Dear
Parents,Positive Behavior
Dear
Parents,
We have been hard at work the first week of school! We definitely have the brightest, best kids in the world attending Jack! Not only have we already assessed and began working hard in academic areas, we have also spent a considerable part of the week teaching procedures and expectations. We know that academics cannot be the focus if personal behavior begins to interfere with a child’s own learning or that of the others at school. Therefore, we take a very proactive approach at Jack to helping set up our students for success!
At Jack, we believe in promoting a positive learning environment and therefore have implemented a positive behavior support system school wide. We want our students to first know what we expect so that they may live up to the expectations. All students discussed and had lessons in their classrooms focusing on procedures in our common areas as well as their classrooms. Specific instructions and social skills were emphasized so that all students would be aware of what the expectations were each day. We have attached a copy of the campus wide expectations. You may see these posted around our school as well. Grade level assemblies were also held where Mrs. Henderson, our Assistant Principal, went over procedures, incentives, rewards, and consequences. These things will be reviewed as needed throughout the year. Character and social skills will be emphasized and taught on a regular basis. We do have a school wide discipline procedure in which we utilize colors to indicate behavior choices and determine conduct grades. Details of this were sent home in our student handbook on the first day. Each teacher has also shared specific classroom expectations and his/her grading process for conduct and study habits. Should you have questions regarding this, they will be happy to discuss it with you. As part of our morning routine, we pledge to be the best we can be. Our school pledge is, “As a Patriot, I will be the best that I can be. I am respectful. I am responsible. I am ready to succeed”. Therefore, all of our expectations are centered around those three things: respectful, responsible, and ready to succeed. We believe these things will help us maintain a safe, productive learning environment for all as well as to help prepare our students to become successful citizens.
We do have high expectations for our students because they deserve the best possible education while with us this year. Therefore, we also believe in rewarding them for their hard work and have a number of things in place to recognize them. Some of these things include six week behavior parties, high fives in the hallway, happy office visits and celebrations, notifying parents of good things, and Patriot bucks.
Should a student have difficulty remembering one or more of our expectations, we have a procedure in place to help redirect him/her. Obviously, preventative measures are most desirable, but consequences may become necessary from time to time. We do understand that children make mistakes, and we will always start with simple redirections. This is a part of their growing and learning process as well. Parents will always be notified of any concern. Should it become more severe, we will always work with the child and the parent to develop a plan to change the behavior, not merely punish it. Your support is most appreciated. Although consequences are a necessary part of poor choices, our goal is to change what has happened so that each and every child can experience success to his/her potential. With that, please understand that we will not tolerate violence, bullying, or other behavior that keeps other students from learning.
We encourage you to attend the grade level meetings scheduled for Thursday, September 10 so that guidelines, expectations, academic focuses, etc. can be shared with you. Our PTA will hold a meeting at 5:00 in the cafeteria. We encourage you to become an active part of this organization and plan to attend at that time. Following that meeting, we will have grade level sessions from 5:30-6:30 and again from 6:30-7:30. The same information will be shared at both sessions so that you may attend more than one grade level if applicable.
We look forward to a wonderful year! It has become the tradition at Jack to excel in all areas so we have no doubt it will be another successful year!
Respectfully,
Shauna Hittle