Jaguar News

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Greetings Jefferson families! I hope you are all doing well and had a wonderful Holiday break. Mine was bittersweet. My oldest son had been coaching football at the University of Nebraska this past year. However, over the break he landed a coaching position with Texas A & M in College Station, Texas, so they moved south over the break. Christian and his wife have one child and are expecting another in February. So, instead of being just a couple of hours away from my grandchildren, I will now be close to twelve hours away. My second son, Preston, is still at the University of South Carolina working as a recruiter for the football program. Jasmine, my oldest girl-a junior in high school, will be competing for Miss Nebraska Teen again this summer. And my youngest daughter, Ella, is active in everything 8th grade has to offer. My wife, Sherri, is still training future cheerleaders and is also a substitute teacher. Everyone is busy!

TRAFFIC & STUDENT SAFETY

I would like to remind everyone that student safety is very important to all of us. I know what it means to be in a hurry and I know that time is important. However, we have to look out for all students and staff when dropping off and picking up. We have been using two large yellow cones to mark out space along the curb for bus parking for both drop-off and pick-up. Please do not park in that area. We have a yellow NPPSD school bus that is utilized for Special Needs and Handicapped students. We also have the City Transit Bus that brings students and staff to and from work daily. Both have flashing lights and STOP arms. Please do not go around the buses if the STOP arm is out, the lights are flashing, and the doors are open as students are exiting/entering the bus. Especially the YELLOW SCHOOL BUS. Those students sometimes need a little additional time to get on and off of the bus. Please be safe.

The second issue pertaining to traffic is the problem of cars going around cars in the middle of the street causing issues for both oncoming traffic and students crossing at crosswalks, especially those at the 2nd and Silber intersection. I know traffic is backed up around the corner as people are waiting to get into the drive-thru to pick up Kindergarten and First Grade students. We dismiss nearly 100 students out of the drive-thru daily in less than 10 minutes. That’s pretty good. When it is warm and nice out, we get them through in 7 minutes or less. Again, I know time is a factor, but having to wait an extra minute or two could mean the difference of saving a life or avoiding an accident. Please, be patient!

The third issue stems from the second issue. There have been reports of cars pulling through the crosswalks even when an adult is holding a STOP sign in the middle of the street. When those people are in the middle of the street it is because they are allowing students to cross safely. Please acknowledge the STOP signs and my staff in the streets and STOP! Again, we want to avoid accidents and death. Thank you.

PURPOSE of SCHOOL

There are many purposes for school. The most important one is for students to get a good education. I have worked in education for 31 years. I have worked with a lot of great teachers and support staff. Jefferson Elementary is full of great educators and support staff (paras, cooks, custodians, etc.). Teachers get a bad rap sometimes, we all want our kids to have a great day every day, be happy, learn, and come home with great things to say. If a student had a bad day, we, as parents, feel for them and want to make it better for them. As teachers, we want your students to learn which requires students to try to do the work even when it is difficult. Students’ behaviors will escalate when the learning gets harder. They get frustrated as do the teachers as behaviors from one or more students can disrupt learning for the entire class. When a student has a behavior they need some extra attention and therefore teaching stops so the teacher can address the behavior and then while addressing the behavior another behavior may begin with another student.

Teachers, besides dealing with behaviors throughout the day, also have to plan. There is a lot of planning and preparation that goes into a week of teaching, especially at the elementary level where teachers plan every lesson for every subject for 20-25 students. They modify each lesson to challenge the higher level students and keep them engaged, target the lessons for those that are at grade level, and they modify the lesson for students that have educational needs. Therefore for each lesson that is planned, there are three plans for that lesson for each subject, every day.

Our days are structured by state and national standards to alot for instructional time as required by grade level. Reading and Math classes require the most time. That being said, teachers often take student assignments home at the end of the day to grade. Many of our teachers are mom’s and, let’s be honest, mom’s keep the homes running. So on top of grading those assignments at home, the mom’s still prepare dinner, do laundry, help their own children with homework, and try to find some time for some relaxation in the evening so they can start again tomorrow.

Teaching is a hard profession.

Other purposes of school include, teaching students social cues, being a good citizen, getting along with others, dealing with emotional stress, sportsmanship, music, technology, among numerous other functions that everyone should learn. Please be kind to teachers. Not everything goes as planned every day, and teachers have bad days, too. The bottom line is that we all need to work together to improve learning and to provide opportunities for all students to be successful. If you have an issue that comes up and you have questions, please reach out to your teacher personally. Many problems can be solved if we are all willing to solve them. Some problems may be too great for us to solve in one meeting or in one school year. If we work together I am sure we will be able to work through most problems together. You can always call us at: (308) 535-7136.

We are challenging our students to try harder, work harder, and give more effort in their learning. We are trying to improve our test scores (DIBELS and NSCAS). I am glad to tell you that many students in all grades made growth, some very significant, in either DIBELS, NSCAS, or both (3rd-5th grade only). We reduced our REQUIRED Reading Intervention list from 53 to 34 from our last round of testing. That is pretty dramatic. I want to thank all of you for helping your students to be prepared for school by being well rested, supported in their studies, and pushing them/encouraging them to do and be their best. Thank you for all that you do as parents!

NO SCHOOL MONDAY - January 15th

A reminder there is no school on Monday, January 15th due to staff professional development activities. We have a number of activities for all staff planned that day including training on various topics such as our Reading program. If you don’t have to leave the house, don’t! It is supposed to be between -20 and -30 degrees on Monday and Tuesday. BRRRRRRRR!

COLD WEATHER

With the freezing temperatures, it will be important to make sure your students are dressed for the cold. Coats, stocking caps, ear muffs, gloves/mittens, snow boots, etc. If you are in need of any of these items, we may be able to help out. Please call: (308) 535-7136. If there is snow on the playground and it is warm enough for us to be outside this winter (feels like 15 degrees or warmer), students MUST have snow boots to play in the snow. If students do not have snow boots, they will be required to play on the black top areas.

LOST & FOUND

If your students are missing coats, shirts, pants, gloves, hats, etc., there is a good chance that the items could be in our LOST & FOUND box. We will have a table set out at Parent Teacher Conferences in February. Please check for missing items. Thanks.

PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES

Parent Teacher Conferences are coming up soon. We will hold our conferences Tuesday and Wednesday, February 6 & 7, from 4:00-8:00 both evenings. Students will have school all day both days, individual times will be sent out soon.

BINGO FOR BOOKS

Bingo for Books will be February 1st from 5:30-6:30 with the Book Fair preview to follow from 6:30-7:30.

PTO

Due to snowy weather, we postponed our PTO meeting from January 9 to January 16. We are really needing some people to step up and take over the reigns of the PTO as the ladies currently running are “BURNED OUT!” They do amazing things for us and help out with several activities throughout the school year. They have been on the PTO for three or more years and need a break. If there is anyone interested, please reach out to me or the PTO members: Randa Musil; Chandra Stroud; Kelsey Shrum. If we have no takers, we may have to disband the PTO at the end of the school year. Please consider. Again, the next meeting will be Tuesday, January 16, 6:00pm in the Jefferson Elementary Library. We typically meet on the first Tuesday of the month each month.

FAST & FURIOUS SEMESTER

It always seems that the second semester goes faster and faster every year! I am sure this semester will be no exception! We have a lot of activities planned including a “FUN NIGHT,” in March. More to come on that later. Be watching for information. We will have a few breaks included in the semester, so pay attention to those. Before we know it it will be field day and the end of the semester/school year. Buckle up and get ready!

2024-2025 SCHOOL YEAR CALENDAR

The school board just adopted our ‘24-’25 school calendar for next school year. There are some major changes that you will want to make plans for including 2:30 dismissals EVERY WEDNESDAY (for K-12 students). The District will be putting more information out on how we will accommodate families. Rather than taking so many days off through the school year, we will shorten Wednesdays for our professional development days. It will create a few hiccups early but most can be handled with a little planning ahead of time. Be watching for more information.

WELCOME NEW STAFF

Please welcome Mrs. Danesa Fleck, former Lincoln Elementary Principal, as our new Dean of Students. She will be here two to three days per week. She has already hit the road running as she has been helping out with some students in our school this week.

Also, please welcome Ms. Shelby Johns, paraprofessional. Shelby joined us just before the holiday break and we are thankful to have her.

Mrs. Haley Keck, paraprofessional, is not new but she is student teaching with Mrs. Bourke. Congratulations!

Mrs. Emilee Henne, paraprofessional. Ms. Emilee has been with us for a while, now, however, since she has worked with us she has gotten married, had a baby right before Thanksgiving, and is currently student teaching with Mrs. Paul for a few weeks and then Mrs. Bodenus for a few weeks. Congratulations on all of it!

IS THIS GUY THROUGH, YET?

I really appreciate all of you supporting our school the way you do. If there are questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call: (308) 535-7136; or email: jellsworth@nppsd.org. I cannot promise that we will always agree, but I am always open to having a conversation and listening to you. I would ask that if you would like to meet in person, call ahead to make sure I am available for the time you would like. I am sure we can find some time. Please, not between 8:00-8:30am. I know that is an ideal time as you are dropping off students, however, I am preparing for announcements for the day and go into classrooms to deliver those. The end of the day, most days, are filled with meetings so it is important to call ahead. I will make it a point to set up a time that works for both of us to meet. I look forward to hearing from you.

Mr. E