 |
| Home | Parent to Parent | Calendar | Our Success Is Public Knowledge |
| February 2010 |
Elementary applications will be accepted throughout February
 |
Mon., Feb. 1, through Mon., Mar. 1, is the elementary application period for the 2010-11 school year. Who should apply?
• Students who will enter kindergarten
• Current kindergarten students
• Older students who are entering a Jefferson County public school for the first time
• Older students who want to apply to a magnet school or a magnet or optional program
To apply to kindergarten, a child must be 5 years old by Wed., Oct. 1, 2010. To apply to first grade, a child must have completed an accredited kindergarten program and be 6 years old by Oct. 1.
You can fill out an elementary application at the school that serves your child’s address during regular school hours (9:05 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. at most schools). Or you can apply between 5 and 7 p.m. on Mon., Feb. 15. To find the school that serves your child’s home address, use the School Finder feature on the Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) Web site (http://apps.jcpsky.net /schoolfinder) or call JCPS Demographics (485-3050).
When you apply, take proof of address—a utility bill, a rent receipt, a lease, or a contract on your house. Sorry, the school cannot accept a driver’s license. If available, also take the following documents:
• A certified copy of your child’s birth certificate—If you don’t have one, your child’s school can give you a form to request one.
• School records—If your child has attended school in another district, take a report card or contact information that will help JCPS officials get information from the previous school.
The JCPS school will give you information about necessary health documents and the deadlines for submitting them.
On the elementary application form, you’ll be able to choose and rank your preferences for four schools—two from Area A and two from Area B from the cluster of schools that serves your child’s home address. Be sure to include the school that serves your address if you want it to be one of your choices.
Submit the application form to the school that serves your child’s address. If you’re applying to an elementary magnet school or a magnet or optional program, you’ll also need to mail the pink copy of the application form to the JCPS Optional, Magnet, and Advance Programs Office (the mailing address is noted on the form) or take it to the office yourself (4309 Bishop Lane, Lam Building, Room 104). This office will confirm that it has received your application form by mailing you a postcard. If you don’t get the postcard within three weeks after you submit your form, call the office at the number listed below. Students will receive school acceptance letters by May 2010.
Got a question about applying to elementary schools?
JCPS will offer the following information sessions for parents who have questions about the application process. All sessions will be held at 7 p.m.
Tues., Feb. 2, Middletown United Methodist Church (Building C, 1st floor, cafeteria), 11902 Old Shelbyville Road
Thurs., Feb. 4, Pleasure Ridge Park High School (cafeteria), 5901 Greenwood Road
Tues., Feb. 9, Iroquois High School (auditorium), 4615 Taylor Boulevard
Tues., Feb. 16, Jeffersontown High School (auditorium), 9600 Old Six Mile Lane
Thurs., Feb. 18, Louisville Urban League, 1535 West Broadway
More information on the application process also is available at the school that serves your child’s address. Or you may want to contact one of the following JCPS departments:
• Parent Assistance Center: 485-6250 or 485-6771
• Optional, Magnet, and Advance Programs Office: 485-3323
• Elementary Student Assignment Office: 485-3802
Back to home page
 |
The following elementary magnet schools and programs accept applications from students throughout the district:
• Atkinson offers the Academy for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.
• King offers the Gifted and Talented Program and the Visual and Performing Arts Program.
• Maupin offers the Institute for Creativity and Innovation.
• Young is a candidate for the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme. Young is the only elementary school in Kentucky seeking this authorization.
• Lincoln Elementary Performing Arts School integrates drama, music, and dance with core academics.
• Brandeis offers the Mathematics/Science/Technology Program.
• Students focus on self-directed learning at the Brown School, a kindergarten through grade-twelve school.
• Byck offers the Talent Development Program and the Waldorf-Inspired Program.
• Roosevelt-Perry offers the Technology Program.
• Wheatley offers the Math/Science/Technology Program.
• Four magnet schools offer traditional education: Audubon Traditional, Carter Traditional, Greathouse/Shryock Traditional, and Schaffner Traditional. In addition, Shelby Traditional Academy and Foster Traditional Academy offer traditional magnet programs that accept applications from students throughout the district. These six schools are part of the traditional education feeder pattern to Barret Traditional, Jefferson County Traditional, and Johnson Traditional Middle Schools.
The following elementary magnet programs accept applications from students in specific clusters. To find out which cluster you’re in, use the School Finder on the JCPS Web site (http://apps.jcpsky .net/schoolfinder) or call JCPS Demographics (485-3050).
• Breckinridge-Franklin offers the Communications Program to students in Clusters 4, 5, and 6.
• The Environmental Studies Program is available at Cane Run (for students in Clusters 1, 2, and 3) and at Portland (for students in Clusters 4, 5, and 6).
• The Health and Fitness for Accelerated Learning Program is available at Wellington (for Clusters 1, 2, and 3) and at Rangeland (for Clusters 4, 5, and 6).
• The International/Cultural Studies and Language Program is available
at Fairdale (for Clusters 1, 2, and 3) and at Goldsmith (for Clusters 4, 5, and 6).
• Mill Creek offers the Leadership Academy Program to students in Clusters 1 and 2.
• Indian Trail offers the MicroSociety Program to students in Clusters 4, 5, and 6.
• Kennedy Montessori offers the Montessori Program to students in Clusters 1, 2, 3, and 4. Coleridge-Taylor Montessori offers it to students in Clusters 5 and 6.
• McFerran Preparatory Academy offers the Preparatory Academy Program to students in Clusters 3 and 4.
• Jacob offers the Success for All Accelerated Reading Program to students in Clusters 1, 2, and 3.
• The Visual Arts Program is available at Rutherford (for Clusters 1, 2, and 3) and at Price (for Clusters 4, 5, and 6).
Innovative instruction encourages elementary students to explore books
 |
Teacher Jennifer Boone reads with Jacob students.
|
Teachers at Jacob Elementary, home of the Success for All Accelerated Reading Program, have come up with several innovative ways to help students explore books in depth.
For example, the school formed a partnership with WLKY-TV to host an online book club. During the fall, students at Jacob and several other district schools used the online forum to post comments about Kate DiCamillo’s Because of Winn Dixie.
“It was a great success,” says resource teacher Jennifer Boone. “The students enjoyed blogging about the book and sharing their thoughts and ideas” about the characters in the novel and about the book’s themes of family, friendship, and redemption.
The school also held a Guest Reader Day that brought many people from the community and from local businesses to the school. The next week, the UofL Golf Team visited Jacob to read to students.
Videoconferences also have provided a forum for students to discuss books and meet authors. For instance, Jacob held a videoconference with Brad Tassell, author of Don’t Feed the Bully, a humorous novel that deals with the serious issue of bullying.
Boone points out that the school also will use videoconferencing to host “a huge event for Read Across America Day on March 2. We are accepting schools from all over the United States to join in this celebration. We will all introduce our school, take a reading oath, sing a song, and act out our favorite Dr. Seuss book.” The Kentucky Education Association has donated money to help buy posters, advertising, decorations, and other materials for the event.
“Also in the works is a Get a Child Hooked! Donate a Book! Program,” Boone adds. “I will place boxes in many businesses and ask for book donations. The books will be presented to the school during our Read Across America celebration. I believe all of these events are helping our school grow and achieve our goals.”
Schools will offer e-mail alerts
JCPS is developing an e-mail alert system that will offer parents instant school information on their children. For example, a school may send an alert to parents if their child has to visit the school nurse. The alerts will be available to parents who have provided an e-mail address to the office staff at their child’s school or entered the address via the See my student’s profile link on the JCPS Parent Portal.
New program took off with a running start
 |
| A student runs beside Tim Hayden, Rangeland teacher and cross-country coach, during practice. |
Most U.S. elementary schools do not have a cross-country running team. Rangeland Elementary is now one of the few that do. Second-grade teacher Tim Hayden started the team at the start of the school year to coincide with the start of the school’s new Health and Fitness for Accelerated Learning Magnet Program.
Hayden points out that cross-country is especially beneficial for elementary students. “Every member of the team participates,” he says. “It can be fun and challenging and lead to a lifetime of healthy habits.”
Hayden also points out that it helps build mental discipline because long-distance running involves overcoming mental as well as physical obstacles. Most young students are familiar only with sprints and other short races, so Hayden teaches team members to mentally prepare for the longer distance and to use a slower and steadier pace.
To practice, students begin with warm-up exercises before running a trail through a school field that adjoins Rangeland. Practices end with a fun game, such as freeze tag, to keep students moving and improve their agility. The team is open to students in the second through fifth grades.
Suzanne Lee, mother of a Rangeland second grader, says her son wanted to join as soon as he heard about the team. Lee also has a daughter who participates on the Cross-Country Team at Fern Creek Traditional High.
“I think it’s very important to have a cross-country team in elementary school,” Lee says. “It’s good for the children because it helps keep them active, and if they want to compete at a higher level, this is giving them a good start.”
Parenting question of the month:
Should children do chores?
 |
Some parents say kids shouldn’t be responsible for day-to-day cleaning, cooking, and other household tasks. Other parents say chores help children learn responsibility.
What do you think? What chores are appropriate at what age? Share your thoughts and tips with other JCPS families by sending brief comments to thomas.pack@jefferson.kyschools.us. Comments will be published on this Web site and, space permitting, in the next printed edition of Parent Connection.
Previous question: How do you teach your child healthy habits?
JCPS parent Penny Clinard says:
I sincerely believe that the #1 way to teach your child healthy habits is: BY EXAMPLE. Your children should see you living your life with healthy habits. Children simulate what they see at home; they are like sponges. They mimic their parents and/or caregivers. Thus, it is our responsibility to demonstrate healthy habits at home, which include:
Moderate activity/exercise (It doesn't have to be at the gym. Just keep moving, and keep it fun.)
Eating in moderation (The 80/20 rule is a good rule of thumb -- either making healthy choices 80% of the time and relaxing the other 20% or eating healthy Mon.-Fri. and relaxing over the weekend.)
It's not rocket science.
This is not an area that parents can say, "Do as I say, not as I do!" Parents should also realize that the habits that their children are forming in their young formulative years can impact their long-term health throughout their adult life. It is important to get them off to a good start, as habits are much harder to break as they become adults.
JCPS parent Shannon Velasquez offers the following response:
With two active boys I have to keep them busy, plus I know that kids who exercise get better grades in school. (Bleacher Report, 1/09; Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study [TIMSS], 2007). During our military tour in Japan, I saw, firsthand, how daily exercise is beneficial to schoolchildren both for grades and general health.
My oldest son and his entire school stretched every morning, then ran for 15 minutes. They played on the playground in the afternoon and then walked home afterwards. None of these were too difficult nor did they take too much time.
In the cold weather here in the States, we stretch in the house or I take them to a gym and play basketball for 30 minutes. If they haven't moved around enough during the day, we take the dog for a quick walk. Getting enough exercise is a way of life for many people in other countries as they ride their bikes to the grocery daily or walk to and from the train stations. We may have to think about it a little more in a city where cars dominate the roads, and doing it in small, consistent ways seems to be a key to good health and grades.
Are you as smart as a JCPS middle schooler?
 |
| Rick Saunders |
The answers to the social studies questions in the last issue of Parent Connection are 1: D, 2: D, 3: C. To review the questions, click here. The first parent to send the correct answers for the last issue was Rick Saunders, father of students at Wilder Elementary and Crosby Middle. Other winners included Anne Walter (Byck Elementary and the Brown School) and Jana James-Hall (Sanders Elementary and Riverport Education Center).
This month, Parent Connection offers a quiz with the type of math questions that sixth and seventh graders will need to be able to answer on the Kentucky Core Content Test (KCCT) in the spring. (The first question is a sixth-grade question. The others are seventh-grade questions.) The first three parents who send the correct answers to the Parent Connection office via e-mail and the first three who send the answers via regular mail will receive a free JCPS T-shirt.
The e-mail address is thomas.pack@jefferson.kyschools.us. The regular mailing address is Thomas Pack, C. B. Young Jr. Service Center, Building 4, Communications and Publications North, 3001 Crittenden Drive, Louisville, KY 40209. You don’t need to write the questions or answers. Just send the question numbers and the letters for your answers. Or you may cut out this quiz and mail it. However you send your answers, please include the name of your child’s (or grandchild’s) school.
 |
Resources for children with autism
Autism is defined as “a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and affects a person’s ability to communicate and interact with others,” according to the Autism Society of America. “Autism is defined by a certain set of behaviors and is a ‘spectrum disorder’ that affects individuals differently and to varying degrees. There is no known single cause for autism.”
According to a national study released in December by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 1 in 100 American 8-year-olds struggles with autism, Asperger’s syndrome, or a related developmental problem. According to the JCPS Exceptional Child Education (ECE) Department, which offers services for students with autism and many other developmental problems and disabilities, there are children with autism in all of our communities.
Resources for parents of children with autism include the Autism Society of America (www.autism-society.org) and the Organization for Autism Research (www.researchautism.org), which offers a series of booklets called Life’s Journey Through Autism.
The CDC Web site (www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/index.html) offers information on the warning signs of autism.
The Kentucky Autism Training Center (http://louisville.edu/education/kyautismtraining/) offers a list of local resources.
The ECE Department Web site is located at www.jcpsky.net/Programs/ECE/Index.html. Contact an ECE Parent Resource Center staff member at 485-3562, 485-3346, or 485-3807. Other ECE phone numbers include Programs (485-6270), Assessment (485-6052), and Placement (485-3215).
Central opens student-run bank
 |
Students at Central High School MCA are now running a Fifth Third Bank in the school. Students and staff members can set up savings accounts, cash checks, save for class rings, and pay dues.
Fifth Third has committed to partnering with Central’s Banking, Finance, Business Management, and Entrepreneurship Magnet Program over the next three years to provide hands-on learning experiences with a focus on school-to-career transitions. Students will study such subjects as accounting, cash management, project management, customer service, budgeting, personal finance, operational procedures, and accountability. About 30 students will help run the bank each year.
Volunteers from Fifth Third will provide industry expertise and serve as role models to Central students. Fifth Third will pay for supplemental instruction materials and provide scholarships for qualifying magnet students.
“Central is grateful for the quality of education and increased opportunities for our students this partnership will provide,” says Principal Dan Withers. “We are grateful to organizations like Fifth Third Bank for their commitment and support of the community and to the education of our young people.”
“We are excited about our partnership with Central,” says Fifth Third Bank CEO and President Phil McHugh, who presented a $4,500 scholarship check during the bank’s grand opening in December. “Helping to provide students with the tools and support they need to succeed as financial services industry employees is very rewarding, and it’s exciting to work with young people who are eager to learn and succeed.”
Central is a districtwide magnet school offering a precollege curriculum that includes specialized programs in four areas of concentration: business, law and government, technology, and allied health. Freshmen at Central sample each of these magnet areas before choosing a specialty.
Twenty-two schools win mayor's top apple award
 |
| Western MST Magnet High Principal David Mike received the Mayor’s Top Apple Award, which honors schools that make significant improvements in reading or have less than two percent of students who score on the Novice level. Western decreased the number of Novice readers by 22.3 percent. Overall, 22 JCPS schools received the award this year. Click here to download a PDF page with a list of winners. |
Direct comments about Parent Connection to the editor, Thomas Pack, at 485-6315 or e-mail him at thomas.pack@jefferson.kyschools.us
