KMS Parents and Students,

Good morning and happy February! It was nice to see all of the parents at the school on Thursday for conferences. Sorry if I missed you after 5:30, I was on my way to the County Spelling Bee. It was an exciting couple of weeks at KMS. We crowned a School District Spelling Bee Champion, as well as a County Spelling Bee Champion. The girls 7th grade basketball team ended their season with a CVC Championship! We held our last conferences for the year, students got to go outside and enjoy some sun on Thursday, and we actually had a full 5 day week. Next week, we will celebrate, P.S. I LOVE YOU DAY! on Thursday, February 8th. Please encourage your son or daughter to WEAR PURPLE (if they have any) to support kindness, inclusion and mental health! Finally, the Spring Dance date has been set for Friday, April 26 from 6 to 8pm. Have a wonderful next two weeks.

Sincerely, 

 Mr. Race

Week of February 5

Monday, February 5 - 8th/7th Grade Boy's Basketball at Berkshire Local Schools

Tuesday, February 6 - 

Wednesday, February 7 - POPCORN DAY - 50 CENTS A BAG (Proceeds go to PTA)

• 8th/7th Grade Boy's Basketball vs. West Geauga Local Schools

Thursday, February 8 - 

• P.S. I LOVE YOU DAY! Please WEAR PURPLE to support kindness, inclusion and mental health!
• 8th/7th Grade Boy's Basketball vs. Wickliffe

Friday, February 9 - NO SCHOOL - TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT!!

Week of February 12

Monday, February 12 - 8th/7th Grade Boy's Basketball vs. Crestwood

Tuesday, February 13 - 7th/8th Grade Boy's Basketball at Orange / Brady Middle School

Wednesday, February 14 - Valentines Day

Thursday, February 15- 8th Grade Boy's Basketball at Grand Valley

Friday, February 16 - 

We are thrilled to announce that Sabrina Ensinger has been recognized as the Kiwanis student of the month at Kirtland Middle School! Sabrina's hard work, helpfulness, and respectful nature towards her peers and adults lead to her receiving the award. Sabrina's recognition as the Kiwanis student of the month is a well-deserved achievement that highlights her outstanding character and the positive impact she has on those around her. Congratulations, Sabrina, on this remarkable accomplishment! Keep up the excellent work, and continue to inspire others with your remarkable qualities.

On Thursday, the top 11 spellers in Lake County met at the ESC of the Western Reserve with a shot at competing in the Tri-county Spelling Bee in a couple of weeks. At the end of the competition stood, Kirtland Middle School's own Grace Kostelnik who was crowned Champion! Grace moves on to the Tri-County Spelling Bee where she has the chance to move on to the Scripps Howard Spelling Bee in Washington DC in May. You got this Grace! We are so proud of you!

On Friday, January 26th the top grade level spellers from grades 4 through 8 competed to be this years, Kirtland Local Schools Spelling Bee Champion! Representing their respective classes were Bobby Ruggeri (4th), Henriette Famularcano (5th), Liliana Giavara (6th), Grace Kostelnik (7th), and Tommy Loncar (8th). After collectively spelling a combined 223 words correct a champion was crowned. Congratulation to the 2023 Kirtland Local School District Spelling Bee Champion, Grace Kostelnik. She will be moving onto the regional spelling and will represent Kirtland against other competing area schools. Great job, Grace as well as all of our finalist!

The Board of Education has voted to place a renewal levy on the March 19, 2024 ballot for the public’s consideration. Additional information about the renewal levy is available at the following link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/118enk-1AiK7YXzXDdzf0OfA4JhmFHz_OvC8rF3zlKuc/edit?usp=sharing

The Kirtland Youth Baseball & Softball league is striving to make this a great 2024 season. We are taking steps to try to improve the overall experience for coaches, parents, sponsors, umpires, and most importantly the children. We are looking forward to the start of the 2024 season and we hope to make it a great one for all that are involved!

https://www.kirtlandyouthsports.com/

Registration closes Sunday, March 24th @ 5pm. We will immediately form teams and notify parents of team assignments and coaching staff shortly thereafter. Your coach will reach out and begin scheduling practices in Mid to late April, depending on the weather. Games start at the beginning of May and end just before Jul 4. The practice and game schedule is determined by your coach and field availability. However, we encourage coaches to run two practices a week before games start. After games begin, it will be entirely up to your coach, but usually, stay within one practice a week. You will likely have 1-2 games weekly. 

For each division, you can not be older than the oldest age. So, for example, in Girls Softball 8U (7&8Yr olds), your daughter must be 8 or "U"nder on Jan 1, 2023. If your daughter turns 9 in July, they are still 8U for this season. Next season, they will be 10U. Furthermore, although the boy's divisions does not have a "U" it is the same concept. The Minors 9-10 are boys that are 10 or "U"nder on Jan 1, 2023.

While we make every effort to honor requests, we can not guarantee that any athlete will be placed on a specific team. Teams are drafted based on several criteria, including (but not limited to) the number of participants, ability, and experience.

2024 Registration Open 1/19/24

Divisions are:

Mighty Mite / T-Ball: Boys and Girls ages 4-6

Boys Baseball:

Little Indians / 7 & 8 Year-Old Boys

Minors / 9 & 10 Year-Old Boys

Majors 11 & 12 Year-Old Boys

Pony / 13 & 14 Year-Old Boys

Girls Softball:

8U / 7 & 8 Year-Old Girls

10U / 9 & 10 Year-Old Girls

12U / 11 & 12 Year-Old Girls

14U / 13 & 14 Year-Old Girls

*** Age is based on the child's age as of 1/1/2024 ***

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M4Zp4GR0sY4lPceVRfMFe7DB8rvpewSS/view?usp=sharing

The Lake County ADAMHS (Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health Services) Board released information regarding marijuana use among teens. The document is attached below for your reference.

https://target.brightarrow.com/Attachments2/3003_3/2402021221473.pdf

Congratulations to Naomi Blankenship on being recognized by State Representative, Jamie Callender for her 2nd place finish in the 6th through 12th grade "Transportation and Manufacturing" category with her "Secret Seat" at the 2023 Ohio Invention Convention! Great job, Namoi we at KMS are very proud of your accomplishment.

Look no further! The ESC of the Western Reserve offers FREE mathematics tutoring. We are here to serve your grade 6-12 students on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. We offer a clean, safe space to assist with math homework, test preparation, and remediation.

https://target.brightarrow.com/Attachments2/3003_3/2310280429071.pdf

The idea for KAA came out of a series of discussions the Building Leadership Team had regarding our desire to help students who need a little assistance every so often, while also trying to hold students with high amounts of missing work accountable. Missing work can have such a profoundly negative impact on student learning and success within the classroom and we want to provide something that can help. We believe that this program is a tremendous opportunity for kids who need help getting back on track, while also supporting students that just need a bit of assistance every now and again. 

All KMS students are welcome at KAA. The academic team - including teachers, parents, and administrators - has the discretion to make this program mandatory for students with excessive missing work which negatively impacts student learning and success within the classroom. 

In many ways, KAA is homework help, tutoring, and general academic assistance for any KMS student in attendance. KMS students do not need to sign up for KAA. They simply need to show up with things they want to work on, sign in, and get the help they need. We are confident that this process will help these students find great success.

Location: KMS Library

Time: 7:30 - 8:30am

Day: Thursday during Delayed Start

Staff Facilitator: Mrs. Saluan

The lost and found area is no longer filling up but has exploded onto another table!!! Please remind your son or daughter to check the area in the lobby, if they are missing lunch boxes, water bottles, coats, shirts, hoodies, etc. If they are missing anything there is a good chance it is there. There is a lot of really nice stuff that needs to find its way back to it's owner. AT THE END OF THE WEEK WE WILL BE DONATING THE ITEMS IN THE LOST AND FOUND TO CHARITY! Please make sure your son or daughter take some time to double check their belongings are not there.

The link provided will take you the Kirtland Middle School - Important Dates for the 23-24 school year. There are still a few things that need to be added at the end of the school year, but they will be updated in the next couple of days. My goal for the year is to be as transparent as possible to major events taking place down the road at the school. I will continue to add to the important date section of the newsletter for upcoming events, but if you are wanting to plan for things, please refer to this document.

The official date for the Spring Dance is Friday, April 26. 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1suRagStcxf0ssRBDomyMqpD4qLfAxR7a3YCHdObYlPk/edit?usp=sharing