Update from Principal Boyd
April 14, 2023
From Principal Boyd
Happy Friday!
I hope that you had a wonderful break....I sure did! I was excited to see all of my scholars this week and hear all about how they spent their time away from school.
We are in the final weeks of the school year and I continue to be proud of our students and staff. We are working hard to finish STRONG and we appreciate your support with ensuring that our scholars finish the year strong as well.
A few items for you to be aware of at EJ:
Spring Carnival
Our annual EJ Spring Carnival is going to be on Friday, April 21st, and we need your help to make this event successful! Please click on the link and volunteer for a slot and/or snack donation. Thank you so much!!
Spring Carnival Volunteering https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0e45afa72fa5ff2-ejes3#/
Spring Carnival Snack Donations https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0e45afa72fa5ff2-ejes4#/
Thank You!
An extremely special shoutout to Sherri Bozardt and Northminster Presbyterian Church for generously donating a visit from Kona Ice for every EJ student last Friday. Our students LOVED it. We are so fortunate to have such wonderful supporters of our EJ community!
School Governance Council (SGC) Elections
It's time for parents to elect our next SGC representative. SGC Elections will be held from April 12 - 19. You will be able to vote for your preferred School Governance Council Parent Representative. Look for an email from Governance and Flexibility, and access the voting system by clicking on the link.
Thank you for taking part in this important process.
GA Milestones Pep Rally - Mission GMAS Space Race to Proficient and Beyond!
Scholars and staff of grades 3-5 participated in a pep rally today to get excited about the GA Milestones assessment. It was so good to see our scholars pumped up and excited about showing how much they've learned this year by doing their best on the test. Pictures below.
Annual Title I Parent Input Meeting - April 27th
Parents, families, school staff, students and community members **
Please join us for our Annual Title I Parent Input Meeting. We are offering a morning and afternoon time to better accommodate families. We would love to hear feedback and receive suggestions about:
School-Family Compact
Parent & Family Engagement Plan & Staff Training
1% Set-Aside Budget for Family Engagement
April 27, 2023
TEAMs Meeting - 8:30 am (click here to join)
Meeting in EJ Cafe - 5:30 pm
If you would like to preview the documents we will review, please click on the links below.
School-Family Compact FY23 - Spanish
Parent & Family Engagement Plan FY23
Parent & Family Engagement Plan FY23 - Spanish
Parent Resource Engagement Program
Pre-K and Kindergarten parents and caregivers are invited to join us for a morning of parent engagement, resources, and pastries. Join us at EJ on Wednesday, April 19 at 8:00 a.m. to learn more about how to work with your student at home on rhyming strategies. Flyer with more information below.
Saturday School
Starting tomorrow, we have 33 students participating in Saturday School at EJ. These students will work with identified teachers on GA Milestones test prep, which will include working on specific skills that will be assessed as well as test taking strategies. How amazing is it that we have students who are giving up their Saturday mornings for school?!?
Deaf Education
Did you know that Esther Jackson is the only elementary school in North Fulton with a Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) program? April is Deaf History Month and we are celebrating the amazing students and staff who participate in this program at EJ. I just love the diversity of our neighborhood school!
Attendance Recognition
Congratulations to the following classes for winning our March Attendance Challenge:
PreK - Pearson
Kinder - Bivins
First - Sather
Second - Sather/Johnson
Third - Shook
Fourth - Mattocks
Fifth - Whitehead
Congratulations to the following students for winning the March Attendance Challenge. They took home a tablet!
Eleanor Wright - Kindergarten, Bowie
Gabriella Mays - Second, Sather/Johnson
Ruben Rico - Fourth, Mattocks
Jaguar Spotlight
This week I am highlighting a few amazing staff members:
Lindsey Walker, Jill Vitagliano, Gentry Keisler, and Kelsey Drews - These educators have given additional time and energy to ensuring the success of our scholars by working to provide additional instruction after school for Extended Planning and Saturday school. Teaching is more than an 8 hour day and it brings me so much joy to know that we have staff members who have their own families but give of themselves outside of the "regular" school day. EJ is so lucky to have them!
Dilaila Berriosbarrera - Ms. B is our Bilingual Parent Liaison and she is AMAZING for so many reasons. She currently hosts an English Club twice a week for families wanting to learn English. EJ is a better place because of her dedication to supporting our families. Flyer attached.
Teacher and Staff Recognition
The role of an educator is extremely rewarding and sometimes tough. it is so important that we always show appreciation to our EJ staff.
If you would like to recognize an EJ staff member, please complete this short form: https://tinyurl.com/StaffRecognitionEJ We would love to hear from you!
Principal Feedback
Parents, please use this link to provide feedback on how we can better serve you. I welcome questions, suggestions, concerns, and of course positive messages about EJ or any staff member. Please do not include questions about your student(s) performance. Instead, contact your student's teacher.
Dates to Remember
April 12-19 - School Governance Council Parent Elections
April 18 - SGC Meeting @4:00 p.m.
April 19 - College and Career Day - celebrate your favorite school!
April 19 - Parent Resource Engagement Program @8:00 a.m.
April 21 - Spring Carnival, 4:30 pm - 7:30 pm
April 27 - Professional Assistants Day
April 27 - Title I Parent, Family & Stakeholder Virtual Meeting, 8:30 am
April 27 - Title I Parent, Family & Stakeholder Meeting, 5:30 pm
May 1-5 - Teacher Appreciation Week
May 1 - National Principal's Day!!
May 3-11 - Elementary GMAS End of Grade (EOG) - Grades 3-5
May 8 - Muffins with Moms
May 11 - Kindergarten Round-Up - more info coming soon
May 16 - SGC Meeting @4:00 p.m.
May 17 - College and Career Day - celebrate your favorite school!
May 18 - Field Day (PreK - 2)
May 19 - Field Day (3-5)
May 25 - Last Day of School