A Message from the Principal, Dr. Pierre-Jerome
Greetings Jaguar Family! It is hard to believe that it has been a
year since we last had all of our students back on campus in the
“traditional” sense. We have definitely come a long way over the
course of the year. Exactly one year ago, we were all learning
about virtual learning, Google classrooms, and we were
participating in our first virtual meetings! Fast forward to 2021,
and we have all increased our technological skills! Thank you to
our students, our parents/guardians, and our faculty/staff for all
of your hard work. Together we have navigated uncharted waters, and
we have experienced success. April is a busy month for our
students. Our students are now in the last trimester of the school
year. Students will continue to work on the required standards.
Teachers will continue to measure our students’ mastery of
standards in a variety of ways. During April, our third, fourth,
and fifth graders will begin State testing on the Florida Standards
Assessment (FSA) or the Florida Standards Alternate Assessment
(FSAA). These assessments will provide our students with the
opportunity to show all that they learned this past school year. We
are confident that our students will perform well.
Parents/Guardians, please continue to work with your students.
Please be sure to maintain a structured schedule for your child and
incorporate time away from technology. Please also remember to
provide your child time to go outside and play. Lastly, remember to
allow your students time to sit down with a good book for at least
twenty minutes a day. Thank you again for all of your support and,
as always, please feel free to reach out to the school if you need
any assistance.
IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER April 2 – NO SCHOOL-Good Friday April 4
– EASTER April 6-15 – FSA testing April 7 – SAC Mtg 6PM April 7 –
PTA Mtg 6:45 PM April 16 – NO SCHOOL – Teacher Work Day April 22 –
Student of the Month
Greetings from PTA President, Kareema George
Hello JC Mitchell Family! I hope that everyone had a restful spring
break. We are looking forward to a strong finish to this school
year. We are excited to be hosting an Usborne virtual book fair in
April. Please stay tuned for additional information. It is not too
late to join our PTA. WE NEED YOU! Please join today! Ask your
family and friends to join as well! Here are some of the ways we
can all contribute to our PTA and our school community:
1. Join PTA today and get a lovely JCM gift! Membership can be
purchased from our Memberhub website.
http://jcmitchell.new.memberhub.store/store
2. Purchase JC Mitchell uniforms and spirit gear from our Memberhub
store. We now offer red Be Kind shirts and awesome facemasks!
http://jcmitchell.new.memberhub.store/store
3. Follow us on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=jc%20
mitchell%20elementary%20school%20pta and Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/jcmpta/ for a chance to win some fun JCM
spirit gear.
4. Shop with Amazon Smile and choose JC Mitchell Elementary School
as your charity. https://smile.amazon.com/ch/65-0629366
5. Download the Box Tops app, choose JC Mitchell Elementary School,
and scan all your receipts.
6. Email your PTA suggestions and concerns to
[email protected].
Kareema George, PTA President
https://jcme.palmbeachschools.org/
PTA = Parent Teacher Association MEETINGS: Wed. April 7,
2021-SAC-6PM/PTA-6:45 PM Wed. May 5, 2021-SAC-6PM PTA BOARD –
2020-2021 PRESIDENT – KAREEMA GEORGE 1st VP - Leadership
Development – JAMES GODWIN 2nd VP - Family Engagement – FABIOLA
PADERNACHT 3rd VP - Community Engagement – APRIL BORAY Treasurer –
KARLENE WOLCOTT Recording Secretary – ERIKA VILLALOBOS
Corresponding Secretary – JUDY KACZMAREK Immediate Past President –
RACHELLE SAINT LOUIS EMAIL:
[email protected] WEBSITE:
www.jcmpta.org
Counselor’s Corner April’s Character Trait of the Month is Random
Acts
of Kindness: Someone who is a bucket filler, does kind things
without being asked, helps people in need, and does thoughtful
things without being asked. Congratulations to the students who
earned honor roll and/or citizenship for the 2nd trimester last
month! Way to go! With testing season approaching, please remind
your children NOT to stress about the test and to simply try their
BEST! If you worry, so do they, and being stressed will not help
them on the test. Thank you! Positive Parenting Tips:
1. Always show respect for your child, their thoughts and
feelings.
2. Spend at least 30 minutes with your child every day talking and
playing to build a strong bond and to promote positive behavior at
home.
3. Children need to feel in control to feel safe. Let them choose
simple things daily, like what to wear, what book to read,
etc.
4. Children thrive in structured predictable environments and
consistent schedules. Make a schedule at home of morning and
evening routines and stick to it to avoid unnecessary
arguments.
5. If you want to see more of desirable behavior in your child,
reward the positive behavior immediately after the child displays
it.
6. If you want to discourage negative behavior in your child,
provide negative consequences immediately after the behavior
occurs.
If you would like to consult about your child and how to help them
behave and feel better, feel free to reach out to us.
Jenna Benjamin-561-750-4910
Genia Bonchuk, LMHC, Co-located Mental Health Counselor (English,
Russian): 561-750-4926
[email protected]
National Take Our Daughters and Sons to work Day is scheduled
for Thursday, April 22nd. Due to the current pandemic, the School
District will not be participating in the event this year. In
accordance with Policy 2.065 visitation Protocols on district
Property Due to COVID-19, the presence of outside visitors on
school campuses and District property is being strictly monitored
and limited to ensure the health and safety of students and staff.
The District will, however, grant an excused absence on Thursday,
April 22nd, to any student whose parents would like their child to
accompany them to a work location that is outside of the School
District. Parents are asked to notify their child’s teacher in
advance about their intent to take their child out of school for
the day.
Thursday, April 22, 2021
ESOL News – ACCESS testing is complete for MOST of our brick and
mortar students. Now the ESOL TEAM will be calling and making
appointments for parents of virtual students to bring their
children in to be tested. FSA tests are coming up and it is so
important that the students get enough rest before test day.
Parents, please make sure your students get at least 9 hours of
sleep the night before a test. It is so important that they can
stay focused during the test and do their best. THANK YOU, The ESOL
TEAM Padres, por favor asegúrese de que sus estudiantes duerman por
lo menos 9 horas la noche anterior al examen. Es muy importante que
puedan mantenerse concentrados durante la prueba y hacer lo mejor
que puedan. GRACIAS - El equipo de ESOL Paran, tanpri asire elèv ou
yo jwenn omwen 9 èdtan dòmi lannwit anvan yon tès. Li tèlman
enpòtan ke yo ka rete konsantre pandan tès la pou yo ka fè byen.
MÈSI - Ekip ESOL la Pais, por favor, assegurem-se de que seus
alunos durmam pelo menos 9 horas na noite anterior ao exame. É
muito importante que eles possam se manter focados durante o exame
e dar o seu melhor. OBRIGADO - Equipe ESO
Mrs. Lopez (Spanish) 561-750-4917, Mrs. Francois (Haitian Creole)
561-750-4923,
Mrs. Thomas (Portuguese) 561-750-4945
2021 Spread The Word Texting is Now Illegal Poster PSA
Contest
Up to $500 is up for grabs in this poster contest for students in
middle and elementary school. Students are asked to create a
persuasive message informing Florida drivers that texting is now
illegal while driving in school zones.
CLICK THIS LINK TO ENTER!
https://dorisaveslives.org/contest/2021-spread-the-word-
Kindergarten News – It is hard to believe that we are starting the
last trimester of the school year! We hope you all enjoyed some
down time over Spring Break and are ready to finish this year off
strong. Over the next few weeks, we are continuing to tell, draw,
and write a whole story while focusing on making it easy to read.
In math, we will be counting to 100 and then start learning about
2D and 3D shapes. The Kindergarteners are learning how to recognize
common types of texts in reading and are learning new ways to ask
and answer questions about unknown words. In our current unit, we
will also be comparing and contrasting adventures and experiences
of the characters in familiar stories. In science, we are learning
about day and night, and then we will start exploring living and
nonliving things. The KidSafe program has concluded, and the
students really enjoyed learning many useful life skills regarding
safety. This month, they will start a 6 lesson series from the
"Living Skills in the Schools" program that focuses on important
decision making skills with the use of puppets! We are excited, as
this has been a big hit in past years!
1st Grade News – Hello First Grade Parents and Guardians! Happy
Spring! We hope you all had a safe and relaxing Spring Break. We
can't believe it is almost April! In Fundations, we are moving
through unit 11: segmenting and blending words with up to 5 sounds,
long vowel words that follow the consonant-e pattern, reviewing our
"r" controlled vowels, and our vowel teams. In Math, we have just
started unit 11: Using models to understand how to subtract tens
frames and focusing on using the hundreds chart to subtract ten. In
Science, we are working on understanding the various differences
between living and nonliving things in our environment. In Social
Studies, we are working on identifying and describing important
symbols of the United States. In reading we are comparing and
contrasting two characters in a story and identifying problems in a
story as well. We are all very proud of the students for they have
been working diligently in each unit and, as always, we thank YOU,
parents and guardians, for your continued support and encouragement
of your children. We are "SPRINGING" forward with each new day
:)
2nd Grade News –We hope everyone enjoyed their spring break! April
is upon us which means it is time for our 3rd – 5th graders to take
the FSA. Even though our second graders do not take the FSA, our
schedule does change slightly. Please allow your child extra time
outside to play in the afternoon. In our classrooms, we have been
exploring fairytales, folktales, and fables. Next time you visit
the library, you may want to check out your child’s favorite fable
or fairytale to enjoy at home. During our math lessons we will be
measuring the length of various objects in standard and metric
units. Parents can facilitate learning at home by allowing children
to measure various objects in their homes using a ruler, yard
stick, meter stick, or tape measure. They can then subtract the
lengths to determine how much bigger one object is than another.
Toward the end of the month we will be learning about shapes and
their attributes. As always, continue to read daily and practice
your math facts at home with your child. Every minute counts! In
science, we are learning about weather and the sun. We will compare
and describe changing patterns in nature that repeat themselves,
such as weather conditions including temperature and precipitation
day-to-day and season-to-season. In writing, students are still
learning about writing opinion pieces in which they introduce the
topic or book by stating the opinion, supplying reasons to support
their opinion, and using linking words to connect the opinion and
reason. 3rd Grade News – We hope that everyone had a safe and
wonderful spring break. Now that we are back, it will be full steam
ahead preparing for the FSA. Virtual students will be coming in on
April 6th and 7th for the (ELA) FSA, and the brick & mortar
students will take it in class on April 13th and 14th. Please
encourage your children to get a good night’s rest, eat a healthy
breakfast, arrive at school on time, and try their best using all
the strategies they have learned this year. THEY'VE GOT THIS! 4th
Grade News – Welcome back from Spring Break, Jaguars! We hope
everyone is feeling refreshed from the week off. This month we are
gearing up for the upcoming FSA tests. We will begin with writing.
To help your children grow as authors, encourage them to write,
text, and talk in complete sentences. After the writing FSA test
will be reading. Please make sure your student is reading a minimum
of twenty minutes each night. We urge students to read aloud to
someone special and discuss their reading nightly. The math FSA
will come mid-May. In class, fourth grade is finishing Unit 13,
generating patterns, and we are heading into angles and angle
measurements. Fourth grade has also already been reviewing for the
FSA daily. Remember there is homework that needs to be completed
each night and returned the next school day. Thank you for your
continued support this year.
5th Grade News – We want to wish all of our students good luck as
they take the Writing FSA (April 9th for Virtual students or April
15th for Brick and Mortar students), Reading FSA (May 4th & 5th
for Virtual students or May 6th & May 7th for Brick and Mortar
students), Math FSA (May 11th & 12th for Virtual students or
May 13th & 14h ), and Science FCAT (May 18th & 19th for
Virtual students or May 20th & 21st for Brick and Mortar kids).
We have been diligently working to develop the critical thinking
skills that they need, not only to succeed on their FSAs but beyond
their school years as well. We are proud of all the hard work they
have done so far. We know they are ready and we are confident that
they will do well. Parents, you can assist your child(ren) during
this testing period by making sure he/she/they get(s) plenty of
sleep, eat(s) a healthy breakfast, and is on time each day. To
avoid "morning hassles," consider preparing lunches, packing
backpacks, and laying out the following day’s clothing in the
evening. Most important, remember to encourage your child to do
well and tell him/her/them that you are proud of all their hard
work. Please continue to stay healthy and safe.
ESE News -In April, K-5 students will be learning about positive
and negative changes people make to the environment. This will tie
in to Earth Day on April 22. In PreK the students will be learning
about Spring and Space, the final frontier! We want to thank
parents for putting safety first and for wearing your masks in the
car line. It is very much appreciated!
ADVERTISE IN OUR NEWSLETTER! If you have a business and you would
like to advertise in our newsletter, the cost is $20.00 per month
or $150.00 for the entire year. Your support helps PTA with
production and printing costs and other expenses. Call Laura in
the
office at 561-750-4900 if you are interested.
Trimester 2 Elementary Report Cards to Be Available to Parents
Electronically
As the second trimester for elementary school students ends on
March 12, the School District is offering two ways for parents and
guardians to access their child’s report card. Report cards will be
available on March 26. Parents can follow these steps to access
their child’s report card:
1. Via the District Student Portal: Students will log in to their
student portal as they do each school day to access Google
Classroom and other educational software. They will then click on
the “Report Card” tile to view and/or print their report
card.
2. Via an email sent to the parent: If a parent has provided one or
more email addresses to their child’s school, the parent should
receive this email message. When the link in the email is clicked,
the report card will be visible and can be printed.
In order to confirm that your child’s school has your most
up-to-date contact information, click here for instructions on how
to log in to SIS and confirm your records. Changes can be made to
your account by contacting your child's school directly. Questions
related to the elementary report card should be directed to your
child’s teacher or school principal. Sample elementary report cards
are also available in Spanish, Haitian Creole, and Portuguese
here.
https://www.palmbeachschools.org/ careers/substitute_jobs
Interested in working in the food service industry, but
want to have your nights, weekends, and holidays off? If so, the
School District of Palm Beach County School Food Service Department
may be right for you. The department is hiring part- time food
service assistants at schools across the county. Most positions
include a set schedule of 20-25 hours per week with a five-hour
workday that is finished by 2 p.m. This gives employees the
flexibility to attend college, take a second job, or spend time
with family. The District is closed for two weeks at Christmas, as
well as one week for spring break and a week for Thanksgiving.
Starting pay is $12 an hour. Positions offer an opportunity for
advancement by training and promoting from within. Applicants must
be 18 years of age or older, pass a drug screen and a level-two
background test ($99 fee) in addition to passing a physical demand
test to lift 35 pounds. Cashier and/or food service experience is a
plus. To apply, go to palmbeachschools.org/jobs or call
561-383-2057 for more information.
School District Food Service Department Hiring
Part-time Assistants
AFTER-SCHOOL News – Hello, Families. As with anyone, Afterschool
has had many challenges this year, but we have managed to keep
students engaged in activities that enhances our students’ skills
while keeping an excellent safety rating. Rest assured, we have
safety plans in place, implemented sanitation procedures in our
program and all staff are equipped with PPE. Bottom line, it is
safe to register with us! JCM Afterschool will begin accepting
registration for the upcoming school year 2021-2022 starting April
5th through June 4th. All families, new and returning, must
register students for the upcoming school year. Registration is
$25.00 per student. All balances must be paid in full before you
can register.
Raise FUNDS for J.C. Mitchell Elementary
When you shop at OFFICE DEPOT for your supplies, give them our
school code: 70020709. They give 5% back to our school on all
purchases. Empties-4-Cash - Bring us all your empty and used ink
cartridges. We send them to Empties-4-Cash and they send us a
check! No laser jet or large toner cartridges please.
SHOP and choose J.C. Mitchell PTA as your beneficiary!
Character Traits
November 2020 – TRUSTWORTHINESS
KINDNESS May 2021 – CITIZENSHIP
FOOD SERVICE INFORMATION
The School Food Service grab-and-go food distribution has changed.
Rather than a twice-a-
week pick-up, distributions will now be held weekly on Thursdays at
89 school locations across the District. Parents/guardians will
receive a box of pantry-style foods including a supply of
breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and suppers intended to last for seven
days. Pick-up times vary by location. For a full list of locations
and pick-up times, click here. All children 18 years of age and
younger (22 and younger for ESE) are eligible for the free meals,
regardless of financial need. Children do not have to be registered
in a School District of Palm Beach County-operated school to
receive food. Parents do not need to visit their child’s school for
food distribution, they can visit any location of their choice.
Distribution times and locations are subject to change. A child
does not have to be present to pick up meals. However, one of the
following forms of identification is required to receive meals at
the food distribution sites: Student ID Badge, Student Barcode
Letter (that can be found in your child’s student portal),
Passport, Birth Certificate, or Library Card. The adult picking up
the meals can also bring a picture that has themselves and the
children for whom they are picking up food, in the photo. Meals may
contain allergens. Adults picking up the food are asked to be
vigilant and ensure they do not take food if allergies may be a
concern. Food should be refrigerated or discarded if not consumed
upon receipt. For everyone's health and safety, a facial covering
or mask is required when picking up meals at any school food
distribution site.
Click here to visit SCHOOL CASH ONLINE and use your
credit or debit card!
Pay for your Aftercare fees ONLINE!
Purchase your Safety Patrol T-shirt ONLINE!
Participate in our school fundraiser –Pay ONLINE to have your
child’s name on our marquee on their birthday.
Click the link below to take the school district’s
SURVEY! https://sites.google.com/palmbeachschools.org/fy2
1worldclasseducation/english
Don’t forget to grab a mask before you leave the house in the
morning!
Extraordinary Educator Nomination
Students & parents, the district is seeking nominations for
Palm Beach County educators who have gone above and beyond during
the Pandemic to make sure their students have the resources and
personal attention they need to learn and succeed. We want to hear
from you! ALL NOMINATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY 4/25/2021. Please
submit your nomination today by sharing why you believe your
educator is extra amazing. 25 educators will receive $500. This
contest is open to ALL school-based employees. Please click the
link to nominate an educator.