am one of the "CASAnovas" this year.  For those of you who don't know, CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) works with children in McLean County who have been victims of abuse. They walk with them through the entire legal process, from preliminary interviews to court appearances. This organization has assisted several of our own students and, while this is out of my comfort zone, I am happy to be helping to raise money for this wonderful organization. 

If you would be interested in supporting this outstanding organization (and helping me meet my fundraising goal), please consider visiting my CASAnova page and voting by donation. Thanks so much! 

The District has reopened the Unit 5 Spirit Wear Store from now until May 19. 

Due to the NPD training schedule, Officer Phillips will be out of the building beginning May 17th through the end of the school year. We will be calling other Unit 5 SROs if needed during that time period. 

Here is the draft of the 23-24 master schedule. The schedule has been formulated around five things:

1. Courses taught by teachers that we share with other schools. 

2. Having a plan period adjoining lunch whenever possible. 

3. Addressing special education needs.

4. Ensuring we have lunch supervisors.

5. Balancing work loads whenever possible. 

While I know that this may not be ideal schedule for some of you, the factors listed above do make pleasing everyone a challenge. If you have significant concerns you would like to discuss, let me know and we'll set up a time to meet. 

This is the LAST 22-23 Tech Update.  There is A LOT here! 

RETIRING/LEAVING TEACHERS/STUDENT TEACHERS

SPRING CLEAN-UP

LAPTOP COLLECTION

SENIOR INFORMATION

POSTING GRADES

The KJHS May Countdown Calendar has been published! 

May 11: 6th Grade Welcome Night (6:00 - 7:30 pm)

May 12: 8th Grade Dance (6:00 - 8:00 pm)

May 17: Data Day

May 19: 7-2 Field Trip (3rd - 5th hour)

May 19: Val's Retirement Reception: 4-6, Pub II

May 22: PBIS Field Day (6th- 8th hour)

May 23: Butcher Block Food Truck

May 23: 7-1 Field Trip (2nd - 5th hour)

May 24: 6th Grade Field Trip

May 25: 8th Grade Awards (1st - 3rd hour)

               Chromebook Collection

Megan Peterson sent out an email on 4/18 on notifying staff that the Public Health Emergency legislation regarding COVID is set to expire on May 11, 2023. This means that: 

• Unit 5 employees will no longer be able to use COVID sick time.  

• Any illness that leads to an absence will need to be covered by regular “Sick” time. 

• Staff are no longer required to report any COVID case(s) to the Unit Office.  

• Staff should follow “traditional” sickness protocol after May 11.  

If you are teaching Language Arts next year, please enroll in the LA Google Classroom (access code hv3buze) and complete the LA Department Needs Survey.  

Please welcome Aldihir Cruz to the Kingsley Community for the 23-24 school year! Mr. Cruz will be teaching math on Team 8-1. 

Writing Spring Benchmarks should be underway with a deadline of 4/27 in EduClimber. Please reach out if you have any questions. What do you do with the remainder of the class period? May I recommend "Sparks" - short, purposeful writing prompts developed by 826 Digital. I've used these as transitional activities between units, sub plans, and have even grown some out into larger pieces of writing looking at specific standards such as word choice. I encourage you to check out 826 Digital for ideas!

Sincerely,

Janel Sebeny

Please be sure to put absences in Tyler as soon as possible. Kim has had to enter many absences on behalf of staff members lately in order to process payroll in a timely manner. 

Please do not enter The Gathering Place on Wednesdays unless you are attending an IEP meeting. Students needing something from the Promise Council store room will need to wait. We are planning on moving that store room for next year. 

PBIS Tier 1 Data & Instructional Committees met to discuss March data and our April/May targets. We developed a similar theme to what we did last year about this same time with some updates including this year's data. What is that target? You guessed it: finishing strong. Please teach this lesson in core classes during the week of 4/24. There will be no lesson in May; however, we encourage staff to revisit student goals (slide 16) and discuss how they can hold one another accountable. Because our Cougar PRIDE letters in April in May are Determination (Finishing Strong) and Excellence (Celebrating Successes), we feel this is especially applicable. Feel free to make it your own to reflect your students.  

PTO is hosting a Gobena Coffee Fundraiser. Please check out the flier for more information. 

If you are planning field trips for your class please be aware that Unit 5 Food Service can provide sack lunches for all students.  Sack lunches must be offered to ALL students participating in the field trip.  Those who qualify for free or reduced-price meals must not be singled out or identified in any way.

A sack lunch includes the following items:

• PBJ Uncrustable (EZ Jammer may be substituted for peanut allergy)

• Sunflower Kernels

• Whole Grain Crackers (e.g. Goldfish, Cheez-its, or Animal Crackers)

• Baby Carrots*  

• Celery Sticks* 

• Apple Slices

• Apple Juice 

• Choice of Milk (students’ choice)

* If sack lunches are ordered on short notice, cold vegetables on hand may be substituted.

To request sack lunches, please notify Lisa Branch two weeks prior to the date needed (to allow time for ordering needed supplies) and include the following information.

• Date and time needed

• Estimated number of lunches

• Is pick up time more than 2 hours before students will eat?  If so, a cooler with ice will be needed to keep milk cartons cold.

Student lunch accounts will be charged for the meal.  Sack lunches may be picked up using one of the following options:

1. Each student comes to the lunchroom to get a meal, chooses milk, and presents their student ID to be scanned.

2. Lunches and milk are packaged and prepared for pick up.  The food service provided class roster can be used to provide a list of students requesting lunches.  The list will include the following information:

• Student first and last name

• Student food service account PIN number

• Class code

• Milk choice (chocolate or white) – can provide a total of each flavor per class 

Lisa must verify that students are present before distributing lunches.

The April KJ Family Connection was sent out to our KJ families on Wednesday, April 5th.