Special Events Day

Dear Parents/Guardians:

I am writing to you to let you know that we will have a Special Events day once a month when we have early closing days. The purpose of this day is for students to have opportunities to learn about different programs offered here at Kendall. We have many different outstanding units here at Kendall and our students may not have had enough opportunity to know the people who work in each unit. The different units include the ASL/Deaf Studies, Honors Program, Information Systems and Computer Support (ISCS), Counseling, Assessment and Social Work Services (CASWS, Literacy, Support Services, Family Involvement and Recreation. These units will plan different activities so that our students can learn about a variety of skills and also get to know the people who work in each unit.

The dates/events for the first three months are as listed below:

September 13th
ASL/Deaf Studies
Grades 1-3
ISCS/Honors Program
Grades 4-5
CASWS (on EQ)
Grades 6-8

October 18th
CASWS (on EQ)
Grades 1-3
ASL/Deaf Studies
Grades 4-5
ISCS/Honors Program
Grades 6-8

November 15th
ISCS/Honors Program
Grades 1-3
CASWS (on EQ)
Grades 4-5
ASL/Deaf Studies
Grades 6-8

Please note that November 15th is not an early closing day. Therefore the special events will happen from 8:30 to 1 p.m. and then the students will have different recreation activities in the afternoon from 1 to 3 p.m. coordinated by our Recreation Specialist. More information will go out in the Friday Folder as the date approaches.

One of the wonderful things about those special event days is the fact that teachers are given the opportunity to focus on the curriculum. On these days, the teachers will be able to work on the curriculum maps and document all of the work they have done with the students in the classroom.

The theme for the Special Events Days for the 2006-07 school year is “KDES 150th Anniversary”. Please talk to your child about all of the exciting events each month and find out what they’ve learned about KDES from the different units. I will send out another letter later to let you know about the activities that will happen from December to May of this year.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at Maureen.burns@gallaudet.edu or call the front office and leave a message for me at 202-651-5031.

Sincerely,
Maureen Y. Burns
Assistant Principal of Instruction

Welcome!

Dear Parents/Guardians,
We have gotten off to a very good start! We have made several changes and I’d like to talk about some of these changes. First of all, with my new role, I now work with the entire school. I work closely with the Coordinator of Instruction for Grades 4 through 8, Susan Schatz, and both of the Educational Planning Coordinators, Gail Solit and Lori Rolnick. Since the Coordinator of Instruction for birth through Grade 3 position has not been filled, I have taken most of the responsibility and am currently working with the ECE (Early Childhood Education) team and grades 1 through 3. Therefore I’m going to work closely with all of the teachers and staff members on both teams. I look forward to also getting to know your children this year.

There is a new class on the ECE team. We have added a Pre-Nursery class targeted for children who are at the age of 2 years old. Most of these children have completed two years in the Parent Infant Program (PIP) and now is ready for the transition between PIP and Nursery. We have a total of 5 children in that class who are all at the age of 2 years old. Brenda has assumed the teaching position for that class. We are currently advertising for an aide position for the Pre-Nursery class. Debbie will continue to be the PIP teacher but now will teach both classes, Monday/Wednesday (babies) and Tuesday/Thursday (toddlers) with Gwen (aide).

The Family Educators, Rosemary for the ECE team, and Tara for Grades 1-3, will continue to be your contact people. Please feel free to contact them at any time with questions you have. They are absolutely wonderful and will be able to help you. They will also refer you to appropriate people if necessary. I will be the contact person for instructional purposes only. You can contact me to discuss class placement or instructional strategies being used. Otherwise, please feel free to contact your Family Educators.

I look forward to working with you this year. I am part of the parents Language Planning group, Family Partnership Model group, and plan to attend all of the PAP (Parents As Partners) meetings and KHSO (Kendall Home School Organization) meetings/events. I hope many of you will also participate in these groups or events. Again, I look forward to working with you this year!

Sincerely,
Maureen Y. Burns
Assistant Principal of Instruction