Dear JCMES Families,
October is a busy month at school and our newsletter this week is packed with lots of upcoming events!
This week at school all grade levels attended meetings with the principals and our behavior support staff. We discussed behavior expectations for our students in settings throughout their day including lunch, recess, hallways, classrooms, and the bus. Our behavior support team (Mr. Matt and Mr. Graham) also introduced our school wide behavior initiative for the year. Throughout each nine weeks we will focus as a school on a letter of the word JAKE. This first nine weeks is all about what it means to be a JCMES Jake. We explained that when you hear ‘I am a Jake’ that is something to be proud of! It means that you are a part of a school community where people care about you and each other. And because we care about our school we have high expectations for our students and behavior. We have attached the slideshow that was shown to students if you’d like to know more. Each student received a bookmark with our ‘JAKE’ slogan and the final slide is a picture of the giant letter J hanging outside the cafeteria. Over the next few days we will all be adding our names to the J for our first nine weeks focus on ‘I am a Jake!’. Student Presentation - I am a Jake!
Our first ever free swap is coming to JCMES on Saturday, November 2nd. A swap is a free yard sale. We’ll be taking donations of gently used clothing and household items until October 25th and then on Saturday, November 2nd from 8-11am the school will be open for families and the community to come and shop! All items are free! Drop off donations at school anytime until October 25th. Thanks to our counseling department and SCA for hosting this event!
Upcoming events:
Monday, October 14th - No School for Students; Teacher Professional Development Day
Tuesday, October 15th - PTO Dominos Spirit Night; the PTO receives a portion of the proceeds if you mention code DN6 when ordering online or by phone/in the store
Wednesday, October 16th - Unity Day; Wear orange! Read more about Unity Day and Bullying Prevention Month on the counselors’ newsletter: https://secure.smore.com/n/
Thursday, October 17th - Kindergarten Literacy Night 5:30-7:15pm - Kindergarten families, it’s not too late to sign up for literacy night! Come learn about ways to help your child at home with reading, enjoy free pizza, and some take home supplies! RSVP to your child’s kindergarten teacher.
Friday, October 18th - PTO Fundraiser at The Farm at Court Manor in New Market - Hay rides, corn maze and more from 3pm-dark! The PTO receives a portion of the ticket price (admission is $12 per person for activities and includes a pumpkin).
Save the date for these future events:
Join in the Autumn Fun with fellow Jakes this October! PTO has some fantastic events lined up for our school community, and we’d love your help to make them a success! Each event offers a chance to connect with other families while raising funds for our school. We also need volunteers to help make these events successful. Volunteering is easy, with many short shifts available. Use the PTO Link Tree to sign up— your time and support make all the difference! To find out more about what the PTO is working on, please visit the meeting minutes here: October PTO Minutes
Here’s what’s coming up with PTO:
10/18: Hay rides, corn maze, and more at The Farm at Court Manor, 3pm-Dark
The Round Barn, 13789 N Valley Pike, New Market, VA 22844
10/26: Fall Family Fun Day at JCMES, 9am-12pm
10/29: Spirit Night at McDonald's in New Market—$2 Happy Meals! 5-7pm
Monday, November 4: Parent Teacher Conferences from 12:00-7:00pm; watch for a sign up form coming home in the next few weeks. We would like for every parent to attend conferences if possible so that we can share report card information and beginning of the year data.
Monday, November 4: Fall Fundraiser Pick Up 12:00-7:00pm
Tuesday, November 5: No School; JCMES is used as an election polling location
Have a wonderful week!
Erin Branner, Principal erbranner@rockingham.k12.va.us
Chelsea Imbrescia, Assistant Principal cimbrescia@rockingham.k12.va.