KUA News

March 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

Building on the success of Winter Camp, Kids Unlimited Academy will host a combined Spring Camp for KUA students and KU Afterschool participants.

Sign up now for this annual opportunity to enjoy sports, field trips, arts and crafts and science, technology, engineering and mathematics activities from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. March 24-28. Breakfast, lunch and a snack are served daily.

The cost is $20 per day for students already registered in KUA morning enrichment, or $40 per day for students not currently registered. Camp is open to all KUA students in grades K-5, as well as students in grades K-5 attending local elementary schools. Camp will be at KUA, 821 N. Riverside Ave., Medford.

KU held its first combined camp for Afterschool and KUA over 2024’s Winter Break at Oak Grove Elementary. KU and KUA students have priority enrollment.

Sign up for Spring Camp in the KUA front office or download the registration packet at kuoregon.org/after-school-program and return to jpatterson@kuaoregon.org

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

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

Lindsay Ochs

Principal

From the Principal’s desk

Springtime is just around the corner, and Kids Unlimited Academy is “springing” into the season for state testing.

KUA fifth graders this month will participate in Oregon’s Statewide Assessment System for science. This standardized test will be administered only to KUA fifth graders March 10-14 during their science block.

Oregon fifth grade science standards include instruction in life science (from molecules to organisms and ecosystems); physical science (matter, motion and energy); earth and space science; and engineering, technology and the application of science.

State testing expands to KUA third, fourth and fifth graders in April and May with Oregon’s Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium evaluations for math and English language arts. SBAC produces standardized tests and upholds expectations for what all students across Oregon should know and be able to do at each grade level.

A 3 or 4 is a passing SBAC score. A 5 means students are “way above grade level,” according to KUA’s mathematics instructional coach Cheryl Graham. KUA receives a school “report card” that compares students’ performance on state assessments with other local schools that have similar demographics.

Math computer-adaptive tests for KUA grades 3-5 are April 14-18; math performance task assessments are April 21-24. English computer-adaptive tests for grades 3-5 are May 6-8; English writing tests are May 19-22. These tests will be administered during students’ special morning blocks.

In preparation for SBAC, KUA administers practice tests and embeds strategies in students’ daily classroom learning. Students in spring 2024 reported that a lot of the test questions looked like their daily warm-ups.

Parents also play an important role in testing preparedness by ensuring students arrive early at school, get plenty of nightly rest and consume wholesome meals. All of these habits reduce anxiety and boost mental function. Students who are not on time for school cannot test.

For students who are still learning their math facts, parents can help by purchasing and using flash cards, available at most dollar stores. Math facts are key, not only to state testing, but students’ long-term success in math, which will be too difficult at higher levels for students who don’t know their multiplication tables, according to Graham.

Math merges with a carnival theme Friday, March 14, for a favorite KUA family event: Pi Night! This tribute to the number 3.14 — and its significance for all things circular — caps off a week of celebrating student achievements at KUA’s Royal Awards assemblies March 11-13. The following week, March 17-21, is KUA Spirit Week, featuring our beloved March Madness family night March 20.

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.

Circles are a theme this month, echoed at KUA’s popular Pi math night. Personal-sized pizza pies are easy to make at home with English muffins or mini pitas and any toppings you can round up. This easy, kid-friendly recipe is a great way to boost the appeal of leftover raw or cooked veggies, as well as leftover cooked ground meat or chicken or turkey sausage. Let kids assemble their own, choosing which veggies they prefer.

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

Mini Pizzas

Ingredients:

1 medium red or green bell pepper
8 ounces button mushrooms
1 large tomato
1 (4-ounce) chunk part-skim mozzarella cheese
6 whole-grain English muffins or mini pitas
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce, no salt added
12 (2-inch-diameter) turkey pepperoni slices (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450 F.
Rinse the bell pepper, mushrooms and tomato.
Remove core from pepper and cut flesh into thin slices. Slice mushrooms 1/4 inch thick. Remove core from tomato and dice flesh into 1/4-inch pieces.
In a small bowl, grate the cheese.
Split the English muffins in half. Place them on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven until edges are lightly browned, for about 10 minutes. Prepare sauce while muffins cook.
In a large skillet over medium heat, add the oil. When oil shimmers, add peppers and mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes. If needed, use a colander to drain vegetables.
Transfer veggies to a medium bowl. Add diced tomatoes. Stir to combine.
Stir the spices into the tomato sauce. Do this directly inside can.
When muffins are lightly browned, spoon 1 tablespoon sauce over each muffin half. Coat evenly.
Layer veggies evenly over sauce. If using the pepperoni, place one slice on each muffin half. Top with shredded cheese.
Bake muffins in preheated oven until cheese is melted and bubbly, for about 6–8 minutes.
Let pizzas cool for 2 minutes before serving.

Makes 6 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 is your favorite Dr. Seuss book?”

“What is your favorite kind of pie and why?”

“Which is the best spring sport — soccer or baseball — and why?”