Dear KGA Parents,

If you are  interested in serving on the KGA Site Council, please read the attached information and complete the candidate questionnaire.

Thank You

Dear KGA Families,

Please see the letter from Mrs. Weed and Mrs. Braaksma (click here) that communicates important adjustments to our morning drop-off procedures. Thank you.

July 26, 2021

Dear Parents,

 

Thank you for a wonderful first week of school! Our students are so happy to all be back on campus, and our teachers did an amazing job of welcoming our students into their classroom communities. As you may have noticed, our drop-off and pick-up procedures are always a challenging process at the beginning of the year. Thank you for your patience! Also, thank you for calling the front office with any transportation changes, so that we can change the information in our system and inform teachers before the end of the day. 

In the morning, we do recognize that many of our parents would like to park and walk their children to their classroom doors and/or playgrounds. We are so happy to be able to allow this to happen, but please know this process comes with much more foot traffic in the morning. We did have all students out of the cars and into the buildings by 9:10 this morning. As we get more settled into the year, we usually see a decrease in the number of parents parking and walking in which will certainly ease our morning congestion.  

In the afternoon, our dismissal is another challenge. We have well over 400 cars that are trying to get into the parking lot to pick-up their children, which is a major increase over any other year at KGA. We were able to get all students into their cars by 4:15 pm last Friday. Our goal has always been to have the car pick-up line done by 4:00 pm. We have made some major changes within our internal system to support the numbers of students leaving by car in the afternoon. We are asking that busses, walk-up at the Apache Park (coming in through the North Gate), and carpooling will continue to be a viable option for more families to ease this process in the afternoon. 

You also have the option to enroll your child(ren) in Kid’s Express before and after school. You can find information on our Community Education website ( click here).

We have TWO pieces of information that we need to get back from each family or student.  

 

1. 2021-2022 Student Handbook:

The 21/22 Student Handbook ( click here) is now available for your review. We ask that you take time to review the handbook with each of your student(s) as it includes important information about expected behaviors on campus. Please print Page 3 of this handbook, sign to acknowledge your receipt, and return the signed copy to the classroom teacher. All signed handbook forms are due no later than Friday, August 6, 2021.

1. Infinite Campus Parent Portal:

Beginning today, the health and emergency update is now available in Infinite Campus. If you submitted prior to today, please log into your Infinite Campus Parent Portal Account (click here) to make any necessary changes to your family's account.

Once you login to your account, please follow these steps: 

• Click on "More" on the bottom left hand side of the portal screen 
• Click on "Annual Update and New Student Registration".  
• Click on "Emergency and Health Update: Not for Enrollment"
• Click "Begin Registration"
• If you are using the app, click the three lines on the top left, click on "More", and then click on "Annual Update and New Student Registration".

This update must be completed annually.

Please be advised that the answers provided on the Annual Update for the 20-21 school year will be end dated, so it's important that you complete this update for the 21-22 school year in order to have valid information for items such as Media Release, Internet Release, Virtual Consent, etc. 

If you need help resetting your password and the link is not working, please contact the front office at 480-812-6100.

Thank you again for sharing your amazing children with us. We look forward to a wonderful year as we settle in and provide the outstanding curricular and instructional model that has become our trademark. Thank you for a great start!

Sincerely,
Lynn Weed, Principal
Kristy Braaksma, Dean of Students

Please see the welcome back letter from Leo Schlueter, Director of Elementary Education.

Dear KGA Families,

 

To welcome you back, Mrs. Weed has created this short welcome video.  We look forward to seeing you tonight and tomorrow night at Meet The Teacher.  

 

We have been very busy planning for our students’ return, and wanted to communicate important back to school procedures. Please read these carefully so we have the smoothest process possible. It is always hectic the first week of a new school year until we get in the rhythm, so we appreciate your patience. 

 

As a reminder, Meet the Teacher Schedule is:

Monday, July 19th: Kindergarten, 2nd, 4th, and 6th grades

• 5:00-5:40pm - Families with last name beginning with A-M
• 5:50-6:30pm - Families with the last name beginning with N-Z

 

Tuesday, July 20th: 1st, 3rd, and 5th grades

• 5:00-5:40pm - Families with last name beginning with A-M
• 5:50-6:30pm - Families with the last name beginning with N-Z

 

First Day of School:

Students will be welcomed on campus for the first day of school, Wednesday, July 21st beginning at 8:45am. Students may not be on campus prior to 8:45am as there is no supervision. Students will drop their backpacks off at a teacher-designated location and then proceed to the playground. Kindergarten will be on the primary playground, 1st-3rd grades will be on the north playground, and 4th-6th grades will be on the east playground. 

 

Transportation Form:

Please submit a Transportation Form for each student. This Form is essential for our teachers and office staff to know how your child will get to and from school each day. Thank you for taking the time to submit one Form per child. If you need to make a change for how your child gets to and/or from school, please email the teacher as soon as possible. If a change is needed the same day, please call the front office at 480-812-6100.

 

AM Drop-Off:

Whether you are entering the parking lot from the east or west on Orchid Lane, we ask that you take turns entering the lot and pull forward to the north gate. Please stay in your car and have students get out on the right side of the car. When you exit the parking lot, you may only turn right. If you are trying to get to Hartford to turn at the light, all three streets off Evergreen (Gail Dr., Park Ave., and Gary Dr.) go straight through to Hartford.

 

PM Pick-Up:

If you want to be in the pick-up line for dismissal, you can only do that by traveling west on Orchid and turning right into the parking lot (you may not turn left into the parking lot and jump into the pick-up line). Please display your student’s colored name placard in the front window to speed up the name calling process. Students must enter the car on the passenger side only. As in the morning drop-off procedures, when exiting all traffic may only turn right.

 

The Apache Park gate will be open from 3:30-4:00pm for parents to walk on campus. We ask that you wait near the train until your student arrives and then exit through the gate. 

 

Bus Riders:

On the first day of school, your student will receive a bus pass (based on the information you provided on the Transportation Form) that we will attach to their backpack. The color of the pass signifies the route. Please be at the bus stop 10 minutes before your scheduled pick-up time. In addition, students in kindergarten through second grade will not be dropped off without a parent to meet the bus. Please keep in mind, if you are late, you are holding up all other bus riders.

 

If you’d like to receive information about the buses, please sign-up for REMIND. We use this communication to inform you of late buses or bus trouble. You can subscribe to receive this information via text. To receive messages via text, text @kgacolorbus (choose your bus color from below) to 81010. Or, to receive messages via email, send an email to kgacolorbus@mail.remind.com. 

• To join BLUE BUS: text @kgabluebus to 81010
• To join RED BUS: text @kgaredbus to 81010
• To join PINK BUS: text @kgapinkbus to 81010
• To join PURPLE BUS: text @kgapurpbus to 81010
• To join ORANGE BUS: text @kgaoranbus to 81010

Please note, all prior contacts have been removed from REMIND, you must subscribe to receive messages for this new year. If you need help with busing issues, please call transportation at (480) 424-8600.

 

General Information:

Office Hours: 7:30am - 4:30pm

Office Phone: (480) 812-6100

School Hours: 9:10am - 3:40pm

Kid’s Express 6:30am - 6:00pm; please park and sign your student in the MPR. To enroll your student in before or after school care, please refer to CUSD’s Community Education Website.

 

Attendance:

If your student will be absent from school or dropped off late, please contact the attendance line at (480) 812-6103. If you have a change in pick-up for your student, please call the front office at (480) 612-6100.

 

Breakfast & Lunch:

The USDA has extended free breakfast and lunch for all students for the 2021-2022 school year. Breakfast is served from 8:45-9:10am in the MPR. Monthly menus are available at the CUSD Food and Nutrition Website.

 

We cannot thank you enough for taking a few moments to read this email. There will be several important messages from Infinite Campus over the first few weeks. We appreciate your attention and time to stay informed and support our school. We look forward to seeing you at Meet the Teacher and our first day of school Wednesday!

 

Sincerely,

Lynn Weed, Principal

Kristy Braaksma, Dean of Students

Please see the attached letter with information regarding our Meet The Teacher Team days.    

Dear Parents,

 

We hope you are enjoying summer break, and we are looking forward to the 2021-2022 school year! If you are new to our school, we welcome you. If you are returning from in-person or COA, we are excited to welcome you back this year. Thank you for choosing Knox Gifted Academy (KGA), where we will continue to create a challenging, unique, and innovative learning environment for all our students.  

 

We are excited to share just a few pieces of information with you before we leave for summer break. The school will be closed beginning Wednesday, June 16th and our office staff will return on Tuesday, July 6th. Please contact the district office at 480.812.7000 if you need immediate attention. Homeroom assignments will be available in Infinite Campus on Wednesday, July 14th. To view, log in to IC, the homeroom teacher will be listed on the schedule.  Our teachers return on Wednesday, July 14th, Meet the Teacher Team/Curriculum Nights will be on July 19th and 20th (more information to come), and the first day of school for students will be Wednesday, July 21st. 

 

 

We are certainly hopeful that we will begin our school year in a more traditional manner than last year, and we are looking forward to seeing you all back here as we continue our spirit of project-based learning, collaboration and community. Much of our success at KGA comes from our shared, team teaching approach where your student benefits from all teachers at each grade level. I’d like to introduce you to our staff and teacher teams for the 2021-2022 school year:

 

Preschool: Ann Cisneros

Kindergarten: Allison Davis, Bree Schuhrke, Tiffany Schuttenberg, Kelly VanBuskirk

First Grade: Alison Hermsen, Caitlin Holbrook, Leah Kamper, Jason Kilmer

Second Grade: Kelly Heitic, Maria Kantzos, Bella O’Hara (Johnson), Flower Vogt

Third Grade: Lynn Barakat, Jill Beall, Brittany Parker, Nicole Roselius

Fourth Grade: Monica Dalton, Jill Lewkowski, Crystal Ranson, Krista Wilkewitz

Fifth Grade: Denise Canfield, Aaron Miller, Colleen Roberts, Laura Yockey

Sixth Grade: Lauren Leahy, Mary Schlesak, Jamie Stack

Special Areas: MaryAnn Contreras (PE), Carrie Griffith (Global Studies), Jamie Johnson (Music), Gina Manygoats (Media Assistant), Tara Menghini (Educational Technology), Kristin Moran (Performing Arts), Matt Lennex (Band), Samara Humbert-Hughes (Orchestra)

Resource: Sydnee McClure

Counselor: Toni Horn

Front Office: Sue Bowers (Office Manager), Karissa Albina (Attendance Clerk), Tracey Webb (Health Assistant), September Reed (Office Clerk), Scott Reed (Security)

Cafeteria: Terri Valencia (Cafe Manager), Cynthya Ramirez, Estrella Warren

Administration: Lynn Weed (Principal), Kristy Braaksma (Dean of Students)

 

New to our KGA Team:

Maria Kantzos has taught for 18 years with 7 of those in gifted education. She comes from Ryan Elementary where she most recently taught a 2nd/3rd multi-age gifted class. She will be joining our 2nd grade teaching team.

Jill Lewkowski has been teaching in CUSD for 15 years and comes to us highly recommended from Carlson Elementary. She will be joining our 4th grade teaching team.  

Tara Menghini has taught for 7 years at Jacobson Elementary, recently took a year off to be with her family, and is re-joining us as our Educational Technology teacher. 

Toni Horn is joining us as our School Counselor. We are so excited to have her join us in this role. Dr. Horn served as the College Career Advisor at Perry High School for 2 years and worked at Chandler Online Academy last year. 

 

Have a safe and wonderful summer break!

 

Sincerely,

Lynn Weed, Principal

Kristy Braaksma, Dean of Students

Please see the attached flyer for KGA's annual field day.

Dear Parents,

 

Our 2020-2021 yearbooks have arrived!  They will be sent home tomorrow, Friday, May 21st.  Extra yearbooks will be sold in the front office beginning Monday for $25. Cash or check (made payable to KGA PTO) only.  There’s a limited number so they will available first come first served basis.  If you have any questions, please call the front office at (480) 812-6100.

Please see the attached communication regarding an upcoming parent presentation.

Thank You