Jerry Ross Newsletter 03.02.18
Jerry Ross has Been Named A 4 STAR School Again!
From the Principal, Mrs. Stolarz
Part 2 of ISTEP+ testing will take place April 24-27. Students who receive testing accommodations because of an IEP, ILP, or 504 plan will start testing the week of April 16.
- If you missed it, we were named a 4 STAR School again last Friday!
- Our Math Bowl team earned top 10 in state in their division!
- The Northwest Indiana Times was here today to report on how our school supports students with disabilities. The article should be featured in the Monday edition of the NWI Times Newspaper.
- Isaac Foster, Jerry Ross Geography Bee winner, qualified for the Indiana State Bee!
- Mr. Bennett, our retired custodian, came back to read a Dr. Seuss book to Mrs. Midkiff's 3rd grade class, a tradition he started years ago and plans to continue.
Have a wonderful weekend! Thanks for all that you do to support our students and school.
Isaac had been waiting on the results from the state exam for weeks. | The moment he learns that he qualified to represent our school in the Indiana State Geo Bee! | Our Geography Bee coaches and winner |
From the Nurse
MARCH is National Nutrition Month
BREAKFAST-research consistently confirms that eating breakfast helps children concentrate, think, behave and learn. They are also healthier and more energetic throughout the day. Eating breakfast:
· Improves children’s classroom performance, including better test scores and grades
· Increases children’s ability to focus and concentrate on school work
· Decreases behavior problems, tardiness and visits to the school nurse
· Increases attendance rates
Encourage your child to eat breakfast not just on test days, but everyday either at home or at school.
From Mrs. Mucha
March is upon us. Change is in the air and starting to be discussed. Students might be wondering what next year will be like? How can I possibly leave my favorite teacher's class? How will I make new friends when I move to another class or school? Here is an section of an article from Edutopia by Elena Aguilar:
SUGGESTIONS FOR HELPING CHILDREN WORK THROUGH CHANGE
Whether you’re a teacher supporting your students or a parent supporting your child, here are 10 ways to make unwelcome change easier for kids:
1. Invite them to talk about their feelings. Listen to whatever they say—to their anger and sadness and confusion. Validate their feelings and let them know that whatever they’re experiencing is OK.
2. Help them see the elements of stability in their life and school. Name all the teachers and adults who aren’t leaving, the classmates who will stay.
3. Assure kids that the foundations of their community and learning experience will be strong. Even if a beloved staff member or principal is leaving, don’t fall into catastrophizing with your students or children. Help them see that their experience in school is more than one person, program, or other element.
4. Make sure they don’t take the change personally. Kids tend to blame themselves when things go wrong. Make sure to emphasize that they did nothing to make anyone leave, to drive someone away, as children tend to think whether a teacher or staff member leaves to work at another school, quits the profession, or is perhaps released from the position.
5. Direct children to see what they are in control of. Unwelcome change makes people feel like they don’t have control over their lives. Ask your students or children, “What are you free to choose right now?” and they’ll be reminded of their own power.
6. Guide children to focus on a positive future and what might be possible a year from now. Help them imagine making new friends, forming strong connections with other adults, and finding joy, community, and fulfillment at school. If there’s anything they can do to make these things happen (such as making new friends) guide them to do those things.
7. Allot a brief time for worry. Especially if you have a child who worries all the time, suggest a 15-minute time during the day when they allow themselves to worry. When they start worrying at other times, remind them that it isn’t their designated worry time.
8. Ask children: What really matters here? Help them see the big picture, gain perspective, and keep the change in proportion.
9. Help them connect with their own resilience, coping mechanisms, and energy. They have dealt with change and challenge before. Help them access those resources and remind them that they will get through this latest challenge.
10. Help them see their own resources for making changes that they desire. Help them think about how to be proactive about creating the kind of school and experience they want, even in the face of unwelcome change.
Working with children, I often had to support students with the above strategies as changes rippled through our school every year. My students, of course, responded differently. Some wore their emotions on their sleeve whereas others were harder to read. Take the time to explore how children are experiencing change when it strikes. In the end, change is all we can count on, so it’s always useful to help children refine their coping skills.
Club Corner
Newspaper - Tuesday, March 6 @ 8:10 am
Student Council - Monday, March 5 @ 8:15 am
JR Theater - Monday, Feb. 26 @ 3:45-4:45 pm
Drama Kids - Tuesday, Feb. 27 @ 3:45-4:45 pm
Circle the State - Tuesday, March 6 & Wednesday, March 7 @ 8:00 am & Thursday, March 8 @ 3:45-5:30 pm
Programming - Monday, March 5 @ 3:45-5:05 pm
Engineering - Wednesday, March 7 @ 3:45-4:45 pm
Spanish - Wednesday, March 7 @ 3:45-4:45 pm
Chess - Thursday, March 1 @ 3:45-4:45 pm (Last class for session)
St. Baldrick's Foundation
The event is scheduled for March 16th from 3-6 pm at Crown Point HS.
School Hours 9:05-3:44 p.m.
Menu for the Week of March 5-9
Visitors: Please do not bring food from outside restaurants such as Taco Bell or McDonald's to our cafeteria. It is against our district food services policy. We would be happy to serve you a hot lunch or you may bring a sack lunch from home.
Available Daily
Sliced Turkey on Fresh Baked Sub Bun, Chicken Chef Salad
Breakfast: Breakfast Pizza, Breakfast Bar, Cereal
Lunch: Cheeseey Pizza, Silly Dilly Green Beans, Fresh Vegetables, Yummy Pears, Fresh Fruit
Tuesday
Breakfast: Pancake Wrap, Chocolate Chip French Toast
Lunch: Cheese Burger Deluxe, Fruit/Granola Yogurt Parfait, Baked Beans, Cherry Tomatoes, Pineapple, Fresh Fruit
Wednesday
Breakfast: Egg & Cheese Sandwich, Breakfast Bar/Cereal
Lunch: Pasta & Meat Sauce, Popping Peas, Crispy Garden Salad, Crazy Applesauce, Fresh Fruit, Twisted Bread Stick
Thursday
Breakfast: Egg & Cheese Burrito, Whole Grain Donuts
Lunch: Klucking Chicken Nuggets, Mashed Potatoes/Gravy, Roasted Carrots, Sliced Cucumber, Mandarin Oranges, Fresh Fruit, Corn Bread
Friday
Breakfast: Whole Grain Muffins, Cereal, Poptart
Lunch: Breakfast for Lunch, Hash Brown Triangles Fresh Broccoli Florets, Fruit Juice, Fresh Fruit
From The Cafeteria
Student Lunch: $2.25
Adult Lunch: $3.25
Ice Cream: $0.75
Milk Only: $0.40
***Birthday Treat Orders***
Please submit orders at least one week prior to your child's birthday to assure that we have enough for the birthday. If we receive the request the day of your child's birthday, we cannot guarantee that we will have enough ice cream for all of the student in the class.
Jerry Ross Child Care Program
Before School: 6:00-8:55 a.m. $7.00
After School: until 6:30 p.m. $7.00
Carol Lawson is the site leader for the Child Care Program at Jerry Ross Elementary School. Direct Line: (219) 662-6790