Roxbury Township Public Schools

News and Events

A Message from Mrs. Carlson, Jefferson School Principal

Spring is in the Air at Jefferson School!

If you have had the pleasure of spending time in Jefferson School, you will see that it is an ongoing beehive of activity.  While I have the honor – to continue the analogy – of being the Queen Bee, the life of the school is fueled by the work of countless people, including the staff as well as parents and community members who give so generously of their time. 

 The list is endless, from Monster Parades to hatching eggs, to a school store, and on and on.  For the purposes of this article, I would like to draw attention to four specific initiatives that deserve particular focus: Autism Awareness, Kiwanis K-Kids, HELP (Help Everyone Live Peacefully) and No Child Left Inside, an environmental celebration.

 April 2, 2008 marked the first World Autism Awareness Day, a recognition that will continue each year in the future.  Through the efforts of our classroom teachers, the students, and parent volunteer Terese Guerriero, we seized the opportunity to provide education to our students and parents about the troubling statistics associated with autism.  The children all participated in the creation of a friendship chain that currently is displayed as a border throughout the halls of the school, representing the 2010 children who are diagnosed with autism every month.  Each child illustrated four pieces of the border, and included a positive message of caring for and accepting each other as part of our human family.  Just when it seemed that our halls could not be any brighter, I was proved wrong!  What a wonderful message to our children.

 We are proud that Jefferson School is now the home of a chapter of K-Kids, the elementary school arm of the Kiwanis club, and I have the pleasure of serving as the faculty advisor.  Community and Kiwanis Club member Eileen Redfern has provided her support and expertise to get the club up and running.  The club, which is currently open to third and fourth grade students, is already hard at work at their first project – producing hand-decorated flip flops, the sales receipts of which will be donated to charity.  The children are giving generously of their recess time when we have “working lunches,” as well as cheerfully staying after school for one meeting a month.  It truly is a joy to see democracy in action as the K-Kids executive board, led by president, Frank Guerriero, carry out their meetings and activities.

 HELP, an acronym for Help Everyone Live Peacefully, was the brainchild of three third graders who wanted to work with me to spread the message that peer pressure should be a positive influence in promoting Responsible Reporting.  We realized that children may be hesitant to report situations to adults for fear of negative peer pressure.  We are currently carrying out a campaign of posters, classroom presentations, and the offer to join the HELP Society to promote a culture in which all students know that they have peer support in reporting anything that threatens their sense of emotional or physical wellbeing.  My three third-grade ambassadors will continue their roles as they enter fourth grade, and other students will be recruited to assure that the message continues to be reinforced in years to come.

 Lastly, No Child Left Inside is the name we are giving to our school-wide Earth Day celebration scheduled for April 30^th.  Through the efforts of PTA parents Pam Altman and Ellen Mills Schwinger, grants are funding the planting of 12 beautiful dogwood trees to frame the school grounds, and to provide for additional flora for the beautification of our developing outdoor classroom.  The assistance of parents is making possible outdoor activities including Nature Sketching, Outdoors Photojournalists, and Hands-on Outdoor ABCs.  The afternoon of April 30^th will be very special at Jefferson School!

 I am confident that the heart and soul that makes Jefferson School the wonderful place it is now will continue to keep things buzzing as this spring and the future seasons ahead unfold.