What's Happening This December:
Hello, JFK families!
It's the most wonderful time of the year! As you enter the halls of JFK, you can feel the excitement of the season! Our students are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the holidays and the time honored events and traditions they bring.
Holiday Concerts
We hope to see many of you at our annual holiday concerts this month! Our fifth and sixth grade band and fourth through sixth grade chorus students will perform on Wednesday, December 6th at 6:00 pm in the JFK Cafetorium.
Students in Kindergarten through grade three will perform on Thursday, December 14th for two identical performances, once at 9:30 am (doors open at 9:00 am) and again at 1:30 pm (doors open at 1:00 pm). In an effort to ensure that all families are able to enjoy the performances, we kindly ask that you attend only one performance (9:00 am last name A-K and 1:30 pm last name L-Z). If you wish to sign your child(ren) out following the performance, please be sure to complete the sign out form included with this newsletter and return it to your child's teacher. Students who sign out following the performance who have not completed the form will be dismissed individually from classrooms, resulting in longer wait times.
Our Universal Pre-Kindergarten (Mrs. Bouchard, Mrs. Langley, Mrs. Wilkinson, Mrs. Williams), Jr. Kindergarten (Mrs. Jacobs, Ms. Lamanteer), Mrs. Willis' classroom and Miss Tyree's St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES classroom will perform on Tuesday, December 19th at 9:00 am in the JFK cafetorium.
Positivity Project
During the month of December, students at JFK will dive deeper into the Other People Matter Mindset, exploring how they might support others when they struggle, as well as the character strength of self control.
Supporting other people when they struggle is a critical piece of being human. There are many different approaches to helping people who are struggling. These can include: listening while they describe an event and their feelings about it, taking action to help people in need, or simply just being there and sitting together in silence. Everyone faces tough days and needs support, and this support leads to a chain of prosocial behavior that makes us feel good about ourselves and our group.
Self-control means you can control your emotions and behaviors. You think before you act. Self-control is the act of managing behavior in a way that positively influences goal attainment and living up to standards. Possessing this strength protects people from destabilizing emotional extremes. Those with self-control can limit impulsive behavior. They are able to experience and navigate difficulty while remaining poised. Self-control does not mean a lack of thoughts, feelings, or impulses; it just means you have command over them.
We look forward to seeing you this December at JFK, and wish you and your family a very happy holiday season and a healthy new year!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Frank
Principal UPK-2
Mrs. Bouchard
Principal, 3-6
Sleigh Ride
We are excited to announce the return of our annual Sleigh Ride for JFK students and their families! Be sure to reserve your spot for this event (sign ups are electronic this year using the QR code on the flyer sent home with your child, or by clicking here), set to take place on Monday, December 18th. We'll have holiday characters and activities on hand as families board the sleigh, for what is sure to be a holiday event you don't want to miss!
Krispy Kreme Fundraiser
Families that sold donuts in the Krispy Kreme fundraiser can pick up their orders on Friday, December 8th from 11:00 am - 2:00 pm or 5:00-7:00 pm in the Park Street circle (where grades 3-6 students enter each morning). Thank you for your support of our fundraiser!
Gift Basket Raffle
The JFK PTO will draw the winning ticket for the Cozy Gift Basket during the grades K-3 holiday concert on December 14th. Be on the lookout for tickets to sell to come home with your child soon ($2 each or 3 for $5). The Gift Basket contains: A Syracuse Mets day out family pack, a $50 gift card to the Cheesecake Factory, and a tumbler donated by Mandy Amo of MK crafts!
Join our PTO
The John F. Kennedy Elementary School PTO is always seeking volunteers. Meetings are held monthly, with volunteers helping to provide our harvest reading event, family sleigh rides, holiday door decorating contest prizes, Art to Remember fundraiser, Scholastic Book Fairs, and much more. PTO events are much loved by our students, and we would love your support! Our next meetings for the 2023-2024 school year will take place on the following Mondays: December 4th, January 8th, February 5th at 6:00 pm in the library at JFK. Childcare is provided during each meeting. If you are interested in joining, please email Mrs. Frank at cfrank@ogdensburgk12.org or Mrs. Bouchard at sbouchard@ogdensburgk12.org, or join us at our next meeting! We are always open to new membership, new fundraising ideas, and your thoughts on what would benefit JFK. The PTO can also be reached at their new email address: johnfkennedypto22@gmail.com
JFK PTO Facebook Page
Don't forget to like the JFK PTO Facebook page for updates on fundraisers and PTO sponsored events. You can find it by clicking here, or search JFK Elementary School PTO on Facebook.
We hope you are excited for the JFK Student Council School Store! Students may shop on the following days of the cycle: Day 1 (UPK, Jr. Kindergarten, Kindergarten, Grade 1), Day 2 (Grade 2), Day 3 (Grade 3), Day 4 (Grade 4), Day 5 (Grade 5), Day 6 (Grade 6). Available items include pencils, fidgets, keychains, erasers, and more!
Winter also brings weather that may cause school to be delayed or closed. We understand that the decision to open or close schools due to inclement weather has a tremendous impact on families. We also understand that our students are better served - both socially and academically - by being in school. As always, our top priority is the safety of our students. If the decision is made to delay or close school, the public will be notified as follows: Parent Square, on the school district website and app, radio stations (WSLB, WPAC, WGIX, YES FM, PAC 98.7, WNCQ, WPDM, WSNN, WMSA, MIX 96.1, FOX 101.5, and North Country Public Radio), and television (WWNYTV-7).
You can click the links below for more information on Parent Square, the primary application used by the Ogdensburg City School District to communicate with families:
Reed Ledwith
Physical Education | Mrs. Halladay
Dawson Bell
Instrumental Music | Mr. McAfee
Isabel Vernsey
Physical Education | Mrs. Halladay
Alex Langley
Library | Ms. Seymour
Alex (Kindergarten with Mrs. Lalone) is a respectful listener who provides insightful responses during class. He loves to read books and waits patiently for his turn to select a book. Keep up the good work, Alex!
Aubrey Bechtel
Art | Mrs. Willmart
Aubrey (Universal Pre-Kindergarten with Mrs. Wilkinson) comes to art class just like the Mona Lisa! She is quiet and keeps her hands still while she sits in her seat waiting to see what we will be doing that day! And when we begin making some art, Aubrey is so creative and does beautiful work! Great job Aubrey!
Rowan Caruso
Physical Education | Mr. Vernsey
Rowan (Grade 6 with Mrs. Baxter) is the PE student of the month! Rowan is a joy to have in PE class. Rowan is always a leader and a great teammate in class. Rowan is always striving to get better no matter what game we are playing and making his classmates better as well. Keep up the good work Rowan!
Ethan Middlemiss
Art | Mrs. Willmart
Ethan (Grade 4 with Mrs. Mousaw) is a very creative student and I always look forward to seeing what he will create in art class! He uses his imagination when he is drawing and he adds a lot of details to his work. Ethan is also kind to his classmates and offers ideas when someone gets stuck on what to do next. It’s so great having you in art class Ethan!
Luke Ives
Physical Education | Mr. Vernsey
Blake Gilbo
Music | Miss Sheats
Blake (Grade 2 with Mr. McCarthy) is our music superstar for December! Blake is one smart musician! In music class, he knows what I'm going to do sometimes before I do! Blake has an amazing memory for music and often helps his classmates with their singing and dance moves. Fantastic work Blake!
Ian Howe
Physical Education | Mr. Sholette
Ian Howe (grade 5 with Mrs. Willis) is the PE student of the month!. Ian comes to gym class every day with a good attitude and is ready to learn. Ian is always helping out friends in gym class and makes sure to let them know when they are doing a good job. Congratulations, Ian, keep up the good work!
Sophia Planty
Music | Miss Sheats
Sophia (Grade 6 with Mrs. Weston) is our master musician for December! Sophia is a brilliant musician and great friend! Sophia always knows how to make us laugh and works very hard when it's time to be serious. I love having Sophia in music class! Keep up the great work!
Coloring can be a great way to reduce stress and calm. Practicing self care is important and Zentangles are a fun way to mindfully color. Zentangles can range from a simpler pattern like the sleigh attached or can be much more complicated in design. What is a Zentangle? A relaxing and fun way to create images through structured patterns. You can create tangles with dots, lines, curves and orbs to come up with a beautiful masterpiece. Try the Zentangle included in this newsletter, or create your own! We would love to see what you come up with! As always, please reach out if we can help in any way!
Mrs. McNichol (UPK-2 Counselor)
(315) 393-4264 x32068
Mrs. Arika Bateman (Grades 3-6 Counselor)
(315) 393-4264 x32868
Mrs. Misty Fishel (School Social Worker)
(315) 393-4264 x33033
Students in 4th grade recently learned about kindness and giving, and wrote letters to special people in the school with a hand delivered treat. Others learned about kindness by reading Crazy Hair Day written by Barney Saltzberg and were challenged to perform random acts of kindness throughout their day. This is a great book filled with humor and kindness to share with your whole family.
Doing random acts of kindness is a great way to be on the nice list and help out at home and in the community. Here is a list of 25 random acts of kindness for kids from www.kindsactivites.com .
LIST OF RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS FOR CHRISTMAS
Tape change to a vending machine for a stranger to find.
Hand out a compliment card.
Donate food to your local food pantry.
Make a thank you card for your mail carrier.
Candy cane a parking lot.
Take supplies to an animal shelter.
Put change in the Salvation Army bucket.
Send a hug in the mail.
Pick up litter.
Leave a popcorn surprise at the DVD rental machine.
Write a Smile It Forward note for a friend or family member.
Donate toys to charity.
Pay for a stranger’s coffee.
Make a gift for your teacher.
Do yard work for a neighbor.
Let someone go ahead of you in line.
Feed the birds with a candy cane bird food ornament.
Make a sweet treat for your mailman.
Do a chore for someone.
Smile at everyone you see.
Pass out stickers to kids waiting in line.
Make a card for a neighbor.
Thank your sanitation worker with a yard sign.
Leave kindness stones in the park.
Sing Christmas carols for your neighbors.
Again, the students that are actively using the First in Math online program continue to amaze me. Since last newsletter our students have earned another 63,350 stickers and completed more than 190,050 problems! Our sticker points now total 199,692.
Let us give a shout out to the top 5 teams at Kennedy School. They are: Mrs. Mathews’ 6th grade class, Mrs. Baxter’s 6th grade class, Mrs. Weston’s 6th grade class, Mr. Dwyer’s 2nd grade class, and Mrs. Smith’s 2nd grade class.
Our top 5 players are: Luke White, Aspen Wulf, Elliana Willard, Elijah Vernsey, and Zander Power.
Keep the good work Kennedy School mathematicians!
December, with all its exciting holidays, is almost here! The Ogdensburg Public library will have a take home craft featuring a different winter holiday each week until Christmas. We will also be making decorations in house on December 6th. After receiving a large donation of Lego bricks we have decided to make them available for play on December 20th between 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm for free play. We will also offer a Lego challenge you can solve at that time. We hope you have a cozy holiday season filled with comfy chairs, warm cocoa and good books!
Library Hours
Mondays and Tuesdays 9:30 am to 5:00 pm
Wednesdays 11:30 am to 7:00 pm
Thursdays and Fridays 9:30 am to 5:00 pm
Bookstore Hours
Wednesdays 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Thursdays and Fridays 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Programs
Take Home Crafts: Available for pickup during library hours. This month try a new holiday themed craft each week!
Music and Movement: Tuesdays at 11:00 am
A preschool movement and socialization class. Jump your jiggles out and wiggle your waggles away with music, instruments and sensory play. Designed for ages 18 months – 4 years.
Story Time: Thursdays at 11:00 am
Stories, activities and crafts for young children. Socialize, gain early literacy skills and learn to love books during this preschool program. Designed for ages 2-6.
Holiday Decorations: Wednesday, December 6th at 5:00 PM
Paint Christmas tree bulbs to take home and decorate your home. Designed for ages 8 and up.
Lego Play: Wednesday, December 20th at 5:00 pm
Complete a challenge or just experiment on your own with Lego bricks. Designed for ages 8-12.
Fishing Gear Checkout
The library loans out fishing gear. Fishing equipment can be checked out by children and adults (those 16 years and older must have a fishing license) You can keep fishing items for up to one week. Available items include:
- Adult Fishing Poles
- Tackle Boxes
- Nets
- Pliers/Grippers
- Children’s Fishing Kits
Library tours and classroom visits are available upon request by emailing dlenney-wallace@ncls.org for more information.
