Principal's Updates November 2009

Happy November!! It’s been a busy couple of months and because of you, we have accomplished many goals already! Our PFA meetings have been great and full of information, goodies, guest speakers, and more! Please come join our monthly meetings and get all of our school happenings first hand!!
A special thank you to our Scarecrow Committee, whose time and efforts were absolutely incredible. The day was perfect and I’ve never seen so many smiling children!
Another BIG thank you to Paula Murphy and our entire Playground Committee for organizing, getting estimates, and moving forward with the new installation of our Playground Equipment.
Kathleen Moore and Erin Smith also wrote a grant and we are excited to announce that Grades 4-6 will be getting ActivBoards (SmartBoards) installed in the next couple of months with the help of the generous EL Cord Foundation paying for 5 and PFA paying for 2 of the boards.
We truly appreciate the continuation of having your children here every day, and on time. This really makes a difference in your child’s education and we value your support. A reminder when the students are tardy, they attend a “missed instruction” session during last recess. This is not “detention” or a punishment, but a make-up session for missed instructional time. We only have your students for a short amount of time and every instructional minute is precious to us.
We have started our “Student of the Month” lunch recognition program, which includes one-two students from each class chosen using various classroom criteria. The students will have a Port of Subs lunch with me on the last Friday of each month (typically) in the library. The lunch is for students only and is a time I truly look forward to spending with them! Your child will show you all of the “Student of the Month” goodies they receive if they are selected. A big “THANK YOU” to the Port of Subs in Shopper’s Square for their donation of sandwiches each month!
The State of Nevada, 5th grade writing test is coming up in January!! A great website for practicing/preparation at home is http://writingfix.com/Nevada_Writing_Exam.htm .
As many have noticed, we have some extra security measures in place at Jessie Beck. Doors to classrooms will remain locked during the school day. If you are planning to volunteer or pick up your student, please be sure to sign in the office first and wear your volunteer badge at all times while on campus. I have included a copy of our “Jessie Beck Codes” in the newsletter this month, which include the drills we have with the students approximately once per month. Please let me know if you have any questions regarding these security measures.

Please take advantage of Secret Witness 329.6666 to report any suspicious activity after school hours or weekends. Students and families are critical to collecting information. It is through your assistance that we can prevent crimes on our school grounds. Thank you!

Krissy Brown, Principal