Souper Bowl of Caring

Dear JES family and friends,

The Rachel’s Challenge Initiative in DRAGON COUNTRY is turning three years old this month. And we are celebrating! To celebrate our campus will be participating in the Souper Bowl of Caring January 30th – February 3rd. We will be collecting non-perishable food items for Christ’s Haven for Children in Keller   www.christshaven.org . Christ’s Haven provides group homes for orphans and for children of incarcerated parents.

At Christ’s Haven, the children live with house parents in a rural setting. I hear that they have cows, horses and chickens and lots of wide open spaces to run. They ride the bus and attend school in Keller. The families have provided a Wish List for us. The Wish List includes the following: Pop Tarts, kids’ type cereals, microwave popcorn and kettle corn, individually packaged snacks like cookies, nuts, muffins, grape jelly, honey, 1000 Island and honey mustard salad dressing, saltine crackers, and small bags of chips for lunches and snacks. Our Johnson families never fail when it comes to generosity and our students love to feel like they are helping others.

Do you remember the challenge? Rachel Scott was a student who showed compassion to everyone, especially new students, students with differences, and alienated students. She once wrote that she believed that one’s kindness could start a chain reaction that would lead to more of the same and that it would have no end. Rachel’s challenge is to start a chain reaction of kindness and compassion. Students have the power to make permanent, positive, cultural change in their schools and communities by accepting this simple challenge.

Our character trait for February is HONOR defined as “letting someone know you see how valuable they are”.  Our Core Essentials program states:

Why is it important to teach kids about honor? Because every day we are given the opportunity to show those around us that we think they are valuable. We honor the people around us by showing respect and courtesy. Our body language, our words, our time and our actions all indicate who or what we value. Here are some specific ways we show honor at school:

We honor those who came before us.

We honor authority.

We honor each other.

Does your child treat others with kindness? Does your child treat everyone equally? Is your child good at sharing? Does your child reach out to those who are new? These are just a few ways you can catch your child showing honor. We strive to align home and school to teach character.

If you do catch your child showing honor, we would love to hear about it.

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

Sincerely,

Ziba Johnston 

Counselor

Elizabeth.Johnston@southlakecarroll.edu

Happy New Year!

Dear JES family and friends,

Happy New Year! Thank you, again, for your generosity throughout the holiday season. Our Angel Tree program is a blessing to many of our families. It is a joy to be part of it. Our Johnson families are kind and generous beyond measure. Even in these uncertain economic times when no one's money seems to be going as far as it has in the past, our families show great concern and care in making sure that all of the children associated with our Johnson family receive a gift during the holiday.

The Custodial and Cafeteria staff appreciated the holiday food baskets and gift card and send a big "THANKS" to all.

Thanks also to everyone who contributed to the toy drive for Cook Children’s Medical Center. Over 300 items were donated and delivered by Tatum Hayes and the Hayes family. Thank you Tatum and to each of you for supporting the toy drive.

Our character trait for January is SELF-CONTROL. “But I don’t want to go back to school!” Hopefully this wasn’t a statement uttered by a student in our school but if you’ve ever heard something like it, this month’s virtue might come in handy. For the rest of the month we are talking about the virtue of Self-Control – choosing to do what you should do, not what you want to do.

Our time at school is limited so we rely on your involvement as the parent to help us make the virtue come alive each month! That’s why we are sending home 4 CORE Activities for you and your child to do in the car, at home, or in your community that will reinforce the character virtue we are discussing here at school. C – “car time” will provide a link you can follow to download a song that reinforces the meaning of the virtue. O – “open wide” will be a few discussion starters for around the dinner table that will crack open what this month’s virtue is all about. R – “rest” is an age-appropriate book that you can order online or check out at your local library to read at bedtime, or any time of the day. These books are guaranteed to reiterate this month’s virtue and encourage great discussion with your child. E – “experience” is a creative suggestion for a family activity that will put this virtue into action. Thanks for your participation in building these character skills! Check the Counselor's Corner on the school website for the activities sheet.

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

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

Kindest regards,

Ziba Johnston

Counselor

elizabeth.johnston@southlakecarroll.edu

JES Donations Arriving in Zimbabwe

A thank you message from Zimbabwe. Watch the video that the children at JES viewed the day we left for the Thanksgiving holiday. How exciting to see our donations of books, school supplies and shoes arriving and in the hands and on the feet of the children! Thank you for your generous support of our outreach project. Our children, who by world standards are so very fortunate, have a desire to share what they have. A special thank you to Sipho Gumbo for packing and shipping the donations.

December's Character Trait : Generosity

 

 Dear JES family and friends,

 What a perfect time of year to talk about the character trait: Generosity. Our Core Essentials definition is making someone’s day by giving something away. In talking with our students it is evident that they know quit a bit about generosity both as givers and receivers. A high five goes out to the JES Choir students for collecting over $500 for GRACE. The children lead us in wonderful ways along with help from their tireless leader Becky Sewell. Great job!

Our emphasis this month will be on the benefits that we all receive as we practice giving. On that note, there are many opportunities for generosity right here at JES!  There are still some angels on the Angel Tree in the JES office. It isn’t too late! Thank you to all who have chosen an angel. Your wrapped, labeled Angel Tree gift should be returned to the JES office by Friday, December 9^th. It is amazing when we work together what we can do!

Another opportunity for generosity is our Holiday Outreach Rachel’s Challenge Act of Kindness for December - to collect a dollar from each student and staff member to purchase gift baskets for our Custodians and Cafeteria staff. The baskets will have holiday food items and a gift card to make purchases for their holiday meal. Of course, we will accept any additional contributions as well. There are 10 food baskets to fill.

During the coming week from December 5th through 16^th, JES will be participating in a toy drive for Cook’s Children Medical Center. When one our students, Tatum Hayes, was in the hospital during the winter holiday, she received the gift of an art kit that helped cheer her up and speed up her recovery. Now Tatum is showing us the Power of One by leading her school in a “new” toy collection for the medical center. You will receive a flyer listing preferred items such as scissors, crayons, and small art kits. This is a financially challenging time of the year and, please know, your participation is voluntary.

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. They are pretty smart, aren’t they?

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

Sincerely,

Ziba Johnston/Mrs. J

Counselor

elizabeth.johnston@southlakecarroll.edu

Thanksgiving Video

On Friday, our whole school viewed a video of the school supplies that we collected last year arriving at the school in Zimbabwe. The video sparked a wonderful discussion in the third grade classroom (where I was viewing) about thankfulness. 

Thank you to all who donated books, school supplies and other usable items. I want to express our appreciation to one of our parents, Sipho Gumbo, who received the mounds of donations, packed them, and arranged for shipping. Sipho is the director of Munhu,Inc., a non-profit organization, which supports children in Zimbabwe by supplying tuition and necessities so they can attend school. We are privileged to work hand and hand with her in an effort to teach our children the importance of giving back through the outreach of Rachel's Challenge acts of kindness.

If you would like to view the video, follow this link: 
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kI2iN6IxuM   


Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!


Ziba Johnston

Thankful for Fall!

Dear JES family and friends,

 Our Core Essential character value for November is GRATITUDE which is defined as letting others know you see how they’ve helped you.  We will be talking about GRATITUDE in guidance lessons this six weeks. GRATITUDE is an easy character trait to reinforce at home. It is important for our children to recognize all that they have for which they can be thankful. When we work together as  a team our children make twice the progress.

There is so much for which we are thankful around Johnson. . . our safe school, our caring staff and teachers, our precious children who come to school each day ready to learn, our families who support us, our PTO who provides the extras. I could go on and on.

An opportunity to show our appreciation is on Grandparent/Special Friend Day which is November 17^th and 18^th. This is a day for our students to share a traditional Thanksgiving lunch with someone special. It does not have to be a Grandparent. I hope that each child will have a guest whether it is a sibling, parent or neighbor. More information will be coming your way about which day your guest should come for lunch.

On November 16^th, our Angel Tree will be up and ready with many little angels. For those who are new to our school, we put up our own Angel Tree here at Johnson to provide a chance for us to share with those who may need a little help right here at JES.  Look for the Angel Tree in the front office.

The Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) and Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) has been completed for all second and fourth grade students. When the results arrive around mid semester, they will be mailed home.

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

Ziba Johnston - Mrs. J

Elizabeth.Johnston@southlakecarroll.edu

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

RED RIBBON WEEK

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 CREATIVITY defined as using your imagination to do something unique. I hope you continue to use the Core Essentials home link attached to spark discussions that lead to reinforcing what the teachers are sharing about CREATIVITY.

On the 4^th, 5th, and 6^th of this month our second and fourth graders were 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 17th-21^st 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 these days. Testing will take place during the morning when the students are at their best.

RED RIBBON WEEK will be celebrated October 24^th-28th. This is a district wide drug awareness celebration. At Johnson our theme will be “Color My World Drug Free”. Each day of the week, incentives will be given away through a drawing to help emphasize the benefits of leading a drug free lifestyle. On Wednesday there will be an assembly featuring the Morris Brothers. The Morris Brothers are “nerds” who will deliver a message of character strength and 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.

Sincerely,

Ziba Johnston

Counselor

elizabeth.johnston@southlakecarroll.edu