Weekly E-Newsletter from the Superintendent of Schools

Volume 3, Issue 2 (September 2, 2022)

Video Update: https://youtu.be/yCqVe1StnHI

UPDATES FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT

LOOKING FORWARD TO THE 1ST DAY OF SCHOOL!

It’s hard to believe the first day of school is only four days away! I hope everyone shares my excitement as we kick off what is sure to be another great year.

As a reminder, school begins Tuesday, September 6th. We can’t wait to see our students back in our school buildings! Please visit www.ktufsd.org/back2school for all beginning-of-year information including school supply lists, answers to frequently asked questions, online calendars, and more. I encourage all families to use these resources to make sure you have everything you need and are all set for your children to return to school on Tuesday.

Bus information has been mailed. Parents/guardians of students who will be receiving bus transportation are strongly encouraged to check Parent Portal prior to the start of school on September 6th. This is necessary in case any changes had to be made to pick-up/drop-off times or bus stop location. The sooner parents look for this, the better prepared they will be to make arrangements accordingly. For a link to Parent Portal and information on how to sign up, please visit www.ktufsd.org/ParentPortal

It is also important that families of students at our four schools which do not qualify for the federal Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) - Edison Elementary, Lindbergh Elementary, Kenmore East and Kenmore West - understand that breakfast/lunch will no longer be free for all students. This means students who do not qualify for free/reduced-price lunch will have to pay full price for lunch meals.

It is extremely important for all families at all schools to return their free/reduced price meal applications ASAP. This ensures individual eligibility for certain state and federal programs as well as additional school funding. You can access the free/reduced price lunch application here and copies will be sent home with children next week.

CAPITAL PROJECT PROGRESS

Some of the biggest changes you will see are the result of our ongoing Capital Project. Significant progress was made during the summer and work will be continuing during the fall (it was planned in such a way to minimize the impact on student programming).

Edison Elementary and Lindbergh Elementary received new energy-efficient windows this summer. This will not only improve the aesthetics of the buildings but will also provide more natural light and will create a more welcoming learning environment for students. Edison will also be receiving a new bus loop and both schools will have refined parent pick-up/drop-off lanes in addition to classroom additions and many other exciting exterior and interior improvements.

A large amount of construction took place at the Franklin Elementary and Middle School Complex, including the resurfacing of the parking lot, new sidewalks, gymnasium renovations, and other improvements. Holmes Elementary also received a new parking lot and pick-up/drop-off enhancements.

A great deal of construction took place at Kenmore West High School. The entire parking lot off Delaware Road has been resurfaced and redesigned. A new pick-up/drop-off loop will assist with traffic issues during arrival and dismissal. Significant interior renovations have taken place and work continues on the new Single Point of Entry.

For all schools, the project includes building-wide replacement of water pipes to improve drinking water quality, more secured entrances, and sidewalk resurfacing. Other upcoming work includes classroom additions and a new pick-up/drop-off loop and redesigned parking lot at the Hoover Complex.

This summer’s construction activity continues work that began in June 2021 which included new multi-use artificial turf athletic fields at Kenmore East High School, a new adaptive playground (located at Hoover Elementary), an upgraded Hoover Elementary/Middle School entrance, and critical roof replacements at both Franklin and Holmes.

The progress being made is especially impressive due to significant challenges which have impacted construction throughout the country such as inflation, supply train issues, soaring oil prices, and labor shortages. The price of construction materials has increased substantially since the Capital Project was approved in February 2020. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, for example, the cost of gypsum (used in dry wall) has increased 43 percent, the cost of lumber has increased 52 percent, and the cost of steel has increased 124 percent.

These increases are far beyond what anyone could have predicted when the Capital Project was developed two years ago, creating a challenge for all construction planning nation-wide. This is necessitating changes to the timeline and has challenged our ability to consider additional enhanced projects outside the original scope of the approved project. We will need to continue to adapt through the upcoming phases of the project. The most important thing is that we do this work right. Our community deserves for us to do whatever it takes to make each part of this project a priority.

WELCOME NEW STAFF!

Please join me in welcoming the following staff who were hired during the summer:

SCHOOL & DISTRICT HIGHLIGHTS

Each week, we will highlight some of the exciting things taking place in the district. Be sure to follow the Ken-Ton School District on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@ktufsd) for more school highlights!

Middle & High Schools Host Orientation Events

Our middle and high schools were excited to welcome all incoming fifth and eighth graders for their annual orientation events!

Staff Gather for Opening Day Kick-Off Event

We were extremely excited to welcome all Ken-Ton School District teachers, staff, and administrators for the annual Opening Day Kick-Off meeting, which took place Tuesday, August 30th in the Kenmore West High School New Gymnasium. I was joined by our Board of Education - President Matthew Chimera, Vice President Lesley Battaglia, Trustee Todd Marquardt, Trustee Jennifer Morrow, and Trustee Paul Spors - and the leaders of our three bargaining units - President Josh Frasier of the Kenmore-Tonawanda School Employees Association, President Matthew Raines of the Kenmore Administrators Association, and President Jeffrey Orlowski of the Kenmore Teachers Association - in welcoming back staff for what is sure to be a great year. Over the course of the morning, we discussed some of the challenges we faced last year which we overcame together as one Ken-Ton family and some of the many successes we should all share pride in. We also discussed ongoing safety/security priorities and exciting initiatives that are underway for the 2022-23 school year.

Board of Education Welcomes New Student Representatives

At the August 9th Board of Education meeting, we were extremely excited to welcome our two new student representatives: Maria Colosimo from Kenmore East and Tilynn Robinson from Kenmore West! Our student representatives play an extremely important role in our district. In addition to representing their fellow students on our Board of Education and reporting on important topics at Board meetings, our student representatives help facilitate our District Leadership Council (DLC). The DLC is a collective student leadership group composed of 6th and 7th graders from our middle schools and 11th and 12th graders from our high schools and Big Picture Program. The goal of the DLC is to encourage student voice and leadership as well as finding ways to make district-wide connections. Please join me in welcoming Maria and Tilynn!

Summer Elementary Students Treated to Hands-On STEM Learning

Carol Glor, the STEM special area teacher for this year’s Ken-Ton summer school program, gave her students an exciting hands-on look at STEM concepts. For this year’s elementary summer school session, approximately 300 students in grades K-4 focused on a variety of STEM concepts like engineering, technology, chemistry, space, and agriculture and design. Special guest speakers included former NASA scientist Kevin DeBruin, organic farmer Steve Blabac, and NOAA meteorologist Michael Fries. Click here to read the story.

Director of School Culture Presents for State Workshop on Safety & Climate

This summer, the NYS Center for School Safety and NYS Education Department presented a series of workshops called “School Safety and Climate.” The sessions aimed at providing teachers, administrators, and support staff with ways to create safe and supportive learning environments. We were proud to see our Director of School Culture, Dina Ferraraccio, invited to be a guest presenter for a session entitled “Strategic Planning and Implementation of Trauma-Informed District Change.” The focus of our Office of School Culture is safety/security as well as preventive social and emotional learning, anti-bullying programs, school culture, crisis teams, and other related areas. Click here to read the story.

District Proud to Host Two-Day Sustainable Schools Institute

In July, the Ken-Ton School District was proud to host “Going for the Green: Sustainable Schools” to educate teachers, administrators, and school support staff on the importance of sustainability and how to introduce the topic inside their schools. This two-day event was developed in partnership with the Center for Environmental Literacy Foundation (CELF) and sponsored by Linde. Guest speakers helped to enhance teaching practices and gave ideas for centering the curriculum around sustainability. This included Lisa Cross, Director of Secondary Education; Lisa Davidson, Instructional Support Specialist for Science; Kim Roll, Director of Food Service; and John Wille, Assistant Director of Facilities. The institute included a trip to Aqua Lane Park to check out the school district’s adopted stretch of the Niagara Scenic Parkway Trail and the surrounding area. Click here to read the story.

UPCOMING DATES

Visit www.ktufsd.org/calendar to access website calendars and Google calendars with

up-to-date event information for the district and each of its schools.

• Monday, September 5th:
• Labor Day Holiday (District Offices Closed)
• Tuesday, September 6th:
• 1st Day of School
• Wednesday, September 7th:
• Big Picture Program Open House (6:30 p.m.)
• Wednesday, September 14th:
• Kenmore East Open House (5:30 to 7:30 p.m.)
• Thursday, September 15th:
• Franklin Middle Open House (5:00 to 6:30 p.m.)
• Hoover Middle Open House (6:00 to 8:00 p.m.)

Thank you for reviewing this information. As always, we remain Ken-Ton Proud, Ken-Ton Strong, and Ken-Ton Moving Forward!

Sabatino Cimato,

Superintendent of Schools

For previous editions of the Ken-Ton Weekly Connection, visit

www.ktufsd.org/connection