Popsicles for kindergartners this week!
Welcome to all our rising kindergarten families! Please join us for popsicles on the playground this Thursday, Aug. 11, at 10 a.m. and/or Sunday, Aug. 14, at 3:30 p.m. Come meet other Joyner kindergarten families and talk to current students and parents! Please RSVP to hannacompton@gmail.com.
Why have a PTA?
If your vision of PTA is just bake sales and end-of-year classroom parties, then you’re really missing out. At Joyner, we are privileged to have a strong, energetic PTA filled with volunteers who are committed to making Joyner a place where every student and teacher can succeed. But that success doesn’t happen by accident — it’s only because all of you make it a reality year after year.
With the exciting news that our school’s Foundation has made it possible to hire a new Spanish teacher this year, we realize it might be less obvious what your PTA donations do for students and teachers at Joyner — the PTA and the Foundation are great partners, but they’re two separate organizations with two separate budgets.
Here’s a quick list of just some of what the PTA makes possible:
- Enhanced classroom technology across the school
- Cultural arts and science experiences during the school day for every grade level
- Mini-grants for teachers to bring new ideas into their classrooms
- Academic enrichment opportunities, like Odyssey of the Mind and Science Olympiad
- Schoolwide events that encourage camaraderie, including the Joyner Jamboree and Night of Nonsense
- Athletic programs such as First in Fitness, PE supplies, the Joyner 5K and running club
- Design and production of the JYJ yearbook
- Student awards and recognitions, including publication of student writing
- Sets of books for teachers to use in class with students
- Improvements to school grounds, including the turf field, stage and outdoor sound system
- Appreciation events for teachers and staff
- Student events and celebrations, including the Summer Reading Challenge, kindergarten popsicles, Field Day and fifth grade graduation
- Advocacy efforts at the county and state levels to support policies that benefit students in our public schools
Amazingly, we’re able to do ALL of this without asking you or your children to sell wrapping paper, magazines, coupon books, cookie dough or summer sausages. At Meet the Teacher, be sure to pick up your No-Fuss Fundraiser form to make your PTA donation — or go ahead and download the form (click here for English or click here for Spanish), fill it out and bring your check with you on Aug. 26.
Getting ready for school
Here’s an extra list of back-to-school links, in case you missed anything last week:
- Check out our handy-dandy JYJ glossary to find definitions of terms and explanations of programs to help keep you in the know — it’s saved in the Files section of the Joyner hub.
- Don’t forget to update your contact info in MemberHub. Our PTA MemberHub volunteers will get you added to the appropriate classroom and grade level hubs once class lists are available.
- Know someone coming to Joyner who isn’t set up in MemberHub? Invite them to complete the form at this link: http://bit.ly/JYJmemberhub.
- Fill out your Summer Reading Challenge logs — extra reading logs, as well as program info in English and Spanish, are available on MemberHub or track at www.scholastic.com.
- Check the files section of MemberHub for login information for Joyner’s online learning resources.
- Make a donation to Joyner’s Backpack Buddies program to help us provide food for 18-20 food insecure students at Joyner throughout the school year.
Quick links
- Joyner PTA website
- J.Y. Joyner Foundation website
- Mrs. Hutchinson’s blog
- WCPSS email alerts and newsletters
- Lunch menus
- My School Bucks (lunch money app)
- WCPSS Online School Payments (for field trips)
Calendar items
- Aug. 11: Popsicles on the playground for rising kindergartners, 10 a.m.
- Aug. 14: Popsicles on the playground for rising kindergartners, 3:30 p.m.
- Aug. 25: Bowling fundraiser for the JYJ Foundation at The Alley (2512 Hillsborough St.), 6-8 p.m.
- Aug. 26: Meet the Teacher (grades 1-5), 8-9:30 a.m.
- Aug. 29: First day of school!
- Sept. 2: Kindergarten Meet the Teacher, 12:30-1:30 p.m.
- Sept. 8: Open House, 5-7 p.m.