Jackson Jottings
December
AT-HOME TECHNOLOGY HELP
With Distance Learning 2.0 upon us, I just wanted to point you in the direction of some of the online technology support for parents and students.
Parents:
You are doing an amazing job juggling work, parenting, and schooling your children from home! Keep up the great work and remember that none of us are going to do this perfectly. Give yourself grace and forgiveness when things don't go as planned. However, a continual effort from you and your child to try again (even after hard days) will be worth it in the end. We can do hard things; they make us better.
If you haven't reached out to your child's teacher to tell them "THANK YOU", I encourage you to drop them a note letting them know a few of the specific things they are doing that are making a difference in your child's life and education.
With gratitude and respect,
Natalie Weatherman
Digital Learning Coach
A Note from our Volunteer Coordinator...
There is no new Volunteer News for the month of December.
If you have any questions about volunteering please feel free to email me or call the school.
Have a very happy and safe holiday season with your family!
Lauren Singer
Jackson Volunteer Site Coordinator
952-496-5802
NURSE NOTES
It’s WINTER! Are your children experiencing dry sinuses, bloody noses and cracked lips? Humidifiers can help soothe these problems caused by dry indoor air. Humidifiers can also help ease symptoms of a cold or another respiratory condition.
What are humidifiers?
Humidifiers are devices that emit water vapor or steam to increase moisture levels in the air (humidity). Pediatricians recommend to always use a “cool-mist” humidifier over a “warm-mist” because the hot water or steam from a warm-mist humidifier can burn a child if he or she gets too close.
Humidifiers: Air moisture eases skin, breathing symptoms, asthma and allergies:
If you or your child has asthma or allergies, talk to your doctor before you start using a humidifier. Increased humidity may ease breathing in children and adults who have asthma or allergies, especially during a respiratory infection such as a cold. But dirty mist, or increased growth of allergens caused by high humidity, can trigger or worsen asthma and allergy symptoms.
Keep it clean: Dirty humidifiers and health problems:
Be cautious — while humidifiers can be useful, they can actually make you sick if they aren't maintained properly or if humidity levels stay too high. If you do use humidifiers, play it safe and monitor humidity levels and keep your humidifier clean. Dirty humidifiers can breed mold or bacteria that can make you sick. If you have allergies or asthma, talk to your doctor before using a humidifier. Dirty reservoirs and filters in humidifiers can quickly breed bacteria and mold. Dirty humidifiers can be especially problematic for people with asthma and allergies, but even in healthy people humidifiers have the potential to trigger flu-like symptoms or even lung infections when the contaminated mist or steam is released into the air.
Tips for keeping your humidifier clean:
To keep humidifiers free of harmful mold, fungi and bacteria, follow the guidelines recommended by the manufacturer. These tips for portable humidifiers also can help:
- Use distilled or demineralized water. Tap water contains minerals that can create deposits inside your humidifier that promote bacterial growth.
- Change humidifier water daily; refill with cold clean water every day if possible.
- Clean humidifiers every three days. Unplug the humidifier before you clean it. Remove any mineral deposits or film from the tank or other parts of the humidifier with a 3 percent hydrogen peroxide solution, which is available at pharmacies.
- Change humidifier filters regularly. If the humidifier has a filter, change it at least as often as the manufacturer recommends — and more often if it's dirty.
- Keep the area around humidifiers dry. If the area around a humidifier becomes damp or wet — including windows, carpeting, drapes or tablecloths — turn the humidifier down or reduce how frequently you use it.
- Consider replacing old humidifiers. Over time, humidifiers can build up deposits that are difficult or impossible to remove and encourage growth of bacteria.
THANK YOU!
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out to us!
Andrea Richards
School Nurse at Jackson
952-496-5804
Candace Rotert
Licensed School Nurse for Jackson and Sun Path
Art Lines from Mr. Olson
Greetings from the Art Department!
As we begin distance learning, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or art supply needs. I can provide any materials if students need them.
Also, please encourage/help your student put all of their art materials in a box/bin so they are ready for each art day.
Supplies include:
· Paper Mr. Olson sent home
· Pencil
· Something to color with
· Paints/Brush
· Sharpie
· Scissors/Glue Stick
****4th/5th grade students have been working on their clay project. Here are 2 options for firing the clay:
1. You may drop your students’ project off in the office and I will fire the clay and return to students with materials after winter break. It should be in a container with their name so it does not break or get lost : ).
2. Have your student keep their clay project until we return to in-person learning and I will fire the clay then. Just have them put it some place safe/out of reach, so it does not get broken.
Thank you for all of your support during this time!!!
Sincerely,
Mr. Olson
Jackson Art Specialist
CLAY FUN WITH MR. OLSON
Music "Notes" from Mrs. Flatness and Mr. Taylor
As we enter this time of distant learning, here are a few things to review and keep in mind when coming onto a Google Meet for music class!
● Google Meet codes: Some classes have a new code for specialist class and some classes have stayed the same. Make sure to check your classroom teacher schedule in case it has changed. If in doubt, please send me a Seesaw message or email me at sflatnes@shakopee.k12.mn.us
● Music “Goodie Bags”. All students should have received a goodie bag of resources and materials that we will use during our music class. If your child goes to another person’s house or YMCA, it would be helpful if they had their “goodie bags”. If they do not have these materials, please let us know.
● Music class will be 20-25 minutes long. Please have your student use the bathroom, eat breakfast or lunch before or after music class. Thanks!
● If your student is able to keep their camera “on” during the google meet, that would be very helpful. If there is a reason that this is not possible, please let us know. We understand there will be situations that come up, but because this class involves movement, singing, and participation, it is helpful to be able to see students. As always, please communicate with us if we can help with this or there is a problem. We are in this together!
Our hope is that music can be a healthy outlet for students during this difficult time! Take care and as always, please let us know how we can help make music a positive experience for your student!
"Sing"cerely,
Mr. Taylor, ctaylor@shakopee.k12.mn.us
Mrs. Flatness, sflatnes@shakopee.k12.mn.us
A Band "Note" from Mrs. Peoples
Hi Grade 5 Band Parents!
Your kids are off to a good start and many are starting to play things that sound like songs! 😊
Thank you so much for all of your support with the schedule and equipment -- you are so appreciated!
A Few Reminders:
- If you haven’t already, set up a routine where your child plays their instrument at the same time every day. This will create a habit and you will be less likely to have to remind them to play each day.
- About 10-15 minutes before the google meet lesson time, be sure to have a sturdy chair, music stand adjusted, book on music stand, instrument fully assembled, iPad fully charged, swipe out extra apps to improve connection, and iPad in a place where the teacher can see student lips and fingers (arms and hands for percussionists, no chair for percussionists)
Please reach out if you have any questions or need anything regarding band!
Thank you for having your child in 5th Grade Band!
Stephanie Peoples
Physical Education Fun with Mr. Casey and Mrs. Tanberg
As we are entering in to the thick of distance learning, there are a few reminders from the PE staff we would like you to know. Please make every effort to attend your PE google meet on the days you have class. If there is a reason where you cannot make a google meet, there will be a video on seesaw (posted in the student’s inbox) that students should watch and participate along with. We can see who has viewed a video and your child will get credit for attending class that way. Occasionally there will be an activity on seesaw for your child to complete, but we will make sure to make that VERY clear during PE class and on the video posted in seesaw. We will try our best to keep things fun and engaging – especially for kindergarten who is new to our distance learning lessons!
We are just wrapping up our volleyball unit where we learned about the underhand serve, bump, and set. We miss having the students in the gym to play volleyball games and a game we call deck tennis which is a lead up game to volleyball, and a Jackson favorite. Hopefully the stress of all the balloons around the house wasn’t too great and not too many popped!
We will be doing our bowling unit in December. Please save all empty toilet paper and paper towel tubes to use as bowling pins. Paper and tape can also be used to make tubes for bowling (we will cover this during our first bowling class!). Hey – even empty wrapping paper tubes cut up will work! It’s time to get creative and come up with solutions for our lack of equipment at home! If you do have bowling pins at your house have them handy for our bowling unit!
We can’t wait to see you back in school, hopefully sooner than later!
Mr. Jeff Casy (jcasey@shakopee.k2.mn.us)
Mrs. Susan Tanberg (stanberg@shakopee.k12.mn.us)
If anyone has some old tennis shoes that they would like to donate to the Physical Education Department it be greatly appreciated. We have students who do not have tennis shoes to wear for physical education and we would like to give them a pair. Please make sure the tennis shoes are clean and free of rips and tears.
Greetings from the Learning Commons!
Hello from the Jackson Learning Commons!
BOOK FAIR:
Thank you so much to all the families that shopped our online book fair! It is exciting for students to get new books, and for our school to add new books to our library, too.
OVERDUE BOOKS:
Your child may have brought home a paper regarding overdue library books. If you did NOT receive one, this means your child has no missing or overdue books. If your child did receive one, please help us by searching at home for this missing book. Thank you for your help in keeping our library books safe and making sure they get returned so other students can enjoy those books, too!
How to Access Books and eBooks for Distance Learning
All of this information can be found on the district Learning Commons Page: https://www.shakopee.k12.mn.us/site/Default.aspx?PageID=2033
Searching for a book for pick-up at your school:
Go to: https://shakopee.libguides.com/bookpickup
- Search for books in your school's library catalog.
- Fill out the book request form for the books you would like to check out (up to 3 books at a time).
- If the book is available, you will be notified by email and the book will be checked out to your account and held in the main office for you for 3 days. If the book is not picked up in 3 days, the book will be checked in and returned to the library shelves.
- Books have a 21-day checkout period, but you can renew them by calling or emailing your school's Learning Commons.
- Books can be returned to the main office. PLEASE return previous books checked out!
MackinVIA eBooks (download app in Self Service)
Use the app downloaded from Self Service or go to www.MackinVIA.com
- Select your home school by typing in the school name.
- User ID: the student’s ID number (student number is also student lunch number. This is a 6-digit number. (Same as Google Log-in information).
- Password: student’s first name initial capitalized, last name initial lowercase and then birthdate in six digits
- Ex. password: Gh012811 (first name uppercase, last name lowercase, birthdate is January 28, 2011)
CloudLibrary eBooks (download app in Self Service)
- Select USA, Minnesota and Scott County Library
- Card Number: 720+student ID number (lunch number)
- PIN: last 4 digits of the student ID number or lunch number
COMPLETE A HELP DESK TICKET IF A PASSWORD DOESN’T WORK …
for parents: parenthelp@shakopee.k12.mn.us
for students: helpdesk@shakopee.k12.mn.us
Please feel free to reach out with any questions you have!
By: Betsi Arvin
PTO NEWS
Hello Jackson Families!
Happy December from your PTO! Well. here we go ending 2020 with more challenging transitions. With each and every transition we’ve had, I get more appreciation and more amazed by our Jackson teachers, staff, students, and families! I know we will get thru this new form of learning as best we can and stay Jackson strong. I’m hopeful that our students will be back in school as soon as we can safely do so. As I’ve mentioned before, most of our activities are on hold. We do have take home gingerbread kits being sent home for your students to do since we can not have our gingerbread night. Also look for links to participate in our Blizzard of Wishes campaign for us to help get supplies for our phenomenal teachers (if you are able to help).
We just got done providing safe, individually boxed meals for our staff when they were working their extra long days for conferences. Lastly, we are in need of a volunteer to coordinate our school toolbox kits for next year and someone to coordinate our box tops for education next year. Neither of these positions require too many hours of work but your time and efforts are greatly appreciated. If you are interested please contact me at jacksonPTO28@gmail.com.
Our next parent meeting is scheduled for 2/16/2021 at 6:30.
Stay tuned for location or virtual link.
Have a safe, healthy, as wonderful as you can make it holiday season!!!
As always, thank you for supporting our Jackson Community!
Kjersta Hoffman
PTO President