BODY WALK A SUCCESS

An innovative new way to learn about the importance of good nutrition and physical fitness came to the students at Kennedy Elementary School! On April 27th & 28th the Body Walk exhibit will visited our school. This exciting learning experience is provided by HealthMPowers as a part of a Health Care Georgia Foundation and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia initiative. Student had the opportunity to explore the human body with the Organ Wise Guys as their guide.

The tour began when students walk through a giant ear and into the brain. Inside the brain, students experienced “brain waves” as they learned how to take care of their brain. After the students left the brain, they stepped into the exhibit’s larger-than-life mouth, were “swallowed” through the esophagus tunnel and moved into the stomach. From the stomach, the students traveled through the small intestine where they were “absorbed” into the blood. Then they followed the path of the nutrients to the heart, lungs, bones, muscles and skin stations. At each station students were given knowledge and skills to keep their organs healthy.

Students left the body through a cut in the skin and proceeded through the pathway to life. This final station recapped key concepts from each of the ten previous stations. Throughout the exhibit, students learned how to apply HealthMPowers’ slogan, “Power of Choice”. At each of the Body Walk’s ten stations, a volunteer presenter engaged the students in a 4:30 minute activity focused on healthy choices.

The traveling Body Walk exhibit is operated by HealthMPowers in Atlanta, Georgia.

What a great Carnival!!!

The PTO went all out today to put on a fantastic Luau carnival. Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time on all the games and jumpies. It was a lot of fun for everyone. Thank you PTO, you guys are awesome!

Way to Go Sam!!

It is my honor to recognize Kennedy's own Sam Houston as Barrow County's winner of the Yes, I Can Award. Of over 1,500 eligle students, Sam was the winner of the first ever award presented by the county. The award was presented at the Winder Community Center on Friday night. It was amazing to hear the loud cheers that came from the Kennedy tables as Sam was named. I was so proud of him, his family, and his Kennedy Family of teachers. It was an amazing night. Way to go Sam!!!

Spring Break!!!

YES, YES, YES!!! It is finally Spring Break time. I love having a week off to recover from the hectic pace of testing week. That is right Spring Break could not have come at a better time. We finished testing on Tuesday of last week and those tests were out of the building on Wednesday. It was a good feeling to have them out of here and know that are students did a great job. Now we just sit and wait to hear HOW good of a job they did. Last week we also celebrated "Proud to be an American" day. Each class did a two week unit on America and Friday was the day where everyone showed off what they learned. Each grade level traveled around the school to see what the other grade levels had done. This was a great way of letting our students teach each other. Our kindergarten students taught us about different American symbols; first graders broke down some Patriotic songs and taught us what the words really meant; second grade taught us everything you need to know about Georgia; third grade did the "Fifty Nifty United States" in their state shirts; fourth grade "trucked" us through the US; and the fifth grade brought life-size presidents to our halls. Everyone played baseball for PE, sang a patriotic song, and saw American art work. Parents, students, and teachers were also treated to an American style picnic complete with hamburgers, hotdogs, and apple pie!!

CRCT Testing Week

This week got off to a great start. Our 3rd-5th Grade students started testing on Monday, and the students and teachers all feel that it went really, really well. The students said that they felt confident that they "HAMMER'ED IT!". We ended Monday with a guest performance of the New KNERDS (KNowledgeable-Educated-Relentlessly-Driven-Scholars) that really encouraged our students to Believe in themselves, to work hard, and to Stop Bullying. It was very good!!Tuesday was a little hectic though as bad storms caused power outages across the county. Those power outages also caused the county to make the decision to delay testing for the day. So now the testing will go into next week. The new testing schedule will be as follows: Language Arts on Wednesday, April 6th, Math on Thursday, April 7th, Science on Friday, April 8th, and Social Studies on Monday, April 11th. This change in the testing schedule also caused a change in two other events (Body Walk, and end of CRCT cookout). The Body Walk will now be April 27th and 28th and the cookout will be April 15th.

Great Night to Be a Principal at KES

Tonight was a great night to be the principal at KES. We have successfully celebrated 4 days of spirit week with only tomorrow's PINK OUT pep rally left this week. It should be a lot of fun as teachers, administrators, and students will perform songs that should hopefully get them pumped up to take the test next week. We also have over 100 students who have taken all of the practice tests and passed. All of them will get to throw a water balloon at me tomorrow at the pep rally. Those were all great, but the best thing was getting the email that let me know that 3 of the 6 elementary Young Georgia Author winners for the county came from Kennedy Elementary School. Levi Jones is the county Kindergarten winner; Anna Bagwell is the county 3rd Grade winner; and Kate Thompson is the county 5th Grade winner. I am so proud of each of these students and all the teachers. It does not surprise me that we have that many winners though because they have all worked so hard to improve their writing. It was just a great night to be the principal at Kennedy Elementary. I love me job!

CRCT Only 1 Week Away!!

The CRCT Is Coming! By Ryan Butcher Principal The time of year is here that most of our students will take the CRCT (Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests – grades 3 through 5). Below are the answers to some questions that you may have about it. When will these tests be administered? April 4th -8th (3rd, 4th and 5th Grades Only) What subjects will be tested? Reading, English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies Why do the students need to take these tests? Georgia law requires a comprehensive assessment program of students’ educational achievement. Both norm-referenced and criterion-referenced tests are necessary in order to determine educational effectiveness since these tests provide different types of information about student achievement. What is the purpose of the CRCT? It is designed to measure student acquisition of the skills and knowledge described in Georgia’s Performance Standards (GPS). The information yielded on the CRCT serves the dual purpose of giving a diagnosis of individual student strengths and weaknesses as related to the instruction of the GPS and program evaluation to gauge the quality of education throughout Georgia. Can standardized tests alone determine a child’s placement in a classroom? NO! Paper and pencil tests give teachers only part of the picture of a child’s strengths and weaknesses. Teachers combine the results of many methods of assessments, such as observing students in the classroom and evaluating their day-to-day class work, to gain insights into the skills, abilities, and knowledge of a child. Standardized tests have limitations and are not perfect measures of what a student can or cannot do or of everything a student learns. Also, a child’s scores on a particular test may vary from day to day, depending on whether the child guesses, follows the directions carefully, takes the test seriously, and is comfortable in taking the test. How can I help my child do well on tests? It is important that you communicate with your child’s teacher often to monitor your child’s progress and find out what activities you can do at home to help your child. · Make sure your child does his/her homework. · Make sure your child is well rested and eats a well-balanced diet each day. · Have a variety of books and magazines at home to encourage your child’s curiosity. · Do not be overly anxious about test scores, but encourage your child to take tests seriously. · Do not judge your child on the basis of a simple test score.