Upper left corner symbols

[Billtav]

I accumulated several download symbols in the upper left corner of the display. How did they get there and how do i get rid of them? What other icons appear there?
My device is a samsung galaxyTab2 with Android 4.2.2
I notice there is a keyboard icon when keyboard is active. What is the little checked suitcase?

Billtav

 

[shelliewnj]

The checked suitcase is there when something downloads or updates. You remove them by swiping down from the top of the screen, then swiping each notification to the side. Also, email notifications will come up there if you have the settings configured to notify you of emails