Jefferson Journal

Hello Ranger Families,

It is great to have everyone back in the building! While snow days are always a fun winter surprise, we know our students truly thrive when they are in their regular school routine. We are looking forward to a stretch of consistent weeks where our Rangers can settle back into their classroom projects and daily learning without the weather interruptions.

Even though February can be a bit gray outside, we have plenty of bright spots on our calendar. We have planned several fun events and activities throughout the month to give the students something special to look forward to. We love finding ways to keep the school day exciting and engaging during these mid-winter weeks!

Be sure to check the dates below so you don't miss out on the upcoming fun. Thank you for your flexibility and for helping your children get back into their school groove!

Warmly,

Mrs. Platt & Mr. Eberly

35980 Lakeshore Blvd. Eastlake, OH 44095

Office Email: tj.office@weschools.org

Main Office Line: 440-942-7244

Attendance Line: 855-612-7207 (24 Hours)

Transportation Department: 440-975-3736

• Mrs. Candace Platt, Principal
• Mr. David Eberly, Assistant Principal
• Mrs. Lori Dugger, Principal's Secretary
• Mrs. Wendy Flick, Administrative Secretary
• Mrs. Jacque Sparent, Family Liaison
• Ms. Katie Klemencic, School Nurse
• Ms. Priscilla Drewery, Health Aide

• 2/11- PTO Meeting- 3:10 PM
• 2/11- Sweetheart Dance Ticket Purchase Deadline
• 2/16- No School- Presidents' Day
• 2/19- Skating Party- 6-8:30 PM
• 2/19- Texas Roadhouse Dine to Donate Night
• 2/20- Sweetheart Dance- 6:30-8:30 PM
• 2/23- No School for Students- Professional Development Day
• 2/24- 3rd Grade Music Program- 7 PM at Jefferson Elementary
• 2/24- One School, One Theme: Rangers are Resilient! Kicks Off
• 2/24-3/6- Read-A-Thon Fundraiser- More details to come!

• Our classroom Valentine's Day Parties are coming up on Friday, 2/13!
• Many classrooms are still in need of volunteers. The volunteer spots are now open to anyone, even if they have already volunteered at a party this year. If you can help out, please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090C4AABAE2AA5FB6-58585267-2026#/
• If you are volunteering and plan to take your child or children home with you after, please fill out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfqemxcJ5XlWy0Cu3-UnAoKC3HEpXYiBFv-Fm_UYgelXJKceg/viewform?usp=send_form
• PTO covers all the food and drinks for the parties, which allows us to ensure that student allergies and dietary restrictions are taken into account.
  
• Please do not send in any candy or food items to the parties.
  
• When you are shopping for valentines for your child's class, please be sure that you are choosing cards that do not come with any candy or food items. Please choose just cards alone or if you would like to find ones that come with something extra- make sure they are non-food/candy items such as pencils, stickers, etc. We appreciate your help with this! Please contact your child's teacher with any questions.
• If you are in need of assistance with getting your child valentines to hand out to their class, please contact jacque.sparent@weschools.org and we can help.

• Each grade level is collecting items to create a raffle basket for our Sweetheart Dance. Please see the grade level themes below. If you can send in any new items to contribute to the baskets, please contact your child's teacher.
• Thank you for your help!
• K- Gardening AND Baking
• 1st- Arts & Crafts
• 2nd- Spa Day
• 3rd- Game Night
• 4th- Board Game
• 5th- Sports Fan

This year we are going to be celebrating One School, One Theme: Rangers are Resilient! From 2/24-3/6, our students will be exploring what it means to bounce back, stay strong, and grow through challenges.

You're Invited! We are looking for family members to visit our library as Guest Readers. We’ll provide a great book focused on resilience for you to read aloud, and we invite you to briefly share a "real-life" moment where you had to be resilient, too. Your stories help bring this important lesson to life!

Details:

• What: Read a provided book and share a personal connection.

• Theme: Resilience (Overcoming obstacles and persistence).

• When: Please select a time slot below that works for you: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904094EAFAA2CA7FA7-62066500-guest

Please reach out to candace.platt@weschools.org with any questions. Thank you for your participation!

In Ohio, we know that the weather can change at a moment's notice! Please be sure that your child is dressed appropriately for the changing temperature. We go outside for arrival, dismissal, and recess any time that the wind chill is 20 degrees or above. Winter coats, hats, gloves, and boots are recommended. If you are in need of assistance providing winter weather gear for your child or children, please fill out THIS form and we will try to help.

In December we were focusing on the "D" in our PRIDE Promise which is "Dedicated". Students who exemplified this characteristic were invited to a Party with the Principals at the beginning of January. We had snacks, games, and play time on the playground to recognize these students. In December, we are focusing on "Excellence" and will celebrate with those students at the beginning of February.

Congratulations to the following students for being "Dedicated":

• Kindergarten: Eddy Reed, Mackenzee Lehtonen, Oliver Bartela
• 1st Grade: Kaliyah Huffaker, Eddie McDowell, Dejonte Watkins, Austin Weiss, Roman Brown, Chasity McClain
• 2nd Grade: Carter Scalese, Sofia Scalese ,Milo Nahra
• 3rd Grade: Skylar Sansom, Tristan Thomas, Tim Willis, Lance Hambrick
• 4th Grade: Katelyn Newberry, Adelaide Zontini, Evan Veres, Elivia Cantrell
• 5th Grade: Grayson Gunnoe, Kian Anderson, Jaxon Wisen

Attendance Matters! Every week we award the homeroom with the best attendance from the week before with our attendance trophy! They get to have it (and bragging rights!) for the week until they pass it to the next winners. Any homeroom that wins three times in a grading period will get a special prize.

Congratulations to our winners: Mrs. Lane's Class, Miss Henrich's Class, and Mrs. Conley's Class

Students are nominated by our staff members for showing PRIDE and kindness and recognized weekly. Keep up the great work!

We have a limited number of new Jefferson Rangers t-shirts left. Click the button below to order and we will send them home with your student immediately. Please be sure to type the student’s first and last name when ordering.

Welcome to the 2025-26 school year! We have a lot of fun things planned this year, but first get to know the PTO!

President: Diana Warner
Vice President: Marcia Gamiere
Secretary: Katie Pavlick
Treasurer: Melissa Grinstead

Contact: jefferson.pto01@gmail.com

We have a very active PTO and we are always looking for more people to get involved to help create fun, engaging, and memorable experiences for our students and families! You are already a member of the PTO by having a child attend our school. There are no membership fees and requirements- plan to attend a meeting!

PTO typically meets on the third Tuesday of every month at 3:10 PM at Jefferson Elementary. Your child can stay after school to have a snack and do a fun activity with one of our staff members while you attend our meeting! The meetings are typically under an hour each time. You can come to a meeting or two or attend every one throughout the year. We cannot wait to meet you!

If you would like your child to stay after school so you can attend our next meeting, please fill out the form below. Thank you!

If you are able to help out at the Sweetheart Dance this year, we could use some extra hands! Look at our sign up and see if there is anything you would like to help with! We greatly appreciate your help in making this dance amazing for our students!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090C4AABAE2AA5FB6-61954423-sweeteart#/

• Students may not pass out birthday invitations. If the family is having a party and wants to invite the entire class, the parent may contact the teacher and request for the teacher to pass the invitations out to all students in the class. NO FOOD BIRTHDAY TREATS MAY BE SENT IN TO SCHOOL THROUGH THE STUDENT OR DROPPED OFF IN THE OFFICE. We will contact the family to pick these up. Thank you for your cooperation!

• Outside Food Deliveries are Prohibited (Uber Eats, GrubHub, etc). If a student forgets a lunch, and the family can’t drop one off prior to the student lunch period, we will provide them with a school lunch.

• Student cell phones must be turned off and stored in student backpacks. Students may not have their cell phones in their pockets (pants, sweatshirts, jackets etc). Some bus drivers allow kids to use their phones on the bus, but they should not be walking in or out of school with them in their hands/pockets.
• Offense #1 - Staff Member reminds the student to turn the phone off and put it in their backpack (notify classroom teacher for tracking purposes).
  • Classroom teacher discretion whether to notify parents or not.
• ​​​Offense #2 - Staff Member takes the student’s phone and keeps it in their possession (or gives it to the classroom teacher to keep in their possession) until the end of the school day.
  • Classroom teacher will notify parents of the 2nd offense and warn about the consequences of a third offense.
• Offense #3 - Staff Member notifies the classroom teacher and brings the student’s cell phone to the office.
• Principal or Assistant Principal calls home and informs parents that the phone will remain in the office until picked up by the parent.

• Smart watches may only be used to tell time. If students are using them for communication or gaming purposes, they will follow the same rules above stated for cell phones.

  Students are not allowed to have their personal headphones (airpods, earbuds) during class time (unless approved by teacher for use), recess, or during ENCORE classes. Unauthorized use of these items will result in the above stated processes for cell phones and smart watches.

• Students should not bring their own toys, balls, or electronics to school and may not bring them out to recess. If they do bring them to school (for before/after school use), this is at their own risk, and they need to be kept in the student’s backpack. The school is NOT responsible for lost or stolen items.

• Students may wear hoodies inside the school, but they must keep their hoods down at all times. Having hoods up makes it difficult to identify students and their actions, and often leads to academic disengagement. Hats are not permitted inside the school unless it is a designated “hat day”.