Principals Corner Dear KES Family and Friends, Wow! What a great turn out of families to our Thanksgiving Luncheon on Thursday. It was so nice to all the siblings, dads, moms and grandparents enjoy the lunch prepared by our cafeteria staff. I appreciate the entire KES staff in preparing for this annual event. As we get ready for the Thanksgiving Break, I want to express my gratitude to our parents, students and staff. We have experienced many unforeseen changes and yet we all continue to do what is best for our children. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Break with your family and friends, Mrs. Kathy Tucker Perfect Attendance Awards—1st Nine Weeks Congratulations to these students who received a perfect attendance award for the 1st nine weeks of school! Kathy Tucker, Principal [email protected] Mary Warren, Guidance [email protected] Marna Fox, Asst. Principal [email protected] Volume 86, No. 13 November 18, 2011 School will release at regular time on Tuesday, November 22, 2011 @ 2:50 p.m.—Happy Thanksgiving! Emergency Contact Information Parents, it is critical that we have the most up to date information on your children. If you move, change an address, update a phone number, please let us know. In the event of an illness or emergency we must be able to contact you. If we do not have current information avail- able, your child may not be able to attend field trips and functions. Please stop by the front office if you need to make any changes. Annual Thanksgiv- ing Luncheon Thank you for attending our Annual Thanksgiving Luncheon on Thursday. This is a day that our faculty, staff and students look forward to every year. We appreciate being able to serve you. Many thanks to our Cafe- teria & Maintenance staff for their hard work each year. They always do a great job! We are Thankful! There is no school on Wednesday, November 22—24, 2011 to celebrate Thanksgiving. We are very thankful for our families and our faculty here at Ketterlinus! School will release at regular time on Tuesday, 11/22/11 at 2:50 p.m. Have a safe and wonderful holiday weekend! TEACHING GRATITUDE and THANKSGIVING Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind. --Sam N. Hampton Thank you to all of our families who contributed to our Thanksgiving Food Drive. We have collected over 500 cans and boxes of food to be shared with St. Johns County families with school aged children. You have helped your family experience how good it feels to know that they have helped others and that without their help someone would not have food for their family. As promised, here are a few additional ideas for helping your family learn and practice an ―attitude of gratitude‖: **Thanksgiving Tree Draw a leafless tree on a piece of paper (maybe open up a grocery bag). Cut out leaves from colored paper and have each family member write or draw something for which they are thankful. Tape or glue them to the tree. **Thanksgiving Basket Decorate a box or basket to hold notes written by family members to each other expressing things they appreciate about each other. Review them occasionally or read one before each meal. One family began their note writing on Thanksgiving and continued to add notes to the box through December. On Christmas Day before opening gifts, they open the notes to each other before they share their gifts. **”What I’m Thankful For” Charades or Pictionary Have a whiteboard or large pads of paper with markers available. The idea is for everyone to tell what he or she is thankful for by using the rules of charades or Pictionary. Everyone gets a turn as the other takes a guess. **Silver Lining Awards Offer Silver Lining Awards to any child who can turn a bad situation into a blessing. (Deborah Spaide: Teaching Children an Attitude of Gratitude) Show your child how to find some- thing good even in the midst of extremely challenging circumstances. **Teach Gratitude / Live the Lesson Never underestimate the power of your example. You are your child’s most important teacher. Be on the lookout for things to be grateful for and let your children hear you express your gratitude. ―A simple sincere expression of gratitude when your children do something they were asked to do is always appropriate. Taking an extra moment to thank a sales clerk at the store or tip the waitress lets them know that gratitude is acceptable and encouraged.‖ (Wayne Parker: Teaching Children to be Grateful ) Other families have shared that a portion of their allowances are saved during the year and then given to an organization in need of financial assistance. Another family assists with the serving of a holiday meal in a homeless shelter. ―After seeing hungry faces accepting a plate of food, my daughters heartily appreciated going home to their safe, cozy home. But they also learned about thankfulness when they saw and heard expressions of gratitude from those receiving the meal‖. So as you prepare for your Thanksgiving celebrations this year, consider all of the small but powerful ways you can teach and encourage a habit of gratitude. Resources: http://www.familycares.org/involve/attitude.cfm http://fatherhood.about.com/od/valuesandspirituality/a/gratitude.htm http://ezinearticles.com/?A-Parenting-Tip---Teaching-Thankfulness&id=814162 Thankfully, Mary Warren, Guidance Counselor Austin Albrecht Caleb Allen Janiya Baker Luke Baltz Travis Banta Rachel Banta Lola Berg Isabell Blackwell Keelen Blount Ashley Booth Alex Boutwell Sophia Brecko Jack Brecko Emma Brisk Cambria Brubaker Carter Brumbalow Zoe Calvert Madison Canova Emma Cash Mollie Cavanaugh Connor Chadwell Zoe Chapin Miranda Cline Matisse Colee-Howard Zavior Conners Natalie Cordero Ashawnti Covil Cynthia Croak Riyean Danford Tyler Duke Clayanna Duncan Macy Dykes Haley Ferris Trey Fiacco Destiny Forrest Aubreigh Furnal Blake Furnal Isabella Fusaro Michael Gallatin Mateo Garner-Munoz Kyle Gillespie Kerrigan Golz Magen Graham Landon Gwaltney Harrison Haber Elysse Harpster Dylan Harris Dustin Hawkins Luke Hayes Joseph Hayes James Hayes Michael Heath Ethan Heifner Dylan Hembd Liliana Herrington William Hudgins Anthony Izzo Chantal Izzo Jason Jackson Aaron Jett Darren Johnson Sheddrick Jones Sheridan Jones Malik Jones Jacob Jones Igor Kardash Tyler Kidd Narkia King Jonathan Koch Dalton Kuhn Megan Lay Jeremy Lay Riley Levelle Vu Brandon Luu Dillon Mantei Caden Marks Essence McBurrows Tabitha McDaniel Christian McGlothren Maggie McMullen Malia McNally Skyler Metzger Isiah Neumann Maxwell Newman LeAisia Odom Rachel O'Reilly Joshua Ott Benjamin Owens Devin Mantei Victoria Parson Shaan Patel Riya Patel Trina Patel Holden Peake Noelle Peake Nesicha Pogacnik Skylar Prall Emanuel Preston William Qualls Ryan Ranick Alex Ranick Wyatt Rayfield Emerie Redmon Alexis Rines Isabel Rios Matthew Robinson River Ross Alexis Rowe Grace Rudeen Juliana Sallas Dylan Schmidt Estelle Schwarb Kimari Shelton Aiden Simms Hannah Siverhus Hunter Skinner Gage Sleap Sid Smith Hunter Souza Adrianna Stewart Natalia Strickland Danielle Thomas Dalton Thomas Lorali Thomas Sara Townsend Hoang Tran Kaleb Underwood Jacob Usina Alyssa Vandenberge Jahzara Walden Jacqueline Waler Trey Walsh Stephen Whitfield Daeshawn Williams Rai'Nya Wilson Leila Woods Michael Wright Kennedy Yelvington Jack Yelvington There will be no newsletter sent home next week due to the short school week.