MANISTEE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Manistee Area Public Schools
Welcome to Kennedy – Grades 3-5
Mariners aim to be leaders in our own way at school, at home, and in our community. Through learning, we explore our world, inspire our potential, and achieve our goals. Together Mariners Lead the Way to a brighter future.
Mariners Lead the Way!
Please Note!
Construction will be completed during the summer months of 2025 and the newly renovated MANISTEE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL will be operating from its new home at 550 Maple Street beginning with 2025/26 school year serving all students in grades 1-5, directions: MAP
School Nutrition Services Information
We are pleased to inform you that we will be participating in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) as part of the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs.
The GREAT NEWS is that ALL students enrolled at Manistee Area Public Schools can receive a healthy breakfast and lunch at NO CHARGE to your household each day.
As we start this program for the 24/25 school year, we ask that each household complete a Household Information Report found online at: https://manisteeps.familyportal.cloud. Click "Apply for benefits" to get started. This report only takes five minutes to fill out and must be completed by each household in our District. Paper copies are available upon request. We also ask that you pay any lunch balance due from the prior school year. The CEP Program cannot be in place with overdue balances remaining.
In addition, the Household Information Report is critical in determining the amount of money that our school receives from a variety of State and Federal supplemental programs like Title I A, At-risk (31a), Title II A, E-Rate, etc. These supplemental programs have the potential to offer supports and services for our students including, but not limited to:
- Instructional support (staff, supplies & materials, etc.)
- Non-instructional services (counseling, social work, health services, etc.)
- Professional Learning for staff
- Parent and Community engagement supplies and activities
- Technology
We are asking that you please complete and submit the Household Information Report as soon as possible to ensure that additional funding for our school is available to meet the needs of our students. All information on the report submitted is confidential. Without your assistance in completing and returning the report, our school cannot maximize the use of available State and Federal funds. If we can be of any further assistance, please contact us.
Sincerely,
Keri Carlson, Nutrition Services Director
Kennedy Announcements
Pandemic EBT Message #2 – Kennedy School
Please review the attached document to see whether your child is eligible for Pandemic-EBT. Please note that the program can be different between school buildings within Manistee Area Public Schools. John F. Kennedy Elem. School (2) New reconsideration form. The form...
Pandemic EBT – Kennedy School
Please review the attached document to see whether your child is eligible for Pandemic-EBT. Please note that the program can be different between school buildings within Manistee Area Public Schools. John F. Kennedy Elem. School New reconsideration form. The form is...
Kennedy Holiday Programs
The Kennedy Elementary holiday programs were held virtually this year. Please click the links below to view. 3rd Grade Holiday Program 2021 4th/5th Holiday Program 2021
Your Kennedy Team
Location: 1309 Madison Rd, Manistee, MI 49660 | Map
Telephone: (231) 723-3271
Fax: (231) 723-5879
School Office Hours: M-Th: 7:30am – 4pm, Friday 7:30am – 3pm
Principal: Shelly Vanvoorst svanvoorst@manistee.org
Administrative Assistant: Carly Cheever ccheever@manistee.org
View Manistee Elementary Staff
Administrative Team
Principal: Shelly VanVoorst | svanvoorst@manistee.org
Assistant Principal: Beth Adams | eadams@manistee.org
Secretary: Kasandra Johnson | kkjohnson@manistee.org
Office Assistant/Secretary: Carly Cheever | ccheever@manistee.org
Instructional Staff
First Grade
Deb Erdman, derdman@manistee.org
Josh Smith jsmith@manistee.org
Anna Thompson, athompson@manistee.org
Michelle Wilson, First Grade mwilson@manistee.org
Second Grade
McAnn Bradford, mbradford@manistee.org
Cindy Matthes, cmatthes@manistee.org
Sarah Padgett, spadgett@manistee.org
Bryan Tomaszewski, btomaszewski@manistee.org
Third Grade
Kelly Petersen, kpetersen@manistee.org
Tristan Baller, tballer@manistee.org
Kayla Szokola, kszokola@manistee.org
Leah Antal, lantal@manistee.org
Fourth Grade
Tina Mannon, tmannon@manistee.org
Nicole Weaver, nweaver@manistee.org
William Edmondson, wedmondson@manistee.org
Fifth Grade
Rose Savela, rsavela@manistee.org
Jaclyn Kaminski, jkaminski@manistee.org
Taylor Mellon, tmellon@manistee.org
Tanya Hunter, thunter@manistee.org
Special Education
Emily Noteware, Special Education enoteware@manistee.org
Jennifer Abel, Resource Room jabel@manistee.org
Chasity Gouker, Special Education cgouker@manistee.org
Academic Support
Krista Bennett, Math Coach, kbennett@manistee.org
Cate Hollenback, 1-2 Interventionist, chollenback@manistee.org
Kelly Zimmerman, 3-5 Interventionist, kzimmerman@manistee.org
Deb Forward, Academic Specialist, dforward@manistee.org
Linda Coyle, Academic Specialist lcoyle@manistee.org
Specials
Sam Zeller, Elementary Coding szeller@manistee.org
Cassie Miller, Elementary PE/Health cmmiller@manistee.org
Michael Rosteck, Elementary Art mrosteck@manistee.org
Amanda Feyen, Elementary Music afeyen@manistee.org
Ryan Biller, Instrumental Music rbiller@manistee.org
Parapros
Natalie Knickerbocker nknickerbocker@manistee.org
Jill Johnson jjohnson@manistee.org
Rachel Lindeman rlindeman@manistee.org
Stacey Smith ssmith@manistee.org
Phil Kroll pkroll@manistee.org
Meredith Rose, mrose@manistee.org
Christina Delacruz, cdelacruz@manistee.org
Teri Barkholz tbarkholz@manistee.org
Clay Slawinski, cslawinski@manistee.org
Sara Papes, spapes@manistee.org
Ingrid Bond, ibond@manistee.org
Vanessa Bergeman vbergeman@manistee.org
Mirage DeLing mdeling@manistee.org
Behavioral Health Team
Olivia Nichols-Lenon, Behavioral Specialist, olenon@manistee.org
Stephanie Johnson, Behavorial Specialist, stephaniejohnson@manistee.org
Theresa Patnoude, Therapist, tpatnoude@manistee.org
2024-2025 Meeting Schedule
All meetings are held 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm
When held at Jefferson, meetings are located in Mrs. Bradford’s classroom
When held at Kennedy Elementary, meetings will be located in Mrs. Antal's classroom
September 12th
October 17th
November 21st - Kennedy
December 19th - Jefferson
January 16th - Kennedy
February 20th - Jefferson
March 20th - Kennedy
April 17th - Jefferson
May 15th - Kennedy
Current Officers
President: Ariel Ferreira
Vice President: Katrina Jankowski
Treasurer: Kris Brandt
Secretary: Kelly Vartyak
ATP Contact Information
ATP Contact: mapsatp1@gmail.com and we can be found on Facebook as MAPS Elementary ATP
Building Contact: Andy Huber ahuber@manistee.org
MAPS Elementary ATP (Assembly for Teachers & Parents)
What is ATP?: ATP is our parent-teacher group for all of the MAPS Elementary buildings – grades Pre-K through 5.
Parents who become involved in their child’s education can make a positive difference.
What does ATP do?
We fundraise to help support our schools and students. We pay for field trips, school supplies, recess/playground equipment, books, staff appreciation activities, and more! We also organize many family events: Fall Carnival, Daddy-Daughter and Mother-Son nights, Holiday Caroling, Birthday Lunches, Book Fairs, and Santa Shop are some examples.
What are the objectives of the ATP?
The MAPS Elementary ATP (Assembly of Teachers & Parents), is a dedicated group parents that spearhead projects to benefit our students grades Pre-K through 5th. It is similar to a Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) only a little more prescriptive and based on committees, including:
- Parenting
- Communicating
- Volunteering
- Learning at Home
- Decision Making
- Community Collaboration
ATP Points Tracker
Starting January 2019, ATP is starting a point tracker for volunteers!
How do I earn points?
- Every ATP event (popcorn day, slushy day, winter carnival, etc.) every 2 hours you volunteer, you earn 1 point.
- For showing up to our ATP meeting that’s once a month, you earn 1 point.
- For suggesting a friend to volunteer & they show up for at least 2 hours, you earn 1 point.
All the points you earn will be entered for a drawing. At the end of the year, we will choose two winners. We hope to have a ton of volunteers!
Your Journey Continues at Kennedy Elementary
The staff at Kennedy Elementary are looking forward to an exciting school year. Kennedy Elementary offers a challenging academic program along with many athletic opportunities and after school programs. We are proud of the programs our school offers and encourage you to work hard, do your best, and find success both academically and in your personal accomplishments.
We offer the following programs throughout the year:
- PowerLearning 1:1 iPad instruction
- Data Driven Instruction
- Guaranteed & Viable Curriculum
- Educational based field trips & assemblies
- Paraprofessional Assistance
- After-School Tutoring
- Response to Intervention (RTI) & Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS)
- Safenet
- Child Study Meetings
As Manistee Mariners, we are all leaders in our own way. Mariners lead at school, with friends, and in the community by developing healthy relationships, using responsible decision-making and respectful communication.
Mariners are:
T | TRUSTWORTHY — Always tell the truth
R | RESPECTFUL — Listen and are polite
A | ACCEPTING — Friends to all
C | COOPERATIVE — Work as a team
K | KIND — Thoughtful and caring
“TRACK” is the Manistee Area Public Schools global, district-wide, leaders platform that all educators, staff and students follow throughout their educational journey. This initiative is connected to course curriculum, extra curricular programs, disciplinary procedures, and internal culture.
