One of our favorite aspects of Arts Night is seeing individual works of art created by KGA kiddos and teachers in their free time. We usually set the pieces on easels in the MPR and everyone walks through like a real art show or gallery.

In the interest of spacing people out this year, we have chosen to make the Art Expo virtual. We will have slideshows of the art running in the A and E pods for you to check out while you browse some of the grade level art displays made during Art Masterpiece and art and architecture projects created during Global Studies. If you would like to showcase a favorite piece of art please follow the instructions below and let me know if you have any questions. 

Please take a clear, high quality photo of the artwork, ideally in horizontal format, if possible. Please crop it or take it as up close as possible to remove extraneous background. Please send it to chaminh@gmail.com on or before Monday, April 4th. Please include the artist's name, grade level if it's a student and medium(s) used to create the piece.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to email. Thanks and we hope to see you at Arts Night, Thursday, April 7th from 5:00-7:30pm.

Save the date for KGA's Annual Arts Night (yay, it's back!) on Thursday, April 7 from 5-7:30.

We have many exciting artists coming to showcase their talents and create unique pieces of art for our campus, including some of our own KGA parents!  Every student will show two pieces of art created during Art Masterpiece lessons this year. We will also have art stations for kids to make their own art and we will showcase some of our students' talents with band, orchestra and recorder performances and a virtual Art Expo. Student art will be spread around outside and in the A and E pods to help with traffic flow and spacing. We are very excited to be able to host Arts Night this year, and we can't wait for you to see all of the wonderful art your children have created!

If your child would like to submit a piece of art for the Virtual Expo, have them start thinking about their favorite piece. We will send instructions for uploading after spring break.

We will need many volunteers to help make our event a success. This is a perfect event for high school and junior high kids to gain volunteer hours. There are a few jobs that evening that do require an adult and we will need some help setting up in the days prior to Arts Night and taking everything down the day after. We're looking forward to seeing/meeting you soon!

Volunteer Sign Up Here

Thank you for supporting the Arts at KGA! If you have any questions, please

email us at artmasterpiece@kgapto.com.

Chamin Higgins

KGA Families,

Please join us for Lunch on the Lawn Friday, March 11th, during our lunch times. 

Bring a blanket or lawn chairs and lunch for you and your student. Sack lunches will be available for purchase and PTO will be providing a popcorn snack.

For a list of lunch times and further information, see the attached flyer! 

See you there! 

KGA PTO

Dear KGA Community,

We just want to "check-in" with our community and let you know that we are staying strong in our battle against the pandemic. We are determined to keep our students and staff as safe as possible while also giving our children the educational experience they deserve.

Since we returned from Winter Break, our schools and the surrounding communities have seen an increase in individuals who have tested positive for a COVID-19 infection. The health and safety of our staff and students at Knox Gifted Academy continues to be a top priority. Our commitment is unwavering and we have remained steadfast in our mitigation efforts on campus. In addition to the district mitigation plan, we have increased sanitation and fog classrooms nightly, we eat lunch on the lawn as weather permits, and the majority of our staff and students are wearing masks while inside working. In addition, our teachers continue to take advantage of our beautiful outdoor spaces for students to read/work, are doing their best to keep students socially distanced, and are providing instruction for students who cannot attend in-person learning. 

From the many phone calls and emails that we have received from our families, it is clear that we continue to partner together with transparent, two-way communication. We believe that our KGA families have shown their commitment to keep children home when not feeling well, are paying close attention to recognize COVID-19 symptoms, and are reaching out to the front office to ask clarifying questions. If needed, further clarification of the CUSD Heath Protocols can be found on the district website. We can't thank you enough for your support and communication.

Again, thank you for your patience and understanding as we continue to navigate uncharted waters. If we can assist, please call the front office at 480-812-6100 or the health office at 480-812-6102.

Sincerely,

Lynn Weed, Principal

Kristy Braaksma, Dean of Students

Dear KGA Family,

It is with mixed emotion that I let you know that I will be retiring from the Knox Gifted Academy principalship at the end of the year. As many of you know, my husband has been retired from education for the last 10 years, and it is time for us to be able to travel, care for parents and spend more time with friends and family. 

I have been truly honored and blessed to have spent my life's work in education for the last 26 years. However, my time spent as your principal at KGA has been the absolute highlight of my career! I started at KGA in 2014 when we were just beginning to establish our school and this journey with the students, parents, and staff has been the most rewarding opportunity I could have ever even imagined. The trust, love, and support that our community has given me fills me with pride and gratitude. We have built an amazing school together over the last 8 years where all our students, staff and community continue to succeed as a top elementary school and make life-long memories and friendships.

Please know that I will be ever present throughout the remainder of this year, and we will continue to have an amazing semester together as a KGA community. The search for a new principal of Knox Gifted Academy will be implemented by district leadership, and please understand that KGA Parent input and guidance will be sought as a part of this process. I look forward to working through the end of this school year in collaboration with our dean, Mrs. Braaksma and the incredible KGA staff. 

With love and appreciation,

Mrs. Lynn Weed

Dear KGA Community,

Happy New Year! We hope you have had a wonderful Winter Break and you are excited for school to be back in session tomorrow, Tuesday, January 4th. The teacher teams have been working hard today to have exciting plans to welcome the students back to the classroom.

In order for us to project class sizes next school year, 2022-23 and to plan for the needs of our students, PLEASE complete the online Student Intent to Return Form by 4:00 p.m. February 11, 2022. The Student Intent to Return Form MUST be completed for EVERY student in kindergarten through 5th grade.

Thank you for all your generosity and support you give us each and every day at KGA! We want to send a special shout out to our kids and families that donated to our teacher during this year's Jingle Jog. With support from the district, the 5th grade parents, and the Jingle Jog, her treatment is well on the way to being covered during this difficult time. 

Here's to a fabulous 2022, and thank you as always for sharing your amazing children with us.

Sincerely,
Lynn Weed and Kristy Braaksma

KGA Running Club begins November 30th.  Please go to the link for information and sign-up.    Running Club.

Hello KGA Families!! 

PTO has some exciting announcements for you!

1) Movie Night!!! Our first community event this year is going to be Movie Night on the Lawn! Friday, November 5th at 6pm we will be hosting Movie Night (movie to be announced). Student Council will be selling pizza (pre-orders will be coming) or you can bring your own dinner. This should be a wonderful night of food, friends and play; bring your picnic blanket and join the fun!

2) PTO will be hosting a Virtual Pumpkin Decorating Contest! Starting Saturday, October 23rd pictures of pumpkins (real or fake, carved, painted, or otherwise decorated!) can be uploaded to the pinned post on the KGA PTO Facebook Page. Upload your photos from Saturday 10/23 through Friday, upload here, 10/29, then use the "Like" button to vote for your favorites between Saturday 10/30 and Sunday 10/31. Winner will be announced on Monday 11/1 and they will get a book of their choice!!

3) Our next General PTO meeting will be Monday, November 8th, 3:45pm, in person at KGA. Mark your calendars and we will see you there!

Finally, as some of you may have noticed, we are celebrating Fall with a Movie Night this year instead of a Fall Festival. For multiple reasons we have decided to move the 2021 Fall Festival to a 2022 Spring Carnival. The biggest reason for this change was the uncertainty about 2nd Quarter District COVID guidelines causing a time crunch for planning. We want our KGA festival to be the best it can be, so after careful consideration we decided to move it to Friday, April 22nd. We also understand many families in our KGA community are hesitant at this time to attend larger group gatherings, even outdoors, and we are hopeful that by the Spring more of our families will be comfortable enough to attend this highly anticipated KGA event!

Thank you all for your support and dedication to our school! 

KGA PTO

Dear Parents,

Student Council is sponsoring a Fall Spirit Week from Monday, October 25th through Friday, October 29th!  Please see the Spirit Week Flyer for more information.

Orders due by Friday, October 15th.  See below.

Dear Parents:

Your children's Fall school portraits are now available for online viewing and ordering! 

Each student has a unique access code called a "shoot key" that will be needed to view and order.

To search for the shoot key with your student's ID  (6 characters all numbers) , go online to  https://www.schoolpicsonline.com

1. On the Home Page, click on the Button called "Search for Shoot Key".
2. Follow the online prompts to locate your child's shoot key and place your order.

Order by October 15th and unlock discounted Digital Download Add-on specials at checkout plus FREE delivery to school.  Specials expire after October 15, 2021 and all late orders will need to be shipped to home at an additional cost of $7.00 for packaging and postage.

If you have any challenges accessing your child's shoot key, please email  customerservice@schoolpicsaz.com.  Include your child's school, name, and teacher, and we will reply back with the key.