No Place Like Jones
IBJ Family Updates for the Week of September 16, 2024
IBJ Family Updates for the Week of December 9, 2024
#noplacelikejones #community #wearestrong
Principal Corner
🎄 Countdown to Winter Break! 🎄
Dear IBJ Families,
Winter Break is just around the corner! There are only 10 days left until break, which runs from December 23 – January 3. Let’s finish strong!
A Fresh Look for Our Magnet Theme!
We’re thrilled to share our updated magnet logo! This vibrant and intentional design beautifully represents our mission, vision, and magnet pillars, showcasing how they come together to form a cohesive and meaningful learning experience for our Global Scholars.
This week, we’ll be sending home a postcard featuring our new logo and pillars. We invite everyone to take a moment to review it and join us in celebrating this exciting new chapter for our school!
Spirit Week
The week of December 16 is Spirit Week, a fun way to celebrate the season together. Check out the flyer below for all the details and start planning your festive outfits!
NC Check-Ins Assessments (3rd–5th Grade)
Next week, our 3rd–5th graders will take the Beginning-of-Year NC Check-In Assessments for:
- Reading and Math (Grades 3-5)
- Science (5th Grade only)
These assessments are a chance for students to practice for the EOGs while giving teachers valuable insight into what students have learned so far and what areas need review. These formative assessments are designed to improve student learning and understanding by identifying areas for growth and providing meaningful feedback.
Progress Reports
Progress reports will be sent home this week. Please review them with your student to celebrate successes and set goals for continued growth.
Behavior Reminders
As we head into the final stretch before winter break, please take a moment to remind your student about the importance of following expected behaviors and the group plan:
- Listen to and follow adults’ redirections and simple requests.
- Show respect for classmates and teachers to help maintain a safe and productive learning environment.
Thank you for your continued support in helping your student finish the semester on a positive note. Let’s make these last days before the break meaningful and fun!
I believe in maintaining open and transparent communication with our families to ensure our students receive the best support possible. We share the responsibility for our student's success and will do our very best to fulfill our commitments. Please visit our school's website, Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/irabjones/, and follow us on Instagram @IraB.JonesElementary for upcoming events, important reminders and to keep up with all the wonderful things our students and teachers are doing. Also, I send out a weekly family newsletter, so please ensure we have your updated contact information.
As a school leader and a parent myself, I understand the importance of healthy communication between families and the school. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions, celebrations, or concerns. You can call the school at 828.350.6700 or email me at ruafika.cobb@acsgmail.net.
Warm regards,
Ruafika Cobb
Principal
Ira B. Jones Elementary School
#noplacelikejones
NOTES FROM THE COUNSELING CORNER WITH MS. COURTNEY, SCHOOL COUNSELOR
Strategies That Teach and Build Empathy in Children
Students learn to feel and show empathy over time. Students around the age of eight or nine begin to develop the cognitive skills necessary to understand the concept of empathy. However, even five year olds are concerned about being treated well, and they want others to be treated well too. Empathy is skill students need extra help to develop. Adults can teach children to recognize and show empathy in situations throughout each day. A student who shows empathy is able to understand and appreciate the thoughts, feelings and experiences of someone else.
When students are learning and developing empathy, there are specific things you can say and activities you can do to help them enhance this skill. Here are several ways to develop empathy in your student:
Show empathy to your student when they are upset
Being sensitive to how your student feels can help them understand what it’s like for other people when someone shows empathy.
Model Empathy in The Moment
When your students show a lack of empathy in a social situation, model empathy for them. While one intervention may be to correct your student in the moment, demonstrating empathy on the spot can be a powerful learning tool. Demonstrate what empathy would look like in that moment and invite your student to join in with you.
Praise Empathetic Behavior
When your child performs an act of kindness, tell him what they did right while being specific as possible. “You were very generous to share your pretzels with that other child. I saw them smiling and I knew they were happy.
Raise Awareness of Nonverbal Cues
Try looking at pictures or watching TV shows on mute. You can help your student identify and label the emotions of the people they see. This is good practice for recognizing and identifying signs of different emotions in real life.
Be Ready to Change Tactics Slightly
If the “How would you feel….” strategy isn’t working, move the spotlight to yourself. Talking about how you felt can be a subtle, helpful change. It helps your student focus on another person’s feelings.
Use Role Play
Developing empathy shouldn’t be a chore for your student, there are ways to make developing a new skill fun. You can sit on a bench at the playground or at a shopping area. Try to guess the mood of people who walk by and explain what cues made you think a person was feeling happy, sad or mad. This type of game helps your student tune in to how expressions, body language, and tone of voice can explain how someone is feeling. Additionally, have your student put themself in the other person’s shoes and role play the situation.
Mark Your Calendars!
December 2 - February 28: ACS Open Enrollment
December 9 - 13: NC Check-ins Testing for 3rd - 5th grades
December 16 - December 20 : Spirit Week
December17 : Winter Concert @ 6pm
December 20 : Schoolwide Pep Rally!
December 23- January 3 : Winter Break
January 6 - February 7 : USNS Testing Window
January 13 - February 4 : mClass Testing Window
January 17 : Early Release - students dismiss at noon
Please join us!
🎤 is Tuesday, December 17 🎵
🎵 School Winter Concert Announcement 🎵
Get ready to celebrate the season with music and cheer! Our 3rd through 5th graders are excited to showcase their talents at this year’s Winter Concert.
đź“… Date: Tuesday, December 17
đź•• Time: 6:00 PM
đź“Ť Location: School Auditorium
This special evening will highlight the hard work and dedication of our students as they perform festive favorites and spread holiday joy. Please plan to attend to support our students and enjoy the evening's performances.
We can’t wait to see you there! 🎶
