JOHNSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

THUNDERBIRD NEWS

P R I N C I P A L - C H E R Y L G O M E Z , A S S I T A N T P R I N C I P A L – S H E R R I E G A L L E G O S

January 2018

Testing Update 2

Spelling Bee Participants 3

Physical Education 4

Music 5

Library 6

Health News 7

Counselors Corner 8

Inside this issue:

JANUARY 2018

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

1 2 3 4 5

NO SCHOOL-Winter Break

8

*NO SCHOOL*

9

*Student Council

3:10-4:00

10

11

*Spelling Bee

12

*Boys to Men 3:30-

5:00

15

*NO SCHOOL* Martin Luther King Jr.

16

17

*PSCC Meeting 5:30-

6:00

*PTC Meeting

6:00PM

18 19

*Boys to Men 3:30-

5:00

22

23 24 25 26

*Boys to Men 3:30-

5:00

29 30 31

*IMPORTANT INFORMATION*

Pickup/Bus Plan Changes Please revisit end of the day plans with your child each day so they know what

their plan is. When necessary, all end of the day changes for student pickup or

bus changes need to be called into the front office no later than 2:30pm (1:30

on Wednesdays.)

“Education takes place in the combination of the home, the

community, the school and the receptive mind.” - Harry Edwards

Testing Update

January

(K-5th) January 16th—31st ACCESS testing for ELA (English

Language Learners)

February

(K-5th) February 1st—28th iReady-Reading and Math

March

(4th & 5th) March 19th—30th CMAS (Colorado Measures of

Academic Success) ELA and Math

April

(3rd Grade) April 9th - 27th CMAS - ELA and Math

(5th Grade) April 9th - 27th CMAS - Science

Page 2

School Hours:

First Bell 7:50Am

Tardy Bell 7:55AM

Dismissal Bell 3:05PM

Wednesday times for K-5th 7:50AM-

2:10PM

Brianna Garcia Clorinda Townsend

Jessica Vazquez Zaina Bowen

Gretchen Brumley Asher Giles

Walter Talamantes Harley Patrick

Marek Jaramillo Avery Gill

Colin Pierce Chassity Hallacy

Yasmin Suarez Brianna Carlton

Anika Harris Brooklyn Deines

Misty Castle Omar Marquez

CJ Rocco Evelen Baltazar

Rylan Navarrette Atraya Kelly

Aloera MacFarlane Olivia Estrada

Manny Vargas Luisa Rojo-Castro

Michael Garcia Annabelle Sanburg

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Good luck to our 2018 Spelling Bee Finalist!

Thursday, January 11th at 9:00am in the Gym.

As the semester begins we will start our jump rope unit in P.E. The weather will still be cold and will keep us inside most of the time. At time when is warms up there is a possibility of us doing outdoor activities as well. We continue to encour-age you to have your children dress appropriately on days that they have P.E. This would include them wearing the correct footwear like tennis shoes and wearing the proper attire that will not restrict them from participating In physical activity. The past several weeks in P.E. we have been doing a speed stacking unit. This has helped the students to increase their hand/eye coordination. They where not as-sessed on how fast they could stack the cups but more so on the proper hand placement and how to correctly stack the cups. With practice the speed at which they stack the cups will increase. The last week of the 2nd quarter we played Christmas games like Elves Sled, Rudolphs Treasure, and Snowman Blitz. These were up tempo, fun games for the kids and also helped them learn to work as a team. As we move into our jump rope unit it would be a great opportunity for your kids to practice at home if they have the chance to. The more they do a particular jump rope skill, the better that will become at it. We will learn several different skills with the jump rope. The students will also be participating in variety of warm up games apart from jump roping. Again if your children were able to jump rope at home that would be a great indoor activity for them to do while it is cold out-side during this winter season. Thank you, Mr. Hilton and Mr. Hines

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I would like to introduce myself as the new music educator at Johnson Elementary School. I have 10 years of music education experience. I taught elementary music in California for five years before relocating to Montrose, I have been teaching here in the area for almost five years as well. Our music classroom is focused on helping your child become tuneful, beatful and art-ful. The curriculum I use for K-1 is called First Steps in Music by John Feierabend. The curriculum is based on early childhood research related to the development of: music intelligence, singing skills, sensitivity to the beat and beat groups, expressive move-ment, musical memory, preferences and neurological connections. As a parent you can encourage musical development in your child by simply asking them to sing songs we have learned in class or even go a step further and have them teach you the song! Curriculum in Second through Fifth grade classes will be focused around Conversa-tional Solfege, another curriculum developed by John Feierabend. Conversational Solfege is a reading curriculum that focuses on students learning with their ears before learning with their eyes. Conversational Solfege is a process which ensures the "music" is learned and aurally understood first and then later bonded to the notation. A typical class will consist of singing, folk dancing, movement to music as well as instrumenta-tion. I look forward to working with each student at Johnson Elementary School in 2018! Feel free to contact me at meghan.baker@mcsd.org or call me at 970-249-2584 ext. 3146. Warm Regards, Meghan Baker

Page 5

Check It Out! What’s Up at the Library

January 2018

GIVING TREE: I am always overwhelmed with the generosity of our

Johnson students! The 561 pounds of food was donated to Sharing Min-

istries to benefit many families in our community! Thank you all for

your participation!

GENTLY USED STUFFED ANIMALS: Students can cuddle with a

stuffed animal during our library’s reading time. If you have any gently

used stuffed animals to donate to the library, it would be greatly appre-

ciated.

OVERDUE BOOKS: Many overdue books were turned in before our

winter break. Please help our students look for library books at home

that are still missing or overdue.

VOLUNTEERS: Volunteers are always greatly appreciated. Help proc-

essing new books (entering in computer and labeling) is especially

needed at this time. Please contact me at anne.reynolds@mcsd.org if

you can help.

– Anne Reynolds

Johnson Elementary Librarian

Page 6

MCSD Illness Policy Dear JES Families, As we move further into winter, it is increasingly important to understand and follow the MCSD Illness Policy. Adherence to this policy ensures a safe and healthy environ-ment for our students and staff. Please keep your child home if they exhibit the fol-lowing: DIARRHEA - Frequent, loose or watery stools compared to child’s normal ones that are not caused by food or medicine are considered signs of illness and the child should not attend school until symptoms have resolved. FEVER – A child with a temperature over 100.0°F must be kept home. The child MAY NOT return to school until he/she has been fever free for 24 hours WITHOUT the use of a fever-reducing medication. “FLU-LIKE” SYMPTOMS – A child with a fever over 100°F with a cough or sore throat should stay home. Other flu symptoms can include tiredness, body aches, vomiting, and diarrhea.

RESPIRATORY OR COLD SYMPTOMS - Keep the child home if symptoms are severe. This includes fever and the child is not acting normally and/or has trouble breathing. VOMITING - Throwing up two or more times in 24 hours is considered illness. The child must stay home until vomiting stops or a doctor says it is not contagious. CONJUNCTIVITIS (PINK EYE) - Children don’t need to stay home unless the child has a fever or behavioral changes. Call the doctor for diagnosis and possible treatment. STREP THROAT – The child must stay home for 24 hours after starting antibiotics and the child is able to take part in usual activities. These are just a few of the common childhood illnesses that require children to stay home from school. For a comprehensive list, please visit the MCSD Health Services page on the MCSD website. Children requiring medication at school need permission from a doctor. Please call 249-2584 and ask to speak with the health tech if you have any questions. Thank you! Misty Whitcomb JES Health Tech

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Page 8

5 Ways to Spend Time with your Kids When You have no Time

Many children will let you know in their own “subtle” ways if they feel that you are not giving them the attention that

they need. Some will withdraw while others will “act out.” You might see it when a child gives “lip” to a teacher, fights

with another classmate or resorts back to behaviors that once got your attention like increased crying, throwing tantrums

or even bed-wetting. This is a way to capture your attention, albeit often negative, so that they can enjoy “focused” time

with you.

1. One-on-one time: Alone time with your child is best when you are doing something you both enjoy. Marking your

dates down on a calendar is a great idea and shows your children you make this time a priority.

2. Integrate Together Time into Your Daily Schedule: Children love to help. Do you have a mailing to do? Have them

put the stamps on the envelopes. Need to go shopping?

3. Phantom Time: Don’t have a moment to spare until about 3 a.m.? You can still let your children know that you care.

Write notes and drop them into their lunch boxes. Be creative!

4. Break time: Everyone is busy. Some parents are busier than others. Slide in a “break time” so that you and your chil-

dren can spend 15 minutes or a half hour together. Set a timer if you need to so that everyone knows when “break time”

starts and finishes. Give warnings to your children when 2 minutes are left so that it doesn’t come as a surprise.

Spending time with your children provides them with opportunities to learn and to be heard. Most of all, it provides you

and your children with time to connect. It’s these connections that make your children feel loved. So leave the beds un-

stripped for another few minutes and put the coffee on an automatic timer. Take those extra moments to spend with your

children. When you look back, you will be thankful for the memories.

Click on this heartwarming video to see a video that drives this point home!

http://play.simpletruths.com/movie/love-is-spelled-time/

Please join us for a Positive School Culture Committee meeting on January 17th from 5:30-6:00.