Jefferson ES 2016-17 School Year

Second graders raise silkworms as part of their Life Science unit. The silkworms start as tiny eggs, hatch into larvae, and start to eat. They eat mulberry leaves (and that's all they eat) until they get fat enough to build cocoons around themselves with their own silk. After a few weeks in the cocoon, they metamorphose into silkmoths.

This type of silkmoth has been bred specifically for its silk. Once they emerge, silkmoths do not fly, eat, or drink. They mate, and the females lay hundreds of eggs. We collect and refrigerate the fertilized eggs until the mulberry trees in the Kindergarten Yard form new leaves, and a new batch of second graders is ready to experience the silkworm life cycle.

Each cocoon is made of a single strand of silk about a mile long. Popping the cocoons into hot water loosens the silk, which can then be wound onto spools. About 5 to 8 strands of silk are needed to create just one strand of silk thread, which can then be made into silk fabric.

Special thanks to science coordinator Leslie Quan for devising and teaching such a cool project.

Did you know that SFUSD provides all of its elementary schools with accredited music teachers who give 4th and 5th graders weekly group lessons in violin, flute, trumpet, or clarinet?  After completing a year of musical instrument lessons, Jefferson's own music program students participated in the 27th Annual SFUSD Elementary Music Festival, held in the beautiful performing arts theater at Balboa High School. Hundreds of Fourth and Fifth Graders from 72 elementary schools performed for hundreds of proud parents, siblings and friends.

The Fourth Grade violins - the largest group of violinists in the festival's history - played first, followed by the trumpets, clarinets, and flutes - twice as many flutes as at last year's festival!  Each instrument group played 2 or 3 songs, then all of the musicians together - about 200 students total - brought the house down and closed the show with a rousing rendition of Frère Jacques, played in a round.  It was a wonderful afternoon of great performances and unprecedented participation.

Big thanks to Jefferson's music teachers, Ms. Sakura and Ms. Mosley, who have patiently guided, instructed and encouraged our students as they learn to play, enjoy and appreciate music.

Jefferson families brought in armloads of beautiful flowers to celebrate and recognize our wonderful administrative professionals.  Thank you for all that you do!

Thank you, Jefferson volunteers!  Teachers and staff treated the many wonderful parents who volunteer at Jefferson to a fabulous homemade lunch today in the Auditorium, surrounded by works of art from every classroom. You sure know how to make volunteers feel appreciated!

What do you get when you combine eggs, pantyhose, leaves, and onion skin?  No, not a delicious cake.  And not a nasty rash.  The second graders in Room 206 used all of those things to create these stunning decorated eggs.

Congratulations to our principal, Dr. Adams!  In April she successfully defended her dissertation on how elementary school principals identify and navigate conflict in inclusive education in order to advance discussions around inclusive education and allow for productive change for students with disabilities (Whew!) to earn her Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degree from the department of Organization and Leadership at the University of San Francisco (USF).  Well done, Dr. Adams!  We are all so proud of you!

Happy Spring!  Thanks to all who turned up for a fun Garden Day of weeding, mulching, and building beds.

At the 19th Annual Jefferson Family Science Night, second and third graders and their families had a blast doing experiments and making discoveries together at stations with the intriguing names of Volcano in a Bottle, Grass Head, Animal Connections, Mystery Powders, Attractive Balloons, Mining for Metal, Trapping Gas, Making Gak, and Hologram!

Many thanks to Jefferson science coordinator Leslie Quan for organizing this phenomenal event and to the many Jefferson teachers and students and UCSF and other scientist volunteers for overseeing so many busy and popular stations.

The Jefferson Gala and Auction was totally awesome!  Party to the max!

Place your bids!  The Jefferson online auction is in its final hours.  Share the link!  The Jefferson online auction is open to everyone!  But only until 9 p.m. tonight.  Bid now!

The second graders in Room 210 created this beautiful work of heart.

Presented by Kidpower, the global nonprofit leader in "People Safety" Skills and Education, the next PTA meeting will feature a Child Protection Workshop for Adults. This adults-only workshop is open to all Jefferson parents and caregivers.

Participants will practice age-appropriate ways to teach kids how to: 

• Make safety plans for public places
• Move away from possible trouble
• Follow Stranger Safety rules
• Set and respect boundaries
• Be and act aware and confident
• Deal with peer pressure and bullying
• Use safety skills online

Thursday, February 23, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Auditorium.  Pizza will be served.  Parking available in the Upper Yard.  Childcare provided for Jefferson students.  Please plan to join us!

Read Aloud Day at Jefferson featured two San Francisco supervisors, four SFFD firefighters, a published children's book author, a San Francisco Public Librarian, and dozens of parents.  All of them volunteered their time and shared their love of reading with students in every classroom.  What a great tradition!

The 4th and 5th grade artists in Room 205 created these gorgeous museum-worthy paintings and models of the California Missions.

What’s going on with science? Why do leaves have different shapes? What do germs look like? How do slopes and floods affect landforms? Can you name the moon phases? How do you balance a pencil tip on a popsicle stick? What is a "variable" in an experiment?

Science starts with questions and leads to predictions, experimentation, discussion, and designing solutions. The NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards) encourages students to think more like scientists and engineers. These new science and engineering standards and practices are gradually being incorporated into classrooms. (Thank you, Jefferson Science Coordinator Leslie Quan!)

Be sure to save the date for Jefferson's annual Family Science Night - this year for 2nd and 3rd graders and their families - on March 9, 2017.

The wonderful Jefferson community brought in the socks.  On the final day of the annual Sock Drive, we reached our goal of more than 1,000 pairs of socks!  Congratulations!  All socks will be donated to St. Anthony Foundation's Free Clothing Program.  Socks Rock!

At Winterfest, all Jefferson students do a holiday craft project to make a gift for family members or friends.  

This year, second graders made festive snow globes. Happy holidays to all!

Here's a reason to be thankful.  The City of San Francisco's Kindergarten to College (K2C) Program gives every child who attends a public SFUSD elementary school the chance to build savings for college.

When your child starts at Jefferson (except for current 5th graders), the City opens a college savings account for your child and deposits $50 in it.  The next $100 you deposit into the account is matched dollar-for-dollar, and you earn another $100 the first time you make 6 monthly deposits in a row of at least $10.  Accounts for students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch receive another $50 when you fill out a K2C information release in English, Chinese, or Spanish.

Don't leave free money on the table!  

NOW through November 21, please bring in a donation of nonperishable food for Jefferson's Annual Food Drive.  Rice, pasta, cereal, beans, canned fruit, canned vegetables, and canned soups are all great!  No glass containers, please.  Food contributions go into the big barrels near the Main Office.  Everything will go to the very worthy San Francisco Food Bank for distribution.

The very talented Shirley Yee in the Main Office decorated these fantastic Halloween pumpkins.  Jefferson students guessed the weight of their grade's pumpkin, and the student in each grade who came closest to the correct weight won the pumpkin!  Jefferson celebrated Halloween with our annual all-school Halloween Costume Parade.

A generous group of children's book authors visited every Jefferson classroom on Authors Day.  Author-illustrator Julie Downing (second from right) founded Authors Day 18 years ago when she was a Jefferson parent.  The authors read to the students and explained the process of writing and illustrating a book.  We are grateful to all of the authors who gave their time and shared their experience.  We know that many students were excited and inspired by Authors Day!

It's Jefferson Family Movie Night!  Because of the wet weather we will be in the Auditorium (doors open at 6 p.m.).  We will have pizza ($5 for 2 slices) and popcorn, baked goods, and juice boxes ($1 each) for sale, or bring your own movie snacks and drinks.  Chairs provided for adults; kids sit on the floor (or feel free to bring a beach chair or a picnic blanket or sleeping bags and pillows to sit or lie on).  Free parking in the Upper Yard starting at 6 p.m. Disney's "Zootopia" will start screening at 6:45.

This Wednesday, October 5, is our regular monthly Golden Sneaker Day.  It also happens to be international Walk-to-School Day, when students in more than 40 countries and in thousands of schools across America all walk or roll to school on the same day, to promote safer and more accessible streets and sidewalks, physical exercise, healthier habits, and cleaner air.  Jefferson students who travel to school in a green way on October 5
may stop by the Middle Yard or Kindergarten Yard before school starts to pick up a little extra prize to celebrate their participation.

At the first Garden Day (see August 13, below), we planted this Silky Gold milkweed in a planter by the 18th Avenue gate. Today a female Monarch butterfly was seen enjoying the plant. The butterflies like the nectar in the flowers and lay their eggs on the plants.  Their caterpillars eat the leaves.  Success!

Not to freak you out completely, but every minute of every day Americans use more than 18 million megabytes of wireless data, Google translates 69.5 million words, the Weather Channel gets almost 14 million forecast requests, and Americans send more than 3.5 million texts.  That's every minute!

Ray Cagan from Common Sense Education spoke at the September 22 PTA meeting about how to ensure that students are thinking critically, behaving safely, and participating responsibly in our digital world.

He shared with us Common Sense's amazing array of free resources, including a guide that rates movies for their appropriateness for kids, a set of lists of the best kids' books, apps, movies, TV shows, music, websites, and games, and a grade-level-appropriate digital citizenship curriculum on internet safety, privacy, cyberbullying, security, self-image, and more.

You may especially appreciate the family discussion topics such as managing screen time, the value of coding, and kids taking and sending selfies.  Your kids may especially enjoy the award-winning online games that address key issues facing kids in today's digital world and teach them critical skills about digital safety, respect, and community while they earn badges toward a Digital Passport.

Help your kids make smart choices in the world of media and technology.  Check out the free digital resources available to you from Common Sense.

We will meet at 6 p.m. in the Auditorium.  Later, head to your children's classrooms to meet with their teachers. 

And don't forget about our Schoola Fall Clothing Drive.  You can bring your bags of clothing to the Auditorium when you come for Back-to-School Night, or drop off bags in the Auditorium that morning.

Everyone had a blast at the Ice Cream Social.  Fueled by popsicles and ice cream, students had a great time biking, scootering, skating, running, climbing, jumping rope, and speeding along on whatever that thing is in the top left picture!

Just published!  Read this year's Q&A with Principal Kim Adams.

What happened at the school's first Garden Day of the year?  Lots and lots of planting, weeding, digging, hoeing ... and more weeding.  Thanks to everyone who participated.  The place looks great!