Weekly E-Newsletter from the Superintendent of Schools

Volume 3, Issue 11 (November 11, 2022)

Video Update: https://youtu.be/X0xgI7ol1UA

UPDATE FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT

CELEBRATING VETERANS DAY

As you know, the district was closed today in celebration of Veterans Day. This is one of the most important observances of the year in our schools. Our teachers and staff always do a great job educating students about the importance of Veterans Day and what it means to serve in the Armed Forces. This year was no exception.

Teaching our students about Veterans Day begins at a very early age because they will carry those lessons with them for the rest of their lives. The origin of Veterans Day goes back to World War I. On November 11th, 1918, fighting finally ended in Western Europe after more than four years of brutal warfare. Like other nations around the world, the U.S. began observing November 11th as Armistice Day the following year to commemorate those who fought and died in this horrific struggle. After World War II, which included the service of more than 16 million Americans, the intent of Armistice Day was expanded to include all veterans. The name was formally changed to Veterans Day in 1954.

Our schools find many different ways to celebrate Veterans Day and pay tribute to veterans in our community. This year’s highlights included:

• Special assemblies and receptions honoring veterans at Edison, Franklin, Hoover, and Lindbergh
• At Holmes, students throughout the school made cards for veterans in the community to thank them for their service
• At Hoover and Lindbergh, veterans visited classrooms to answer questions about their service and read to students
• Edison hosted a Parade of Honor as veterans walked the halls and were cheered on by students
• Today, band students from Kenmore East and Kenmore West led by band teacher Patrick Towey will take part in the annual Ken-Ton Veterans Day Celebration in Kenmore

What made Veterans Day even more special this year was an extremely generous gift by the American Legion Milton J. Brounshidle Post No. 205, Auxiliary and Sons of the American Legion. Thanks to these organizations, every Gr. K-2 classroom and elementary school library received a free copy of "Veterans: Heroes in Our Neighborhood,” a children’s book by Valerie Pfundstein. This wonderful book tells the story of a young boy who learns about veterans in school. He then discovers that these heroes live all around him in his community: the butcher, barber, librarian, and others he comes into contact with, all of whom served their country in the Armed Forces. Thanks to this donation, teachers were able to read this book with students in the days leading up to Veterans Day. Special thanks go out to Laura Scott, a parent at Hoover Elementary School and a member of the American Legion Auxiliary, who first learned about the book and began working to bring it to classrooms at Hoover Elementary. This was soon expanded to include all Gr. K-2 classrooms in the district.

Our heartfelt thanks go out to all current and former members of the Armed Forces for their service and sacrifice. I would also like to thank all those who visited our students this past week or contributed to these activities for helping our students learn the importance of this day and what it means to be a veteran.

BOARD MEETING RECAP

At Tuesday's Board of Education meeting (which you can view here), I outlined two new initiatives which will create an added layer of security in our buildings. We recently accepted proposals for on-site security services to complement our extremely successful School Resource Officer (SRO) program with the Town of Tonawanda Police Department. The winning bidder was Vista Security Group, a NYS-licensed security agency headquartered in Amherst, which will provide a total of four armed and uniformed School Safety Officers at the following locations:

• 1 at the Franklin Complex
• 1 at the Hoover Complex
• 1 on a rotating basis at Edison, Holmes and Lindbergh
• 1 at Kenmore Middle who will act in a supervisory capacity

As we have discussed, it is extremely important that we maximize safety/security while also maintaining a warm and inviting culture for students and families. These School Safety Officers (all of whom will be retired law enforcement personnel) will operate just like our current SROs at Kenmore East and Kenmore West. This includes being visible and forging strong relationships with students, staff, and families. We will be working with Vista in the coming weeks to finalize a contract. We hope to have these services in place by January and will evaluate them at the end of the year before making any determinations about a long-term program.

We are also planning to purchase a quantity of free-standing scanners so we have the option of scanning individuals for possession of a weapon prior to entering our buildings. These provide much faster scanning than handheld scanners and can be set up anywhere in the district. We intend to use a phased-in approach to deploy these devices district-wide. It is not our intent for these to be used daily during student arrival. Instead, they will be used similar to our hand-held scanners including large-scale school activities like dances, athletic events, random scanning, and visitors to schools.

There is no fool-proof way to maximize safety and security, which is why it is so important to build layers of protection. This continues to be our focus. I will keep our community informed as we move forward with these initiatives to achieve our shared priority of safety and security while also maintaining a warm and welcoming environment in all schools.

SAFETY TIPS FOR FAMILIES

Beginning next week, I will be adding a new section to the Ken-Ton Weekly Connection entitled "Safety Tips for Families." Each week, I will highlight a different tip to empower families to safeguard their children. Topics will include digital citizenship, social media safety, school safety, bus safety, and stranger danger. Be sure to check back each week for new information as we continue to work together to keep our students healthy and safe.

NEW GROUNDSKEEPERS AT CROSBY & ADAMS

Cameron Lauricella, Adams Field

Lucien LoDestro, Crosby Field

We are pleased to welcome two new groundskeepers: Cameron Lauricella at Adams Field and Lucien LoDestro at Crosby Field. These are new positions we created to provide a dedicated, full-time staff member for these two athletic fields. These positions were intended to:

• Forge connections with students and community members visiting and using our fields
• Perform maintenance and routine repairs to keep these facilities in excellent shape
• Safeguard our community’s investment

We are excited to begin offering this service for our community. The next time you are at Adams or Crosby Field, please be sure to welcome Mr. Lauricella and Mr. LoDestro to our team.

NOVEMBER 8TH STAFF DEVELOPMENT DAY

There was no school on Tuesday, November 8th for the scheduled Superintendent Conference Day. Superintendent Conference Days such as these provide invaluable opportunities for staff to work together to improve their practice, discuss individual school priorities, implement new instructional programs, analyze student data, learn about new strategies and resources, and work together on new initiatives. Staff development topics included blended learning, school culture, social-emotional learning, content-based refinement, and instructional best practices. These collaborations reflect our focus on continued learning and growth as educators.

SCHOOL & DISTRICT HIGHLIGHTS

Each week, we will highlight some of the exciting things taking place in the district. Be sure to follow the Ken-Ton School District on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@ktufsd) for more school highlights!

Ken-Ton Students Take Part in New Education Pathways Program

The national teacher shortage is impacting schools all across the U.S., but a new partnership with Buffalo State College is giving Ken-Ton high school students the chance to explore the field of education and get a head start on their education degrees. The program is called New Visions Education Pathways Academy and is through Erie 1 BOCES. It’s a one-year, senior-level, highly academic program that gives students the resources to move confidently in the direction of a career in education. Click here to read the story.

Ken-Ton Looks to Grow Seal of Civic Readiness Program

Last year, the Ken-Ton School District was one of just a handful of districts in WNY to launch the Seal of Civic Readiness pilot program. After nearly 20% of our seniors graduated with the Seal in 2022, even more are expected this year in all three of our high school programs. There were only 13 high schools in the greater Buffalo area to pilot the program last year. By the time graduation rolled around, nearly 20% of students from all three Ken-Ton high schools graduated with the Seal. That included a 100% rate within the Big Picture Program. Click here to read the story.

Board Members Visit Holmes Elementary School

Members of our Board of Education visited Holmes Elementary School on November 3rd as part of their monthly board visitations. During the school year, Board members visit each school to spend time with staff and tour the building to see our fantastic programs in action. Principal Matt Raines led Board members around the building and introduced them to the school's successful "Rise” Program. They also discussed recent building enhancements such as the new parent drop-off lane and cafe-style workspace in the main lobby.

Kenmore East & ConnectLife Host 1st Blood Drive of the Year

On Thursday, November 3rd, ConnectLife partnered with Kenmore East High School to hold the school's first blood drive of the year. Since 2010, the Ken-Ton School District has been responsible for collecting over 1,750 units of blood through this partnership. According to ConnectLife, that's nearly 5,300 lives right here in Western New York that have been impacted by our students and staff!

Edison Elementary Student Wins Trip to School in a Firetruck

Thanks to the Brighton Volunteer Fire Company #5, Walker Simon, a third-grade student at Edison Elementary, had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be transported to school aboard a fire truck on Tuesday, November 2nd. Seen in this picture are Walker and volunteer firefighter Walter Byers, who has held many positions in the fire department and teaches fire safety to students. It was a contest prize facilitated by Brighton Volunteer Fire Company #5 that Walker had earned. The department, which has operated since 1930, operates three stations and serves 7.1 square miles within the Town of Tonawanda and plays an extremely important role educating our students about fire safety.

KE Teachers Find New Ways to Help Students Explore New Books

Kenmore East High School eighth- and ninth-grade students in Jeanette Costello's and Bethany Maltby's English classes explored some new ways to select books for the “DEAR” (Drop Everything And Read) initiative. Librarians Amy Young and Mara O'Shei created stations that allowed students to explore books available in the library. The reading stations included “It's a 10,” “Book Trailers,” “Judge a Book by its Cover,” “Sneak Peek,” and “Keep it Real.” Each student left with a book and reading list for the future.

Big Picture Students Learn to Create 360° Photos

Students in our innovative Big Picture Program at the Kenmore Middle School Building are learning how to create a 360° photo of their surrounding environment. They then will use that image to create a virtual environment in CoSpaces where they can add things like avatars and objects. The goal for these students is to eventually create a virtual tour of their internship placement for future students in the program to experience.

World Language Teachers Collaborate With Teachers from Across NYS

The New York State World Languages Conference was held on October 22nd and four of our Ken-Ton teachers were there to represent the school district. Kenmore West’s Matt Gabel, Mike LaPaglia, and Olivia Woodruff along with Kenmore East’s Emily Cecala all attended the Conference in Rochester. The annual conference, held in-person for the first time in three years, helps to support and inspire teachers so that they can provide their students a unique and relevant experience. The conference allows teachers to attend workshops, collaborate with statewide colleagues, and present material. Click here to read the story.

Kenmore East High School Alumna Performs in Vienna, Austria

This summer, Kenmore East was once again represented on an international stage when the Honors Performance Series Orchestra traveled to and performed in Vienna, Austria. Katie Lawson, a 2022 graduate, was accepted as a cellist after submitting a virtual audition and performance resume. The Honors Performance Series Orchestra is an audition-only performance organization which holds concerts in some of the most famous performance spaces. The Orchestra accepts around 50-60 students from all over the world. This year’s Orchestra consisted of about eight cellists including Lawson, who received the honor of second chair following her initial audition. Click here to read the story.

RECOGNITION: SCHOOL-RELATED PROFESSIONALS

On Tuesday, schools across New York State will observe School-Related Professionals (SRP) Recognition Day. This is a special day meant to recognize the hard work and dedication of all school support staff and the vital role they play in K-12 education. This includes bus drivers, food service workers, custodial/maintenance staff, technology staff, teacher aides, monitors, nurses, human resources/finance staff, and office/clerical workers. These outstanding professionals transport our students to and from school everyday, ensure our schools are clean and safe, provide students with nutritious meals, support the work of our classroom teachers, keep our students healthy, support technology and innovation, provide a warm and welcome experience for our students and families every day, and keep our buildings running like clockwork. We will be observing individual staff appreciation days throughout the year to celebrate and recognize their hard work and contributions, but SRP Day gives us a chance to reflect on the collective efforts of our support staff. Please take a moment on Tuesday to reflect on the invaluable contributions of school-related professionals and say thank you to members of our support staff. None of the learning and growth that takes place in our schools would be possible without their hard work and dedication.

UPCOMING DATES

Visit www.ktufsd.org/calendar to access website calendars and Google calendars with

up-to-date event information for the district and each of its schools.

• Monday, November 14th:
• 1st Day of Winter Sports Practices
• Friday, November 18th:
• Gr. 5-12 report cards posted on IC Parent Portal
• Wednesday, November 23rd - Friday, November 25th:
• Thanksgiving Recess (No School)

Thank you for reviewing this information. As always, we remain Ken-Ton Proud, Ken-Ton Strong, and Ken-Ton Moving Forward!

Sabatino Cimato,

Superintendent of Schools

For previous editions of the Ken-Ton Weekly Connection, visit

www.ktufsd.org/connection