February 2019 Panther Press
Dear Jacoby Creek School Families,
I hope that this month’s Panther Press finds you doing well. January was a busy month at Jacoby Creek with school plays, academic bees, preparations for Science Fair and History Day, Kindness Week, and basketball games. I am so impressed by our students and the ways in which they demonstrate their many skills and their Panther Pride. Thank you to all of the parents who attend and support these wonderful events that enrich our students’ lives and prepare them to be excellent citizens.
This month brings many exciting events as well. Please be sure to look over the calendar carefully so that you can be involved. Our school website, www.jcsk8.org, is a wonderful resource.
Please note that we will have Presidents’ Week, February 18-22, off from school. I hope that everyone enjoys time to rest and have family time during this break. The Activity Center will be closed during Presidents’ Week.
The Jacoby Creek Children’s Education Foundation Auction is just around the corner, so mark your calendars! This year’s auction is on Saturday, March 23rd, at the Arcata Community Center. Thank you so much to all of the families who have already sent in items for the classroom baskets and made donations for this event. Set up and clean up for this event will need many hands, so please reach out if you would like to be involved in making this FUN event a hit.
Have a wonderful February!
Sincerely,
Melanie Nannizzi
Important Events this Month
Monday, February 4 @ 8:00 Coffee with the Principal-Library
Tuesday, February 5 @ K Field Trip to Arkley Center
Tuesday, February 5 @ 5:00 Foundation Meeting @Mrs. Walsh’s room
Thursday, February 7 @ 6:00 Primary Winter Concert in Gym
Friday –Friday, February 8-13 Science Fair in Gym
Evening Science/History Fair Wednesday, February 13 @ 7:00-8:00 pm
Monday, February 11 @ 7:15 School Board Meeting
Tuesday, February 12 @3:30 School Site Council @ Mrs. Dean’s room
Monday-Friday, February 18-22—Presidents’ Week Break
Activity Center Closed
Wednesday, February 27 @ 6:00-7:00 SSC Focus Group Meeting
Thursday, February 28@ 2:15 SSC Focus Group Meeting on Stage
Friday, March 1 Lost and Found Donation Day
Focus Groups
I want to express my sincere appreciation to the parents who responded to the survey sent out in January. The School Site Council will be hosting Focus Group Meetings on Wednesday, February 27, from 6:00-7:00 p.m. and on Thursday, February 28, from 2:15 to 3:15 to discuss the results of the surveys. Child care and delicious snacks will be provided. Last year’s Focus Group meetings were very informative and productive. I look forward to the opportunity to hear more from parents.
Please RSVP to Melanie Nannizzi if you plan to attend. mnannizzi@jcsk8.org or (707) 822-4896
SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER
Many of you may have noticed Officer Pope on campus lately. Officer Pope is our assigned School Resource Officer. We share him with other local schools. He is an officer trained to work in schools to help develop positive relationships with youth and to support the school. School Resource Officers are funded by Measure Z, and we are very fortunate to have this support at our school. Make sure to say hello to him if you see him on campus or at a sporting event!!
We are also grateful to the officer who has been helping in the mornings with managing foot and vehicle traffic. We appreciate the support of local law enforcement to keep our campus safe!!
Athletics
Boys’ Basketball
The regular Boys’ Bay League basketball season ends on February 14th. The dates and times of away games can be found in our Athletics Information box in the front of the school and on our online sports calendar.
Track & Field (Coed 5th-8th)
Information will be sent out via email and Tuesday notes (5th & 6th grade) mid February. The deadline to turn in paperwork into the office is March 4, 2019. Practices will begin on March 18th. Based on maturity and ability, 4th/3rd graders who participated in cross country will be allowed to participate on the track team—they must be able to compete against 5th and 6th graders.
Student athletes are required to have the following forms on file to participate:
- PRE-PARTICIPATION PHYSICAL EVALUATION (PHYSICALS ARE VALID FOR ONE YEAR FROM THE DOCUMENTED DATE OF EXAM)
- ATHLETIC CONTRACT
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND ASSUMPTION OF POTENTIAL RISK
ALL FORMS MUST BE TURNED IN ANNUALLY and can be found in the office and on our website at: http://jacobycreekschool.org/activities/athletics/
Support JCS Athletics: Our Athletics Program is funded by monetary donations and profits from hosting tournaments. Please consider sponsoring an Athletics Banner and/or volunteering at one of our tournaments—both are great ways to support JCS Athletics. Please contact our Athletic Director, Davita McGoldrick, if you are interested in sponsoring a banner in the gym or signing up to volunteer at a tournament. dmcgoldrick@jcsk8.org
Spelling Bees
The Middle Grade Spelling Bee was held in January. All the finalists did a great job! The finalists from 4th grade were Scarlett Burns, Jennifer Le, Natalie McLaughlin, and Evan Padilla. The finalists from 5th grade were Liam Dyer, Jacob Mola, Gemma Caruso, and Alexander Centeno. The finalists from 6th grade were Nola Briar-Bonpane, Jackson Dehority, Ben Gerving, and Julia Oberlander.
Benjamin Gerving and Jackson Dehority won the spelling bee and competed in the regional spelling bee here at Jacoby Creek School. Both Jackson and Ben won the Northern Region Spelling Bee and will advance to the County Bee!!
The seventh and eighth grade bee was also held in January. Seventh graders Jack Biondo, Ashley McLaughlin, Asa Heidebrecht, and Andrew Trieu represented their classes, and eighth graders John Gerving, Sophie Jenkins, and Beck Pedersen represented their classes. John Gerving and Sophie Jenkins won the Spelling Bee with Jack Biondo as the alternate. Good luck at the regional bee, John and Sophie!
Geography Bee
JCS Students Rock 2019 Geography Bee!
The top geography students from each 4th through 8th grade class competed in the annual JCS Geography Bee on Friday, January 18th, with seventh grader Ashley McLaughlin taking home top honors. Ashley edged out sixth grader Ben Gerving for the championship. Seventh grader Jack Mietz captured a hard earned third place. Also competing in this year’s finals were Eli Martinez (8th grade), Gabel Ammon (8th), Ocean Walker (5th), Sloane Joiner (6th), Kloe Bryant (4th), Zoe Cappuccio (4th), and Jack Luh (5th). Ashley won the top prize by answering this question correctly:
The Bab el Mandeb, a strait between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, connects the Gulf of Aden to what sea? (* Answer at bottom of article)
The students answered a variety of questions dealing with U.S. and world cultural, political, and physical geography. They earned their place in the finals by winning the bees in their respective classrooms. Geography Professor Rosemary Sheriff of HSU, Mr. Trewartha, and Josh Buck served as judges.
Ashley earned the opportunity to take an online test to try to qualify for the state Geography Bee in Sacramento. Only a hundred students in the whole state of California will qualify for the state bee with participation in the national bee and significant college scholarships and other prizes on the line.
Good luck, Ashley!
(* Red Sea)
JCS Science Fair 2019
Science Fair is coming up with projects due in the gym by 8:25 on Friday, February 8th. Judging will happen over the weekend and projects will be on display Monday-Wednesday the following week. Science Fair Night will take place from 7-8pm on Wednesday the 13th.
We are looking for people to help out with judging. If you have never judged before, we will train you. If you have a child who is participating in the science fair this year, we will have you judge a different grade level. We aim to have every science fair project judged three times and will need to expand our pool of people to meet that goal. Judging for the 2019 JCS Science Fair will take place over the weekend of Feb. 9th – 10th. If you are interested and available to judge, please give your name and phone number to:
Nancy Rickard 822-1352 (nrickard@gmail.com)
Any other questions can be sent to Mr. Dedini at ndedini@jcsk8.org
After School Enrichment Classes (ASE)
ASE class list information is on the board outside the library. The classes are very full and we were not able to accommodate all the students who signed up for classes, so we had waiting lists.
Please remember that if a student is not going to be in class and is not absent from school, messages need to be left with the classroom teacher or office. This includes for Study Hall and Homework Club in addition to ASE activity classes.
Please email questions regarding After School Enrichment, Study Hall, and Homework Club to Mrs. Proulx at aproulx@jcsk8.org. All ASE payments will be processed now that the session has begun. And remember, we are always looking for parents who are interested in helping with classes or teaching a class.
Jacoby Creek Children’s Education Foundation
This year’s JCCEF auction will be held on Saturday, March 23, 2019, at the Arcata Community Center. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. Please join us for some Barn Dance fun! Dinner will be catered by Sammy’s BBQ and dancing with a live band. Auction tickets are on sale now!
All proceeds from the auction will fund block grants which include first grade’s Marine Lab Trip, second grade swim lessons, third grade Marsh/Dunes Trips, 4th-6th grade PAT days, 6th-grade trips, 7th grade JCS live, 7th/8th grade big events, Exploration Day, and all academic bees. The auction also helps fund technology, drama, and library. Come out for a night of fun and support the children of Jacoby Creek School. Check out the website for more information: http://www.jccef.org/jccef-auction/
Tuesday, February 5 @ 5:00 Foundation Meeting in Mrs. Walsh’s room
PTO
The PTO is working on planning the upcoming Family Skate Day and Staff Appreciation Luncheon events.
Family Skate Day will be on Sunday, March 3 at the Blue Lake Roller Rink.