Tylend spent last week in New York competing at the National Indoor Track Competition. He did an outstanding job and finished 9th in the Nation. He ran a 7.83-second 60-yard dash which is outstanding!!! CONGRATULATIONS TYLEND!!!

Do you know how you can tell it is almost spring in Concord?

It is simple. Just look for the day when all of the 4th Grade students lug big bags of costumes and amazing poster boards to school. The event happens every spring and every spring the students continue to amaze me. They spend weeks researching, reading, and writing. Then they put tremendous effort into building a poster board that displays a ton of factual information. Lastly, the students pull together incredible costumes and spend over an hour sharing a wealth of information with the entire school and their families.

This year did not disappoint!! The addition of the "press for information" button added an engaging twist and allowed the students to move. I loved it, and I am so proud of all of the 4th Graders and their teachers!!!! #ONEHIVE

As we head towards the spring, we are excited to begin planning for Kindergarten Roundup. The event will be in May and consists of several different components. We have two dates for roundup scheduled:

Monday, May 2nd from 8:00 am - 2:30 pm

Tuesday, May 3rd from 3:30 pm - 7:00 pm.

If you have a child that will be five by December 1, 2022, they are eligible to participate in either Jr. Jackets or kindergarten in the fall of 2022. Any interested parent should complete the Google Form below to schedule a time to bring their child to Roundup and also plan on attending the parent meeting on Wednesday, April 13, at 6:00 pm in the Elementary Cafeteria for more information about the kindergarten enrollment process.

With March Is Reading Month wrapping, the cafeteria joined in the fun! They had a wonderful surprise and delight this week - superhero invasion!! THANK YOU FOOD SERVICE!!!

Hello Class of 2022,

I wanted to send out this reminder that the majority of the local Concord scholarships are due by the end of the school day on March 22nd.

Reminder, these 4 scholarships must either be handed to me directly OR you can hand them to Mrs. Couling in the main office - directly - face to face.

1. Beryl & Margaret Luttenton Scholarship
2. Bruce & Pat Klett Scholarship
3. Buskirk Memorial Scholarship
4. Dr. and Mrs. Keefer Scholarship

There are other local Concord student scholarships that are also posted in the Class of 2022 Google classroom There are different instructions for how to turn those in and it is important that you follow the directions on those applications. Their deadlines are fast approaching as well.

The deadline for the Sigmund Scholarship is also approaching. This one is also Jackson County local and is up to $5,000. There is one for college and one for the trades. Here is the direct link to it again:

https://www.sigmundfoundation.org/scholarships

Please remember that the only guaranteed no to a scholarship is the one you do not apply for...

Mrs. Otto

The Concord Chronicle had a new feature this week - The Alumni Spotlight. Georgia Weeks did an outstanding job featuring Concord Alumni Derek Johnson. Check out the Concord Chronicle for more information on the Concord Stuntman!

One of the largest dangers that face new drivers is a distraction. Distractions come in many different forms, and it is important for students to understand just how dangerous distracted driving is. In the Concord Chronicle, Rylee Sinden shares how Thinkfast! helped Concord students learn how to keep themselves safe.

Check out our latest group of YellowJackets of the Week who all exemplify forgiveness skills!

Forgiveness is a choice to let go of anger toward someone who hurt you...and to think, feel, or act with kindness toward that person. If you forgive someone that doesn’t make you weak—it takes strength and courage to forgive.

Also, if you forgive someone it doesn’t necessarily mean you are forgetting or condoning being hurt; you can forgive while still believing the person who wronged you should face a consequence for what they did. Think about showing forgiveness to someone as an action that actually helps YOU- when you forgive, you are allowing yourself to move on and not dwell on something negative.

Concord has partnered with the JCISD and other county school districts to support the Jackson County Early College to provide our students with a very incredible opportunity to earn college credits while attending high school. There are several virtual information meetings that you can attend. Check out the flyer below for integration about how to learn more.

We want to make you aware of a Netflix show that kids are talking about here at school and that seemingly has content that is not appropriate for younger kids to watch. The show is called Squid Games and it has repetitive violence throughout it that is connected to themes generally associated with children (like outdoor games, ie: Red Light Green Light). The content can be traumatic for children to watch and is leading to increased anxiety among children as it can be extremely gruesome. The next thing to be aware of is a mobile video game called Among Us. It is a murder-mystery game where cartoon-like characters use weapons to kill each other. A great resource to check out in regards to dangerous media Common Sense Media

March is Reading Month activities begin Tuesday, March 1. Our theme will be “Reading Gives You Super Powers” as we celebrate throughout the month with fun dress-up days, weekly prize drawings, special visitors, and more.

Children are encouraged to read at home, with a daily goal of 15 minutes for a kindergarten-2nd grade, and a daily goal of 20 minutes for 3rd-5th grade. Minutes may include your child reading to self or to others, or you reading aloud to your child. Keep track of minutes on the reading log for all reading done at home, and return it to school each Thursday beginning March 3rd for a chance to win some awesome prizes each week. Students meeting the minimum weekly goal will receive one ticket for the weekly prize drawing. Students doubling the goal will receive an extra ticket. The more they read, the more chances they have to win! Stay tuned throughout the month as we announce more special activities.

Ms. Price announced the date Concord will host the graduation ceremony this week. It is earlier than it has been in the past. Please see the letter that was sent to the parents of our seniors for more information.

This fall we have been working on upgrading the look of our website. Our hope was to make it more visually appealing and easier to navigate. The website is still under a bit of construction as some of the pages are begin reviewed for relevancy, but the new site is live. You can see the link below for more information. This winter we will be launching a new application for access information about the district on your mobile device. Stay tuned for updates.

Have you liked the Elementary/Middle School Facebook Page? What about the Concord Community Schools Facebook Page??

If you have not yet, this week is a great time to start. The Elementary and Middle schools use the Facebook page to post many updates, announcements, and student photos; the Concord Community Schools page is a great way to see how a YellowJacket week unfolds! Don't miss the news - like and follow the pages today.

Concord Elementary/Middle School Facebook Page

Concord Community Schools Facebook Page

Our district is facing a staffing shortage. We are in need of bus drivers, food service staff members, coaches, and individuals willing to work through EduStaff as Guest Teachers or subs for all of our positions. These staffing shortages are wreaking havoc across the state. If you are interested and able, we would love to have you on our team. Below you will find information about signing up to work as a Guest Teacher through Edustaff along with our fall Guest Teacher Incentive. Further, you can view unfilled positions on our website. If you have any questions, please call one of our offices.

At Jacket Java, on Tuesday Mr. Arbuckle talked about social media and 10 unsafe apps that parents need to be aware of. You can view the recording by following this link. Additionally, you can find more parent resources through this link.

The Food For Thought Backpack Program for Concord will be starting up soon. This program offers FREE wholesome food to students for the weekend. To become a part of the program parents must sign and return the registration form. If you are interested in receiving this free program, stop in the office for the registration form.