December 2024 Newsletter

Happy December, Jackson Community!

As December unfolds, I want to take a moment to share my heartfelt gratitude for all of you. Your support and involvement make Jackson Elementary such a special place for our students to learn and grow.

This time of year, we are reflecting on the tremendous growth we’ve seen in our students. Their hard work, curiosity, and resilience are paying off in so many ways, and it’s inspiring to witness their progress. Of course, this wouldn’t be possible without the dedication and passion of our wonderful staff, who pour so much energy and care into every lesson, activity, and moment spent with your children.

As we prepare for winter break, let’s celebrate these achievements and the strong sense of community we’ve built together. Wishing you and your family a joyful, peaceful holiday season and a bright start to the new year.

With gratitude,

Darren Larama

Principal, Jackson Elementary

Jackson Elementary Families,

We want to announce the retirement of our Attendance and Office Secretary, Mrs. Cindy Hansen. She will be dearly missed, but we are excited for what retirment adventures she will be experiencing soon.

This means that come the new year, we will have a new person that will be taking over. For the remainder of this year, we want to remind you and ask that each time you come in to pick up your student early - rememer to bring in your ID. It's important all the time, but more so as our new secratary gets to know our students and families.

Please start using the attendance email to report absences as your primary reporting choice.

If your student is absent from school, please email the attendance office at JAEattendance@everettsd.org to let us know the following:

• Student first and last name:
• Student ID:
• Date(s) absent:
• Reason for the absence:
• Parent/Guardian name:
• Parent/Guardian phone number (for verification):
  • Make sure you are sending this from the email that is on record with the school.

Parents/guardians needing language assistance to provide a written note may use the district’s Communication Line for Non-English-Speaking Families by calling 425-385-4011.

Please contact the school as soon as possible. However, you may report your child’s absence(s) within 30 days.

If your student arrives late to school or goes to class from breakfast (after 9:15 am) they must come to the office to check in.

Scenarios where students do not check in at the office often results in and attendance call going home because the teacher marked the student absent before they arrived to the classroom. If the office is aware of the student's late arrival by checking into the office, we can adjust their absence to a tardy.

Please send students to school with appropriate warm clothing.

If you need assistance reach out to your teacher, our counselors, or the office. (Coats, shoes, hats, gloves)

Terry Coleman, tcoleman@everettsd.org

Annie Carmona, acarmona@everettsd.org

Dec 6 - PTA Spirit Day - Pajama Day!

Dec 10 - School Board Meeting

Dec 13 - Jackson Elementary Spirit Wear Day

Dec 16 - 4th & 5th Grade Muscial Performance - The Holly Jolly Jalopy

Dec 18 - PTA Holiday Shop

Dec 19 - Coffee & Donuts with the Principal

Dec 19 - Story Time with Dr. Saltzman, 6 p.m.

Dec 23 through Jan 3 - Winter Break ⛄ NO SCHOOL

Jan 6 - First Day Back to School

All these dates are also listed on the school web calendar as well as inside the ParentSquare calendar.

We are changing it up this year to make it even more fun! Grab your favorite mug of hot cocoa, snuggle in with your loved ones, and get ready for Story Time with Dr. Saltzman.

Premiere: 6 p.m. Thursday, December 19

Where: A special video link will be sent through ParentSquare for you to enjoy!

Can’t join us at the premiere? No problem. You can watch the link anytime that works for your family. This is a tradition you won’t want to miss. Let’s make it a cozy and memorable holiday moment together!

Jan 10 - PTA Everett Silvertips Fundraiser - 5:00pm

Jan 20 - PTA Everett MOD Pizza Monday - all day

We had a great November and hope you did too! We wrapped up our Cherrydale Fundraiser with a pizza party for Mr. Case’s class, had our Taproot anti-bullying assembly, submitted our Reflections entries, shared our first movie night in several years, and came together to make beautiful Thanksgiving baskets to support our Jackson families!

Our Holiday Shop is fast approaching! On 12/18, each student will get to shop for 4 gifts, and with over 300 students in our school, that means we need at least 1,600 gifts to make sure even at the end of the day kids get a choice in their gifts. As it stands, we have about 1,200 and are hoping for more donations to come in before 12/17 to our bin by the front office. We would also love any volunteers who enjoy helping the kids shop and wrapping gifts. It’s a great way to celebrate the giving spirit of the holidays! Sign up to volunteer here!

Reflections Update: Thank you to all of our amazing artists who entered their work in the Reflections contest this year! We had 16 entries for Jackson that will be on display at the Community Resource Center from 12/4-1/8 with a reception on 1/8 for students and their guests. Invite recently sent by email; please RSVP if attending.

We want to give a heartfelt thank you to all of our many volunteers who help our events be as successful as they can be! We couldn’t do it without you and can’t wait for many more in the coming year!

Donate to PTA by Shopping! Set up Shop to Give through Givebacks to earn donations for PTA through https://www.givebacks.com/home and collect Box Tops for Education by downloading the app, selecting Jackson as your school, and scanning your receipts through www.boxtops4education.com

Don’t forget to join the PTA! Visit our website to join through our online store: https://jacksonelementary.givebacks.com/

SPIRIT DAY! Friday - 12/6

Pajama Day!

Come to school wearing your coziest, coolest or most comfy pajamas! YAY! As always, please be respectful of school dress code.

**Note: due to the many activities in November, there is no Spirit Day in November.

Holiday Shop - Wednesday, 12/18

Volunteers needed to help make this event a success!

Every single Jackson Student gets to shop for 4 gifts that will be wrapped to bring home for the holidays. That means we need a lot of hands on deck to help wrap these presents! Please sign up here and email jacksonptaemail@gmail.com with any questions.

Want to help, but can't volunteer? Donations can be brought in to the front office, or sent in with your student. We also need supplies for gift wrapping like scotch tape, wrapping paper, and gift bags. Any help is much appreciated!

Gift Donation Suggestions

Adult Women/Men: Picture frames, housewares, jewelry, coffee mugs/tumblers, tools, gardening accessories, scarves, hats, home decor

Teen Girls/Boys: Hair & nail products, sports equipment, board games, ear buds, journals, makeup, sunglasses, hats, gloves, scarves, jackets

Elementary Girls/Boys: Sports equipment, activity books, toys, new stuffed animals, stickers, puzzles, hats, gloves, scarves, jackets

Infant/Toddler: Onesies, pacifiers, teething toys, musical toys, blankets

Everett Silvertips Fundraiser - Friday, January 10th

The Youth Hockey Partners of Everett is partnering with Jackson PTA! Adult and student volunteers are needed to help sell 50/50 raffle tickets before and during the first and second periods of the game.

Volunteers are welcome to find open seats and enjoy the third period of the game in the stands.

Sign up here to volunteer!

Contact Aaron Gay with questions: 425-249-1985 or rev_aaron@comcast.net

We are looking for art docent volunteers for this year. Please contact Holly Valluzzi at Havalluzzi@gmail.com to learn more.

Set up Shop to Give through Givebacks to earn donations for PTA through https://www.givebacks.com/home and collect Box Tops for Education by downloading the app, selecting Jackson as your school, and scanning your receipts through www.boxtops4education.com

Visit our website to join through our online store: https://jacksonelementary.givebacks.com/