Good afternoon, Warriors!

Happy last week of October!

A huge thank you to everyone who attended our parent-teacher conferences—we had an incredible 96% attendance rate, which is up from last year! We truly believe that collaboration between families and educators is key to giving your kiddo the best possible education. Thank you for partnering with us, and we’re excited for another amazing year ahead. As always, if you need anything, we’re here to help.

As the weather gets colder, please make sure your child comes to school dressed appropriately with coats and jackets. Don’t forget to label them with their name! We go outside for recess as long as the temperature is 20 degrees or above, so it’s important they’re bundled up and ready.

Below are the updates for the week. Please take a moment to review them, and feel free to reach out with any questions.

Sincerely,

Casey Brownsberger

·        November 4th—No School-PD Day for Teachers

·        November 5th –Culver’s Night 5-8pm

·        November 6th—I Am Noticed Assembly

·        November 6th—Fire Drill

·        November 7th—Attendance Awards for October

·        November 7th—JWE Spelling Bee at 2pm

·        November 11th—Veteran’s Day Parade at 9:45am

·        November 13th—JWE Picture Retake Day

·        November 13th—PTA’s Fundraiser Pick Up from 4-5:30pm

·        November 13th—Title I Parent Planning Meeting for JWE at 5:40pm in the art room

·        November 13th—PTA Meeting at 6pm in the art room

·        November 13th- Reflections Showcase at JWE before/after the 4th grade performance

·        November 13th—4th Grade Performance at 7pm, doors open at 6:45pm. 4th grade students are to report to the cafeteria when they arrive. After the performance, we will have our annual plate auction!

·        November 14th—PTA’s Reflections Breakfast at 8:30am in the cafeteria

·        November 17th—PTA’s Zarda’s BBQ Night from 5-8pm

·        November 18th—MidTerm

·        November 24th—PTA’s Skate Night from 6-8pm. Students are encouraged to wear JWE Spirit Wear to get a free drink.

·        November 26-28th—Thanksgiving Break-No School

·        December 1st -5th—PTA’s Santa Shop

·        December 2nd—Mayor’s Christmas Tree Lighting at 6pm

·        December 4th—PTA’s Santa Shop Open Late for Families to Shop from 4-6pm

·        December 5th—Attendance Awards

·        December 5th—BHMS Choir Performance at JWE

·        December 5th—Growth and Development for 5th graders

·        December 8th—PTA’s Skate Night at Rink Ratz 6-8pm

·        December 9th—BSSD’s Spelling Bee at 6pm

·        December 11th—5th Grade Performance at 7pm at JWE

·        December 18th—Student Holiday Luncheon

·        December 19th—End of 2nd Quarter

·        December 22nd-January 5th—No School

·        January 6th—Students Return

·        January 8th-District Reflections Showcase at Blue Springs High School from 5:30pm-7:00pm

Regular school attendance is one of the most important factors in a child’s academic success. At the elementary level, every school day builds the foundation for learning—academically, socially, and emotionally. When children miss school, they miss out on key instruction, classroom routines, and opportunities to connect with peers and teachers.

Research shows that students who attend school consistently are more likely to read proficiently by third grade, develop strong work habits, and graduate from high school. Even occasional absences can add up and impact learning.

Here are some practical ways you can help your child build excellent attendance habits:

1. Establish a Consistent Routine

2. Prioritize School

3. Monitor Health and Wellness

4. Stay Connected

Life happens—illness, family emergencies, or other unexpected events may cause absences. When they do, be sure to:

Your involvement makes a big difference. By helping your child develop strong attendance habits now, you’re setting them up for a lifetime of success. Let’s work together to make every school day count!

Would you like this formatted for a flyer, email, or printable handout?

·        Lynch Creek Farms Fundraiser… We’re thrilled to kick off our holiday fundraiser in partnership with the beautiful Vermont-based Lynch Creek Farms! From now through the season, you can order gorgeous, fresh wreaths to brighten your home or send as thoughtful gifts to loved ones. These handcrafted wreaths are not only stunning—they’re also a wonderful way to support our school, with 10% of every purchase going directly back to JWE! These wreaths make the perfect gift for those hard-to-shop-for family members and friends, and they’re ideal as hostess gifts too! Plus, you can schedule your delivery to arrive closer to the holidays or your next special event. Feel free to share this fundraiser with friends and family—every order helps! Don’t miss out on this festive opportunity to spread holiday cheer and give back. Click the link below to shop now, and thank you for your continued support! https://lynchcreekwreaths.com/?campaign_id=4927304

·        JWE’s Veteran’s Day Parade… JWE would like to invite all moms, dads, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and siblings who have served or are currently serving in the military to participate in a special event on Tuesday, November 11th. We will be honoring them in a drive through parade in JWE’s Parking Lot. Students will be lined up on our sidewalks outside honoring our Veteran’s as they drive though our parking lot. Veteran’s need to line up at the north entrance driving south on Sunnyside School Road. We encourage our Veteran’s to decorate their cars in patriotic attire that includes a sign with their name and branch of service.

9:30—Veterans Can Line up on Sunnyside School Road starting at the car rider entrance.

o   9:45—The Parade Starts

If you are interested in participating, please fill out the attached form to RSVP. We look forward to honoring our countries and families heroes!

·        Candy Donations Still Needed…JWE PTA is looking for unopened bags of individually wrapped candy for the Trunk or Treat and Fall Party events and we have a school wide competition. Grades kindergarten-2nd grade versus 3rd-5th grades are competing by seeing who can collect the most candy by weight. The winning group can earn an extra recess. See the attached flyer for more information. 

·        Christmas Holiday Meal Assistance…There is an amazing volunteer group that is wanting to help families with holiday meals. If you are interested, please sign up at the below link. Pick up will be on Friday 12/19 from 4-6pm outside of Blue Springs High School. Every family will get canned goods, a pie, and turkey or ham. They also have snack food to get kids through winter break and some Tupperware/plates. There is an option for people who don’t have an oven to cook a turkey. Christmas Holiday Meal Assistance 2025

Be sure you talk with your child before they go to school if they need to eat breakfast at school or not. 

To put money on your child's lunch account please visit: www.schoolcafe.com.

To apply for free or reduced meals, please complete the appropriate forms ASAP on www.schoolcafe.com. The grace period for free/ reduced lunches is approaching. If you had free or reduced lunches last year and have not yet re-applied, you could be dropped from the program after 10/1/25. 

The following link is a tutorial of how to enroll: https://vimeo.com/280726060/a627865334. Please remember to include everyone in your household, even if they are not students as this can impact the application being accepted. 

Elementary Breakfast        $1.85

Elementary Lunch             $2.95

Milk Price                           $0.70

*Reduced Breakfast           $0.00 (must qualify)

*Reduced Lunch                $0.40 (must qualify)

·        Water bottles: We highly encourage you to send your child with a water bottle filled with WATER only, every day. We have water filling stations to refill their water bottles as needed. 

·        Food Delivery: We cannot deliver food orders sent to students at our school (ex. Door Dash, Grub Hub, etc). So please do not order them and send them to school unless they are addressed to Mrs. Brownsberger.

·        Birthday Treats: If you would like to provide treats for your child’s birthday, this must be pre-arranged with your child’s teacher at least 24 hours in advance. Also, all treats must be store-bought, individual (not whole cakes), and packaged.

·        Volunteer/Background Check Information:  Each year we need an updated background check if you plan on volunteering up at school. The Blue Springs School District uses DataSource to enhance and strengthen our current background screening process for Volunteer Guests. It is FREE, SECURE, and SIMPLE to register. Please visit: https://bssd.quickapp.pro to fill out an application. Once there you will see all Blue Springs School District schools will be listed. Click on the building in which you are planning to volunteer. (If you have students attending multiple buildings, you will only need to complete one application. After completing the application, please contact the Building School Resource Officer for the school you applied at and let them know you have students at additional locations). Volunteer applications MUST be submitted at least five (5) days before the event for which you are volunteering. After submission, please wait for an email from DataSource. The email will let you know whether you have been approved or denied.

·       Lunch Visitors… To eat lunch with your child, you will need to complete a background check prior to coming. To complete a free background check click here: https://bssd.quickapp.pro. Then you will need to sign up for a day to be a lunch guest https://jwelunchvisitors.youcanbook.me/. We need at least 24 hours notice when signing up. That means you cannot sign up on the same day you want to eat lunch. We appreciate your help and planning with this.

·       Family Resources or Assistance - If your family is in need of any assistance, please click this link to see what resources the school currently has available: https://forms.office.com/r/n6pLZdgVr2. If you don’t see what you’re looking for, please reach out to our school counselor at mburkhart@bssd.net — we’re here to help!

·       Lunch Accounts/Free and Reduced Lunch Applications- To apply login to school café, click here https://www.schoolcafe.com/. The following link is a tutorial of how to enroll: https://vimeo.com/280726060/a627865334. Please remember to include everyone in your household, even if they are not students as this can impact the application being accepted. 

·       Ronald McDonald House…Student Council is asking for your help! As part of a service project to help the families who belong to the Ronald McDonald House of Kansas City we are collecting pop tabs. These pop tabs support families with children in the hospital that stay at RMHC-KC or visit the Family Room. Advantage Metals, a local Kansas City recycler, buys the tabs at market rate and makes an additional charitable contribution to the Ronald McDonald House. They generously donate their pick-up and handling services, so the income from pop tabs is pure profit. Last year, this program brought in $20,000. We want to help them raise even more this year! WHAT CAN YOU DO? Collect pop tabs in zip-lock bags, cardboard boxes, coffee cans or plastic trash bags. Student Council will have a container set up in the office to collect the tabs. Your teacher will also have a collection “house” to keep the tabs collected. If you have a workplace that would be interested in collecting pop tabs for JWE’s Student Council please email Mrs. Hartstack at khartstack@bssd.net or Mrs. Horton ahorton@bssd.net and they will send some cardboard houses home with your child. Please do not use plastic soda bottles or milk jugs because they’re hard to empty! Thank you! 

Click on the link below to learn more about our school, available resources, and grade-level information. Inside, you'll find curriculum details that outline what your child will be learning this year, along with insights into their classroom experience. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your child’s teacher or contact our office at 816-874-3660. We’re here to support you and your child every step of the way!