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Principal

Lindsey Matkin

Assistant Principals

Chris Bergmann Erin LaRue

Main Line 970-488-5400

Attendance Line 970-488-5401

September

2021

Visit our

website to learn more about

Kinard.

Kinard Middle School

Welcome back, Mustangs!

We’ve had a great first few weeks with our new and returning Mustangs! We are proud of our Kinard community and happy that each of you is a part of the incredible things happening at our school. Our dedicated staff, hard-working and enthusiastic students, and supportive parents make Kinard a school of excellence. View the pictures below for a sneak peek of our first days kicking off the 2021-22 school year.

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In Honor of Hal Kinard We Can and We Will

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In Honor of Hal Kinard We Can and We Will

Virtual Choir Performances

Mr. Wheeler and our choir students created some truly incredible virtual performances last year. Despite the limitations and safety protocols for performing arts classes, Mr. Wheeler and his students found a way to continue making music safely and engaging in authentic learning experiences. Mr. Wheeler even capitalized on our use of virtual meeting technology to bring some former Kinard students and current performing artists “into” the classroom via Google Meet to collaborate and perform with our students. If you haven’t yet seen their final productions, check them out by clicking the images below or follow Mr. Wheeler’s YouTube channel for all our virtual choir performances.

Kinard Core Knowledge Middle School's performance of Rise Up with Jazz Davis & the Mustang Chorale. Director: Scott Wheeler. Jazz Davis joined her middle school alma mater to inspire a new generation of singers during the 2020 Pandemic.

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In Honor of Hal Kinard We Can and We Will

Virtual Choir Performances continued

Kinard Core Knowledge Middle School's performance of 'The House That Built Me' with Sarahbeth Taite and the Beginning Choir. Sarahbeth Taite joined her middle school alma mater to inspire a new generation of young women singers during the 2020 Pandemic.

Student Absences and Early Pick-ups

If your child is ill and will not be attending school on a given day, please be sure to call in to our 24-hour attendance line at 488-5401. Please leave us your name, your child’s name, and his/her student ID number. Even if you contact your child’s individual teachers to notify them of the absence or to request make up work, you still need to call the attendance line to confirm the absence with our office staff. You can also report an absence for your child via ParentVUE. If you would like to learn more about this option, click here.

Additionally, if you plan to pick your child up for an appointment or early dismissal, please call our main office at 488-5400 as early in the day as pos-sible. It can be more difficult to get your child to you quickly if you wait to call until you are in the parking lot or immediately needing your student for dismissal.

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Quick Reference Guide

During the first weeks of school, students reviewed the policies and practices outlined in our Kinard Quick Reference Guide in their classes. Click here to read and review our Quick Reference Guide, which contains very important school-wide information including:

• Student/Teacher Communication Practices and Strategies

• Behavioral Expectations

• Academic Expectations

• Standards-Based Grading Practices

• PSD Work Habits Rubric

• Dress Policy

• Synergy Information

• And much more…

Student Masks

We have been so impressed with our students and their dedication to following our current health and safety protocols. Students are helping us by watching their distance, washing hands frequently, and wearing their masks appropriately indoors. As a reminder, students should be bringing a clean mask with them to school each day, and we would suggest that students keep a spare mask or two in their backpacks or lockers. We have some extra disposable masks to give students in an emergency if theirs breaks or gets lost; however, we cannot supply a mask daily to students. Thanks for your support and understanding as we work together to keep everyone safe, healthy, and in school!

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Student Pictures Make-up Day

If your child was unable to have his/her individual student photo taken during registration, we are offering an alternate time to complete 2021-22 student pictures. Skillman Photography will be at Kinard beginning at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, September 2nd for any students who still need a photo taken for this year. If possible, please drop your child at school by 7:45 a.m. to ensure we can get photos completed by the beginning of classes. Skillman order forms are available in the main office or by clicking here.

Please note:

• We will schedule a picture re-take day later in the fall. This event is only for students who did not have photos taken at registration.

• Students may enter the main doors between 7:30-8:00 a.m. to go to the Media Center for photos. Once their photo is complete, they will head back outside to wait until 8:00 a.m. for our regular building entry process.

• Students will be permitted to remove their masks, once seated, for their photo.

If you have any questions, please contact the main office at 488-5400.

Parent Partnership

The Kinard Parent Partnership is a group of dedicated parent volunteers who are an integral part of the success of our school. While we don’t expect to be able to return to a full slate of extra-curricular activities this year, we do have plenty of opportunities for parent involvement. Examples of ways parents can contribute are by coordinating appreciation activities for our staff, creating common area bulletin boards, serving students in our media center, and helping at events (i.e. registration, conferences, 6th grade family night, vision and hearing testing, 8th grade celebration, yearbook distribution, last day picnic).

We are scheduling a kick-off meeting for all interested parents at 8:30 a.m. on September 9th. Please RSVP to Cecilia Bonertz, Academic Dean, at cbonertz@psdschools.org if you plan to attend. Once we have a firm count of participants, we will determine whether to host this meeting in person or virtually and will confirm with all volunteers the time and location. The purpose of this meeting will be to communicate about our planned activities and elicit parent volunteers. If you are unable to attend but would like your name to be included on our potential volunteer list, please email Cecilia Bonertz, Academic Dean, at cbonertz@psdschools.org.

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Appropriate Dress

Responsibility for the dress and appearance of students generally rests with the individual students and their parents. Student appearance should reflect pride in themselves when attending school and school-sponsored events. As stated in district policy, students must wear: a shirt (with fabric in the front, back, and on the sides underneath the arms); pants or the equivalent (e.g. a skirt, sweatpants, leggings, a dress, or shorts); and shoes (e.g. sandals, boots, or athletic shoes).

• Clothing choices need to allow for the participation in all school-related activities (e.g. flip flops, Crocs, and sandals are okay for school, but students should bring athletic shoes when they participate in P.E. and health classes due to the activity level).

• Students who wear shirts with inappropriate statements or pictures that cause or have the potential to cause disruption to the learning of others will be asked to wear the shirt inside out or will be provided with another shirt if one is available. They may also call home and ask their parents to bring a different shirt or top.

• Hats or hoods that do not obscure a student’s face or ears are permitted.

Important Yearbook Information

The 2021-2022 Kinard yearbook is available for purchase! Make sure that your child doesn’t miss out on our yearbook tradition. It’s the only book that captures the year’s events, activities, friendships, experiences, and memories from Kinard Core Knowledge Middle School. You may place your order for the yearbook at jostens.com. If you have already purchased a book, thank you! If you are unsure, please contact Emily Terry, Yearbook Advisor, by email at eterry@psdschools.org. This year’s book is one you won’t want to miss!

8th Grade Parents:

You can submit your "baby ads" to Monica at The Yearbook Company. There is an early-bird discount for ads submitted (photos, message, & payment) by October 29th! Reminder: All ADS CAN BE SUBMITTED ONLINE, click here to do so. If you have any questions about baby ads, please contact Monica Brown from The Yearbook Company at 951-274- 9561.

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Counselors’ Corner

Greetings to all of our new families and those returning! There are two counselors to support students and families at Kinard, and we divide our caseload by last name:

• Mrs. Patti Young - students with the last names starting with A-G; pyoung@psdschools.org; 970-488-5406

• Ms. Karen Irvine - students with last names starting with H-Z; kirvine@psdschools.org; 970-488-5408

Our offices are located in Kinard’s Student Services office. You can easily connect with us and the Student Services department online via Kinard’s homepage (under “School Info” and “Contacts”), or by clicking on these links:

School Counseling Learning Page

Kinard Student Services

With the assistance of our amazing 8th grade WEB (Where Everyone Belongs) Leaders, we welcomed nearly 300 6th graders on August 13th. We will be visiting 6th grade ELOs in September to share how students can connect with us at school and online, as well as our role as school counselors and how we support students. Later this quarter, we will teach our SEL (Social & Emotional Learning) curriculum in 6th grade classrooms to support students’ development of healthy relationship skills, and additionally how to handle conflict or bullying situations. Visits to 7th and 8th grade classrooms will happen later this fall.

Please reach out with any needs or questions you have.

Order Your Kinard Spirit Gear!

Are you looking to get in the Mustang spirit with some cool new Kinard shirts or hoodies? Order now from Garretson’s Sports! Click here to purchase online or see the flyer on page 13 of this newsletter for more details. Our first ordering window closes September 19th so order now to get your gear as soon as possible. We will offer a second ordering window later in the fall.

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School Accountability Committee

We are reaching out to all parents to extend an invitation to serve on our 2021-2022 School Accountability Committee (SAC). Our first SAC meeting for the year will be held on Monday, September 13th from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. The Kinard School Accountability Committee meets four times per year, approximately quarterly.

If you are interested in serving on the SAC committee this year, please RSVP to Erin LaRue at elarue@psdschools.org by Friday, September 3rd. Once we have a firm count of participants, we will determine whether to host meetings in person or virtually, as we did last year.

The SAC is a wonderful opportunity to enhance our partnership with parents through an organized group composed of both parents and teachers at Kinard. The SAC has a very specific focus, established by the Colorado Department of Education and Poudre School District. Primary topics for analysis and discussion will include budget allocation and Kinard's Unified Improvement Plan (UIP). Other topics that may be discussed in this committee include but are not limited to: parent involvement, student transitions, curriculum, instruction, assessment, systems for support, communication, technology, leadership, decision-making, positive behavior support, and school-wide capacity building.

New SRO communication protocol in place for 2021-22

New for the 2021-22 school year, schools will notify families before a School Resource Officer (SRO) is scheduled to teach in their child’s classroom. This is a new addition to the SRO contracts, approved for this school year. Families can then choose whether to opt their student out of a class. If they choose to do so, students will be given topic-related work to complete during the scheduled class. If they do not opt out, it will be assumed that the student may attend. Click here for more information about PSD’s School Resource Officer Program.

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Student Clubs & Extra-Curricular Activities

We have a variety of clubs and extra-curricular opportunities that promote student involvement and cater to many different student interest areas. Below is a list of the current clubs we offer at Kinard. If your child is interested in participating in some of these wonderful activities, please see our website for specific meeting times, dates, and locations. *Please note: Specific dates and times are subject to change. Additional communication about Kinard clubs and activities will be sent through subsequent

newsletters, emails, and updates on our activity calendar. Be on the lookout for all our amazing student opportunities! And if your student is interested in pursuing a new student-led club this year, they can see Mrs. LaRue in the main office for details on this process.

School-Sponsored Clubs:

• Fitness Club

• Lego Robotics

• MathCounts

• National Junior Honor Society (NJHS)

• Science Fair Club

• Science Olympiad

• Theater Club

• Yearbook

Student-Led Clubs:

• Fellowship of Christian Teens/Athletes (FCT/FCA)

Lego Robotics Kickoff for the 2021-22 school year

Kinard’s Robotics season is off to a great start with over 35 students interested in joining the competition club.

There will be a parent meeting on September 9th in room 510 to discuss the season and how Lego Robotics works at Kinard. We do not have the competition dates as of yet, but there will be a qualifier in November (local), State Competition in December (usually in Denver) and Nationals in January.

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Kinard Science Olympiad (K-SO) 2021/22 season

We are looking forward to kicking off the K-SO season in October. The plan is to have all in-person events this year with the option to participate in My-SO independently like last year.

The student meeting will be held during ELO on September 22nd in room 510.

The parent meeting will be on October 6th at 6pm in the Media Center to discuss the details and to recruit coaches for the 23 different events that make up the Science O challenges. Please consider spending one day a week to coach an event to help the K-SO students have another amazing season!

If you have any questions, please contact Tim McGonagil at jmcgonagil@psdschools.org.

Traffic Expectations

We want to share a heartfelt thank you to our Mustang community for following our student drop-off and pick-up expectations and keeping our students safe during these busy times of day. It takes all of us following the expectations to ensure a safe and efficient morning and afternoon routine. Thank you for doing your part! And please remember, if you choose to pick up or drop off your student on any neighboring streets, please be sure to follow traffic safety rules and be respectful of homes, driveways, and private property in the neighborhoods surrounding Kinard.

The competition season and after-school practices will end at the start of the 2nd semester.

With the number of students we have interested this year, there is an even great need for parent volunteers to help coach/mentor the students. If you are interested in being a part of Kinard Robotics this year, please contact Tim McGonagil at jmcgonagil@psdschools.org.

Lego Robotics Kickoff for the 2021-22 school year continued

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Health Office News

This is a reminder for the required Tdap vaccination prior to entering 6th grade and the new nonmedical (religious/personal belief) exemption process. Below is also an overview of ParentVUE and medications for Kinard’s health office.

TDAP All 6th through 12th graders are required to have the Tdap booster. The “p” (pertussis) has been added to the standard Td booster to protect teens against whooping cough. If you cannot get in to see your doctor before November 1st, you can also get the required immunization at Walgreens, King Soopers, and Costco, etc. We are entering in the immunization records we got at registration so it may take us a few weeks for the record to show up in ParentVUE.

For more information, please view the following:

Tdap Vaccine Information

Colorado Department of Health and Environment Letter

PSD’s Immunizations Webpage

EXEMPTIONS If you choose not to vaccinate your student with any of the required immunizations, you must submit a new nonmedical (religious/personal belief) exemption every school year after July 1st and submit a copy of the completed form or online Certificate to Kinard. Visit https://www.colorado.gov/cdphe/vaccine-exemptions for more information and to download the new form or complete the online education module. If you previously did an exemption but have since received the required immunization(s), you can also provide an updated immunization record to Kinard.

Beginning with the 2021-2022 school year, the process of submitting a nonmedical (religious/personal belief) exemption to any Colorado school will change. There will be two ways to submit a nonmedical exemption.

• Submit the Certificate of nonmedical exemption WITH a signature from an immunizing provider who is a medical doctor, doctor of osteopathic medicine, advanced practice nurse or delegated physician’s assistant

OR

• Submit the Certificate of nonmedical exemption received upon the completion of CDPHE’s Online Immunization Education Module.

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Health Office News continued

Parents of students in grades K-12 claiming a nonmedical exemption must submit one annually. Nonmedical exemptions expire June 30th each year. If you submit a Certificate of nonmedical exemption on or before June 30th, it will not be valid for the upcoming school year.

PARENTVUE You can view your student’s current immunization record on ParentVUE on the website or ParentVUE app.

In ParentVUE – Under Health:

• You can view Nurse Visits – how many times your student has visited the health office

• You can view Health Conditions – anything you need to add/change here, you can do so at the beginning of the school year, and we highly recommend updating this information annually

• You can view Immunizations – you can see if you have updated Kinard with the required Tdap record or if you are missing any other required vaccinations. If you submitted your form during registration, we are still updating the records so it may take a few weeks to show up.

MEDICATIONS If you need forms for any health/medication reasons for the health office or to self-carry emergency medications during the upcoming school year, please visit the Poudre School District website. Review and print from section 6. Consent for taking medication at school and section 8. Health care action plans for the correct paperwork. Self-carry is allowed and encouraged in middle school for emergency medications only such as Inhalers, EpiPens (or any Epinephrine injector), Benadryl (severe allergic reactions only), Glucagon, etc. Some families have their student self-carry (backpack/locker/PE locker for after school activities, clubs, athletics, field trips, walking home, etc.) and then store a second medication in the health office if they prefer. Kinard staff is delegated every school year to help & administer a self-carry EpiPen or any Epinephrine injector. New paperwork is needed every school year and should be filled out by your health care provider and dated after June 1st. The completed paperwork (double check all the required signatures – front & back) and medication (double check expiration dates) can be turned into Kinard’s health office at the beginning of the school year.

If you have any questions regarding immunizations or health needs for Kinard during the 2021-2022 school year, please contact:

-Heather Julian, Kinard Health Tech, hjulian@psdschools.org

Health Office: 488-5441 Fax: 488-5433

-Kim Williamson, Kinard School Nurse, kwilliamson@psdschools.org

School Nurse: 222-8316

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