Jaguar Tracks
May 31st, 2022
Dear JE Families,
This has been a challenging week. The pain of the families in Texas feels so very personal. Being educators and having children of our own, when one school is impacted by such a horrific event, we all are impacted. Our thoughts are with the students, staff and larger community that were impacted by this shooting. At JE, this week, for me, was such a clear example of the resiliency and connectedness of our community.
The day after the shooting, our staff responded with such care and support. Students were engaged in buddy reading outside, team building activities and letting their butterflies free on the lawn. It was a beautiful sight to see and such an example of the strength of our community.
Dr. Milaschewski shared our shared response last week, the ways in which we are ensuring physical safety in our buildings.
This week, we have our field day on June 2nd. A reminder to send your student to school with bug spray and sneakers. If your child is bringing lunch, please label with their names. We look forward to this day!
We had a wonderful author visit last week. If you are interested in purchasing one of her books, you can do so via this link: Juana Martinez-Neal Book Order Form. A big thank you to our PTO for applying for a grant through the Reading Educational Foundation to support this work!
Upcoming Dates:
K-5 Field Day- June 2nd (Rain date- June 16th)
Fun Run Fundraiser- (New Date) 6/6
Grade 5 Promotion Ceremony: 9:00am on 6/17 (fifth grade families only)
Juneteenth: June 20th- No school for students or staff
JE Night at Fenway- 6/20
Caitlin Shelburne
We are excited to kick off our Fun Run on May 26th.
We are excited to kick off our Fun Run on May 26th. We had to move the date, but we are even more excited to have warm weather for this fun run! Our goal is to raise $20,000 for enrichment funds and to strengthen our school community. Teachers will be emailing home once a week as we move closer to the big event. Our students have and will have a voice in how this money is spent!
Our school has always relied on fundraising to provide exceptional opportunities to enhance student learning. And this year, we have more needs than we’ve ever had before, which means we need your support more than ever.
We completely understand if your family is not in a position to financially support the school right now. You can still be involved by simply SHARING about our fundraiser with friends and extended family online at MYBOOSTER.COM. Sharing IS supporting!
Just as we worked to safely begin school this year, we are also safely hosting this essential fundraiser based on our school’s current guidelines. We’ll send more details, as we get closer to our kick off.
We are grateful for our Joshua Eaton family! Thank you for your support this year. We all need it!
Joshua Eaton Field Day
Joshua Eaton Field Day
Field Day is on for June 2nd!! (rain date June 16th) Please make sure to review the information below so that the event is safe and fun for all!!
Please click on the link for volunteer opportunities.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409054AA8A922A4F49-joshua
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR THAT DAY!
Please have your child wear a shirt in the assigned color for their grade. It’s fine if the shirt has the color on it or Michael’s sells solid t-shirts for under $4.
Kindergarten - Red
1st- Yellow
2nd - Gray
3rd - Purple
4th - Blue
5th - Green - Shirt provided by the PTO
Please dress your children appropriately. They will be outside engaged in activities for the majority of the day; play clothes with sneakers (no flip flops) are recommended.
Please send in a filled refillable water bottle for your child to use throughout field day. Water will be provided by the PTO during field day.
Please apply sunscreen and bug spray to your children before sending them to school.
We are looking forward to a fun day on the field!!
Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact Tori Murphy torimurphy13@gmail.com
News from Reading Public LIbrary
The Reading Public Library offers Mango, an online language learning tool for all ages. Learners can set up an account for lessons, practice, and progress reports in over 70 world languages. Find out more about all the great things the Reading Public Library has for you at readingpl.org!
You can reserve free and discount passes to area museums and attractions using your Reading Public Library card! Plan your family's visit to the Boston Children's Museum, the New England Aquarium, or one of more than a dozen other great places! Find out more about all the great things the Reading Public Library has for you at readingpl.org!
Library Book Returns
Over the next few weeks, please look in every nook and cranny for overdue library books. Please contact the library media teacher with any questions @ karen.ghirardi@reading.k12.ma.us
From the Health Office:
We are seeing an uptick in COVID cases throughout the district, as well as non COVID illness such as influenza A and strep.
Please remember to consult your child’s physician if a child continues to have symptoms (especially fever) but is COVID negative.
In addition, any individuals with respiratory symptoms (cough, runny nose) should wear a mask in school.
Here is some information on the flu, and comparing flu and COVID symptoms and treatment.
Here is the most updated FAQ
SUN PROTECTION!!!!!
With warmer days ahead, it is important to make sure that children come to school with their water bottles AND should have sunscreen applied prior to arriving at school. If your child has sensitive/delicate skin, I recommend sending in a rashguard that provides UV protection, when the heat index is high. If you would like your child to have sunscreen applied at school, please reach out to your doctor’s office to obtain a treatment order for school. We recommend sending your child in with a sunscreen stick applicator. We also strongly recommend sending your child in with a hat, so they can wear it outside during recess. If you have any questions, please reach out to me directly. (elmy.trevejo@reading.k12.ma.us)
Attendance Matters!
We certainly understand that there is a potential increase in absences due to illness this year because of Covid. We appreciate your vigilance and support in helping to keep everyone safe. We also have seen an increase in unexcused absences, especially around extended vacations. We are required to share your children's' absences and tardy data. You will be receiving a letter in the coming weeks if your child has more than 5 unexcused absences and we are requesting communication on how we can work together to make sure your child is attending school regularly. It's important that we set your children up for success, especially as the past few years have been unpredictable, and attending school regularly is essential to student success. Please reach out with any questions.
From the Desk of the PTO
PTO NEWS
PTO NEWS:
We’re in the home stretch with only 3 weeks left in the year! Please see some upcoming dates for PTO events and open positions for next year!
Some Upcoming Dates:
6/2 K-5 Field Day
5/25-6/6 Fun Run Fundraiser
6/8 7-8pm General PTO a meeting (zoom)
6/20 JE Night at Fenway
6/21 last day of school 11am dismissal
VOLUNTEERS for 22-23 PTO Exec Board
We are looking for new exec board members for the 22-23 year. Please reach out if you are interested in any of these positions. Exec board meets only once per month (over zoom so you don’t have to leave home!) and coordinates with other volunteers to plan so many of the events/enrichment/activities that our community loves. Please consider joining this great group! Also any position can be done by two people if you want to work with a friend. None of these roles are very time intensive, but require a consistent person to keep our PTO functioning!
Positions needed:
Treasurer- manage budget and reimbursements (e.g. for field trips, events, etc.) PTO uses Quickbooks and current treasurer (Casey Prescott) will train anyone who is interested.
Fundraising Coordinator- manage Calareso’s gift card fundraiser (collect forms, return cards) and coordinate other activities like the Fun Run, if scheduled next year.
Volunteer Coordinator- manages list of volunteers who sign up on the SOS form at the beginning of the year. Reaches out to room parents and other volunteers throughout the year as needed for various activities.
Meredith & Natalie
PTO Co-Presidents
JEPTOPresident@gmail.com
Updated PTO Calendar as of 3.28.22
SEPAC
We had a wonderful turnout for our business meeting this week! Thanks to all attendees, including parents, staff, administrators, and community representatives.
Reminder to please fill out this brief information-gathering survey for Sudeshna Chatterjee, Director for Equity and Social Justice.
SAVE THE DATE: End of the year SEPAC Social on Tuesday, June 14th. Location TBD.
Email us if you would consider hosting a small social for SEPAC members on your patio, deck, etc. More details on those to come…. make sure you’re connected to us!
Comfort Dogs!
Reading Police Department will soon have two comfort dogs joining the force! These pups will work with our School Resource Officers to provide social and emotional support for members of the Reading community, most notably our students. SROs Brian Lewis and Matt Vatcher will be training and living with these new dogs as they are welcomed into our community. The Labrador retriever pups are from Boonefield Labs and will be arriving later this spring. They will be visiting our schools and working with students and staff once they complete their training. We are excited about this partnership with the Reading Police Department and the continued support of our SROs.
Families will receive more information once the dogs arrive, and have the option of opting out of interactions with their child for any reason (i.e., if they have allergies or are afraid of dogs). The opt out form can be found HERE and on our schools website and will be sent to all families. Forms only need to be returned for those families opting out of these interactions with our new four-legged friends.