The September edition of the KJ Family Connection was sent out to KJ families on September 9th. 

Please complete this brief Staff Interest Survey by September 20th. Thanks!

Here are the PBIS Respect slides for this week (9/16-9/20). It's estimated to take two days in advisory.  Please look at the teacher notes since there is something to print off. Additionally, here is the PBIS form for you to complete for students who are respectful. 

The KJHS PTO is sponsoring a dine to donate at Culver's on Tuesday, September 17. If you dine at either Bloomington Culver's location between 5 and 8 pm on 9/17 and  show this flyer,  a portion of the proceeds will be given to the KJHS PTO. 

Here is the schedule for the Fall Open House on 10/2/2024... 

              Doors open: 5:15 pm

                                                                     Advisory: 5:30 - 5:35 pm

                                                                      1st hour: 5:38 - 5:45 pm

2nd hour: 5:48 - 5:55 pm

3rd hour: 5:58 - 6:05 pm

4th hour: 6:08  - 6:15 pm

5th hour: 6:18 - 6:25 pm

6th hour: 6:28 - 6:35 pm

7th hour: 6:38- 6:45 pm

8th hour: 6:48 - 6:55 pm

Please use this time to inform families as to what you have done/will be doing in your classes as well as team-based items such as communication, upcoming events, ways they can help, progress conferences (coming up on 11/4/24), etc. 

From Jennifer Peterson & the Kroeshin' Cancer Benefit Committee...

1. I have encouraged the Drama kiddos to invite staff into their talents for the variety show! You do not have to say yes to them, but we would love to have you on our stage. If you are interested in performing a talent as an individual or group, the variety show is open to all KJ people (past and present!) See the audition flyer for more information and SIGN UP FOR AN AUDITION HERE!

2. We will be selling yellow Kroeschin' Cancer shirts (t-shirts, long sleeve, and sweatshirts) for the event, and 100% of the proceeds will go directly to MK! ORDER FORM HERE

3. The Social Committee will be donating a lottery basket for the basket raffle. If you would like to contribute to this, please drop off a lottery ticket of any amount to Anita Holland no later than Friday, October 18th.

Thank you so much to everyone who has worked so hard to make this event a possibility! 

If you are leaving campus during your plan period, you need to notify Elisa but you do not need to record it in Tyler. If you are leaving during your lunch period, you do not need to notify Elisa.

New SEL Intervention Alert! Lunch Bunch meetings "provide students with a space to both make connections with peers as well as work towards specific social-emotional goals during a regular lunchtime meeting with peers and a caring adult." (Panorama Education)

If you know a student who would benefit from being included in a Lunch Bunch group, please nominate them for consideration using this form. 

Math interventionists (Meagan Walsh and McKenzie Soliday) are pulling students whose STAR math scores flagged for follow up testing. We understand this can be inconvenient at times but it is a necessary part of identifying whether or not students need math intervention. We appreciate your assistance in making this process as smooth as possible.  

As you look into doing field trips, you will want to take into account the cost of bussing. Each bus costs $58.93 per hour, with a minimum of 3 hours required (whether you use them or not). So a bus costs at least $176.97 for a field trip. We just received the field trip budget from the district and will put more information out shortly regarding what is available for each team. 

The deadline for volunteering for hosting a pre-professional student was Friday  (see below) but I am sure that if you respond in the next couple of days, they will welcome your interest.  I encourage you to open up your classroom/office to these students so we can help develop the next generation of U5 teachers. 

We are seeking placements for students enrolled in the dual credit Introduction to Education course at Normal Community and Normal West High Schools.  This partnership with Unit 5 educators provides our students the opportunity to observe diverse learning environments in the fall and spring semesters.  We are in need of all areas of classroom teachers, SLPs, school counselors, interventionists, etc. 

If you are interested in having Introduction to Education students observe in your classroom please complete this form by Friday, September 13. Students will individually contact placement sites requesting specific times and dates for each 2 week placement.  Placements will start October 1, 2024.

Thank you for helping these pre-professionals determine their career path in education.  

Margherita DiVita and Teri Wilson

Education Pathway Coordinators

Family and Consumer Science Department

Normal Community High School

Normal Community West High School

Please check the KJHS web site to see if your team's information is accurate. Please let Erik Rich know if there are any issues. 

Club sponsors, please check the 24-25 KJHS Registered Student Organizations sheet to make sure the information for the club(s) you're sponsoring is accurate and edit the sheet to update as needed. Thank you!

From Jennifer O'Brien...

I know some of you have been asking....and I finally have an answer. Our annual flu and COVID vaccine clinic will be held in my office on Tuesday, October 8th, from 7:30-8:30.  There is no sign-up required.  You can walk in anytime.  Please have a copy of the front of your insurance card and the completed registration form when you arrive. Please see clinic flyer for all the details and if anyone has any questions, please let me know!

LA teachers, as you work to complete and enter the Writing Benchmark scores into Educlimber, please make sure you are entering the scores under MS AIMSWeb Writing Benchmark (MS Fall Writing Benchmark - AWCWS). Several scores have been entered into the space for the Writing Diagnostic. Thank you 

The State of Illinois has established the Safe2Help site to provide a resource for students and families needing information on or assistance with safety issues such as mental health, bullying, self harm, and much more.  Individuals can make reports regarding such issues to the site and KJHS will be contacted as appropriate. This is another resource being provided to keep our students and school safe.

All Unit 5 Schools are rolling out a new safety feature called Verkada.  When visitors come to visit Kingsley Junior High School for any reason, they will need to bring their driver’s license.  We will scan their license and a visitor badge will be printed out for them to wear while in the building.

All volunteers will still need to have a new approved background check for this year. Please tell any volunteers you need to call the office to get information about completing this process. Volunteers must complete this each year. 

The Kingsley staff jacket online store is now open. Jackets can be ordered now through September 23 and will be delivered mid-October. Thanks to all of you who indicated interest so we knew to move forward with this process.

There are still a few game duty slots open for the girls basketball season. E-mail Kaleigh if one or more of the open dates works for you and you want to take advantage of this opportunity to earn a little extra money while watching our student athletes in action.  

Please consider getting a trivia team to participate in one or both of these upcoming trivia nights.  Both organizations do a lot to support Unit 5 students and staff.  

ΦΒΣ Kappa Mu Sigma - September 26th 6-8 pm

Books for Bloomington-Normal Kids - October 10th 

Congratulations to this week's Kingsley Kudos recipients: Kaydee Brown!

Has a fellow Cougar gone out of their way to help you? Have you seen a staff member who goes above and beyond to make Kingsley a better place to work and learn? Reward them by nominating them for a Kingsley Kudos! It's quick, painless, and brings joy to you and the recipient. 

Updates on the remaining construction projects:

1. Greeter's Station: Progress continues to be made on the greeter's station but we do not know when it will be completed. Unit 5 has adopted Verkada as a check in system for visitors. Visitors to KJHS will be required to present identification to be scanned as a safety precaution. Verkada runs an instant background check and will notify administration if any issues are detected.  

2. Neuman Gym Bleachers: Tear down of the northern Neuman Gym bleachers begins on September 9th and the new bleachers are scheduled to arrive on September 18th. We're hoping installation is completed by September 25th. 

Attention all LBS1s.. there is an Embrace Work Night on Wednesday, September 25 from 3 - 6 pm at Sugar Creek Elementary School. Natalie Shumaker as generously offered to stay until 7 since we don't end our school day until 3:45. You will be paid for your time. 

Unit 5 HR will be visiting KJHS on October 2nd from 11am - 1 pm in Main Street Retreat to answer any questions that you have.

The K-Cart is starting up on October 4th and running after Friday through December 13. The K-Cart will visits classroom during tutorial hours.  Here is the schedule: 

South End: 10/4, 10/18, 11/1, 11/15/, 12/6

North End: 10/11, 1/25, 11/8, 11/22, 12/13

The KJHS Data Days are scheduled for 10/17, 12/16, 3/3, & 5/15. The 24-25 KJ Assessment Calendar is now available for your viewing and planning pleasure! (Type A personalities, you are welcome)

Here are this week's instructional technology tips. 

Now that the school year is underway, we are beginning to see some students struggling with school behavior expectations. Please remember to partner with families as we work to provide support to these students. If a student is struggling with classroom or hallway behavior, please be sure to contact the family as part of the support/intervention process.  Thank you to all of you have made this part of your practice - it makes a difference when the adults work together! 

There are some pretty strict regulations concerning cash collection and handling for Unit 5 schools. Here are a couple that you need to be aware of...

1. No cash apps (Venmo, Paypal, etc) should be used to collect school funds.  Do not set up accounts with these apps in the district's or school’s name.  Unit 5 staff cannot collect district or school funds through their personal cash app account, and then give that money to the school.

2. If you collect money for any school purpose, please be sure to give it to Kaleigh within a couple of days of collection. 

If you are injured at work or during a KJHS event, please notify Kim Mattocks and/or an administrator prior to seeking treatment. There is a process we need to follow and we want to make sure you are well taken care of. Please notify us even if you do not think you will seeking treatment so we can make a record of the incident. 

Unit 5 employees (and one guest) can attend Unit 5 student events for FREE. All they have to do is show a Unit 5 ID for entry. This also applies to substitute teachers, who can get a district ID or use the sub ID. To get a new ID, people can put in a helpdesk ticket. Make sure to attach a headshot picture. An ID will be sent via interoffice mail once it is completed. 

If you have not already done so, please complete this survey for the PTO so they can meet the needs and wishes of staff members during the year. 

Congratulations to the August PBIS PRIDE Winners listed below! These students were nominated by their teachers for their participation both in and out of the classroom. 

6-1:   Zoe Harris

6-2:   Quawi Williams

      7-1:  Zoe Fish

7-2: Celeste Ebonda

8-1: Rachael Ebert

8-2: Rocco Cottone

   Exploratory: Carly Lange

Nurse O'Brien is offering training in the administration of medication and Diabetic Care Aide as well as the administration of the opioid antagonist, Narcan. This training is optional but please note the following...

1.  If you have a student on your team with diabetes and plan to go on field trip, there does need to be a DCA-trained adult with that student. 

2. Students who are prescribed medication for the treatment of food allergies, seizures, or asthma must be accompanied by a trained staff member when leaving campus for any reason, such as field trips.  

3. If a student needs an oral medication during the time he/she will be off campus, he or she must be accompanied by a staff member who is trained to dispense oral medication.

4. Students who participate in any co-curricular activities (sports teams, before/after school clubs and activities) who are prescribed medication for food allergies, asthma, or seizures MUST be accompanied by a trained staff member the entire duration of the activity.  If a student needs an oral medication during the duration he/she will be at the activity, he or she must  be accompanied by a staff member who is trained to dispense oral medication.

Please do not assume that an administrator will be available to go on your field trip or outing with you.  

One person at each grade level (see below) and all lab teachers (DEMD, GTT, Computer App) can change students' passwords.  Please be respectful of these teachers' class time when asking for assistance.  If one of these teachers is not at school, Kaleigh in the office can change passwords. 

6th Grade - Carl Torbeck

7th Grade - Eric Stegemenn

8th Grade  - Katie Starkey

1. If a student from your team is referred for a Tier 2 behavior intervention, we will invite your team to the Tier 2 meeting where that student will be discussed. If you can send a team representative, please do so as it is helpful to have someone there to answer questions. 

2. Student returning from a hospitalization or extended absence (such as homebound) will have a re-entry meeting with their guidance counselor, AP, case manager (if applicable) and at least one team teacher. We will provide class coverage as needed so a team teacher can be at the meeting.