HAPPY SPRING BREAK!

Dear JES family and friends,

Thank you to the PTO for the special week of appreciation they planned for us last week. We truly felt appreciated! Thanks to the PTO for their continued support throughout the year.

CONVICTION is the character value for the month of March. The definition is standing for what is right even when others don’t.  Just like that one brave flower blooming before all the others, it’s important for us all to have the courage to be the only one to stand up for what’s right. That’s why we are going to spend the month of March talking about the virtue of CONVICTION.

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 out the attached activities.

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

Sincerely,

Ziba Johnston 

Counselor

 

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