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A New Year, a New Way 
Leopards and Lions,

Welcome to the 2020-2021 school year!  This new year ahead is going to be like none other, ever before.  There are so many unknowns as we sit and watch the news, read Twitter feeds and see Facebook posts and the like.  The picture painted in most places is scary!  I don't have all the answers, but I do have faith, a positive attitude, and a Covid-19 lens that colors everything I do these days.  This new way will include safe practices and cooperation.  With that being said, I'd like to paint a different picture for you to think about and consider as we prepare for the new year.  

I want you to think about all the smiles that will be ever-present when we open up our doors for students!  Remember, our students have not been at school since March.   Some of our students do not have reliable air conditioning and are ready to be in our buildings to cool off during these hot, hot days!  These children will be literally beaming from ear to ear and doing  the happy dance!  I am excited to see their shiny faces on our first day of school!  They are ready to meet new students and find out who their teacher will be.  

Kids  and teachers at KES have much to look forward to, as they have been displaced for most of the year last year and now they will be in a classroom that they will stay in until the end of the year.  Teachers will be thrilled to not have to pack up and move again!  I can assure you that they will be doing a happy dance as well!  They are dying to get in to their rooms now, but we are still not quite finished with construction - so they are trying to wait patiently on the construction schedule.  

Our kids in KMS and KHS have not all been together for a while as well.  We have a whole new group of Seniors who are thrilled to get the year started!  Many have been training this summer at Strength and Conditioning Camp and are ready to get to work to begin their Senior year.  EVERYTHING they do will be for the last time - ever!  The Class of 2021 has big plans to develop and watch unfold.  There is prom, graduation, homecoming, Senior pictures, and so many other things they have to look forward to!  They can hardly wait, and we are ready to start planning these wonderful memories with them!

KISD teachers and staff are going to be excited to be together again also!  It really is hard to work and plan together when you are not physically together.  Google Meets and Zoom Meetings are better than a phone call, but seeing each other face to face is much better than that!  During the time we have been at home our staff have had babies be born, engagements, new homes, new grand babies, kids who graduated from college or started new jobs - so many things have happened in the last 4 months - we can't wait to hear all about it!  We actually like each other and enjoy working together - we miss each other too!  The new year brings new training to make sure we are ready for our students.  When we learn new things, it helps us to feel prepared to do our job - and who does not want to feel or be prepared?  Now we can celebrate birthdays again!  Now we can share pictures of our grand babies (I have two now) and talk about what our kids have been up to.  

We will also have remote learners.  This will definitely be a new way of learning!  We are excited to offer this option for families who select this option for a variety of personal reasons.  We want everyone to be and feel safe, and have access to the full curriculum for the entire year.  However, this will be very different from the remote instructional support we provided during March, April and May of last year!  Students will be learning the very same thing students in school will be learning and will have to turn in assignments daily in order to get credit for coming to school.  If they are not doing their work and are counted absent, the same truancy rules and laws will apply.  

So Lions and Leopards, let's not let this "new normal" scare us.  We can do this!  We can follow guidelines put in place for us all to be safe.  Remember, wearing a mask is not only protecting you, it is protecting others around you as well.  It's a new year - we must pivot to learn in a new way!

Stay #KenedySafe and #KenedyStrong

Dr. Barrera Ugarte
Posted by On 28 July, 2020 at 12:02 PM  

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