Minute Mtgs

Thanks to the help of fellow school counselor & blogger Danielle Schulz, Anna (counselor intern) and I  met with each JYJ student in grades 1st-5th individually for "minute meetings".  During our meeting we ask students questions (which they answer on our iPads) to check in and see how they are doing.  From the answers we receive we have been able to compile data (thanks to Google Docs) and plan on what areas that we as counselors would like to improve on and determine what's working well.  Although we see each class monthly, making the one-on-one connection has been outstanding.  I am very pleased to say that 98% of our JYJ students reported having a "very good" or "good" school year and that's always good to hear!  We have truly enjoyed meeting with all the students and can say that the students were very comfortable speaking with us, which is a HUGE piece for me.  Having a strong rapport with students is key for me and I want them to be comfortable coming to speak to either one of us.  I've been so pleased with the success of minute meetings that I plan to do them more often in the future. 

Middle School Updates

 Here's the most recent updates on middle school open house info and reminders:
-Proximity choice period ends on 02/24, click here for info on selecting proximity schools
-Applicants for the WCPSS boys & girls leadership academics will be notified during the 1st week in February
-Carnage Middle: Talk & Tour dates: Thurs 02/02 & Wed 02/08 from 8-9:30 am.  Call 856-7600 to register
-Daniels Middle: Tours every Tues & Thurs at 9:30am.  Call 881-04860 or email danielsinfo@wcpss.net to register for a tour.
-Durrant Road Middle: Open House: 02/16  at 7:00 pm.  Guided tours 03/21at 3:00 and 03/29 at 7:00 am and 3:00 pm.
-Ligon Middle : Proximity choice open house/tour: 02/09 9:00 am in the media center
-West Millbrook Middle: Tours every Wed at 1:15 pm and other times by appointment.  Call or email Ms. Symes at 870-4050 or email ssymes@wcpss.net to schedule your tour.

Character Ed Night Video

 

We're still excited from Character Ed Night 2012!  Thanks to Mrs. Yale & Mrs. Kriegsman (our fabulous technology teachers) for putting together this awesome video of our students giving back to others.  A great time was had by all!  

Character Ed Night A Success!!!

We had an amazing and exciting night celebrating the gift of giving...to others. As we exhibited the WCPSS character education traits, it was so moving to see our JYJ students and families working to help others in our community. Pictures are below. This is my very 1st Character Ed night and I had a fantastic time working on this awesome event with counselor intern Anna Decker,  JYJ parents Erin Duffy & Jan Pender, we were an amazing team!  A special thank you to the many parent, staff & student volunteers who helped with donations, prep work, dinner duty, managing a station and for just being there!  It was so great to see that our JYJ parents and students were able to play a role in helping others.  Charities that benefited from our Character Ed night were:
-SPCA of Wake County: we made dog chew toys and adopt me signs for animals at the shelter
-Raleigh Rescue Mission: we made & packed meal on the go bags for people in need of food
-Ronald McDonald House of the Carolinas: we made care packages of snacks and a thoughtful note to children
-Tammy Lynn Center: we made instruments for the children at the center
-Mayview Nursing Home: we made (early) Valentine's Day cards for the residents
-Backpack Buddies: we packed meals for our JYJ backpack buddies program
-Help Heal Haiti Rice & Beans Collection project: collection of rice and beans for meal of refugees.
-JYJ Story Corps: Parents, Staff and students had an opportunity to video record thoughts and feelings on a teacher that had a positive impact on their lives.

Service with a smile, creating care packages for children at the Ronald McDonald House

Ronald McDonald House Care Packages

Card making for Mayview Center

Making Cards for residents of Mayview Center

Grab & Go meals for the Raleigh Rescue Center

Packed Backpack Buddies bags

Making Instruments for the Tammy Lynn Center

Completed instruments made for the Tammy Lynn Center

Making chew toys for SPCA of Wake County

Taking a little break to smile for the camera!

Some finished chew toys

Bullying Resources

CBS news has created an awesome and informative website on bullying.  Click here to view.  This website explains bullying  for both parents and students.  There are videos, resources & other bullying info on this great site.

Character Ed Volunteer Sign up

Volunteers are still needed for our JYJ Character Ed night on Thursday, Jan 19th from 5:30 - 8:00pm.  Click here to sign up.  Thank you for all of your help with donations and time in this exciting and meaningful celebration of service and helping others.  What a great way to celebrate Dr. King's birthday.  As always, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. 

Middle School Reminders

Just a few middle school reminders:

-Application for Wake Leadership Academics: Friday, Jan 13^th

-Magnet Application Notification: Friday, Jan 13^th

-Proximity School Selection Period: January 17^th- February 24th

Prioritize your choices online; choose schools you’re comfortable w/ your child attending.

(Notification Period for Round 1 Feb 27^th – March 16^th)

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Thanks for the rolls

Thanks for the donations for Character Ed Night!

Wow is all that I can say with the amount of donations being collected for our JYJ Character Ed night coming up on Jan 19th.  So far we have collected nearly 6 bins of rolls!  Please feel free to donate other items requested for each grade level.

Everyone:
Old t-shirts, material scraps, cardboard tubes (toilet paper, paper towel, wrapping paper rolls, etc).

Kindergarten:
Chewing gum, "main dish" items (tuna pouches, vienna sausages, ramen noodles, pork & beans, microwavable pasta meals).

1st Grade:
Candy, healthy snacks (raisins, crackers, granola bars)

2nd Grade:
Canned Fruit, brown bags, gallon size ziploc bags

3rd Grade:
Juice Boxes, bottled water, bags of rice (no Minute rice please), bags of beans (all varieties)

4th Grade:
Canned vegetables, healthy snacks (raisins, crackers, granola bars) 


5th Grade:

"Main dish" items (tuna pouches, vienna sausages, ramen noodles, pork & beans, microwavable pasta meals).

Collection bins will be in the front lobby and throughout the building.  Thanks again JYJ families!

Self Discipline Reading List

January's Character Education Trait is: SELF-DISCIPLINE and I'd like to recommend a few books that focus on that trait.  Most of these books can be checked out from the JYJ and Wake County Public Libraries.  Happy reading!

-Katie Loves the Kittens by John Himmelman
-The Child's World of Self-Control by Henrietta Gambill
-King Midas and the Golden Touch by Charlotte Craft
- I Was so Mad by Mercer Mayer
- Don't Pop Your Cork on Monday's by Adolf Moser

JYJ Character Ed Night

Just a reminder that our JYJ Character Ed Night will be on Thursday, January 19th from 5:30-8:00 pm.  This is an evening that we will give back to the community and the JYJ Hatti project.  Multiple stations will be around the school where students will do small service projects.

Charities that we will help include:
The Raleigh Rescue Mission
The Tammy Lynn Center
Back Pack Buddies
Ronald McDonald House
The Mayview Center
Wake County SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)

Donations Needed:
Please contribute one or more of the items below.  There will Character Ed donation bins in the front lobby and near each grade's classrooms.  We'll be accepting donations until January 19th.

Everyone:
Old t-shirts, material scraps, cardboard tubes (toilet paper, paper towel, wrapping paper rolls, etc).

Kindergarten:
Chewing gum, "main dish" items (tuna pouches, vienna sausages, ramen noodles, pork & beans, microwavable pasta meals).

1st Grade:
Candy, healthy snacks (raisins, crackers, granola bars)

2nd Grade:
Canned Fruit, brown bags, gallon size ziploc bags

3rd Grade:
Juice Boxes, bottled water, bags of rice (no Minute rice please), bags of beans (all varieties)

4th Grade:
Canned vegetables, healthy snacks (raisins, crackers, granola bars) 


5th Grade:

"Main dish" items (tuna pouches, vienna sausages, ramen noodles, pork & beans, microwavable pasta meals).

Volunteers are still needed in the following areas:
-Set up (3:00-5:00) 4 volunteers
-Dinner Serve (4:00-5:15) 3 volunteers
-Dinner Clean-Up (5:15-6:30) 3 volunteers
-Project Stations (6:30-8:00) 12 volunteers
-Photographer (5:30-8:00) 1 volunteer
-Greeter in front of school (5:30-6:30) 1 volunteer
-Direction Givers (6:30-8:00) 3 volunteers
-Advance Preparation (1 week prior) 2 volunteers


If you have questions please feel to contact Erin Duffy (dduffy@nc.rr.com) Jan Pender (jan@ctnc.org) or myself (aburston@wcpss.net)

Click here to view a preview of what character ed night is like.  Hope to see you there!

Happy New Year!

School's back in session and although I had a wonderful and restful break (hope that you all did also), I am glad to see the smiling faces of our JYJ students!  January will be a busy month for us (as in most months here).  Character Ed Night is just around the corner (blog post coming very soon).  As always I look forward to another exciting and productive year here at JYJ! 

JYJ Shows Self Discipline!

Each month at JYJ we focus on a character trait of the month.  January's spotlight trait is SELF DISCIPLINE which is regulating yourself for improvement.  Watch the video and see how JYJ shows self discipline!