https://sites.google.com/a/northampton-k12.us/nps/our-schools/jackson-street-schoolNewsletter https://www.facebook.com/pages/Northampton-Public-Schools-Massachusetts/179921372117715 https://www.facebook.com/jacksonstreetpto http://www.jsspto.org/ You may also connect with on Twitter:https://twitter.com/#!/NPSDistrict JSS Office 587-1510 Volume 22 No. 4 September 22, 2017 If you wish to have copy of this letter written in Spanish, French or Arabic, please contact the school department at 587-1315. Si le gustaria esta carta en Espanol, es possible. Llama 413-587-1315. Si vous voulez une copie de cette lettre en Français, veuillez contacter le Département de .1315-587 يف ةسردملا ةرادإب لاصتالا ىجري ،ةيبرعلا ةغللاب ةبوتكم ةلاسرلا هذه نم ةخسن ىلع لوصحلا يف بغرت تنك اذإ .l’École 587-1315 MESSAGE FROM MS. AGNA PLEASE NOTE – we’ve changed the date of the 4th grade Family Dinner to Wed. Nov. 1 And PLEASE NOTE THE MISTAKE IN THE “MARK YOUR CALENDAR” section: The EVENING Parent/Teacher Conferences are on Tuesday, Oct. 24 & Thursday, Oct. 26 (not Oct. 25 as was mistakenly listed in the Mark Your Calendar section!)

COUNCIL ELECTIONS – please see article below!

So sorry but the deadline for publishing looms – next week I’ll share more about our restructuring as well as the School Improve- ment Plan!!

With great respect and affection,

Gwen Agna HOLA STARTS! HOLA classes start this Tuesday, Sept. 26. If you haven’t gotten your class choice form returned to you please email or call Ms. BG: [email protected] 587-1510 ext. 3775

Here is the calendar of classes. If your child will be missing a class, please call the office or send a note in to your child’s teacher.

Tuesday, Martes Wednesday, Miércoles Thursday, Jueves

September 26 Septiembre 26 27 28

October 3 Octubre 3 4, Half day- No HOLA 5 4, Medio día- No hay HOLA 5

10 11 12

17 18 19

24, Half day- No HOLA 25, Half day- No HOLA 26, Half day- No HOLA Medio día- No HOLA Medio día- No HOLA Medio día- No HOLA

31 November 1 2 Noviembre 1 2

Election Day- No HOLA 8 9 Elecciones - No HOLA 8 9 WELCOME TO OUR PTO NEWS STUDENT TEACHERS! AMAZING CARNIVAL! We are always so privileged to host student Wow, what a wonderful JSS Carnival this past Saturday! So much fun, so teachers from area colleges. IT is a mutual learning many great games, foods, prizes, and most of all, a great sense of community, with experience and their presence enriches our school. countless kids, parents, staff and neighbors all having a blast at JSS. A huge thank This fall we have the following: you to all the volunteers who made the day so great, and a big shout-out to Summer • Meghan Kennedy from UMASS in Maria Cable, who created and coordinated the entire event. We already can’t wait for next Garcia’s KDG year’s carnival! • Helen Woods from UMASS in Jen Reed’s VOLUNTEERS WANTED FOR OPEN HOUSE ON KDG OCT. 5 • Elizabeth Benbenek from UMASS in Open House is coming up on Thursday, Oct. 5 and it is a wonderful evening Mary Ellen Reed’s KDG to learn more about your child’s school. • Allison Schwarz from UMASS in Kim We need a few volunteers to help kids with the climbing wall in the gym, and Gerould’s 3rd grade with pizza orders (see below). • Tori Croshier from Smith College in We know you want to have time to visit your child’s classroom and have your Katharine Walmsley’s 2nd grade family photo taken, so we’ll be sure to keep volunteer shifts to half-an-hour. Anytime • Angela Fallavollita from American Inter- from 5:00 to 6:30 would be great. national College in Jolie Smith 2nd grade Please contact Liz Horn, Volunteer Coordinator at ELHORN@mindspring. • Samantha Corneau from Smith College com or 646-234-8805. Thank you! in Mary Bates’ 1st grade PRE-ORDER PIZZA FOR YOUR DINNER AT OPEN • Caida Mendelsohn from Smith College HOUSE! in Ellen Brown’s 1st grade Jackson Street School Open House is Thursday, October 5, and the PTO is of- • Laura Battles from Mt. Holyoke College fering families the opportunity to save time and guarantee dinner by pre-ordering in Ellen Brown’s 1st grade and Jen Reed’s KDG whole pizzas from The Pizza Factory in Florence for just $10.00! • Jenna Daniels from UMASS in Tom There will be a limited amount of pizza sold by the slice at Open House, but Chang’s 5th grade it does sell fast! Guarantee your family’s dinner and save time by preordering by • Stephanie Morrison from UMASS in Monday October 2. Sadie Cora’s 3rd grade You can return the form attached to this newsletter, or just email your order WELCOME TO YOU ALL & THANK to [email protected]. YOU FOR BEING AT JSS! You can choose cheese or pepperoni, and each pizza is $10. You can submit a check or cash with your order form or pay at Open House. Please make checks SCHOOL COUNCIL payable to JSS PTO. ELECTIONS PLEASE COME CHECK YOUR DIRECTORY Each year we hold School Council Elections LISTING AT OPEN HOUSE! – for parent/guardian representative(s) as well as for faculty/staff. If you are interested in finding out We’ve been compiling information for the school directory from the forms more about serving on the Council, please contact you’ve filled out. Please come by at Open House (we’ll have a table right when you the co-chairs, Marc Lussier (Simone Lussier’s dad) walk in the cafeteria) and take a look to make sure your information is correct before at [email protected] or Ms. Agna at gagna@ we print it! I sometimes misinterpret handwriting or just plain make mistakes, so northampton-k12.us. We have at least one open slot please come make sure we’ve got it right for your family. for a parent/guardian representative. If you would And if you meant to get in your directory listing but forgot, please come at like to run for the election, held at the JSS Open Open House and write it in so we can include it. House, please submit a BRIEF statement as to why Thanks, you’d like to be on the Council which we will put in the newsletter and have available at the Open House. Liz Horn, Volunteer Coordinator, [email protected]

And on behalf of our current JSS Council mem- CLASS REPS bers, we want to THANK Ms. Fenessa Rosa, 2nd grader, Anaiah and KDGner, Alicia Hayde’s mother, Seeking Class Representatives! for her service as a member of the council! Interested in being a class representative? This is an easy, fun way to get to know the other families and the teacher in your child’s class IN THE NEWS better. Class representatives maintain a class e-mail list, and serve as a liaison between the teacher and the families to make $ 2nd grade, Kiera and Kindergartner, Maren Stokes- sure everyone is aware of classroom needs and special events. Buckle were captured by a Gazette photographer celebrating with their We are looking for class reps for the following classrooms: dad the purchase of the building/permanent of the Nonotuck Community Child Care Center! 104 Mary Bates 113 Katherine Walmsley $ Jon and Nina Aronstein, 5th grader Lilly (Bunny) Moore and 208 Joan Cameron 3rd grader Kody Moore’s parents, were featured in the Daily Hampshire 204 Kathleen Bredin Gazette about their new music shop in downtown Northampton! 210 Nick Ames 211 Tom Chang COMMUNITY EVENTS 212 Kieran Slattery SciTech CAFÉ! If you’re interested in volunteering to be the class rep for any of those classes, please email [email protected]. (THANK YOU, Toren’s mom, July Siebecker, for sharing this!) Winter is coming, and with it comes a variety of viruses we share COUCHES (STILL) WANTED FOR in our schools, offices and public areas. So what is a virus and how does JSS! it reproduce itself? And are they all bad? Please join us as we learn about JSS had to dispose of two couches this summer, which the fundamentals of the viruses living around us with Harvard Professor were in poor condition many years (decades!) of heavy Vinothan Manoharan. use. Please help us advertise (and please come!), forwarding the announce- we are looking to replace , and wondering if ment below to any who may be interested. All are very much welcome (kids, anyone in the JSS community has one to donate. college students, your parents). You’ll learn something if you come. And you might win a prize! Please check out our website with videos of some Here is what we are looking for: past events, www.scitechcafe.org and like us on Facebook! A comfy couch for the Family Center, where parents Hope to see you there! and staff gather (and which families pose on for their Open House photo!) Kathy A more sturdy (i.e. less soft and comfy) couch for the SciTech Cafe is pleased to present the library, for students to read on. monthly discussion series: A scientist In both cases we are looking for furniture that is in walks into a bar...and says nothing, because excellent condition, and from pet-free households (sorry, but that’s normal atmospheric pressure. we have to be careful of allergies). Monday, September 25th 6pm Union Station, Northampton If you have a couch you can donate, we would love to How a Virus Builds Itself hear about it and would be SO appreciative. *What is a virus?*Are all viruses dangerous?*How do they reproduce Please contact Liz Horn, Volunteer Coordinator at el- themselves?*Why should we care about viruses?*What can we learn from [email protected] or 646-234-8805. them? Vinothan Manoharan is a Wagner Family Professor of Chemical Thank you! Engineering and Professor of Physics at Harvard. In his lab, he and his team use light scattering, optical microscopy, spectroscopy, synthesis and other UPCOMING SCHOOL experimental techniques to understand the physics of self-organization. For most of these experiments they use colloids, suspensions of particles GARDEN EVENTS! typically about a micrometer in size. Please bring a friend and join us as • Garden class visits with School Sprouts we enjoy light appetizers, lively conversations, prizes and brilliant minds. This is an inclusive, family-friendly event and people of all walks of life are • JSS Harvest Week, Oct. 16-20 invited. Admission is FREE!

• Farmer Day, Tuesday Oct. 17 - Staff and children dress Upcoming SciTech Cafe events: up as farmers to celebrate the school garden and local farming (hats, bandanas, overalls/blue jeans, etc.) October 30th: How Our Immune System Controls Our Be- havior with Prof. Jared Schwartzer (date to be confirmed) • Harvest Celebration and Garden Work Day, Thursday Oct. 19, 3:15-6:00 (rain date Monday Oct. 23, 3:15-5:30) - We December 11th : Extra Dimensions with Prof. Gary Felder will get the garden ready for winter from 3:15 to 6:00 while January 22nd: Do Be So Sensitive: Tactile Sensing in Soft enjoying a harvest potluck. Robotics with Prof. Kristen Dorsey

• Greenhouse construction, Saturday Sept. 30 & Sun- February 26th: The neural basis of behavior: songbirds with day Oct. 1 Luke Remage-Healey The League of Women Voters is active in area communities support- March 26th: TBD ing voter access and education on numerous issues involving health care, public education, human services and the environment. April 23rd: Salman Hameed, Astronomy

June 4th: TBD Annual Used Book Sale Girl Scout Info Night League of Women Voters of the Northampton Area Thursday, September 28 6:30pm Saturday, September 23 from 9-4 Linda Manor Community Room Smith Vocational High School Cafeteria 345 Haydenville Road, Leeds, MA 80 Locust Street, Northampton Picture this: a safe, no-limits place where she can be inspired to This sale is an excellent source of inexpensive good qual- new things, take on new challenges, build community and inspire others. ity books on a variety of topics including hobbies, art, sports, That’s Girl Scouts. A place where “Can I?” quickly turns into “I will.” Where classics, science/nature, biography and history, as well as a your G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-Taker, Leader) can transform her large number of children’s books and fiction including mystery ideas into action, turn her questions into adventure, and grow her confi- and science fiction. Over 15,000 books will be available for dence through practice. Troops for girls in grades K-12 are now forming bargain prices most for $1-$2. in Northampton, Florence and Leeds. Questions: nonotuckgirlscouts@ gmail.com Entrance is free to the public starting at 9. “Early Bird Special” at 8:00 offers early access in exchange for a $10 dona- tion to the League of Women Voters. MARK YOUR CALENDAR – We’re always adding new dates so keep checking. PLEASE check the Northampton Public Schools website for district calendar updates. Parents Hour in the Family Center every other Wed. from 9-10AM, beginning Wed. Sept. 6.

Walking School Bus (Fall & Spring) – Ms. Agna alternates on Fridays around 8:10AM between the bike path (starting behind Stop and Shop) and Hampshire Heights, starting at the bottom of the hill near the CVS plaza.

Fri. Sept. 22 Walking School Bus – Ms. Agna walks through Hampshire Heights

Mon. Sept. 25 PICTURE DAY - School Pictures taken – OPTIONAL individual photo purchase for families but we will have class photos for all, thanks to our amazing PTO!

Tues. Sept. 26 HOLA starts!

Sat./Sun. Sept. 29/30 JSS GREENHOUSE CONSTRUCTION

Wed. Oct. 4 INTERNATIONAL WALK TO SCHOOL DAY! Teacher Work (Half) Day – dismissal at 12:20PM, bag lunches are available

Thurs. Oct. 5 JSS OPEN HOUSE 5:30 Doors open for Family Photos and displays in cafeteria, School Council election, among other things! 6-7PM Classrooms are open

Mon. Oct. 9 NO SCHOOL – Columbus Day/Indigenous People’s Day Holiday

Tues. Oct. 10-Fri. Oct. 13 NATURE’S CLASSROOM for 5th graders – details to follow…

Oct. 16-20 JSS HARVEST WEEK

Tues. Oct. 17 JSS FARMER DAY – dress like a farmer!

Thurs. Oct. 19 JSS HARVEST POTLUCK 3:15-6PM (rain date Oct. 23)

Mon-Fri. Oct. 23-27 Parent/Teacher Conferences – half-days in the elementary schools (Evening conferences on Oct. 24 & 26). Dismissal every day at 12:20PM

Wed. Nov. 1 - 4th grade Family Dinner – NOTE CHANGE OF DATE

Thurs. Nov. 2 - 5th grade Family Dinner

Thurs. Nov. 9 FINAL HOLA CLASS FOR THE SESSION!