Jaguar Tracks

Dear Jaguar Families!

It is hard to believe that this was our first full week of school as it feels like we so quickly reacclimatized to our routines. For many of our students, this is their first time ever in school, others, their first time at JE representing the home of the Jaguars!

It was so wonderful to see you at Open House! It is always a nice to start the school year with our family community. Our partnership is what makes our student's learning experience the best it can be. This year, we have a school focus of learning about ways to best support our diverse population--with a focus on both cultural and neurodiversity.

We are living in an age where social media and social pressures are more heightened than ever-- to be the best student, athlete, have the most friends, have the latest trend or even the coolest school lunch. Part of thriving in this day and age is embracing all that we are--inclusive of our imperfections! We are all perfectly imperfect. Our students listened to the read aloud "The Reflection in Me" on slide two and all created a self portrait which is displayed on our bulletin board when you enter the school. Before we can start diving into learning more about ourselves, we need to love ourselves first! We will continue with mini projects throughout the year and look forward to including you into this learning journey as well.

On that same front, we know that representation matters and in order for our community to be strong, we need to learn more about culture and celebrate all of the amazing countries that make up our school. We are launching a culture board! This board displays two cultures at a time from within our community--from food, dance, celebrations, language, maps and even family pictures. Liz McGevna and Maria Suarez-Cepeda were the first to launch this board by displaying information about the Vietnamese and Venezuelan cultures. At open house, we gained tremendous interest from families and look forward to displaying information about India, Norway, Italy, El Salvador and many more! We still have some open slots--please sign up with your interest HERE!

Join us for Breakfast!!

• First through Fifth Grade: If your child would like breakfast, please drop your child off at the Oak Street Door at 8:10 and they can come right in to have a light breakfast in our cafeteria before they start their day. As with lunch, allergy spaces will be designated. If students would like to play outside in the morning before 8:10, they can walk on the sidewalk around the building to the Oak Street door for breakfast.
• Kindergarten: If your child would like breakfast, it will be brought to them in their classrooms after they settle in for their day.

Follow us on Instagram at "JE_Jaguars": We have so many wonderful pictures and videos of learning in action and those small moments that make our days! This gives a nice window into the day in the life of a Jaguar!

Let's go Jaguars!

Caitlin

Portal Forms are now available to be updated and submitted. ALL parents/caregivers should submit a form for EACH child. Please note that some of the forms are only available to the PRIMARY CONTACT. Please take the time to make sure that all information is accurate so that our Student Information System is up-to-date at all times.

This year there are 3 forms:

Reading Public Schools Pupil Information Form - sent to the Primary Contact of the student to update demographic and emergency contact information, and indicate yes or no to important permissions such as using online tools and allowing photos online.

Contact Information Update Form - This is sent to ALL contacts of the student to update contact information including email, address, etc.

New this year is the 2024/2025 Parent/Guardian Technology Agreement Form also known as the PCUP. This is for parents/guardians to give permission for their students to use RPS technology and devices. This is also only being sent to the Primary Contact. Please note that your child will not be able to use any technology without this consent.

Click on FORMS from the top menu in PlusPortals (plusportals.com/readingpublicschools) and you will see the forms that need to completed. We are asking that ALL families submit these forms no later than September 13th. New families, if you have not activated your portal, you will need to do so to complete the forms.

The Scholastic Book Fair is here next week and students will have three opportunities to shop loads of book titles:

1) a dedicated time to shop with their class during school

2) family time during the JE Family Picnic on Tuesday, Sep. 17th (rain date 9/18)

3) online

Visit the Joshua Eaton Book Fair - Fall 2024 page and set up your child’s e-wallet now. Click on “get started” and then click “create e-wallet”. Login, and load your funds.

Volunteers Needed: Please sign up as a volunteer helper - we especially need help during the picnic. Volunteer sign up is HERE. Note - it’s easy to volunteer.

Throughout the fair, there will be a wishlist board - this is a great way to contribute to classroom libraries. There is also an eWallet for the JE Library HERE - these funds go directly to purchasing new books for our library. There will also be blank gift certificates where you can select any amount to donate to a teacher or the library. This event is a fundraiser for our JE Library!

September

16th - 20th - Scholastic Book Fair

17th - Family Picnic 5:30 - 7 p.m. (Rain Date 9/18)

October

14th - Columbus Day / No School

25th - Halloween Howl

Thank you to all of you who stopped by to say hello and grab a PTO Calendar at Back to School Night!

📌Room Parent Sign up

• Click HERE to sign up to be a Room Parent in your child’s classroom!

📌Calling Kindergarten parents!

• An Enrichment Coordinator is needed for Kindergarten! The Enrichment Coordinator will work with Mrs. Manna to plan and execute enrichment events and a field trip. And don’t worry if you are new to the school! Enrichment Chair Laura D’Artista will work alongside you to bring you up to speed. Click HERE to sign up!

📌JE Family Picnic/Scholastic Book Fair/Book Drive: TUESDAY, 9/17

• Please note: The date of the JE Family Picnic has changed to Tuesday, 9/17, with a rain date of Wednesday, 9/18.

• Cal’s Fundraiser!! Order any food from Cal’s Brick Oven Pizza Company from 4:30pm-7:30pm and Cal’s will donate 20% of all Joshua Eaton sales to support our school! Remember to mention that you are from JE when ordering and at time of payment. Please email Fundraising Chairs Nikki and Lauren with any questions: jefundraiser@gmail.com .

• We will be collecting new and gently used children’s books for our annual Mission of Deeds book drive during our back-to-school family picnic on 9/17 (rain date 9/18). Mission of Deeds has indicated that they are especially in need of baby board books.

• Click HERE to volunteer for set up, clean up or to pass out slush!

📌Direct Donation Forms

• Direct Donation forms will be coming home in backpacks this week.

• The PTO’s success is made possible each year by the generous donations of time and funds from our families! Thank you for supporting the PTO!

📌Interested in Coordinating an Event for 2024-25?

• We have a lot of fun JE traditions that will need Event Coordinators this year.

• If you are interested in helping, please sign up here.

📌Get the Latest Updates from the JE PTO!

• Be sure to follow Joshua Eaton PTO on Facebook for updates & announcements!

• The 2024 - 2025 PTO calendar is linked here. It will include Signup Genius links to specific volunteer opportunities that occur throughout the year. You can also find the calendar on the PTO section of the JE website.

Jessie Tran & Sarah Fuller

PTO Co-Presidents

JEPTOPresident@gmail.com

The Special Education Parent Advisory Council works for the understanding of, respect for, and support of, all children with special needs in the community (including ALL children on IEPs or 504 plans and children who may require specialized support). Watch this brief introductory video to learn more!

Visit the SEPAC WEBPAGE

Sign up for our mailing list

Follow SEPAC on Facebook or Instagram

Welcome back students, families, teachers, and staff. We hope everyone had a wonderful summer. The Reading SEPAC Board looks forward to meeting new families and to continue fostering our wonderful relationships with returning families.

Please note that Reading SEPAC IS OPEN TO ALL parents/caregivers and not only families who have a child with special needs as we offer various opportunities to connect with other families and provide learning experiences.

To learn more about Reading SEPAC, please visit our website: Reading SEPAC Website

Should you wish to receive our monthly newsletter, please send an email to SEPACReading@gmail.com

As always, we are ready to continue to advocate for students with special needs who attend our public schools in Reading and provide guidance to their parents/caregivers. Feel free to reach out anytime, we are here to help!

Tackling the Patterns of Anxiety, Depression and Avoidance:

Come join us virtually for a presentation by Lynn Lyons on Tackling the Patterns of Anxiety, Depression, and Avoidance. She will share the following. Registration is required for this event.

• Strategies for managing anxiety, moods, and social pressures, including school avoidance;

• Strategies for prevention and collaboration;

• What may make problems worse;

• What are better approaches

• Please click here to register for this virtual event with Lynn Lyons.

METCO unites suburban towns with Boston to engage in a reciprocal learning partnership in support of all students. Because of this, every child who attends school in Reading Public Schools is a METCO student and every parent or guardian who has a student in RPS is a part of the METCO community.

"Since its founding during the peak of the Civil Rights Movement, the METCO program has enrolled tens of thousands of Boston students of color in predominately white school districts, creating the opportunity for those districts to experience the advantages of learning and working in a racially and ethnically diverse setting."

Please leave your child's name, teacher, reason for absence or tardy and expected date/time of return.

jeeabsences@reading.k12.ma.us

or call our absentee phone line at

781-942-9161

Please remember to send in a doctor's note if your child was at a medical appointment

https://www.schoolnutritionandfitness.com/index.php?sid=1701802399965&page=menus