Bulletin #22 | February 6th, 2019

Main Office

5700 acts of kindness during the week!

I hope that everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable time with family and friends over the Mexican Constitution holiday this past weekend. After following the frigid weather reports from our neighbors to the north, we are certainly blessed with the beautiful weather in Queretaro!
Last week our students and staff participated in the Great Kindness Challenge. Here are some simple but powerful ways that we can all continue being kind to others, both at home and at school:
 
  • Be patient
  • Be honest
  • Be gentle
  • Be a good listener
  • Be respectful
  • Wait your turn
  • Use kind words
  • Throw away trash
  • Help your neighbor

It is fun for children, as well as adults, to look for ways to practice “Random Acts of Kindness.” Help your child identify and be aware of ways to make positive contributions to the world. Find ways that you can do that together.

“No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.” ~Aesop

 
Adrian Leece
Main Office
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Kermesse

We want to invite you to our great Kermesse next March 23, there will be cool rides, games of skill ,and a new area with awesome games for the little ones.

We will have our traditional Community Exhibition 2019 in which students, teachers, parents, and staff will participate singing, dancing, playing instruments with presentations throughout the day, and also as a special guest mago Gamini which will give a spectacular presentation in our Kermesse.

We will have food trucks and booths with a great variety of food, as well as a sponsor area.

Remember that in addition to having a great day, you will be contributing to our annual campaign whose goal this year is to remodel our Plaza de las Banderas, so come and enjoy all the activities and games we have prepared for you, we will be waiting for you!

 
Be a sponsor at this year´s Kermesse on March 23

Over 1800 people of all ages attend the Kermesse.
We offer:

· A location to exhibit and promote your product at the event.
· Brand exposure in publicity and during the event.
· Tax-deductible receipt (upon request)

For more information, please contact Gabriela Platas in the Institutional Development Department at [email protected] or phone 218 0075 ext. 1015
 
 
Gaby Platas
Institutional Development

 

Staff join The Great Kindness Challenge

Last week, staff joined the Great Kindness Challenge. We want to urge the participation of staff members to bring together the school’s objectives. Let’s remember that the Great Kindness Challenge was a worldwide movement in schools, to promote kindness. There was also a visual manifest in Spirit Week. Every costume had a reason to be.
 
These were the descriptions for each day.

Global Kindness Day: Cultural Costume
Powered by Kindness: Favorite Superhero
Dream of kindness: Pajama Day
Peace, love and Kindness day: Hippie Costume
Hats off to kindness: Favorite Hat

Thank you all who participated!

 
Mónica Duarte
Marketing and Communications
 
 

Preschool

The Great Kindness Challenge

We had a wonderful time last week celebrating kindness in a variety of ways.  We kicked the week off by welcoming some students from the Boys’ Home, “La Providencia”.  Our community collected powdered milk to donate to them and they shared a delicious breakfast and craft activity with K3D.  Students were excited to participate in Spirit Week and many moms helped us create kind letters for friends and family members during recess.  Let’s keep spreading kindness all year long!!

Valentine’s Day

We will celebrate Valentine’s Day with a friendship book exchange. The teachers will create an exchange list and each child should buy a book for his or her friend ($150 pesos limit). Please bring your wrapped and labeled book no later than February 13th in order to be ready for the exchange on February 15th.
 
Debra Cortney
Preschool Principal
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Elementary School

The theft prevention campaign

Our Theft Prevention Campaign continues and I have good and bad news to report this week. The good news is besides the “regular” items turned into the ES office like pencil boxes and lunch boxes, we also had white Samsung headphones turned in, a pink wallet, a golden cross, and a black wallet with money and everything in it. If you are missing any of these items, please call Miss Ana Paula in the ES office to claim it (2180075 ext. 1701). Thank you to the students who did the right thing and exactly what we expect of them to turn in these items. These examples show off the good values of JFK students of honesty and being a caring person.

Unfortunately, I also have to report bad news. In 5C, we have two pairs of glasses that have gone missing. After an internal investigation, the most likely scenario is that the glasses were taken, not lost. If anyone has seen or heard about these glasses, please write directly to me. We know that almost every child in JFK do the right things when it comes to stealing. However, a few children are making a big negative impact on the JFK family by taking things that do not belong to them.

Please continue to help us by checking your own children’s belongings after school. Sometimes we can accidentally put things into our backpacks by mistake. No child will be in trouble if that is the case. However, if I find out that children have stolen and not had the courage to fix their mistake by returning the item, then I will take the strongest consequences available to protect the school community.

Please stay tuned to the next stage of this campaign. We will be creating a google form in which all JFK community members can report lost items of significant monetary or sentimental value AND in which all JFK community members can report found items.

Thank you and have a great week.
 
 
 
Mark Dunn
Elementary School Principal
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Middle School

Dear Middle School community,

I have been reading the book How to Raise an Adult, by Julie Lythcott-Haims, who discusses the paradigm shift in parenting that has led to overparenting: “Kids don’t acquire life skills by magic at the stroke of midnight on their eighteenth birthday. Childhood is meant to be the training ground. Parents can assist-- not by always being there to do it or tell them how to do it via cell phone-- but by getting out of the way and letting kids figure things out for themselves.”

This week before Valentine’s Day, walking in the hallways during break, I am struck by how much our students seem to be growing up! They are well-spoken, polite, fun-loving, and confident pre-teens and teens. I am sure that our MYP curriculum is preparing them for the top universities and careers they will eventually carry out in a few years; however I am also confident that our Middle School team of teachers, mentors, psychologists, administrators, and coordinators are preparing your children for life by helping them figure things out for themselves.

Parenting is about keeping them safe and sound, and it’s also about freeing them to carve out their own independence through experience. Thank you so much to the entire JFK community for trusting us to help guide your children through the ups and downs of Middle School!


 
 
Camille Casses
Middle School Principal
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High School

Kindness week activities

I would like to thank our Student Council for organizing Kindness Week Challenge Activities as part of our participation in this worldwide school challenge. To the group of leaders who made the promotional video shown on the high school patio for students, congratulations on the message and quality! And… thank you to our students for doing small acts of kindness last week to make the world we live in a better place.

I would also like to thank our College Counselor, Ms. Monica Orozco, for her work guiding our students through the college application process. Everyday, I’m seeing students with smiling and proud faces, run up to Ms. Moni on the patio telling her that they have been admitted to one of the universities they wanted. Our students truly work hard, and it is amazing to see that hard work pays off in 12th grade!
 
Bob Callahan
High School Principal