Dolphin Digest
A Monthly Newsletter from Jefferson Elementary School
Welcome Back to School!
This year, our theme is Illuminate: Let Your Light Shine with a focus on growth, celebration, and strengthening relationships and connections within our school community. We look forward to experiencing the positive impact our individual and collective lights will have this year. It is our time to shine at JES!
Thank you for your partnership and support.
Mattie Hughes, Principal
About JES
Email: mhughes@york.k12.sc.us
Website: york.k12.sc.us/JES
Location: 1543 Chester Highway, York, SC, USA
Phone: 803-684-1942
Facebook: facebook.com/York1JES
Check Out Our New Look!
Meet the Office Staff
Ms. Tammy Harper - Bookkeeper - tharper@york.k12.sc.us
Ms. Sydnie Stover - School Counselor - sshaw@york.k12.sc.us
Ms. Tiffany Brown - PowerSchool Clerk - tibrown@york.k12.sc.us
Ms. Megan Hoyt - Assistant Principal - mhoyt@york.k12.sc.us
Ms. Mattie Hughes - Principal - mhughes@york.k12.sc.us
Upcoming Dates
No School - Labor Day Holiday
September 7
MAP Testing Begins for Grades K-4
MAP Reading Fluency Testing Begins for Grades K-2
September 20-24
Social Emotional Learning Surveys Administered to Students
September 20
Boys & Girls Club Begins (subject to change due to staffing)
September 22
Professional Collaboration Day - Students dismissed at 11:45 am.
September 23
Fall Picture Day
PTO and School Improvement Council Meeting (Virtual - time to be announced)
Important Information
2021-22 Academic Calendar:
The 2021-22 Academic Calendar can be found here and on our district and school websites.
Student-Parent Handbook:
2021-22 In-Person Operational Plan:
York School District One's 2021-22 In-Person Operational Plan, as well as information regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, can be accessed at york.k12.sc.us/tlc.
Title I Information:
Jefferson Elementary School is a Title I School which is determined by pupils in poverty reports. The purpose of Title I, Part A of Public Law 107-110 is to enable schools to provide opportunities for children served to acquire the knowledge and skills contained in the challenging state content standards and to meet the challenging state performance standards developed for all children.
This purpose is accomplished by such efforts as:
- providing an enriched and accelerated educational program;
- promoting school-wide reform through school-wide programs or through additional services that increase the amount and quality of instructional time;
- significantly upgrading the quality of instruction by providing staff in participating schools with substantial opportunities for professional development; and
- affording parents meaningful opportunities to participate in the education of their children at home and at school.
The district welcomes input into the Title One plan through involvement in the planning team, offering input via surveys, or otherwise providing input via phone calls, email, or personal conversations. Interested parties may contact Lisa Spangler in the district office or the principals at any of our Title I schools.
Parent participation and involvement are also encouraged in all Title I Schools through parent sessions, attending parent conferences, serving on committees, offering recommendations and suggestions, and attending workshops and family events.
Attendance Matters!
Help your child succeed in school by building the habits of good attendance! Attending school regularly helps students feel better about school - and themselves. Absences and late arrivals add up and can cause students to miss essential learning experiences.
- Regular attendance is critical to your child’s success in school, is regulated by South Carolina state law, and is reported.
- If a student is absent from school, the parent/guardian must send a note to the school explaining the absence within 3 days of the student returning to school.
- Students who are out of school for medical reasons should provide the school with a doctor’s note upon returning to school.
- The school will be allowed to “excuse” no more than 10 school days with a parent/guardian note.
- The attendance laws state that a Truant Child is defined as “A child ages 6 to 17 years that has accumulated 3 consecutive unlawful absences or a total of 5 unlawful absences.” If your child becomes truant, you will be required to come to the school to develop an Attendance Plan.
- If you are experiencing a situation that may impact your child's attendance, please contact Ms. Brown or Ms. Hoyt for assistant. We are here to help!
Arrival and Dismissal Procedures
- Drop-off begins at 7:15 am and ends at 7:45 am. Any student arriving after 7:45 must be signed in by an adult.
- Pick-up begins at 2:10 pm. All students should be picked up promptly from school. Being late to pick up your child prevents our staff from attending meetings, professional development, and other obligations. Thank you for your cooperation!
- During drop-off, please have your child ready to exit the vehicle safely and quickly so that we can keep our line moving as efficiently as possible.
- All students should exit and enter the vehicle on the right side from the sidewalk.
- During dismissal, please (1) make sure you have a car tag prominently displayed and (2) keep the car tag visible until your child approaches the car. This helps our staff members identify student rides quickly and ensures our students are only going home with someone who is authorized to pick them up.
- For the safety of our students and staff, no one should park in the parking lot and allow their child to cross in front of the cars at the front entrance. Anyone with a student entering through the front entrance should remain in the car rider line. Our 4k and our Special Education families should continue to park and use the side entrance.
For our bus riders, please remain flexible with routing times due to driver shortages. A parent/guardian or responsible party must be visible to the bus driver at the stop for 4K through 2nd grade bus riders or the student will be returned to the school. In addition, please partner with us in keeping our students and drivers safe, as well as others on the road, by talking to your child about appropriate conduct when riding the bus. If you have any questions regarding transportation, please contact 803-684-1952 or 803-818-6199 (for late buses).
Parent Communication
At JES, we communicate with our families through:
- Remind messaging
- School email
- School telephone
- Blackboard for group or schoolwide messaging
Please make sure you join Remind for school and classroom messaging. If you do not have access, please reach out to your child's teacher. In addition, if you are not receiving school or district messaging, please call Ms. Brown in the front office to make sure that your contact information is correct in our system.
You should also have access to Parent Portal for transportation information, scheduling, and grades. This log-in information can also be provided in the front office or through your child's teacher.
Each Thursday, a Communication Folder will come home with your child containing grades, classroom updates, behavior notes, and other important school-related information. Please sign any documents as needed and return the Communication Folder to school the next day.
Want to know what we are up to throughout the day? If you are on Facebook, please go “like” our Facebook page! facebook.com/York1JES
MAP Testing
MAP Testing Dates
MAP testing begins in our building on Tuesday September 7. Each teacher is assigned a date for the Reading and Math portions of the test. Your child's teacher will be able to provide specific testing information for their class. Please ensure that your child gets a good night's rest prior to taking any assessment. Please encourage your students to do their best on their MAP testing as the information is very beneficial for teachers.
What is MAP Testing?
MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) is a computerized adaptive test which helps teachers, parents, and administrators improve learning for all students and make informed decisions to promote a child's academic growth.When will my student be tested and how often?
During the first weeks of school, students will participate in two MAP testing sessions to assess Reading and Mathematics. When taking the MAP test, the difficulty of each question is based on how well a student answers all the previous questions. As the student answers correctly, questions become more difficult. If the student answers incorrectly, the questions become easier. Although the tests are not timed, it usually takes students about one to two hours to complete each test. Students will take MAP testing 3 times each year.
What are the MAP test results used for?
MAP is used to measure a student's progress or growth in school. The testing information is important to teachers because it indicates a student's strengths are and help that is needed in any specific areas. Teachers can use this information to help them guide instruction in the classroom. Parents will receive a student report with the first report card indicating MAP test scores.