Cougar Tracks
Jarrell Elementary Newsletter - February 5, 2024
Greetings JES Community!
GREAT NEWS! No shadow for Punxsutawney Phil which means an early spring for us! Our Lost and Found is filling up with lots of jackets, sweatshirts, and hats. Tell your child to swing by on the way in or out and check for lost belongings.
We are so proud of our students, and we are excited to celebrate 100 DAYS of LEARNING and GROWING. They have been working hard, and it shows! Be sure to check out the weekly classroom updates here in Cougar Tracks and ask your student about what they are learning in class.
As always, if you have any questions about your child's progress, please reach out to your child's classroom teacher. If we can support your family in any way, do not hesitate to let us know!
with gratitude,
Lara Hutchinson, Principal
THIS WEEK!
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5th
100th Day of School - Dress like a 100 year old!
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 6th (updated date)
101st Day of School - Dress like a dalmation or wear black and white
5th Grade Parent Night at JMS 5:30 - 6:30 (Be sure to try out the band instruments in the band hall after the meeting!
UPCOMING EVENTS
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13th
PTO Meeting 5:30
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16th
Student Holiday/Staff PD
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19th
STAFF and STUDENT HOLIDAY
NEW STUDENT HOLIDAY ADDED to the 23-24 Calendar! - April 8th
Just a reminder that an adjustment was made to the original 2023-2024 Academic Calendar. Students will attend school on Friday, March 8th just before spring break. The new holiday will be on Monday, April 8th for the solar eclipse that will bring lots of visitors and viewing opportunities to our community. Viewing glasses will be provided to all students. Check out the resources and information below!
Welcome Officer Loney!
REUNIFICATION PLAN
In the event of an emergency on campus that requires us to stop our school day and reunify parents and their children, we have a detailed plan. A specialized team of teachers and staff practice this plan. The basic plan consists of 3 stations.
STATION 1. INFORMATION - As you arrive, parents will complete a brief information card with parent name, children's name(s) address and phone number.
STATION 2. VERIFICATION - Parent and child information will be verified by picture ID. In the event, your child is being picked up by someone not on your emergency list, parent contact MUST be made. Please update your emergency contact list.
STATION 3. REUNIFICATION - Parents will move to a designated station and a runner will retrieve your student and bring them to the reunification location.
This plan allows for the fastest and safest reunification of parents and their children. If you have any questions or would like further clarification, please do not hesitate to reach out to Jaclynne Bizzell (Pre-K - 2nd AP), Lupita Viveros (3rd- 5th AP) or Lara Hutchinson (Principal) at any time.
ClassTag is now SCHOOLStatus
ClassTag is now SchoolStatus. You can expect to see a new name and logo on the website.
The ClassTag logo on your mobile app may automatically update to a new SchoolStatus logo for some users. Users will not need to install a new app. Communications from your child's teacher will now come from SCHOOLStatus.
FRONT PARKING SAFETY CONCERN
We have noticed parents allowing students to get out of their car in front of our school on the neighborhood street. This is very unsafe for our students and families.
The front of JES is reserved for parents who would like to park and walk their student all the way to the front porch of the school.
We will be out there in there in the morning to answer any questions you may have. Please help us keep all of our students safe by following our drop-off and pick-up procedures.
Thank you!
Little Free Library
Attendance Matters! Our goal is 97%!
Let's have our best week yet! Or goal is 97% everyday! Your child's attendance is the most important factor in their success in school!
As always, if your child is running a fever or having diarrhea or vomiting, he/ she must stay home for 24 hours.
Important Daily Deadlines!
7:30 a.m. The back doors automatically lock, and you will need to drive around and walk your child in to the building. PLEASE DO NOT DROP-OFF STUDENTS AFTER 7:30. They must be signed in by a parent or guardian.
1:30 p.m. ALL transportation changes must be made by 1:30 by emailing or calling Stephanie Garcia at (512)-746-2170 or stephanie.garcia@jarrellisd.org.
2:30 p.m. Any student checking out early for an appointment, must be picked up prior to 2:30.
PRE-K
This week in Prek, we will be learning to maneuver our bodies in careful and skillful ways, and how to respect others’ space. In math, we will be learning that counting words follow a repeating pattern. In literacy we will be learning each letter of the alphabet has an order of strokes to correctly draw its shape, some words describe actions, and rhyming words have the same ending sound. --
“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning.” -Fred Rodgers
KINDER
1st GRADE
Reading: We will continue with our unit in reading about animals and habitats. As we continue listening to our read-alouds, we will use text evidence from the read-aloud to support how we answer questions about our learning. Students will continue making connections with the read-alouds. It is a reading strategy that allows students to connect the read-aloud to what is already known. They will make connections to some of their personal experiences, connections to other texts they have read or listened to, and connections to society (something in history or current events). Students will also be introduced to the conjunction but (a conjunction is a kind of word used to connect words and phrases).
Phonics: We will be using Monday and Tuesday to finish up the testing from last week. As we begin our new unit on Wednesday, we will review the spellings ‘p’ and ‘pp’ for the sound /p/ as in pot and napping. We will also review the spellings ‘b’ and ‘bb’ for the sound /b/ as in bat and rubbing. We will discuss how we have been reading and writing two-syllable words and some of the words had a root word with an ending of -ing and -ed. We will introduce the word suffix and how word endings are also called suffixes. We will review making a noun plural by adding an -s or -es. We will understand that a statement ends with a period and a question ends with a question mark. We will continue to read from our readers and answer questions about key details in the text. Our new spelling words are: herd, verb, barns, park, horn, porch, short, and said.
Writing: Students will continue to finish their animal informational text. We will be using these informational texts to create and publish a classroom book that will be submitted to a publishing company. Parents will be able to purchase the published books.
Math: We will continue our unit over place value, comparison, and addition and subtraction to 40. Students will be using strategies to solve the addition and subtraction problems up to 40 by looking at the ones and tens, drawing pictures, and using math manipulatives. Students will also use these strategies to solve word problems.
Social Studies; We will continue to understand the purpose of maps and globes and the location of places using the four cardinal directions. We will also continue to locate our community, state, and country on a map and a globe.
2nd GRADE
In Math, we will be starting a new module on adding within 1,000. In Reading (Skills), we will be wrapping up unit 4 with assessments. In Reading (Knowledge), we will be continuing with the Civil Car. In Social Studies, we will be learning about exemplifying good citizenship.
3rd GRADE
Another great week ahead for 3rd grade! In reading this week students will be practicing many different reading skills such finding text evidence and evaluating a poem while learning about comets and stars in space. For math, we are continuing with fractions and they will be working on identifying fractions that are greater than one whole as well as plotting fractions on a number line. For Social Studies, we will be learning about supply and demand as well as famous individuals who started a small business.
4th GRADE
In math, we will continue to practice comparing fractions and finding common units using multiplication. We will also start learning to add and subtract two fractions, including subtracting from a whole.
In science, we are discovering what ways water moves and changes above the earth's surface. We will also look at how the sun plays a role in the water cycle.
In social studies, we are researching the major battles of the Texas Revolution.
Finally in language arts, we wrap up our poetry unit and take our unit assessment. Midweek we begin our nonfiction geology unit. We will explore the nonfiction genre and the qualities of nonfiction text.
5th GRADE
This week in ELAR, students will dive deeper into A Midsummer Night's Dream, written by Shakespear, where they will have to compare characters and identify their primary motivations using evidence from the text. We will then work on determining the meaning of unknown words and phrases, adn recognizing elements of the structure of a drama.
In math, students will continue exploring the multiplication of fractions. Moreover, we will initiate the gradual shift towards converting measurement, establishing connections to the fundamental concept of multiplying fractions to deepen studnet's understanding.
This week in science, students will delve into our new unit on ecosystems. They'll explore essential vocabulary, paving the way to apply this knowledge in understanding the intricate interactions between living and nonliving components within their ecosystems.
Library
In the library we are celebrating back history month by learning about different individuals in history, as well as present day, who have impacted and shaped our history.
ART
5th grade - Clay Tic Tac toe projects
4th grade - Chinese New Year Dragons
2nd & 3rd - Valentine Artwork inspired by black Artist Alma Thomas
1st Grade - Cityscape Quilt project inspired by black artist Faith Ringgold
Pre-K & Kinder - Landscape multi media project
Just a friendly reminder that as the JES counselor, I am always available should you have any questions or concerns related to your child.
Please contact me if you would like me to check in with them or offer extra support. I can be reached at 512-746-2103 or via email: Marilyn.alvarez-brya@jarrellisd.org
Jarrell Elementary School
Lara Hutchinson, Principal
Jaclynne Bizzell, Assistant Principal (Pre-K - 2nd)
Lupita Viveros, Assistant Principal (3rd - 5th)
Marilyn Alvarez, Counselor
Terry Kurtz, Registrar
Stephanie Garcia, Administrative Assistant
Kendra Field, Receptionist
Amanda Yanez, Attendance Clerk
Audrey Zuniga, Nurse
Website: jes.jarrellisd.org
Location: Jarrell Elementary School, County Road 313, Jarrell, TX, USA
Phone: 512-746-2170
Facebook: facebook.com/JarrellElementarySchool
Twitter: @MrsHutch_JES