JOHN B. DEY FOCUS
JBD Family Newsletter September 14, 2017
An Attitude of Gratitude at JBD!
From the Principal
Dear Parents and Families of JBD students,
Just a thank you for all you are doing for your children to help them be in school and ready to learn! JBD is off to an amazing start.
Another note of thanks to the PTA. Melissa McCormack, PTA President, kicked off the season with the first PTA meeting Tuesday night. Exciting events, great after school programs, and tons of fun will be experienced by our children, thanks to the PTA. PLEASE JOIN THE PTA IF YOU HAVE NOT! It will be the best $5.00 you have ever spent! :)
Please look for PTA updates each week in this newsletter!
Mrs. Bianchi
FIFTH GRADERS GOING TO THE AIRSHOW!
Fifth grade will have the time of their life Friday at the Oceana Air Show. What an amazing opportunity for the students of Virginia Beach City Public Schools! Parents, please send your child with a water bottle that can be refilled. Also, the children should return to school around 5:30, depending on traffic. Parents can park anywhere you can find a spot and the teacher lot on the side near Thomas Bishop Lane will also be available. You will come into the cafeteria and sit at the table designated for your child's class. Our counselor, Rose Chick will be here to greet everyone and sign every child out to their parent. We have shirts for the students that will be given to them on Friday morning. These shirts are for them to keep! These bright blue shirts will be their FIFTH GRADE TEAM shirt, so please hold on to them. They will need them for other field trips and events.
For safety purposes, each child has a wristband with their name and school name. Our color group is red, so their band is red. The Oceana command has many safety and security measures in place and there is no doubt, that will be the safest place for anyone to be on Friday, September 15th!
Questions? Just ask. We know the students will have a blast and we thank all volunteer chaperones for joining in the fun!
Construction Update
The gym walls are going up! The building progress is impressive and right on schedule. Soon, 12 more portable classrooms will be coming to the site. Two large restroom portables will be installed and decking constructed. The scheduled date for our 3rd and 4th grade students to move to the 'cottages' is in January. We thank the folks at McKenzie construction for all of their hard work. If anyone is wondering, each phase of construction brings in different workers according to the contractors and the area of construction that is taking place. Background checks are conducted on all of the construction workers and the construction workers are never intermingled with students or in the building. When the portable classrooms are up and running, all construction that is taking place is behind a locked fenced in area. Our construction site supervisor, Marshall Everett, is constantly focused on the project and ensuring the safety of all. We so appreciate his presence here at JBD and he has become a member of the family!
In addition for safety purposes, we have hired an additional security assistant. Mrs. Zoe Obara is primarily designated to ensure that the cottage area is secure. Some of you may remember her as a teaching assistant in PE the last two years. She and Ms. Nancy George are the extra eyes and ears for our security and safety.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
9/15 - Grade 5 to Oceana Air show
9/15 - International DOT Day. Based on a children's book, called the DOT. The focus is on how can YOU make your mark in the world? Wear dots, all over!
9/18 - Constitution Day - wear red, white & blue!
9/19 - Room Liaison Meeting at 9:30 a.m. OR
9/20 - Room Liaison Meeting at 6:30 p.m.
9/25 - Deadline to order PTA Spirit Wear (online orders only!)
9/25 - 9/28 - PTA Reflections entries accepted this week IN THE LIBRARY
9/28 - PTA Reflections entries due today
LOOKING AHEAD
- GIFTED TESTING DATES
5th grade screening, Entire grade level: Sept. 18, 2017
First grade screening, entire grade level: Oct. 23, 2017
Grades 2-4 testing: Dec. 18, 2017--Applications due: Nov. 13, 2018
Grades 2-5 testing: Feb. 5, 2018--Applications due: Feb. 1, 2018
Gifted art and dance only Applications due: Feb. 1, 2018
First grade testing: March 19, 2018, Applications due March 1, 2018
PTA CORNER
1) Room Liaison training meetings will be held on Tuesday, September 19 @ 9:30 a.m. and Wednesday, September 20 @ 6:30 p.m. in the cafeteria.
There are still classrooms that are in need of a Room Liaison; please inquire with your teacher if you are interested.
2) Try DI Night, Thursday, September 21 only! 6:00 p.m. in the cafeteria
Please join us to get to know Destination Imagination better! There will be discussion on what it is and how it is set up. There will also be opportunities for the children to experience some of the challenges that make DI what it is. Please sign up on the website.
3) Be on the look out for information in your child's backpack next week about our first and most important fund raiser SEAGULL CIRCLE! We encourage you to participate so that we can provide many fun, educational and rewarding programs to the children at JBD! Any sponsorship or donation is welcome and appreciated!!!
4) Send in your BOX TOPS! We'd love to see our box, located at the front entrance of the school overflowing!!!
5) Use your FARM FRESH KEY TAG at check out! We get a lot of purchase power with your store purchases!
6) PLAY DATES IN THE PARK will be happening the first week of October. Put it on your calendar!
7) Don't forget to join the PTA! And envelope was sent to you the first week of school. Please fill it out and send it in to the teacher. We appreciate your membership!!!
GUIDELINES FOR SCHOOL VOLUNTEERS
As a reminder, School Board regulation 7-18.1 states that all volunteers must work under the direct supervision of VBCPS staff. Therefore, it is important that every volunteer completes a Request to Volunteer Form, which acknowledges that they have read and understand the Guidelines for School Volunteers. These forms, along with a copy of the Guidelines for School Volunteers, are available at the Security Desk. Please also encourage any volunteer to record their hours using the online volunteer tracking system available at the Security Desk.
PTA NEWS - DESTINATION IMAGINATION
Who would like to Try DI at John B. Dey?
Have you heard about Destination Imagination but didn't really know what it's all about? Do you have friends who "do" DI and want to know more"? Well now's your chance! We are hosting a fun, interactive event for students and parents to participate in Instant Challenges, learn about the DI season and to register. Follow this link to find out more:
JBD SEPTEMBER SPIRIT NIGHTS!
Rita's Italian Ice - September 15 (all day!)
Just Cupcakes - September 28
Hope you can join us!
John B. Dey Elementary School
Email: ecbianch@vbschools.com
Website: www.deyes.vbschools.com
Location: John B Dey Elementary School, North Great Neck Road, Virginia Beach, VA, United States
Phone: 757-648-2440
Twitter: @JbdElem