KUA News

January 2025 Newsletter

Empowerment Through Opportunity

Our mission: to break down barriers for students by providing more instructional time, enriching programs and a high-expectations, no-excuses environment to ensure high school graduation, college success and career readiness are reasonable goals for all students regardless of race, language, ethnicity, gender, economic status or zip code.

Administrators’ message

Happy New Year, Kids Unlimited Academy! We hope you had a wonderful Winter Break and are excited to see what 2025 brings.

Embarking on a new year encourages us to recognize accomplishments, reflect on aspects for self-improvement and set goals that align actions with values.

We at KUA value parent involvement in their children’s education, as well as engagement in the school community. Each family has a monthly goal to reach that upholds the school’s values.

Please remember that you signed a parent compact during registration week outlining your responsibility to participate in school activities and events. School staff track each family’s volunteer hours and will send reminders about opportunities for meeting the requirement.

School activities include attending family night events, volunteering for field trips or in-school events and supporting your student’s teacher with preparing instructional materials or other classroom involvement. To volunteer during school hours, you must fill out a VIM application through the Medford School District.

We look forward to seeing more KUA families with their students at upcoming events like March Madness, Literacy Night and Pi Night. This is a friendly reminder that students attending any KUA Family Night must be accompanied by an adult.

Lupita Vargas — KU Director of Educational Services, lvargas@kuaoregon.org

Lindsay Ochs — KUA Principal, lindsay.ochs@kuaoregon.org

Mimi Davis — KUA Assistant Principal, mimi.davis@kuaoregon.org

Lindsay Ochs

Principal

From the Principal’s desk

Welcome back from Winter Break! We hope everyone is returning to Kids Unlimited Academy refreshed, recharged and ready to refocus on academic and social-emotional learning.

The holidays may be past, but plenty of KUA celebrations are in store as the entire school earns Royal Pride tickets toward our next reward. New this year, tickets awarded for students’ positive behavior are pooled so everyone has a share in the school’s success.

We’ve already enjoyed snow cones and a free dress day since the start of the school year. Stay tuned for the biggest reward yet once students fill KUA’s entire box with Royal Pride tickets!

KUA changed its approach to Royal Pride tickets this year to celebrate the good that EVERYONE is doing on behalf of our school! Administrators, teachers and staff aim to encourage everyone to work together toward a common goal.

Students earn Royal Pride tickets whenever they demonstrate our school standards and expectations in the realm of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). Rather than focus on behavior interventions, KUA chooses to recognize the intrinsic — and often overlooked — value of positive behavior.

The schoolwide benchmark for behavior referrals is four positives for every one negative. KUA’s VIBES behavior team tracks behavior referrals and interacts with students accordingly.

Since KUA instituted positive behavior referrals to complement Royal Pride tickets last year, the behavior team’s work is making an even greater impact on ALL our students. Here’s another perspective from KUA behavior coordinator and counselor Tyrone McDonald:

“By uplifting the amazing behaviors, and oftentimes quiet and missed kids, we hope to start a wave of positivity for others to latch onto and surf along throughout the year.”

KUA students are expected to “be respectful, be responsible and be safe” throughout the school day. Precise instructions to meet these standards vary depending on location and activity, which include the classrooms, halls, cafeteria, bathrooms, gym, outdoor areas and front office, as well as arriving and departing from school, attending assemblies and drills and participating in specials, such as physical education and garden classes. See the section titled “KUA student management system” in the KUA Student/Parent Handbook (English and Spanish) for more information.

PBIS works in concert with KUA’s Positive Discipline Continuum and Behavior Definitions Matrix. For families’ reference, these documents also are contained in this year’s Handbook.

If you have additional questions, please contact the front office to schedule a chat with one of our administrators or a member of the behavior team. Thank you for your family’s commitment to upholding KUA’s school standards!

Attendance matters!

Regular school attendance promotes school success and is required by Oregon Law, which mandates that students miss no more than 15 school days each academic year. Any student absent for 10 or more consecutive days will be dropped from KUA enrollment. Your child may lose his/her spot at KUA.

The loss of learning that takes place when your child is absent cannot be replaced. Chronic absenteeism in kindergarten can predict lower test scores, poor attendance and retention in later grades. If you need help getting your child to school on time, please reach out to us!

Always notify the school, by calling the office at 541-774-3900 between 7:30 a.m. and 9 a.m., when your child is absent or going to be absent for any reason. Please provide the student’s full name, grade and reason for absence. A doctor’s note is required for absences of longer than 3 days.

Attendance matters!

Why year-round school?

We can’t speak highly enough of our year-round academic calendar, which is overwhelmingly supported by our families. Below are a few key reasons why we decided in 2021 to become Oregon’s first year-round public school.

Students retain what they learn all year, rather than experience summer learning loss.
Additional time for authentic hands-on learning opportunities, excursions and field trips.
Additional school days help to close the achievement gap.
Increased opportunities for extra help and tutoring.
Consistent routines lead to better-adjusted students — and teachers
Easier access for vacations during the school year.
Decreased teacher and student absences.

What’s cooking?

Our new Food Program puts more variety on students’ plates.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner menus incorporate more locally produced ingredients, including seasonally fresh fruits and vegetables. Beef and veggie Stroganoff and chicken, sausage and veggie jambalaya are new recipes to complement favorites like carnitas tacos and green pozole. Check out the menu at kuaoregon.org/menu

All KUA students are eligible for free breakfast, lunch and dinner — cooked from scratch using fresh ingredients in our on-site kitchen. We are an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Our nationally recognized, award-winning food program is unique in the Medford school district, and we take pride in providing students’ daily nutrition. Build your kids’ healthy habits at home with whole foods instead of processed ones.

The new year is the traditional time to eat lentils for good luck in many European and Latin American countries. Resembling tiny coins, these plant-based sources of protein are powerhouses of fiber, minerals and folate, which promotes healthy brain function. Because they cook quickly and don’t need presoaking, lentils are easy to incorporate in everyday meals all year.

Also boasting a whole grain, this hearty soup stretches leaner grocery budgets after holiday indulgences. Start the new year on a track toward healthy eating by adding as many colorful veggies as you like. Chard, kale or collard greens can be substituted for the spinach.

Find more family-friendly, quick-fix, wholesome recipes at cookingmatters.org

Barley and Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

3/4 cup pearl barley
1 tablespoon canola oil
3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
2 medium onions, peeled and diced
3 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon ground paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
4 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup dried lentils
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, no salt added
4 cups fresh spinach, rinsed and chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions:

In a colander, rinse the barley under cold water.
In a large pot, add the oil. Heat over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and onions. Cook until slightly soft, for about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic, paprika and cayenne to pot. Stir and cook for 30 seconds.
Add rinsed barley, the broth and 6 cups water to pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Partially cover with a lid and simmer for 15 minutes.
In a colander, rinse the lentils with cold water. Add lentils to pot, along with the tomatoes. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
Add the spinach to soup and stir. Cover and simmer for 5 more minutes.
Add the salt and pepper and stir. If using the Parmesan cheese, add now.
If soup is too thick, add extra liquid (water or broth) to your taste, particularly when reheating, as beans and grains continue to absorb water when stored in the fridge.

Makes 8 servings.

Table Talk

Family conversations during meals or before bedtime are a great way to reconnect, help younger kids to develop language skills and help parents to stay informed about happenings at school.

If kids are reluctant to talk about events of the day out loud, encourage them to explore their feelings by drawing or — for older kids — writing some thoughts on paper. Use the Table Talk flyer sent home with students as a guide and return it to the front office for credit toward fulfilling monthly volunteer hours.

“What did you enjoy most about this past year?”

“What are you most excited about for the year ahead?“

“What’s one goal you’d like to achieve this year?”