Jaguar News

Dear Jefferson Families and Friends!

Welcome back to Camp Learn-A-Lot….Where Your Adventure Begins!

NO SCHOOL

The next two Fridays, October 14 and October 21, 2022, NO SCHOOL! Next Friday is a Professional Development Day for all NPPSD certified staff. The 21st is a day off after hosting Parent Teacher Conferences.

Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent Teacher Conferences will be Wednesday, October 19, and Thursday October 20, 2022, from 4:00-8:00. Our teachers have scheduled those for you and you will be getting a note to confirm the times we have set. If your time does not work, please call the Jefferson Office and we will see what other scheduled times are available 308-535-7136.

Bingo For Books and Book Fair

We will be hosting our first Bingo For Books on Tuesday, October 18 from 6:00-7:00pm. This is a FREE event and every child walks away with at least one book (usually a couple). We will also have some older Library books in the hallway to take for free! After Bingo for Books, we will open the BOOK FAIR! It will be open for an hour following Bingo For Books from 7:00-8:00. It will also be open during Parent Teacher Conferences on Wednesday and Thursday nights from 4:00-8:00pm.

PTO (Parent Teacher Organization)

Our PTO meetings are always the first Tuesday of the month (with a couple of exceptions like the January meeting will be held the 10th-2nd Tuesday) at 6:00pm in the Jefferson School Library. Meetings usually last no more than 30 minutes, however, sometimes there are exceptions. This year we are fundraising for some playground equipment. We will be doing a ton of fundraisers. They can get overwhelming and crazy. Please do not feel obligated to participate in all of them unless you want to or are able to. The bottom line is that we are doing this for all of our students now and in the future.

Change Wars was our first one, it brought in over $2,000 just for Jefferson School. We received 2nd place in the District! Great job!!!!

School Store has brought in around $500 for us already. We have roughly around $3,000 in our fund and haven’t done much.

Victoria Kinghorn, one of our parents, is also running a campaign for Scentsy sales. Please scan the attached QR code. Victoria is giving 20% of ALL sales back to our fund. Thank you Victoria. This will end October 20. If you need some good smelling holiday gifts, here you go and it helps us out, too.

Our PTO is active and needs more members to help out from time to time. Please join the organization. Come to a meeting the 1st Tuesday of the month at 6:00pm.

Drop-off & Pick-up

Just a reminder that we do not have supervision on the playground in the morning until 7:30am. We encourage you NOT to drop off students before then. Also, we ask that you remind your students to use the crosswalks for their own safety. Drivers are not always looking for kids crossing the street in the middle of the street, rather they expect to see them at crosswalks and corners. Also, please be aware of the crosswalks at the end of the day and try not to block those for student safety. The southeast corner (Silber and 2nd) will be a little congested at the end of the day as we are asking parents to pick up Kindergarten and 1st Grade students at the drive-thru on the south side.

We have added one class to the area since last year (3 first grade classes last year; 2 first grade and 2 kindergarten classes this year). Please be patient. Once the bell rings at 3:20 it only takes us 7-9 minutes to get nearly 100 students through that drive-thru area. It moves pretty quickly. After 3:30, if there are any students that have not been picked up we take them through the building to the front door and they can be picked up there.

Please drive safely, look out for walkers, and follow safe driving rules. There has been some concern of people blocking the street because they are waiting. There was an officer at school this week monitoring the situation. She and I visited about it and she was not overly concerned as the congestion clears up quickly after the bell rings. She did ask a few parents to drive around the block, but overall, it runs pretty smoothly.

If you have questions, please call us at (308) 535-7136.

DROP OFF/WALKING CLUB/PICK-UP

All students, except Preschool, may be dropped off on the East side of Jefferson (2nd Street, Silber, & 3rd Street). ALL students K-5 will participate in the Walking Club this year upon being dropped off. If the weather is bad, we will bring ALL students inside for Walking Club in the gym. We will have staff on the blacktop of our playground at 7:30. Students arriving before 7:50 are expected to go to the blacktop and walk with their friends until the bell rings. When the bell rings students line up by class and their teachers will greet them and walk them into the building. If your student arrives after 7:50, they may be dropped off out front (3rd Street) on the north side. Your student will be counted tardy if they arrive after 8:05.

Preschool students drop off on the south side and check-in with the app.

Pick-up at the end of the day (3:20) will take place at various locations around the school depending on your student’s grade:

Preschool will pick up outside of the preschool building on the south side (2nd Street).

Kindergarten will be dismissed out of the drive-thru door on the south side (2nd Street). Please stay in your vehicle and a staff member will check with you to ensure your child gets in the correct vehicle.

1st Grade will dismiss out of the drive-thru door on the south side (2nd Street). Please stay in your vehicle and a staff member will check with you to ensure your child gets in the correct vehicle.

Please stay in your vehicle and pull as far forward as you can. We have space for four vehicles to load at a time. Our staff will help to direct you and will communicate to ensure we get your students to you as quickly and as safely as possible.

2nd Grade will dismiss out of the front door (3rd Street).

3rd Grade will dismiss out of the northwest side of the building and will proceed to the northwest corner of the school (Cottonwood and 3rd Street) for pick-up.

4th Grade will be dismissed out of the southwest corner and will be picked up on the southwest corner of the school (Cottonwood and 2nd Street).

5th Grade will dismiss out of the south doors facing 2nd Street will be dismissed out of the southwest corner and will be picked up on the southwest corner of the school (Cottonwood and 2nd Street).

Crosswalks

Please use crosswalks with your students. We have staff posted at all corners and out front at the crosswalks with stop signs to help you and your student to be safe. Please help us to teach safety to your students. Our streets around Jefferson Elementary get very busy and sometimes chaotic. Visibility can be difficult with the traffic and trees surrounding Jefferson. Please help us even if it isn’t as quick or convenient for you.

North Platte High School Homecoming Parade

If you hadn’t heard, we were the Champions of the Homecoming Parade! Thanks for all of the great support and to those who joined us in the parade. So much fun! We have made some notes about how to make it better for everyone next year. You know we have to defend our title next year!

Please support your student and his/her teacher by checking backpacks for important information, reading with your student often. We all have the same goal, to educate your child and to prepare him/her for life. I thank you in advance for your support, cooperation, and help.

Please contact me here at school: (308) 535-7136 OR jellsworth@nppsd.org if you have any questions or comments, or if there is anything else I can assist you with.

Mr. Jeffrey W. Ellsworth, Principal

“Mr. E”