Weekly Family Newsletter: 3/13/22

Posted March 13, 2022

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Dear Commander Community,

During the Collaborative School Committee meeting on Tuesday, we discussed the importance of students attending every class every day except when you are sick or have a family emergency. Several exciting strategies to encourage our students to increase their attendance emerged from the meeting that I would like to share with you:

  • Students with a 93% attendance or above from 3/14 – 4/8 will be entered into a drawing to receive a FREE pair of prom tickets (limited to Juniors and Seniors and their dates). If the winner already paid for their tickets, they will be refunded their money.

  • Students with a 93% attendance or above for the month of March will be recognized and awarded a special prize during our student celebration and Rock n’ Jock basketball game on 3/25.

  • We will be launching a social media campaign highlighting the importance of attendance on graduation rates and postsecondary success on Instagram @ jfk_commanders and on Facebook @JFKCommanders.

Additionally, Quarter 3 is ending on 3/17, and all classwork and homework was due on 3/10 to provide teachers with the opportunity to grade work prior to the close of the quarter. Students, you will still be able to turn in assessments from Quarter 3 throughout the semester; therefore, it is imperative that you stay on top of your classwork and homework, as these assignments prepare you for success on course assessments. Don’t forget to go to After School Tutoring on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:30 pm to 4 pm if you need extra support from your teachers.  Parents and Guardians, we will be emailing Quarter 3 progress reports with an on track to graduate report during the week of 3/20. Here is a parent guide to Schoology, our Learning Management System, that will indicate students’ grades and assignments on an ongoing basis. 

Have a Commander Kind of Week!

Tiffany Almon
Proud Principal
She, her, hers and why they matter
tiffany_almon@dpsk12.org
 

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TAKE COMMAND OF YOUR SCHOOL YEAR
  • JFK Attendance Email: We have regained access to our jfkattendance@dpsk12.net email. Our Front Office team is working hard to catch up on your email requests to make sure they are reflected into IC. Please feel free to continue to use this email to excuse your students for future absences. 
  • CSC Meeting: Here are this week’s CSC minutes, deck and recording.
  • Commander Conversation Town Hall Meeting: Our Commander Conversation town hall meeting for this week will be cancelled. We will host another meeting next month after Spring Break.
  • Rock and Jock Celebration: We are going to host the annual Rock n’ Jock basketball game on March 25th at 1:00 PM. The event takes place in the gym and will be our first indoor all-school event since Fall of 2019. The first 30 minutes will be spent on student celebrations/recognitions. We will recognize 5 students from each “class of” to represent one of the values of the P.R.I.D.E acronym. We will also celebrate our wrestling team (state qualifiers) and our girls basketball team for making the playoffs. 

  • JFK New Hires: We are so excited to welcome these new team members to our Commander Family!

    • Kelli Hubbard is our new school-based therapist at JFK High School! She received an undergraduate degree from Colorado State University and a Master of Counseling degree from Regis University.  Prior to her role as a school-based therapist, she worked with incarcerated youth for 5 ½ years at Lookout Mountain and Mount View Youth Services Center.

    • Blanca Lobo is our new member of the Front Office team. Prior to starting at Kennedy, Blanca worked for both Henry Middle School and Sabin Elementary on their Front Office teams.  

TAKE COMMAND OF YOUR INVOLVEMENT
  • Parent Involvement:
    • Want to join our Parent Teacher Student Association, the Commander Connection? Email our Communications Specialist, Laurentz Gilmore at laurentz_gilmore@dpsk12.org.
    • Want to be involved in making decisions in regard to our English Language Acquisition programming? Join our ELA – Parent Advisory Committee by emailing laurentz_gilmore@dpsk12.org. See HERE for more information regarding the ELA – Parent Advisory Committee. 
 
RESOURCES
  • IMPORTANT RESOURCES TO KEEP YOUR FAMILY SAFE AFTER SCHOOL HOURS: The JFK Mental Health & Culture Teams wanted to share important resources for families to utilize in need after school hours.

    How Can You Help Your Teen?

    • LEARN the warning signs/risk factors (what you are doing right now!) 
    • TALK to your teen about depression and suicide 
    • LISTEN to your teen’s concerns 
    • TEACH your teen to stand up for others who are being bullied either by telling a trusted adult or by reporting it anonymously to Safe2Tell 
    • SUPPORT JFK STAFF in school suicide prevention programming (If Necessary) 
    • FIND HELP for your teen, either through JFK staff or outside mental health providers
    • IF EMERGENCY: Call 911 OR Take teen to closest emergency hospital 
    • Make a Safe2Tell Report through their hotline 1-877-542-7233, their website (https://safe2tell.org/), or via app @Safe2TellCO. 
    • Contact Colorado Crisis Services – 24/7 Hotline & Clinics 1-844-493-TALK (8255) or text TALK to 38255 24 hour suicide prevention phone hotlines 
    • Contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline (English and Spanish) 1-800-273-8255 
    • When possible, follow up with JFK’s Mental Health Team. They may complete a Suicide Risk Review (SRR) or Self-Injury Protocol (SII) (Denver Public Schools suicide/self-injury assessments) when school resumes. 
  • 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 the link to access DPS Coronavirus Resources
  • Here is the Southwest Denver Free Activities Calendar
 
 
TAKE COMMAND OF YOUR FUTURE

 Counseling Updates:

  • Signs of Suicide make-up lessons will be delivered on Monday, March 14th to any 9th graders and new JFK students who missed the lesson during 1st semester . 

  • 3/15-3/16 – Metro/Convivir Presentation: Educating all Immigrants. This presentation will cover postsecondary opportunities for students from all immigrant backgrounds. We are inviting all students scheduled in ELD, but it is open to any and all students! Feel free to share the flier (Spanish version) with your classes and have them contact Shea Caballero at shea_johnson@dpsk12.net if they are interested in attending! 

  • The ASCENT application deadline has been extended to March 15th! Seniors can check their Class of 2022 Schoology group page for more details. The ASCENT program provides a free year of College for students who will graduate high school having earned at least 12 college credits. There is a new ASCENT bill under consideration in the Colorado Legislature that would reduce the number of required college credit hours from 12 to 6, so if any seniors meet this potential reduced requirement, we recommend that they apply now!

 
TAKE COMMAND OF YOUR HEALTH & SAFETY

On Feb. 9, the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment announced that the public health order requiring masks in schools will expire at the end of the day on Friday, Feb. 25. 

Masks are still required in all indoor school settings through that date. 

The decision by DDPHE means that, beginning Monday, Feb. 28, masks will no longer be required, but will be strongly recommended for all students, staff, and visitors across DPS. 

Our health partners made this decision based on high rates of immunity and lower rates of severe disease.

We know that we are still in unprecedented times and that this announcement may cause many different emotions to arise amongst our families. We are tremendously grateful to each and every one of you for coming together during the pandemic to follow the guidelines set forth by our health agencies. Please know, JFK is still committed to doing our best to adapt to these changes, while helping to ensure the healthiest conditions in our schools and worksites. Here are some examples of how we are still maintaining the health and safety of our students and staff across the district:

  • DPS is in full compliance, across all schools and worksites, with the city’s vaccine mandate.
  • DPS has and will continue to closely with our state and local health partners, including DDPHE and Denver Health. Our COVID-19 plan and procedures continue to be guided by their medical and public health expertise.
  • JFK continues to share information about vaccination and covid-19 testing opportunities in the community.

If you or your family members have not yet been vaccinated or boosted, please consider doing so as soon as possible, as it remains the best way to protect our children, families and neighbors. Thank you, again, for your partnership and understanding throughout all of the changes and challenges of this pandemic.

IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES
  • 3/28-4/4 — Spring Break

  • 5/2 — Senior Signing Day

  • 5/20 — Senior Checkout

  • 5/21 — Senior Parade

  • 5/23 — Senior Awards

  • 5/25 — Class of 2022 Graduation

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

   EVENT CALENDAR

 

HELPFUL LINKS

JOHN F. KENNEDY HIGH SCHOOL

2855 S. LAMAR ST. DENVER, CO 80227