Kennedy Elementary School
October 2020

Dear Kennedy Families,
Welcome back to a familiar learning space! We are excited to have students back at school while maintaining the safety of our students and staff. Thank you for supporting the changes we have implemented to ensure social distancing and keeping everyone healthy. It is wonderful to see the adults wearing face masks on the playground to model the importance of protecting others.

Our first parent teacher conferences will be on October 21st and 22nd. We look forward to discussing the progress your child has made. We are asking that families select a virtual or phone option for conferences. Your conference time will remain the same, but it would be conducted without additional contact. It is our hope that we can reduce the chance of transmission, protect students, families and staff as well as giving you the opportunity to experience how your child has been practicing Zoom. Please send a message to your child’s teacher if you are willing to hold a virtual conference rather than face to face.

To promote safe schools, we will hold routine fire drills, tornado and lockdown drills. The purpose of drills is to ensure we all know what to do in the case of a real incident. We also have the Campus Messenger system to send home messages in the event of a real safety concern at school. When using the Stop, Drop and Go circle drive in the front or the back of the building, the driver must stay in the vehicle. Students should exit/enter the vehicle on the
curbside in order to avoid traffic. Students should never be permitted to exit a vehicle in the “passing” lane.

Students should enter and exit the building through their grade level doors. Students should not arrive at school before 8:05. Supervision for students begins at 8:05 on the playgrounds.
The staff at Kennedy is working together to make this a rewarding and memorable school year, and we thank you for your continued support in helping us to provide a quality educational experience for all of our students. If you ever have a question, concern, or compliment for staff, please call me at 743-7505 or text my Google Voice at 608-352-0037. We appreciate parent feedback and want to work with you as partners to make Kennedy School the best it can be for everyone! Have a wonderful school year!

Mrs. Fanning, Principal

Students of the Month

Congratulations to the September Students of the Month! These students all demonstrated the PBIS traits of being responsible, being respectful and being safe.

Hello Mrs. Brehm!
Congratulations to Mrs. Brehm, formally known as Ms. Carter.
Mrs. Brehm teaches second grade students this year.
She also holds the position of Building Assistant.

A letter from Phy Ed Teacher, Mrs. Campbell
I am so glad we are in school! I am very excited to see all the returning students and to be able to meet all of our new students.

In P.E. class we started the year with a tag game unit and reviewed PBIS rules. We are outside as much as we can be, and have worked on Soccer skills, Football skills, Jumping Rope and Fitness skills so far. I am also working with the students in the classroom doing either Seesaw practice P.E. fitness lessons or some super fun kids fitness videos.

My student teacher, Miss Aly, who started the school year with me, is done with her experience in the elementary on Oct. 30th. She moves on to her secondary experience at Edison MS. She has done a great job!

Good luck with the fun middle schoolers.

Reminder, all students’ need “tennis shoes” to be able to participate in P.E. class. If possible please keep a pair here at school. Especially the morning classes when the grass is very wet. They do NOT need to be expensive.

It is for their safety that we require the students to wear tennis shoes. We work very hard in P.E. class, and I try to keep the students active for the whole time. Please make sure your child can tie his/her tennis shoes.

This is a life skill- please work with your child to master this. A double knot would be especially helpful! Tying tennis shoes again, and again in class takes away from participating in the activity.

Mr. Bates is the traveling PE teacher this year and he has Mrs. Brehm’s and Mrs. Termini’s 2nd grade class in the afternoons. Welcome Mr. Bates!

I am looking forward to a great school year! Stay active and eat healthy!!
“YOU CAN NOT OUT EXERCISE A BAD DIET!!”

- Mrs. Campbell - Miss Aly and Mr. Bates: Kennedy P.E. Teachers

Kennedy Rocket Run 2020

Go Kennedy Rockets!! Way to go Kennedy students!

This is just a friendly reminder to turn in any unexpired box tops by October 26th to your teachers for the fall collection. You can scan the scannable box tops anytime and they’re automatically added to the Kennedy school account.

Important Dates

OCTOBER	NOVEMBER
21 - Parent Teacher Conferences 4-7 PM	6 - Picture Retake Day	25 - No School
22 - No School, Parent Teacher Conferences 8:00 AM-7 PM	19 - End of 1st Trimester	26 - No School, Happy Thanksgiving
23 - No School	20 - No School, Teacher PD Day	27 - No School, Thanksgiving Break

MOVING???

If you will be moving from your current home address, please contact the Kennedy school office at 608-743-7506 as soon as possible to determine what paperwork you will need to fill out for your child to continue attending his/her current school. Please note: if you are moving to an address outside the School District of Janesville in most cases your child is eligible to continue attending the School District of Janesville as long as you complete the appropriate paperwork within the required timeline.

If you have any questions about school placement for a particular address, please contact Open Enrollment Specialist Deen Hartley at 743-5152. The New Student Enrollment Office is open year round. If you are the parent of an elementary student and will be moving over the summer months when the elementary schools are closed, please contact Open Enrollment Specialist Deen Hartley at 743-5152 or the New Student Enrollment Office at 743-5072 or 743-5153 to complete the appropriate paperwork.

Request for School Transfer/Placement (Intra District Transfers) within the School District of Janesville Attendance Areas

Due to Move:If you move within the School District of Janesville during the school year and wish to remain at your current school, please ask the school office for a Request to Remain in Current School Following Move to New Attendance Area Form (blue). Complete the form and return it to the school office. 

Due to Parent Choice:If you wish to apply to have your student transferred/placed in another school within the district next school year (2021-2022), please ask the school office for a School Transfer/Placement Within the School District Form (yellow). Completed forms will be accepted from December 1 through December 15, 2020 only.

Submit your Request for School Transfer/Placement Within the School District Form (yellow) to your home school attendance area office. Parents applying for a Request for School Transfer/ Placement Within the School District will be notified of approval or disapproval by January 15, 2021. Parents applying for a Request for School Transfer/Placement Within the School District for incoming Kindergarten students will be notified of approval or non-approval after they have enrolled their child during the Kindergarten Enrollment period with the New Student Enrollment Office. If you have questions, please contact the school office of your home school attendance area.

Open Enrollment or Public School Choice: If during the school year, you move outside the School District of Janesville and you wish to remain at your current school please contact the Open Enrollment Specialist at 743-5152 and request a tuition waiver form within two weeks of your move. This will allow you to be eligible to attend your current school for the remainder of the current year tuition free. To continue attending the School District of Janesville after the 2020-2021 school year, you will also need to complete an open enrollment application. Application instructions are provided to the School District of Janesville by the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and should be available by late January 2021. This year applications will be accepted February 1 – April 30, 2021.

If you have questions regarding Open Enrollment or Public School Choice, please contact the Open Enrollment Specialist at 743-5152.

Public School Open Enrollment Timelines 

The State of Wisconsin has announced the application period for open enrollment (also known as public school choice) begins in February for the following school year. Open Enrollment laws permit children to attend a public school in a school district other than the one in which they live.
The open enrollment application period for the 2021-2022 school year is from February 1, 2021 – April 30, 2021. Parents are encouraged to apply on-line at dpi.wi.gov/open-enrollment.

Although on-line application is recommended, paper applications may be obtained from the Department of Public Instruction or any school district after February 1, 2021 and must be delivered (hand-delivery is recommended) to the nonresident school district during the application period. Paper applications to attend Janesville must be submitted to the Open Enrollment Specialist in the New Student Enrollment Office no later than 4:00 p.m. on April 30th (a postmark does not constitute timely submission). Applications turned in prior to February 1st will be returned as not valid and must be resubmitted after February 1st but before April 30th at 4:00 p.m.

Enrollment in a requested school or program is subject to space and other limitations and is not guaranteed. Transportation is the responsibility of the parent. Habitual truancy may result in recommendation for the student to return to their home district.

Under School District of Janesville board policy, students who attended the district under open enrollment the previous year are not required to reapply for the following school year.
An application is required for each sibling in the family. For example, if a family has one child in elementary school that has been approved for open enrollment and a new student entering kindergarten next year, the student entering kindergarten must apply for open enrollment in order to attend the School District of Janesville.

Parents will be informed in June whether their open enrollment applications have been approved or denied. The student’s school or program placement will be provided in June. If you have questions, please contact the Open Enrollment Specialist at 743-5152.

Kindergarten Enrollment

2021-2022 School Year

School District Residents: If you have a child turning 5 (five) years old prior to September 1, 2021 and they are not currently enrolled in a School District of Janesville Pre-school for Janesville (P4J) or Early Childhood (EC) program it is time to enroll in the Janesville Public School District.

Enrollment will take place from December 7, 2020, through December 18, 2020, at the Educational Services Center located at 527 S. Franklin St. (administration building) in the New Student Enrollment office by appointment only. Please call (608) 743-5153 or
(608) 743-5072.

If you cannot attend the enrollment period please come in as soon as possible to enroll after December 15, 2020. Enrollment in the district is required for participation in orientation. When you enroll, you will need your child’s birth certificate for proof of age, proof of residency (top portion of a utility bill, or current lease) to determine school assignment, immunization records and photo identification.

The window for Requests for School Transfer/Placement within the School District (yellow forms) for incoming kindergarten students are available from December 1, 2020, through December 15, 2020, and should be submitted through the enrollment process. Forms are available at all schools, as well as at the Educational Services Center. If you have questions regarding this process contact Deen Hartley at 743-5152. The status of requests will be determined by January 15, 2021 if they are turned in by December 15th. If you
have a student currently attending a school under a School Transfer/Placement within the School District, it does not automatically qualify your kindergarten student for attendance at the same school; however, siblings are generally assigned to the same school. In order for your kindergarten student to attend the same school as a sibling, you must submit a request during the Kindergarten Enrollment time frame.

If you know of a child in your neighborhood or from community activities that would be entering kindergarten for the 2021-2022 school year, please pass this enrollment information on.

Non-District Residents
If you are a non-resident of the School District of Janesville and have a child turning 5 (five) years old prior to September 1, 2021 and would like your child to attend the School District of Janesville you must also apply for OPEN ENROLLMENT. The timeline for Open Enrollment is February 1, 2021, to April 30, 2021. Currently open enrolled non-residents in a P4J or EC program do not need to re-apply.