JW Killam Principal's Corner

Week of January 8, 2023

Happy New Year! I hope that everyone had time to relax and enjoy the December break and seasonal festivities. The staff and I appreciated all of the shows of gratitude that we received from the Killam families. We feel fortunate to work here in Reading!

I have a few other housekeeping reminders this week. As we are now fully embracing winter, I wanted to send a note about arrival and outside play.

We anticipate that our rolling car drop-off line will continue to grow as the cold weather rolls on. Thank you for your patience and remembering the safety guidelines. As the snowbanks will grow and the ice appears on our roadways, it is more important than ever that we enter the driveway slowly, hang up our cell phones, and pay attention to the roadway.

-Leave home a few minutes early to anticipate a longer drop-off line. The rolling car line begins at 8:10 and a student is tardy if they are not in their seat by 8:25. We will hold attendance on days when the backup is very long as we want to ensure that everyone enters safely.

-Students and parents should be crossing the streets AND the driveway using the crosswalks. It is harder to see students walking between cars.

-Pull ALL the way forward in the driveway. We need to use the entire fire lane when dropping off. Do not stop in front of the school doors.

-Students need to exit from the passenger side of the car. Adults should not be getting out of their cars in the rolling car lane.

-We go outside for recess if the temperature (including wind chill) is 20 degrees and above. You can check WeatherBug.com to see if it is an indoor or outdoor day.

-Dress students appropriately for winter on a daily basis. If the temperature rises during the day, we are going outside.

-If students wish to play in the snow, they need full snow gear (coats, snow pants, boots, hats, and mittens/gloves).

-If the snowbank is over the students' heads, we do not allow students to climb it. This is for safety reasons. The area around the modulars often has tall snowbanks and we do not allow students on these banks, even before and after school.

-If you are in need of warm winter clothes for your child, do not hesitate to reach out to me.

-If your child will be absent, call the Killam absent line (781-944-7831) with the reason for the absence.

Stay well,

Ms. Leveque

-Saturday, January 7th: Orthodox Christmas

-Tuesday, January 10th: Killam PTO Meeting, 7-8 pm in the library. All are welcome!

-Monday, January 16th: No School - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
-Town of Reading Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (flyer below)

-Tuesday, January 17th: Killam School Council Meeting, 3:15-4:15

School Hours:

Monday-Thursday, 8:15-2:45 (8:10-11:30 for half-day kindergarten)

Friday, 8:15-12:45 (8:10-12:45 for half-day kindergarten)

Reading Public School Calendar

It's that time of year to start thinking about our incoming kindergarten students for the 2023-2024 school year. To be eligible for admission to the Reading Public Schools, a child must have reached the age of five on or before August 31st of the entering year to begin kindergarten or have reached the age of six on or before August 31st of the entering year to begin grade one. We had a great turnout for a virtual incoming kindergarten information session on Wednesday, January 4th. Information on the school registration packet and links to the presentation are shared below and can be found on the Reading Public Schools district website.

Upcoming Event:

-Kindergarten Registration Night - Jan. 31st, 6:00-7:00 pm. Drop off your registration form and accompanying documents. Event will be held at Reading Memorial High School. Last names beginning in A-L, 6:00-6:30 pm. Last names beginning in M-Z, 6:30-7:00 pm. You can reach out with questions at any point by emailing RPSStudentRegistration@reading.k12.ma.us

Ongoing Information:

-Sign up to receive email updates during the kindergarten registration process by visiting: https://forms.gle/LK4esx7RoP7YxQ498

-To learn more and stay up to date, visit the registration website at Registration Forms - Reading Public Schools

Introduction to Kindergarten Presentation from January 4th:

-Here's the link to January 4th Introduction to Kindergarten Presentation in video form: Virtual Kindergarten Information Session-20230104_190233-Meeting Recording.mp4 - Google Drive

-Here's a link to the January 4th Introduction to Kindergarten presentation in English.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1sK9kOUVIc0t58Mn9k4Jld725ULiwsiddo5Cav0A3l2k/edit?usp=sharing

-Aqui está o link para a apresentação de Introdução ao Jardim de Infância de 4 de janeiro em português.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Dyq75gPb2YB6MY3t2pUTSAJjbEseopwE-RHNSludJUE/edit?usp=sharing

-Aquí está el enlace a la presentación de Introducción a Kindergarten del 4 de enero en español.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1GUKK3DNGRyIwMjQhzW1QY_AfA1YR65JbKBiyRgSK4lM/edit?usp=sharing

The United States Attorney’s Office is hosting a virtual Internet safety presentation for parents the evening of Wednesday, January 18th from 6:30 – 7:30 pm. Karen Legace has presented to the Killam students and families multiple times and always provides an informative presentation on the challenges students currently face around cyber use. The presentation, entitled Keeping Kids Safe and Secure Online: A Project Safe Childhood Presentation for Parents will bring awareness to the dangers of the internet, including gaming and social media platforms that predators use to groom children with the intent of exploiting them sexually online or for an in person meeting. The presentation will focus on prevention by educating parents and community members how to help keep children safe online.

The presentation is free. Registration is required. The link to register is included on the attached flyer and is also included here:

REGISTRATION DETAILS

Please register at the following link: (via Chrome browser)) Event address for attendees: https://usao.webex.com/usao/onstage/g.php?MTID=ec3d8ccd61ccdd26ee39d8c6ffd5c57aa

Password: PSC1

Questions or difficulty registering? Please contact Karen Legace @ USAMA.PSCOutreach@usdoj.gov<mailto:USAMA.PSCOutreach@usdoj.gov>

Dear Families,

As always we are working to keep our students, staff, and community healthy. Before break, we were seeing some respiratory and gastrointestinal viruses at Killam. It seems to be decreasing but we want to send some general reminders. Please keep your child home for:

• Fever (>100.0 Fahrenheit/ 38.0 Celsius)
• Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea

• Make sure your child is fever free for 24 hours without fever reducing medication before returning to school
• A covid antigen test is recommended before returning to school if your child has been home ill. We have test kits available; please let me know if you need kits for home
• Masks are also recommended to control the spread of the viruses

Please consult your healthcare provider if you have any questions or concerns about your child’s symptoms and if their symptoms persist. Please reinforce proper hand hygiene and cough etiquette with your child.

Thank you,

Sharon Grottkau

Tuesday, January 17th at 7 pm: Special Needs Planning with Attorney Lisa Cukier
We are very excited to have Lisa Cukier present on Special Needs Planning. Lisa is an accomplished attorney with Burns and Levinson and has deep experience on a variety of topics related to family planning - including topics related to children with special needs. Lisa will be providing tips and strategies throughout the presentation and will also be available for Q & A. This will be an information packed session that will be aimed at all levels of disabilities and we highly encourage you to attend.

*This virtual event is hosted by SEPAC and open to anyone. Zoom: https://readingpsma.zoom.us/j/85118571330

The Department of Elementary and Special Education (DESE) is currently conducting a Special Education and Civil Rights review in Reading. Special Education Family input is critical. Please look for an email survey titled: Public School Monitoring needs your feedback - it was sent on 12/1. Responses are due DECEMBER 30th!

More information on this Tiered Focused Monitoring can be found on our district website. You may contact Allison Wright at Allison.Wright@reading.k12.ma.us with questions about the 12/20 SEPAC parent orientation or the review.

For much more information about the Special Education Parent Advisory Council, click here for our latest newsletter.

We encourage you to join SEPAC's mailing list, follow SEPAC on Facebook, and follow SEPAC on Instagram

To help us make sure your child gets home safely, if there is a change in dismissal, fill out the attached form and send it in with your child. Thanks!

There are now two ways to let us know if your child is going to be absent from school, stating your child's name and reason for the absence.

You can continue to call the school absence line and leave a message 24-hours a day. The number is 781-944-7831, option 1. Now, you can also email an absence to KillamAttendance@Reading.k12.ma.us. Either way, letting us know will help us make sure the Killam community is safely in the building or at home.

Our Occupational Therapist, Michelle Goldner, has put together some great activities for families to try at home. These help children build strong dexterity and muscles to help them grow in all settings.

Tips

Backpack Wearing Tips

Our speech and language pathologist, Jackie Dunn, wants to share some language development activities you can try at home. Check them out.

Ideas

Curious where your student's classroom is located and where to connect for drop-off and pick-up? Check out the Killam School map.

As a parent guardian of a child in the Reading Public Schools, you have access to the Parent PlusPortal. The Portal will be used throughout your child’s academic career as it is where you update your child’s emergency contact information, view report cards, and beyond elementary school, see your child’s grades in real time. It also acts as a communication portal between you and your child’s teacher where oftentimes, different academic links, notes, or activities are shared.

If you are a returning parent, your account is still active. If you are new parent guardian and have not received access, please reach out to our school administrative assistant, Jackie Maglio at jaculen.maglio@reading.k12.ma.us. At that point, you will receive a separate email with your PlusPortal login information. The subject line of the email is Important! Killam School PlusPortals login. This is a confidential portal that is linked to your email account. You have 48 hours to activate your Portal account using the temporary password supplied through the email. Once you login, you can update the password and personal information.

School lunches are once again free for students in the Commonwealth. We look forward to providing nutritious meals for our students!

The Town of Reading contracts with William James College to offer a special service for our residents. The William James INTERFACE Referral Service maintains a mental health and wellness referral help line Monday through Friday, 9 am-5 pm, at 888-244-6843 (toll free). This is a free, confidential referral service for individuals across the lifespan living in Reading. Callers are matched with licensed mental health providers from our extensive database. Each referral meets the location, insurance, and specialty needs of the caller. Click here to learn more!

Email: sarah.leveque@reading.k12.ma.us
Website: http://reading.k12.ma.us/killam/
Location: 333 Charles Street, Reading, MA, USA
Phone: 781-944-7831
Facebook: facebook.com/JWKillamSchool
Twitter: @Killamnews