Jaguar News Journal

September 2nd - September 6th

From Our Principal

Dear JWE Families,

Hello and Happy Labor Day Weekend! As you likely know, we have no school for students this Monday, September 2nd. The first week or two of school are always busy as we assist our students in transitioning into our daily school schedules, structures and routines. We know some students (and staff!) are tired but we've really had a great start to our year. We hope you and your family have a great long weekend and that the extra day is spent doing something enjoyable together.

We would like to again remind parents to please write your child's first and last name on their water bottles, backpack, lunch box as well as any sweatshirts, jackets or personal items you may send to school. Our lost and found already has several things in it. If items are labeled it's very easy to get them back to their owners.

We would also like to reiterate/remind all JWE Families that we need adults to remain in vehicles if you are in the drop-off/pick up line. Please work with your child to gain independence in getting seated and buckled in your vehicle. We understand some students may need help - if this is the case, please park in the morning so you can get out and assist. In the afternoons, if your child needs help, please let our duty staff know and we will direct you to pull forward and out of the lane of traffic. Thanks for your assistance in keeping our drop-off and pick-up procedures moving as efficiently and smoothly as possible.

This week, we are looking forward to having our first PTO Meeting! It is scheduled for this Wednesday evening at John Wayland in our library. The meeting will start at 6pm. We understand that families are very busy but we'd love for you to join us, meet our team and offer any assistance you are able! We hope to see you there!

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday and enjoy tomorrow with your your student(s) home as well! We look forward to welcoming students back on Tuesday! Thank you for your continued partnership and support!

Sincerely,

Sara Hammill

Principal

Executive Function in Kids - What is It & How Families Can Help

What is Executive Function & Why is it Important for Children?

Executive Function refers to the ability to control our attention, recall directions, manage our emotions and organize our thoughts. It's a set of mental processes that promote our ability to control our behaviors and self-regulate (Center on Child Development, Harvard University, August 2023). Studies show that executive function is a better predictor of student success in school than IQ or other baseline academic skills. We are seeing more students struggle with Executive Function and can negatively impact them and those around them. Because of this, we want to share some information and resources with our families as we partner to promote the success of all students at John Wayland.

How can families support and help children build Executive Function at home?

As with all things, this looks different depending on the age of your child. We are excited to share the resources below from Harvard's Child Development Center. There are simple and easy reads, are downloadable and are broken down by age/developmental stage.

What is Executive Function and How Does it Relate to Child Development?

Executive Function 101

Activities Guide(s): Promoting Executive Function from Infancy to Adolescence

Transportation Reminders

Thanks for your patience and understanding as we work the kinks out of our bus and transportation routines. It typically takes a week or so to get things ironed out.

Below you'll find specific reminders and information on our pick-up and drop-off procedures Our goal is to keep these routines as safe and efficient as possible.Thanks for your help in doing so!

Drop-Off Reminders:

Families are asked to say their goodbyes and have students ready with belongings in hand by the time you pull your vehicle up to our unloading zone.
Our unloading zone is the first three cars back from our drop-off area crosswalk.
We ask adults to remain in the vehicles so we can keep traffic moving. JWE Staff are happy to help students by opening vehicle doors, putting backpacks on, etc.
If you have a child who needs help exiting your vehicle or who is in a car seat and cannot unbuckle themselves, please park and walk them up to our entry area.
For safety reasons, we ask that students unload on the passenger-side of the vehicle whenever possible - this is the side closest to our building during both drop-off and pick-up.
Please plan to be on campus for drop-off by 8:15 at the latest. Our drop-off doors close at 8:20 sharp.

Pick-Up Reminders:

Please help your child learn/memorize the number assigned to them so they can respond when it is called. Pick-up numbers are in luggage tags attached to your child's backpack. You received the same number for your vehicle to display during afternoon pick-up.
We ask you to help your child learn how to enter your vehicle and buckle-in as quickly as possible.
It's best for students to load on the side of the vehicle closest to the side walks.
Again, we ask adults to remain in the vehicle. If you have a child who needs assistance buckling or getting into a car seat/ booster seat, let a staff member know and we will direct you to pull forward so we can keep the traffic flow moving.

School Attendance is Critical to Student Success

Regular attendance is such an important thing for our students. The patterns for school attendance start now and families play a huge role in building positive patterns and norms around it. Good school attendance promotes the success of your student(s) and our school. We thank you in advance for your help with this!

If your child has to miss a day of school please email us at jwesattendance@rockingham.k12.va.us first thing that morning or as soon as possible. In your email please share your child's full name, their grade/teacher and the reason for his/her absence. If you are not comfortable emailing, please call the school by 9am to let us know of the absence.

Please prioritize school attendance and plan appointments and family trips around our school calendar. If you must travel and your student will miss time at school, please be aware that the Rockingham County Schools Policy on this changed over the summer. If your child will miss school for a family trip, per RCPS Policy JED: A written request for a pre-arranged absence must be given to the principal at least fourteen days prior to the planned absence. The school administrator has the discretion to excuse or unexcused the pre-arranged absence request, based on the student’s prior school absences, whether or not the student has a current attendance improvement plan and the academic standing of the student. The student is responsible for securing any and all make-up work from their teachers prior to the pre-arranged absence(s). At JWES, we ask that you submit any requests related to family travel to our Assistant Principal, Mrs. Diane Secord. It is of course also your responsibility to communicate with your child's teacher to ensure he/she doesn't fall behind/arrangements are made for making up work and learning content missed.

Mrs. Mizell's Students in Music Class

Counselor Corner

Something we know about the John Wayland Elementary family is that we are a GENEROUS community.

That doesn't mean that everyone always has what they need and part of our role as School Counselors is to connect people to the basic resources to be safe, happy, and successful in school and in life. There are seasons in each of our families' lives where we have more to give or are in need of receiving something.

At the beginning of each school year, we want to know about these needs and resources and we are quickly coming up on a season of both giving and receiving. Consider the resources, money, time and passion you have to share with others. Also, think about what needs your student and/or family might have in this season of life.

In order to find out how we can best assist with connecting our JWE family to the resources needed, please complete and return the form coming home this week or fill out the Google Form at the following link: Give & Receive: JWE Needs Survey 2024-2025

Whether you feel you can give or need to receive, we'd love to hear from you!

Mrs. Bailey's Class

PTO News

Our first PTO meeting will be this week on Wednesday, September 4th from 6-7pm. This meeting will be hybrid, with an in-person option (in the JWES library) as well as a Zoom option (link below). During the meeting, we will introduce our executive board, share our goals and activities for the year, and discuss ways you can get involved. We hope you can join us! If you have any questions please email jwesptova@gmail.com.

(Please don’t share this link outside of the JWES community)

Zoom Link: Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/99949247497?pwd=wlluCTuBU8IoiFqjjxjl6U713BTqO1.1

Meeting ID: 999 4924 7497

Passcode: 867689