JBD FRIDAY FOCUS
February 1, 2019 ~ "Embrace the Adventure!"
NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS: Friday, FEB. 1-VIRTUAL LEARNING DAY!
From the Principal
Dear Parents and Guardians,
It is so hard to believe that January is over! February brings lots of fun events at JBD. Be sure to add the STEAM Career Night to your calendar (Feb. 28) -that is a dress up spirit day for the career or 'what you want to be when you grow up' outfit! We look forward to this event and thank the PTA committee for organizing and also to all of the community members and parents that will be part of the event.
Some of you may have heard about our unexpected fire alarm on Tuesday during drop-off time in the main building (K-2). Due to construction issues, we have had a couple of these now, and the children are amazing. Since it was so chilly, we were able to walk over to Great Neck Middle School and hang out in their gym while the fire department determined why the alarm sounded. We have two alarm panels now, one for the new part of the building and one for the old part of the building and sometimes the two alarms are not synced. However, we evacuate when the alarm sounds for the safety of all. As I said, the kids were wonderful and their biggest concern was whether Humphrey the Hamster would be ok. I reassured them he was just fine! :)
Tomorrow is a staff day here at JBD and your students should be ready to roll with their Virtual Learning assignments. We were thrilled with the quality of the assignments after the last VLD. Your support is appreciated!
Just a note to our Fort Story friends: I will be coming to the Youth Center at 4:00 Wed. Feb. 6th with our counselors and Mrs. Markert, the assistant principal for an outreach session and give parents a chance to ask questions about JBD. We have had many new families register in the last month, so we want to keep all informed of the JBD happenings! We hope to see many of you there.
Have a wonderful weekend and stay warm. Once again, the community support and awesome parents are what make John B. Dey the amazing school that it is. With your support, our teachers can help your little seagulls soar to greatness.
Thank you,
Beth Bianchi
Principal
Reading Month comes to an end-but the love of reading continues!!!
Thanks to our Reading Specialists, Lynne Logan and Lisa Schliske, along with our Library Media Specialist, Susan Hardesty, READING MONTH at JBD was a huge hit. Humphrey the Hamster was the star as now you can see many children in the school obsessed with reading books about Humphrey.
Our Book Swap was a great success as well with over 300 children participating and swapping approximately 1000 books! That is so exciting and inspiring. Children become better readers when they read-it's that simple. Thank you to all of the parents for your support. KEEP READING WITH YOUR CHILDREN! They are never too old to read with their parents or loved ones.
After the Book Swap... :)
JBD Story Book Character Day - January 28
February 18 - School is open!
COX HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS STUDENTS VISIT DEY!
Thank you to our fabulous counselors!
We salute Mrs. Chick, Mrs. Cleveland and Mr. James for all they do for our staff and students!
Happy Counselor's Week ~ February 4 - 8
NEXT WEEK AT DEY
Monday, February 4:
- SPCA Drive starts today!
- Lifetouch Club picture day
Tuesday, February 5:
- Grade 4 Field Trip Sandler Center (Virginia Symphony) 9:15 - 11:45
Wednesday, February 6:
- Word Shirt Wednesday!
- PTA German (Gr. 3-5)
- Operation Smile Meeting 3-3:45
- Soaring Seagull Outreach at Fort Story Youth Center 4 p.m.
Thursday, February 7:
- PTA German (K-2)
Friday, February 8:
- Operation Smile Toothbrush drive ends today
Soaring Seagull Fort Story Outreach Event
Soaring Seagull Outreach Event
When: Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019
Where: Fort Story Youth Center
Time: 4:00 PM
What: JBD information forum
Who: Fort Story parents with students at JBD
It’s half-way through the 2018-2019 school year and the JBD staff and administration want to connect with YOU! If you have questions or concerns regarding anything going on with school, curriculum, transportation, construction information, or other facets of John B. Dey life, we are coming to you on the base to listen, discuss, and help. You and your children are very important to us so please attend!
Mrs. Beth Bianchi, Principal of John B. Dey will be here along with:
Mrs. Christa Markert, Assistant Principal
Mrs. Rose Chick, Counselor
Mr. James Agyeij, Military Family Live Counselor
For questions, please call JBD @ 648-2440 or email Mrs. Bianchi: ecbianch@vbschools.com
OPERATION SMILE ~TOOTHBRUSH DRIVE
JBD is holding a "Toothbrush Drive" for Operation Smile. If you would like to make a contribution to this cause, please send in any donations to the school by Friday, February 8th.
Thank you in advance for your support!
LOST AND FOUND-CLAIM BY FEB. 15
February is....
- National African American History Month
- National Children's Dental Health Month
- National Career and Technical Education Month
GIFTED CORNER
People of ask me about the best way to prepare for the upcoming tests. My answer is always the same: a life well-lived! Take your children places and let them lead the way with what they wonder and notice and then show them what YOU see. Turn off the screens and build things. Elementary children are in Erikson’s stage of INDUSTRY. They are supposed to be creating at this age. Read aloud to them until they are 12 years old! Select books that are harder than what they can read on their own—you are pulling up their vocabulary and comprehension, but also building a wonderful relationship as you share the adventure in the novels. Have a designated day that you go to the library every week. Make it a family event. Get lost in the shelves. There’s so much to learn!
I am not allowed to interpret scores. Remember that these are nationally normed tests. The students are expected to score 50% to be average in their grade level. You can also call the gifted testing office if you need more information about the results that you see on Parent Portal: 263-6870. Gifted identification goes well beyond test scores so we never say a child has passed or failed the test. “Gifted is as gifted does,” says Joe Renzulli, University of Connecticut. The application looks at the whole child, their performance at home and at school, as well as the test scores.
Upcoming dates to keep in mind:
2018-2019 Gifted Testing/Application Dates
Feb. 12 (Tues) Testing Day for students applying for Old Donation School (rising 3rd-6th), 5th grade academic gifted identification and 2nd grade HOLDS. Results will be e-mailed to you in early April.
March 1, 4:00 PM. First grade gifted applications* due.
April 2 (Tues) gifted testing for 1st graders who turned in an application. Results will be e-mailed to you by the middle of May.
*applications: The application is on line, found at: https://giftedapplication.vbcps.com/
The students know the log-in and password by heart as they use it daily to log in to their computers at school. Ask them for it!
The user ID is your child’s permanent number (also used for Lunch and book check out. Your child has this same number through 12th grade)
The password is your child’ school computer password. This will change every 60 days. Please ask your child for this password first, and if that is unsuccessful, follow through with the classroom teacher.
+ Parent Portal is a place to review your child’s permanent records through 12th grade. It requires a two-step process to access so establish your account well before you need it. Go to VBSchools.com and click Parent Portal under the PARENTS drop down.
MUSIC NEWS
Grade 4 Parents – All Fourth Grade students at John B. Dey will take a field trip to the Sandler Center to hear a special concert performed by the Virginia Symphony Orchestra on Tuesday, February 5. This concert is Free! Please sign the permission slip and return it to school as soon as possible. (We apologize, but we will not be taking parent chaperones on this trip.)
Grade 2 Parents - All Second Grade students will perform “Seussical Jr.” on Tuesday, March 5 at 5:30 pm. Concert attire: Black pants, a solid colored shirt with no design (unless of course it is a Seuss shirt), and tennis shoes. We welcome all Seuss hats or headbands!
PTA CORNER
-PTA EVENTS-
Feb 28-Career Day Spirit Day
Feb 28 at 6:00pm-Career Night/PTA meeting at JBD
March 14-Boosterthon Fun Run (During PE)
March 22-Bingo Night
April 3-Spring Movie Night (Mulan)
For More information about PTA, please go to http://www.jbdpta.com
AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS
Spring after school activities registration is open!
Spanish starts the week of February 11, so sign up now! Tennis begins the week of March 4th. For more information see: http://www.jbdpta.com/jbd-pta-after-school-programs-registration.html
CAREER DAY/NIGHT
Career Day- During the school day, students are asked to dress in the uniform/attire that they would wear for their future career.
Career Night- We have 25 confirmed volunteers to share about their careers, but we are looking for more. Please contact the committee to sign up as a volunteer: JBDCareerNight@gmail.com
BOOSTERTHON
MYSTERY MIND SPARK is our theme this year. We are looking for some creative volunteers to help with decorating the school. Please contact Melissa McCormack if you are interested in volunteering. melissainvb@gmail.com
BINGO
March 22, 2019- If your company is interested in making a silent auction donation, please contact Ashley Cizerle ashreneelynch@gmail.com or Meagan Thrift meagan.thrift@gmail.com
Thank you to the following companies who have already donated to the silent auction:
Disney World, Norfolk Botanical Garden, Duck Donuts, Ocean Breeze, Motor World, Hot House Yoga, Cape Henry Collegiate, JUMP, Living Museum, Little Gym of VB, Studio Bamboo, Zen Yoga, Muse Paintbar, Bell A Dance, Smartmouth Brewing Co, Camp Twin Creeks, Mermaid Factory, Seth Broudy School of Surf, Pure Barre, Sign Gypsies VB, Virginia Rush Althletic Club, Board & Brush Creative Studio, Your Pie, Top Golf, Forrest Gallery, Sky Zone, Watermans, Bamboo Yoga, Stockpot, Beach Cinema Alehouse, Inyodo, iDeal Fitness, Restore Cryotherapy, Sonshine Hair Studio, Cinema Cafe, Bella Monte, Tribal Axe
SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE MARCH 15~2:30 p.m.
JBD PTA SCHOLARSHIPS
The John B. Dey Elementary School PTA is pleased to offer three (3) $500 scholarships in honor of Betty Ann Stepheson, Joan Melton and Lee Capwell.
Eligibility requirements:
* Applicant must have attended John B. Dey Elementary School for at least two years and be a graduating VBCPS high school senior in good standing.
* Applicant must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 and have been accepted by an accredited college, university or vocational training school.
* Award recipients must provide a letter of declaration from their selected University/College/Technical school.
Application Procedures:
* John B. Dey Elementary School PTA will award scholarships in the amount of $500 each to three students who meet the eligibility criteria and have received the highest scores from our panel of judges based on answers to four criteria/questions.
* All applicants will remain anonymous to our judges.
* Applicants must provide one letter of recommendation.
* Incomplete and/or late applications will not be considered.
* Completed application packets may be mailed or dropped off to the main office by 2:30 PM on March 15, 2019, Attention: Scholarship Chairperson, John B. Dey Elementary School PTA, 1900 N. Great Neck Road, Virginia Beach, VA. 23454.
Extra Scholarship Applications are available in the Main Office.
SCA NEWS
John B. Dey 2018-19 Yearbook
The John B. Dey 2018-2019 Yearbook is on sale now! Order online at ybpay.lifetouch.com with YEARBOOK CODE : 2077919.
Yearbooks are $25.00. Online orders only. Thank you!
COMING SOON...
- Feb. 11: Report cards go home
- Feb. 14:100th day of school! Happy Valentine's Day!
- Feb 18: Happy President's Day! School is open for students & staff
- Feb. 20: JBD Information Meeting at Fort Story Youth Center 4:00 p.m.
- Feb. 25: SCA Double Take - Twin Day!
- Feb. 28: Career Day Spirit Day! Career Night 6 -8 p.m.
- March 14: Boosterthon Fun Run
- March 22: BINGO Night
- March 29: Staff Day - School closed for students
- April 3: PTA Spring Movie Night
- April 4: Spring Picture Day! Class & individual pictures are taken
- April 12 - 19: Spring Break ~ Enjoy!
John B. Dey Weekly Family Newsletter
Email: Elizabeth.Bianchi@vbschools.com
Location: John B Dey Elementary School, North Great Neck Road, Virginia Beach, VA, USA
Phone: 757-648-2440
Twitter: @JbdElem