NewsFlash | Order Jagwear, Science-Go-Round Presenters Needed, After School Club Sign Ups, Teacher Appreciation

Want to help feed a hungry Joyner child this school year? Click here to donate to Backpack Buddies. We have so far collected enough to cover 13 of the 25 students we hope to support this year. 

 

Friday is Fall Picture Day

Say cheese! School pictures are this Friday, Sept. 22. Send in your order form on picture day or click here to order online. It should come up automatically, but Joyner’s picture day ID is BW017212Q0.

 

Pre-Order Joyner Spirit Wear

Show your school pride and support the PTA! Pre-order forms for Joyner Spirit Wear should have come home with your student. Orders will be accepted through Sept. 29 and this is the only Jagwear sale for the school year. Click to view the options: short-sleeved teelong-sleeved tee, and sweatshirt. You can click here to download an order form, if your child’s form gets lost in the twilight zone between school and home.

Scientists Needed for Science-Go-Round

JYJ’s annual Science-Go-Round is coming Nov. 9, and we are in search of some exciting new presenters! Know any engineers, pilots, doctors, dentists, veterinarians, chemists, physicists, health and wellness experts, or scientists from other fields who would be willing to share their knowledge and passion with our students? If so, please contact Leigh Wolitski at leigh@etelli.com for additional information.

Help Joyner Make Free Money

If you haven’t joined the PTA yet, now’s the time! If Joyner can meet last year’s PTA membership plus 50 more members by October 16, our school will win $50.

  • Member dues are only $5. Click here to learn how to join and pay online or by check.
  • Moms, dads, grandparents, aunts and uncles — Joyner gets a boost for every adult who joins.
  • Any additional funds you donate for the No Fuss Fundraiser (beyond the $5 dues) stay right here at Joyner to pay for our fantastic PTA programs.
  • Ask your employer if there is a matching donation program where you work.

 

Spirit Night at United Skates of America

Joyner is having a Skate Party at United Skates (2901Trawick Rd Raleigh) next Wednesday, Sept. 27, from 6-8:30. p.m. Admission is $3.50, skate rentals are $3.50, and 100% of admission proceeds go back to the Joyner PTA. So bring the family out and support our school while enjoying a night of rollerskating fun!

 

Odyssey of the Mind Application is Live

The online application for Odyssey of the Mind is now live, through October 2. Click here to learn about this year’s “problems” and here to apply. If you weren’t able to attend the informational meeting yesterday, email joynerom@gmail.com with any questions about the program.

 

TEK After School Clubs Sign-Ups

Is your child a Super Scientist? A Krafty Kid? Is he into cooking? Does she love robotics? Check out the fall clubs at Joyner! Fall TEK Clubs will run for six Wednesdays from Oct. 18 – Nov. 29 (skipping Thanksgiving week) from 3:30-4:45. TEK supervises students after school until clubs begin. Cost is $135.

  • Registration forms with full club descriptions will be sent home in folders this week.
  • Registration will be held Wednesday, Sept. 27, from 8-8:30 a.m. in the JYJ Media Center.

Contact TEK (Duval Fisher) at duval@tailoredenrichmentkids.com or visit www.tailoredenrichmentkids.com with questions.

 

Teacher and Staff Appreciation Next Week

The first early release of the year is next Friday, Sept. 29, and you know what that means! It’s time to shower our fantastic Joyner teachers and staff with love! The theme for this first teacher appreciation day is Our future is so bright, we gotta wear shades! Students can use a yellow theme and write what they love about Joyner. Click here to find out which additional staff members your child’s class is appreciating this year.

For those new to Joyner this year, rather than appreciating our teachers and staff only once a year, we provide lots of opportunities to tell them how fabulous we think they are! Every early release day is also a Teacher and Staff Appreciation Day, and each one will have a fun theme. Click here for the full year of themes (but don’t worry — we’ll give you a heads-up as they come).

 

Impact of Smaller Class Size Legislation on Joyner

Joyner is one of 27 Wake County elementary schools whose enrollment may be limited, starting next year, because of a new state law that aims to lower class sizes for kindergarten through third grade. The class size legislation calls for K-3rd classrooms to average roughly 17 students by 2018, compared with an average of 21 children this past school year. In order to meet these new requirements, Wake County would need to create space for the equivalent of 559 classrooms and 9,500 students — or about 14 new schools.

While well-meaning (who doesn’t like smaller classes!?) the legislation is having some unforeseen consequences — like larger classes for 4th and 5th grades, more trailers, and converting art and music spaces into regular classroom space. And in 27 Wake County elementary schools, those steps won’t be enough. Wake County school administrators have proposed additional strategies in some schools, including Joyner, to reduce enrollment. The strategies proposed for Joyner include closing the school to transfers and reducing magnet slots. Click here for the list of all 27 schools and the proposed strategies.

Want to know more? Watch a recent episode of Education Matters about the coming impacts of the new class size legislation.

 

Kiwanis Park Volunteer Opportunity

Kiwanis Park is a huge asset to Joyner Elementary as we use it for recess, special events, field day and the 5th grade kickball game. There are exciting plans for a major renovation this year, but the funding has fallen a bit short. You can pledge to help by converting volunteer hours into savings for the project!

Joyner parent Jen Schrage is partnering with Kiwanis to help raise the additional needed funds via cash or volunteer pledges, and pledges must be in by October 1. Pledges to volunteer count at $23.56/hour. Go to  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040c4cabaa29a13-pledge to sign up or donate. Contact Jen at theschragefamily@yahoo.com with any questions.

 

Quick Links

Calendar Items

  • Sept. 21: Teacher workday (no school)
  • Sept. 22: Fall picture day
  • Sept. 27: Joyner Spirit Night at United Skates of America, 6-8:30
  • Sept. 29: Early release and Teacher Appreciation
  • Oct. 13: Joyner Jamboree
  • Oct. 20: Early release and Teacher Appreciation
  • Oct. 31: Teacher workday (no school)
  • Nov. 9: Science go round
  • Nov. 9: Picture re-takes (date subject to change)
  • Nov. 10: Holiday (no school)
  • Nov. 16: JY Joyner Foundation Dance-a-Thon

The NewsFlash is produced (almost) every week by the Joyner PTA communications chair. Have an announcement to include in a future edition of the NewsFlash? Submit your article via this form. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @pta_joyner.

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