Healthy Choice Marathon kicks off this Friday
The 2017 Healthy Choice Marathon launches with a kickoff assembly this Friday during school! Here’s everything you need to know to get started:
- Today is the last day to submit entries to the video contest. Send your child’s 30-second videos to HCM Chair Kate Sonawane at katecoward@yahoo.com — please include children’s names and grade level in the email message.
- Encourage your child to wear red on Friday (Feb. 3) for the kickoff as part of National Wear Red Day for heart healthy awareness month.
- Mark your calendar for the 6th annual Joyner 5K Run/Walk on March 5 at 2 p.m. — registration opens on Monday, Feb. 6.
- Get ready to cheer on your teachers and staff in the weekly staff wellness challenges — next week is the Step Master Challenge to see who can take the most steps in a work week.
- Check out details about 5K sponsorships and the Classroom Challenge on the PTA website.
Make Run Club possible
In the weeks leading up to the Joyner 5K, the PTA has offered a weekly JYJ Run Club for students after school on Thursdays in February — but it can’t happen without your help. Several wonderful parents have already volunteered this year, but we still need help with kindergarten, 2nd grade and 5th grade as well as two people to serve as leads for the program each week (with support from the volunteers who led last year). If these positions aren’t filled, we won’t be able to offer the JYJ Run Club this year. Please contact Shanna Schroeder at shannas@us.ibm.com.
We love our school counselors!
Next week, Feb. 6-10, is National School Counseling Week. If you’ve ever walked into school a little grouchy in the morning and left with a smile because you saw JYJ counselors Andrea Burston and Beth Vincent when you walked in, then you KNOW how lucky we are! We all appreciate their hard work and their important contributions to student achievement and success at Joyner. Be sure to give them a heartfelt thank you next week.
Blog post: Mini-grant helps students focus
The Joyner PTA funds an annual mini-grant program to help teachers and specialists to implement ideas that might not otherwise become part of the classroom environment. This year, third grade teacher Mrs. Millsaps used her mini-grant to help her students focus during what can sometimes be a challenging year. Read her blog post to learn more about how she and her students are using sensory stools, desk cycles and fidget tools to calm their bodies and positively direct all that wiggly energy in the classroom: https://joynerpta.com/2017/01/31/mini-grant-profile-helping-student-focus-on-learning/.
Help out in the media center
A new sign-up is now available to help out Ms. Hale in the media center — main needs are checking in books and getting them back on the shelves. Ideally, she would like to have a volunteer each morning between 8:00 and 8:30, but books can be checked in and shelved anytime during the day. Even 15 minutes can make a big impact — drop in when you have a few minutes, even if you don’t sign up. Thanks to PTA volunteer Helen Green for getting things organized and helping volunteers with the process!
Quick links
- Joyner PTA website
- Joyner glossary of terms
- 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)
- Mr. Fotta’s adoption site
Calendar items
- Feb. 3: Wear red for the Healthy Choice Marathon kickoff assembly
- Feb. 9: Silver Trout Arts performance — music and story telling for all grades (funded by PTA)
- Feb. 10: Early release and teacher appreciation (Theme: “We couldn’t have ‘PICKED’ a better teacher than you!” Have your child pick out their teacher/staff member’s favorite healthy snack to bring in.)
- Feb. 20: Snow make-up day (school is in session)
- March 5: Joyner 5K
- March 31: Snow make-up day (school is in session)
- April 10-14: Spring break