October Is Nearly Here!

Dear JES Family and Friends,

October is shaping up to be a busy one! Our character value for this month is CREATIVITY defined as: using your imagination to do something unique. I can dream and imagine.  I hope you continue to use the Core Essentials home link to spark discussions that lead to reinforcing what we are sharing at school about CREATIVITY.

DRAGONS GO BLUE!!!

DRAGONS Go Blue on October 2^nd as 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.

CogAT and ITBS Testing for 4th Grade 

On the 3rd of October, 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 October17^th, 18th, 19^th 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.

Second graders will not be tested as a grade level this year unless they are nominated for QUEST. 

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 days. The CogAT will be administered in three different sessions on the testing day. Testing for ITBS will take place in three sessions during the morning on the testing days.

A parent letter went home last week 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.

Parents, mark your calendars for a free parent education program on October 19^th at 7PM. The topic is Finding Focus: Paying Attention in a Distracted World. Have you ever wondered how to nurture the ability to be attentive, what is normal and when is inattention a problem to be addressed? Come hear two experts in the field discuss attention and the brain. Join us in the JES Library. 

Red Ribbon Week will be celebrated the last week in October. This is a district wide drug awareness celebration.  We will kick off the week with a fun theme for each day! We will emphasize the benefits of leading a healthy lifestyle. Please take advantage of this opportunity to talk with your children about making good decisions. It’s never too soon to start that conversation.

Congratulations to the most generous school family!!!! Back to Back Compassion Cup Champions! What an achievement for our campus. There is no higher honor that we could receive than recognition as the most compassionate school in CISD! Way to go JES!

As always, if I can help in anyway, please contact me.
Kindest regards,

Ziba Johnston
Elizabeth.Johnston@southlakecarroll.edu
817 949 4500