April's Character Trait - Humility

Dear JES family and friends,

 



Mrs. Davidson's Kindergarten Class remembering their promise.

THE PROMISE IN FULL  BLOOM!

Bright red tulips that our students and staff planted in October during Red Ribbon Week have been beautiful! We Planted the Promise to make good choices and choose to be drug free. The tulips are a reminder of when we make good choices our future is bright and beautiful! To see more pictures visit the Johnson Elementary Facebook page.

April’s Character Trait - HUMILITY

Lots of things come first to the mind of a child: dessert, recess, a favorite sports team or pop star. But this month, we are adding one more thing to the list of what comes first: others! Join us at home as we introduce a new character value and help your child see the importance of HUMILITY – putting others first by giving up what you think you deserve.

ONE DAY WITHOUT SHOES / Shoe Drive – May 8th


On May 8^th, we will be going shoeless (socks required) at school to bring attention to the needs of children around the world who miss opportunities in life because they
do not have shoes. 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 hope that someone
 cares about them. Send in a new pair of
shoes to donate to Shoes for Orphan Souls on May 8th.
The Buckner Foundation prefers sturdy, athletic shoes. For more information, visit the Shoes for Orphan Souls website:                                               



http://www.shoesfororphansouls.org/

 

PAINT THE TOWN PURPLE !
During the month of April, the school district and community will PAINT THE TOWN PURPLE to raise awareness of the importance of kindness and compassion. Purple ribbons with Kindnessgrams attached will be sold on Fridays throughout April at JES. They are $2 for one ribbon or three ribbons for $5. Ribbons/Kindnessgrams will be available beginning this Friday. The ribbons can be The proceeds will go to the American Cancer Society. Our fourth grade Ambassadors of Kindness will be selling them before school and during lunch on Fridays. Help us paint the town purple.

 If you haven’t heard…Rachel’s Rally and Relay for Life are coming up on May 2nd and 3rd at Carroll High School. This is a community wide celebration of kindness and compassion followed by a service opportunity to walk to raise awareness for the ongoing battle against cancer. To get more information or sign up for a relay team go to:  

http://www.relayforlife.org/southlaketx .

Fourth Grade Orientation - May 6th 

Orientation for our fourth graders going to Durham Intermediate next fall is on May 6th. 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 at 7PM in the Durham Intermediate Cafeteria. There is also a Parent Coffee at DIS on May 7^th at 9AM. 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!

 About STARR Testing

STARR testing continues this month. Third and fourth grades will be testing on April 22nd and 25th.  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 on time for testing days. Thank you for your help.

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

Kindest regards,

 Ziba Johnston - Mrs. J
 

Elizabeth.johnston@southlakecarroll.edu

THANK YOU!

Dear JES family and friends,

Thank you for making Counselor’s Week special for me! I have enjoyed the flowers, gifts, the doorway decorations with the sweet pictures and notes, the uniquely crafted song, the gift cards, the Plaque and gifts from our PTO and especially the hugs from the children! It is a privilege to work with the staff and families at the best elementary school in the whole wide world!

Our character trait for February is COURTESY. Our simplified definition of COURTESY is showing others respect by using good manners. In guidance lessons, we will be talking about kindness as an important courtesy to show our friends and family.

If I can help in any way, please contact me at Elizabeth.johnston@southlakecarroll.edu or 817 949 4500.

Kindest regards,

Ziba  Johnston

JES Counselor

                                 Thanks for a happy week!

HAPPY, HAPPY 2014!

Dear JES family and friends,
 

Happy 2014! Thank you, again, 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. Even during financially demanding times when no one’s money seems to stretch as far as it has in the past, our families show great concern and care in making sure that all of the children in our Johnson family receive a gift during the holiday. Thank you for your generosity!

 Our character trait for January is KNOWLEDGE. For the rest of the month we are talking about the virtue of KNOWLEDGE – discovering something new so you can be better at what you do.

Second and fourth grade parents should  have  received ITBS and CogAT results in the mail this past week. If you have any questions or need help interpreting the results, you can contact me.

If I can assist you in any way, please email me at Elizabeth.Johnston@southlakecarroll.edu or call at 817 949 4500.

Kindest regards,

Ziba Johnston

JES Counselor

 

JOY is an ANGEL TREE

Dear JES family and friends,

Project : GRATITUDE was a great success! The Johnson School family gave our custodians and cafeteria staff gift baskets to show our appreciation for all they do for us! Thank you to everyone who contributed. We collected over $600. Our 4^th grade Ambassadors of Kindness delivered the baskets last week. They say a picture is worth a thousand words…so here you go!

                     

 JES ANGEL TREE

 

If you are looking for another opportunity for “giving back” , our annual Angel Tree is up in the front office here at Johnson. This Angel Tree gives us an opportunity to help families in our school who need a little help during this financially demanding time of the year. Thank you to all who give so generously of your time, talent and resources.

 

Joy is our character trait for December.  JOY is finding a way to be happy, even when things don’t go your way. Happiness is a feeling – we can all remember many times when we were happy. Joy goes a little deeper…it’s a heart issue. Joy requires us, when things are not going just the way we would like, to see the big picture.  What not-so-perfect situation in your life can you turn into an opportunity to have JOY?

 

The winter holiday can be stressful for children as well as their parents. Take time to care for your child’s needs for a healthy diet, rest, and exercise. And remember that your love, your time, and undivided attention are the greatest gifts that any child can receive. In the classroom, your children tell me that the best thing that we have to share is love? I am sure we all agree wholeheartedly!

Parent Toolkit
There is a wonderful resource that I would like to share with you. I hope you will take a minute to check out the activities at a website www.parenttoolkit.com. There are lessons for K-12 that reinforce what the children have learned at school. The math section for students has lots of math games. Check it out! 

I want to thank the many volunteers that helped with our Reach for the Stars display, the Angel Tree and Project : GRATITUDE. A BIG thanks to Courtney Harding and Kimberly Orosco who headed up those projects. Also, thank you to Za Flores and the PTO for their contribution toward the gift baskets with generous gift cards that the student ambassadors presented to the Cafeteria and Custodial staffs. 

As always, if I can assist you in any way, please email at Elizabeth.johnston@southlakecarroll.edu or call.
 

Kindest regards,

Ziba Johnston

Counselor

 

 

WISDOM=GRATITUDE

Dear JES family and friends,

Our Core Essential character value for November is WISDOM which is defined as finding out what you should do and doing it.  We will be talking about WISDOM on daily announcements and in the classrooms. WISDOM is an important character value that can easily be reinforce at home. When we work together our children make twice the progress.

We will be working on several projects throughout the year to give our students opportunities to “give back”. Research shows that when children (and adults) give they get positive feelings that lead to a greater sense of self-worth. Giving promotes cooperation, social connections and gratitude. And 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. It is wise to provide our children opportunities to give and show gratitude.

 All JES students are challenged to “earn” a dollar to donate to the Buckner Foundation which is being collected by the JES Choir. The money will be presented to the foundation during the winter holiday concert.

Traditional Angel Tree

 Our traditional angel tree will be decorated in the front office before we leave on Thanksgiving Break. Each year, we have our own Angel Tree to provide for children at Johnson.  If you are able to help, I hope you will choose an angel and make it a family project of showing gratitude and compassion for those families at Johnson who can use our help.

The Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) and Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) were completed for second and fourth grade students. Make ups are finished. The results should be back to us and will be sent home around mid-semester. Many thanks to everyone who helped with the testing - from the teachers, parents, and students to the other grades who weren’t taking the tests and to the hall monitors, we appreciate your co-operation.

 

Thank you Courtney Harding for helping with Red Ribbon Week! From decorating the school to lining up volunteers – you are appreciated!  Thank you also to Angela Kwentus  and the volunteers for your work in helping our students and faculty “Plant the Promise” . We can look forward to a bed of red tulips in April to remind us of our promise to make good decisions. A special shout out -  THANK YOU to the Boy Scouts for digging the flower bed!

 

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

 Ziba Johnston - Mrs. J

Counselor
“Giving connects two people, the giver and the receiver, and this connection gives birth to a new sense of belonging.” Deepak Chopra

OCTOBER Testing and RED RIBBON WEEK!

Dear JES family and friends,
As we begin the second six weeks, October, as always, is a month jam packed with activity! Our character value for this month is HONOR defined as letting someone know you see how valuable they really are.  I hope you continue to use the Core Essentials character trait  to spark discussions that lead to reinforcing what the teachers are sharing about HONOR.

 CogAT and ITBS Testing

On the 8^th, 9th, and 10^th of this month our second and fourth graders will be administered the CogAT. 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 October 22nd-24^th both second and fourth grades will be taking the Iowa Test of Basic Skills or ITBS. Although the primary goal of the CogAT is to assess students’ reasoning abilities, it can also provide predicted achievement scores when administered with the ITBS.
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 and present at school on time each testing days. Check your calendar and make sure that you have not scheduled doctor appointments during the testing time for these days. Testing will take place during the morning when the students are at their best. Although make up testing will be available, students do best in their own classroom with their teacher.

RED RIBBON WEEK will be celebrated October 28^th-November 1st. This is a district wide drug awareness celebration. At Johnson our theme will be “Planting a Promise”. Each day of the week, we will have a special message about making good choices.  Please take advantage of this opportunity to talk with your children about the dangers of drug abuse. Our emphasis at school will be about making good decisions. It’s never too late or too soon to share this important message.

 If I can assist you in any way, please contact me at Elizabeth.Johnston@southlakecarroll.edu.

 

Kindest regards,

Ziba Johnston

JES Counselor

WELCOME BACK JEDI DRAGONS!

Dear JES families and friends,

Welcome back to a new school year! There are many exciting plans in the works for our students this year. I hope that you have had a wonderful summer! We are back in full swing here at Johnson!

 NEWCOMERS Are INVITED!

 On Tuesday, September 3rd , there will be a reception for the newest parent members to the Johnson family. All parents new to the CISD and all kindergarten parents are invited for conversation and a light breakfast. This will be an informal opportunity to ask questions and also to meet our PTO leaders. We want to welcome you personally.  If you are new to the Johnson Elementary School family,  then drop by the JES cafeteria on Tuesday from 8:15 to 9:15. I hope to see you then.

  Our character trait for September is COURAGE defined as being brave enough to do what you should do even when you’re afraid.  Our generous JES PTO is sponsoring our Core Essentials program this year. If you are interested in more information about our character education program go to www.coreessentials.org   I hope that you will take time to discuss these critical life values at home which reinforce their importance. Invite your child to share what they have learned about the character trait each month. When we work together at school and at home, great things are possible.

 You can expect for students to be tired and “out of sorts” the first few weeks of school. The change in their sleep and meal routines alone may cause some stress and then when you add on the expectations of school - it is understandable that most children will react. If problems persist or symptoms are more extreme than you feel is typical for your child, talk with your child’s teacher and contact me. If I can do anything to help you or your student, please let me know. You can email me at elizabeth.johnston@southlakecarroll.edu   or call 817 949 4500 to schedule an appointment.

 Kindest  regards,

 Ziba Johnston

Counselor