JSE Tracks May 11th
Principal's Weekly News
This week's Special Activity:
We are here for you!
Greetings, JSE Families,
Thank you for all your efforts last week to recognize your appreciation and LOVE for our staff! It was a highlight of our week to see each other during our "Finish the Year Strong!" parade and all of your videos and signs for us!
We want to acknowledge and appreciate the efforts of so many individuals throughout our school community. We appreciate the unwavering dedication of our teachers for their incredible efforts, creativity and flexibility to ensure that teaching and learning continues for all of our students. We are ever grateful for the support of and partnership with our families. We know that many parents are balancing a plethora of responsibilities as they oversee their students' eLearning. We are thankful for and incredibly proud of our students for their resilience, engagement, focused efforts and positivity! They are our Lil' Heroes!
Take care of one another, and continue to spread joy and kindness wherever you can.
As we say over the announcements each day, "You are loved at JSE!" Proud to be a Bearcat!"
Very Sincerely,
Leigh Barnes
New Information:
- Student Belongings Pick-Up, Library Book, Textbook, and Chromebook Return tentatively scheduled for May 28th in the JSE Gymnasium. Information and Guidelines to follow.
- Attention 5th grade Families: Please see information below regarding Band.
- Ways to find out how your child is progressing academically the 2nd half of the school year: Check Harmony, email your child's teachers, set up a virtual conference with your child's teacher.
- What should I do if my child needs small group or individual instruction to support their eLearning? All teachers have daily/weekly teaching sessions, teaching videos, and question and answer chats available for your child and you. Check Canvas for that information and/or contact your child's teacher to set up a virtual teaching time for your child.
- We want to thank our teachers for being our Lil' Bearcats' Heroes, Teacher Appreciation week is the first week of May. If you are interested in helping and have ideas to share, please email our PTO President Carey Minton at johnsimatovichpto@gmail.com THANK YOU!
Textbook Rental Fees Due, please pay through the Harmony Online Portal or send a check to the UTSC Central Office at 599 W 300 N SUITE A | VALPARAISO, IN 46385 If you have any questions, please email Mrs. Rittel or Mrs. Barnes.
Be Well INDIANA resource for you!
Mental Health Month Resources Available
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Throughout the month, IDOE will be sharing resources to help maintain and support mental health. Family and Social Services Association just released Be Well Indiana. This website provides information supporting wellness for all Hoosiers. Check out the free mental health tips, video library, COVID-19 specific resources, and much more.
Boys and Girls Club Resources:
The "we need something new" techie highlight for this week:
#INthistogether
The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) has recently partnered with the Indiana Pacers, Indiana Fever, Indianapolis Indians, and Indianapolis Colts to help support Indiana educators, students, and families in response to the challenges COVID-19 has brought to education. With the help of the community partnerships, IDOE will be bringing you activities, videos, and other resources to help encourage active learning at home and beyond.
Indy Indians Activity Book
Filled with coloring pages, mazes, word searches, mad libs, connect the dots, word scrambles, crosswords, and a create-your-own baseball card, this activity pack will definitely cure any cabin fever! Click here to check it out!
Listen to Indiana Pacer, Victor Oladipo, read "I Love You Because You're You" by Liza Baker.
UTSC Elementary Virtual Art Show, Find your child's Master Piece!
Go to this LINK (link below also) and find your art or share a piece of art with Mr. Dickey to enter the show.
Thank you Mr. Dickey and our JSE and UCE students!!
PTO News
- Our Teachers and Staff THANK YOU for a wonderful week of appreciation!
- Did you know you can email the PTO at johnsimatovichpto@gmail.com with any questions or volunteering information you need?
- All PTO events canceled, including Fun Fair.
- Canceled: PTO Meetings usually occur the first Tuesday of each month at 6PM. Please consider attending the meetings this year, every JSE parent is welcome and encouraged to attend!
Important Dates:
All events canceled, building and playground facilities closed for the safety of our school community.
May 13,15,18,20,22 eLearning Days
May 22 Last eLearning Day of the school year
May 27 Report Card Available in Harmony
May 28 Tentative Student Belonging Pick-uP and Chromebook Return at JSE
Stay tuned for other End of the Year activities!
ARCHIVED:
Video Conferencing through Google: Smiling Faces, Amazing Kids!
Kindergarten Virtual Round-Up Information: Please share!
Kindergarten Information Presentation LINK: Please click the link to meet our Kindergarten Teachers, Office Staff, Reading Teacher and Principal. The presentation will also include needed August registration information, the daily Kindergarten routine for our students, and other pertinent information for you to support your child preparation for Kindergarten.
Complete the Kindergarten Pre-Registration Form at the LINK.This will save you time during the 2020-21 school-wide online registration in August and allow us to communicate with you via email and text message regarding upcoming school events.
Looking forward to meeting our new class of Lil' Bearcats!
How will we end the school year?
Student Belongings: May 28th tentatively scheduled in the JSE gymnasium. A schedule and guidelines for this day will be communicated with you, stay tuned.
Nurse's Office: If your child has medication in the nurse's office that is needed, please reach out to Mrs. Barnes.
A message from Mrs. Morton: I am here for you too!
As Mrs. Barnes said, "As a schoolhouse, we want to be a source of strength, kindness, understanding, and assistance to you. We are committed to being there for you and your children. If there are any essential needs we can support you with or any questions or concerns that have not been addressed," please contact us directly via email, lbarnes@union.k12.in.us and Lisa Morton, lmorton@union.k12.in.us.
Free Online Parenting Class: Love and Logic just announced today that during the month of April, their online parenting class (the one we hosted at JSE) is FREE!! You can visit their website at: https://www.loveandlogic.com/collections/classes-and-conferences/products/love-and-logic-parenting-online or here is the link to the YouTube announcement they made this morning:
Parent Resources:
- IDOE List of well-being Resources for Families
- 2020 COVID-19 IDOE list of Remote Learning Resources
Talking to Children About COVID-19: A Parent Resource - National Association of School Psychologists and National Association of School Nurses
Talking with Children about Coronavirus 2019: Messages for Parents, School Staff, and Others Working with Children - Center for Disease Control
HealthyChildren.org - American Academy of Pediatrics
Elementary Attendance, Curriculum, Assignments, Grading, and Summer School with extended eLearning
eLearning Curriculum: Our goal is to provide meaningful, connected learning experiences for your children focused on the most essential standards and foundation skills of each grade and subject area. We fully realize there is no way to replicate a full school day and the direct instruction your child would typically receive. With that being said, please be assured that next school year, we will prepare to adjust our classroom curriculum at each grade level to meet the needs of our students in regards to the missed direct instruction as a result of this pandemic. JSE will support students' successful transition back to in-person instruction.
Grades: Kindergarten is already utilizing a skills based report card and Kindergarten teachers will support families in accessing student 4th quarter benchmark skills, more information will be communicated. Students in 1st through 5th grade will continue to receive "grades" for their elearning assignments. We recognize the many factors that affect a student's performance during eLearning, therefore, we are focused on your child doing their personal best in completing their eLearning. Our teachers will continue to work with you and your child to reteach and support your child to achieve passing grades. In 1st through 5th grade, children have a broad range of independence and we understand and encourage you to help your child as much as needed in their learning. We all know that "grades" may not be an accurate level of your child's understanding of the skill or standard assessed and that is okay. We are more focused on your child's learning activity, exposure, and experience with the elearning activities and assignments. Our overall goal is for your child to be engaged in learning, thinking, and applying their knowledge at their level. Our goal is also for elearning not to create a high level of stress for your child or you. Again, please reach out to your child's teacher or Mrs. Barnes for support.
Assignments: Your child has the week and weekend to complete their eLearning work for that week. We know that your support is needed for your child to be successful depending on their grade level and ability, and we encourage you to help your child as much as needed. With that being said, we realize you didn't sign up to be a teacher and many of our families continue to work. If your child has difficulty or is unable to complete an assignment, please work with your child's teacher to make adjustments whenever needed. We are committed to partnering with you!
Progress Reports and Report Cards: Progress reports and report cards will occur through eLearning via Harmony, and your child's teacher will communicate this to you when they are available. You can always check Harmony weekly for grades and assignment completion checks and reach out to your child's teacher regarding their grades.For the 4th quarter, we want to ensure we provide you with a short summary of your child's strengths, areas of progress, and areas of growth. This will assist us all in concluding the school year.
Summer School: At this time, we do not have a plan for summer school, more information will be shared in a timely manner for you to prepare.
MOST IMPORTANTLY: You know your child best and how they are responding to the added stress and unusual situation we are all in. Please be patient and understanding with them. As parents, it is a healthy balance of holding them accountable, challenging them, nurturing and guiding them and also allowing them to pause. Online learning is hard on everyone: It's hard for our students to concentrate when feeling stressed, it's hard for students to stay focused on a screen for periods of time, and it's hard for learning to be engaging without the social interaction we have in classrooms.We are aware of the incredible stress that elearning can have on our students, staff and families. You and your child's emotional health comes first, we all have to do what is best for our family at a given time and on a given day. Each day is new and this situation is ever changing. I can't emphasize enough that we are stronger together and together we will get through this! We are here for you! Thank you for being our partners for your kids!
eLearning and Canvas Website LINK information
UPDATE: Grab and Go Breakfast/Lunch Meals for UTSC families in need: Window Pick-Up Time Updated to 11am-12, Tuesday and Thursday only.
Union Township Schools will be providing breakfast and lunch to Union Township students on Tuesday and Thursday. You will be provided enough meal bags to last through the week. The pick-up for any child 18 or younger will be from 11:00-12:00 at the Circle Drive at Wheeler High School.
You are always welcome at JSE!
Please let us know how we can strengthen our partnership with you!
Leigh Barnes, Principal ext 3001 lbarnes@union.k12.in.us
Barb Rittel, Secretary ext 3000 brittel@union.k12.in.us
Lisa Morton, Home School Advisor ext 3003 lmorton@union.k12.in.us
Kathy Maniszko, School Nurse ext 3002 kmaniszko@union.k12.in.us
Email: lbarnes@union.k12.in.us
Website: http://jsimatovich.union.k12.in.us/
Location: 424 West 500 North, Valparaiso, IN, United States
Phone: (219)759-2508
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/JSEPTO/
Twitter: @JSimatovichElem