No Place Like Jones
Family Updates for the Week of November 6, 2023
🎃 Save the Date: Wednesday, November 15 Thanksgiving Luncheon 🎃
DONATE TO THE JONES HEROES CAMPAIGN! 10/16-11/8
Principal Corner
Ira B. Jones Families:
Remember that report cards will be sent home on Tuesday, November 7.
Additional Report Card Information:
- For Kindergarten families, an additional report will be included, sharing some formative assessment data that your child's teacher has collected to show their progress so far this school year. This report is called the ELI report.
- For 1st and 2nd Grade families, a supplemental student feedback form will be included, which will share your child's progress in math, literacy, and social-emotional skills.
As a reminder, this upcoming week is a 4-day week, with Friday being a holiday. Please ensure your children are at school every day and on time, ready to learn. We want to make every second count.
It is crucial for students to attend school regularly, as research shows that children who are chronically absent have a higher risk of falling behind academically. Even missing just two days every month can have a significant impact on a student's academic success.
Children who are chronically absent in kindergarten and 1st grade are much less likely to read at grade level by the end of 3rd grade. By 6th grade, chronic absence is a proven early warning sign for students at risk of dropping out of school. Good attendance can predict graduation rates even better than 8th grade test scores.
Families play a crucial role in ensuring students attend school and understand why attendance is essential for school success and life. While some absences are unavoidable due to health problems or other circumstances, it is vital to note that absences can add up quickly, and chronically absent students miss valuable learning opportunities.
Let's work together to ensure our children are successful in their academic journey.
I invite you to visit our school's website and Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/irabjones/ and follow us on Twitter @Principal_IBJ and Instagram @IraB.JonesElementary. These will serve as a resource tool for all upcoming events, the student/family handbook, and important reminders, and you can catch up with all the wonderful things our students and teachers are doing. I also send out a weekly family newsletter. Please ensure we have updated contact information so you can stay informed of all our school happenings.
As a school leader and a parent, I understand the necessity of healthy communication between families and the school. I welcome your questions, celebrations, or concerns at any time. You can reach me by calling the school at 828.350.6700 or emailing me at ruafika.cobb@acsgmail.net.
Thanks for your continued support,
Ruafika Cobb
Principal
Ira B. Jones Elementary School
#noplacelikejones
Thank You for Your Donations
Thank You for Donating to Eblen
We express our sincere gratitude to all the staff, students, and parents who supported our fundraising efforts for Eblen Charities. Your generous contributions made this a huge success, and we are grateful for your continued support.
We concluded the one-month fundraising event and are pleased to announce that we have again reached our goal. The student who donated the most money in their class will receive a special treat next week.
Although the fundraising event has ended, you can still make donations to Eblen Charities at any time, as they provide support every day of the year.
We would also like to give a special thanks to Leo for his help in the front office collecting money for Eblen every day. #noplacelikejones
With Gratitude,
Ms. Abby from Students Services
Jones Heroes Campaign
Our FTO has started its annual fundraiser, the Jones Heroes Campaign and we invite you to donate online. You can visit https://app.99pledges.com/fund/irabjones to make a donation of any size. We are grateful for any support that you can offer. We also encourage you to share the Heroes donation form with any Asheville small business owners you know. Donations from local businesses are essential in helping us reach our goal. There are also wonderful incentives to recognize their brands for those who support our school.
This is our primary fundraiser of the year, and all the money raised goes towards supporting our school community. The funds will be used to provide classroom supplies, teacher projects, field trip scholarships, staff appreciation, and much more. We appreciate your support in making our school the best that it can be. #noplacelikejones
Upcoming Important Dates
- Monday, October 16: the start of FTO annual fundraiser, the Jones Heroes Campaign
- Friday, November 10: Holiday, no school for students and staff
- Wednesday, November 15: Thanksgiving Luncheon
- November 22 - 24: Holiday, no school for students
Notes from the Counseling Corner with Ms. Courtney, School Counselor
How to Teach Students Gratitude
Research and Evidence
A 2019 study published in the Journal of Happiness Studies1 found that gratitude is linked to happiness in students by age 5. This means that instilling gratitude in your students at a young age could help them grow up to be happier people.
Teach Your Child to Say Thank You
Encourage your student to say “Thank you” on a regular basis. Offer gentle reminders like, “Your sibling let you go first. What should you say to him?” or “What do you say to Grandma for giving you a cookie?”
While it may seem like forcing a “thank you” doesn't stir up any real gratitude, consider it a first step in the process. It can help students start to recognize when others have given them something, whether it's something tangible, like a gift, or intangible, like time.
So even if it doesn’t seem like genuine appreciation when your student needs a reminder, encouraging them to verbally express appreciation can be an important learning tool for genuine gratitude down the line.
Ask Gratitude Questions
Once your student remembers to say “thank you” on a regular basis, it can be time to dig a little deeper to ensure that they aren’t just going through the socially-prescribed motions of saying “Thank you.” Start having conversations about what it means to be thankful, and take their understanding of gratitude to a whole new level by incorporating more gratitude components.
Researchers from UNC encourage caregivers to ask students questions to help foster a deeper sense of gratitude. Here are some questions that can help students experience all four gratitude components:
Notice: What do you have in your life to be grateful for? Are there things to be grateful for beyond the actual gifts someone has given you? Are you grateful for any people in your life?
Think: What do you think about this gift? Do you think you earned the gift? Do you think the person gave you a gift because they thought they had to or because they wanted to?
Feel: What does it feel like inside? What about this gift makes you feel happy?
Do: Is there a way to show how you feel about this gift? Does the feeling you have about this gift make you want to share this feeling by giving to someone else?
Look for the Silver Lining
Help your student see that something good can come from difficult circumstances. If a sports event gets rescheduled due to rain, talk about the bright side of the situation. Say something like, "Well, at least we don't have to be outside in the cold. We can play board games together, which will be fun."
You might also point out how to be grateful for what you had, even when it's no longer here. For example, you might say, "It's really sad our fish died, but I'm grateful we got to have him for six months." Of course, you don't want to sound uncaring and callous, but you can make it clear that you can be both grateful and sad at the same time while honoring a loss.
Establish a Gratitude Ritual
Make it a habit to regularly express gratitude in your family. Here are some examples of rituals you might establish:
Everyone takes turns during dinner sharing one thing they’re grateful for from their day.
You ask each student to say three things they feel grateful for at bedtime.
During the car ride to school, everyone thanks someone else in the car for something.
🏫 Support Our School! 🏫
SUPPORT IRA B. JONES WHEN YOU GROCERY SHOP
Harris Teeter will donate a percentage of your purchase to Ira B Jones when you link your VIC card (free Harris Teeter loyalty account) to Jones. You can do this in person at the store, or online. IBJ's school code is 2143, or you can search by our school's name. VIC card holders can link up to 5 NC schools! A percentage of all items you purchase from the Harris Teeter brand, HT Traders, Farmers Market (pre-packaged items only), and Harris Teeter Organics will be donated back to Jones.
Email: ruafika.cobb@acsgmail.net
Phone: 828.350.6700