Wow!  Can you believe how time has gone by so quickly?  I must say out of the 25 years in education, this has been one of my best!  The new school building is fabulous from its grand entrance to the newly designed playground.  The Academy staff values the commitment to providing our students with a quality education which is truly a blessing to the Jefferson community.  Our students are among the best third, fourth, and fifth graders in the state of Georgia, probably the country.  I can’t say enough about the variety of support from our parents.  Parents are taking a part whenever they can—mentoring, visiting at lunch, providing snacks during testing time, contributing many volunteer hours during fundraisers and PTO activities, supporting our dress for success policy, and much more. 

One of my responsibilities is testing.  We have completed the ITBS in the fall, the 5^th Grade Writing Assessment, and are preparing for the CRCT that will take place April 14-18. 

Attendance is another area I manage.  Many changes are occurring in our policy and procedures due to federal and state mandates.  The current policy and procedures concerning what are excused absences can be found in the student handbook.  Here are just a few of the biggest changes that parents need to be aware of:

*Absences must be documented with a parent note the day a child returns to school.

*After 7 absences (excused or unexcused) the note must be a doctor’s excuse. 

*After 7 absences (excused or unexcused) a meeting will be scheduled with visiting teacher and JA administration.

*Excessive absence, tardy and early checkout will be tracked and reviewed weekly.

I urge you to look at the calendar for the 2008-09 school year and plan vacations during the specified vacation days.  It is difficult to justify scheduling out of town trips when the calendar is posted so far in advance.  The 2008-09 calendar can be found on the website.

Spring is a busy time of the year with many outdoor activities and more daylight hours.  I cannot stress enough the importance of adequate sleep for children.  I have read many medical articles related to children and sleep. Below is the summary from those articles.

• Kids ages 6 to 9 need about 10 hours of sleep a night. Bedtime difficulties can arise at this age from a child's need for private time with parents, without siblings around. Try to make a little private time just before bedtime and use it to share confidences and have small discussions, which will also prepare your child for sleep.

• Children ages 10 to 12 need a little over 9 hours of shuteye a night. But it's up to parents to judge the exact amount of rest their children need and see that they're in bed in time for sufficient sleep. Lack of sleep for kids can cause irritable or hyper types of behavior and can also make pre-existing conditions worse.

• Adolescents need about 8 to 9.5 hours of sleep per night, but many don't get it. And as they progress through puberty, teens actually need more sleep. Because our children often have schedules packed with school and activities, they're typically chronically sleep deprived (or lacking in a healthy amount of sleep). And sleep deprivation adds up over time, so an hour less per night is like a full night without sleep by the end of the week. Among other things, sleep deprivation can lead to:

1. decreased attentiveness

2. decreased short-term memory

3. inconsistent performance

4. delayed response time

Here's a summary of a few ways that may help your child ease into a good night's sleep:

• Include a winding-down period in the routine.

• Stick to a bedtime, alerting your child both half an hour and 10 minutes beforehand.

• Allow your child to choose which pajamas to wear, stuffed animal to take to bed, etc.

• Consider playing soft, soothing music.

• Tuck your child into bed snugly for a feeling of security.

• Encourage your older kid or teen to set and maintain a bedtime that allows for the full hours of sleep needed at this age.

There isn't one sure way to raise a good sleeper, but every parent should be encouraged to know that most kids have the ability to sleep well. The key is to try, from early on, to establish healthy sleep habits.

Thank you for a great first year at The Jefferson Academy.  It is my goal to create an environment that teaches every student to be responsible citizens of our school and community. I value our school’s Essential Agreements—respect for adults, peers, and self. 

I look forward to seeing you soon.

Kelli Potts