East Clayton Elementary School

Happy Friday, Explorer Families! We are gearing up for another full week ahead. Next week we will celebrate our students through Goal Getter Awards Sessions for each grade level to recognize students for their mid-year progress. We are so happy to celebrate the hard work of our students. Please reach out to your child's teacher for the specific time if you are interested in attending. Congratulations to our running club members who had a wonderful track meet at Clayton High today. Good luck to our Showcase of Stars students who will perform at JCC for the 3pm show on Saturday. Additional good luck to our Battle of the Books team who will compete in the district competition on Monday. Our Explorers are shining! A reminder that Tuesday is the PTA General Meeting. The newsletter is attached. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mU5YM5XKxyeBB0iyD_DR5o-xXGbzrAQn/view Have a great weekend! Don't forget to spring forward!

Happy Friday, Explorer Families! Thank you to all of you who came out for our Black History Month Celebration last night. It was a wonderful event to highlight our students, our families, and to celebrate community. Please be sure to give us feedback if you attended. Thank you to Ms. Traore for helping with donations and to her Girl Scout troop for the necklace table. It was a great evening, for sure! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSesQdFQ2EY1-KZ_UDbKRzjUZ1mP_Hi7IuHRM6ekU6Pc-dmRVw/viewform The PTA Newsletter has been updated for the week. Thursday we will have a spirit night at Romeo's pizza. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tjNmLAiOIylVZHgAWDhxtdnorTpR0VKp/view?ts=65e1e77c This week, we will celebrate Read Across America with some fun spirit days. On Monday, Reading is No Sweat! Wear sweatshirts and sweatpants! We will kick off the week with guest readers and buddy readers! Remember that Tuesday, there is no school for students due to Election Day. East Clayton Elementary is a voting site for the community. On Wednesday, Readers are Future Leaders! Dress up as what you want to be when you grow up. On Thursday, we will celebrate Retro Readers. Dress up from a past decade. On Friday, Reading is Better with a Buddy! Pair up with a friend or two and dress alike. Or, wear your Explorer Experience shirt! Also this week, 1-2-3-4, We Declare a Penny War! See the flyer given to your student today about Penny Wars! We will have some fun with Penny Wars to select a theme for our 5th grade dance. All proceeds collected will be used to fund the dance. Please continue to get the word out about our 5K. We need lots more runners and community donations to make this a successful event! Have a great weekend!

Come for dinner, stay for fun! See you tomorrow! Doors open at 5pm.

Good evening, Explorer Families! I hope you have had a wonderful weekend! We are gearing up for another exciting and full week ahead! First, many of our students were invited to our Excursion Field Trip based on their points they earned from good behavior the 1st semester. Each grade level has different criteria for these field trips, but students earn them from displaying our core values and working hard in the classroom. Check with your child because permission forms are due tomorrow (Monday). If your child did not meet the criteria for this semester, the points have reset and they can earn another field trip for Semester 2. On Wednesday, students will bring home progress reports for the 3rd quarter. With the progress reports, 2nd and 3rd grade students will receive a notification letter if they are reading below grade level. These notifications are in accordance with North Carolina's Read to Achieve policy in order to keep you informed. Please reach out to your child's teacher, if you have not already had a conference. Additionally with Progress Reports, 3rd through 5th grade students will bring home their results from the most recent round of MVP testing. Do not miss our Black History Month Celebration on Thursday! Our students have been busy preparing projects for a fun school-wide scavenger hunt, we will have food, and a short program in the cafeteria! This is fun you do not want to miss! Other big events to remember: Our Drama Club will perform the Reluctant Dragon at the Clayton Center on March 21st and March 22nd. You can purchase tickets at the link below or from the Clayton Center website. https://www.etix.com/ticket/v/1959/the-clayton-center?cobrand=theclaytoncenter Sign-ups are still open for our Explorer 5K on April 20th. Do not forget to share this event on social media with your friends and families. We hope to have a huge turn-out to support our school. https://runsignup.com/Race/NC/Clayton/Explorers5K As always, please reach out to me directly with any questions or concerns. I am always available to support families and help to find solutions to any problems or needs. I hope to see you all on Thursday as we celebrate Black History Month and the hard work of our Explorers!

Last night, JCPS celebrated the 2024 Leading with the Heart recipients!💝 The event, inspired by Mike Krzyzewski’s book, “Leading with the Heart,” recognizes those staff members throughout the school system that demonstrate leadership, compassion, and heart on a daily basis. One person from every school as well as central services was nominated by their peers, because of their unwavering commitment and dedication to their role. We honor the 53 amazing members of the JCPS family for their work that clearly does not go unnoticed! Thank you!✨ Stay tuned for an event recap video... #ILeadWithMyHeart

Happy Friday, Explorer families! This call is a reminder that Monday, February 19th is an Optional Teacher Workday in honor of President's Day. There will be no school for students. On Tuesday, our 4th grade students will attend the Symphony Field Trip. On Friday, we will host our Explorer Experiences for students, and will also celebrate our Golden Ticket Goal Getter recipients from Winter Testing. Also, a reminder of some upcoming events. Our Black History Month Celebration will be held on February 29th at 5pm. If you are interested in being a vendor for this event, please contact Mrs. Mellette at the school. Please continue to sign up for the Explorers 5K. The link is in the PTA Newsletter for the week. https://drive.google.com/file/d/16HhbiiJrOIoHsf82_lzcADrqdxFBY1Cy/view Have a wonderful long weekend!

Happy Friday, Explorer Families! We are gearing up to celebrate a week filled with kindness and love! First, we will celebrate Love a Bus Week! If your child rides a school bus, please be sure they thank their driver for getting them to and from school safely each day. We will also celebrate National Kindness Week with some fun activities for each day. Please visit the flyer for more information. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_pExocCDX4qfVnVJSkuPmVTl1tDu5IQop0M-3_aHlqA/edit?usp=sharingOn Wednesday, we will celebrate Valentine's Day; please remember that students are not able to take any type of flowers or balloons on the bus. We do discourage deliveries made to the school as it is difficult for our front office to keep up with the influx of visitors. On Valentine's Day, we will show that we LOVE reading by visiting with our reading buddies in another class to share a book we love. Finally, please visit the PTA newsletter for the week. Do not forgot to continue signing up for the 5K on April 20th, and share the link with your family and friends on social media.https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JUEP3MajFn6ZeVbG0LmTUm1_1uNWJ0dY/view?ts=65c51cacHave a wonderful weekend!

Happy Friday, Explorer families! On Monday, students will receive their Quarter 2 report cards. We have also sent mid-year testing reports and academic concern letters. If your child has received an academic concern letter for academics or attendance, teachers will be reaching out to schedule a conference to discuss results further. If at any time you would like to meet with the teacher, please reach out to schedule a conference. On Tuesday, our 5th graders will take their MVP Science test. We are excited for students to find ways to earn those golden tickets! On Friday, we will celebrate the 100th day of school! I may have heard that some of our students have grown a little more than 100 days older. I can't wait to see what fun awaits our little ones. The PTA is continuing to sell Flowergrams. See their newsletter for more information. https://drive.google.com/file/d/16XMqlHAC1-XcIRjqBMat66Tb-bOI3fBb/view?usp=drivesdk This week we celebrated the 1st day of Black History Month. We hope you received our invitation to our Black History Month Celebration on February 29th. There will be student projects, a scavenger hunt, food, and our new 5th grade Step Team will perform! We are so excited! For the month of February, we will honor Black History Month at ECES, and we are focused on our core skill of Empathy. Looking ahead to the week of February 12th, we will celebrate Kindness week. Attached you will find some celebration days put together by our counselor, Ms. McBroom. We are happy to honor this month as we continue build good core skills, like kindness and empathy, and honor the diversity within our Explorers. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_pExocCDX4qfVnVJSkuPmVTl1tDu5IQop0M-3_aHlqA/edit Have a great weekend!

Today begins Black History Month. We are excited to invite you to our Black History Month Celebration on February 29th at 5:00pm.

3rd through 5th graders will take the MVP Assessments tomorrow and Friday. We are ready to show all that we are learning. Encourage your child to do their best and earn a ticket to the Golden Ticket party! We can't wait to celebrate growth!

Happy Friday, Explorer Families! We are excited to kickoff Semester 2 with our Explorers. We cannot believe that we are already halfway through our school year! We will have some important testing happening this week. On Monday, we will kickoff Access testing for our ESL students. This testing is a state exam that evaluates English as a Second Language students' English proficiency. Mrs. Ellis will be communicating testing times for these students over the course of the next month. On Thursday and Friday, 3rd-5th grade students will take their MVP Winter Assessments for Reading and Math. These assessments align to the EOGs and provide information for teachers on students' progress toward the grade level standards. We will provide these reports with the February progress reports. Students will be receiving information this week during PE about the Kids' Heart Challenge. Please ask your child about this important fundraiser after they have PE with Mr. LaPlante. Attached you will find information about the PTA's weekly newsletter. You will find information about the Flowergrams sale and the Spring 5K fundraiser. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wRUZN0728CWoRHWB73LUpB1VYXpEhKtN/viewOn Thursday, we will begin our 1st day of Black History Month. Our Explorers are working hard on research to honor important black individuals who have contributed to our society. We will continue to honor and celebrate Black History throughout the month of February. We look forward to celebrating with all of our families on February 29th where we will showcase our students' work. Please mark your calendars and come out to celebrate with us. A formal invite will be in the mail soon! Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Friday, Explorer Families! This is your Principal, Lauren Sabo, with some information about the upcoming week. Just a reminder that on Tuesday, the PTA will host a blood drive from 1pm-6pm in our school's Media Center. Please come out to support the Red Cross with a blood donation. Wednesday is the end of Quarter 2 and we will end with our Explorer Experiences for all students. On Thursday and Friday of next week, there will be no school for students due to teacher workdays. Please view the PTA's newsletter with upcoming events, including information about our Explorer 5k on April 20th. Please join the event or share the link. We are working hard to raise money for updates to our cafeteria and stage. Please view your child's Friday folder for information about our new Enhancement Schedule which will begin next week. As we move into the 2nd half of the year, we are asking our carpool parents to encourage their child to open car doors themselves. This will help to move our line a little more quickly, and will improve independence for our students. Have a great weekend!

Johnston County Public Schools is the fastest growing district in NC, and we are hiring! Discover why Johnston County is an ideal location to live and work, and why JCPS is the best place for a career. With competitive pay, state health benefits, and incentives, we are the place to grow. Check out our Job Fair on Saturday, March 2, 2024 from 9 AM to 12 PM. Hope to see you there!😎 #GreatThingsAreHappeningInJCPS

Under the guidance of local emergency officials and out of an abundance of caution, JCPS will operate on a 2-hour delay on Wednesday, January 10, 2024. Everyone is encouraged to drive with caution when traveling.

Students will dismiss at 12:55 tomorrow due to inclement weather. All after-school activities are cancelled. The PTA meeting scheduled for tomorrow night will be rescheduled to another time. The YMCA will communicate after-school care decisions.

Christmas Break is just a couple of days away!🎄🎁 For students following the traditional school calendar, Wednesday, December 20, 2023 is an early release day. Then students will be out of school from Thursday, December 21, 2023 - Tuesday, January 2, 2024. Students return to school on Wednesday, January 2, 2024.

Happy Friday, Explorer Families! We appreciate all of you who came out last night to celebrate PTA's Winter Wonderland. It was such a wonderful evening filled with spirit and festivity. Thank you to the PTA and all families who donated items and time to make the evening a success! Congrats to the ECES Chorus who did an amazing job on the performance! If you would like to sponsor a child this holiday season, please sign up in the front office or use the QR code on the flyer below. We have several families in need of sponsorship. Return the gifts and the ornament to the front office by December 13th. If you have any questions please contact Jadelyne McBroom, East Clayton School counselor at 919-550-5311 ext.6806 or jadelynemcbroom@johnston.k12.nc.us https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hcdUOKRAv7E0luhNEpc3dBoOFJBryW8zuibrAI31XFU/edit Next week we will continue with our Countdown to Winter Break fun! Please join in the festivities by having your child participate in the dress-up days. We hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Friday, Explorer Families! We have several announcements of events going on this week. Be sure to follow the Countdown to Winter Break calendar for some fun dress-up opportunities. On Monday, fundraiser items from the PTA's fall fundraiser will be delivered to the school. Pick up for the items shipped to school will be between 2:45-3:45pm in the Media Center. We will not be sending items home on the bus. If you are unable to pick up items at that time, please call the front office to make other arrangements. Some of the items require refrigeration, so we will not be able to keep them for long. School pictures from 11/28 are now available to view and order online! You should have received an email from Jostens with information to order. View and order at https://shop.jostenspix.com/login EAST CLAYTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Event Code: FE277023 Progress reports will come home on Thursday of this week along with MVPA results for grades 3-5. Please communicate with your child's teacher if you have any concerns. On Thursday, our PTA will host the annual Winter Wonderland from 5pm-7pm. Activities will include the Book Fair shopping, Vendor Event, Food Trucks, Arts & Crafts, Bingo, Dance Party, and Pictures with Santa. This event is free to attend, so we hope you will come out for some holiday fun with your family. Our PTA has a link on their Facebook page for donations they still need for the event. Do not leave that evening without checking the Lost & Found for any items your child may have misplaced throughout the year! Please check out the PTA's newsletter for information on upcoming events. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EtWiyUnj0yeUruJUWV5PCVmg5n3RUxlG/view We hope you have a wonderful weekend!

The Book Fair starts today! Use the e-wallet to add funds directly to your child's account for use at the Book Fair. Cash is also accepted. The Book Fair will also be open at PTA's Winter Wonderland on December 7th. https://www.scholastic.com/bf/eastclaytonelementaryschool

In observance of the Thanksgiving holiday, all JCPS campuses will be closed Wednesday, Nov. 22 - Friday, Nov. 24. 🦃