Phone Message Sent November 26th
Hello Cougar Leaders! This is Ms. Joiner with this week’s school connect call.
We hope that everyone was able to enjoy some family time and celebrated by giving thanks during this season of thankfulness. Mrs. Kelch and I sure are thankful for all KES staff, families, and students.
It is Turkey Tie wearing time! We did it! We met our November schoolwide reading challenge goal of reading 5,000,000 words! This means, that on Tuesday November 28th, we will celebrate by wearing fashionable Turkey Ties. These ties can be silly ties, festive ties, funny ties, striped ties, polka-dotted ties, homemade ties, tacky ties, or bow ties. We will also provide paper ties that students can decorate themselves. We can't wait to see the ties that trot in. I am so proud of all of cougars!
Thankful Thursday is a HUGE hit! Our amazing staff members were so touched by the notes of appreciation from our Cougar Families! This will be our last Thankful Thursday. The google form to submit messages was sent on Remind and Facebook.
We are so thankful to all of our parents and families who came to support our Cougar Leaders for Leadership Day! It was a great day for student-led conferences, it gave students an opportunity to share their accomplishments! We could not do this without you!
Our GOTR are collecting items for donations for the Animal Welfare League for their Community Impact Project. They are collecting several different items. The flyer with all the details will be sent over Remind and Facebook. They will be collecting items all this week!
In the month of December, kindergarten, first, and second grade will be completing their 2nd Progress Monitoring for ELA and Math FAST Assessments. Our 3rd-5th graders will be taking their FAST assessments in January. Please be on the lookout for parent letters that will be sent home with students soon.
Well, that’s all for now! I'll see you all on Monday. Have a great evening. Goodbye!
Phone Message Sent November 19th
Hello Cougar Leaders! This is Ms. Joiner with this week’s school connect call.
We are in our final days of our November schoolwide reading challenge! So far, our students have read over 4.4 million words! If our students read 5,000,000 words by Monday, November 27th, on Tuesday November 28th, we will celebrate by wearing fashionable Turkey Ties. These ties can be silly ties, festive ties, funny ties, striped ties, polka-dotted ties, homemade ties, tacky ties, or bow ties. We will also provide paper ties that students can decorate themselves. We can't wait to see the ties that trot in. Keep up the reading, cougar leaders! I am so proud of you!
Thankful Thursday is a HUGE hit! Our amazing staff members were so touched by the notes of appreciation from our Cougar Families! We will be continuing Thankful Thursday every Thursday this month. The Google form to submit messages was sent on Remind and Facebook. November 30th is our last Thankful Thursday.
Thankful Thursday Link: rmd.me/1jYacaPPolm
Leadership Day is Tuesday, November 21st. This event is for our cougar families to visit classrooms and enjoy a student-led conference! Students will review their leadership notebooks and tell of their accomplishments this school year. We can’t wait!
Please join us for our Panera Bread Spirit Night on November 20th from 4-8pm. You must bring your flyer, show the digital version, or use the specific code for online orders. We will post the flyer on both Facebook and Remind. Thanksgiving break begins Wednesday, November 22nd. This means we will only have school on Monday and Tuesday of this week.
Well, that’s all for now! I'll see you all on Monday. Have a great evening. Goodbye!
Phone Message Sent November 12th
Hello Cougar Leaders! This is Ms. Joiner with this week’s school connect call.
Our November schoolwide reading challenge has began! So far, our students have read over 2.2 million words! If our students read 5,000,000 words by Monday, November 27th, on Tuesday November 28th, we will celebrate by wearing fashionable Turkey Ties. These ties can be silly ties, festive ties, funny ties, striped ties, polka-dotted ties, homemade ties, tacky ties, or bow ties. We will also provide paper ties that students can decorate themselves. We can't wait to see the ties that trot in. Keep up the reading, cougar leaders! I am so proud of you!
Thankful Thursday is a HUGE hit! Our amazing staff members were so touched by the notes of appreciation from our Cougar Families! We will be continuing Thankful Thursday this week. The google form to submit messages was sent on Remind and Facebook. Please take the time to write a note or two of appreciation to a staff member of your choice. We will be delivering them again this week for Thankful Thursday.
Attention 5th grade a parents and families, Science Fair began in Ms. Clark's room on Thursday. If you're not connected to Ms. Clark via Remind, please check the science fair letter that went home last week. She will send information via Remind weekly. Thank you!
Join us on Tuesday, November 14th for SAC and PTO meetings in the KES media center. SAC starts at 6pm and PTO at 6:30pm. SAC and PTO meetings are a great way to become involved in decision making at our school.
Leadership Day is November 21st. This event is for our cougar families to visit classrooms and enjoy a student-led conference! Students will review their leadership notebooks and tell of their accomplishments this school year. RSVP flyers went home last week. Please make sure to RSVP at the bottom of the flyer. We can’t wait!
Looking ahead,
Please join us for our Panera Spirit Night on November 20th from 4-8pm. You must bring your flyer, show the digital version, or use the specific code for online orders. We will post the flyer on both Facebook and Remind.
Thanksgiving break begins Wednesday, November 22nd. This means we will only have school on Monday and Tuesday of that week.
Well, that’s all for now! I'll see you all tomorrow. Have a great evening. Goodbye!
Phone Message Sent November 5th
Hello Cougar Leaders! This is Ms. Joiner with this week’s school connect call.
Our November schoolwide reading challenge has began! If our students read 5,000,000 words by Monday, November 27th, on Tuesday November 28th, we will celebrate by wearing fashionable Turkey Ties. These ties can be silly ties, festive ties, funny ties, striped ties, polka-dotted ties, homemade ties, tacky ties, or bow ties. We will also provide paper ties that students can decorate themselves. We can't wait to see the ties that trot in. Keep up the reading, cougar leaders!
Kingsway’s 3rd annual Yearbook Turkey Trot will be on Friday, November 17th during school hours. All money raised needs to be collected and entered into Revtrek by Tuesday, November 7th. Please see the flyer posted on Remind and Facebook with all of the awesomeness that can be earned by raising money to Turkey Trot for yearbooks!
As a reminder, there is no school on November 6th for students.
Join Mrs. C on November 9th from 7:30-8:30am to create Sun Catchers in FRE, it is the place to be!
STEAM Night is November 9th from 5:30-7:30 PM. We're engineering mini catapults out of popsicle sticks and rubber bands to launch weepuls! If the weather is decent and there are no emergencies, the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office Aviation unit will also visit with their helicopter!!!! We're so excited! Please register so we can prepare supplies. You can find registration information on our website and social media sites. We can't wait to see you there!!!
Thankful Thursday was a HUGE hit! Our amazing staff members were so touched by the notes of appreciation from our Cougar Families! We will be continuing Thankful Thursday every Thursday this month. The google form to submit messages was sent on Remind and Facebook. Please take the time to write a note or two of appreciation to a staff member of your choice. We will be delivering them again this week for Thankful Thursday.
Join us on Tuesday, November 14th for SAC and PTO meetings in the KES media center. SAC starts at 6pm and PTO at 6:30pm. SAC and PTO meetings are a great way to become involved in decision making at our school.
Leadership Day is November 21st. This event is for our cougar families to visit classrooms and enjoy a student-led conference! Students will review their leadership notebooks and tell of their accomplishments this school year. Please be on the look out for the flyer that will be coming home this week. Please make sure to RSVP at the bottom of the flyer. We can’t wait!
Well, that’s all for now! I'll see you all on Tuesday. Have a great evening. Goodbye!
Phone Message Sent October 29th
Hello Cougar Leaders. This is Ms. Joiner with this week’s school connect call!
With the month of November starting this week, please join us in celebrating our staff with Thankful Thursdays. On Thursdays in November, we’ll deliver submitted notes that express appreciation to staff members for their dedication to our cougar students and their families. You can submit a note of appreciation on the Google Form linked in this message, which will be posted on Remind and Facebook. This is also posted in our school newsletter, The Cougar Paw Print. This was one of most treasured activities last year. You can submit the form multiple times to provide many staff members with notes. Thanks for your help!
There is no Green Team on Tuesday, October 31st. We will resume the following Tuesday.
Looking ahead,
There is no school on November 6th for students.
Join Mrs. C on November 9th from 7-8am to create Sun Catchers in FRE, it is the place to be!
STEAM Night is November 9th from 5:30-7:30 PM. We're engineering mini catapults out of popsicle sticks and rubber bands to launch weepuls! If the weather is decent and there are no emergencies, the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office Aviation unit will also visit with their helicopter!!!! We're so excited! Please register so we can prepare supplies. You can find registration information on our website and social media sites. We can't wait to see you there!!!
Please join us on November 14th for our SAC and PTO meeting at 6pm in our Media Center.
That’s all for now! Have a great evening. See you all tomorrow! Goodbye.
Phone Message Sent October 22nd
Hello Cougar Leaders. This is Ms. Joiner with this week’s school connect call!
October is National Bully Prevention Month. Kingsway has joined other schools across the country in STOMP Out Bullying™. STOMP Out Bullying encourages communities to work together to stop bullying and cyberbullying by increasing awareness of the impact that bullying has on children of all ages. Keep in mind that Bullying occurs when a person or group of people hurts, embarrasses, or frightens another person repeatedly.
We celebrate Red Ribbon Week to support the National Family Partnership’s mission to lead and support our nation’s families and communities in nurturing the fill potential of healthy, drug-free youth. We have dress-up activities this week too! Tomorrow is wear red from head to toe!
• Monday, October 23: Wear RED from head to toe!
• Tuesday, October 24: You are the best when you are being kind, wear a kindness shirt!
• Wednesday, October 25: Be kind to your mind, wear your favorite hat!
• Thursday, October 26: Live drug-free, wear red pants, shorts, or skirts.
• Friday, October 27: Drugs are whack, wear silly socks!
We are beginning to see so many amazing Book Character Pumpkins decorate our hallways! This valued tradition is one of our favorites during this time of year. We ask families to decorate a small to medium-sized pumpkin as a character from your favorite book! Use paper, felt, fabric, glitter, pipe cleaners, paint, and more to make your pumpkin come to life. Get creative! This optional family involvement activity that was developed to bring literacy fun to your home and celebrate books in a festive manner! Character pumpkins are due on or by October 27th! Teachers will display book character pumpkins outside their classroom doors. On October 31st, classes will take hallway strolls to identify the book character pumpkins and admire your family’s creativity and efforts. We thank each of our Kingsway families for helping your child celebrate books and literacy! We can’t wait to see all the book character pumpkins decorating our hallways!
The Fall Festival Trunk or Treat was last Friday and it was amazing. There were so many amazingly decorated trunks. A huge shout-out to all of the parents, families, and community partners who attended as well as some of our fabulous staff! This was a successful event and we could not have done it without you!
Report cards will be published in the Focus Parent Portal on October 23rd for each student. We will also be sending a paper copy home for the first quarter.
With the month of November starting next week, please join us in celebrating our staff with Thankful Thursdays. On Thursdays in November, we’ll deliver submitted notes that express appreciation to staff members for their dedication to our cougar students and their families. You can submit a note of appreciation on the Google Form that will be sent out on Remind and posted on our school’s Facebook. This is also posted in our school newsletter, The Cougar Paw Print. This was one of the most treasured activities last year. You can submit the form multiple times to provide many staff members with notes. Thanks for your help!
This Tuesday is our Culver’s Spirit Night, please join us! Check out our Facebook page for our flyer.
Looking ahead, STEAM Night is November 9th from 5:30-7:30 PM. We're engineering mini catapults out of popsicle sticks and rubber bands to launch weepuls! If the weather is decent and there are no emergencies, the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office Aviation unit will also visit with their helicopter!!!! We're so excited! Please register so we can prepare supplies. You can find registration information on our website and social media sites. We can't wait to see you there!!!
That’s all for now! Have a great evening. See you all tomorrow! Goodbye.
Holiday Resources
Toys for Tots: Last Day to Apply is November 16, 2023
https://charlotte-county-fl.toysfortots.org/local-coordinator-sites/lco-sites/local-toy-request-single-form.aspx
Angel Tree: Interview Appointments available through October 20, 2023 (Code is: PCJoy23
https://www.pwhdev.net/AngelWebSQL/loginangel.html
KES Thanksgiving Assistance: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1kND1NdjAgeXQiF3S7S7gDiv-Dy59xPz7XYoQDNnQMHk/viewform?edit_requested=true
KES Holiday Assistance: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1EwOar6IM0ypCHX7-Y1GTw_do2drRnlf2CDh5BaSr_As/viewform?edit_requested=true
Phone Message Sent October 15th
Hello Cougar Leaders! This is Ms. Joiner with this week’s school connect call.
Staff begin actively monitoring students for arrival at 8:00 am. This means that students should not be dropped off before that time. Student safety is our number one priority, thank you in advance for dropping students off after 8:00 am. We appreciate your support in keeping our cougar leaders safe.
October is National Bully Prevention month. Kingsway will join other schools across the country in STOMP Out Bullying™. STOMP Out Bullying encourages communities to work together to stop bullying and cyberbullying by increasing awareness of the impact that bullying has on children of all ages. Keep in mind that Bullying occurs when a person or group of people hurts, embarrasses or frightens another person repeatedly. October 20th is Unity Day! Wear Orange on October 20th to show that we are together against bullying and UNITED for kindness, acceptance, and inclusion! The Unity Tree is a powerful symbol of reminding everyone that bullying can be prevented when we all come together – united for kindness, acceptance, and inclusion. Each student should have the opportunity to contribute to a class unity tree by writing one way they are working to be UNITED for kindness, acceptance, and inclusion.
Our Literacy Action Team is happy to announce the return of the October Book Character Pumpkins! We ask families to decorate a small to medium-sized pumpkin as a character from your favorite book! Use paper, felt, fabric, glitter, pipe cleaners, paint, and more to make your pumpkin come to life. Get creative! This optional family involvement activity that was developed to bring literacy fun to your home and celebrate books in a festive manner! Character pumpkins are due on or by October 27th! Teachers will display book character pumpkin outside their classroom doors. On October 31st, classes will take hallway strolls to identify the book character pumpkins and admire your family’s creativity and efforts. We thank each of our Kingsway families for helping your child celebrate books and literacy! We can’t wait to see all the book character pumpkins decorating our hallways!
Our Cougar Leaders are excited to participate in the Kids Heart Challenge through the American Heart Association. The Kids Heart Challenge helps support the physical and emotional well- being of all of our cougar leaders. To become a Heart Hero, students can register online and pick a personal health challenge. A personal health challenge can include Being Kind or Being Active. The goal of the Kids Heart Challenge is to raise funds to help kids with special hearts, earn PE equipment and make our community healthier. This fundraiser will continue until October 20th.
Our Fall Festival Trunk or Treat is this Friday, October 20th from 5pm-7pm. This is a valued tradition at KES. Please join us for an evening of FALL FUN! This is a family event that you don’t want to miss. Kingsway will be decked out with trunks and treats, games, food, music and so much more. Students may wear costumes, but it is not required. We can not wait for this evening and all the fun our Cougar Family will have to enjoy the weather and connect as a school culture.
Looking ahead, our Culver’s Spirit Night is next Tuesday, October 24th! Be on the lookout for the flyer on Remind and social media websites.
As a reminder, we do not have school on Monday, October, 16th. It is a teacher work day.
Well, that’s all for now! Have a great evening. See you on Tuesday. Goodbye!
Phone Message Sent October 8th
Hello Cougar Leaders! This is Ms. Joiner with this week’s school connect call.
October is National Bully Prevention Month. Kingsway will join other schools across the country in STOMP Out Bullying™. STOMP Out Bullying encourages communities to work together to stop bullying and cyberbullying by increasing awareness of the impact that bullying has on children of all ages. Keep in mind that Bullying occurs when a person or group of people hurts, embarrasses, or frightens another person repeatedly. The second challenge will focus on Standing up for others. This means that when you see someone being bullied, be brave and STAND UP for them. Bullies have been known to back off when others stand up for victims. If you don't feel safe get the help of an adult immediately. Be part of the solution - not the problem! At our school, we’re going to make a Sticky Note Mural! Start thinking now about “Why do you care about bullying prevention?” Then, write your response on a sticky note, provided by your teacher, to be placed on the Sticky Note Mural! The sticky note mural will be in our cafeteria and will be on display for all to see!
Our Literacy Action Team is happy to announce the return of the October Book Character Pumpkins! We ask families to decorate a small to medium-sized pumpkin as a character from your favorite book! Use paper, felt, fabric, glitter, pipe cleaners, paint, and more to make your pumpkin come to life. Get creative! This optional family involvement activity was developed to bring literacy fun to your home and celebrate books in a festive manner! Character pumpkins are due on or by October 27th! Teachers will display book character pumpkins outside their classroom doors. On October 31st, classes will take hallway strolls to identify the book character pumpkins and admire your family’s creativity and efforts. We thank each of our Kingsway families for helping your child celebrate books and literacy! We can’t wait to see all the book character pumpkins decorating our hallways! A flyer will be coming home on Monday with more information!
Our Cougar Leaders are excited to participate in the Kids Heart Challenge through the American Heart Association. The Kids Heart Challenge helps support the physical and emotional well-being of all of our cougar leaders. To become a Heart Hero, students can register online and pick a personal health challenge. A personal health challenge can include Being Kind or Being Active. The goal of the Kids Heart Challenge is to raise funds to help kids with special hearts, earn PE equipment, and make our community healthier. This fundraiser will continue until October 20th.
This week is Fire Safety Week. Please join us on Thursday, October 12th from 5:30-6:30 on the bus loop. We will learn about Fire Safety, the equipment used by our Charlotte County Firefighters, and some fun activities.
Well, that’s all for now! Have a great evening. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodbye!
Book Character Pumpkins
Book Character Pumpkins Flyer
Phone Message Sent October 1st
Hello Cougar Leaders! This is Ms. Joiner with this week’s school connect call.
October is National Bully Prevention Month. Kingsway will join other schools across the country in STOMP Out Bullying™. STOMP Out Bullying encourages communities to work together to stop bullying and cyberbullying by increasing awareness of the impact that bullying has on children of all ages. Keep in mind that Bullying occurs when a person or group of people hurts, embarrasses, or frightens another person repeatedly. The first challenge is this Monday, as a school we will
#BLUEUP and wear blue for World Day of Bully Prevention. Students, schools, and communities all over the world go blue together against bullying. Looking ahead to next week, we are going to talk about Standing Up for Others against bullying. Research shows us that bullies will back off when others stand up for the victim. With this in mind, we’re going to talk about not being a bystander, but instead being a part of the solution to end bullying. The Bully Prevention Flyer that outlines all activities will be posted on our social media accounts, school website, and in our monthly newsletter.
Speaking of the monthly newsletter…When you have time, please take a look at the KES Cougar Paw Print for October. This published newsletter is posted on Remind and our school website. The opening letter this month is all about bullying. In addition, it is packed full of the Cougar happenings!
This past week our Fall PTO fundraiser started! Wahoo! A flyer was shared on Facebook with directions and links to start fundraising. All items purchased will be sent home with students with the exception of cookie dough. That will be delivered to our school and we will have a day where families come pick it up. Please be on the lookout for cookie dough delivery day! It will be super important that we get the cookie dough out in one day! Stay tuned for more information!
Our Donuts with Cool Dudes event was FANTASTIC! A huge thank you to all of our cool dudes for taking the time to share donuts with their cougar leader. Mrs. Cosenza and her team of volunteers did such an amazing job!
October 2nd is Custodian Appreciation Day! We have an amazing team of custodians here at Kingsway! Our Custodians work super hard to make sure we have a safe and clean environment. Please make sure to give them a word or two of appreciation when you see them this week!
Well, that’s all for now! Have a great evening. See you tomorrow. Goodbye!
Phone Message Sent September 29th
Good evening Kingsway Families,
This is Mrs. Kelch, your proud principal. I hope this message finds you all in good health and spirits. I am writing to share an exciting personal update with our school community.
I am delighted to inform you that my family and I are expecting a new addition, a baby girl. I am going on maternity leave starting October 23rd. This is a joyous and exciting time for my family, and I am looking forward to the arrival of our little one.
During my absence, Ms. Joiner, our Assistant Principal, and with the help of our leadership team, will continue leading our school. I have the utmost confidence in Ms. Joiner’s leadership abilities and dedication to our school’s mission and values. Together, with the outstanding staff we have here, I am confident that they will continue to provide the support and guidance our students need to thrive and be successful. In addition, they will continue to ensure that our school operates smoothly.
While I will be away for a short while, my heart remains firmly with our school and confidence in their ability to uphold the standard excellence we have at Kingsway. I am grateful for the wonderful students, families, and staff that make up the Kingsway community. I look forward to rejoining our Kingsway family after my maternity leave to continue our shared journey of learning and growth. I plan on returning in January.
If you have any questions, or need assistance during my absence, please feel free to reach out to our dedicated team members or the school office at 941-255-7590. They are here to support you and ensure your experience here remains exceptional.
Thank you for understanding, and I appreciate your well wishes during this exciting time in my life. I can’t wait to see you all again soon.
Proud to lead with all of you!
Phone Message Sent September 24th
Hello Cougar Leaders. This is Ms. Joiner with this week’s school connect call.
This week is the last week to celebrate Attendance Awareness as a whole school community. We have had great fun focusing on attendance. We have learned that attending school regularly is ESSENTIAL for students to gain the academic and social skills they need to be successful in the future. We’ve had three classes earn Bingo so far, and we are excited for this last week. Posters for our poster contest are due by September 29th. Most students finished the attendance posters in art class, but some brought them home to finish. So, it is important to get the posters back to school and turned in. Finally, this is our last week to get our attendance rate up! Remember that the school with the best attendance rate at the end of September will win the attendance TROPHY! We sure do love KES and we are competitive, so we’d like to make a great effort to win this trophy. We need everyone's help. Our attendance rate is still about 93%. I’d like to see that number increase this week. Let's work together and make sure KES has the highest attendance rate in Charlotte County. Let's get that TROPHY, Cougar Leaders!
In celebration of our last week of Attendance Awareness, we have Attendance Spirit Week.
Monday, September 25th is Crazy Sock Day:
• Step into attendance with CRAZY SOCKS!
Tuesday, September 26th is Pajama Day:
• Don’t sleep in late and miss school, come in your pajamas!
Wednesday, September 27th is Wacky Tacky Day (mismatched outfits):
• Don’t get mixed up about the importance of attending school!
Thursday, September 28th is Sports Day:
• Be a team player for attendance and wear your favorite sports team!
Friday, September 29th is School Spirit Day:
• Be a Champion, wear your KINGSWAY Gear!
Please remember, when turning into the school during drop-off or pick-up times, please make sure you adhere to the signs that state you are only to make right turns into the school. At dismissal time, please leave your car tag hanging for staff to see, once your cougar leader has loaded into the vehicle, take the tag down, so that we know the car line is ready to go! Also, please remember that students can arrive at 8AM. They should not be dropped off earlier than that because there is no supervision before 8AM. This is crucial for student safety.
Our Literacy Action Team has set a schoolwide AR goal to read 6 million words in the month of September! We are at 4,368,165. We have one more week to reach our goal of 6 million words!
Fall is here! I’m looking forward to cooler weather, more college football, pumpkin festivals, and candy corn! As we finish September, we will be welcoming the month of October as National Bully Prevention month. Kingsway will join other schools across the country in STOMP Out Bullying™. STOMP Out Bullying encourages communities to work together to stop bullying and cyberbullying by increasing awareness of the impact that bullying has on children of all ages. Starting October 2nd, cougar leaders will be participating in weekly challenges! The first challenge will focus on solidarity. On October 2nd, students, schools, and communities all over the world go BLUE together against bullying. We want KES to be decked out in BLUE! Make it the day that bullying prevention is heard around the world! Wear blue and you’ll be using your voice and sending a message that this is the day that bullying prevention is heard around the world. Change the Culture!
That’s all for now! Have a great evening. See you all tomorrow! Goodbye.
Phone Message Sent September 17th
Hello Cougar Leaders. This is Ms. Joiner with this week’s school connect call.
Here at Kingsway Elementary, we celebrate Attendance Awareness as a whole school community. We have developed many fun activities to help our Cougar Leaders keep the focus on attendance and to bring awareness to something so important to our learning environment. We focus on attendance in September because research tells us that attending school regularly is ESSENTIAL for students to gain the academic and social skills they need to be successful in the future. With your help, our goal is to have all students in school on time and all day long! School activities that we have chosen include an attendance Bingo in every classroom and a school-wide poster contest! In addition to our school activities, the whole district is having a “Best Attendance Rate” contest! The school with the best attendance rate at the end of September will win the attendance TROPHY! We sure do love KES and we are competitive, so we’d like to make a great effort to win this trophy. We need everyone's help. We know sometimes students get sick and need to stay home, but we do need our Cougars HERE on days they’re ready to learn! High attendance rates will help our students not only learn, but to meet our goals. Let's work together and make sure KES has the highest attendance rate in Charlotte County. Let's get that TROPHY, Cougar Leaders!
We have Attendance Spirit Week from September 25th-29th.
Monday, September 25th is Crazy Sock Day:
• Step into attendance with CRAZY SOCKS!
Tuesday, September 26th is Pajama Day:
• Don’t sleep in late and miss school, come in your pajamas!
Wednesday, September 27th is Wacky Tacky Day (mismatched outfits):
• Don’t get mixed up about the importance of attending school!
Thursday, September 28th is Sports Day:
• Be a team player for attendance and wear your favorite sports team!
Friday, September 29th is School Spirit Day:
• Be a Champion, wear your KINGSWAY Gear!
Our Literacy Action Team has set a schoolwide AR goal to read 6 million words in the month of September! Our cougar leaders have already read 2,990,176. Wahoo! A huge shout out to our third graders who read 922,772 words! The prize for reaching our 6-million-word goal is that each student will receive a bouncy ball. Wowzers! Then the top word reader for each classroom will also receive a light-up ball. That's a super wowzers! Keep up the reading! I am so proud of all of you!
On Tuesday, September 19th we will be hosting SAC and PTO meetings in the KES media center. Please join us for SAC at 6pm and PTO at 6:30pm. SAC and PTO meetings are a great way to become involved in decision-making at our school. We hope to see you there!
Finally, get ready to smile because Individual Fall Picture day is this Friday, September 22nd. Flyers with order forms will be coming home soon.
Looking ahead, we have our Tropical Smoothie Spirit Night on Tuesday September 26th from 4pm-8pm.
That’s all for now! Have a great evening. See you all tomorrow! Goodbye.
Phone Message Sent September 10th
Hello Cougar Leaders. This is Ms. Joiner with this week’s school connect call.
Here at Kingsway Elementary, we celebrate Attendance Awareness as a whole school community. We have developed many fun activities to help our Cougar Leaders keep the focus on attendance and to bring awareness to something so important to our learning environment. We focus on attendance in September because research tells us that attending school regularly is ESSENTIAL for students to gain the academic and social skills they need to be successful in the future. With your help, our goal is to have all students in school on time and all day long! School activities that we have chosen include an attendance Bingo in every classroom and a school-wide poster contest!
In addition to our school activities, the whole district is having a “Best Attendance Rate” contest! The school with the best attendance rate at the end of September will win the attendance TROPHY! We sure do love KES and we are so competitive, so we’d like to make a great effort to win this trophy. We need everyone's help. We know sometimes students get sick and need to stay home, but we do need our Cougars HERE on days they’re ready to learn! High attendance rates will help our students not only learn, but to meet our goals. Let's work together and make sure KES has the highest attendance rate in Charlotte County. Let's get that TROPHY, Cougar Leaders!
Looking ahead, we have our Attendance Awareness Spirit week during the week of September 25th -29th Check out our attendance flyer for details.
Our Literacy Action Team has set a schoolwide AR goal to read 6 million words in the month of September! The prize for reaching our 6-million-word goal is that each student will receive a bouncy ball. There is a small caveat. Each student must have taken an AR test with the month of September to qualify. Wowzers! Then the top word reader for each classroom will also receive a light-up ball. That's a super wowzers! Keep reading cougars, I know that we can reach our goal!
We are excited and thrilled to have our “Score with Books” Book Fair! This event is an opportunity for students of all ages to build their home libraries and further their love for reading. The book fair is one of our beloved Kingsway traditions! Our book fair will be open this week. We are open Monday - Friday 7:30 - 8:30 AM and Monday -Thursday 4:00 - 5:30 PM for our families. In addition to in-school shopping with families, the book fair is online for contactless shopping and students will have the opportunity to visit the book fair during their weekly scheduled media classes.
Looking ahead, SAC and PTO are coming up on Tuesday, September 19th. Please mark your calendars. Also, Friday, September 22nd is fall picture day. More information will be coming home soon!
That’s all for now! Have a great evening. See you all tomorrow! Goodbye.
Hurricane Assistance
Call 1-800-451-1954 if you need help cleaning up from Idalia.
Message Sent September 3rd
Hello Cougar Leaders. This is Ms. Joiner with this week’s school connect call.
A reminder that we have no school tomorrow Monday, September 4th in celebration of Labor Day. Enjoy the day with your family and friends.
Welcome to September! Here at Kingsway Elementary, we celebrate Attendance Awareness as a whole school community. We have developed many fun activities to help our Cougar Leaders keep the focus on attendance and to bring awareness to something so important to our learning environment. We focus on attendance in September because research tells us that attending school regularly is ESSENTIAL for students to gain the academic and social skills they need to be successful in the future. With your help, our goal is to have all students in school on time and all day long! School activities that we have chosen include an attendance Bingo in every classroom and a school-wide poster contest! The first 2 classes that fill the bingo card will win a popcorn party. Also, the grade that has the best attendance for quarter 1 will win a pizza party. In addition to our school activities, the whole district is having a “Best Attendance Rate” contest! The school with the best attendance rate at the end of September will win the attendance TROPHY! We sure do love KES and we are so competitive, so we’d like to make a great effort to win this trophy. We need everyone's help. We know sometimes students get sick and need to stay home, but we do need our Cougars HERE on days they’re ready to learn! High attendance rates will help our students not only learn, but to meet our goals. Let's work together and make sure KES has the highest attendance rate in Charlotte County. Let's get that TROPHY, Cougar Leaders!
Starting Tuesday, our First and second graders will begin their first progress monitoring window for the FAST Star state assessment. This assessment will provide a baseline score for teachers to better prepare instruction based on our students' understanding of BEST state standards. For more information on these assessments, please see the FAST letter that was sent home. This letter provides a plethora of information about the state assessment called Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST). Please make sure students are well rested and prepared to work hard to show what they know.
Looking ahead, the Grand Opening of the Book Fair is this FRIDAY, September 8th! This is an amazing valued tradition at our school and I can’t wait to see all of our families shopping for books! See the Book Fair letter that was sent home for important times and dates.
That's all for now. See you on Tuesday! Goodbye.
Message sent August 30th
Good afternoon families and students,
This is Mark Vianello, Superintendent of Schools with an important update. I hope you, your family, and your belongings made it through the last few days without harm. Charlotte County Public Schools, in conjunction with the Charlotte County Emergency Operations Center, have been actively monitoring the steady improvement of local conditions and the school district has inspected all schools finding them to be safe for students and staff to return.
Therefore I am sharing the good news that on Thursday, all schools will reopen and extra-curricular activities will resume as scheduled. As we come together again, please know that our students and staff's well-being will always remain the top priority.
Thank you for being an integral part of our school community and Go CCPS!
Phone Message Sent August 27th
Hello Cougar Leaders. This is Ms. Joiner with this week’s school connect call.
Thank you for your continued patience during Parent Pick-up this past week. Our cougars are doing such an amazing job listening for their names and finding their pole numbers! We also appreciate your patience on our Rainy-Day dismissal. We are often notified with lightning alerts very close to dismissal time and do our best to relay the information to parents and families as soon as possible. Florida’s weather is unpredictable and we must ensure our students’ safety. Again, we appreciate your patience.
Student ID badges are essential for our cougar leaders to wear each and every day. When students arrive on campus, they should immediately put on their KES Break Away Lanyard. If students arrive to school without their ID badge, they will be sent to the office for a temporary ID badge. Please remember that their lanyards are for their ID badges only, not other items like pop-its, fidgets, etc. Please review these important expectations about student ID badges with your cougar leader.
We start our kindergarten FAST testing this Tuesday. First and second grade students will be testing the week of September 5th. Parent letters went home last week providing parents and families with resources and specific dates and other important information. Please make sure students are getting a good night’s sleep and a healthy breakfast so they can “Show what they know!”
The Family Reading Experience (FRE)'s grand opening is tomorrow, Monday, August 28th. Mrs. Kelch and I can’t wait to see you there!
Our first spirit night is Tuesday August 29th at Culvers from 4-8. I love their chocolate and cookie dough custard! Make sure you let them know that you are a Kingsway Cougar Leader at the register!
Attention 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders- Girls on the Run sign up has now begun, please check out our Kingsway Facebook page for the post and click on the photo to register your child.
Looking ahead, we will be sending home a PBIS Parent Letter. This letter talks about our Proud to LEAD Expectations. This letter also explains PBIS and how we implement it here at Kingsway. It also talks about Liveschool! Once you receive the letter, please take the time to review this information with your cougar.
Our "Score with Books" Book Fair starts on September 8th. A letter was sent home this week about the upcoming book fair along with times that the book fair will be open.
I know this is a lot of information and I appreciate your listening. A copy of this phone message will be available on Remind and social media accounts.
That’s all for now! Have a great evening. See you all tomorrow! Goodbye.
Message from the Superintendent sent August 27th
Good afternoon, this is Mark Vianello, Superintendent of Schools with an important message about Tropical Storm Idalia.
Charlotte County Public Schools continues to work in collaboration with the Charlotte County Emergency Operation Center to closely monitor the approach of Tropical Storm Idalia. The storm is forecasted to become a hurricane upon landfall and although Charlotte County is not currently in the cone of uncertainty, the chances of tropical force winds impacting Charlotte County are increasing due to expected intensity.
Charlotte County Schools will be open as usual tomorrow. Again, there are no cancellations for Monday, August 28. We will make any announcements about school closings or activity cancellations via our parent-connect phone system and by placing the information on our district website if they should occur. In addition, Charlotte County Schools will notify local news media of any cancellations.
We will provide updates to keep you as informed as possible. Please stay safe and prepared, and thank you for your support of Charlotte County Public Schools.
Message Sent Via Remind and Social Pages on August 27th
Good afternoon cougar leader families. This is administration with an important message. First off, we hope everyone is having a great weekend. It’s been a PAWsome start to the year with staff, students, families, and community members. Students already learned many important procedures and expectations. They are continuing their learning progress by diving into curriculum. We encourage you to ask them daily what is one thing they learned in school. This is our year to be the champions we know we are!!
As a district, we’ve been monitoring the tropics. We are keeping up with daily emails from the county office. Our county office works in correlation with the Charlotte County Emergency Center. They provide updates to keep us informed. Families, storm phone messages will come from county office. Please make sure to listen to them fully. If we need to send additional information out or a follow up, we will do so. Communication to our families and most importantly keeping everyone safe is our first priority.
Right now, the path is expected to be north of Charlotte County, but that still may mean we get some winds and rain. We will know more as updates occur and the storm progresses. We hope it continues to move away from Charlotte County.
School is in session tomorrow and no decisions have been made for the remainder of the week. Again, this information will be sent from our district county office. As a reminder, we will post their messages on Remind/Facebook if they are sent. Please continue to check both for any updates.
On another note, Ms. Joiner will still be sending out our weekly message in a few hours. Please take a few minutes to listen to the important information and event for our week ahead.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Be safe! We are excited to see everyone tomorrow. As always, we appreciate your continued support. 💙🐾
Phone Message Sent August 20th
Hello Cougar Leaders. This is Ms. Joiner with this week’s school connect call.
Thank you for your continued patience during Parent Pick-up this past week. Here are a few reminders about our Parent Pick-Up Procedures: The PPU card should be displayed on your rear-view mirror until your student gets in the car, when your child is in the car, please remove it. This signals to us that your car is all set! As you move through the line please pull close to the car in front of you, pay attention to your surroundings, and do not park on crosswalks. Please do not be on your cell phone as this is a huge distraction. The whole line will move as one. This means you shouldn’t pull out of the line to pass someone else, even if you have your student. This is to ensure that all students loading into cars are safe before traffic moves. We have PPU times down close to 3:40 pm and we will continue to get faster as we do our best to get students home in a safe and orderly manner. Please remember that the bus side PPU starts moving after the buses have left. This sometimes delays the start of the line. While waiting, please do not block any driveways on Harold Ave. Again, please be patient. Students that are walkers have two locations to be released. Please know which side your walker is released on and the correct location for pickup. Kindergarten and first-grade students will need a guardian present with a walker tag. If no guardian or no walker tag is present at the correct location, the student will be escorted back to the office and the guardian will be expected to show ID to pick up a child. We will not dismiss any walker to parked cars. If you want to pick up your child by car- please go through PPU. On rainy day dismissal, ALL walkers will go to the cafeteria and be dismissed through the front parent pick-up line. If you go to the bus side PPU, you’ll be asked to go to the front to get your child. Please make sure you have a PPU card! If not, you’ll be asked to go inside to pick up that card and your child. Thank you for following all of these procedures for the safety of our cougars.
Tomorrow we begin our first FAST progress monitoring window. We start with 3rd through 5th grade students testing ELA on Tuesday and Math on Thursday. A FAST letter was sent home as well. This letter provides a lot of information about the new state assessment called Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST). Please make sure students are well rested and prepared to work hard to show what they know.
We start our kindergarten FAST testing the week of August 28th. First and second grade students will be testing the week of September 4th. Parents please be on the lookout for the parent letter with important information.
The Family Reading Experience (FRE)'s grand opening on Monday, August 28th. Be on the lookout for the flyer and make sure to RSVP!
On Tuesday of this week will be hosting our first SAC and PTO meetings of the school year. Please join us in the KES media center. SAC starts at 6pm and PTO at 6:30pm. SAC and PTO meetings are a great way to become involved in decision-making at our school.
Our first spirit night will be on Tuesday August 29th at Culvers from 4-8. I love their chocolate and cookie dough custard! Make sure you let them know that you are a Kingsway Cougar Leader!
I know this is a lot of information and appreciate your listening. A copy of this phone message will be available on Remind and social media accounts.
That’s all for now! Have a great evening. See you all tomorrow! Goodbye.
Phone Message Sent August 13th
Hello Cougar Leaders! This is your assistant principal, Ms. Joiner, with this week’s school connect call. We had a fantastic first week of school with our Champions. Thank you all for helping to make the first week so fantastic! A huge shout out to our Kingsway Cougar Staff members as they were amazing in welcoming our students to a safe learning environment that is student-centered and full of academic awesomeness. Students are still learning new procedures, but are quickly adapting to the expectations and routines of their new classrooms. The excitement of the building has been amazing. We were so excited to welcome all of our cougar leaders to the 23-24 school year.
This past week, students were introduced to our school-wide Always be Proud to LEAD expectations. These expectations provide the building blocks to a learning environment that supports positive behaviors. Please see the LEAD expectations in the Title One compact, on our school’s website and social media accounts. Please review these expectations with your student.
Arrival went very well this week. Seeing all of the happy faces as they arrived on campus was so good. Please keep in mind that we start welcoming students on campus at 8 am. Please do not release your student from cars before this time. The cafeteria opens for breakfast at 8 am and students can head to classrooms starting at 8:10 am. Students should be in their seats ready to learn by 8:40 am. Please do not drop students off outside our fenced area. This slows down traffic and is unsafe. Also, please do not drop students off in the winding road on our campus to walk through traffic to get inside the building. The only students getting out of the cars should be directly in front of the school where adults are assisting and monitoring the students.
Thank you for your patience during Parent Pick-up this past week. A dismissal letter was sent home. In addition, this letter was posted on our school website, on Remind, and on social media accounts. Please see this letter as it explains all of the important details of our KES dismissal! Here are a few reminders from that letter: The PPU card should be displayed on your rear-view mirror until your student gets in the car, when your child is in the car, please remove it. This signals to us that your car is all set! As you move through the line please pull close to the car in front of you, pay attention to your surroundings, and do not park on crosswalks. Please do not be on your cell phone as this is a huge distraction. The whole line will move as one. This means you shouldn’t pull out of the line to pass someone else, even if you have your student. This is to ensure that all students loading into cars are safe before traffic moves. We have PPU times down close to 3:40 pm and we will continue to get faster as we do our best to get students home in a safe and orderly manner. Please remember that the bus side PPU starts moving after the buses have left. This sometimes delays the start of the line. While waiting, please do not block any drive ways on Harold Ave. Again, please be patient. Students that are walkers have two locations to be released. Please know which side your walker is released on and the correct location for pickup. Kindergarten and first-grade students will need a guardian present with a walker tag. If no guardian or no walker tag is present at the correct location, the student will be escorted back to the office and the guardian will be expected to show ID to pick up a child. We will not dismiss any walker to parked cars. If you want to pick up your child by car- please go through PPU. On rainy day dismissal, ALL walkers will go to the cafeteria and be dismissed through the front parent pick-up line. If you go to the bus side PPU, you’ll be asked to go to the front to get your child. Please make sure you have a PPU card! If not, you’ll be asked to go inside to pick up that card and your child. Thank you for following all of these procedures for the safety of our cougars.
Please make sure you register and complete your child’s emergency forms on Focus. Your child’s emergency card is vital for us to be able to get ahold of you during the school day. We want to make sure all the information is accurate. We will not be having paper emergency cards. If you need help finding your child’s ID or 4-digit PIN, please call the office and ask for Mrs. Hilton. Thank you to those parents that have already completed this process. We are over 60% of families with Focus Portal accounts and we’d love to get to 100%!!! We so appreciate the effort from our parents.
Have you ordered your new Champions T-shirts? They’re on sale now! T-shirt order forms will be sent home this week.
Please make sure you have signed up on Remind with your child’s teacher. This is so important for the communication of our school. Also, follow us on Facebook and Twitter. We use social media to update our families and to give a lot of important information about resources, current happenings, and upcoming events. Finally, make sure you bookmark our school’s website. This is the hub of information for our school.
Speaking of school information, have you signed up for SAC or PTO? Be on the lookout for flyers to join these amazing parent organizations for the betterment of our school!
I know this is a lot of information and appreciate your listening. A copy of this phone message will be available on our school website and social media accounts.
Thank you to all of our families for continuing to help make Kingsway a great place. Your support, patience, and assistance are so Positively vital. I am looking forward to seeing our proud to LEAD cougars tomorrow!
That’s all for now! Have a great evening. Goodbye.
Phone Message Sent August 7th
Good evening Cougar Families. This is Mrs. Kelch, your principal. Welcome back! We are excited for our 23-24 school year. This year, we are carrying the banner and being a champion for our students. I wanted to remind families about an important upcoming event. Tomorrow is our annual Open House Meeting. Our Pre-K and Kindergarten Open House meeting will be held from 4:00-5:00 pm. Our Open House EXPO will open at 5:00 for all families to enjoy. The EXPO will contain many community partners and important information for the year. You will be able to obtain a new Parent Pick Up card for this year and/or walker. There will be a table set up to update your FOCUS portal unless you have already done so. This must be completed prior to the first day of school. Everyone will remain in the cafeteria to watch our Title 1 Annual Open House Powerpoint from 5:00-5:25. At 5:25 we will release families in 1st-5th grade to visit their child’s classroom. Each teacher put together an Open House Powerpoint to review important classroom and school expectations. You will remain in the classroom for 20 minutes. If you have more than one child, there will be two additional rotations you are able to attend. You can also attend our specials area for their presentation. We highly encourage you to bring school supplies to Open House. Great news- if you’re hungry you can purchase food from three local food trucks. They will be located on our bus loop. Our Expo and Open House event will conclude at 7:00 pm. The first day for Pre- K and 1st-5th is August 10th. Please note, kindergarten does have a staggered start. They arrive at 9:00 am. Student’s with the last name starting with A-H will attend for the full day on August 10th. Student’s with the last name starting with I-Z will attend for the full day on August 11. Ms. Bolam’s class will start on August 10th and will attend the rest of the week. Staggered kindergarten will attend on August 14th as an entire Kindergarten class. Kindergarten teachers will review this with again with you at Open House.
Kindergarten parents can walk their students on their first day of school only. Please bring your id and check in at the office. You will be scanned into our system and given a badge to wear. We will be holding our annual Tear and Cheers Kindergarten Event at 9:10 am once you drop your child off to their classroom. We will hold the event on August 10th and August 11th. Starting August 14th, kindergarten students will walk themselves to their classroom.
Students in grades 1 - 5 will walk themselves to class the first day without their families. We have plenty of staff on hand to assist students to their classrooms. If they need help carrying supplies we can help with that as well. We will also allow older siblings to walk younger siblings to class the first couple of weeks if needed.
A few additional reminders. Our front gate will open at 7:45 am for arrival. If you come prior for KEEP (before and after school program) you will need to be buzzed in. Children can be dropped off at 8:00 am. There is no coverage prior to 8:00, so please do not drop them off until then. This is a safety concern. Students will remain in the cafeteria until 8:10 am when classroom doors open. They are more than welcome to eat breakfast until 8:40 am in our cafeteria. Students must be seated and ready to learn by 8:40 am. If you are late, you will need to walk your child in and sign in. Please remember to pull all the way up to drop your child off. Make sure they have their belongings in hand to help the process go smoothly.
Our gate opens at 2:45 pm for dismissal. You will not be able to enter until then. Dismissal starts at 3:10 pm on front side and bus side will start as soon as the buses exit.(See dismissal letter for which grade levels are on each side as well as map routes) You will be receiving a copy during Open House. When in the dismissal line, please pull down to the next available spot. Make sure your car tag is visible so that staff can see it. Our staff on hand will be directing you. For safety reasons, we also ask that all students are getting in the passenger side of cars. Once the entire car line has been loaded you will be released to go. We thank you in advance for your help with arrival and dismissal procedures. We appreciate your flexibility and patience as the first few weeks can be very busy. Student safety is our first priority.
This year our district has implemented student identification badges. Students will need to wear them at all times. We will hand them out during their first day. Please make sure they wear them each and every day. More information will be shared during Open House. We will also post it on our social media pages.
Again, thank you for all that you do! We appreciate your endless support. We are looking forward to a PAWsome year together! Can’t wait to welcome all our cougar leaders back on campus! We are so excited! See everyone tomorrow. Enjoy your evening.
Tears and Cheers Kinder Parent Meeting
After walking your kindergartener to class, please join us in the cafeteria for a light breakfast so you can meet the leadership team!
Dress Code
As everyone is shopping for back to school supplies, we wanted to remind everyone of our dress code. A few things we'd appreciate you paying attention to so we can keep our learning environments safe and orderly...
1. Sneakers must be worn every day. Crocs, sandals, or flip flops are not allowed. Shoes must be closed toe, closed heel with rubber soles. Students will not be able to play at recess or PE if they aren't wearing the appropriate shoes.
2. All bellies should be completely covered. Students should be able to move around freely, raise their hands, etc. with their abdomen fully covered. They're welcome to wear a tank top underneath their shirt if it's a crop top style shirt.
3. To the best of your ability, shorts and skirts should be mid thigh or fingertip length with no rips or tears above that.
4. Please write your child's last name on the tag of all sweaters, jackets, and hoodies. We keep items in lost and found for two months before items are donated.
Community Expo
We want to continue building our community partnerships! Come join us for our Community Expo during Open House on August 8th from 5:00 PM-7:00 PM. Please be on campus at 4:30 PM to set up (and miss the rush!).
Please email Mrs. Erica to schedule. Erica.Bernicchi@yourcharlotteschools.net or call 941-255-7590.
Department of Health Back to School Bash
The Florida Department of Health is having a Back to School Bash on July 15th from 10AM- 2PM!!! Scan the QR code to sign up.
Message from Champs Cafe Sent May 31st
Free Lunch for Children 18 and under this Summer, 6/1/23-7/28/23!
For more information about the Champ's Cafe Free Summer Meals Program:
To find dates and times for Food Sites near you:
For free lunch from the C.O.W., Champ's On Wheels, mobile feeding bus through 7/28/23:
Port Charlotte Library, Cultural Center Library
10:30 AM-11:00 AM
Hampton Point Apartments, Deep Creek
11:30 AM-12:00 PM
East Elementary School, Punta Gorda: Bus Loop through Tuesday, July 11th*
12:30-1:00 PM
Questions? Please call 941-575-5400 ext. 1405
