The Monthly Howl

Greetings, Jack London families,

Happy New Year, and welcome back to school! It is wonderful to see the Wolf Pack back on campus. We hope everyone had joyful Winter Break.

Our recent Penny Wars fundraiser, Little Mermaid Movie Night, and 1st Grade Gingerbread Man performances were all a huge success! Thank you to PTO, Student Council, Jack London staff & parent volunteers that made these events possible!

We are in the middle of cold and flu season, with some nasty germs circulating in our area. Please see the graphic below for some reminders about illness. If your child/children need to stay home ill, please call the school to excuse their absences, at 925-779-7455.

Our Lost and Found at the front of the school is full of lost coats and jackets! Please check for lost items when you drop off or pick up your children so these items can make their way home.

Upcoming Important Dates:

• Progress Reports for Trimester 2 go home on 1/16
• No School 1/20 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
• ELAC Meeting 1/21 at 8:30am in the Little Theatre
• School Site Council Meeting 2/5 at 3:00pm on Teams
• No School 2/10 or 2/17 for Lincoln's Birthday and President's Day
• Trimester 2 Conference Week: 2/24-2/28 (Minimum Release for K-6 at 11:15am all week)

Thank you for taking the time to read The Monthly Howl. Please read all the way to the end for important reminders and announcements.

Sincerely,

Dr. Roat and Ms. Torres

Antioch Unified School District partnered with Care Solace to support the well-being of our community. If you or a family member are looking for help with mental health or substance use, Care Solace can help you quickly find treatment options matched to your needs, regardless of the circumstance. This is a complimentary and confidential care coordination service provided by Antioch Unified School District. If you would like to use Care Solace to help you find a mental health care provider:

• Call 888-515-0595. Multilingual support is available 24/7/365.
• Visit www.caresolace.com/antiochschools and either search on your own or click “Book Appointment” for assistance by video chat, email, or phone.

We are using the Second Step program in your child’s classroom. The Second Step program teaches children important skills for getting along with others and doing well in school. It also helps our school be a safe, respectful place where everyone can learn.

To further help our school be a safe and respectful place, we are also going to use the Second Step Bullying Prevention Unit. In this unit, your child will learn specific skills to help stop bullying. Students will learn how to:

• Recognize when bullying is happening, report bullying to a caring adult, and refuse to let bullying happen

• Be a bystander who helps stop bullying

• Support someone being bullied by standing up for that person and being kind and inclusive

• Recognize, report, and refuse cyber bullying when they see or know about it happening.

We need your help too! Get involved in making our school a safe and respectful place by letting us know if you hear about bullying at our school. Make sure your child knows to tell you or someone at school if he or she is being bullied, or if he or she knows about someone else being bullied. Give your child the clear message that it is never okay to bully others.

If you have any questions about the Bullying Prevention Unit or the Second Step program, please contact Jennifer Covarrubias, School Counselor. Thank you for helping us make our school a safe, respectful place where everyone can learn.

SCHOOL VISITORS

All visitors are required to report to the school office upon arriving at campus. Classroom visits must be arranged in advance and have prior approval from the classroom teacher. Parent/guardian volunteers sign in and receive their volunteer badges in the office. Please avoid lengthy conferences with the teacher during such visits so the teacher can conduct class as usual. Students from other schools, or siblings of Jack London students, will not be permitted to visit during the regular school day.

SCHOOL VOLUNTEERS

Many enriching and worthwhile experiences are afforded to our children through volunteer help from parents/guardians. With this support, teachers are able to provide more direct instruction. Parents/guardians interested in volunteering time and services are requested to contact their child’s teacher. We encourage our parents/guardians to visit and volunteer in classrooms; however, please leave young children/siblings at home as they are a distraction to students in the classroom. Parents/guardians are not expected to discipline students as that is the job of the staff member. All volunteers sign a Volunteer Code of Ethics before working in a class or with students.

Please note that volunteers/visitors may have their visiting privileges limited or revoked if the classroom teacher, principal, or principal’s designee determines that the individual’s presence in the classroom, or on campus, obstructs, interferes, or disrupts the classroom or school environment.

BIRTHDAYS

Sometimes parents/guardians like to provide a special treat for their child’s classmates on their birthday. If doing so, please follow these guidelines:

• Please communicate your plans with the classroom teacher in advance.
• Send all items with your student in the morning, to reduce interruptions to the classroom. Please note that balloons, flowers, presents, etc., are not allowed in the classroom as they cause distractions to our learning environment.
• Please note that class time will not be taken for birthday celebrations, and treats will likely be given out at lunch or at the end of the school day.
• We strongly recommend a nutritional snack or even small trinkets such as pencils, erasers, or stickers rather than food since so many children have food allergies. This also promotes healthy habits for students.
• All edible treats must be store bought and individually packaged. Please do not send cakes or ice cream, which require cutting/preparation. All items should be easy for the teacher to hand out.
• Please provide the same item/treat for every child in the classroom.
• Please do not send party invitations to school (for birthday parties at home) unless the entire class is included.
• If your child does not celebrate birthdays or your family follows specific cultural traditions, please speak with your child’s teacher as early in the year as possible so these traditions can be honored.
• If your child follows a special diet, you might consider leaving acceptable treats with the teacher at the beginning of the year, so that your child can still celebrate special days with treats he/she can eat safely.
• Please contact your child’s teacher with specific questions.

DRINK POLICY

Due to ongoing issues with vandalism and disruption, certain drinks such as Gatorade, sports drinks, sodas and the like, are not permitted. We try to promote healthy habits and also protect our furniture and carpet from being stained due to spills. Drink sharing is not permitted.

Jack London Drink Policy:

· In class – plain water only from a water bottle or the drinking fountain.

· At lunch – 100% fruit juice, milk, and water only. Capri-suns are permitted at lunch.

· No sugary, dyed, caffeinated drinks, energy drinks, or drink enhancers are permitted at school.

TELEPHONE CALLS TO SCHOOL PERSONNEL

If you find that you need to talk with your child’s teacher during the day, please call either prior to school starting or after school is out. Teachers cannot leave their classrooms unattended, so it is extremely difficult for them to come to the phone during class time. You are also welcome to email teachers. Email addresses are the teacher’s first and last name together (no spaces) followed by @antiochschools.net. For example: sararoat@antiochschools.net. Should you need help contacting any of our Jack London Staff, please call the office at (925) 779-7455.

Intra District applications (request to go to another Antioch school other than your resident school) for the 25/26 school year will be accepted from January 1st through March 1st 2025.

Intra-District (within district) | Antioch Unified School District

Last year, AUSD schools underwent and Equity Audit from the National Center for Urban School Transformation (NCUST). Students, staff, and parents were invited to participate in Focus Group Interviews, and the NCUST Team observed in classrooms. The school and district were provided with the results of the audit, which were examined by site leadership.

Our site team has developed a plan to focus on Positive Transformational Culture as a school staff. To begin, we have been holding Professional Developments focused on Transformational School Culture, with an emphasis on teacher collaboration; care and knowledge of our students; high expectations for our very capable Jack London scholars, and creating spaces that emphasize and encourage academic success.

At our recent Staff Development Day, site staff collaborated on practices that promote belonging, inclusion, and safe practices for all Jack London students.

This work will continue at our school, and it goes hand-in-hand with the newly revised AUSD Mission Statement: TO ENSURE ALL SCHOLARS LEARN AT GRADE LEVEL OR ABOVE.

Jack London Elementary School

Website: https://www.antiochschools.net/Domain/12
Location: 4550 Country Hills Drive, Antioch, CA, USA
Phone: 925-779-7455
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057493988248