Commander Communicator 10/26/20

• New Schedule: Some of you may be wondering why our bell schedule had to change for this semester. That is because we are hoping to be able to open our school building on November 9th, which means that our schedule has to allow for us to do that. These images indicate what the day looks like for our students right now!
• Here is a helpful guide for students containing schedule resources, student information, and more!

• Covid Cases and Free Tests: It is our responsibility to keep you informed when we hear news of covid cases within our community. Please read this news article from our website addressing two positive covid cases within our student body: https://jfk.dpsk12.org/2020/10/21/covid-cases/

  These flyers (in English & Spanish) show upcoming dates and locations for free COVID testing being done throughout the city. We highly encourage taking advantage of this resource in order to help protect each other! Of particular note for our Southwest families is the Abraham Lincoln testing site dates and the Re: Vision testing site date:

  - Lincoln: Saturday, October 24, 9am-1pm

  - Re: Vision (3800 Morrison Road), Tuesday October 20th, 2pm - 6pm

• Athletics: Please follow this link to our post season survey for the Fall 2020 Sports Season. This survey will provide you the opportunity to give us feedback on our work from this past season.  The data that we collect from this survey, will help us to reflect on our strategies/practices, and may inform some of our goals for the offseason.  We appreciate your time in providing us with this feedback.

• Postponement of Events: After a lot of thinking around the safety of our student body and community, we are postponing all in person events scheduled this fall including the parade, Trick or Treat Street, and movie nights.

  We wanted to align with the district's efforts in postponing our return to in person learning until at least November 9th. We hope to offer these kinds of activities in the near future!

• ARISS Contact Rescheduled: Unfortunately, the SpaceX Crew 1 flight has been delayed which impacts our students making contact with the astronauts on the ISS via ham radio. This once in a lifetime opportunity will now take place in early 2021.

• PRIDE Celebration: Please join us for our virtual PRIDE Celebration on Thursday, October 29th in your Anchor Cohort Class (Study Hall) at 8 AM. You don't want to miss this so make sure to be present that day!

• Commander Spotlight: One of our Class of 2020 Commanders was featured on 9News highlighting her experience as a first-generation college student during a pandemic. Read the full article here. 

• JFK Virtual Town Hall: Due to low attendance, we are rescheduling our virtual town halls to occur every other week.

  The link will remain the same (https://meet.google.com/tcf-ypxx-zdf) so please join us next week on Wednesday, October 28th at 5 PM if you have any questions or concerns you would like addressed by our principal.

• ICAP Day: October 28th is ICAP Day which will take place during asynchronous learning time. Please log into your asynchronous google meets during this time to get these completed. ICAPs are a graduation requirement. 

• Here are some updates about the JFK Horror film festival we wanted to share with everyone: The Festival is still going on but...
  - Due to a rise in COVID cases we have had to cancel the Drive In portion of the film festival.
  - The Festival is now completely remote
  - The Festival will now be held Friday Nov 13th. (Friday the 13th)
  What does this mean for you
  - Our submission Date has been pushed back till OCT 30th to give more time
  - We really want as many submissions as possible
  Also it gives our students more time to make as cool of a film as they possibly can!
  - We will still have professional judges looking at student work and giving feedback.
  - Check out our website for updated info! 

• SAT/PSAT: It is important for you to know that JFK High School will still be offering all 12th grade students to take the College Board’s SAT assessment on Tuesday, 10/27/2020 and all 11th grade students to take the College Board’s PSAT NMSQT assessment on Thursday 10/29/2020.

  REMEMBER, THIS ASSESSMENT CAN ONLY BE TAKEN IN PERSON.   

• College and Career Success Month (Take Command of Your Future Month): October is Career and College Success Month. We also want to celebrate the postsecondary achievements and plans of our parents/guardians, alumni, and our students. Please use this form to share your story so we can highlight you on our website and/or district wide platforms! 

  Seniors! Need a little motivation to get your Financial Aid application done (beside the possible $5,000 you can get for college?). Look no further! The Future Center is running a drawing for a $50 gift card!

  Your name will be entered if you:

  • complete the My FAFSA planner on Schoology
  • sign up for an appointment with Ms. Emily
  • start your Financial Aid application (FAFSA for USCitizens, CAFSA for non-citizens) by Nov 1.
    You can make appointments for FAFSA/CAFSA support here any Friday this month, after the above steps are completed!

• Upward Bound is a pre-collegiate program offered at JFK that serves first-generation and limited income students in the Denver area. We offer one-on-one advising, college visit trips in and out of state, Saturday enrichment events, and a 6-week non-residential and residential summer program. This program is FREE for students who get accepted.
  **It looks a little different at this time, due to the pandemic all services are virtual**
   WE ARE CURRENTLY RECRUITING!! This program is competitive and spots are limited, we have openings for 10 freshmen and 5 juniors. (Sophomores will be considered, Senior class is full). For information on how to join, click here. 

• Parent Teacher Home Visit: If you are interested in setting up a virtual meeting with one of our staff members that can talk to you about additional supports for your child please contact laurentz_gilmore@dpsk12.org to schedule one!

• Information to receive free RTD passes: Do you need an RTD pass to support your in-person attendance? Here is an opportunity for free RTD passes, thanks to a partnership with the City of Denver. As a reminder, students who traditionally receive an RTD pass from DPS will continue to do so.

• Here is information on an organization that helps families get access to food.
• Here is information on where to get Free Meals from DPS.
• Here is the link to access DPS Coronavirus Resources. 
• Here is the Southwest Denver Free Activities Calendar
• FLU VACCINES are now available at our Denver Health Clinic!
  • You must be a DPS STUDENT
  • You must be consented for the Denver Health Clinic and also for the Flu Vaccine
    • English E-Sign
    • Spanish E-Sign
  • To make an appointment: E-mail SBHC@dhha.org or call 303-602-8958 or the JFK Clinic direct number: 720-423-4355
• For more information on resources click here.

Same as last week:

• Superintendent Cordova announced that DPS Secondary Schools (middle and high) are delaying the return to in person learning until at least 11/9/20 EXCEPT for students who are in Center Based Programs like the Multi Intensive Program, the Multi Intensive Severe Program, and the Affective Needs Program who will return to in person learning at Kennedy on 10/21 if those students chose to return in person. See Supt. Cordova’s full message here. 

• The district is requiring that all students complete a health screener every day prior to entering the school. Students can complete these screeners daily at this link. We are tentatively planning a return to in-person learning on November 9th pending Superintendent Cordova's decision. Please save this link so your student can have easy access to it each morning!

• Please watch this video for a guide on a Safe Return to School starting tentatively on November 9th.

• Click here for our Return to In Person Plan

• NEW SCHEDULE: Here is a "How To Get to Class in a Remote World" for Quarter 2 in English and in in . You can check your Student Portal for your schedule so you know which period you need to attend each class. If you can't remember if it is a green day or a blue day, please check the Blue/Green Calendar that is also linked on our homepage. 

• Parents and Guardians, PLEASE make sure you are connected to Schoology and Parent Portal, as these are the online platforms that will help you stay up to date on your student’s attendance, grades, and course work. 

  Parent Portal Registration

  Schoology Parent Video

  Schoology Parent Guide

  Student Schoology Supports

  JFK Schoology Class Access

• UNFORTUNATELY, WE ARE OUT OF HOTSPOTS FOR THE TIME BEING. WE WILL UPDATE OUR FAMILIES ONCE WE HAVE MORE AVAILABLE.

• Chromebooks: If you are in need of a Chromebook, you can come to the school any day between 8-3 PM next week. You can park in the main entrance parking lot and we will take care of you at the open window. If students are having issues with their Chromebook, they can also come in to exchange the one they have for a new one. It is always a good idea to call the main office (720-423-4300) prior to coming in to ensure we still have Chromebooks and hotspots available. 
  
  DoTS has been working with CenturyLink in regards to the issue of slow internet speeds on Chromebooks and have narrowed it down to newer modems that have built-in security features.  
   
  CenturyLink has created an email address specifically to provide customer service for families who may be experiencing slow network speeds on their DPS-issued Chromebooks.  
   
  For any families continuing to experience these issues, please have them email chromebook@centurylink.com for continued troubleshooting on their end.

• Troubleshooting: Please contact laurentz_gilmore@dpsk12.org if you are having issues attending your courses in Schoology.

• 10/27 — SAT for Seniors
• 10/28 — ICAP Day
• 10/29 — PSAT for Juniors
• 11/13 — JFK Horror Film Festival Virtual Screening
• 11/09 — Return to In Person (tentative)
• 11/23 - 11/27 — No School

For more information on any of these events check jfk.dpsk12.org

• Here is a helpful guide for students containing schedule resources, student information, and more!
• Here is the link to our Thanksgiving Basket Fundraiser
• Click here to access Student Schoology Supports
• Here is a Schoology Parent Guide
• Download our Free Online Tutoring App
• Here is a resource outlining Mask Guidance
• Here is the link to the Virtual Town Hall Q&A Document.
• Here is the "How To Get to Class in a Remote World" guide in English and Spanish.
• Here is the link to our 20-21 Attendance Policy.
• Here is the link to our step by step online Registration process. All families are required to register their children each school year.
• Schoology Parent One-Pager English | Spanish 
• Parent Portal Login Presentation
• Parent Portal Login Video
• Schoology App Login Guide - English | Spanish
• Schoology Parent/Guardian FAQ - English | Spanish
• Here is the link to our COVID Relief Go Fund Me page, donate if you can, and reach out to me at tiffany_almon@dpsk12.org if you need support from this fund

JOHN F. KENNEDY HIGH SCHOOL

2855 S. LAMAR ST. DENVER, CO 80227