Jasper Elementary School
March 27, 2023
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JES Receives State Recognition
The Indiana Department of Education has awarded Jasper Elementary School with a "2023-2024 Family Friendly Schools Designation of Excelling". We are so excited to see that the recognizes the special services available to our families and our fabulous parental support to our school. Together, we truly make our school special for most our community's most precious resources, our children.
PTO Spring Apparel Sale
The PTO is hosting a spring apparel sale! The store opens today and will run through April 3rd. Order your gear here:
https://jasperelementaryspiritstore.itemorder.com/shop/home/
Community Learning Event
GJCS will be hosting a Community Learning Event on March 29th from 6-7:30 PM in the JHS Community Room. This will be a learning opportunity for the Greater Jasper Community as a follow-up to our recent Screenagers event. Detective Greg Brescher and Assistant Chief Chad McClellan will present on the topic of social media and internet safety. Guidelines and strategies will be shared to help adults regulate and monitor various devices. A Q&A will follow after the presentations. Due to the nature of the content being presented, this event is for ADULTS ONLY.
Make a Difference
Starting in June there will be an opening for a evening custodian in our school. If you would like to make an impact everyday on the overall atmosphere of our new facility, we are accepting applications... https://www.applitrack.com/gjcs/onlineapp/ .
We are looking for someone who knows how important it is to our families to have this beautiful facility maintained, cleaned, and sanitized daily for our children's protection. This person must be able to perform multiple duties with a great eye for cleanliness. You must be driven to complete tasks efficiently and thoroughly, because our students deserve nothing less.
The selected candidate will be full-time and work year round. Paid holidays, paid vacation, healthcare, and a retirement plan are part of the person selected benefits with the pay starting $15.75 per hour.
JA Volunteers Needed
Junior Achievement
Volunteer Needed for classrooms at Jasper Elementary School (1st-5th grade)
About the Junior Achievement Program
- Flexible Scheduling!
- Consist of 5 visits to the classroom for about 45 mins per visit.
- Or you can visit the classroom for 1 day to deliver programs.
- Topics include: needs vs wants, careers, money, business, entrepreneurship, work and career readiness skills
- No experience necessary, JA provides everything you need!
- If you have questions or are ready for next steps, contact Ruth Wilson at 812-457-2579 or ruth.wilson@ja.org
Costly Practice
There has been a rash of students carrying their water bottles inside their backpack. Through either pressure or leaking, this practice is damaging our books. Library and textbooks have been warped, water soaked, and/or stained. When this happens families will be expected to replace these items. The cost of replacement for these books run from $15 to close to $100 each. If multiple books get ruined, it can cost families a lot of money with just one mishap.
We ask that you ensure your child puts his/her water bottle in a pouch on the side of their backpack or carry it. Hopefully we can avoid a costly replacement bill. We appreciate your assistance in this matter.
Consistency in Transportation
Consistency is very important for children. In order to provide the best educational experience for your child and to get them home safely, please keep your transportation methods as consistent as possible.
If you need to make a transportation change, it should be done by writing a note and sending it with your child in the morning. In an emergency situation, it can be done with an email to the teacher but should be done before 12:00 as teachers are teaching and don’t have time to check their emails during the day.
Appropriate Footwear
As the weather warms up we want to encourage students to wear appropriate footwear to school. Tennis shoes would be the preferred choice for students. We would like for students to stay way from sandals and flip-flops. With mulch as soft fall surface, it can poke through the soles of these softer bottom types of footwear.
Inclement Weather Reminder
It's important to remind everyone of what will transpire on any such day. The state of Indiana requires a minimum of 180 of instruction per year for the students in our charge. Therefore, our corporation will either implement an e-learning day or a missed day that would be made up as prescribed on the corporation calendar.
The only times we will implement e-learning days will be when we have sent devices home the day prior. All unexpected weather occurrences (ones where student devices are not sent home) will be made up on the make-up days indicated on the calendar.
The state allows for two-hour delays to count as a full day of instruction during inclement weather concerns. On these days, breakfast will not be served and 10:00 a.m. is school start time. No child should arrive prior to 9:15 on these days. We will NOT have Preschool in the morning session if we are on a delay.
Every time that your child's school day is to be altered, there will be a direct call from Dr. Lorey to the numbers that you inputted into PowerSchool. If you do not receive a call, then please go into your PowerSchool account and adjust your personal information. Local television and radio will also carry altered school day information.
2 hour Delay Information
- No AM Preschool
- No breakfast
- Doors open at 9:15
- Bus pick-up will be 2 hours later from original time
- example - Normal pick-up 7:10 2 hour delay pick-up 9:10
COLD WEATHER ABD RECESS GUIDELINES
With the wild swings in temperatures, please make sure your child has appropriate clothing to go outside for recess.
- Your child will be going outside for recess even when it is cold outside.
- Please send a coat, hat, and gloves for these colder days.
- If your child forgets their coat at home, we do have a few select coats that students can borrow. If student refuse to borrow a coat, they will still be sent outside for recess.
- Our lost and found has already started to grow again. Please take inventory of your child's belongings every week to make sure they have their coat, gloves, and hat.
- All missing items will be located in the lost and found my gym.
Instructional Assistants Pay Raises
Do you ever wish you could make a big contribution that would change someone’s life for the better? Today is that day that you could start making that dream come true. Jasper Elementary School is looking for people to be instructional assistants in our school. The great part is that you are not working nights, weekends, or major holidays. At the October Greater Jasper Consolidated Schools Board Meeting, our instructional assistants were granted a raise of over 14%. Now our instructional assistants start at $12.00 per hour with incremental increases each year for twenty years.
If you are interested in taking the step toward changing someone’s life, go to the Greater Jasper Consolidated Schools web page, https://www.gjcs.k12.in.us/resources/human-resourcesnew-page . You can also reach out to Kent Taylor, ktaylor@gjcs.k12.in.us for more information.
GJCS Raises Substitute Wages
At the September GJCS Board Meeting, the substitute wage was raised. Qualified substitutes can get $70 daily. If you have an educational teaching license, you will receive $80 daily. Even if you have one or two days per week available, you can help students by being included on our substitute list. You can choose which days you work and which days you don’t work. Knowing that you can balance your active lifestyle and still contribute to the development of our youth. If you would like to get the process started, contact April Hopf at the GJCS central office by calling 812-482-1801. Help us keep the “Great” in Greater Jasper Consolidated Schools.
I Don't Have Any Homework!
Never ask your child if he/she has homework again. Instead just ask, "What do you have for homework other than reading and Rocket Math?"
We are asking each child to complete a session of Rocket Math daily as homework. This can be accessed on home computers, tablets, and cell phones. We encourage you to take an active interest in the progress of your child on the program by asking questions such as:
- What level are you on?
- How far did you get tonight?
- How close are you to winning a certificate?
- How close are you to getting a brag tag?
Also, every night your child will be assigned fifteen minutes of reading engagement. We realize that many children have varying abilities and focus challenges so we encourage you to try some of the following strategies to engage your child in reading:
- Child reads aloud to a sibling, stuffed animal, or pet.
- Child reads aloud to a parent.
- Child reads chorally with the parent to build pace and fluency.
- Child and parent take turns reading.
- Parent reads to a child and discuss what is read.
We hope that this answers the age old question, "Do you have any homework?", once and for all. We also hope that this helps to build a common expectation between home and school for children will embrace as doubly important.
The Leader in Me
Hoping this email finds you rested and recharged:) This week our habit focus remains on Habit #6 - Synergize. Habit #6 reminds us that successful teams come from sharing ideas and learning from each other. Being about to work together results in effective and productive team synergy.
Please look at the weekly communication from you child's teacher to find additional information about the Habit of the Week!
PTO UPDATES
Updates from the PTO
Meeting The PTO will meet on April 5th at 6:30 PM in the JES Library. Complimentary childcare will be available. Parents, caregivers and teacher are all welcome to attend!
Join the PTO We need your unique talents, whether it's volunteering a few hours a month or a few hours a year, serving on the board, or attending meetings. Come join us! Email jespto@gjcs.k12.in.us for more information on ways you can get involved.
The Mission of the PTO is to enhance the educational experience for all students at JES, to develop a deeper connection between school and home by encouraging parental involvement, and to enrich the environment at Jasper Elementary School through volunteer and financial support.
Here are a few examples of what that the PTO funds each school year:
$25,000 for school supplies for all students
$5,000 for the Leader in Me program
$5,000 for field trips
$13,000 for staff appreciation and supplies
Help us by supporting our ongoing fundraisers
Raise Right - turn your shopping into earning! Help raise money for our school by purchasing gift cards and get money back towards your child’s textbook fees and lunch account.
Download the mobile app or go to RaiseRight.com today to get started
Enrollment code: A9L615B88978
Raise Right
Raise Right is an easy way to help fundraise for our school. You will also save money on your child’s book rental and lunch account! Watch the video to learn more and sign up today to get started! Please click on the links below.
https://www.raiseright.com/enroll
Enrollment code: A9L615B88978
Volunteer/Background Checks
With the new school year upon us, we often get the question about volunteering in the classroom or being a chaperone on a field trip. We always love when our families want to help the students or take part in a field trip.
When it comes to volunteers, each classroom is different on the number of volunteers needed. Each classroom teacher will be communicating if they are needing volunteers to help in the classrooms. When it comes to chaperones on field trips, it will be up to each grade level and classroom teacher as to how many chaperones are allowed to follow the bus. Some of the places we take trips to limit the number of chaperones we are allowed to take.
If you would be interested in volunteering or being a chaperone on a field trip, we must have a background check on file. By clicking on the link below, you will be able to fill out a background check. These will last for 5 years or while your child is at JES. It does take some time to process these, so start early so you are able to volunteer or chaperone.
https://greater-jasper-consolidated-schools-vol.school-background-checks.com/
You do not need to complete the CPI/CPS portion of the background check! This is for employees only.
March Breakfast Menu
Breakfast is FREE for ALL students. If your child is planning on eating breakfast, please have them at school by 7:45 so they have ample time to eat before school starts at 8:00.
March Lunch Menu
Lunch is $2.25 for students each day. If your child runs low on funds, you can a check or cash with your child. You may also utilize My School Bucks to add money to their account.
Important Information!
School hours are 8:00AM -3:00PM. Students can arrive starting at 7:15AM. Students may not be dropped off prior to 7:15 AM. If you bring your child to school after 8:00 AM, you must escort them to the front doors.
We are highly encouraging parents who are bringing their child to school to use the car drop-off drive. If you would like to walk your child in, you will have to say goodbye outside the front doors. Many staff members will be at all drop-off locations to help students to their appropriate destinations. Please trust us that we have your child's best well-being in mind at all times.
Please see nurse Hannah Peltier for prescription medicine intake. All medicine must be accompanied by a parent and include a physician’s prescription. Students are not allowed to transport medicine to school.
VERY IMPORTANT- If your child's transportation changes, please notify the office with a note ASAP.
Upgrade Healthy Snack Ideas for Recess and Classroom Celebrations
Jasper Elementary allows healthy food choices for recess and classroom celebrations. A list of smart snacks can be found below. There are many other healthy food choices in addition to this list. Please be mindful when providing snacks.
Covid Protocols for 22-23 School Year
If COVID positive....
- Must provide a picture of the positive home test card or a copy of the positive lab report.
- Email to on of the following:
- rerny@gjcs.k12.in.us , ktaylor@gjcs.k12.in.us , hpeltier@gjcs.k12.in.us
- Isolate 5 days from symptom onset or isolate 5 days from test date if asymptomatic; May zoom when confirmed positive.
- Return to school on day 6. THERE IS NO MASK REQUIREMENT UPON RETRUN TO SCHOOL
Symptoms but not testing for COVID or has a negative test result....
- Follow regular school policy
- Fever free for 24 hours without the use of a fever reducing medication
- If vomiting, is able to eat solid meals before returning to school.
- Free of diarrhea for 24 hours before returning to school
Do you have children in multiple schools? Choose one of these! Just search GREATER JASPER to see all the options!
Community Events
Community Learning Event
GJCS will be hosting a Community Learning Event on March 29th from 6-7:30 PM in the JHS Community Room. This will be a learning opportunity for the Greater Jasper Community as a follow-up to our recent Screenagers event. Detective Greg Brescher and Assistant Chief Chad McClellan will present on the topic of social media and internet safety. Guidelines and strategies will be shared to help adults regulate and monitor various devices. A Q&A will follow after the presentations. Due to the nature of the content being presented, this event is for ADULTS ONLY.