Principal's Corner- December 2021
Ending 2021 with Gratitude, Grace, and Responsibility
BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR WORDS AND ACTIONS!
This year has been another one for the books for our students, staff and families! I am so grateful for the caring, commitment, and collaboration of our staff and families for all they have done this school year to support our students. It is always teamwork that brings out the best in us and models for our students what it truly takes to be responsible for our own success. I am humbled and grateful for our Jamaica families and for the gift of being a part of your children's educational experience and hopefully a positive light in their lives.
As we do every year, during the month of December, we are focusing in gratitude, as well as our PBIS trait of being being responsible. This is an important concept as students learn how to become responsible for both their words and their actions. Helping students become accountable for both their learning and their behavior choices helps them develop the skills they need to succeed in both the classroom and in the world every day.
As with every month, we will focus on on Kindness Challenges to support our Croc Traits. This month, we are working on lessons promoted to support responsible words and actions. So, at home, we hope you will also focus on modeling responsible choices with your students and helping them understand the impact of their choices and actions on themselves and others.
A special thank you to our Student Council, who is responsible for hosting our SCTV broadcast every Monday to update our Crocs on all the latest in Croc News, birthdays and special days on campus, our PTSO campus events, and to spread our Project Wisdom quotes and Kindness Challenges each week. They also do monthly staff interviews to spotlight all of the amazing teachers and staff who contribute to our school daily. Thank you for being responsible for sharing all of the bright spots for our students and staff each day!
Also, a profound thank you to our PTSO for being such a positive and proactive force on our campus. They have hit the ground running this year with our many events on campus and fundraisers for our school. They have truly taken our Jamaica vision and helped reinforce it by, helping us be a team in providing a true atmosphere of teamwork and focus on family each year. Our Jamaica family is always stronger as a team; parents, teachers, students, and community working together to thrive!
Thank you to our staff and families for working so hard to support our students! We hope you have a happy and healthy winter break!
With Deepest Gratitude,
Mrs. Helart
Recognizing our Croc Leaders
Mrs. Stancil is a fourth grade teacher here at Jamaica Elementary and has been part of our Jamaica family for over 20 years. She loves teaching fourth grade because she loves the age and maturity of the students at this level and loves to watch them grow. Mrs. Stancil is a very caring teacher, and her students note that she always has a smile to share with them each day. She is always willing to step up when needed to support her students and her team. Mrs. Stancil was recognized in 2019 as the Jamaica Teacher of the Year, and is one of our teacher leaders on the Jamaica campus. She is a truly valued leader in our district and on the Jamaica campus!
Challenging their Minds and Hearts
Building a Community of Kindness and Compassion
Creating a Chain Reaction in our Schools
Being Responsible with Technology and Social Media
At this time more than ever, students are spending more time on their phones or computers and unsupervised use has an impact on students in more than just the home environment each day. More and more students are being negatively impacted on our school campuses due to text and social media messages that share inappropriate information, context, and/or contain negative messages toward or about their peers. Often, these interactions do not take place on campus, but can affect students when they get back to campus around their peers.
Below are just a few links to some articles that provide a bit of insight on how to stay informed and teach responsibility to our students to keep them digitally safe, and mentally healthy this year.
STUDENTS AND SOCIAL MEDIA
10 TECH TIPS FOR PARENTS
LEARNING STYLES
A Letter from our Nurse
Dear Jamaica Families,
It is with a sadness in my heart to inform you that I have decided to leave my position as the school nurse at Jamaica. It has been such a great experience that I will not forget. Many of the kids have tugged on my heartstrings over the past year, and of course the friendships I have made with our awesome team, will last a lifetime. I wish you all a wonderful holiday season and the best in the New Year.
Sincerely,
Nurse B
Picking up skills in Physical Education
MAKING MELODIES IN MUSIC CLASS
Counselors Corner
It’s almost the end of the year 2021, and our students have learned four out of twelve tools from our Social and Emotional Learning Curriculum - TOOLBOX. They have learned The Breathing Tool - “I calm myself and Check in”, The Quiet/Safe Place Tool “I remember my quiet/safe place” and The Listening Tool “I listen with my ears, eyes, and heart”. We are encouraging students to use these tools both at school and at home to help them regulate their emotions and get along with others. Your student will continue to bring Home Connection Letters and Activities for the tool that they are learning. Please ask your K-4th grade student/s to give you a short lesson on these.
Jamaica Events
School Site Council Representatives Wanted!
Thank you to our Jamaica Site Council for working hard to kick off the year. We are looking for additional members for our Site Council this year. Please join us at our next meeting on December 6 @ 2:45pm.We will be reviewing our current Site Based Goals and progress, as well as information on our new Counselor supports and Needs Survey as well.
PTSO Events this Fall/Winter
Thank you to our amazing PTSO families for kicking off our year so strong. We have had multiple events so far this year, and we look forward to many to come.
We look forward to our upcoming events in December and throughout the year. Please be sure to reach out to our PTSO email @ jamaicaptso@gmail.com if you want to get involved.