Principal's Corner (October 2020)
Launchng forward into fall full time together!
MOTIVATING THEIR MINDSET WITH A "CAN DO" ATTITUDE
As we move forward into October and enjoying the amazing fall weather together, we are excited to move forward with our students focusing on a "can do" attitude. The past few months have been a challenge for us all, but if we have learned anything through it all it is that our school, and families, and our students are resilient. With the right focus and collaboration, there is nothing we can't do together!
At Jamaica, we focus on builiding a growth mindset in our students. Focusing on helping them understand the learning process. It is important that they know that learning is only achieved through an open mind, hard work, and the ability to learn through our mistakes.
A growth mindset is the belief that intelligence improves through study and practice. Children who can build a growth mindset tend to see challenges as opportunities to grow because they understand that they can improve their abilities by pushing themselves. If something is hard, they understand it will push them to get better. This is an important concept to help them master, and it is one that we work hard to achieve with them each day.
This month, we will also be focusing on Kindness Challenges to support the idea of motivating ourselves and others through kind words and actions to our peers and our families. So, at home, we hope you will also focus helping us build that healthy mindset, urging them to persevere through things that can be challenging at times. We know this will help them build a more resilient mindset and help them cope with not only academic challenges, but help them adapt to their social/emotional needs as well. Our mission at Jamaica is to educate the whole child, and this is just one way to help them develop the skills to care for themselves and others in the process. So, thank you for all you do to support them in this process!
We are excited to welcome them back full time, and we look forward to creating a safe, successful, and positive environment for them to flourish this year! We are excited to work with you this year to support you all and to help them grow in the most positive ways together!
As always, we are grateful to be a partner with you in suppoting your students. So, thank you for all you do to support your child, your teacher, and our school!
With gratitude,
Andrea Helart
Principal
Jamaica Elementary
SEPTEMBER PARENT SUPPORT- Helping Students Foster a Growth Mindset
Co-authored by Sandra Possing
Last Updated: August 8, 2020 References Approved
A can-do attitude can help you in work, school, and social situations. If you look at situations in a positive light, you can open yourself up to new opportunities and challenges. Develop a sense of motivation by looking at every situation with a sense of enthusiasm. Keep your thoughts positive by using positive language and challenging negativity. Work on tweaking your lifestyle habits. Daily practices like meditation can help keep you grounded, granting you the energy to have a can-do attitude.
Growth Mindset Vs. Fixed Mindset
Understanding our Working Brain
Building a Positive Mental Mindset
Safety Updates and Construction on Campus
This week, construction will also begin above our lower playground area near the concession stand. This will include some additional safety updates to our back drive through and sidewalk to the playground, increasing our ability to have handicap access and a stair case to our field improving safety during transitions to recess, as well as during fire drills and emergency situations. As mentioned last month, we will also be undergoing a Phase II extension later in the year, which will include upgrades to our playground area near our field.
This may affect some recess times to ensure safety, but we will be working hard provide safe and structured break times and play for our students even through construction. We are grateful to our community and our community partners who continue to invest in our schools safety and improvements.
(**Please note that during these times our lower gate may be locked and the lower playground area may be restricted due to the construction process.)
Challenging their Minds and Hearts
Building a Community of Kindness and Compassion
Creating a Chain Reaction in our Schools
National Bullying Prevention Month
National Bullying Prevention Month
We give positive reinforcement for students who make good choices each day, and we honor and recognize students weekly who are stepping up to model for their peers (Croc of the Week). We encourage positivec choices for parents in our parking lot each week (rrecognizing and awarding parents who are modeling safety and kindness in our parking lot) with coupons and coffee treats. We also celebrate every quarter with our PBIS celebration to honor those who have stepped up as Croc Leaders on campus.
We will always continue to do our best to focus on positive modeling and reinforcement for students. So, thank you for heloing us encourage students to be kind, set positive examples, and to resolve conflict in positive and healthy ways. We are a team in supporting them each day!
Theatre Club
Kindness and Compassion Club
Student Council/NEHS
Important Reminders and Changes as we return to school
Face Covering Protocols
All students will need to wear a FACE COVERING unless they have a medical waiver signed by a doctor.
· Face masks or face shields are acceptable. (School appropriate designs/no wording)
· Students will be allowed to take scheduled masks breaks throughout the day.
· Students will be allowed to remove masks if socially distanced 6 ft. or greater in the classroom however masks must be readily available should that space be compromised.
· Students will need to wear face coverings when walking in the building, walking around their classroom, walking in class lines including to designated pick up and drop off areas.
· Please consider packing a second mask in in a baggie just in case of mask failure or loss of mask.
· Masks will be available in the nurses office should a student lose one. Please pack an extra for your student just in case.
· All visitors to the front office are asked to wear a face covering. Students must wear face covering when walking around campus, to, and from drop off and pick up zones. Students will have designated mask breaks and/or when they can be socially distanced in classrooms.
DROP OFF PROCEDURES
DROP OFF PARKING LOT REMINDERS
● *Pull forward as far as possible at the green curb next to playground when dropping off.
● *DO NOT unload at the red curb.
● *DO NOT exit car to walk students on campus while we work on social distancing
● *If you need to come into the office, please use all crosswalks and enter with facial coverings
For the time being, we are asking for parents to refrain from walking your students on campus and waiting for them outside the building. This is to assist in our ability to provide social distancing on our campus, as well as to help our students get into their lines and in their classrooms as quickly as possible. This will be temporary until our Governor is no longer requiring social distancing as a safety precaution. Kindergarten students will now be dropped off 15 minutes earlier through our upper drive way and escorted by our aides to their classrooms.
PICK UP PROCEDURES
PICKUP PARKING LOT REMINDERS
• Use the inside lanes to circulate and the outside lanes to pick up/exit.
• Be sure to have your students “name plate” in your window while pulling into the drive through.
• Circulate until your child is present. Staff will be monitoring cars and calling for students to ensure safety.
• Pull forward as far as possible
- Cars who arrive before their students are available will be required to pull around to reenter the pull through drive and/or park to have students walked to them through the crosswalk.
• Being kind, patient, and observant of our parking lot attendants (they are there to keep your children safe!).
• Following all parking lot rules (you may earn a Croc Award).
Jamaica Parents:
As you know, our parking lot provides some challenges to us with the amount of traffic that comes in and out during pick up and drop off. Many times, we find that students and vehicles are crossing unsafely through the lot during our pick up times. So, I wanted to be sure to clarify the procedures to ensure that we can help the traffic move as quickly as possible, while still providing a safe way to get students to their cars. Please see the rules below to clarify how to safely pick up or drop off your students.
It is IMPERATIVE that we are working together to maintain safety for our students and staff. So, I appreciate your cooperation and assistance with this! We want to set safe and successful examples for our students every day!
Parking Lot General Rules
1. SAFETY is our #1 Priority.
2. Inside lane is the circling lane, no pickup. You must park.
3. Outside lane along the sidewalk, may not park. This is the pickup lane. No stopping along the sidewalk until you have pulled all the way up by the playground to the end of the sidewalk. Staff will look for your "name plate" and call your students to your car in the pull through lane.
4. There will be NO parking in the center lane during pickup. These spots will be used for staff parking, and we will be closing off this lane of traffic at pickup time to help expedite the pickup circle and avoid any backup of traffic in the center lane.
5. Please stay in your car at pick up. DO NOT ask your child to cross in front of traffic. This is NON-NEGOTIABLE and UNSAFE. You will need to enter into the pull through lane to pickup your students or park outside of the lot and have them meet you there.
5. Right Turns ONLY out of the parking lot.
6. Do NOT pull into the upper driveway (bus lane) for pickup. This is only for buses and kinder students at this time. If you need to pick up your student due to an injury, please pick them up no later than 2:25, as the upper gate will be locked from 2:30-2:45pm to through traffic.
Before School Options
1. Park in a lined space and walk your child to the sidewalk only so they can follow the route to the gate. Parents will NOT be permitted to wait outside the gate at this time.
2. Drive up and around the outside lane to the sidewalk in front of the playground. Drop off as far up as you can to avoid backing up traffic. Your child can safely walk on the sidewalk up to the school. Do NOT park in this lane. Please only stop briefly for dropoff/pickup if you see your child in view.
3. Do NOT pull into the upper driveway (bus lane), unless it is before 7:15am in the morning. This is a bus lane and only for kinder dropoff at this time. This is not a drop off area unless between the hours of 8:15am-2:15pm.
After School Options
1. Park in a lined space or outside the parking lot and your child can walk to your car using the crosswalk. Your teacher will need to know where you will be picking up.
2. Drive up and around the outside lane along the sidewalk in front of the playground. Pull up as far as you can in the pickup line in a safe manner.DO NOT PARK IN THIS LANE! Please only stop briefly for dropoff/pickup if you see your child in view. Teachers will be bringing students to line up in designated spots by the gate and calling students as their vehicle is identified. (Please make sure your name plate is in your window).
We recognize these are new procedures, but they have been put in place to allow for more efficient and safe pick up/drop offs, as well as control of our social distancing procedures. Thank you for your assistance in this matter! Together we can keep our campus safe!
Respecfully,
Andrea Helart
Principal, Jamaica Elementary, LHUSD#1
Greetings from our MUSIC Department
Greetings from our Physical Education Department
Library Newsletter
Please see the attached library newsletter to see how our students will be accessing our books this quarter.
Toolbox-Social Emotional Tools to Develop Resilience
Jamaica Calendar of Events
REOPENING SAFETY GUIDELINES-STUDENTS AND FAMILIES
DRESS CODE 2020
Start the year out right by making sure you have your shirts. Don’t forget there is a Web Store found at: Shorts and skirts must be fingertip length. This means long enough so that when standing straight, hands at sides, the hem is at the edge of the fingertips. Any rips, frays, holes, and tears must be below the fingertip length as well. Students (5 years and above) and staff are also required to wear face coverings on campus until the governor removes the required mandate.