Weekly Update from the Office of the Superintendent
Volume 2, Issue 18 (December 17, 2021)
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BACK TO THE BASICS
Winter recess is upon us, as we approach the halfway point of the school year. Although the pandemic is still impacting certain aspects of everyday life, it’s been business as usual in our schools. Our students have had the chance to enjoy so many wonderful experiences over the past few weeks such as performances, holiday activities, volunteering, serving others, and contributing to making our community a great place to live.
Everyone should be extremely proud of the work they’ve done so far this year. In September, students had to get accustomed to being back in school five days a week after in-person instruction had so significantly been impacted during the first 18 months of the pandemic. For students entering a new school or making those already difficult transitions to middle and high school, this was an even greater challenge. Everyone is working together to ensure that students are progressing. Keep it up! Let’s finish these last few days strongly.
It is important to get back to basics and continue to have some of our mentoring conversations, encouraging students to make smart decisions. One such conversation is educating children about how important it is to understand the impact of social media and online activity on their future. Poor decisions online or on social media can have a significant impact on a child’s life, especially where safety is concerned. It is important to remember that safety is always paramount. We will always err on the side of caution and any information or messages that indicate a potential safety risk would be taken extremely seriously. Therefore, the consequences of spreading erroneous information can be dire.
It is important for students to understand this. Please have these conversations with your children and together we will continue to empower them to make smart decisions.
CULTIVATING A WORLD-CLASS STAFF
Our students deserve the best teachers, staff and administrators. This has always been a priority for the Ken-Ton School District. Through initiatives such as the Mentoring Program, Staff Development Center and instructional coaching, we have been able to foster a world-class organization. It is important that we continue to do whatever it takes to recruit the very best, especially since all districts are facing staffing challenges.
Ken-Ton has always been an incredible place to work. Our district has a long and proud history, rich traditions, and an extremely supportive community. Our faculty, staff, and administrators are second to none and our students exemplify the outstanding quality of the programs and schools they represent. Our organization and programming is designed and primed for growth and continuous improvement. Most importantly, we are a family. Solidarity and district pride is as strong as it can be. This in itself makes Ken-Ton extremely attractive to prospective employees.
We have been working in partnership with the Kenmore Teachers Association (KTA) to recruit substitute teachers. These are vital positions in any school. You may have seen news reports of how substitute teachers are in high demand across the country and many districts have been struggling to retain enough substitutes. We have already taken proactive steps in anticipation of this national substitute teacher shortage, such as the creation of full-time Building-Based Substitute Teacher positions in every school. At Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting, our Board approved an agreement with the KTA that will make Ken-Ton an even more attractive place to be a substitute teacher. You can expect to learn more about this in the coming weeks. We are extremely excited about the potential for this initiative. There are many people in our community who would make great substitute teachers, so please watch for this very important opportunity. Growing our family from within is a priority.
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Each week, we will highlight some of the exciting things taking place in our schools. Be sure to follow the Ken-Ton School District on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@ktufsd) for more school highlights! |
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Kenmore West High School: On December 11th, Kenmore West High School hosted its annual Community Club Holiday Party. Elementary school students in the community were invited for a fun-filled day of crafts, games, holiday activities, gift giving, and a chance to meet Santa Claus. This annual tradition exemplifies the kindness and generosity of the Kenmore West community. Every year, a core group of students and staff collect donations and volunteer their time to facilitate the event, providing an amazing holiday experience for families in need in the Ken-Ton community.
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Kenmore East High School: For 18 years, the Kenmore East High School Student Congress has led a school-wide effort to collect donations of nonperishable food to help families in need in Ken-Ton. They call this effort "Gobblin' Up Hunger" and this year's initiative was an extraordinary success. Kenmore East students and staff donated a staggering 26,555 food items which were donated to Feed More WNY to be distributed to families prior to winter recess. Each year, individual teachers have bins designated for them, and the teacher receiving the most number of items has to spend the day in a turkey costume. This year's winner was math teacher Jeffrey Orlowski, who had more than 12,000 cans of food donated in his honor!
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All Schools: Nothing beats a good book and school librarians throughout the district are sharing the gift of reading this holiday season. There are options for elementary school, middle school and high school students as well as adults. Samples include "Outside, Inside" by LeUyen Pham, "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate, "Fire Keeper's Daughter" by Angeline Boulley, and "They Called Us 'Lucky'" by Ruben Gallego. For anyone looking for a great new book to read during winter recess or a gift for a friend or loved one, this list has a great selection for all ages. You can access it here: www.smore.com/cuew1
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Lindbergh Elementary: Lindbergh Elementary School teachers, staff, administrators and families worked together to "Light Up the Holidays" and provide an amazing holiday experience for students. They created a winter wonderland walk filled with trinkets, treats and a quick hello to the big man himself, Santa Claus, who left a beautiful mailbox for his new friends' letters. A special thank you goes out to all the families who attended and especially the Lindbergh Elementary PTA for sponsoring this magical night.
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Middle & High Schools: Ken-Ton School District German language teachers from Kenmore East, Kenmore West, Franklin Middle and Hoover Middle joined by colleagues from Sweet Home High School and Lakeshore Middle School as well as 48 Kenmore East students attended the annual American Association of Teachers of German-sponsored WNY German Language Immersion Sprachfest. Students moved through seven 15-minute German-themed stations playing games, making crafts and speaking German! They also enjoyed a German buffet lunch including German potato salad, desserts, Mezzo Mix and Apfelsaftschorle. At the end of the event every student received a prize. St. Nikolaus and Krampus even made a surprise visit to check if students had been “naughty” or “nice.” Both students and teachers had a blast speaking German, playing games and experiencing authentic German food and culture.
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ANNUAL KENMORE CHRISTMAS
TREE GIVEAWAY
No Christmas tree yet? Still need holiday decorations? The 38th Annual Christmas Tree Giveaway is Friday, December 24th from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The Ken-Ton Elmwood Commons, formerly known as the Philip Sheridan School, at 3200 Elmwood Ave. The event is held to help and give back to families in the community who are unable to afford Christmas decorations. Families in the community are invited to come and select a live Christmas tree, as well as choose ornaments and various other Christmas decorations. Dave’s Christmas Wonderland donates items for this event every year, such as lights and various Christmas trimmings. Volunteers will assist loading trees into vehicles and after 1 p.m. the remaining trees will be left in the parking lot for anyone to take. The Town of Tonawanda Highway Department will mulch any leftover trees. The event was started by the Ken-Ton School District as well as former Erie County Legislator Charles Swanick and is assisted by former school district worker Mike Kolmar, Ken-Ton Chamber of Commerce President Cathy Piciulo and Ken-Ton Elmwood Commons General Manager John Duerr.
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On Thursday, I joined Nancy Pray, Career Academy Coordinator; Business Teacher James Rustowicz; and Alicia Ivancie, Education Director of Junior Achievement of WNY, to honor a very special young man: Kenmore East High School senior Jack Sahi. Jack won third place in Junior Achievement's recent Stock Market Challenge, a major annual event that simulates real-life stock buying and selling and challenges students to strategically grow their initial investment as much as possible over a specified amount of time. This event normally takes place in person during the course of a single day. Due to the pandemic, this year's competition was virtual, spanning a period of 30 days. Students like Jack were able to follow current events as they impacted the stock market as a whole and the value of individual stocks.
Jack worked extremely hard over the course of this competition, devoting his free periods and time after school to learning everything he could to make the best possible decisions. His teachers, especially Nancy Pray and James Rustowicz, are also to be commended for inspiring Jack and providing him with the guidance and knowledge that enabled him to win third place. With approximately 650 students from throughout Western New York competing, this was an extraordinary achievement. Additionally, it was extremely close among the top three winners with Jack finishing within just 4% of first place. For his achievement, Jack received several prizes including gift cards and a brand new iPad courtesy of Junior Achievement.
We were proud to see a Kenmore East student among the top three finishers at this competition. Please join me in congratulating Jack. He has made us all proud!
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NOTE: Due to winter recess, the next edition of the Ken-Ton Weekly Connection is scheduled to be published Friday, January 7. |
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Thank you for reviewing this information. As always, we remain Ken-Ton Proud, Ken-Ton Strong, and Ken-Ton Moving Forward!
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