Happy National School Counseling Week — don’t forget to give some extra love and appreciation to our fabulous counseling team, Andrea Burston and Beth Vincent! Also, tomorrow (Feb. 9) is Mr. Charles’s birthday — be sure to wish him a very happy day as he helps you cross the street in front of the school!
Joyner 5K registration open now!
Registration is now open for the 6th annual Joyner 5K Run/Walk on March 5 at 2 p.m. Click here to register yourself, your children and all your friends who want in on the action!
Want to know more about what’s happening with the Healthy Choice Marathon this week?
- Collections for the Classroom Challenge are happening every morning in the front lobby and the carpool loop. Bring your spare change (or bills) and contribute!
- Check out details about 5K sponsorships and the Classroom Challenge on the PTA website.
- Reading books is part of a healthy life — you can help gets books to kids who need them by donating gently used books at school as part of the WAKE Up and Read annual book drive. If Joyner collects 2,600 books, students get to dress up as their favorite book character on Friday, March 3.
- Keep encouraging your teachers and staff in the weekly staff wellness challenges! This week is the Step Master Challenge to see who can take the most steps in a work week. Next week we’ll see who can complete the most (different) exercise activities in a week.
Run Club starts next week!
Thanks to all the volunteers who stepped up to make the JYJ Run Club possible! The club will meet Feb. 16, Feb. 23 and March 2 from 3-4 p.m. Volunteers pick up kids on campus and escort them to Kiwanis Park, where the kids stretch, move and run or walk on the greenway. Parents must pick up their athletes at 4 p.m. or sign a release for them to be delivered to JYJ afterschool.
The JYJ Run Club is free and open to all JYJ kids. It is fueled entirely by the efforts of parent volunteers. Last year more than 200 kids and 50 parents participated each week. Click here to register your child and click here to sign up as a volunteer. Register for all three sessions at once — registration closes on Tuesdays at midnight each week and children must be registered to attend. Parents are strongly encouraged to volunteer twice and are not required to run.
If you have questions, please contact the Run Club co-leads: Fraley Marshall (fraleycmarshall@gmail.com), Melanie Jones (melbartoljones@gmail.com) or Shanna Schroeder (shannas@us.ibm.com).
Pick a way to appreciate teachers/staff this Friday
For this Friday’s early release day, the PTA’s teacher/staff appreciation committee invites students to join in around the theme “We couldn’t have PICKED a better teacher!” As part of the Healthy Choice Marathon, feel free to send in something healthy you’ve picked to show how much you appreciate your teachers and staff.
Shoe collection for Mr. Fotta’s family
Art teacher Ryan Fotta and his wife appreciate all the support and encouragement from the Joyner family — they’ve been matched with their little girl and are now doing a shoe donation drive to help bring her home. They are collecting shoes of any kind — used, gently worn or new — to help fund the final part of adoption journey, but the fundraiser also gathers the shoes to support micro-businesses in developing countries like Haiti. Get a jump on your spring cleaning by checking your closets for any shoes you can donate and bring them to school — collection boxes are in the front lobby and by the art classroom. The goal is to collect 300 bags of shoes with 25 pairs of shoes in each bag.
Storytelling artists come to Joyner
The PTA Cultural Arts committee brings a series of great performers and artists to school each year. This Thursday, Silver Trout Arts will provide music and story telling for all grades. The program emphasizes the idea that there are “…so many ways to share a story” — including songs, poetry, a puppet fable, storytelling and even a little dancing. The performance offers interactions for students and opportunities for teachers to carry the program into their classroom writing curriculum. Learn more at http://www.timmyabellmusic.com/residencies/.
Help out in the media center
Sign up to help 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.
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. 9: Silver Trout Arts performance — music and story telling for all grades (funded by PTA)
- Feb. 9: Crossing Guard Mr. Charles’s birthday!
- 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. 16: Run Club, 3-4 p.m.
- Feb. 20: Snow make-up day (school is in session)
- Feb. 23: Run Club, 3-4 p.m.
- March 2: Run Club, 3-4 p.m.
- March 5: Joyner 5K
- March 31: Snow make-up day (school is in session)
- April 10-14: Spring break