Dear JES
family and friends,
As we begin the second six weeks, October, as always, is
shaping up to be a busy one! Our character value for this month is INDIVIDUALITY
defined as: discovering who you’re meant to be so you can make a
difference. I hope you continue to
use the Core Essentials Values to spark discussions at home that lead to reinforcing
what the teachers and staff are sharing about INDIVIDUALITY. Our character
trait program is sponsored by Chik fil A and is provided through the generosity
of our JES PTO.
CogAT and ITBS Testing for 2nd and 4th Grades
On the 6th, 7th, and 8th
of this month our second and 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 OCTOBER 19th,
20th,, 21st and 22st both second and fourth grades will be taking
the Iowa Test of Basic Skills or ITBS. Although the CogAT’s primary goal 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 and present at
school on time these days. Check your
calendar and make sure that you have not scheduled doctor appointments during
the mornings on these dates. Testing will take place as early as possible while
the students are fresh.
RED RIBBON WEEK October 26th-30th
Red Ribbon Week will be celebrated
the last week in October. This is a district wide drug awareness celebration.
Please take advantage of this opportunity to talk with your children about the
dangers of drug abuse. We will be emphasizing making good decisions. It’s never
too soon or too late to share your thoughts about this important matter.
Understood.org
Recently, I learned about a website that supports parents who
have children with learning and attention issues. Understood.org https://www.understood.org/en is an
excellent resource! When you go to the website, I recommend visiting the tab
labeled Your Parent Toolkit. The information is research based and gives parents
ideas of how to work with the child’s strengths and support their self-esteem.
There also is a section about parent
support. The website is for helping your child at school, home and community.
If you access this website, let me know what you think.
If I can assist you in any way, please contact me.
Kindest regards,
Ziba Johnston
Elizabeth.johnston@southlakecarroll.edu
817 949 4500
