Kent Primary School

Latest KPS Headlines

• A Spooky Way to Learn

  For the week before Halloween, the Kent Primary School gymnasium becomes a Spooky Obstacle Course. The gym is set up with inflatable monsters, Minions, tunnels, ghosts and more.

  With all the laughter and excitement in the gym, it might have been hard to tell that there was real skill-building going on. But learning while having fun was just the point.

  “The students learned to navigate the obstacle course using physical skills like over, under through, in and out,” said Physical Education Teacher Rochelle Lhotan. “It also helps them learn to follow rules. They know to take one swing and stop, climb in and out of the donut and crawl like a puppy dog through the tunnel.”

  It’s hard to beat the feeling of flying through the air.

  “I liked the Lava Jump,” said Cooper, a kindergartner in Jennifer Byrd’s class. “It’s so fun. When I landed on the mattress, I did a flip.

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  Kent Primary School News

• Thankful for Senior Citizens

  The Senior Thanksgiving Luncheon sponsored by The Carmel Teachers’ Association was a big success with the guests praising the traditional turkey, mashed potatoes, vegetables and, of course, pumpkin pie.  

  Most of all, however, the senior citizens who came to Carmel High School, George Fischer Middle School and Matthew Paterson Elementary School were glad to return to schools that many of their children (and some of them) attended and to see friends from the throughout the community. 

  “We love our seniors,” said Alice Holzmann, the Family and Consumer Science teacher at George Fischer Middle School. “And they love this event.” 

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  District News

• Students Write with Their Senses

  “A few years ago, my mom and I made bread,” Liara wrote. “It was so fluffy, and I remember it came out soft. I couldn’t wait to eat it.  I carried the flour to the counter. It was so heavy it felt like a huge weight on my hands. “It’s so heavy,” I exclaimed.  

  Fourth grader Liara grabbed her teacher’s attention with those opening lines of her Food Experience story.   

  “To write the Food Experience story, the students had to use sensory details and tell what things looked and felt like, and how they smelled and tasted,” said Amy Constantinides, who teaches fourth grade at Kent Primary School. “They also had to organize events in sequential order. It’s a good writing experience.” 

  The lesson stems from the Carmel Central School District’s new reading program Core Knowledge Language Arts, or CKLA. The district implemented the program last year in kindergarten through fifth grades with an extension of the program in sixth grade. The approach is based on research into the science of reading, which has shown that students have greater success when rules for phonics, decoding and writing are explicitly spelled out, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Lauren Santabarbara said.     

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  Kent Primary School News

• A Thank You to the Board of Education

  The week of October 14 is School Board Recognition Week, but Superintendent of Schools Dr. Erin Meehan-Fairben thanked the Board of Education for their service a few days early, during the Board of Ed meeting on Octobert 8th. 

  "I know we are a little early, but I just wanted to take the chance to thank you for all you do," Dr. Fairben said. 

  Then she showed a surprise video that was created by students in Tim Raney’s Video Production class at Carmel High School, who included children from all five school buildings.    

  CHS Senior Kasey Carboy led the project. She wrote the outline, filmed and edited the video, which was her first project as lead.

  Seniors Ivy Kolovik and Dan Fanceschi assisted Kasey with filming at the various school buildings. 

   

  District News

• A Classroom Constitution

  To celebrate Constitution Day on September 17, the students in Andrea Shaver’s second grade class came up with a constitution for their classroom.  

  “Teaching the Constitution is part of the district curriculum,” said Shaver, who teaches at Kent Primary School. “It makes sense for me at the beginning of the year to link our class rules with it. We talk so much about being good citizens and about how to take care of one another.” 

  To introduce the subject, Shaver read “We the Kids” by David Catrow, a picture book that lays out the Preamble to the Constitution in language children can understand. It even includes a glossary that explains the words in the Preamble.  

  The book is filled with funny illustrations that make the children want to read it again and again and, as they do, they learn the ideals that America was founded upon. 

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  Kent Primary School News

• Principal Vincent Fino Leads the Way at KPS

  When he is not providing leadership and support for the students at Kent Primary School, Principal Vincent Fino might be found running on one of the bike trails around town. Fino, who took over as principal of the primary school on July 1, logs 35 to 40 miles a week.  

  “It helps me unwind at the end of the day,” Fino said. “I like to be outdoors in the fresh air and Carmel is so beautiful.” 

  Fino hit the ground running in his new position, too. He is already setting up ways to support young students in reading and math and is busy planning creative strategies to highlight the positive behaviors that Kent Primary students display every day.  

  “I believe in positive behavioral interventions,” Fino said. “We want to highlight students when they are exemplifying good character and kindness toward others.”  

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  Kent Primary School News

• A Carmel Graduate Gives Back

  Come October, Chris DeChent will have worked in the Carmel Schools for 20 years. But that anniversary does not even include the time he worked in the district before graduating from Carmel High School in 2004.  

  DeChent, the Information Systems Technician, started helping out with district technology when he was in Carmel High School. By tenth grade he had a summer internship in the IT department and, later, an after-school job.  

  “In high school I was always the student ready to jump in and help the teacher if the computer had a problem or the projector wasn’t working,” DeChent said. “I enjoyed building computers, understanding how they worked, and figuring out how to repair them. My name became known to the IT department and they let me help out. I started here full time after graduation.” 

  DeChent credits his teachers with encouraging his interests and talents.  

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  District News

• An Announcement

  We unequivocally denounce antisemitism in all of its forms and expressions.

  The Carmel Central School District serves a diverse population. We embrace that diversity and are focused on shaping the next generation of successful Carmel graduates who exemplify the Carmel 6 Cs (Citizenship, Compassion, Critical Thinking, Creativity, Collaboration, Communication). Through education, our students are taught to engage in civil and respectful discourse. Our mission is to educate the whole student through partnerships to become lifelong learners in an ever-changing world.

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  District News