School Profile
Kensington Elementary School is one of the seven elementary schools in SAU #16. We began the 2012-2013 school year with 166 students in grades K-5. You may learn more about SAU #16 and KES by visiting kes.sau16.org. Our Mission Statement is “At Kensington Elementary School, we work together with families and community members to provide a safe learning environment that fosters academic, emotional, social and physical growth for all students”.
The 2012-2013 school year promises to be a very exciting and busy one for the whole community of Kensington. Once again, the PTO and Enrichment Committee have put together a calendar of events/activities for staff, students and families. Please see the monthly KES calendar on our web site to learn more about these events/activities. For our eighteenth year, KES has received the Blue Ribbon Award for the outstanding volunteer program we have at our school. We would not be able to accomplish all that we do without the help of our parent and community volunteers. This year we hope to continue to develop new ways to involve more volunteers and seniors from the Kensington community in our school because they have so much to offer our children about their life experiences. We will continue to work with KYAA, the Kensington Recreation Department and the Kensington Public Library to sponsor events at KES that benefit the entire Kensington community.
The KES Vision Statement is “It is the vision of the KES families, staff and community that our students are prepared to be contributing members of the ever-changing world by becoming independent lifelong learners.” We believe: in high academic standards; in celebrating the uniqueness of each child; all students can learn; children learn best in a safe and nurturing environment; learning is best when students and teachers are passionate about education; learning can be fun; children learn best when they are active participants in their educational choices; that a partnership between community, family and school is necessary for learning; clear expectations are a foundation for success; in holding children and adults accountable for their actions; in respect, responsibility and citizenship; in educating the whole child; in fostering the creativity in each child; in teaching children to understand themselves as learners; in fostering a strong sense of self; in promoting a healthy child; in fostering cooperation; in making students of Kensington aware of their place in the world; that good communication skills are necessary to succeed; in fostering social skills among children; in creating a cohesive environment; KES is a community; a successful student will possess good study habits; AND that all KES students will leave prepared to meet the challenges in their academic futures. The KES professional and support staff participate in ongoing professional development initiatives within the building, within the SAU and by attending outside offerings of workshops and/or college courses. Professional development is important to us as educators because it helps us to stay current on best practices, keeps us fresh and energized and keeps reinforcing the need for us to be life long learners. Through professional development and our Professional Learning Community (PLC), we are able to successfully achieve our annual school goals. For the 2012-2013 school year, the KES school goals can be found on our school website at www.kes.sau16.org.
Kensington Elementary School is THE BEST PLACE TO WORK AND VISIT! The building is filled with smiling, happy students who really care about one another and who are ready to learn about anything at any time. The staff is friendly, dedicated, creative, and knowledgeable and they all love children. At the end of the day, you can see staff standing in the hallways telling stories from the day and laughing with, or seeking support from, each other. The parents spend countless hours working along side of us in the classrooms, sponsoring school wide activities that allow us to enjoy each other in a playful way, assisting us by performing the routine tasks that must get done and cooperating with the staff to support their children with their daily school work. The Kensington School Board and the Kensington community continue to support all of our efforts and they truly value the importance of education for all children in Kensington. Once again, we are off to a great start at KES for the 2012-2013 school year. Hopefully, you’ll visit our web site to see how we grow and learn together as we progress through this school year.
Barbara Guth Switzer
Principal