J ACKSON J AGUAR P AWS - ITIVE N EWS
Ja nu a r y 2 0 1 1
Upcoming Events:
1st
Happy New Year 2001!
3rd Students return to school
4th Handbell meets 2:35-3:15
6th Chorus meets at 2:35 p.m.
9th Challenger Soccer 4:30-8:15 p.m.
12th Budget Ambassadors meet
13th Lego Club II—2:40-3:15
16th Challenger Soccer 4:30-8:15 p.m.
17th
No School—Martin Luther
King, Jr. Birthday Observation
18th Beginning Band parent mtg. at
JK in Aud at 7:00 p.m.
23rd Challenger Soccer 4:30-8:15 p.m.
27th Lego Club II—2:40-3:15
28th Early Dismissal at 11:30 a.m. for
all students
30th Challenger Soccer 4:30-8:15 p.m.
31st Student Council
meets 2:35-3:35 p.m.
February 2, 2011
The City School Districtof Batavia
585-343-2480
Jackson Elementary School …….. Ext. 4000
Health Office………………….Ext. 4001
Counseling Office…………….Ext. 4002
Cafeteria……………………....Ext. 4005
Computer Lab…………...……Ext. 4128
Library/Media Center………...Ext. 4006
Pre-K Classroom………..……Ext. 4114
Dismissal Procedures Changing in New Year
Effective January 3, 2011, we will be implementing
new procedures to help increase safety and security at Jackson School and to alleviate some of our afternoon congestion
during dismissal.
All adults who pick up children in the afternoon must
wait until 2:25 p.m. before entering the school building. Once
in the building you will be directed to a waiting area in our
multipurpose room, located across from the main office. Students will be released to parents in the multipurpose room at
2:35 p.m. We will have staff on hand to help direct traffic and
answer any questions that arise.
Thank you for your help and understanding. The
safety of your children is always our first priority. If you have
any questions or concerns, please let me know.
Sincerely,
Shawn M. Clark, Principal
January 17
Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
NO SCHOOL
January 28
Early dismissal for students in
grades K-5. Students will be
dismissed at 11:30 a.m. Staff
Development will take place in
the afternoon.
UPK (a.m. and p.m.)
classes are not in session.
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Music News
Happy New Year!
Handbell Choir rehearsals begin Tuesday, January 4th
Chorus rehearsals begin Thursday, January 6th
Martin Luther
King, Jr. Holiday
January 17, 2011
School closed
Be Respectful
SECOND GRADE NEWS
Be Responsible
January marks the half way point of the school year.
As we look to the routines and procedures we have practiced
since September we are excited for new behaviors necessary
for success in second and third grade.
Independence is the key word. Teacher directed
activities are replaced by self-directed activities. Teacher
“check-ups” are slowly replaced by self-evaluation. Expectations gradually change for children to be self-motivated learners.
Of course homework should be continued to be
monitored and checked by parents for it to be effective and
successful. Point out the errors in capital letters, verb usage,
and punctuation and correct spelling.
Just wait until February! Every year we see many second graders “take off” in reading! The children move from figuring out words to reading for enjoyment. Their eyes light up
as the enjoyment of reading is evident. This is the goal for
each child to find the rewards of working hard in Kindergarten,
first and second grade.
You may even see a flashlight and book under the
blanket some night. Thank you for your child, work ethic,
perseverance and success.
Be Safe
AUTOMATED PHONE CALLING
The Batavia City School District has recently begun it’s automated calling program. If no call
has been received confirming a students absence, this program insures that every family
that has a student absent from school will receive an automated call the morning of their
child’s absence.
Once the automated call has been received we
ask that the parent/guardian call the school with
the reason for the absence. A written excuse
should also be sent in upon the child’s return.
This note should contain the child’s
*1st and last name
*Date/s of absence or late arrival to school
*Reason for absence/late arrival
*Parent/guardian signature
Attendance can be reported by calling (585) 3432480, ext. 4000.
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4th Grade News
Being a fourth grader takes a lot of work. We are very proud to see everyone focused, working hard,
and ready to meet the next challenge! We continue to work everyday to prepare for the NYS Assessments
in the spring. Our basic skills in Language Arts, reading comprehension and writing are improving. Students
have also been working diligently in math and continue to master their multiplication and division facts, as
well as learn the steps involved to multiply two-digit numbers and to divide with remainders. Practice makes
perfect, so please keep practicing your basic facts with multiplication and division flashcards at home. Finally, fourth graders have been working on energy concepts in Science. They are enjoying learning about
open and closed circuits and in Social Studies, students are learning about Explorers and how they forged
ahead into the unknown.
Student Council’s Annual Salvation Army Trip
Our Jackson Student Council traveled to the Salvation Army on Friday, December 17th to
deliver the contributions from Jackson School. We were delighted to drop off 25 boxes of food
and toys as well as several coats. We received a tour of the Salvation Army facility at this very
busy time of year. The Salvation Army will be helping hundreds of families this year. They had
food boxes and toys ready for delivery. We are very thankful to all of you who gave the Gift Of Giving to
those in need. Special thanks to the parents who drove us for this visit. We thank you for giving your time
as an additional gift at a very busy time of year.
Our January project will be decided at our January 4th meeting. Please
know it will involve setting a goal of some kind. Happy Holidays to all and
continue to “pay it forward!”
THE RIGHT DIRECTION
Mrs. Wasilewski, our school counselor, has been presenting a program called, “The Right Direction.” It is
designed to help our students understand and successfully deal with issues that are common to kids
their age, such as stress and peer pressure. This is designed to prepare them for their impending transition to Middle School.
Fifth graders are being challenged to learn many new concepts in Math. The students can reinforce
what is learned in the classroom by completing all homework assignments and practicing their multiplication facts at home. There are many excellent websites to use for added support, such as
www.multiplication.com and www.gamequarium.com.
Voices of the Revolution is the name of the theme we will be enjoying in Language Arts. The stories describe the contributions that many Americans made, some of whom were famous and some who were
just regular citizens. As we continue to read the stories, we will be discussing how the American Revolution created a new country and how challenging the times were for the people who helped to shape our
great nation.
In the Library, our classes have been broken into small groups to come up with strategies for survival in
the wilderness. Each group is “stranded” in a different National Park and must use only what they have
with them to stay alive. They need to listen to each other and discuss the problems they would face in
meeting their physical needs for survival. A military veteran with survival training will come in at the end
of the project to answer questions and share his/her expertise.
Page 4
Wow! What an exciting month of December we just had! We were very busy making adorable Christmas crafts. We
learned about the colors silver and gold, which are great colors to use around Christmas. We had so much fun making
Rudolph and Santa and playing all the Christmas games like Santa Claus, Santa Claus What is in your bag? and Christmas BINGO. We made reindeer food to sprinkle on our lawn Christmas Eve to help Santa and his reindeer find our home.
We went on an adventure with a gingerbread baby and then colored his gingerbread house. The coolest thing of all was
wearing our pajamas to school and using our imagination as we took an awesome ride on The Polar Express! Santa gave us
all a silver bell from his sleigh! We ALL believe in Santa because our bells made such a beautiful sound!
Our goal for December was to learn letters G and C. Letter Gg was grand! We couldn’t think of anything greater
than having our Grandparents in to visit and enjoy graham crackers, Goldfish and grape juice with them! Letter Cc was so
cool! We made a confetti cake with Cool Whip and Cookies-n-Cream ice cream! We can’t wait to see all the fun things
we will do in the upcoming New Year!
From our family to yoursMERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Neumann Navigators
Students in Mrs. Neumann's class
have been involved in bully awareness
lessons and programs in the month of December.
Along with practicing good bullying prevention
through activities, students have modeled
high character and strong team work to
reduce the effects of bullying and to literally
sap the bully of it's power through bystander teamwork.
Students continue to practice high character and compassion
toward others through role play activities and writing
friendly holiday letters to participants in the ARC
Day Hab program in Elba. Students continue to
meet daily challenges of making good and bad choices during
structured and unstructured settings.
Students continue to receive immediate feedback and instruction
on positive, appropriate behavacknowledge
iors and are learning to
and tolerate the differences
and similarities of others.
Schwab's Superstars
Miss Schwab's class has been
enjoying the holiday season. They were
busy with a gingerbread unit where they
read stories with gingerbread themes,
practiced summarizing, uses graphic
organizers, and compared 2 stories.
Student had a blast creating gingerbread houses from milk cartons and
lots of yummy treats. How creative
they were! Students have also been
busy working hard on a money unit.
They have been counting, comparing,
and "shopping" for prizes.
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Kinder Kids
We have some new and exciting things happening in kindergarten this month.
All three classes are enjoying outside play on “Fun Fridays”. We are sledding, making
snowmen and enjoying winter’s beauty.
Our color week celebrations are now “Wild Wednesday” letter celebrations. We began
the New Year with “amazing athletes”. In January we are looking forward to wearing our
pajamas to school to enjoy “Pj’s and pancakes with the principal”, “goofy glasses” and
“Freezing Fun Facts”.
We are now in Houghton-Mifflin theme 5 “Let’s Count”. We are now using paper and
pencils as we are practicing forming letters and numbers correctly. There is so much to
remember when you are learning what “good readers and writers do”. All classes are
continuing with a great deal of reading, writing, counting, sharing and having fun- kindergarten style!
We are already getting so excited for Valentine’s Day and Day 100 in
February.
Lego Club meets January 13 and 27 from 2:40 to 3:15 p.m.
1st Grade News
We are getting ready to come back to a busy New Year! This month will be
filled with excited new stories and we will finish up our author study with Jan
Brett. We have really enjoyed some fun activities and looking at her beautiful
borders on all the pages. We are also beginning our new
spelling unit by Rebbecca Sitton. Please be looking for new
spelling folders to be coming home with homework. This
series really focuses on knowing the spelling words for life,
not just for the week. This series is not your conventional
spelling program and it does have many take home activities.
Please be sure to complete with your child as they are very
important.
In Math we are going to finish up learning about fact families then we will
begin Unit 3. The next unit we will be focusing on patterns, graphs, and place
value. In science we are going to begin our properties unit which we begin to use
descriptive language to describe an object. This is a hands on unit that everyone
really enjoys.
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ACE Updates in January
The Level III ACE Program is in full-swing. You’ll be amazed at what these students are accomplishing! Read on for more details.
Eureka! The 3rd grade students have begun an Invention Unit. During this unit students will learn about famous inventors and
inventions. They will test their creative thinking while working to come up with their own inventions and advertisements. In addition,
students will choose a famous inventor to research. They will then present their report to the class.
The 4th grade students have begun a Mystery Unit. They solved logic puzzles that revealed clues as to who had stolen a giant
cookie from the mall. They have also learned about prime numbers and worked through a Mystery Math Problem. Students have read two
short mysteries and analyzed the authors’ uses of mystery elements. They have also begun planning their own mystery writing piece. As a
culmination to this unit, students will observe a mock crime scene, collect and analyze evidence, and use their deductive thinking skills to
help solve a “Who Dun It.”
Fifth grade students are putting their final touches on their toothpick bridges. They will soon be tested to see which bridges hold
the most weight. Students will then calculate the cost efficiency of their bridges. Fifth graders will soon be learning about the Stock Market
as they prepare to participate in an online Stock Market Game. They will also be learning about our justice system as they begin preparing
for the highly anticipated mock trial!
Level II Updates
2nd,
3rd,
4th
5th
The
and
grade students are working very hard in the second Level II academy. For each grade level, we are focusing
on various aspects of English Language Arts. The following is an overview of what we have completed and a quick look at what is coming in
the next few weeks.
Fifth Grade
We have read two stories that take place in the future. Home Town and The Fun They Had were challenging science fictional stories. All students did a great job creating questions and participating in discussions. This led to additional debates about what the future
might hold for all of us. After the break, we will read Baby Sister and Harrison Bergeron. Students will do a short writing piece pertaining
to each of these two selections.
Fourth Grade
Students have written a few short stories using descriptive language. They learned about analogies and created their own in the
process. After the break, they will practice making inferences and then we will explore the exciting world of poetry.
Third Grade
The focus for the 3rd graders has been on descriptive writing. They are learning the importance of choosing the most appropriate
words to show the reader what they are trying to say. Each week, they have grown as writers and are noticing the differences that their
choice of words can make.
Second Grade
We are a few weeks into this new academy. Students have and will continue to analyze fables and decide on the moral. They will
relate the lesson to their own lives as much as possible. They will read a few fables with a partner in a play format. As we work through the
academy, they should be thinking of ideas for their own fables that they will create towards the end of the unit.
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Third Grade News
Its half time (Christmas break) here at Jackson School. The Jaguars have been hard at work and are
bringing it in for a much needed break! The teams have been back into their training camp groups and into the
routine. Some goals for the next quarter are perseverance. Our team mates will need to learn to never give up
even when faced with a challenge. We will need to work on trying our best and working to our fullest potential.
The third grade coaches have been working tirelessly to encourage and motivate their kids to do quality work.
We expect to see great things from this group.
After break we will huddle up to begin Theme 3, Incredible Stories. The children will love reading
these funny selections. We will also be finishing up our Science unit on structures and enjoy some hands on
activities building with different materials. In math we will look at algebra, and will focus on maps of Batavia
in Social Studies. We are all looking forward to the second half. So rest up and enjoy this Christmas season!
theme we will be enjoying in Language Arts. The stories describe the contributions that many Americans
Mrs. Wasilewski, our school counselor, has
made, some of whom were famous and some who
been presenting a program called, “The Right Direcwere just regular citizens. As we continue to read the
tion.” It is designed to help our students understand stories, we will be discussing how the American Revoand successfully deal with issues that are common to lution created a new country and how challenging the
kids their age, such as stress and peer pressure.
times were for the people who helped to shape our
This is designed to prepare them for their impending great nation.
transition to Middle School.
In the Library, our classes have been broken
Fifth graders are being challenged to learn
into small groups to come up with strategies for surmany new concepts in Math. The students can rein- vival in the wilderness. Each group is “stranded” in a
force what is learned in the classroom by completing different National Park and must use only what they
all homework assignments and practicing their multi- have with them to stay alive. They need to listen to
plication facts at home. There are many excellent
each other and discuss the problems they would face
websites to use for added support, such as
in meeting their physical needs for survival. A miliwww.multiplication.com and
tary veteran with survival training will come in at the
www.gamequarium.com.
end of the project to answer questions and share his/
Voices of the Revolution is the name of the
her expertise.
FIFTH GRADE NEWS
Criminal Justice Registry Information
As indicated in the Back-to-School issue of the A+ Batavia Communicator, the District will continue to publish instructions on how to access information
regarding the status and residence of Levels 2 and 3 sex offenders as part of its commitment to protect the well-being of our children. In addition, each of
our schools as well as the Administration Building has a book you can review on this subject that District personnel have compiled with help from the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office and the Batavia City Police Department.
There are several ways to obtain status and residence information about sex offenders who reside in New York State:
Call 1-800-262-3257. To determine if someone is on the Registry, you need to know the name of the offender and one of the following: an exact address, a
correct date of birth, a driver’s license number or social security number.
Access the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services web site (http://criminaljustice.state.ny.us) and access the Subdirectory of Level 3 Sex
Offenders on this web site by clicking on the “Search for Level 3 Sex Offenders” button. You can search for level 3 offenders by name, county or zip code.
Access this information via the City of Batavia web site (http://batavianewyork.com) by clicking on to the City Police tab. This information will be
updated each time the Police Department is notified of a new sex offender residing in the City. In addition, the District website
(http://bataviacsd.org) has a link to the City of Batavia web site - log on and click the Administration tab, then the Community Resources
tab, and then the link for Batavia City Police Department.
If desired, this can be added or put in separately on occasion:
Remember always to review with your child(ren) of all ages appropriate safe practices including:

Be cautious of individuals you do not know or individuals who do or say anything that makes you feel uncomfortable at any time.

Tell an adult you trust immediately if you have an experience that is unusual or made you feel uncomfortable.

Do not get close to a car or person when you do not know the individual, even if the person is asking for help or information.

Do not walk alone.

Report any unusual events.
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