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March 31, 2025
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Looking Toward Next School Year
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KAS has a great team of teachers, administrators, support people, parents, and volunteers, which is why our children love being here. We are proud of who we are as a school, and learning is only getting stronger and more exciting.
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To assure a strong future, planning for the next school year is now fully underway, and along with the school mission, we are using the recently published strategic plan to structure our short-term goals. I want to take a moment to share some of the things we have begun to address at KAS for the fall at this time.
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Curriculum Design. We have begun to review the learning standards we teach to assure we remain engaging and seamless from one grade to the next. We are updating our report cards for next year and working to assure that play, project-based learning, and students being known and at the center of their learning remain core elements at KAS.
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Supporting Teacher Creativity. KAS teachers will continue to be encouraged to creatively engage the interests and abilities of each student in class. Each grade will continue to be supported to adapt learning to excite students, and unlock a love for learning for each individual.
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Spanish Instruction. We seek to continue to develop our Spanish program to increase student interest and assure real learning takes place for all grade levels. We'll be blending cultural exposure with skills and knowledge in the language.
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FACTS Database. Later this fall, we expect to have our FACTS data system integrated across the school. We will be using it for our school finances as well as for student reporting, grading and communication.
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Space Improvements. KAS will continue to improve physical spaces across the school. We currently have two pending/active grants that if procured, will allow us to improve storage and other elements making the school space more user-friendly and organized.
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Schedule Changes. We will be making some (small) scheduling changes for the fall. This includes more ability grouping - especially in the Middle School - along with increased reading time, and more allowance for making and project-based learning.
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Organic Foods Program. Beginning this spring, parent volunteers will work with students to resume a weekly offering of organic fresh fruits and vegetables to students at lunch time. This will be a first step in providing future healthy snacks and possible lunch options that were initiated at KAS's inception, but were suspended during COVID.
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Place in the Community. KAS seeks to expand community leadership and collaboration. We will add more interesting class trips, and offer our students more engagement with city-wide events and opportunities. We are so proud of our school and we want to share what we do with everyone!
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Social Media. KAS will continue to strengthen its presence online through social media and an updated website. Our goal is to focus on our successes and share the good news with the greater community.
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Pittsburgh Ballet Theater at KAS this Week
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K.A.S. has the great opportunity to host dancers from the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater this Thursday, April 3rd! The “IN-STEP” program will begin at 11AM in the Social Hall and should last for approximately 1 hour. Dancers from the Pittsburgh Ballet will share behind the scenes info about performances, costumes, storytelling, dancer preparation and more. There is nothing students need to do to prepare for this "in-house field trip” — students should just bring themselves and their imagination! This is for all grades, K through 8.
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Re-enrollment for Fall 2025
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The initial deadline for re-enrollment is this week, which is sooner than in previous years. With this benchmark, our goal is to better prepare for our student body's needs for next school year, build a more accurate budget, and to more closely align with the admissions frameworks of the other Pittsburgh PCIS schools - to allow more students to consider transferring to KAS.
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We understand that some families will be moving to their next educational adventure beginning June. To this end, we seek to support your needs and provide you with any documentation needed, with the hope that you will remain a positive part of the KAS community. Contact the office with any needs you may have.
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Events For the Spring at KAS
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We still have SO MUCH to do before the end of the school year. Here are a few highlights to keep in mind.
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Parent Teacher Conferences (April 30). Remember that conferences are slated for April 30th during the school day (no classes that day). Registration for conferences is coming directly from your homeroom teachers in the coming weeks.
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Save the Date: Elementary Spring Music Event & Talent Show (May 9). KAS will be hosting an evening event to showcase the music and expression of our students. This will include performances from Music class as well as talent show performances previously discussed - details will be coming soon from our Music Teacher, Rachel Matos.
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The event will start at 630PM with elementary students expected to be at school at 6PM (KAS will extend ClubKAS this night to 6PM). All K-5 students are expected to attend so if you cannot make it, please let us know so we can prepare our performances accordingly. More soon!
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STEM Challenge II. Later in April KAS will host a school wide Science-Technology-Engineering-Math (STEM) challenge - the second of its kind this year. KAS students will again work in groups to overcome an engineering challenge in fun and exciting ways. Stay tuned for more exciting information and pictures!
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Exhibition of Learning (June 2) Update. For this event, KAS will host a parent/grandparent/alum tea & coffee from 9-10AM in the KAS cafe, then celebrate the learning of our K-8 students from 10AM to Noon afterward. Expect great conversation, learning insights, performances, and more!
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Students who are running Thursdays in preparation for the Kids of Steel Run have been sent home a Kids of Steel registration form. Parents may register their child independently, or return the registration form to the school by this Thursday afternoon and be registered through the school. Expect registration hard copies in backpacks today, and if you don't see the form, please give us a call and we'll send another one home (or you can download it directly from the race website.
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Board Leadership
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KAS is committed to transparency and inclusion with regard to school board leadership, and parents are encouraged to join monthly meetings in-person or via Zoom link. As OUR KAS grows, the board is seeking more engagement from parents and community leaders. If you know of a person whose energy, beliefs, and connections may help KAS realize its mission, please contact us.
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