Jerusalem Elementary School
JET FLASH
Week of August 21, 2023
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Communication is critical to making this school year a success for everyone. If you have any questions, comments, and/or concerns, please feel free to contact me at 419.836.6111 or at jstraka@oregoncs.org Please join ClassDojo for reminders/updates sent directly to your phone. For more information, contact your child’s teacher. We always look to continuously improve, so your feedback and involvement is always welcome. Follow us on Twitter @JerusalemJets
Upcoming Events:
August
21Individual Parent/student conferences
21 Kindergarten Bus Safety/Orientation
(am and pm)
22 Classes Begin, Grades K-4
23 Jet Launch 1-4 (Behavior Matrix)
24 Safety Drills
25 Focus 3 Kickoff
28 JPG Welcome Meeting, 6:00 p.m. (IP)
September
1 Jog-A-Thon JPG Fundraiser Kickoff
4 Labor Day, No School
6-7 Bus Safety (evacuation drills)
8 Family Time, 2:30-3:20 pm
12 Fall Pictures
15 K- Muffins and Me Event
18 Staff PD Day
22 Jog-A-Thon
24 Jerusalem Car Show
29 Jog-A-Thon Awards Assembly
Important Information and Updates:
From Mr. Straka:
1st Day of Instruction for Students:
2023-2024 Calendars:
Student/Parent Handbooks:
Staff Changes:
Attention Incoming Kindergarten Parents:
If you took a picture of your child next to their sign and would like to share it with us, please send it in an email to Mrs. Hower, shower@oregoncs.org. We are hoping to display these pics at school :-)
Application for Free/Reduced Breakfast and Lunch:
All free and reduced applications will expire on Monday October 3, 2023. New applications have to be signed and dated after July 1, 2023 to be valid. New applications are available on-line through the link below. Paper applications will be available at the main office.
Meal pricing will be Breakfast: $2.00, Lunch: $3.00. Milk is $.50.
https://www.oregoncityschools.org/FoodService-StudentNutrition.aspx
Lunch Menu:
Kindergarten Orientation and Bus Safety:
Kindergarten Orientation and Bus Safety is scheduled for Monday, August 21st. You can choose to attend the 9:00 am session, or the 1:00 pm session. Students are expected to attend with their parents/guardians. More information will be provided from your child’s teacher.
Take a look at the Bus Safety Presentation created by Officer Jeff.
Individual Parent/Student Conferences:
Teachers will be contacting parents to schedule individual student/parent/teacher conferences in the coming days. These will take place on August 17th, 18th, and 21st for grades 1-4. Kindergarten conferences will be scheduled for August 17th-18th due to Kindergarten orientation and bus safety scheduled for August 21st. These conferences are very important, and we hope you are able to attend. Please enter through the main office when you arrive.
Jerusalem Community Closet
Kindergarten Screening:
Vision and Speech Screenings can be completed after the Individual Parent/Student Conferences on August 17th and 18th. If you are not able to have your child’s screening completed after their conference, it will be done once the school year begins.
Back to School Picture Opportunity!
Jerusalem Spirit Wear:
The Jerusalem Parents Group has partnered with 1st Place Spiritwear to offer online shopping year round.
https://1stplacespiritwear.com/schools/OH/Curtice/Jerusalem+Elementary+School
Jerusalem Parents Group (JPG)
JPG Meetings 2023-2024 School Year:
Monday, August 24, 2023: 6:00 pm (In Person)
Monday, October 2, 2023: 6:00 pm (In Person)
Wednesday, November 1, 2023: 6:00 pm (In Person)
Monday, December 4, 2023: 7:00 pm (Zoom)
Monday, February 12, 2024: 7:00 pm (Zoom)
Monday, March 4, 2024: 6:00 pm (In Person)
Wednesday, May 1, 2024: 6:00 pm (In Person)
ClassDojo:
ClassDojo is a communication app for the classroom. It connects teachers, parents, and students who use it to share photos, videos, and messages through the school day. They use ClassDojo to work together as a team, share in the classroom experience, and bring big ideas to life in their classrooms and homes. Jerusalem teachers may be using ClassDojo in a variety of ways within their classroom throughout the school year. Not all teachers are currently using this tool within their classroom at this time, as it is their choice. Some teachers will continue to communicate with parents through email, phone, newsletters, etc. However, we encourage you to sign up for ClassDojo to receive important building updates/messages from Mr. Straka. Information on signing up for ClassDojo will be sent home from your child’s teacher.
Cell Phones and other electronic devices:
Just a reminder that all cell phones, smartwatches, and other personal electronic devices must be turned off and placed in the student’s lockers upon arriving at school. These devices are often a distraction to students, and are not permitted to be with students during the day. Thanks for your cooperation!
From the Office:
Parent pickup at the end of the day. All calls should be made by 3:00 and no later. This will give the teacher time to check messages and drastically reduce the possibility of the student being in the wrong line. Thank you for your understanding.
Deliveries for Students:
Jerusalem Elementary has implemented a system for items to be delivered to students once the day begins. Please leave items on the table outside the office door, complete the delivery log, and notify the secretary of your delivery. Thanks for your cooperation!
School Supplies:
This year, we have decided to purchase a variety of school supplies for each classroom to start the year. This allowed us to decrease the number of items that parents are responsible for purchasing.
For a list of school supplies for each grade level, click here.
Morning Drop-Off Routine:
Please see the following important information involving the morning drop-off routine for students. Students will not be permitted to enter the building until 8:50 am. Please do not let your child(ren) exit the vehicle until the main entrance doors are opened. Thanks for your cooperation!
Please drive slowly.
Please drop off your student(s) between the Safety Markers (plastic figures with flags). Do not drop off outside of this zone.
Please stay in the car drop-off line until your child(ren) exits the vehicle. Do not drive around other vehicles to move ahead in line, or to exit the lot.
Please have any and all children in your vehicle exit on the building/driver side of the vehicle.
Do not park in the drop off line. We need to keep the traffic moving. It is preferred that students are dropped off in the identified zone, rather than walked into the building. If you need to enter the building for an appointment you must park your vehicle in a parking space, and carefully walk your child(ren) into the building.
Thank you for following these procedures, as we all work together to make the arrival process safe for students, parents, and staff.
Parent Pick Up Cards:
Student Dismissal:
To help with the flow of traffic, parent pick-up students will be dismissed to the main entrance beginning at 3:30 pm. Please be sure to have your pick-up card out, and your child(ren)’s card attached to their book bag in a visible location. Please be patient with this process. If you don’t have a parent pick-up card, you will be asked to enter the office and provide your ID.
Pick up cards will be available to be signed out on the 17th, 18th and 21st. Please stop in the office.
For your child(ren)'s safety, we will only release students to parents/guardians with matching pick-up cards that are waiting in the lobby.
From Officer Jeff:
From Nurse Libbi:
Grade Level and Team Updates:
Kindergarten- We can’t wait to see everyone on Monday for orientation, remember you can choose to come at either 9:00 AM or 1:00 PM. You will get to do bus safety with your child and then meet with the teacher while the students learn about playground safety. We are very excited to finally have the students in the building on Tuesday! It is going to be a great year!
1st Grade- Welcome back to school!! We want to thank everyone for coming in to meet with us! Monday is the last “Meet the Teacher” day and then school starts Tuesday, August 22! If you didn’t get the chance to bring in school supplies already, please send them with your child to school. If you need to drop them off at the office, just label a bag with your child’s name and let your teacher know so we can grab it. The first week back to school, our 1st graders will be practicing school rules, classroom behavior, and getting to know their classmates. We’ll be reading “Schools First Day of School” By Adam Rex to review letters and sounds from last year. In math, we’ll begin addition and subtraction situations in Chapter 1 and spelling will begin August 28.
2nd Grade- Thank you to all the parents and students who attended Back to School Conferences this week! We enjoyed meeting everyone and having the opportunity to get to know your child! We look forward to meeting with the rest of our students and families on Monday! If your child was unable to bring their school supplies to conferences, please send the supplies with your child on the first day of school, thank you! Please keep in mind your child can bring a healthy snack to enjoy during snack time each morning. Your child may also want to bring a water bottle (no screw caps please) to have throughout the day. We look forward to seeing all the students in school on Tuesday! Have a wonderful weekend!
3rd Grade- Welcome back to a new school year! It was nice to meet you at our Back to School Conferences these last three days. We are excited to see all of our students on Tuesday, August 22nd. If you did not send in your child’s school supplies at your conference, please have your student bring his/her school supplies the first day of school. We are looking forward to a fantastic 3rd grade year!
4th Grade- We are ready for a wonderful school year! Thanks for meeting and greeting us at conferences this week and next! We will see everyone for the first day of school on Tuesday, August 22. Your support is vital, so please reach out if you need us! Check out all things fourth grade here: https://wakelet.com/wake/IwrlDNuctzFbR3XPjf8Js
Physical Education with Mr. Allen- Next week in PE, we will review the rules and expectations in the gymnasium during class. We will learn our new squad spots and do a few evade activities to start the new year strong. Have a great weekend! See you all on Tuesday
Music with Mrs. Reinhart- It was nice to see you as you visited Jerusalem and exciting to meet our new Kindergarten students. We will start with a review from last year and then begin working on some new music skills. See you soon!
STEAM with Mrs. Minnick- Welcome back Jets! I look forward to seeing you all in STEAM /Library next week!
Character Lessons with Mrs. Hower- I am so excited to start the 23-24 school year! I hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing summer break. My classroom character lessons will start in September. I will introduce myself to the incoming kindergarten students. September's theme of the month is RESPECT, and word of the month is INTEGRITY.
POP TABS:
As we have done in the past, we are collecting POP tabs for the Ronald McDonald House. These get cashed in for money for their food program. It may not seem like anything to us as we throw them in the recycling bin, but it does have weight and value to them. Just have your child turn them into the office and we will deliver them to the Ronald McDonald House.
Box Tops for Education
Local stores that you can scan receipts and Jerusalem will get credit for any items that qualifies.... COSTCO, Kroger, WalMart and Meijer. Help us earn money while you are shopping. Thank you.
KROGER COMMUNITY REWARDS:
Did you know that you can earn money for Jerusalem Elementary School by shopping at Kroger?? All you need to do is sign up at the website below, and present your Kroger Plus Card when checking out! All money that we raise is used for the students in the form of assemblies, rewards, and much more. Kroger earnings for 5/1/23 to 7/31/23 with 123 households ..... $607.86
CLOTHES BIN UPDATE:
Did you know that JERUSALEM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL and Clothes Bin® have partnered to collect and recycle old clothing, shoes and textiles? So, please do not throw them away! Just place the items in the green recycling bin in our parking lot. Every pound of recycled items supports our school!
Oregon Recreation Department Info:
The following link will direct you to information from the Oregon Rec Dept. https://www.oregonohiorec.com/
See below for the attached flyer from the Oregon Rec and upcoming activities.
Jerusalem’s Facebook Page:
Jerusalem Elementary is on Twitter:
Jerusalem’s Twitter account is now active. Please follow us @JerusalemJets to see some of the great things happening at Jerusalem Elementary!
OCS FLYER Distribution Center:
Oregon City Schools has a Flyer Distribution Center with the purpose of communicating school and community information in a centralized location. Many of the flyers for district-wide and non-OCS events and activities you might normally find in this newsletter, will now be posted on this centralized site. Please visit the site here:
https://www.oregoncityschools.org/PublicationsFlyerDistributionCenter.asp
Student of the Month Information
The Jerusalem Elementary School Student of the Month program is for those students who continuously do the right thing. The program is based on qualities such as character, leadership, and citizenship. This is not based solely on academics. The student of the month is a diligent student, completes his/her assignments on time, shows a strong effort to learn subjects to the best of their ability, is prepared for class, and has good classroom participation.
The student of the month demonstrates excellent behavior in and out of the classroom, is well mannered, and respectful to both peers and adults. The student of the month displays excellent citizenship by working together with classmates in a cooperative attitude. Lastly, the student of the month demonstrates character through his/her compassion, honesty, trustworthiness, responsibility, optimism, and loyalty by helping to create a positive school environment.
Each classroom will acknowledge one student per month to be the Student of the Month. Nominations will be done by the classroom teacher(s) and other staff members within the building. Teachers are encouraged to use the following guidelines:
RESPECTFUL
Honest, trustworthy, and respectful
Polite and respectful towards other students, staff, volunteers and all guests and visitors.
Uses kind and positive words
Listens to the speaker (teacher or peer)
Be respectful to themselves, each other, their school and their community
RESPONSIBLE
Follows directions and gives 100% of their best effort in class.
Student is a positive role model by example.
They are actively engaged in their learning.
Student follows class and school rules.
READY
Comes to school prepared and ready to learn.
Uses class time wisely and completes class work in a timely manner.
Student participates and puts forth good effort in all areas
Student arrives to school daily and on time
Each nominated student will be acknowledged at the end of the month by enjoying pizza and juice with Mr. Straka, and a special prize will be given. Also, look for the names of these students to be displayed on our Student of the Month bulletin board! Acknowledgement days will take place on the last Friday of the month, unless otherwise specified.
Have a great week!
About Us
Email: jstraka@oregoncs.org
Website: https://www.oregoncityschools.org/jerusalemelementary_home.aspx
Location: 535 South Yondota Road, Curtice, OH, USA
Phone: (419) 836-6111
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JerusalemElementarySchool
Twitter: @JerusalemJets