NewsFlash | Classroom Challenge, Principal’s Coffee Thursday and Yearbook Orders

Posted on by Cyndi O'Neil

Looking for resources about how to talk about last week’s tragedy with your children? Check out these suggestions from the National Association of School Psychologists. 

 

Support Joyner through 5K and Classroom Challenge!

Remember the JYJ 5K and the Classroom Challenge are our spring fundraisers! The PTA uses the money we bring in from these events in two ways:

1. To fund existing programs like Science Go Round, classroom Promethean boards, Writers in Residence, Backpack Buddies, and more that are annually budgeted, and

2. To pay for a facility improvement project on campus.

 This year that facility improvement is to install touchless water bottle filling stations on campus! These new stations fall right in line with the 5K’s platform of encouraging kids to make healthy choices every day. Bottle fillers not only promote drinking water, limit the spread of germs and reduce our green footprint, but they also improve learning conditions for students and working conditions for staff.

Donate to your child’s class for the Classroom Challenge by having them bring in change, bills (or checks!) to their teacher or you can give online here. The class that brings in the most money wins a jump party at Defy Gravity generously donated by our awesome friends at HTR Capital Group Real Estate! The Challenge ends on Monday, Feb. 26.

Interested in sponsoring the 5K? Please click here for more info. Contact Arinn Widmayer at arinnwidmayer@gmail.com with questions.

 

Come to the Principal’s Coffee Tomorrow

Anxiety among adolescents has risen in recent years, but there are things parents can do to help. Tomorrow (2/22) at 8:30 a.m., Ms. Zezza will host a discussion with our school counselor Andrea Burston and our school psychologist Erin Nasto. Join us in the media center to discuss ways to support your child when nervousness and anxiety may arise in a school setting. PTA will provide coffee and no RSVP needed.

 

Healthy Choice Marathon: Three weeks of healthy choices down, one more to go!

As you get ready for the 5K, don’t forget all the other activities leading up to the big day. We’re now into week 3 of the Healthy Choice Marathon!

  • The theme for EVERYONE week 3: Try a NEW exercise or activity each day. Be creative!
  • Weekly Staff Wellness Challenge: Keep encouraging your teachers and staff! This week we’ll see who can post a healthy choice(s) using our #JYJ175K hashtag on social media.
  • Up next for teachers and staff: Next week wraps up the month-long bookworm challenge. Who can check off the most books from the reading challenge list?
  • Reading books is part of a healthy life. Don’t forget to 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 by this Friday, students get to dress up as their favorite book character on Friday, March 2.
  • If you haven’t yet, you can register for the 5K Run/Walk on March 4 at 2 p.m. at https://app.racereach.com/event/jyj-5k

 

Chick-Fil-A Spirit Night Next Week

Come join us for our annual Chick-Fil-A Spirit Night on Thursday, March 1, from 3:30-8 p.m. at North Hills! This event follows our final JYJ Run Club practice. Why not skip the dishes and head straight to Chick-Fil-A North Hills to celebrate with friends? Proceeds from the night benefit our Joyner PTA. Questions? Contact Leigh Wolitski at (919)-606-5219.

 

NCGA Passes Changes to Class Size Legislation

The NC General Assembly passed a class size reduction compromise last week. The new plan phases in the new class size requirements over several years, adds funding for program enhancement teachers (arts, music, world language, and physical education), and adds funding for more pre-kindergarten classes. This compromise still leaves challenges, as local school districts like Wake County still must find ways to accommodate the hundreds of new classrooms that will be needed by the time the class size limits will take effect in 2021.

The school board has already voted to “cap” enrollment at a dozen elementary schools for this school year, and 15 schools next year. Families can expect that number to grow in future years. Other choices may include reassigning transfer, magnet, and calendar-choice students back to their base schools, capping enrollment at more schools, and making specific changes to assignment zones. Click here to read more from WakeEd Partnership.

 

Time to Order Yearbooks

Capture those precious memories and order your child’s JYJ yearbook today! Flyers will be coming home in the Wednesday folders or go ahead and order online at www.ybpay.lifetouch.com. Joyner’s yearbook ID code is 10746718. There will be no extra yearbooks purchased, so please order yours, now through March 20. Questions? Contact Claren Englebreth at clarenwarenda@yahoo.com.

 

Send in Yearbook Pics!

And speaking of yearbooks, don’t forget to share your pictures of school events with Tracy Robinson at joyneryearbook@gmail.com for inclusion in the yearbook. Click “actual size” when you send via your smartphone.

 

Early Release NEXT Friday and Teacher/Staff Appreciation

Next Friday, March 2, is an early release. Help students tell their teachers and staff “We DONUT know what we would do without you!” by bringing gift cards for their favorite sweet treats – think Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Duck Donuts, Krispy Kreme, etc.

 

Dig In on March 10 to Learn about School Gardens

Join Advocates for Health in Action (AHA) and partner Marbles Kids Museum for Dig In! on March 10 to explore how urban agriculture, community gardens, and edible gardens in schools and child care settings grow a healthier Wake County.The theme for Dig In! this year is Nourishing Community: How Community Gardens and Urban Ag Support a Healthy Wake County. Learn how and commit to how you will contribute to healthier communities in Wake County through edible gardens and urban ag.

Registration: $25 Register here!

 

Quick Links

 

Calendar Items

  • Feb. 21: Beverly Botsford’s Dancing Drums performances (whole school)
  • Mar. 2: Early release and Teacher Appreciation
  • Mar. 3: Odyssey of the Mind Regional Tournament @ Wake Tech
  • Mar. 4: JYJ 5k
  • Mar. 8: Barre 3 class fundraiser for the JYJ Foundation, 7:00 pm
  • Mar. 9: Black Box Dance performances (whole school)
  • Mar. 12-16: Tony Peacock, writer-in-residence (4th graders)
  • Mar. 24: Odyssey of the Mind State Tournament @ Wingate University
  • Mar. 29: Snow make-up day. School is in session.
  • Mar. 30: Holiday
  • Apr. 2-6: Spring Break

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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