It's opening day for the Jefferson County Fair - come out and support our 4-H, FFA, and FCCLA students!
The start of a new school year means sharing the road. Please keep the following safety tips in mind when buses start rolling on Monday. We can't wait to see you then!
🚌 Be alert and watch for children, especially near schools, bus stops, school buses, and school parking lots.
🚌 Motorists are required to stop when approaching a school bus that is stopped with its red lights flashing and STOP arms extended. NEVER pass a bus from behind when it is stopped to board or offload children.
🚌 Be especially careful when children are present in school zones and residential areas.
🚌 Pay extra attention to lower speed limits in school zones.
🚌 Watch for and obey signals from school crossing guards.
🚌Only drive or park in authorized areas to drop off or pick up children at school.
Wrapping up back-to-school shopping this weekend? Consider including a few items for the JCS Stuff-a-Bus school supply drive! Volunteers from the JCS Transportation Department will be on hand throughout the next week to collect donations of backpacks, crayons, pens and pencils, lunch boxes, notebooks, and other necessary school supplies. Special thanks to City National Bank for being our community partner in this annual event to serve JCS families in need!
See the schedule below for dropoff locations and times:
🚌 City National Bank at The Potomac Marketplace (Ranson location)
Saturday, August 19 | 8 a.m. - Noon
🚌 Jefferson County Fair
Weekdays, August 21-25 | 5-8 p.m.
Saturday, August 15 | 12-4 p.m.
Join the JCS Parent and Educator Resources Center (PERC) and Department of Special Programs this Saturday, August 19, for a day of fun and learning with our local first responders! Meet Jefferson County firefighters and police officers, explore their vehicles, participate in fire safety games, and more at this family-friendly event. Families can also access important resources like missing children packets and fire safety information. Plus, enjoy a DJ and food trucks! It's all happening from 9 a.m. - Noon tomorrow at Sam Michaels Park. Learn more about JCS PERC and its resources here 👉 https://www.jcswv.org/page/parent-and-educator-resources.
We're excited to welcome 12 new international teachers to JCS as we continue preparations for the upcoming school year! Current international staff members were on-hand to greet and assist with the orientation of these new educators, who hail from Jamaica, Zimbabwe, and the Philippines through our partnership with Educational Partners International. Welcome to JCS!
We can't wait to welcome students back to school next Monday, August 21! Did you know you can visit www.jcswv.org/myschoolbus to learn your student's bus information and access required transportation forms? And our dedicated bus operators and aides will contact JCS families throughout the week to answer your transportation-related questions and ease those first-day-of-school jitters!
Today we welcomed back JCS teachers and service personnel to kick off the 2023-24 school year! Buses start rolling for students next Monday, August 21. We can't wait to see you then!
Hello, Kindergarten families!
Thank you for your patience as we prepare to welcome you to school on August 21st! Kindergarten welcome letters were mailed today so please be on the lookout for them! There is information about Kindergarten Orientation on August 21st, as well as general helpful hints about Kindergarten. We are excited to meet our newest Roadrunnners and to be the beginning of their elementary school journey.
💜💛
Ms. Mahoney
🎉JCS is excited to welcome more than 60 new educators for the 2023-24 school year! We're having so much fun at New Teacher Orientation this week and can't wait to see students on August 21 for a brand new year! 🤩
Mark your calendars—-the first day of school will be Monday, August 21st, for our first grade through fifth grade students. Our kindergarten students will be invited to come to school, with a caregiver, to meet their teacher and briefly visit the classroom on Monday, August 21st. There are two options for visitation times: 9:30 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. We will ask you to park on the grassy hill to the right of the building (as you face the building) and enter through the main entrance. These visits will be brief and a “trial run” for our newest Roadrunners and their families. We know that the first day of school can be somewhat stressful and we want to make that experience a positive one for everyone. Information about your child’s kindergarten teacher and that first day will be coming at the beginning of August. If you have questions about lunch bills, transportation, the school calendar, etc. please go to JCSWV.org to learn about those things. Looking forward to a fabulous school year! Enjoy the last few weeks of summer and take care, See you soon! 💜💛 Ms. Mahoney
Hi, everyone!
First of all, welcome to our new families and “hello!” to our returning SJES families. We can’t wait to see you on August 21st! I am Keri Mahoney, the proud Principal of South Jefferson, and I’m excited about the 23-24 school year. I feel like this is going to be a fantastic year for us all.
I'm sure that you've noticed the stores are already stocking their shelves with beautiful and exciting school supplies....and this often brings about questions such as "what does my child need for school?" or "why aren't their supply lists available?", "what is 'loose leaf' paper???!", etc. For schools, there is always the art of balancing between not wanting to impose on our families to purchase school supplies and the teachers purchasing things for their classrooms out of their own money. What to do??
While we provide many of the school supplies that your child may need (crayons, scissors, pencils, etc), I asked the teachers to share with me (so that I could pass it along to you) about what they'd love to have in their classrooms, if these items were donated by their parents or others in the community. I'm going to break it down by grade levels/classrooms, to make it easier to navigate.
HERE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THIS POST:
This is NOT necessary, nor is it mandatory. These items are shared with you in case you happen to be in the school supply aisle (and you're like me and love a good bargain and can never resist a Sharpie or a cool water bottle!?) or you just want to be helpful and actually purchase what the students will use in the classrooms...
Kindergarten:
The K teachers love water bottles for their students (Ms. Horne provides these for her class already), headphones (for use with devices), paper towels, tissues, dry erase markers, glue sticks and Crayola crayons.
First Grade: Glue sticks, scissors, tissues, headphones, water bottles, Crayola crayons, dry erase markers and a wide ruled composition notebook.
Second Grade: Wide-ruled composition notebooks, headphones, pencils, tissues, glue sticks, Crayola crayons, dry erase markers and water bottles.
Third Grade: Wide-ruled composition notebooks, wide ruled loose leaf paper, pencils, 3 pocket folders w/ prongs (one yellow, one purple and one blue), dry erase markers, highlighters, scissors, large pink erasers, pencil top erasers, water bottles and tissues.
Fourth Grade: Dry erase markers, headphones, glue sticks, tissues,1 spiral notebook, pencil top erasers, pencils (Ticonderoga preferred), 4 color pack of highlighters, water bottles, crayons or colored pencils and a 1 inch binder.
Fifth Grade: Tissues, pencils, colored pencils, loose leaf wide-ruled paper, composition wide ruled notebooks, purple pocket folders with prongs, index cards, water bottles and dry erase markers, one 1 inch 3-ring binder.
Library: tissues
PE: Tissues
Music: tissues, black dry erase markers
Art: tissues and glue sticks (We ask everyone to bring an old shirt for Art to protect clothing when using paint or other art products).
When the teachers responded to my request, most of the responses sounded like this----"2 glue sticks, 1 highlighter, a box of tissues would be awesome, 1 composition notebook". They didn't want to even make the request (or what they considered too large of one) because they didn't want to impose on you. But I can guarantee that they all know who has the best deals on paper right now, how many pink erasers you can get for $5 or how many composition notebooks you are allowed to buy at one time in Walmart or Staples. I can also guarantee that there are some of them standing in lines, holding 20 notebooks, while they ask their friend/child/significant other to purchase 20 more in the next aisle over so that they can get the best deal and not exceed the store's limit. 😁
Again, NONE OF THIS IS REQUIRED. We will always make sure that our students have everything that they need to be successful.
BUT, if you are interested in picking up a few items here and there, as you navigate through the rest of your summer days, and you want to make a teacher's wallet a little happier, this is a way that you can help.
I hope that this list has been helpful and IF you made it this far in the longest post in the history of Facebook, Ms. Mahoney's supply list consists of Starbucks coffee. 😂
Have a wonderful day and we'll see you soon! 😁
Ms. Mahoney
P.S. If you’re contemplating purchasing supplies, keep in mind that there is VERY LITTLE ROOM in desks. Bulky pencil boxes and unnecessary items are not worth the investment. What IS worth the investment? Ticonderoga pencils. Crayola crayons. Expo markers. Yes, they may be brand names and more expensive, but they last longer and are good quality. They are worth it.
P.S.S. After listening to over 20 metal water bottles hit the floor on a daily basis, trust me when I say that a water bottle that is NOT loud when it falls would be awesome. 😉
P.S.S.S. Sending in tissues and Clorox wipes during the year is ALWAYS a wonderful thing. We go through MANY of each.
Field Day Volunteers:
AM Sessions--- Arrive at 8:55 to get checked in the office, then will meet with specials teachers to get schedules and directions, then go prepare station to start at 9:20. Morning stations will finish around 11.
PM Sessions- Arrive at 12:45 to get checked in the office, then will meet with specials teachers to get schedules and directions, then go prepare station to start at 1:10. Morning stations will finish around 3.
We were thrilled to welcome back former South Jefferson Elementary School students who are getting ready to graduate! We are so proud of the Class of 2023. Thank you for being role models for our current students. We can't wait to see what you achieve!
It's hard to beat the Friends of Music! Thanks to their grant program, Ms. Shearer has brand new instruments for her students! We appreciate our community partners! https://sjes.jcswv.org/o/sjes/article/1117680
Come by the South Jefferson Public Library in May and June to see what the young artists of South Jefferson Elementary School have created.
Starting next Monday, the South Jefferson Public Library is pleased to announce “The Rebirth of Art After the Pandemic” a student art exhibition curated by South Jefferson Elementary art teacher, Sheryl Fiolek. The exhibit will be on display from May 1st through June 30th of this year. This is the 97th exhibit in the Art in the Library series to highlight the talents of local artists and can be viewed in the meeting room during library hours: Monday through Thursday 9 - 6, Saturdays 10-2, and Sundays 1-5. The library is closed Fridays.
This exhibit is named - The Rebirth of Art After the Pandemic. This art show features artworks by students at South Jefferson Elementary School. Often our art practices are about the process and many times they work out as amazing pieces. This year has been about exploring a variety of art mediums and processes. We reflected on how to express ourselves and our uniqueness through the elements of art and principles of design. Many of these students worked through artistic challenges and didn't give up. We also incorporated math & symmetry in many of our collages. We are so proud of their hard work, creativity, and precision!
Kindness and friendship.
Two important parts of life and two words that go hand in hand. We had two awesome examples of kindness and friendship recognized this week at SJES. Alex Everhart gave up his free class time to help a fellow student who was struggling with his recorder test in Music. Because of Alex’s kindness, the other student passed his test. James North stood up for a friend in class when another student wasn’t being kind. He also helped us monitor the baby birds born this week on our playground to keep them safe. Both young men are leading by example in our school and I am extremely proud of them.
💜💛
Ms. Mahoney
Today is National School Nurse Day! We're proud to recognize the dedicated school nurses who make a difference in the lives of our students by protecting and promoting their health and advancing their academic success. Thank you for all you do!
Happy Staff Appreciation Week!!!
Students from the FACS (Family Consumer Sciences) fashion class at Washington High School used their sewing skills to bring superheroes, designed by second-graders at South Jefferson Elementary School, to life. The high school students presented the finished heroes in-person last week. The students also collaborated to create backstories for all the characters. We are proud to see older students taking the time to inspire and support younger students!
Our fourth graders enjoyed a field trip to Fort Frederick on Thursday. The centerpiece of the Fort Frederick State Park is the only stone fort built by a British colony during the French and Indian War. In its three century history the fort has seen activity in four military conflicts, is one of Maryland first state parks, and was a Civilian Conservation Corps camp in the 1930’s. Built in 1756, the fort's stone wall and two barracks have been restored to their 1758 appearance. What a way to extend their learning and bring historical “real world” experience to life for our students! Well done, 4th grade!
