Commander Communicator: 5/23/22

Posted May 23, 2022

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Dear Commander Community,

Congratulations to all of our Seniors who overcame so many challenges to graduate this Wednesday! The ceremony will be held from 11am – 1pm at Infinity Park in Glendale, and the event will be live streamed through the JFK Facebook page. If you are attending the ceremony, please bring water and sunscreen. Seniors received their tickets if they completed all graduation requirements by 3:30pm on Wednesday May 18th and attended checkout on Friday the 20th. If you are a Senior student who did meet all graduation requirements and could not attend check out, the counselors have reached out to you by phone or email and you can come to the school on MONDAY the 23rd to check out in the Counseling office. Tuesday the 24th is MANDATORY graduation ceremony practice at 9am in our auditorium. The Senior Brunch is at Columbine Country Club at 11:30 on Tuesday immediately following graduation ceremony practice. You can still buy your tickets at the Treasurer’s office. Additionally, if you were invited to attend Senior Awards Night, please bring your family to the JFK Auditorium on Monday the 23rd from 5 – 7 pm to pick up your cords and stoles and to be honored during this special event.

If you are a Junior and missed the Rising Senior information session on Thursday evening, please check out the information that was shared HERE.

All assignments except finals were due on Friday the 20th for 9th – 11th graders. Please check out the finals schedule below and attend school Monday (GREEN DAY)  and Tuesday (BLUE DAY) to prepare for finals with your teachers. 

If you are a SENIOR or a student who is enrolling in a school outside of the DPS district See HERE for important information regarding technology. Otherwise, all students will keep their Chromebooks for the summer to use for the 22-23 school year. 

Summer learning opportunities for students, please check them out here. If you would like to sign up for Summer Concurrent Enrollment courses to start earning college credit now, see here.

SHOUT OUTS:

  • Shout out to the cast and crew of the SWEET DREAMS school play. This was a student-created performance, and it was EPIC! The cast overcame endless challenges to make this production an unforgettable compilation of vignettes that depicted the tumult, sorrow, isolation, and desperation many of our students endure each day.

  • Shout out to the drumline students who performed at the Southwest IB Festival at Sabin on Friday night. They represented Kennedy very well.

  • 576 9th-11th grade students have been exposed to some sort of college or career programming from the Future Center!

  • The class of 2022 has been awarded $3,817,668 in scholarships, this doesn’t include the nearly $500,000 from DSF which they are eligible for. Chris Tran brings in about 1/4 of that total with 1.149 million just on his own! Go Chris!

  • Eliana Loya was selected for the MC2 internship with Denver Health. Eliana was one of 16 students selected for this internship out of over 200 applicants! 

  • Jarely Villalba has been selected for the Career Wise apprenticeship for a CNA position at Swedish!!

  • Here is a 2-page list of students participating in Career and College Success programs this spring and summer. We are so proud of all of our students who are Taking Command of their Future this summer!

  • Shout out to our amazing facilities crew. They have had to put up with a lot this year and are still coming out on top. We have the best crew in the district by far. Please take some time to thank them for their hard work. 

Please read the updates and reminders below to prepare for the week ahead. 
Have a Commander Kind of Week!

Tiffany Almon
Proud Principal
She, her, hers and why they matter
tiffany_almon@dpsk12.org
 
EMAIL ME MEET WITH YOUR COUNSELOR  DONATE VISIT OUR SITE PARENT PORTAL
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TAKE COMMAND OF YOUR SCHOOL YEAR
  • Early Bird Registration: Early Bird Registration for the 22-23 School will open May 2nd and run through May 20th. All returning students must register for the following school year! 

    You can complete the registration steps in your Parent Portal account. 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. 

    Although we are only offering registration through the Parent Portal this year, we will be offering an in person event to help guide families through the online process. Please join us on Saturday, May 7th between 9 am and 1 pm if you need help completing your online registration! It would help speed up the process if you create a parent portal account prior to the event.

    Any parent that completes their registration (whether online in their home or online at the school) 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!

    *Please note that students will not receive their schedules until the beginning of the 22-23 school year.*

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

  • Summer Concurrent Enrollment Courses: The Higher Education Initiatives and Regional Summer School teams are excited to announce the courses for concurrent enrollment summer school are available. Concurrent enrollment courses help students gain access to free college credits, saving time and money on their path toward career and college. Content areas include: English, math, sociology, ethnic studies, literature, womens’ studies, chicano/a studies, and history.  Click here for more information.
  • JFK Soccer Camp for Middle Schoolers: Do you know any students in middle school? JFK is hosting a soccer camp for all middle school boys on April 23rd. Our soccer season starts before the first day of school so this is a great way for prospective students to find out what we have to offer until they get here. Kids that participate in sports and activities in their first semester in high school thrive at a much higher rate than kids who sit on the sidelines.Our soccer program is open to all grades, and it will be on our turf field at Kennedy. Click here for all of the details.
  • Bear Valley Improvement Association Clean Up: The Bear Valley Improvement Association will be conducting a Bear Valley Park clean up on April 23rd from 9-11.  They will be meeting near JFK at the parking lot at Lamar & Dartmouth.  They provide reflective vests, grabbers, trash bags and water and would love to have students and/or Kennedy staff join them! Contact Carolyn Ewald at cewald53@gmail.com to get involved.  
  • After School Tutoring Postponed: Given the testing schedule we will be postponing after school tutoring until the week of 4/18/22. It will resume on 4/19 and take place after school every Tuesday and Thursday from 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm in the JFK Library.
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:

  • 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.

  • 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.
 
TAKE COMMAND OF YOUR HEALTH & SAFETY

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 .
IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES

  • 5/23 — Senior Awards

  • 5/24 — Senior Brunch

  • 5/24 — Graduation Rehearsal 

  • 5/25 — Class of 2022 Graduation

  • 5/25 — Asynchronous Day for 9 -11 Graders

  • 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