November 2011 - Jenks Public Schools

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November 2011
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Food Drive
Food Drive
Food Drive
Food Drive
Food Drive
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Game of Giving
Game of Giving
Game of Giving
Game of Giving
Game of Giving
PTA General Board
Meeting 9:30am
Dynamic Dads
Media Center, 7:20am
Multipurpose Room
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Game of Giving
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Game of Giving
Holiday Break
Holiday Break
Holiday Break
winner announced
NO SCHOOL
NO SCHOOL
NO SCHOOL
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JEI PTA November Meeting:
Please join us at JEI, Tuesday, November 15th at 9:30 in the Multipurpose Room, on the north end of the
gym building. Hear news about our school and about what's going in the district from Jenks Superintendent,
Dr. Kirby Lehman. Don't miss it! You don’t have to be a PTA member to attend.
Coffee and a light breakfast will be served. Put your name in for our drawing for a free coffee at Kaffe Bona.
PTA would like to thank Kaffe Bona at 91st & Yale for always providing coffee for our meetings.
JEI GAZETTE
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The Jenks East Intermediate
Game of Giving
November 14—November 21
This fundraising competition between OU and OSU fans is fun and fiercely
competitive against JEI Principal Mr. Wright (Boomer Sooner!) and JEI Assistant
Principal, Mrs. Peterson (Go Pokes!)! The money raised will benefit JEI families
who need special assistance during the holidays.
The East Intermediate Student Service Organization will collect money at both
drop off and pick up in the back oval as well as at lunch. Collection days are Nov.
14 through the 19 and Nov. 21 and the winners will be announced on Nov. 22…
just in time for the Bedlam rivalry! Please send your donation - cash, check and
even your spare change - with your child and vote for the Sooners or the
Cowboys. Contributions are tax deductible. Come support your team and help
JEI families this holiday season.
For more information contact the JEI office or Care & Concern Chairman, Tara
Wilson at [email protected].
Thank YOU *** No Hassle FUNraiser *** Thank YOU
Many thanks to the families who supported our first No Hassle FUNraiser! With this
donation drive, we were able to raise over $7,600 for Jenks East Intermediate. While we
did not reach our goal, we’re proud that 100% of the money raised will directly help our
students. If you meant to send your donation, but were just too busy, it's not too
late! You may send your donation in an envelope to school with your child and have
them give it to their teacher. Mark the envelope “No Hassle FUNraiser, JEI PTA.”
Donations are tax deductible.
Special THANKS to the following companies who are matching donations: ConocoPhillips, ONEOK
and Williams! We are very appreciative of their checks to JEI PTA!
Jeannie Hotson and Melissa Dinsmore, JEI PTA Fall Fundraiser Committee Chairs
JEI GAZETTE
Page 3
From the Principal’s Desk
Jeff Wright—Principal
Fortify your Homes
It seems all children love to build forts. I recall building many as a
child, in most cases they were built for “boy’s ONLY”. The challenge
I had when it came to forts was – finishing one! On a particular
summer day, my friend Dennis and I were hiking through The
Woods a forest that fairly encompassed our family farm in north
central Minnesota. While hiking and talking of what we should do,
it came to us to build a fort. The idea seemed novel and soon Dennis and I were attacking the not-so-well thought out plan.
Because it took so long to guild walls and we had nothing to build
them with, Dennis and I decided to dig into the side of a hill and
simply add a roof to our dug out. The only tool we had was a small,
army surplus spade. Perhaps okay for digging a fox hole, the spade
was not made for moving a massive amount of soil. The going was
difficult; we hadn’t any water or lunch. After Dennis had spent
what seemed like just a few minutes digging, he begged off and I
attacked the hillside. With my head down I began to throw the rich
forest dirt high over my head from the deepening hole. So far did I
throw the dirt that I drove Dennis back several yards to avert a
head full of soil. A frenzied scream snapped me to attention and
abruptly stopped the excavation. Just yards away, Dennis was
screaming wildly, he was spinning around crazily and pounding his
legs. I shouted to him, but he paid no attention and continued to
attack the invisible enemy. Before I could get to him, Dennis had
stripped off his pants, his shirt, shoes and so forth until he was,
well, just himself. Now the invisible nemesis was identifiable, a
hoard of angry fire ants.
Dennis had stepped into a hill of ants. Together we freed him from
his attackers and could immediately see large red whelps raising all
over. The sun was up high, we were hot, tired, thirsty, hungry, and
humiliated by a hill of ants. Though the ants were gone, Dennis
continued to shuck and jive. He needed a major does of Calamine!
Forgotten was the fort; with only his skivvies on, Dennis and I headed for home.
The fort was never finished. Somewhere out in The Woods is still a
hole, a small army surplus shovel, the remains of a pair of blue
jeans, and a hill of victorious fire ants.
I built many forts during my youth. My challenge in completing a
project lay in NOT having a plan. Doesn’t it just make sense that if
one is going to embark on a building project that he should first
begin with a plan, count the cost? Today, the world in which our
children are growing up, is characterized by hustle and bustle, little
time for relaxation and building forts. So much today is predicated
upon instantaneous gratification and delays are not generally em-
braced. Perhaps we have forgotten the need that young people
have to be taught the principle of planning and organizing? At JEI I
am encouraging the staff to strive each day to instill such valuable
principles in each child. Consider the flowing tips that you might use
in your homes and aid your child in becoming a better planner/
organizer, a wise worker.
1. Set priorities: TV, phone calls, games, online time, etc.
should be allowed to intrude on necessary study time.
2. Help your kids study anywhere, everywhere and at anytime
– post vocabulary, spelling words, around the house –
post on the medicine cabinet, refrigerator, and study
during travel time.
3. Read, Read! And read again with your child. Read many
different kinds of appropriate pieces.
Engage your child in discussions and cause them to be
able to express themselves, draw conclusions, and enter
the world knowing why they believe what they do.
4. Help schedule your child’s time: Plan ahead to complete
long assignments over time rather than supposing a quality job can be done at the last minute.
5. DO NOT PRESUME that because your child is now ten, eleven or twelve that he or she is NOW organized. Organizational habits are skills, things that can be taught and must
be or the children will not get it.
6. Help your child practice Theta time. Use the last five
minutes of the day and the first five minutes after waking
doing a short review of school/study notes.
7. Do an inventory of what is consuming your family’s time –
be willing to prioritize to retain the things which cannot
be compromised; be willing to cut back or totally eliminate those things that are not necessary.
Help your child build a fort, it doesn’t have to be grandiose, it simply needs to be completed and available!
Jeff Wright
Site Principal
Jenks East Intermediate
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JEI GAZETTE
AIDS parent/guardian information meeting
ATTENTION PARENTS OF 5TH GRADERS
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or AIDS education will be provided this spring for the 5th
grade students. State law mandates AIDS education at this age level. A JENKS school nurse will facilitate the instruction. Parents are encouraged to
attend the parent meeting January 12th, 2012 at
6:00 p.m. at Jenks East Intermediate campus multipurpose room. Alternate date in case of school
closing due to snow will be Thursday January 19th
2012. At the parent meeting a 15 minute Slim
Goodbody video will be shown. It is the same video students will be watch in the spring. The video
explains how the immune system protects the body
from attacking viruses and defines AIDS. Slim
demonstrates how AIDS weakens the body’s immune system “opening the door” to germs. He describes ways the virus can spread, answers common questions about AIDS, and challenges students
to make healthy choices.
Any parent wishing to exempt his/her child from
AIDS education must inform the principal in
writing. Additional information or questions please
contact the nurses’ office at 918-299-4415 extension 5539.
A Budding Author in our Midst...
Kathryn Lasky, author of many popular children’s and young adult novels including the Guardians of Ga’Hoole series, presented this year’s Young People’s
Creative Writing Contest awards on Saturday, August 27, 10:00 a.m. in Connor’s Cove Theater at the Hardesty Regional Library. Dominique Savage, a
sixth grader in the Sino-Trojan Academy, submitted an essay she wrote in Mrs.
DuPont’s fifth grade Language Arts class and won second place in her age
group in the Tulsa City-County Library’s Young People’s Creative Writing Contest She received an award, a signed book from Lasky, and a generous cash
prize. Congratulations, Dominique!
In the month of January, all JEI classes will have a competition to
see who can bring the most Box Tops to school . Our campus earns
10 cents for each Box Top. It may not seem like much, but if you buy
General Mills products, just clip and save the Box Top on the container. With a 1000 students in our school, it won’t take long to earn a
lot of cash for our school. It’s an easy way to help!
JEI GAZETTE
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JPS Foundation Dinner and Auction
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Oklahoma Aquarium
6:30pm
Tickets are $60 each and sponsorships begin at $500. Tables seat 10, so gather a group of friends and
spend the night making a difference while having a great time.
Start your holiday shopping by benefitting Jenks Public Schools Foundation. Live, silent and online
auctions make the shopping competitive and fun! Enjoy food and drinks in a extraordinary atmosphere among the Oklahoma Aquarium exhibits and displays.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is this event and what does it benefit?
The JPS Foundation Dinner and Auction has been the major fundraising event for the JPS Foundation since 1988. Now in our 23rd year, the event has become a tradition for the Jenks community.
Proceeds from the event help fund the JPS Foundation and its programs of giving back to the district
through Classroom Grants to Teachers, Junior Achievement Biztown, Vision of Excellence awards
and more.
Who attends this event?
This a fun and exciting event, in a casual atmosphere. We encourage all Jenks parents and supporters to attend and enjoy an evening of great auction items, good food and fun. There are auction items
for every budget. This event is restricted to those over 21 years of age.
For more information and to register go to www.jenksfoundation.org or call 918-299-4463.
Registration closes November 11th.
JEI GAZETTE
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THANK YOU, THANK YOU
to all who supported the
JEI Fall Book Fair
The JEI community purchased over $16,000 worth of books, making our fall
book fair the most successful one ever! Our students gathered over $1000 in
coins for the "One for Books" contest to purchase books for Joplin, Missouri
schools. We will continue to gather gently used books for the next two weeks
to bring to Joplin as well. There are bins in the Media Center for your donations.
Thank you to all of the wonderful volunteers who made this years fair possible
and congratulations to our creative student contest winners. We can't wait for
the Spring Book Fair!
Happy reading everyone!
Jenks East Intermediate PTA would like to thank SilverTree Technology
for donating the construction of a website to JEI PTA.
The name of the website is www.jenksspiritwear.com. We still have some spirit
wear left if you’d like to browse the site and see what’s available. You may pay with a
credit card through the website! If you prefer to write a check or pay by cash, please
contact Barbara Ford at [email protected] or 918-494-9664 . Purchased items
will be delivered to your child at the school.
Now that we’re finally having cooler weather, you might be interested in a sweatshirt,
boots, stadium blanket or scarf. All items have been marked down.
Thanks for shopping!
JEI PTA
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JEI GAZETTE
Volunteer Opportunities at JEI…
Please contact Jamie Huth at [email protected] or 918-406-3518 if you can help with either of
these volunteer needs:
The Oklahoma Caring Van will be at our site November 4, 2011 at 9:30 to give qualifying free
flu shots. Cindy LeRoy in the nurses office would like to have four volunteers to help that
morning from 9:15 to around noon or possibly later.
Please contact me at [email protected] if you would be willing to help.
Also, JEI has started a new lunch time reading program.
We would LOVE as many volunteers as possible to come to the multipurpose room and read
with children that have volunteered to use their lunch hour to become better readers.
You will read with them one on one (perhaps just listening to them read aloud / modeling
reading – you read one page they read the other).
5th Grade will be coming 11:00 – 11:30 Monday and Wednesday.
6th Grade will be coming 11.50 – 12:20 Tuesday and Thursdays
Fridays will be their ‘FUN REWARD’ day – those who love soccer will be put into teams and
have ‘intramural’ tournaments against each other during the year.
The non-soccer players will play fun team games in the Multipurpose room.
We would appreciate any volunteer who could come to either read with the children Monday through Thursday or play soccer on Friday. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends etc.
would be more than welcome once they have completed volunteer training through the district. (A quick training the can be completed on-line.)
Please feel free to contact Rose Salay at [email protected] or myself
at [email protected] with any questions or to let us know if your interested in helping and
when you are available.
Jenks Public Schools
205 East B Street
Jenks, OK 74037-3900