COMPASSION COUNTDOWN

Dear JES family and friends,

     The COMPASSION COUNTDOWN

               for our Custodians and Cafeteria Ladies

All JES students are being challenged to “earn” a dollar to donate toward a gift for the cafeteria and custodial staffs. The fourth grade Ambassadors of Kindness are leading this dollar drive. We are collecting through December 14^th. The gifts are to be presented during fourth grade lunch the week before we go on Winter Break. 

Thanks to all the children who have done an extra chore or had a bake sale to raise money to donate to this worthy cause. A big  thank you to the parents who reinforce how important it is to acknowledge the hard work that these staff members. They contribute a service that keeps our school healthy and safe.

COMPASSION

Our Core Essential character value for December is COMPASSION  which is defined as caring enough to do something about someone else’s need. We will be talking about COMPASSION in counseling lessons. COMPASSION is an important character value that can easily be reinforce at home. Sharing your experiences with compassion and listening to what your child says about it is invaluable.  

OUTREACH

We will be working on several service projects throughout the year to give our students opportunities to “give back”. Look for our next project coming in January! Research shows that when children (and adults) give they experience positive feelings that lead to a greater sense of self-worth. Giving promotes cooperation, social connections and gratitude. Research has found that gratitude is integral to happiness and health. Watch for opportunities for our students to get involved in the experience of giving.

DRAGON’S BREATH

The district wide mental health focus this month is Kindness and Compassion. You can view the Dragon’s Breath newsletter at https://www.smore.com/5bzpr-carroll-dragon-s-breath to read about the district emphasis on kindness. 

As always, if I can assist you in any way, please call.

Kindest regards,

Ziba Johnston

Counselor

817 949 4500

    Grandparents and Special Person's Day 
                       Thursday, November 15th 
I hope you will join your child for a special lunch prepared by our wonderful Cafeteria Staff. It is a fun day for our students to join with other families to share a meal of thanks. So whether you buy your lunch or bring it, please join us!

        Our character trait for November  Cooperation defined as working together to do more than you can do alone. When thinking about what are the most important skills to teach a child, we think of reading and writing and of course math and then there is science and social studies. Perhaps one of the most valuable skills a child learns at school is cooperation with their peers and the classroom environment. We had a great time last month with the character trait of Contentment. We will be emphasizing  the value of cooperation all this month.

Current research endorsed by the American Psychological Association states that "today's children will forge careers that look nothing like those their parents and grandparents knew. Even the definition of 'career' and 'job' are changing as people create new businesses and services. Employers want to hire excellent communicators, critical thinkers, and innovators. So what can we do to help our children? At home and at school, we can teach the 6Cs - collaboration, communication, content, critical thinking, creative innovation and confidence. These skills will make up the straight A report card for success in the 21st century." https://becoming-brilliant.com/

Visit the CISD Dragon's Breath at the link: District Mental Health Newsletter

I am so grateful for the opportunity to share in your children's lives. There is no place like JES!

Happy Thanksgiving!
Ziba Johnston
Elizabeth.johnston@southlakecarroll.edu
817 949 4500

OCTOBER - Contentment

Dear JES Family and Friends,

October as always is shaping up to be a busy one! Our character value for this month is CONTENTMENT defined as: Deciding to be happy with what you have.  I hope you continue to use the Core Essentials Values to spark conversations at home. When we work together, school and home, we can do amazing things!

DRAGONS GO BLUE!

On October 1st we celebrate World Day of Bullying Prevention. All throughout Dragon Country, we ask that everyone wear blue to bring awareness to the issue of bullying. We will be participating in activities that raise awareness of being kind and standing up for others throughout the month. Around the district we are awakening Rachel's Challenge in an effort to address bullying and the power of one to create a chain reaction of kindness. For more information visit rachelschallenge.org  At the K-4th grade level we discuss Rachel as a girl who was a role model for being kind, including and standing up for others. Ask your child about signing the banner pledging to be kind.

COGAT and ITBS for 4th Grade

On the 2nd of this month our fourth graders will be taking the CogAT test. The Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) measures students’ learned reasoning abilities in the three areas most linked to academic success in school: Verbal, Quantitative and Nonverbal. On October16^th and 17th our fourth graders will be taking the Iowa Test of Basic Skills or ITBS. Although the primary goal of CogAT is to assess students’ reasoning abilities, it can also provide predicted achievement scores when administered with the Iowa tests.

There is no special preparation you need to do at home for these tests. What you can do to help your student is make sure they are rested, well fed, and present at school on time on testing days. Please check your calendar and make sure that you have not scheduled doctor appointments during these mornings.

A parent letter went home a few weeks ago about the upcoming tests that should address any questions you might have about the actual test and its purpose.   Of course, as always, if you have additional questions, please contact me at Elizabeth.Johnston@southlakecarroll.edu or Haily.May@southlakecarroll.edu

Red Ribbon Week October 22^nd – 26th 

This is a district wide drug awareness celebration.  We will kick off the week with a fun theme for each day! Watch for information on the daily themes. Southlake Fire Department and Police will be dropping by for a safety lesson. The benefits of leading a healthy lifestyle will be our emphasis. Please take advantage of this opportunity to talk with your children about making good decisions. It’s never too soon to start that

conversation.

Back to Back to Back Compassions Cup Champions!

Congratulations to the most generous school family!!!! You are amazing! A THREE PEAT! What an achievement for our campus. There is no higher honor that we could receive than to be recognized as the most compassionate school in CISD!

Way to go JES!    

Kind regards,

Ziba Johnston

JES Counselor                              

Character Trait for September ~ INITIATIVE

Dear JES Family and Friends,

What fun it has been welcoming the children back to school! We are excited to get to know our many newcomers! We are working on settling into classroom routines. I will be visiting each classroom to introduce myself and having a short lesson about kindness and taking INITIATIVE. During the month of September, we will be talking about the character trait INITIATIVE defined as "seeing what needs to be done and doing it".

RACHEL'S CHALLENGE

On September 26th, we will have an assembly to introduce Rachel's Challenge to our students in a district wide initiative to promote a positive school culture. The program's anti bullying message encourages kindness and community service. Watch for more information coming from the district about Rachel's Challenge. 

MENTAL HEALTH and WELLNESS

Our district focus this month is Mental Health and Wellness with an emphasis on stress management and Suicide Awareness. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention,  suicides for children younger than 10 are rare. However, suicide is the second leading cause of death for individuals between 10-24 and is on the rise. Educate yourself on the risk factors and warning signs. A threat of self injury is a mental health crisis. The national suicide hotline is 1800-273-8255. The school district is here to partner with you to support your child. Let me know how we can help.

Are You A Lawnmower Parent?

An interesting article that recently came to my attention  began with the question : Are you a lawnmower parent? It is definitely a good read for any parent. I have to admit I have been a helicopter parent and maybe a lawnmower parent, until the realization that the message that I was sending to my child that they could not handle it(what ever "it" was) so I would have to step in. Our children need to take risks and fail so they can see that it is not the end of the world to fail or fall short. That there is life after a mistake and that it is ok...even for us parents. http://www.weareteachers.com/lawnmower-parents/

What an exciting time to have the whole school year before us! If I can help in any way, you can reach me at 817 949 4500 or Elizabeth.johnston@southlakecarroll.edu

Kindest regards,

Ziba Johnston
JES Counselor

@JESCounselor

Welcome Back!!!

Welcome back to school everyone! We are off to a great start! Thank you for your patience with our dismissal process. Safety is our priority. We will get more efficient once all the children are comfortable and know where they should go at the end of the day.

The 2018-2019 school year is bringing many changes with new staff, new and improved buildings (also known as construction!) and more RECESS as we innovate our schedules to reflect current research and recommendations.

Our character trait for August is WISDOM. We will be practicing wisdom as we work to make our schedules smooth and efficient.

As always thank you for your support. Together we will make it a great school year. There's no place like JES!

Ziba Johnston

817 949 4500

Elizabeth.Johnston@southlakecarroll.edu

HaPpY SuMmEr!!!

Have a great summer! Read lots of books and take a walk! Look at the stars and make a wish....one for yourself and one for someone you care about. 

Thank you to all those who donated shoes for our annual shoe drive. We delivered 402 pairs of shoes to the Buckner Foundation. Thank you to Josh Bowen, parent to Ethan, Trevor and Ella for delivering them!

I'll be back at school on August 13th! If you need to reach me before then you can email me at Elizabeth.Johnston@southlakecarroll.edu

Have a safe summer!

Dear JES family and friends,

ONE Day Without Shoes at JES April 17^th!!!

How perfect that our character trait for April is PEACE! With ONE Day Without Shoes, we are giving children hope that they might have a peaceful future. One pair of shoes for a child can gain them entry to school, keep them healthy, protect them from injury, and most of all give them the knowledge that someone cares about them. Not to mention the peace our children feel when they give to others, especially those in need.
                                                     

 On April 17^th, we will be going shoeless (wearing clean socks!)at school to bring attention to the needs of children around the world who miss opportunities in life because they do not have shoes. Send in a NEW pair of shoes to donate to Shoes for Orphan Souls on April 17th. For more information visit the Shoes for Orphan Souls website at:

                                  http://www.shoesfororphansouls.org/ .shtml

STAAR testing for fourth grade writing is coming up on Tuesday, April 10^th. Third and fourth grades will be testing on May 14^th and 15^th.  Our students are well prepared. The most important thing that parents can do is make sure your child is rested, well fed, and in attendance  and on time for testing days. Thank you for your help.

Fourth Grade Orientation
Student Orientation for our fourth graders going to Durham Intermediate next fall is on May 21st. All fourth graders will travel to DIS by bus for an informational talk by the DIS administrators and a tour of the campus. A Parent Orientation is May 9^th at 6PM-8PM in the Durham Intermediate Cafeteria. Transition to fifth grade can be a challenge. Attending the orientation meetings can ease some of the anxiety by answering many of your questions about procedures, the schedules and the “always challenging” lockers!

Mental Health and Wellness News

April's focus topic is Resiliency and Child Abuse. Visit our newsletter for current information about what we are doing to promote resiliency in our growing Dragons.https://www.smore.com/467q3

Also, please check out the Let's Talk section  which provides anonymous phone lines to report concerns to help keep our Dragons safe. 

As always, if I can assist you in any way, please call.
Kindest regards,
Ziba Johnston 

JES Counselor

KINDNESS - February's Character Trait

Dear JES family and friends,

Our character trait for February is KINDNESS defined as showing others they are valuable by how you treat them. When thinking about the most important skills to teach a child, we think of reading and writing and of course math and then there is science and social studies which is important too. But, perhaps one of the most valuable skills a child learns at school is to be kind to their peers. We will be focusing on the value of KINDNESS all this month.

 KINDNESS RALLYX2!!!

 The finale of the  Kindness Rally featuring the Morris Brothers. 

We started the second semester with a KINDNESS RALLY to reemphasize the importance of being kind at school and in the community. The Morris Brothers came for an assembly to talk to the student body about being a super hero by treating others with respect and standing up when others are in need. The Morris Brothers also reminded the children to keep up the good work and earn Dragon Diamonds.

The Dragon Diamonds incentive program provided by our generous PTO has issued an extra incentive! Dragon Diamonds will be rewarded to those students who do acts of kindness “above and beyond” every day courtesy. All eyes are looking for acts of kindness!!! As Coach McDade said to the children, they are challenged to "step up and take our acts of kindness to the next level."

A teacher incentive has been added to the rewards. Each Friday five students’ names are drawn from the collection of Dragon Diamond slips in each grade. The winner comes to the Friendship Bench to select a prize reward! From those five winners, one name is drawn and that student’s teacher (or whoever awarded the slip)will receive a gift certificate. Let’s work together to help our children know that we can choose to be kind in all circumstances.

Thank you to our PTO and all the parents and staff who support it!

Parenting Support

One last thing, I want to share a helpful website that offers useful parenting articles based on current research. The website is Hey Sigmund http://www.heysigmund.com and currently addresses the continuing concern about anxiety in our children. Resiliency is also a relevant topic that is addressed. We are working in the district to learn how to increase resiliency in our students. I would enjoy hearing what you think about this website.

As always, if I can assist you in any way, please call.

Kindest regards,

Ziba

JES Counselor
Elizabeth.Johnston@SouthlakeCarroll.edu
817 949 4500
Visit the K-6 Counselors' newsletter DRAGON's BREATH at https://www.smore.com/xaejd-carroll-dragon-s-breath?ref=email-content#w-5734206185

KINDNESS RALLY on FRIDAY!!!

Dear JES family and friends,

Happy New Year! Thank you for your generosity throughout the holiday season. Our Angel Tree program is a blessing to many of our families. It is such a joy to be a part of it. Our Johnson families are kind and generous beyond measure and show great concern and kindness in making sure that all of the children in our Johnson family receive gifts during the holiday.

Project Generosity

We collected over $800 to give the ladies in the cafeteria and the housekeeping staff a poinsettia and a generous gift card to WalMart. PTO gave each custodian and cafeteria worker a gift card that was presented, as well. The Ambassadors of Kindness delivered the gifts during fourth grade lunch, right before we all left on winter break. Your generosity is greatly appreciated by the workers and all of our students who have an opportunity to show their appreciation for those who work so hard to keep us healthy.

KINDNESS RALLY on FRIDAY!!! 

Our character trait for January is Commitment defined as making a plan and putting it into practice. We are committed to making Johnson Elementary the BEST school! We are committed to making it a safe and happy place to be so children can focus on learning.

On Friday, we will be having a Kindness Rally to reinforce our commitment to the Dragon Diamonds incentives program that our PTO so generously supports. The children will rally together and be treated to a presentation by The Morris Brothers. If you have not seen the Morris Brothers’ program, they are a couple of nerds who use silly humor to support Character Education.  You can see a clip at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_eJ3EE-0T0  We anticipate that this Kindness Rally will remind everyone how important it is to always be kind with both words and actions.

CogAT & ITBS Results

Fourth grade parents should receive CogAT and ITBS results in the mail this week. If you have any questions or need help interpreting the results, you can contact me at Elizabeth.Johnston@southlakecarroll.edu .

As always, if I can assist you in any way, please call.

Kindest regards,

Ziba Johnston
JES Counselor