Commander Communicator – Week of 02/12/21

• No School: There will be no school for our students on February 15th due to President's Day and no school on February 16th due to a Teacher Professional Work Day. 
• Immunization Letter for 21-22 School Year: Please refer to this letter in regards to immunizations for the 21-22 school year. 
• Bell Schedule Survey: Our pre-COVID bell schedule is from 7:30 am - 2:35 pm Monday through Friday; however, we are considering requesting to shift our bell schedule for the 21-22 school year to 8:00 am to 3:05 pm, since studies show that later start times are beneficial for the health and academic success of our students.
  
  Before we request this shift we want to get input from our students, staff, and families to determine if this bell schedule shift would be a positive change for you. Please complete the quick survey FOUND HERE to provide input on the 21-22 bell schedule. 
• ELA PAC Meeting: We will be hosting our virtual ELA PAC meeting on February 24th at 5:30 PM. We will be discussing ACCESS Test scores and offering resources around immigration and DACA. Here is the link to join!
• JFK Virtual Town Hall: Our next town hall meeting is Wednesday, February 17th at 5 PM. Here is the link to join.
• Breakfast and Lunch Menus: You can find the everyday breakfast and lunch menu on our website. Please click here to see the breakfast menu and here for the lunch menu for the month of February.
• Senior Parent Meeting: Seniors and Senior Families, we want you to know that we are working to find creative ways to make your Senior Year memorable. Please be on the lookout in your email and on our website for important updates about Senior events. There will be a Senior Parent Info and Brainstorming Session on 2/17 at 4 PM. Please join us by using the following meeting information: 

  To join the video meeting, click this link: https://meet.google.com/jkf-ttuv-hon
  Otherwise, to join by phone, dial +1 347-947-7153 and enter this PIN: 987 422 850#
  To view more phone numbers, click this link: https://tel.meet/jkf-ttuv-hon?hs=5

• Utility Assistance: Please review this document if you need utility assistance! UtilityAssistance.pdf 
• Parent Teacher Conferences: Mark your calendars! We will be hosting virtual Parent Teacher Conferences for this semester on March 3rd and March 4th from 3 to 7 PM. Details are coming soon!

• JFK has partnered with a local organization called Bondadosa Foods who has plugged our school into the Colorado Food Cluster. All of our families we will be contacted by Bondadosa in order to send an updated address where they can deliver weekly meals to any children in the household between the ages of 6-18. 

  Fresh Meal Delivery
  The Colorado Food Cluster will deliver free meals directly to your home. These meals will be provided in boxes with enough dinners and snacks for seven days.

  How To Sign Up
  Our families will be pre-enrolled but families must provide current address once they receive a request via email or text from the Colorado Food Cluster. You can expect this sometime next week!

  What to Expect from Deliveries
  Each enrolled student will receive a weekly delivery of seven dinners and seven snacks. Delivery agents will follow public health guidelines to provide safe, contactless deliveries. You will be notified by text when the box arrives! Standard meals for students contain meat. Vegetarian meals can be provided upon request. Please visit www.coloradofoodcluster.com for more information, or to change or cancel your order. Questions? Text Bondadosa’s Customer Support line (720-699-9978) or email cfc@bondadosa.org.

Code2College Resume Workshop: 

Our next workshop is Tuesday, February 16, where students will be learning how to create a resume with our partners at PIMCO. Please share this promotion with your students so they can participate in our next workshop!

PIMCO x Code2CollDonDon't have a resume? Don't worry! We will help you get started! This resume development workshop will help YOU refine your resume to make sure it stands out from the rest of the crowd! 

When: Tuesday, February 16th from 6 PM - 8 PM CT

RSVP Sign up using THIS LINK no later than Monday, February 15th at 7:00pm

Commander Spotlight:

• Melanie Valadez was featured on Chalkbeat and 9News for her work on outreaching latinx members in her community to get vaccinated with the covid-19 vaccine. Read more here.

• Our school nurse created a virtual health office containing links to lots of different information. Click on LINK for helpful resources.
• Here is a link to a list of various food assistance resources around Denver!
• Here is a link to information on Free Covid Tests.
• 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
• Free COVID Tests 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.

Denver Public Schools has been working tirelessly toward the safe and continuous reopening of in-person learning at our schools. As we begin to return to in-person learning, we are working to monitor and screen for COVID-19 across students, faculty, and staff. 

We are partnering with COVIDCheck Colorado to provide free, fast and convenient COVID-19 testing to all faculty, staff and students, not just those who may be experiencing symptoms. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 40% of people who are infected with the coronavirus show no symptoms. Regular testing is a critical step toward the safe and continued re-opening of our schools. Through our partnership with COVIDCheck, we are piloting in-person student testing at 6 DPS High Schools: East, John F. Kennedy High School, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Early College, Northfield, TJ, West Early College/West Leadership Academy.

Each week, a segment of our population of students (who have opted in to the program) will be tested by DPS nursing staff. The in-school tests are done using saliva and results will be available within 24-36 hours. 

The saliva protocol that COVIDCheck Colorado uses is SalivaDirect™, which is an FDA Emergency Use Authorization-approved PCR testing protocol. The Yale School of Public Health developed the protocol; the NBA used SalivaDirect™ in “the bubble” to test its players, and the protocol is being rolled out to other organizations, institutions, and populations around the country. Yale’s studies have shown that SalivaDirect™ PCR is as sensitive as a nasal PCR test and is both more convenient and comfortable for participants than a nasal swab.  

If you would like to sign your student up for this ongoing testing program, please do so now. It’s free, fast, and convenient: https://www.primarybio.com/l/dpsosscreening. If you’d like to see the registration process, here’s a video that goes through each step.  If your student has been exposed to COVID-19 or is experiencing symptoms, they must be tested at a COVIDCheck Colorado drive-up testing site.  Please register for that one-time test here: https://www.primarybio.com/a/denverps.

Thank you for helping us keep our students, staff, and the broader community safe. 

Same as last week:

All students coming into the school building must take and pass the health screener here.

Please read the above message from our principal for more details. 

You can refer to this simplified bell schedule so you know which classes you need to be in as you continue with remote learning. 

Having trouble finding your anchor cohort class? Here is a resource that can help!

• Chromebooks/Hotspots: Denver Public Library will be offering Chromebooks/Hotspots for 3-month checkout periods and it is open to anyone! Those interested will need to contact them at 720-865-2362 and leave a message or email nap@denverlibrary.org.
• Chromebooks: If you are in need of a Chromebook you can pick them up at the school any weekday between 7 AM and 3 PM.
• Hotspots: If you are in need of a hotspot please email laurentz_gilmore@dpsk12.org. We do not have many available but we are working on adding more to our inventory so for now, you will be put on a waitlist until we have more.

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

• 02/03 — Winning Wednesday with CSU Rep
• 02/05 — Socially Distanced Movie Night
• 02/09 — College Readiness Info Night
• ^02/10 — Winning Wednesday with UNC Rep
• 02/17 — Winning Wednesday with UCD Rep
• 03/10 —  Winning Wednesday with CU Boulder Rep

  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!
• 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