Dear JES Family and Friends,

December with a Focus on Service

Our character trait for this month is SERVICE - lending a hand to help someone else. We are giving our students the challenge of earning a dollar to give toward a gift for our cafeteria ladies and our custodians. We are calling our outreach project JES Super Servers Dollar Drive. Our Ambassadors of Kindness will be visiting each classroom to talk with the students about our dollar drive. Please help us by helping your child earn a dollar to share.

JES Angel Tree Update - all of our angels have been chosen! Thank you for your generosity. All of the children associated with Johnson will have gifts during the winter holiday because of your kindness. The wrapped gifts are due back on December 6th.

If you are interested in other opportunities for service at JES, consider getting involved in The Gifting Project. There is more information and a sign-up genius on the J-List.

The Value of Service for Students 

The definition of serving others is where we show love and kindness to everyone. It means you are doing something primarily for the benefit and goodwill of another person or group of people. When we serve, we look outside of ourselves beyond our own problems and seek to bring value to others. Studies save shown that there are mental and physical health benefits to serving, like reducing depression, lowering blood pressure, and lengthening your lifespan. Putting other peoples' needs before your own also strengthens your relationships. The holiday season is a great time to extend service to others. This can be done through donations to local food banks, shelters, and non-profit organizations that support those in need. Donating time to feed the homeless or to participate in a program that supports a  cause that you may want to promote is very helpful. A mentorship is also a valuable form of service that can inspire and empower the next generation of contributors.

The importance of community service lies in the fact that it connects us to the community by improving it and making it a better place for all of us to live in. Here are some other ways that community service can be beneficial:

    *Provides you with the chance to improve skills important for a workplace, such as communication and organizational skills, teamwork, planning, problem-solving, and task management.

    *It's a perfect opportunity to become closer to the community you live in.

    *Community service broadens your horizons by helping you understand the needs of the society and the population you are trying to help through the project you are volunteering on.

    *An easy way to make friends is through activities you perform together. Not only would you be helping the ones in need, but you would also be able to meet some other volunteers.

    *Opportunity to receive work-related knowledge and skills

    *Opportunity to create a good reference for potential employers.

If you are looking for an opportunity to help out the ones in need, improve your community, and acquire new knowledge and skills, consider performing community work. Habitat for Humanity is one of many local non-profits that you can look into. They offer a wide variety of volunteer opportunities depending on your time and preferences.

Thank you for all you do to make Johnson the wonderful, caring, and kind place that it is. I am honored to work with such dedicated teachers and staff who have the welfare of the children constantly at the forefront of their thoughts.

Have a wonderful December and winter break!

As always, if I can help in any way, please let me know.

Ziba Johnston

JES Counselor

817 949 4500

Ziba. Johnston@southlakecarroll.edu