December 3, 2021
Visit us at www.kingslocal.net
UPCOMING EVENTS
December 4 — Breakfast With Santa, 8:00-11:00 a.m., Kings High School.
December 8 — Kings Board of Education Special Meeting, 5:00 p.m., Kings Education Center, Conf. Rm.2.
December 14 — Kings Board of Education Combined Work Session & Regular Meeting, 5:30 p.m., Kings Education Center, Conf. Rm.2.
December 17 — End of Second Quarter.
December 20- January 3 —NO SCHOOL - WINTER BREAK

More event information can be found at: http://kingslocal.tandemcal.com/index.php
Get Ready for Winter!
It’s getting to be that time of the year when the potential for bad weather is upon us. In case of inclement weather and possible school closings or delays, we will use our School Messenger All-Call System to notify parents and staff.

The District will conduct a test call on Wednesday, December 8. Please be sure that your FinalForms account is up to date. That information goes directly into our School Messenger account.

Additionally, keeping your student's FinalForms account current with emergency contact numbers is important, especially going into cold and flu season to allow for parents to be contacted in case of a student illness at school. Please also screen your student before they come to school for any symptoms of illness such as fever and loss of taste/smell.

Social Media is also a great way to get information. For the most up-to-date school closing information, check our websiteFacebook PageTwitter, and Instagram
This Week's COVID-19 Dashboard
KJH PLTW Engineering Trip to KI
The students in Mrs. Hawk and Mrs. Nicholl's Kings Junior High School Project Lead the Way classes met with Kings Island’s Engineering and Maintenance team on November 30.

The students learned how the rollercoaster, Orion was designed, coded, and maintained. They also learned about other engineering facts in and around the amusement park.
KHS Students Give Back
This year, Joshua’s Place had neighborhoods in two school districts participate in their Thanksgiving Neighborhood Challenge.

There were Neighborhood Captains in each community, that solicited volunteers to donate Thanksgiving meals. The Captains collected food and packed family meal kits for the holiday.

Eight Kings High School young men took on the challenge and gathered enough food and cash donations to create more than 80 meals to deliver to Joshua's Place.

Joshua's Place received 350 meal kits that included $20 Kroger gift cards to purchase a turkey.

Pictured below: KHS Juniors - Aaron Groff, Dylan Eagon, and Zach Spring, and Freshman - Nolan Clark, Gavin Groff, Gavin Eagon, and Matthew McMahon.
KJH Virtual Art Show #2
The Art students at Kings Junior High School have been working hard creating mandalas and freelance sketching. Take a look at our talented students' work!

Thank you to KJH Art teacher, Jan Thomann for her work in putting it all together!

Pictured is a piece by Grace Williams.

KHS Environmental Club Hosts Recycling Drive
The Kings High School Environmental Club will host a Recycling Drive on Saturday, December 4 from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. in the Kings High School Parking Lot.

They will accept old lightbulbs, hangers, magazines, old blankets/towels, and newspapers. Hope to see you there!
Joshua's Place Community Pack Day
Joshua's Place is inviting the community to help pack food at their next monthly community-wide pack day on Saturday, December 4. The pack will begin at 10:00 a.m. at the South Lebanon Community Center.

This is a great opportunity for students who need community service hours. All are welcome! Bring a friend!

The community pack day will take place once a month. Click here for the schedule.
Community Art Night a Success!
This week's FREE Community Art Night was a huge success! There were 135 adults and students who attended. Those participating painted snowmen popsicle ornaments and a winter scene canvas, and made holiday cards and bookmarks.

Community Art Night Organizer, KHS Art teacher, Carrie Cooke said, "The families and friends laughing and having a good time while making art; My heart is full."

They also collected two boxes full of supplies for the Kings Food Pantry that will be given out with the handmade holiday cards and bookmarks that the attendees created.

The next FREE Community Art Night will be in January. Date TBA.
Diversity in Languages Grow
Did you know that there are over 30 languages spoken among our students in the Kings Local School District? We have over 250 students in the District who are classified as English Learners. That's about 19% of our total enrollment of about 4,650. 
 
The District's 5 English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers work tirelessly to support our students and their families as they adjust to school and life in the United States. They also strive to help other staff members and students build relationships with the students to create a welcoming environment.

Additionally, the ESL teachers help teachers provide instruction that fits English Learners' needs. The following languages are spoken in the District - Afrikaans, Arabic, Bengali, Burmese, Chinese, Dutch, French Creole, Gujarati, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Kannada, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Khmer, Korean
Malayalam, Marathi, Persian/ Farsi, Punjabi, Oriya, Romanian, Russian,
Spanish, Tajik, Tamil, Telugu, Uyghur, Urdu, Uzbek, and Vietnamese.

This week, we welcomed three new students from Uzbekistan! Pictured below are Diyorbek Eshnazarov, Murodjon Eshnazarov, and Muhammadjon Ergashov. Welcome to Kings!
ESports Team Compete at State
Esports is an ever-growing and ever-changing group of electronic game competitions. Esports Ohio said, "Esports teams are creating real opportunities for kids that may be lost, may not have that connection with school, and may not be interested in doing anything extracurricular. It gives a big majority of students that don't have anything, something."

In early 2020, Kings High School joined in on the Esports competitions. This year, two of the teams have had success. On November 20, the Kings eSports Valorant team traveled to Middletown to compete in the Regional Playoffs. They defeated Elder in a head-to-head match, earning the Southwest Regional Championship, and advanced to the State Final Four. Unfortunately, they lost a hard-fought online match to Dublin Coffman in the State Semi-finals.

Congratulations to Valorant members Ben Clark, Ethan Bennett, Parker Vacca, Isaac Dickerson, Peyton Reno-Hern, Dang Phan, Mitchell Campbell, and Coaches Chris Chamberlain and Beau Beckley on a 6-1 season!

The Kings Esports Super Smash Bros. team traveled to Middletown on November 21 to compete in the Southwest Regional Playoffs. They defeated Middletown in a head-to-head match, advancing to the State Elite 8, but fell to arch-nemesis Moeller in their next match.

Congratulations to Super Smash Bros. members Ryan Hoeting, Andrew Horton, Zach Ranson, Adam Lynch, Maia Beavers, Zeke Bohlander, Takodah Seegmueller, and Coach Chris Clark on a strong 4-2 season.
Team Valorant
Team Super Smash Bros.
JFB Candy for the Troops
The 10th Annual J.F. Burns Elementary Candy Drive for the Troops was another huge success! They collected 1,712 pounds of candy. The students and community dropped 841 pounds off at JF Burns, 532 pounds at Mac's Pizza Pub Landen, 33 pounds from Evo Fit Club, 181 pounds from Keller Williams Realty,125 pounds from the Riverwalk neighborhood, and $110 in donations to help pay for postage.

The candy has been delivered to the Yellow Ribbon Support Center where it will be packaged up & sent to our troops.
Alumni Update
Congratulations to KHS 2020 Graduate, Jake Owens who placed 6th in the WORLD in the Adobe Certified Associate (ACA) World Championship November 16-18!

As you might remember, Jake won first place in the US National ACA Championships this past summer qualifying him for the World Championship. Students from around the globe competed at different dates and times to accommodate for time differences. Participants were asked to complete a specific design project for a non-profit client. Learn more here.

Jake is currently a freshman at the University of Dayton majoring in Graphic Design. He was successful in the DMA program at Kings High School while a student under the direction of Kelly Shields.
Kings Board of Education
The Kings Board of Education will meet for a Special Meeting on Wednesday, December 8 at 5:00 p.m.

They will also meet on Tuesday, December 14 at 5:30 p.m. for a combined Work Session and Regular Meeting. Both meetings will be held in Conference Room 2 of the Kings Education Center.

CommuKnighty Conversations with the Supe
We are looking for individuals to “host” a CommuKnighty Connection that may take place in the coming weeks. As a host, you would provide the location, invite 12-15 of your friends and neighbors, and set aside approximately 1 hour 30 minutes. Mr. Sears will facilitate the conversation. 

These conversations are intended to provide a lens into the future vision of Kings Local Schools, as well as an opportunity for feedback that will be utilized as we move forward.

These connections are an opportunity to engage personally with the superintendent in a positive, collaborative discussion about the future of Kings.

If you are interested in hosting, please provide your contact information here and you will be contacted to schedule a time convenient for you.
Marimba Ensemble Auditions
The Kings Local School District’s Kokorodza Marimba Ensemble will be holding try-outs for new members from December 13 through December 17. Over the past 18 years, the ensemble has performed throughout the Greater Cincinnati and Tri-State area, as well as performances and clinic/demonstration sessions at the Ohio Music Education Association Professional Development Conference and the American Orff Schulwerk National Conference in Denver, Colorado.  

The ensemble is open to students of Columbia Intermediate School and Kings Junior High School. Prospective members will be provided a video demonstration of the techniques and tunes required for the audition and will check out a marimba to take home for two weeks to use in preparing for the audition. 

The ensemble rehearses Thursdays from 4:00 - 6:00 PM. The Kokorodza Marimba Ensemble will perform at a workshop for the Greater Cincinnati Chapter of the American Orff Schulwerk Association on Saturday, February 12, at South Lebanon Elementary. Other performances will be scheduled for later in the spring. 

For further information please contact Kings Mills Elementary music teacher and marimba ensemble director Matt Jenkins at 398-8050 ext. 14025 or email mjenkins@kingslocal.net.
Mark Your Calendar for Breakfast With Santa
Don't miss this year's Breakfast With Santa on Saturday, December 4 from 8:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. at Kings High School.

This annual event sponsored by the Kings Baseball Program features a Pancake breakfast that includes bacon, juice, and coffee, and, of course, Santa!

New for 2021 - all tickets will be sold online. No tickets will be sold at the door.
Price for tickets is $7 for one and $25 for 4.

Click here to purchase tickets online and reserve a time slot (8:00-9:00, 9:00-10:00, or 10:00-11:00).
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VIRTUAL BACKPACK

Check out our VIRTUAL BACKPACK for more information on our newly added activities and fundraisers.
Kings Athletic News

Check out Kings Athletics website! You can find out schedule information, upcoming events, news about teams, and even get directions to away venues. 
Youth Lacrosse Registration
Kings Youth Lacrosse Registrations are now open. Register at kingsyouthlax.com.
Send Us the News You Want to See!

Contact Dawn Gould - Community Relations Coordinator at
dgould@kingslocal.net or phone: 513-459-2925.

Knight Nation News is a publication of the Kings Local School District Communications Department.
Kings Local School District
1797 King Ave
Kings Mills, Ohio 45034
513.398.8050
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