Commander Communicator: 5/16/22

• Early Bird Registration: You can still complete the registration steps online in your Parent Portal account until May 20th. All returning students must register for the following school year! If you do not have a Parent Portal account, please follow these instructions in English and Spanish in order to create one. Parent Portal is a useful tool that can be used throughout the year to keep up on your student’s grades and attendance. 

  Any parent that completes their registration in the month of May will be entered into a drawing for a Google Home and a $50 Walmart gift card. There will be 3 winners total!

  If you have questions please contact Blanca Lobo at 720-423-4320 or email blanca_lobo1@dpsk12.net.  

• Rising Senior Night: This event is happening on Thursday May 19th at 6pm-7pm in the JFK auditorium. This event will be for all current Junior's families to come and learn about how your student can get prepared for Senior year through helpful resources, including financial aid knowledge and meeting the faculty from the Future Center. If you have any questions feel free to email Ambria Merriex at amerriex@denverscholarship.org  Hope to see you there!
• Senior Events:  It is officially Seniors Month! Please review the following information regarding upcoming senior events.

       – Senior Fees Due – May 13th: Seniors should have all their fees paid in their myschoolbucks account. If you do not have a myschoolbucks account or have questions about your fees, please contact Marylou Diaz at marylou_diaz@dpsk12.net or 720-423-4311
      – Senior Checkout – May 20th: Senior Checkout will be Friday, May 20th  7:30 am in the GYM. At Senior Checkout you will need to complete the following: Grade/Credit Check with counselor, Turn in Technology, Check out with the Future Center, Meet with the School Nurse, Pick up your Graduation Tickets. Please review this checklist to know what you will need to complete by senior checkout. 

      – Class of 2022 Parade – May 21st: Please join us for the Class of 2022 Parade and help us celebrate our seniors on Saturday, May 21st at 11 AM. RSVP here to participate. Underclassmen, please come out and line the streets to show support to your fellow Commanders!

     – Senior Brunch – May 24th: Senior Brunch will be immediately after Rehearsal at 11:30 AM at Columbine Country Club. Dress is semi-formal, tickets are $25 which includes brunch and drinks. Senior superlatives will be awarded at Brunch. No family members, outside guests, or younger students are allowed at brunch. 

     – Graduation – May 25th

• The See More Opportunity Summer Program is available to current and graduating Denver-area high school students, and prepares the most important skills for college and career, including the skill of making lifelong career decisions. The online program includes the world’s most-advanced, most-personalized learning technology, so that students of ALL academic abilities will benefit. This is a part-time program that won’t interfere with summer jobs or vacations, and takes an average of only about an hour a day. Students will receive a $100 completion bonus and college credit worth hundreds of dollars, along with an opportunity for a $10,000 scholarship.  More information and the application are available at www.smilabs.org/special/summerdenver.

• 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. 

• 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

 Counseling Updates:

• Counselors will be participating in Senior Checkout on Friday, May 20th.

• Some of the counseling offices have moved!  You can now find Mr. Naughton in 203CA and Ms. Martiniere in 203B.

• Registration for the DPS Regional Summer School program is now open! All details of the program are outlined in the form. The deadline to register is May 30th, 2022.

•  

  2. Joe Naughton (Last names Gr-N): joe_naughton@dpsk12.net

  3. Meghan Martiniere (Last names O-Z): meghan_martiniere@dpsk12.net 

• Shea Caballero is on maternity leave until the end of the school year. Her caseload has been divided amongst the other Counseling team members during that time.

  • Joe Naughton and Meghan Martiniere have taken over Class of 2021/2022 students while she is gone to ensure that they are prepared for graduation.

    • Meghan Martiniere: A-Ci

    • Joe Naughton: Co-Go

  • Michael Kelly has taken over Class of 2025-2023 A-Go students for the remainder of the school year in Room 203.

•  

  Here is the link to the Summer CE Flyer: https://tinyurl.com/DPSSummerCE

  Here are the School Counselor email addresses:

  1. Michael Kelly (Last names A-Go): michael_kelly2@dpsk12.net

  https://tinyurl.com/JFKRSS2022

• Are you interested in earning FREE COLLEGE CREDIT?? DPS is offering students the opportunity to take 1 Concurrent Enrollment college course this summer! If you are interested, please see the flyer at the link below, speak to your parent/guardian for permission, and email your School Counselor by FRIDAY, MAY 13 with your top 2 courses of interest..

Did you know Denver Health is offering mobile vaccine clinics around Denver?

Please call 303-602-6115 before attending any of the Mobile Heath Center vaccination clinics to check for cancellations. See the full schedule at https://den.health/MHC-Schedule. 

Remember, JFK's own Denver Health clinic offers the vaccine as well! If someone needs an appointment or has general questions, please call our clinic at 720-423-4355 .

• 5/20 — Senior Checkout

• 5/20 — IB World Festival @ Sabin Elementary

• 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

• Click here to access Student Schoology Supports
• Here is a Schoology Parent Guide
• Parent Portal Login Presentation
• Parent Portal Login Video
• Schoology App Login Guide – English | Spanish
• Schoology Parent/Guardian FAQ – English | Spanish

JOHN F. KENNEDY HIGH SCHOOL

2855 S. LAMAR ST. DENVER, CO 80227