Jefferson Elementary School

Coldwater Families: We have been very fortunate this year with weather and the ability to keep schools open for our students. As conditions could change, I would like to take this opportunity to share with you some of the considerations that go into the decision to close schools for a day. When considering a closure, we monitor weather forecasts, road conditions, and special alerts/updates from the National Weather Service. We also collaborate with other districts in the county and talk with area superintendents, maintenance, and transportation teams to assess the safety of travel and the condition of our facilities. The safety of our students and staff is always our top priority. To determine if a closure is necessary, we closely monitor: Weather Conditions: Heavy snow, ice, or freezing rain that may create hazardous travel conditions. Road Conditions: Reports from transportation officials and local authorities regarding road safety for buses and personal vehicles. Wind Chill: Extreme cold, particularly wind chill temperatures below -20°F, which may pose a danger to students waiting at bus stops or walking to school. We strive to make decisions as early as possible and will communicate closures through local media, emails, social media, and our district app. Please ensure your contact information is up to date in our system. Thank you for your understanding and support as we work to ensure everyone’s safety.

Check out the newsletter for this month! https://secure.smore.com/n/rwx8k

Sheriff Pollack came for his final visit before his retirement. He read a story to students. He also talked about why all different uniforms are essential and how they help all of us.

Students love to be outside! We have been loving the snow on the ground lately. Remember, it is crucial to send students to school in appropriate weather attire. This includes snow pants, boots, hats, and gloves. Students go outside for recess daily when the temperature is 10 degrees Fahrenheit or above.

Mrs. Mencke's class and Mrs. Hodge's class worked together to complete some New Year-themed stations just before their holiday break. Students listened to a winter solstice story, completed a New Year's escape room, designed a snowman based on facts about them, and designed a gingerbread to reflect what they liked most about the winter season. Students had a fantastic time working together to complete their stations.

It's Hungry Howie's Pizza Night!! If you're tired of cooking, please consider ordering pizza tonight and supporting your child's school! A percentage of all sales made tonight is donated to our school. When you place an order tonight, mention your child's teacher's name. The class with the most orders tonight will win a pizza party!

Third-grade students in all classes competed in a rock paper scissors competition just before their holiday break. Each class competed amongst themselves and sent the top seven winners from each class to the finals. The finals were held in Mrs. Hodge's room, where students continued to watch the games via video feed from their prospective classrooms. Congratulations to the competition winner, Stella Davenport, from Mr. Bachler's class. Stella was able to choose any prize off of an exclusive prize list! She decided to have McDonalds for lunch as her winner's prize! Congratulations to her!

Welcome back to school! We hope you had a restful break and were able to spend quality time with loved ones! Students in Mrs. Hodge's class celebrated the end of 2024 by creating a calendar to display for all of 2025. Some students were choosing to "gift" this to a loved one for Christmas, some for Hannukah, and others as a token of appreciation to their loved ones. The calendars were such an act of love, and they looked fantastic! Students did everything themselves from illustrating, to coloring, to assembling, and recording important dates! We hope that this art will be cherished throughout this new year!

Have a safe and happy winter break! School will resume on Monday, January 6. See you in 2025!

Our first group of Cardinal 200 Club winners got to enjoy Moana 2 this week!

What a day to be greeted by Grinch! Today was the last full day of school this week. We will have a half day of school tomorrow and Friday!

Congratulations to the winners from Family Game Night! The winners were Stella Davenport, Olivia Hutchinson, and Bianca Aureles all from third grade! Great job, girls!

Students have been so excited to earn GOLDEN TICKETS for our new behavior incentive program. Select teachers are given a special golden ticket to acknowledge a student going above and beyond in following our Jefferson Pride expectations. Check out the video linked below to learn more! https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qD6Jsfn7jwWBZjR5EajqTtafyHUSEELu/view?usp=sharing This week we filled our first row, and students won a special trip to the NCG Movie Theater! They are so excited to have the opportunity to watch Moana 2! Congratulations to our first 10 winners! Thank you for showing your Jefferson Pride! We are so proud of you! * Cora O'Conner * Isabella Cuellar * Isadora Bell * Raiden Silveira * Zaelynn Sponsler * Amayiah Howard * Jamie Roberts * Jordyn Myers * Shahd Noman * Vanessa Rodriguez

Third grade authors are shown here using technology to publish their writing pieces.

It's Hungry Howie's Pizza Night!! If you're tired of cooking, please consider ordering pizza tonight and supporting your child's school! A percentage of all sales made tonight is donated to our school. When you place an order tonight, mention your child's teacher's name. The class with the most orders tonight will win a pizza party!

Mr. Cross and Mrs. Hodge partnered up to concentrate on building their number sense through multiplication! Students had the opportunity to 'be the teacher' and to teach a peer how to decompose larger numbers into smaller ones to multiply! It is amazing to see how proud they are of their math ability and to see the satisfaction on their faces when their peer understands! Great job working together, third graders!

Third grade students created their very own Macy's Parade balloons!

Third grade students have been diving into novels during focus time to read and discuss story elements.

Students in Mrs. Hodge's class have been learning how to work together and collaborate. They recently did a project requiring a lot of collaboration and teamwork. Their job? To create the longest paper chain possible out of a single piece of paper. It truly is a gift to watch our students persevere through tough tasks!

Mrs. Fondren´s class has been participating in the Peer to Peer Program led by Mrs. Bronstetter and Mrs. McConn. We participate in a monthly lesson. Our lesson for November began with Mrs. Bronstetter asking the students what they did since the last time she was there that made them a good friend. Students responded they helped someone and they included other people in their play at recess. Students then played a game with each other, in which they practiced being a good friend, by encouraging each other. It has been enjoyable to watch the students encourage and help each other. We are all working on being a good friend to everyone.