THE JACKSON JOTTER October/November 2022

Tiger Talk with Mrs. Brehm

Dear Parents, Guardians and Friends of Jackson, 

We have had a great start to the school year with many fun and exciting changes! I am delighted to share that the Safe Pathways construction to the front office and main entryway is now complete and we are back to using Door 1 as the main entrance. We have many new staff members to share with all of you in this newsletter. We have some wonderful new people that have joined our Jackson family and they are Keri McCormick, 2nd Grade Teacher; Katie Jones, Academic Learning Coach; Chelsea Brown, Art Teacher; Katie Ward, Art Teacher; Ashley Stone, School Social Work Intern; Taylor Frodel, Speech & Language Pathology Practicum Student; Daniela Quirino, Psychology Practicum Student; Amber Jackson, Paraprofessional; Michele Leverson, Paraprofessional; Brenda Kuhnle, Paraprofessional; Alexandra Norris, Paraprofessional, and Peyton Balch, Paraprofessional.. We have been showcasing our new staff on Jackson Elementary School’s Facebook page.  You will have an opportunity to meet some of the new staff members during our Parent Teacher Conferences on Wednesday, October 25th and Thursday, October 26th.

Parent Teacher Conferences are going to be similar this year to our Welcome Back Conferences that we held before school started. All Parent Teacher Conferences will be held in person.  This year we will use Sign Up Genius to schedule conferences.  We will share a link soon in which you can sign up for a time to meet with your child’s teacher. We believe that Parent Teacher Conferences are such an important opportunity for you to ask us questions and share important information about your child's progress at school. We can learn from you! We will also have our Scholastic Book Fair being hosted in the LMC during our October Conferences. 

During the Welcome Back Conferences, we held a drawing for those families that completed and turned in all paperwork that day. The following were the winners of that drawing and have received Kwik Trip gas cards: Alicia Lucero, Buffy Dorsey, Tabetha Block, Dana Leikness, and Martha Bueso. Congratulations to our winners!

We are striving for student safety in all decisions that we make. All drop off and pick up of Jackson students can be completed on Jackson Street. Drivers can drive south on Jackson Street and circle around in the loop at the end of the street. Children then can be dropped off on Jackson Street in the curb area next to Door 6.  Please do not park and leave your car along Jackson Street.  This is a Stop, Drop, and Go area only.   If your child is dropped off and must cross Jackson Street, please make sure that they are crossing the street using our crosswalks. I truly appreciate your help with this important safety routine. All bus traffic will be on Burbank Avenue in front of Jackson Elementary. We are asking families to not stop on Burbank Avenue for waiting, dropping off or picking up children. Thank you! For quick reference: Burbank Avenue=Bus Transportation, Jackson Street=Jackson student drop off and pick up. Thank you all for doing your part to keep our students safe at Jackson!

As the weather gets cooler, please make sure that your child wears warm clothing to school. Children will be going outdoors before school, at lunch and at recess time. Please write your child’s name on all clothing, hats and mittens. We will have a lost and found table at our Parent Teacher conferences for families to reunite with their missing and lost clothing. 

Some upcoming dates that you might want to reserve on your October & November Calendar: 

• Thursday, October 13 - Popcorn Day: students can purchase popcorn for 25 cents
• Tuesday, October 18 - PTA meeting @ 4 pm in the LMC
• Thursday and Friday, October 27th – 28th No School for Students (Parent Teacher Conferences) 
• Wednesday, October 26th– Parent Teacher Conferences 4pm – 7pm, Scholastic Book Fair 4pm-6pm LMC  
• Thursday, October 27th – Parent Teacher Conferences 8am – 7pm, Scholastic Book Fair 8am-6pm LMC
• Friday, November 4th - No School for Students
• Thursday, November 10 - Popcorn Day: students can purchase popcorn for 25 cents
• Thursday, November 10 - Soup Supper 4:30-6:00 pm
• Tuesday, November 15 - PTA meeting @ 4 pm in the LMC
• Friday, November 18th – No School for Students
• Thursday, November 24th – Friday, November 25th No School for students Thanksgiving Break 

Have a wonderful October and November! Thank you for sharing your child(ren) with all of us at Jackson! 

Mrs. Brehm, Principal    

NEW STAFF

• Keri McCormick, 2nd Grade Teacher
  • Hello Jackson Families! My name is Keri McCormick.  I am super excited to be joining the Jackson family teaching 2nd grade!  I was born and raised in McFarland, WI. I graduated from UW-LaCrosse with a Degree in Elementary Education and a Minor in Early Childhood.  Soon after, I earned my Master’s Degree in Education from St. Mary’s University. I taught for 4 years in Bloomington, Minnesota, was a stay-at-home mom for 12 years, and entered back into the teaching profession 6 years ago as a 1st/2nd grade looping teacher at Kennedy Elementary here in Janesville.  When I’m not teaching I enjoy spending time with my husband and our four children.  My husband Ben, teaches at Craig, Maddie is 18 and attending college, Carson is a junior at Craig, Parker is a freshman at Craig and Ellie is a 6th grader at Marshall.  I enjoy attending my kids’ sporting events, spending time outdoors, playing with our puppy and cheering on the Badgers and Packers! Already it has been an amazing start to the 2022-2023 school year.  I look forward to a wonderful year being a Jackson Tiger!
• Katie Jones, Academic Learning Coach
  • Hello Jackson Families! My name is Katie Jones and I will be the Academic Learning Coach and Building Assistant for the 2022-2023 school year. For the past 16 years, I have been with the School District of Janesville, teaching First, Second and Third Grade. I earned a Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Milwaukee and completed the Master’s program in curriculum and instruction through National Louis university. When I’m not working, I enjoy spending time outdoors with my husband, Chris, and our three children Anaka, Dryden, and Delaney. As a family we enjoy boating, hiking, and playing sports. We are big fans of all our Wisconsin teams! Packers, Brewers, and the Badgers! I’m excited to join the Jackson Family and get to know all of the students, families, and staff. It’s going to be a great 2022-2023 school year!
• Chelsea Brown, Art Teacher
  • Hello Jackson families! My name is Chelsea Brown and this will be my 13th year teaching elementary art. I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and completed my master's in Educational Leadership at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater in 2020. I was born and raised in Janesville and am so glad to be teaching in this amazing community. My husband, Bill, and I share 3 children. Angelique, Hadley, and Hudson. When I have free time I like to read and create stained glass. My goal for students is to grow up loving and appreciating art. The art world is so broad, I want my students to experience many mediums and to understand that their "status" as an artist is not solely reliant on their ability to draw realistically. 
• Katie Ward, Art Teacher
  • I am happy to say that this is my first year teaching elementary art for the School District of Janesville. I will be teaching at Jackson, Monroe, and Kennedy elementary schools in our district this year. I am so excited to meet my student-artists and see them explore in the art studio! 
    
    I grew up nearby, graduating from Milton High School. And my undergrad is from Western Illinois University, where I attended to pursue playing collegiate volleyball. After college my husband and I moved back to Rock County to start a family. Wisconsin has a special place in my heart and I especially love being close to family. In my free time I enjoy creating any way I can- things like sewing, drawing, digital design, baking, and gardening. I have also been a family & wedding photographer for many years. I spend my weekends and evenings with my own little family of 4, plus our Lab/Rottweiler pup. We love to be outdoors, especially at our family cabin up north or on the family farm. We often visit the Janesville Farmer’s Market, or any other local family-friendly event or live music. 
    
    My art rooms at every school will always be welcoming and lead with an open heart and open mind- so please, say hello if you see me around or stop in to see what our elementary artists are creating! I look forward to an awesome 2022-2023 school year. 
• Ashley Stone, School Social Work Intern
  • Hi all! My name is Ashley Stone, I am a School Social Work intern from UW-Madison.  I am getting my Masters in Social Work this May and am very excited to be wrapping up my education with the Janesville School District.  I will be working with Meghan Everhart at Lincoln and Jackson Elementary schools.In my spare time I love to watch movies and play games with my family; go to antique stores, farmers markets, and sporting events. I look forward to a fantastic year with everyone!
• Taylor Frodel, Speech & Language Pathology Student
  • Hello, my name is Taylor Frodel. I am currently a speech-language graduate student at UW-Stevens Point. I graduated from UW-Whitewater in 2021 where I majored in Communication Sciences and Disorders and minored in Spanish. In my free time, I love to walk, explore state parks, and spend time with my fiancée (Kevin), my cats (Sunny and Archie), and my family. I am so excited about my placement here at Jackson Elementary School. 
    
    Taylor will be under the guidance of Diane Milanese while she completes her practicum hours for speech and language. She will be at Jackson on Thursdays and Friday.  Be sure to introduce yourself and give a warm welcome to her.  
• Daniela Quirino, Psychology Practicum Student
  • I am Ms. Quirino and I am a School Psyhology practicum student working with Brandee Wilker this year.  I hope to learn a lot from Jackson staff and students in efforts to support my journey as a future School Psychologist. I am a second year student at Alverno College and plan to continue my career in Janesville after graduation in 2024. I have recently moved to Janesville from Milwaukee with my partner to start a family! When we are not busy getting ready for the twins we love being outside, making delicious food, and spending time with friends and family.  
• Amber Jackson, Paraprofessional
  • My name is Amber Jackson and I am new to Jackson this year as a Special Ed Para. I am coming from Milton School District where I was a paraprofessional for the past eight years. I have a BFA from University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in graphic design. I was born in Sheboygan WI and grew up in Fond du Lac, WI.
    
    I am married to my husband Corey (24 years) and we have two boys. Evan (19) is a sophomore at McHenry Community College in IL and Broden (17) is a junior at Milton High School. We are a BIG baseball family and both boys play for their schools. At the diamonds is where you will find us in most of our free time. I enjoy taking pictures, watching the Brewers, Badgers and traveling. 
    
    I am happy to have found a new home at Jackson Elementary School!
• Michele Leverson, Paraprofessional
  • My name is Mrs. Leverson and I am so excited to be joining the Jackson staff this year! I have been working in Janesville since 2017. I love reading books, being outside , and spending time with my family. I’m married to my wonderful husband, Paul. We have three children. Our son is a senior at UW LaCrosse, our middle daughter works in Janesville and our youngest daughter is in seventh grade. I am looking forward to getting to know the staff and students. 
• Brenda Kuhnle, Paraprofessional
  • Hi Jackson Families! My name is Brenda Kuhnle, and my family and friends call me Bren. I am beyond thrilled to join the Jackson Elementary team this year! I will be working as a paraprofessional in special education with Mrs. Garner's 4th grade class., as well as with Ms. Ransom's kindergarten class. I recently retired as an Rn, which I have had the pleasure of working in several specialty clinical settings, for over the past 37 years, and I am so excited to be working with and learning with your amazing children! I have been happily married to my wonderful Keith for soon to be 30 years in February! We have 3 amazing adult children: Jason, Brenda (hence why I go by Bren), and Keagan. I am sad to say, that our beautiful daughter Kimmie, unexpectedly passed away 5 years ago, which still makes our hearts sad! Keith and I have the cutest little 8 lb. Maltese dog, named Ollie. He really keeps us on our toes, as he follows us around constantly, and is always wanting love and attention. He truly fills our days with great joy! We are huge Badger fans, as our youngest son was born the day after the Badgers won the Rose Bowl, in 1994! In my off time, I enjoy traveling to exotic places, for the warm sun, and the bluest oceans. We love spending time fishing and boating with our Ollie, as well as spending leisure time in our pool! My hobbies are growing and maintaining my beautiful flower gardens, especially roses, during warm months, as well as growing my veggie gardens, and canning the produce! I enjoy designing floral arrangements with my own garden flowers, as well as premium silk flowers for family, friends, and social events, and if you're looking for an amazing floral design to gift, or for your home or office, I am your gal! I am excited for my new journey here at Jackson Elementary and look forward to getting to know all of the students, their families, and staff! Cheers to a great 2022-2023 school year!
• Alexandra Norris, Paraprofessional
  • Hi everyone! My name is Miss Alexandra and I am so excited to be working at Jackson Elementary with my fellow tigers. I was born and raised in Rockford, Illinois. There I attended Auburn High School and joined their JROTC program which led to me serving in the United States Army for the next eight years. Once I finished basic training at Fort Leonard Wood and learned my job as a carpenter in the Engineer Corps I attended Western Illinois University. There I learned what it meant to be an officer and eventually became a Human Resource Officer for the army. I was then stationed at Fort Bragg, also known as the Center of the Universe and led a small shop of five. I've experienced so much in the military but really all I can remember is the wonderful cuisine from the East Coast! I medically retired from the military in 2021 and here I am now as Tiger and excited for my first year as a paraprofessional.
• Peyton Balch, Paraprofessional
  • My name is Peyton Balch and I am ecstatic to join the Jackson Tiger staff! I just graduated from UWW with my BBA Bachelor’s Degree. My mom has been working in Janesville School Districts for 25 years now and joined her on my own journey. I enjoy playing video games, playing basketball and working out. I am looking forward to an amazing year here at Jackson Elementary School!

 

Library and STEAM

Students began the school year reviewing iPad Promises to make sure we are always respectful, responsible and safe using our iPads as learning tools. This year we are continuing to use Seesaw as our learning management system and for family communication. Teachers are able to send work digitally to students via Seesaw and students can complete their work using a variety of digital tools including writing, drawing, text, voice, video and photos. Please make sure you are connected to your child’s Seesaw class to view their completed work as well as send and receive messages from the teacher. We also learned about cyberbullying during our October Digital Citizenship lessons including what to do if we see cyberbullying and how to be an upstander. 

Students spent their first week of library learning expectations about caring for our school library and books. The library opened for book check out the week of 9/19/22. We have added so many new books to our library and hope our library fosters a love of reading for your student. The library is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month by highlighting books from Latinx authors, illustrators, characters and historical figures. We have many books that are bilingual and also books written in Spanish. Our library is proud to celebrate Latinx cultures through a diverse book collection. In October the library is celebrating National Bullying Prevention month by displaying picture books and middle grade books about kindness, empathy and inclusion. We hope some of these fantastic books make it into your homes so you can celebrate with us! We will also be hosting a Scholastic Book Fair during October Parent Teacher Conferences and all families are welcome to attend and shop the fair. More information will be coming up soon with details about the Fair. We look forward to seeing you there! 

Val Johnson, Innovative Specialist

Academic Learning Coach Corner

Jackson School is an amazing place for learning in the School District of Janesville! Our primary goal for children at Jackson is to love learning in a safe, happy, and engaging environment. At Jackson School, we are committed to getting our students ready for college and careers. One of the ways we measure that

learning is with the STAR assessments. Your child took these assessments in September in the areas of Early Literacy/Reading and Math. The results will be shared with you at conferences. These results provide teachers with excellent information about your child’s growth as well as how we will meet their needs the remainder of this school year. Your child’s teacher and I are happy to answer any questions you have about your child’s results. We are so happy that your children attend Jackson!

Mrs. Jones 
Academic Learning Coach 
kjones@janesville.k12.wi.us
608-743-6526

Early Childhood

The Early Childhood class is having a great start to the school year! We are busy learning how to follow new classroom routines, take turns and share with friends. Don’t forget to send outerwear (jacket, change of shoes, etc.) because the weather is changing and we try to go outside whenever possible! 

Also, we can get pretty messy so please send fresh clothes back to school whenever we send home dirty ones.  We look forward to seeing everyone at Parent Teacher Conferences and our Soup Supper coming up in October and November.

Mrs. Julie Lampher

P4J

Dear Parents,

P4J is off to a great start!  We are learning school routines and setting expectations in our classroom.  We are beginning to learn to share with others, wait quietly for our turn, and walk in a line. We started going to the Library too!  We will get new books every Monday.  Please return books on Fridays so your child can get a new one the next week!  In September we had fun learning about colors, shapes, and numbers. The next few months we will be learning about community helpers, fire safety, autumn, and turkeys. We will start our STAR OF THE WEEK recognition in October.  Watch for special projects coming home the week before your child’s assigned week.  We are looking forward to seeing families again at parent/teacher conferences at the end of October.  Bring your questions and concerns.  We are excited to tell you about all the fun things your child is learning in P4J. Watch for information about a fun family event coming in November.  A few reminders, Class DoJo is a great way to communicate.  If you need help signing up, please let me know.  For safety reasons, please park in the church parking lot and walk your child to door 6.  Please be prompt for drop off and pick up times.  If you are running late, a Class DoJo message is very helpful.  Morning class meets 8:15 - 11:00.  Afternoon class meets 12:15 - 3:00.  Remember to mark your calendars for no P4J Days on October 21st, October 28th, and all Fridays in November.  Fridays in November will be professional development and work days for teachers at Jackson School.  Thanksgiving Break is November 24th and 25th.  We hope you enjoy the time with your family.  

Have a great fall season!
Mrs Fuller, Mrs. Grady and Ms. J

Kindergarten

Dear Kindergarten Families,

We have had a wonderful time getting to know your children. The children have been busy learning about our Jackson School Tiger Truths of respect, responsibility, and safety; as well as our classroom rules and routines. We also have been having a fun time making new friends. We have been doing lots of activities that include learning about school, ourselves, the alphabet, and fall changes. Please read 20 minutes with your child every day. If you haven’t already done so please send in a spare change of clothes for your child and gym shoes. If you have any questions please call or email us anytime. Thanks for all your support!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Ransom, 608-743-6586 or cransom@janesville.k12.wi.us 
Mrs. Dravus, 608-743-6515 or adravus@janesville.k12.wi.us
Mrs. Rosburg, 608-743-6587 or kasey.rosburg@janesville.k12.wi.us

First Grade

We are off and running in first grade! We are reviewing sight words and practicing new reading strategies. We have been working on our classroom routines and our Jackson Tiger Truths, which include being Respectful, Responsible, and Safe in all areas of school. A responsible first grader brings home their Tiger Folder each night, reviews their sight words, and reads at home for 10-15 minutes. They also practice spelling words and handwriting. Responsibility also includes writing numbers and counting by 1s, 2s, 5s or 10s. Each day ask if your child can share something they have done or learned at school and have them show you. Also, check your child’s Tiger Folder each night for notes, homework, or completed work to see the skills we are working on.

All first graders will complete STAR testing in September. We will share your student’s growth and strengths in October at conferences. Please feel free to contact us at any time with questions or concerns. Thank you for working with your child on their skills. Together we will create strong readers, writers, and awesome math scholars.

Happy Fall!

Ms. Bluemel, Ms. Grabow, Mrs. Masterson, and Mrs. Sylla

Second Grade

We are enjoying getting to know your students in 2nd Grade and settling into our daily routines. We are also working very hard on learning our Tiger Truths of being respectful, responsible, and safe!  By the end of September we will have completed the first round  of STAR testing in the areas of Math and Reading.  We look forward to sharing the results with you at conferences  in October. 

With reading and math being our core areas we encourage you to read with your student every day and work on basic math facts.   Please ask your child about the stories we have been reading in class and about other things they are learning about.  We are busy learning the new math curriculum and many new strategies for working with numbers. In science we will be studying the Earth’s surfaces.  In social studies we are learning about communities, about the differences between rules and laws and their consequences, and learning some new geography skills.

We are looking forward to working with you and your students this year and to a productive year full of learning!

Ms. Bodeau, Mrs. McCormick and Mrs. Sweeney

Third Grade

Jackson third graders are settling nicely into the routine. In regards to reading and language, we are diving right into our new reading curriculum, Wonders. Throughout the first unit, students will be reading narrative nonfiction and using text evidence to respond to the story. You can help your child by establishing a nightly reading routine, and asking about what your child has read. If you would like a sample list of questions, please contact your child's teacher. In math we are reviewing place value and efficient addition and subtraction strategies. We'll also be reviewing addition and subtraction basic facts. Please have your child practice addition and subtraction facts at home. In social studies, we are studying geography and the three branches of American Government and science is devoted to the study of life cycles. As you can tell, we've really hit the ground running. If your child seems exhausted, it's because he or she has worked really hard in school. Thank you for all you do to support your child's learning journey. 

Mrs. Dunmore, Miss Peterson, Miss Riesterer

Fourth Grade

Welcome back to the 2022-2023 school year! We are very excited to be working with your children in fourth grade this year. We would like to give a warm welcome to Mrs. Janssen who is joining our team from third grade. We have had a great start to the school year with getting to know your child. We began the school year with reviewing PBIS expectations and classroom rules. 

We started working on our 4th grade curriculum right away the first week and had STAR testing the week of September 14th. Students are doing well with activities in class and on Seesaw with their iPads. We are so proud of all of the work they have been doing. In the upcoming months, we will be working on multiplication strategies in math, energy in science, government and politics in social studies, and multiple literacy strategies in reading and writing. 

We will be attending our first field trip of the year to JSOL for an outdoor education experience on Monday, October 24th from 8:30 - 2:30. We will be identifying trees, tracks of animals, and going on some fun hikes. Please look for permission slips coming home soon! Thank you for all the support you have given at the beginning of the school year. Please continue to encourage your child to read for 20 minutes every night and to work on their multiplication facts.

Thank you!
Mrs. Janssen, Ms. Garner and Mrs. Severson

Fifth Grade

Another year is well underway and the students in fifth grade have become accustomed to their new routines. We have a new reading curriculum called “Wonders.”  We will be navigating through this new program to teach reading, language, and spelling. In math, The students will be sharpening their problem solving skills with multiplication.  We encourage students to work on their multiplication facts at home to improve accuracy.  In Mrs Vazquez’s science classes students will explore how organisms depend on one another and form an interconnected ecosystem. Students investigate food chains, food webs, and the importance of producers, consumers, and decomposers. 

We are also developing the understanding that fifth graders at Jackson are expected to be the leaders for the entire school.  From behavior in the hallway, to sportsmanship at recess, they are to lead by example for the students in the younger grades. 

Finally, the fifth grade staff is looking forward to an excellent year. With continued support from the parents and a maximum effort from the students, we expect wonderful learning to take place.  Keep checking those assignment notebooks and remain an active participant in your child’s learning.  If there are any questions, don’t hesitate to call.

Mr. Ries, 608-743-6551 and Mrs. Vazquez, 608-743-6552

 

Title I

As Title 1 teachers, we are excited to begin another school year. Both of us co-teach during reading in the classrooms and work with intervention groups throughout the day. We have assisted in initial assessments to plan instruction and are excited to start working with all of our groups. It has been great to see all of the returning students and new students. The new year is off to a great start!

Mrs. Bynum and Ms. Swanson

English Language Department (EL)

Welcome back to a new school year! Once again, we are fortunate to have three full-time EL teachers working with our bilingual/bicultural students: Ms. Dries, Mr. Smith, and Mrs. Hanna. Please feel free to contact us with questions or concerns. 

Spanish speakers, please call the bilingual line at 608-743-6519 to report absences, appointments, or student illnesses. Please note: we suggest that you review the school district’s health criteria to help you make the decision on whether or not your child will be attending school. If you do decide to keep your child home because of sickness, please remember to call the bilingual line number written above to report your child’s absence and reason for the absence.

We love our students and are proud that some can understand and even speak more than one language. If you speak more than one language in your home and community, please encourage your family and friends to practice both. You may also wish to read to your child in their home language, to encourage developing bilingual skills.

Here’s to another great year of learning at Jackson Elementary School!

Mrs. Hanna, Ms. Dries, and Mr. Smith

Art

Welcome back to school, Jackson families! Here is some news from the art room for the 2022-23 school year.

We will have our own Seesaw classroom for each homeroom again! We will be sending messages home to all families through Seesaw. This is the primary way for you to contact us this year about anything happening in the art room. You can also reach Mrs. Ward through her email katherine.ward@janesville.k12.wi.us and Mrs. Brown through her email chelsea.brown@janesville.k12.wi.us. Please don’t hesitate to contact us at any time and we will be happy to talk with you or return a message within 48 hours whenever possible.

We look forward to an awesome year with your students at Jackson!

Artfully yours,
Mrs. Ward and Mrs. Brown

 

Talented and Gifted

The Talented and Gifted Advocates for Jackson School welcome you back to another great year! Mrs. Jones will be the advocate for all students in grades K-5. I look forward to providing your child  with enrichment opportunities to enhance his/her learning. Please remember that all enrichment opportunities are presented to students as optional, not required. It is always your child’s responsibility to make the decision to try the extra work. I will use the scores from the STAR assessments that students in K-5 are currently taking to identify potential new students.  I look forward to a great year with your child!

Mrs. Katie Jones

Student Services

We are excited to kick off another great year of all kinds of social emotional learning.   This helps in the development of self-awareness, self-control, self-regulation, social skills, and responsible decision-making, all of which are essential for school and life successes. We are starting out strong learning about our PBIS expectations, Skills for Learning and Emotion Management. We are so happy to see all the happy faces and we will continue to promote good attendance with daily check-ins with students.  

Mrs. Martin emartin@janesville.k12.wi.us, 608-743-6525
Mrs. Everhart meverhart@janesville.k12.wi.us 608-743-6563

Jackson Elementary School’s PBIS Plan

The purpose for Positive Behavioral Instructional Supports (PBIS) is to create a learning environment that focuses not only on academic achievement but also fosters social and emotional growth. We feel that social emotional learning is equally as important as academic learning. We believe that relationships among students, staff and the community are essential to the learning process. Our ultimate goal is to meet the needs of ALL students and provide the most enriching, positive educational experience possible. The school-wide approach to behavior management outlined below focuses on building a safe and positive environment in which all students can learn. 

The foundation of PBIS at Jackson is the building-wide expectations which are called our Tiger Truths: -Be Respectful, -Be Responsible, -Be Safe. We will be having monthly assemblies to teach and reinforce these building wide expectations along with developing the individual core values/character traits of Cooperation, Self-Control, Caring, Perseverance, Honesty, Appreciation and Friendship. This will be accomplished through the behavior management system outlined below. Emphasizing a monthly core value/character trait school wide is a highly successful way for each student to acquire and develop skills that will be used throughout their lives. When everyone at school is consistently reinforcing and modeling the same behavior, students are much more likely to remember and demonstrate the skill on a daily basis. 

All classrooms at Jackson will use a 4-tier ladder system for behavior management. Children move up a level at a time for making good choices and down the chart when making negative choices. This helps the children realize that they do have self-control and are responsible for their actions and behaviors. It is in their control whether they are recognized for making good choices. The ladder moves to all of the special area classes when they go so they have opportunities all over the school to make great choices.

Making it to the top of the chart is not easy, but it is definitely attainable. The children will start each day on green. Green is great. It means that your child is behaving as expected. Sometimes your child demonstrates exceptional behaviors and goes above and beyond what is expected and may end their day on blue. Moving to yellow means that the child may have broken a classroom rule and it is kind of like a warning for them to turn their behavior around. The Red level is if a student continues to break the classroom rules OR has demonstrated a major safety concern. The following are the colors and what they represent:

• Blue – Going Above and Beyond what is expected
• Green - Doing what is expected
• Yellow – Warning/time to make a change
• Red – Continues to break rule or unsafe behavior

At Jackson, we also reward those children who are doing a great job at following the Tiger Truths by rewarding them with yellow Tiger Ticket. The children then put their names on the ticket and the ticket goes in the classroom bucket. At the beginning of every week, the PBIS team picks a ticket each week from each classroom for a special prize. Each class also has a chance to earn a Purple Tiger Ticket. For example, if another teacher sees a class walking very quietly down the hall, they can give that class a purple ticket or if they are really good at lining up at recess. After a certain amount, the class as a whole will earn a reward. Each classroom is different with the amount of purple Tiger Tickets that are required, but some of the rewards are Pajama Day, Extra Recess, extra IPad time, etc.

At home, you can foster these positive behaviors that are expected at school by talking about the positive things that happened at school and ask about how they use their Tiger Truths. We are lucky here at Jackson that all of the students use their Tiger Truths on a daily basis and are great role models for each other. So, thank you to you, parents, for sharing your amazing children with us. We really are the lucky ones!

Mrs. Everhart and Mrs. Martin

Music

I am pleased to announce that we will have a Kindergarten Winter Concert on Tuesday, December 13th. The Kindergarten sing is at 2:15 pm. 

Grades 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 will have spring concerts on Tuesday, March 14th. First grade will be at 1:00 pm.  Second and third grades combined will be at 10:30 am. The fourth and fifth grades combined will be at 9:00 am. 

All concerts will be at Jackson Elementary school in the Multipurpose room. Students have been excited to come into the music room this year and sing!  They are also enjoying more use of turns on instruments! It has been very enjoyable getting to know the students better and watching them grow musically.  Thank you for sending such eager learners!  

Families are able to see music class with me as a separate tab on Seesaw and students are also all connected in quavermusic.com to see lessons in class or at home.  We have been working on rhythm and notation to begin with.

Ask your child what their favorite song or book is so far this year from music class.

Brandi Hawley, brandi.hawley@janesville.k12.wi.us

Physical Education

The start to this school year is off and running fast. Jackson students have done an awesome job at focusing on learning.  At this time, we  have been to the gym. Classes will be held outside as the cooler weather permits with the exception of rainy days.  We have practiced our soccer skills and will begin to play higher level games including 4 on 4 soccer games. When soccer is finished, classes will be using frisbees for some fun games and some rounds of frisbee golf. Please help your students prepare for the changing weather. Students will find it helpful to have gym shoes to change into, because the morning grass can be wet.  Welcome back to all and keep on moving.

Mr. DuVall

Sleep is very important for your student!

Sleep is of paramount importance to young children. Early in life, a person experiences tremendous development that affects the brain, body, emotions, and behavior and sets the stage for their continued growth through childhood and adolescence.

In light of this, it’s normal for parents to want to make sure that their children, whether babies or young kids, get the sleep that they need. After convening a panel of experts to review the existing research, the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) formulated recommendations for total daily sleep needs by age².

• Newborn babies ages 0-3 months should get 14-17 hours of sleep.
• Infants ages 4-11 should get 12-15 hours of sleep.
• Toddlers ages 1-2 years should get 11-14 hours of sleep.
• Preschool children ages 3-5 years should get 10-13 hours of sleep.
• School-aged children ages 6-13 should get 9-11 hours of sleep.

These ranges are for total sleep including at night and during naps. The NSF’s experts noted that these are broad recommendations and that an hour more or less may be appropriate for some children. Parents can benefit from using these guidelines as a target while recognizing that a healthy amount of sleep may vary³ among children or from day to day.

As these recommendations demonstrate, sleep needs evolve as a child gets older. An array of factors can influence the proper amount of sleep for babies and kids, and knowing these details can serve parents who want to encourage healthy sleep for their children.

1. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/children-and-sleep/how-much-sleep-do-kids-need
2. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/children-and-sleep/how-much-sleep-do-kids-need
3. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Community Resources for the Holidays   

ECHO’s HOURS
65 S. High Street

• Monday thru Thursday 9am to noon
• Monday thru Thursday 1-4pm
• Friday 9am-12

Appointments can be made by calling 608-754-5333

Thanksgiving Baskets

• Sign up is October 3 to November 11
• Bring photo ID
• Current utility bill with Janesville address
• Proof of household income, if no income, bring food stamp benefit form

Thanksgiving Basket pick up: November 19 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Rock County Fairgrounds             

Christmas Toy Sign Up

• Call the office at 754-5333 for sign-up dates, as it changes every year. We host a distribution in which parents who have signed up can come and select toys for their children.
• Bring photo ID
• Current Utility bill with Janesville address
• Proof of household income, if no income, bring food stamp benefit
• Christmas Dinner : December 25^th 11am to 1 pm St. Williams Catholic Church

ECHO provides a free Christmas Dinner at St. Williams Church on Christmas Day. Anyone can attend.

Please call the ECHO office at 608-754-5333 if you need a volunteer to give you a ride to the meal, or if you would like your pre-cooked meal delivered to you on Christmas Day

Reduce your children’s risk of tooth decay:  

• Sugary foods and drinks should be consumed with meals. Saliva production increases during meals and helps neutralize acid production and rinse food particles from the mouth. Snacks like cheese, popcorn, nuts, fruits, & vegetables are great!
•  Limit between-meal snacks. The more they snack, the more sugar and simple carbs are in the mouth. If kids crave a snack, offer them nutritious foods. 
• If your kids chew gum, make it sugarless – Chewing sugarless gum after eating can increase saliva flow and help wash out food and decay-producing acid. 
• Monitor beverage consumption – Children should make healthy beverage choices such as water and low-fat milk. Try to avoid soda, fruit juices, and energy drinks. Try flavored water.
• Help your children develop good brushing and flossing habits. An adult can brush for the child until the age of 8 or so, until they have the fine motor skills. A toothbrushing calendar can be a nice reminder to help brush 2 times per day. Ask for one at your child’s school!
•  Schedule regular dental visits. Ideally they should be seen 2 times per year. If you need a dentist, please reach out.
• Your school has a free dental prevention program that offers dental screenings, fluoride, sealants, and referrals for cavities. 

THE JACKSON JOTTER

Dear Parents, Guardians, Families and Friends of Jackson,

As the winter weather is upon us, cooler temperatures and snow falls, please have your children remember to wear their winter coats, hats, mittens, snow pants, and boots.  We will follow the School District of Janesville winter recess policy and be outside for recess unless the temperature is 0 degree or lower, so dressing warm is a necessity.

As a reminder, we ask that ALL Jackson parents, family, and friends follow our drop off and pick up procedures.  As we mentioned at the Fall Conferences, these procedures are in place to ensure the safety of ALL students.  Thank you for doing your part to keep ALL of our children safe at Jackson Elementary School.  Here’s a refresher of the procedures.

Arrival:

When driving south on Jackson St., vehicles should use the turn around at the end of Jackson St.  Vehicles should NOT be making U-turns in the middle of Jackson St. 

The curb along Jackson St. is a Stop, Drop, and Go area only.  We are asking families to stay in the vehicle and utilize the “Stop, Drop, and Go” drop off, with their children exiting the vehicle on curbside.

Pull your vehicle all the way up along the yellow curb in front of the building.  If there are open spaces along the yellow curb, pull your vehicle all the way forward.  It is ok that our students walk on the sidewalk to the gate where one of our staff members will be greeting them.

Do not drop off in front of, in the middle of, or right after the crosswalk.  Vehicles that are driving on Jackson St. need to be able to see all pedestrians.  

Before letting your child out of the vehicle, be sure to pull up to the curb.  Do not let your child out in the middle of the road as other vehicles are driving on Jackson St.

Do not leave your vehicle unattended in the drop off area.  This is meant to be a “Stop, Drop, and Go” area only.  The Janesville Police Department will ticket vehicles that are parked in a non-parking zone.

When crossing Jackson St., be sure to use the crosswalk at Jackson St. and Burbank Ave OR the crosswalk at Jackson St. and Muir St.  Please assist your child when crossing Jackson St. 

Dismissal:

All parents are required to pick up their child in the back of the school.  At 3:08, the gate will open for parents to enter the backyard of the school.

Teachers will not bring students to the front side of the building.  They will wait with their class until students have been picked up.

At 3:20, any students that have not been picked up will be brought to the office for pick up.

I’m excited to share that we will be hosting our Winter Sing at Jackson Elementary very soon.  This year’s winter concert will look a little different than in years past, as only our Kindergarten classes will be performing on December 13, 2022 @ 2:15 pm in the MPR.  All other grade levels, 1st - 5th grades, will have the opportunity to perform for families and friends in the Spring, on March 14th.  More information will be sent home as that date approaches.

On November 15, 2022, Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction (DPI) released the annual school report card.  I am excited to share that Jackson’s report card score has increased from the previous year, scoring at 82.0 which is in the Exceeds Expectations category.  The report card scores come as a result of our Forward Exam and Attendance during the 2021-2022 school year.  I’m so proud of all of the work that our Jackson staff and students do each and every day and as you have just read, their hard work shines through!  We will continue to strive for our best throughout the school year and we ask that you help in our success by making sure your child is at school, ready to learn every day!  It’s through our partnership that we are able to help your child be as successful as possible. 

You can see all of the district report cards from DPI. 

As you receive updated phone and address information, updated emergency contact information and updated email addresses, please make sure that you share that information with our office. We appreciate you keeping us informed in case of emergencies. Thank you for communicating with us.

Some upcoming dates that you might want to reserve on your December & January Calendar: 

• Thursday, December 8 - Popcorn Day: students can purchase popcorn for 50 cents

• Tuesday, December 13 - Kindergarten Winter Concert @ 2:15 pm in the MPR

• Thursday, December 15 - Monterrey Mills Bear & Pizza Party

• Tuesday, December 20 - PTA meeting @ 4 pm in the LMC

• Thursday, December 22 through Monday, January 2 - No School for Winter Break

• Tuesday, January 3 - School Resumes

• Thursday, January 12 - Popcorn Day: students can purchase popcorn for 50 cents

• Monday, January 16 - No School, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

• Tuesday, January 17 - PTA meeting @ 4 pm in the LMC

• Friday, January 20 – No School for Students, Certified Staff Work Day

Just a reminder that our Winter Break begins on Thursday, December 22^nd, 2022 and students return back to school on Tuesday, January 3rd, 2022. I hope that each and every one of you has a safe and relaxing holiday season!

Warmest Holiday Wishes to you and your family,

Mrs. Sarah Brehm, Principal

LMC News

I would like to start by thanking all the students and families who shopped at the Scholastic Book Fair during Parent Teacher Conferences. We had a record year of sales, with proceeds benefiting our school. We would also like to thank The RIF (Reading is Fundamental) program and their partnership with Dollar General for the gift of three free books for all students. Students were able to shop at the “RIF Fair” and select a free book before Thanksgiving break and Winter break. During STEAM, students learned about and celebrated Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) with a variety of robotics activities. In December, students will complete a variety of seasonal coding and engineering challenges to celebrate the holiday season. They will also participate in Lego Build to Give in which students’ Lego creations will be shared online and in turn Lego will provide low income students all over the world with their very own Lego sets. Our Digital Citizenship lessons in November and December will focus on Media Balance and teach students how to make good media choices as well as balance their time online and offline. 

Valerie Johnson, Innovation Specialist

Academic Learning Coach Corner

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for supporting your child’s education from home and making sure they are present each day at Jackson.  We have had a magnitude of learning take place during the first trimester of school and are off to a great start for the second trimester.  All Jackson students, as well as Staff, have been working hard in Reading and Math, as well as other content areas such as Music, Physical Education, and Art.  

As winter break is approaching, it is important to continue supporting your child’s education in your home over break.  Some ways you could support your child include reading for 15-20 minutes each day, setting limits to daily screen time, playing games as a family, practicing math facts (addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division), or even including your child in preparing healthy meals. 

Shortly after returning from Winter Break, all Jackson students will be taking the STAR Reading and Math Assessments.  These assessments will provide our teachers with information about your child’s growth and help meet his/her needs for the remainder of the school year.  More information on testing dates, time, and how you can support your child during STAR testing will be provided as the testing window gets closer.  Your child’s results of the assessments will be shared with you after he/she has completed all of the assessments.  If you have any questions regarding the results, your child’s teacher and I are more than happy to answer them.  

Mrs. Katie Jones

Academic Learning Coach

(608) 743-6526

Early Childhood

We have been working so hard in Early Childhood to continue being good friends and communicating with others.  Since the weather has turned colder, we have introduced daily gross motor time into our schedule and use scooter boards, a parachute, trampolines, bean bags and tunnels to get those wiggles out and work on gross motor skills.

After Winter break we will be using the theme of Winter to continue to work on basics concepts like positional words, letters, counting, and following directions.  Look for special play outside days when we have snow forecasted!  If it’s too cold to go outside, I will bring the snow into the classroom in our sensory tub.

Keep active and warm during these cold winter months!

Mrs. Lampher

P4J

We have been having so much fun in P4J! In December we are going to be reading many different versions of “The Gingerbread Man” and making our very own gingerbread men. In January we will be learning about winter and snow. Remember there is no P4J on Friday, December 9^th and Friday, January 27^th. We hope you can make it to our fun PJ’s and Gingerbread family event on Thursday, December 15^th from 4:00- 6:00 pm.  Enjoy the extra days off during winter break with your families. 

Mrs. Fuller

Kindergarten

Our students are doing a nice job learning good school behavior in the classroom, hallways, recess, and special area classes. We have been stressing these good behaviors called Tiger Truths daily and it has really paid off.

Continue working on counting to 100 by 1s, 5s, and 10s. When playing with objects at home, encourage your student to construct sets up to 20. For example, can you give me 20 Legos or 20 cheerios? Please continue to read the paper books daily that are sent home with your student. Please also practice the sight words daily through the paper books and the flashcards. During trimester 2 we will be teaching physical science through force and motion. It is exciting to see the children making steady progress!

As winter approaches, please remember to dress your child appropriately for the weather. Please work with them at home on how to put on their winter gear. Once there is snow, the students are required to have their 5 things to play in the snow. These 5 things are: snow boots, hat/hood, mittens, snow pants, and coat. We go outside for recess unless the real temperature is below 0 degrees.

Mrs. Dravus, Mrs. Lampher, Mrs. Ransom, Mrs. Rosburg, Mrs. Grady

First Grade

Wow!  We are zooming right through the 2022 part of our school year!  Can you believe it’s almost 2023?!  We can’t either!  Your children have been so busy learning and practicing new skills!  We are so happy to see them progressing and making gains!

As our year moves forward, we will continue to work on spelling, vocabulary, and reading skills. You can help with your child’s progress by reading together for 10-15 minutes nightly as well as practicing their high-frequency words. 

We will also continue to increase our math skills. Our second trimester lessons include: measurement, time to the hour, half-hour, and quarter-hour, adding and subtracting within 20, place value, greater than and less than, and number stories. 

Thank you again for all your support from home! Please contact us at school with any questions or concerns. We hope you have a safe, happy, and a very peaceful 2023!

Miss Bluemel, Miss Grabow, Mrs. Masterson, Mrs. Sylla

Second Grade

We can hardly believe we are already into the 2nd trimester of school.  The students have been working really hard and learning many new things. 

We continue to study hard in the areas of reading and math. During Trimester 2, we will be working on place value to 1,000, adding and subtracting three-digit numbers, measurement, telling time, and geometry in math. In reading we will continue to build on our skills through daily readings and discussions, along with targeted instruction in our guided reading groups.  Please read and work on math facts with your student nightly.  In social studies, we will be studying history and traditions, and about economics.  In science, we will be learning about the states of matter.  This trimester your students will be taking the Cogat assessment (December) and the second round of the STAR test in January. 

With the winter season in full swing, we ask that you remember to send your students dressed for the weather. Make sure they have warm coats, hats, gloves, boots and snow pants so they can enjoy the snow at recess time. Unless it is below zero we go out. Please make sure they also have shoes to change into while inside. It helps keep our classrooms from having wet slippery floors.            

Ms. Bodeau, Mrs. McCormick, and Mrs. Sweeney

Third Grade

Jackson third graders have been working hard on grade level skills. We are very proud of all the progress they have made thus far. During the second trimester, December through February, third graders will be continuing on their learning journey. In math and reading we will continue to work on refining our skills. In social studies we will focus on economics. In science, we will be focusing on engineering as we learn about, experiment with, and create simple machines. We will continue to boost reading and math skills as we practice for the Wisconsin Forward assessment to be given in the spring. You can help by having your students read for 30 minutes each night and by helping them establish a regular practice routine (math and reading skills). Finally, don’t forget to dress your child for the weather. Second trimester promises to be an adventure in learning!

Miss Riesterer, Miss Peterson, and Mrs. Dunmore

Fourth Grade

Thank you to all of the parents and guardians that attended our conferences. We were so glad to have the opportunity to talk about your child’s progress with their academics and behaviors. Please continue to reach out to us through Seesaw or email if you have any additional questions or concerns.

We have had a wonderful couple of months with your children. It is hard to believe that winter will be starting soon. As a reminder, please make sure to send a winter coat, hat, gloves, snow pants, and boots with your child when the weather gets cooler and we begin to get snow. Students will continue to go outside every day. Please reach out to us if you need assistance with winter gear.

In the upcoming weeks and months, we will be continuing to work on multiplication, division, fractions and decimals in math. Please make sure to have your child practice their multiplication facts every night. This is an expected skill that should be mastered coming into 4th grade. In writing, we have been doing narratives, informational writing, and opinion pieces. Students continue to learn grammar and about the meaning of word parts. In reading, we will be working on fluency, comprehension strategies, vocabulary, and word study skills. In science, we have been studying structures and functions of living things. In social studies, we will be learning about the history of Wisconsin, immigrants, and map skills. 

We wish everyone a wonderful holiday season! Please stay healthy and safe!

Ms. Garner, Mrs. Janssen and Ms. Severson

Fifth Grade

The fifth graders at Jackson are into the swing of things as we move into the second trimester. As always, we encourage parents to look at the assignment notebook each night to see if their child has homework, and that they are completing their assignments.

Mrs. Vazquez’s reading classes are focusing on reading fluency--which is the ability to read accurately, smoothly and with expression. Fifth graders can practice by reading aloud at home during their 20 minutes of nightly reading.  The science classes in Mrs. Vazquez’s room will be starting physical science. Students investigate the properties of matter by dissolving everyday chemicals to make solutions and by exploring simple yet surprising chemical reactions. Through these investigations, students begin to build conceptual models for the particulate nature of matter. 

Mr. Ries’ math class recently completed a unit on fractions and are well into their unit on decimals and place value. Once again, we need to know those multiplication facts to be successful in division. Our social studies classes are learning how early colonial people settled America and this will be taking us into the Revolutionary War.

Both language classes have  finished their argumentative essay.  We will be continuing our work with improving our writing mechanics and that will be integrated into more substantial writing assignments as we enter the second trimester.

We encourage all parents to be active in their child’s learning. The fifth grade staff would like to wish all of you a safe and happy holiday season.

Mr. Ries and Mrs. Vazquez

Title I  

This is an exciting time of year for Title I.  We are co-teaching in classrooms during reading classes and working with small intervention groups throughout the day. It is wonderful to see students’ improvement. We recently helped our fellow teachers give the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment Test; and soon we will help with the STAR test. 

We recently helped host the school Literacy Night and Soup Supper.  Jackson students and their families were able to participate in a Book Walk and a game of Phonics Bingo.  After participating in the fun activities, everyone was able to eat delicious soup and yummy desserts. The food was made of vegetables from our school’s garden!  We would like to take a moment to thank all of the families who were able to join us that evening.  

We’d also like to share with you 10 Reading Tips for Parents and Guardians: 

Set a routine. 

Read at home. 

Make a special reading spot. 

Surround yourself with books!

Be a great reading partner! 

Bring books everywhere. 

Set a good example; be caught in the act of reading!

Communicate reading goals you have for your child with his/her teacher. 

Set learning goals.

Be enthusiastic. Positive attitudes are very important to a child’s reading development and generate a desire to read.

Mrs. Bynum and Ms. Swanson
 

English Language [EL] Department  

Welcome to Miss Steffany Garcia as our new EL paraprofessional!  Miss Garcia recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where she completed coursework in elementary education and related disciplines. We are fortunate that she speaks Spanish fluently!  When you visit Jackson, please feel free to say “Hello,” or  “¡Hola!” to any of our team members.

Recently, we had the pleasure of meeting with the families of our wonderful EL students during Parent Teacher Conferences. At this time, we have more than 65 students in the building who receive English language support services along with classroom instruction. Looking ahead, we see that ACCESS testing begins soon. The state-mandated ACCESS tests assess the English proficiency of current EL students. Our EL families will receive notification when the tests are about to begin and when they have been completed. We invite you to contact us via the EL/bilingual line at  608-743-6519 if you have questions.  

Many thanks,  Mrs. Hanna, Ms. Dries, Mr. Smith, and Miss Garcia

Art

Mrs. Ward and Mrs. Brown are blown away by the talents your children are displaying in the art room. We are well into firing your child’s clay projects and they should be coming home in the next couple of months. We continue to work on building fine motor skills, introducing new artists, exploring with a wide variety of materials, and focusing on creativity. 

We could always use your support in helping us keep our classroom clean and organized. We are collecting zip lock bags, kleenex, and antibacterial wipes. We are also collecting yogurt containers, toilet paper tubes, shoe boxes, and egg cartons. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us. 

Katie Ward: katherine.ward@janesville.k12.wi.us

Chelsea Brown: chelsea.brown@janesville.k12.wi.us

Artfully yours,

Mrs. Ward and Mrs. Brown

Talented and Gifted

As the Talented and Gifted Advocate, I am continually supporting teachers in the classrooms with students who need an extra challenge. During the month of December, all 2nd grade students will be taking the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) Screener.  All 5th grade students will also be given the CogAT screener in February.  This screener assesses students' reasoning and problem solving skills and is used as a tool by teachers to focus on students’ strengths in order to effectively teach concepts, as well as design lessons to strengthen areas that are weaknesses for students.  More information will come home on the CogAT Screener as the date approaches. Thank you for your continued support in encouraging your child to always do their best and work through additional challenges as they should arise.

Mrs. Katie Jones

Jackson K-5 TAG Advocate

Social Worker/Counselor

It is so great to be back in school and we have had an AMAZING year so far.  We continue to work hard overcoming the many changes and challenges to the way “School” works and with that comes lots of confusion and strong emotions. We are working hard to stay positive and have fun learning.  We have been having fun in the classrooms working on our Social/Emotional skills with our Second Step Curriculum. Our lessons for the first trimester in grades Kindergarten through 5th grade were focused on the skills we need to be a good learner and Bully Prevention. We have spent several weeks learning and using the 3 Big R’s for Ways to Stay Safe: Recognize, Report and Refuse.  For the second trimester, we will be focusing on kindness, what it means to be a good friend and coping strategies for our big strong feelings.  A huge part of what kids learn when they’re growing up and in school is how to work together, calm their emotions and cope with things that might make them feel upset or sad. By teaching these skills to all of our students, we will help them understand that it is important to know how to feel, how to respond and how to work together to solve conflicts in and out of school.

Mrs. Everhart and Mrs. Martin

Physical Education

The weather outside is turning colder, however the action in the gym is still hot. December brings an end to our floor hockey unit and we begin to focus our attention to the ceiling. Students will be playing a variety of games to develop their volleyball skills. Be sure that your favorite student does not miss out on the fun, because they forgot their shoes. As boot weather approaches, this is a good time to check that gym shoes are in the locker ready for the tasks of the day. After volleyball we will be returning to the floor for a tumbling and gymnastic unit. Students will be learning many ways to move on the mats including balances along with traditional tumbling moves. Our older students will be creating routines to show to each other their best work. We will be using the I-pad to assist your students in developing their skills. Stay tuned for more of the action in January. The seasons are changing, that means one more layer of clothes can keep you warm as you go for that family walk. Keep on moving! 

Mr. DuVall

Music

Jackson Elementary students are about to complete their first trimester!  I am proud to say that they are growing in their musicianship.  I am especially pleased with how well they are reading grade appropriate rhythms and performing them in class.

Families are able to see music class activities as a separate tab in Seesaw and students are also all connected in quavermusic.com to do music lessons in class.

Save these student performance dates for concerts! Kindergarten has a winter concert only.  All other grades have a spring performance. 

These dates were carefully chosen by Mrs. Brehm and other school staff. We look forward to showcasing various seasons and musical selection by rotating Spring and Winter concerts in grades 1-5.

Kindergarten - Tuesday December 13th at 2:15 pm - Students may wear their best holiday attire for this show!

First Grade - Tuesday March 14th at 1:00 pm  

2nd and 3rd Grade- Tuesday March 14th at 10:30 am

4th and 5th Grade - Tuesday March 14th at 9:00 am

All performances will be in the Jackson Elementary Multi-Purpose room.

Watch for more information to come home on paper and on Seesaw!

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out. 

Brandi Hawley - Jackson Music Teacher

brandi.hawley@janesville.k12.wi.us

 

THE JACKSON JOTTER

Dear Parents, Guardians and Friends of Jackson,

It is hard to believe that we have completed the first trimester of the school year.  It’s amazing how quickly the school year is flying by.  With that being said, we have accomplished a lot during the first trimester and we can’t wait to share it with you at Parent-Teacher Conferences in March.  Thank you for taking an active role in your child’s education!  During our second and third trimesters of school, we will see your child grow, mature and develop in many of their educational skills. We appreciate your support with maintaining consistent bedtimes, providing healthy food, and reading with your child every day. We are also thankful for your continued communication with Jackson staff.

One of three Jackson School Improvement Plan (SIP) goals that we have set for the 2022-2023 school year is on attendance.  We are striving to have an attendance rate of 93.5% or above for all of our students at Jackson this school year.  In order to help your child be successful in their academic career, it’s so important that they are in attendance at school every day.  Obviously, there are circumstances in which a student would be absent, i.e. illness.  However, we ask that you follow the “Too Sick For School” guidelines to know whether or not to send your child to school.  If your child is not sick, please be sure to send them to school. 

It is that time of year again as we move into the second trimester to update any address and phone number information in the office. We are striving to keep all parent/guardian information up to date in the office. As we have school related closings and announcements, it is very important for your family information to be accurate. The Infinite Campus phone system will notify families of any emergencies and weather-related closings.  WCLO 1230 AM broadcasts all information concerning delays and school closings due to weather. 

We have a few dates of No School that I want to make sure that families know about. Elementary School students have No School on Friday, February 24th. This is a Teacher Work Day. Also, No School on Thursday, March 2nd, and Friday, March 3rd due to conferences. The School District of Janesville’s Spring Break is scheduled for Monday, March 20th through Friday, March 24th.  School will resume on Monday, March 27th. There is No School on Friday, March 31. This is a day of Professional Development for Teachers.

We have Parent Teacher Conferences on Wednesday, March 1st and Thursday, March 2nd. We are maintaining our conference schedule from our fall conferences. Parents/guardians will receive a note sharing the date and time of your child’s conference. We are striving for 100% participation with conferences. We have a lot of wonderful growth to share with you regarding your child’s progress. You will receive more information from your child’s teacher as we get closer to conference time.

Some upcoming dates that you might want to reserve on your February & March Calendar: 

Tuesday, February 7 - Chik-fil-A Night for PTA Fundraiser

Thursday, February 9 - Popcorn Day: students can purchase popcorn for 50 cents

Tuesday, February 14 - PTA Valentine’s Day Dance, 5-6:30 pm

Wednesday, February 15 - Scoopie Night, 4-8 pm

Tuesday, February 28 - PTA meeting with Family Meal 4 pm

Thursday, March 9 - Popcorn Day: students can purchase popcorn for 50 cents

Tuesday, March 14 - PTA meeting at 4 pm LMC

Spring Concerts for students in grades 1st - 5th will be held on Tuesday, March 14th.  Our students are working hard during music class and are excited to perform for all of our Jackson Families.  As the date gets closer, be looking for more information coming home from your child’s music teacher, Mrs. Hawley.  The times for each of the grade level performances are below:

4th & 5th Grade - 9:00 AM

2nd & 3rd Grade - 10:30 AM

1st Grade - 1:00 PM

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions, compliments, concerns that you would like me to address.

Mrs. Sarah Brehm, Principal

Jackson LMC News

This winter in STEAM students in K-5 have been busy learning about the six simple machines: screws, wedge, lever, pulley, incline plane and wheel and axle. Then they are using a variety of engineering tools such as our magnetic wall and RigaMaJig kits to engineer their own simple machines. In February, students in 3rd-5th grade will be completing the Bright Bytes survey which focuses on technology integration and digital citizenship skills. In library news, we look forward to hosting our second Book Fair during March conferences. Students will also select their final free RIF (Reading is Fundamental) book the week before Spring Break so they will have a new book to read over our extended break. We would like to thank local author, Jamie Swenson, who came for an author visit in January. She completed Storytime with P4J-first grade, Reading and Writing sessions with grades 2nd and 3rd and a Writer’s Craft session with 4th and 5th grade students. All students then received one of her books to take home and add to their at-home libraries. We are so grateful to provide students with this special opportunity. 

Valerie Johnson, Innovation Specialist

Academic Learning Coach Corner

Hello Jackson Families!  Wonderful learning opportunities are continuing at Jackson after winter break.  It is so important that your child is with us at school each and every day so they can continue to learn and grow academically, socially and emotionally.  

One of the ways that we measure academic growth throughout the year is through STAR Assessments.  Your child took the STAR Assessment in Reading and Math in January and those results will be shared with you at your child’s parent-teacher conference in March.  These results provide teachers with valuable information about your child’s growth as well as how we will meet his/her needs for the remainder of the school year.  

 

Another way that we measure academic growth is through the Wisconsin Forward Exam.  This exam is right around the corner for our 3rd - 5th grade students.  The Wisconsin Forward Exam is used to gauge how well students are doing in relation to the Wisconsin Academic Standards.  The testing window will begin after Spring Break.  More information will be coming home for students in grades 3-5 as the testing window gets closer.  

Mrs. Katie Jones

Academic Learning Coach 

(608-743-6526) 

Early Childhood

We are busy little learners in Early Childhood!  February we will be using the theme of transportation in our learning and March will hopefully bring us some spring-like weather.  Students will be continuing to work on self-help and play skills, as well as begin to focus on pre-writing and scissor skills.  

Mrs. Lampher

P4J

We continue to have lots of fun in P4J! In February our learning themes will be Valentine’s Day and Healthy Habits. We will also be celebrating our 100th day of P4J in February. We have been counting since the very first day of school and will celebrate with a fun party! In March we will learn about the weather and St. Patrick’s Day. We look forward to seeing many of our P4J families at our fun Valentine Family Craft night on Tuesday, February 7th from 4:00-6:00 p.m.  

MARK YOUR CALENDARS: There is no P4J on Friday, February 24th, Thursday, March 2nd and Friday, March 3rd (Conferences), Friday, March 10th, and Friday March 31st. Don’t forget Spring break is the week of March 20th - 24th. 

Mrs. Fuller, Mrs. Grady, and Ms. J.

Kindergarten

We will be learning about dental health, what living things need to grow, seasons, St. Patrick’s Day, Valentine’s Day, and the 100th day of school. In language arts, we are continuing to work on reading, learning sight words, and letter blends. In math we are working on addition, subtraction, and counting to 100 by 1’s, 5’s and 10’s. We have finished our STAR testing and will be doing other assessments for the trimester 2 report cards for the next few weeks. Please make sure you are continuing to practice our sight words and reading the books with your children at home. Thank you for your support with the math homework that has been coming home. Please make sure that your child continues to bring all the winter gear appropriate to go out for recess. The children are not allowed to play in the snow unless they have a hat, gloves/mittens, snow pants, coat, and boots. If you have any questions, please call or email us anytime. Thanks for all of your support!

Mrs. Ransom, Mrs. Rosburg, Mrs. Dravus, Mrs. Grady, Mrs. Lampher

First Grade

Happy New Year!  We hope everyone enjoyed a happy and relaxing holiday break! We are excited about all of the fun activities we have to look forward to as we head into the second half of the school year!  In just these next two months, we are going to celebrate World Read Aloud Day, Valentine’s Day, 101 Days of School, Read Across America Day, and our Spring Concert!  Woah! We are going to be busy!

In addition to all of the fun we will be having, the first graders will continue to build their academic knowledge!  In reading, students will continue to work on their letter sounds, vocabulary, and reading comprehension skills with our Wonders curriculum.  In math, students will be adding and subtracting, counting by fives and tens, and counting money with our Bridges curriculum. Science, Social Studies, and Health topics include Light and Sound, Staying Healthy, and Economics. The second trimester ends February 23. We will be assessing your child’s skills to help us complete progress reports and gather data for Parent Conferences in March. 

Please continue to read with your child every night and work on sight words to help them build their reading fluency. Also, work on addition and subtraction facts and story problems to build their math skills.  Together we will grow some fabulous readers and mathematicians! The children are showing some wonderful gains in all subject areas and we are excited to watch their continued growth.  Thanks for all your support from home and for being partners in your child’s education!  

Please contact us at school with any concerns. Stay warm and happy 2023!

Mrs. Masterson, Miss Grabow, Miss Bluemel, Mrs. Sylla

Second Grade

The school year is flying by. We look forward to telling you about the progress we are making during our upcoming conferences in March. During trimester 3 we will continue to build on our reading and writing skills, we will be covering data, time, and shapes in math, plants and pollination in science, and geography, mapping, and history in social studies. 

We cannot stress enough the importance of reading with your children every day.  This will not only make them better readers, but if you show that you value reading, they will place more value on reading.  You are their most important advocate!  Also, please continue to work on math facts with your students.  Second grade is an important transition year as we move toward the testing that comes in third grade.  Knowing their math facts will be vital to working through the math portion of the testing process.

As winter moves into spring, we ask that you remember to send boots along with shoes to change into with your children.  The playground gets messy and we like to help out our custodial staff by not bringing that mess into our classrooms. Please also continue to send coats with your students.

Thank you for your continued support of the hard work we do in Second Grade!

Miss Bodeau, Mrs. McCormick and Mrs. Sweeney

Third Grade

Jackson third graders have made some amazing progress so far this year. We are very proud of them. We will continue to work hard to help students grow as learners and prepare for the spring testing. You can help with this process by having your students read for a minimum of 20 minutes each night and asking comprehension questions about what they read. In math, we have been working on problem solving and concentrating on longer word problems that require multiple steps to solve. We will also be focusing on fractions, measurement, and data. Please have students continue to practice their basic addition, subtraction, and multiplication facts each night to improve speed of recall and help them keep up on their math work. In social studies, we will be learning all about economics and how people budget, save, and spend money. In science, we have been experimenting with types of simple machines. Finally, don’t forget to dress your child for the weather. The rest of this trimester promises to be an adventure in learning!

Miss Riesterer, Miss Peterson and Mrs. Dunmore

Fourth Grade

Happy 2023! It is so great to be back with the students after the winter break. We have begun working on quite a few new units in our learning. During reading, we are focusing on the author's purpose, author’s claim and author’s perspective. We are looking at problems and solutions in realistic fiction. We are also reading biographies and looking at text features, such as timelines. In math, we are starting to work on place value and solving multi-step problems using addition and subtraction. Please encourage your child to practice their multiplication facts a few nights a week. In science, we are studying waves of sound and engineering. We will continue doing different activities and experiments to support our learning in the upcoming weeks. In social studies, the students have been focusing on Government, Native Americans and Wisconsin history. In language arts, we continue with our weekly grammar and spelling lessons and have also been focusing on writing president biographies. We continue to encourage the students to fill in their assignment notebooks every day. We try to put in details to the activities we do each day and also include homework that needs to be done that evening. Please take time to check it out and sign the assignment notebook. We really appreciate everything you do to support your child’s learning. We look forward to all of the great learning that will be happening in the upcoming months.

Ms. Severson, Mrs. Janssen and Ms. Garner

Fifth Grade

It was good to get away and spend time with friends and family over the winter break. We are now back in school and working hard.

Our language classes have been busy working on improving our writing. We are currently finishing an argumentative essay.  The process includes reading three sources and finding material that support their argument. The students then create a five paragraph paper.

In Reading, we are practicing our fluency. Fluency is the ability to read a text accurately, quickly, and with expression. Reading fluency is important because it provides a bridge between word recognition and comprehension. It is also imperative that students are reading 20 minutes nightly. 

Social studies classes are just beginning to study the American Revolution while Mrs. Vazquez’s science classes are working on developing the concepts of “substances” and “chemical reactions.” Mr. Ries’ math classes have completed their unit on multiplication and long division and will now be working on multiplying and dividing fractions. For those students who have not mastered their multiplication facts, they are encouraged to practice at home. 

As always, we encourage parents to “check in” with their child on a daily basis to 

ensure their child is prepared for each school day. For each day, make sure they 

have a signed assignment notebook, all homework completed, and that they have 

any notes that need to be returned to their teacher. We appreciate your partnership 

and look forward to working with you during the second trimester. 

Mr. Ries and Mrs. Vazquez

Title I

This is such an exciting time of year for the Title I teachers! We are co-teaching in classrooms during reading classes and working with small groups throughout the day. We are also helping classroom teachers to give various types of tests. It gives us great joy to see students improve in reading and math. We look forward to a wonderful second half of the school year.

Tips From Title 1

“The evidence is consistent, positive, and convincing: families have a major influence on their child’s achievement in school and through life. When schools, families, and community groups work together to support learning, children do better in school, stay in school longer, and like school more.” Henderson & Mapp, 2002.

What Can You Do at Home?

1. Start a Habit: Encourage your child to treat studying as a daily assignment, not just something he or she does the night before a test. Create a quiet workspace for your child and create a calendar for studying.

2. After-School Chats: Greet your child after school with this simple question – “What’s in your backpack?”, and you’ll discover a lot about what he/she does in class! Set aside time each day to go through his/her papers, looking over the work together. Help him/her feel proud by making some specific comments about something he/she has done. Or walk through a plan for tackling a challenging homework assignment.

3. Get Involved: The best way to support your child at home is to learn with them! Read daily to your child or have them read to you, and then discuss new information and ideas. Help with homework even if you aren’t sure how to complete it. Modeling problem solving and perseverance in solving a problem is a great way to help learners with challenging tasks. Attend events including parent-teacher nights, school-sponsored functions, and field trips when you are able. And most importantly, speak positively about school and learning. Be a lifelong learner – your child is watching!

Mrs. Bynum and Ms. Swanson

English Language Department

Happy New Year!  We in EL are pleased to announce that all of the 2023 ACCESS tests have been completed at Jackson Elementary School!  Our students did a great job of following directions and giving each test their best effort.  Scores for the recently completed tests will be sent home in late spring. Until then, we encourage families to read together, as that is one way to help your child succeed!  In other news, our program has grown since the beginning of the school year. The new students have been welcomed into their classrooms and the community and we look forward to working with them. If you have questions for the EL team, please call the EL line directly at 608-743-6519.

Best wishes,

Ms. Dries, Mrs. Hanna, Mr. Smith and Miss Garcia

Art

We are so impressed with your students! We have been enjoying working with them and we are excited for spring projects! Students are exploring a variety of mediums, such as drawing, painting, ceramics, jewelry making, and mixed media. We are excited to continue to introduce your students to new things such as fiber arts and printmaking! As always, if you have any questions or concerns feel free to email us. 

Mrs. Ward (katherine.ward@janesville.k12.wi.us)  & Mrs. Brown (chelsea.brown@janesville.k12.wi.us)

Talented and Gifted

All students in 2^nd grade recently completed the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT). 5th grade will test in February. This test evaluates student’s verbal, quantitative, and non-verbal reasoning skills and is used as one of the multiple data pieces to identify gifted students. Results from CogAT will be shared with all 2nd and 5th grade families at the March Parent-Teacher Conferences. If your child is identified as gifted and talented for next year, you will be notified of the specific area and the services being offered here at Jackson.

Mrs. Katie Jones

Jackson K-5 TAG Advocate

(608-743-6526) 

Student Services

February and March are big months for the student services department and classroom guidance lessons. Throughout the month of January, we have been talking about respect and diversity. All of the grade levels have been talking about respect and diversity and we will continue to branch off of that in the upcoming months. In January, we observed Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday and focused our lessons on how the students can make a difference in the world by being kind, being a leader, following the “Golden Rule” and solving conflicts by using peaceful solutions and not violence. We will also be focusing on personal safety in the upcoming months and ways to stay safe while at school, at home and in the community. Please let us know if your child needs any winter items and we will do our best to provide those items for them or if you have any questions that we may be able to help you with. 

Mental Health Matters- Here are 10 ways to improve your mental health

Get Enough Sleep

Exercise

Open up to someone

Be mindful

Deal with Stress

Be grateful

Eat healthy

Help someone else

Reflect

Reach out for help

Mrs. Everhart

School Social Worker

Mrs. Martin

School Counselor

Music News

It has been very enjoyable getting to know Jackson students better each day and watching them grow musically.  In January, we focused our study of Tempo, Dynamics and Timbre in various music selections and also learned about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and sang songs about him.

Spring Concerts are on Tuesday March 14th. 

Grades 4 and 5 "Positive: A Celebration of Happy Thoughts" at 9 am.  

Grades 2 and 3 "Make a Difference in our Community" at 10:30 am.

1st Grade  "Friends all around us" at 1 pm.

Here is a list of the music literacy focus at this time in each grade level:

Kindergarten: Steady beat focus with work on Long Sound/No Sound in a beat. We have been singing songs about snowmen and snowflakes and even using some “snowflake” ribbons for fun!

First Grade: Identifying and writing rhythms with quarter notes and rests in 2/4 meter.  Students have just completed their own composition and performed them.

Second Grade: Identifying and writing rhythms and melodies with half notes and half rests and the melodic sounds So, Mi and La. Students have just completed their own composition and performed them. 

Third Grade: Identifying and writing rhythms with whole notes and whole rests. Also, identifying the music alphabet on the Treble Clef. Students have just completed their own composition and performed them.  

Fourth Grade: Identifying and writing rhythms with ¾ and ⅜ meter.  They’ve been practicing a cup tapping game to “Derry Ding Dong Dason”.

Fifth Grade: Identifying and writing rhythms while using syncopation. They are learning about the Reggae Genre along with the history of the instruments used. Also, students completed making a choice for their music class in 6th grade. Sheets should all be turned in for their Band, Choir, Orchestra or Exploring Music class choice at this time.

Ask your child what their favorite song or book is so far this year from music class! We are doing many fun activities that keep us busy!

Brandi Hawley - Jackson Music Teacher

brandi.hawley@janesville.k12.wi.us

Physical Education

Students have been tumbling through the cold weather. They have demonstrated their strong skill and learned some new ones in the past weeks. The Physical Education department continues to modify and use activities that are both safe and enjoyable for students. Students will continue to use our video warm ups along with social distance activities. February will bring a rhymes unit that will allow students to show their dance moves and skills. A unit of jump roping will keep students in shape while learning new ways to use a jump rope. Exciting activities will be happening in the Jackson Gym, please remember your gym shoes to enjoy everything that is happening

Thanks, Mr. DuVall