Here is the scene in front of the school before leaving. Apparently it was quite a feat to pack both toys and kids.
Here are some links to stories both locally and in NJ.
http://chestnuthilllocal.com/blog/2012/12/07/oc/
Another WOW Jenks event!!!
Thursday, December 13, 2012
J.S. Jenks spreads the Holiday Spirit in Ocean City
Thanks to Ms. Goldsmith and Mr. Leland for organizing a great trip to Ocean City Intermediate School.
Here is the scene in front of the school before leaving. Apparently it was quite a feat to pack both toys and kids.
Here are some links to stories both locally and in NJ.
http://chestnuthilllocal.com/blog/2012/12/07/oc/
Another WOW Jenks event!!!
Here is the scene in front of the school before leaving. Apparently it was quite a feat to pack both toys and kids.
Here are some links to stories both locally and in NJ.
http://chestnuthilllocal.com/blog/2012/12/07/oc/
Another WOW Jenks event!!!
Red, White & Blue Day
All Philly schools are NOT failing. All charters are NOT successful. The only "good" Philly schools are NOT the magnets (Masterman etc).
J.S. Jenks is a neighborhood school with the majority of kids from the NorthWest section of Philadelphia. In spite of the drama and ineffectual leadership at 440 over the years, in spite of the reduced funding, in spite of all of these factors WE SUCCEED.
The Red White and Blue day performance by the 1st graders was an amazing performance. How Mr. Kell gets these kids to learn the songs and movements is a mystery. At one point he conducted them to a silence point in the song .....and they were silent. I cannot get my two kids to be silent at the same time at home!
J.S. Jenks is a neighborhood school with the majority of kids from the NorthWest section of Philadelphia. In spite of the drama and ineffectual leadership at 440 over the years, in spite of the reduced funding, in spite of all of these factors WE SUCCEED.
The Red White and Blue day performance by the 1st graders was an amazing performance. How Mr. Kell gets these kids to learn the songs and movements is a mystery. At one point he conducted them to a silence point in the song .....and they were silent. I cannot get my two kids to be silent at the same time at home!
I constantly have WOW moments regarding Jenks.
1. WOW- all teachers (some with and some without power) were at school the day after Sandy.
2. WOW- a trip has been organized to take some of our JAM students to Ocean City to collaborate musically and bring toys for the kids.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Run for the Arts: 5k Tomorrow at 8:15 AM
Join a dedicated community group raising money to support a local public neighborhood school!
http://friendsofjsjenks.org/
Jogging for Jenks is the first annual fun run and walk organized by the Friends of J.S. Jenks, an independent fundraising organization of parents, teachers, administrators and community members dedicated to supporting programmatic and infrastructure development at the John Story Jenks Elementary School in Chestnut Hill. Our major fundraising goal this year is to support arts and music programming at the school.
The 5k Fun Run and 1K Walk will be held on Saturday, November 3, starting at the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields on St. Martins Lane at Willow Grove Avenue. Registration for the run will begin at 7:30 a.m. with a start time of 8:15 a.m. Walk registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. with a start time of 9 a.m. The start/finish area will feature a kids’ zone, vendor tables and refreshments.
Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields
8000 St. Martins Lane
Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia
$25 for registration adults/ $5 children
Suggested sponsorship of $100 (free registration with sponsorship of over $200)
All registrations include a T-shirt (while supplies last)
Leashed pets and baby joggers allowed. Please use caution.
Download Registration Form and send in your payment by check.
Online Registration using your credit card.
http://friendsofjsjenks.org/
Jogging for Jenks is the first annual fun run and walk organized by the Friends of J.S. Jenks, an independent fundraising organization of parents, teachers, administrators and community members dedicated to supporting programmatic and infrastructure development at the John Story Jenks Elementary School in Chestnut Hill. Our major fundraising goal this year is to support arts and music programming at the school.
The 5k Fun Run and 1K Walk will be held on Saturday, November 3, starting at the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields on St. Martins Lane at Willow Grove Avenue. Registration for the run will begin at 7:30 a.m. with a start time of 8:15 a.m. Walk registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. with a start time of 9 a.m. The start/finish area will feature a kids’ zone, vendor tables and refreshments.
Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields
8000 St. Martins Lane
Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia
$25 for registration adults/ $5 children
Suggested sponsorship of $100 (free registration with sponsorship of over $200)
All registrations include a T-shirt (while supplies last)
Leashed pets and baby joggers allowed. Please use caution.
Download Registration Form and send in your payment by check.
Online Registration using your credit card.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
The New School Year
The start of the school year is exciting with all the
possibilities even under the cloud of the constant negative press regarding the
Philadelphia School District, the SRC, the funding from the state etc.
One opportunity that my 4th
grader has gotten directly as a result of her attending J.S. Jenks is to attend
the Philadelphia String Project at Temple University. The mission of the String Project, which is nation-wide
program, is to train future string teachers (there is a nation-wide shortage of
string teachers) and to nurture future string musicians. Alex had a unique opportunity to try out for
the orchestra at Jenks in the 2nd grade which has opened up this
world to her (thank you Jenks!)(a special thanks to Mr. Wesner, her strings
instructor at Jenks). The classes for
String Project are twice a week with 100 kids (yes much coordination goes on
but it works well). They are grouped by year, 1st, 2nd
and 3rd and practice within their year groupings. They also come together as a group to watch a
performance of their lead teacher Ms. Parente (her enthusiasm is off the charts)
and the interns (the Temple students) so that the kids can learn to be good
audiences as well as musicians. So far the experience seems to be positive for
all involved! Also I want to mention that this program along with the Community
Music Scholars Program is coordinated by Melissa Douglas http://www.temple.edu/boyer/community/music-prep/programs.asp#CMSP
Information about the Strings Project:
Article about the Philly Strings Project:
Addendum: I am in no way a tiger mom. My thoughts are that
they (kids) should want to do things because of interest, drive or enjoyment
not from me pushing them. I try to not over schedule my kids and have failed miserably
but the kids enjoy all that they do, we (the parents of our household) are the miserable
ones dealing with a crazy schedule. Specifically
in regards to the String Project, the 2 days a week seems like a lot for the
kids but so far they are engaged and the 2 hours goes so quickly and seems to
be fun for them.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
An article to read
My intentions with this blog was to relay all the positive activities and progress at my neighborhood school John Story Jenks Elementary School in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia. I now have 2 kids in the school and we have been there 5 years. The experience has been positive, although no situation is perfect the energy and enthusiasm of the faculty, staff, students, administration and parents during these times of education reform has been very..................... educational.
I have been following on twitter local reporters on education (Kristen Graham, Inquirer), local parent groups (Helen Gym, Parents United) and national leaders (Diane Ravitch). At times the conversation depresses me, it has become polarized, many times being simplified into a problem that could be solved with one simple solution since it has one simple cause: unions, bad teachers, underfunding depending on your "side" of the issue.
So I enjoyed reading an article in Mother Jones by Kristina Rizga http://www.motherjones.com/media/2012/08/mission-high-false-low-performing-school
Education of our children, ALL our children, is complex and changes constantly as new ideas are tried and theories evolve. But we all seem to want evidence that our school is "the best" and test scores seem to be the variable "du joir" at this point. But I find in many other arenas in life many people don't value "the evidence" so as always we are human and very nuanced and not very consistent and it would do us all well to read the article and sit back and think. Then go support your local school!
I have been following on twitter local reporters on education (Kristen Graham, Inquirer), local parent groups (Helen Gym, Parents United) and national leaders (Diane Ravitch). At times the conversation depresses me, it has become polarized, many times being simplified into a problem that could be solved with one simple solution since it has one simple cause: unions, bad teachers, underfunding depending on your "side" of the issue.
So I enjoyed reading an article in Mother Jones by Kristina Rizga http://www.motherjones.com/media/2012/08/mission-high-false-low-performing-school
Education of our children, ALL our children, is complex and changes constantly as new ideas are tried and theories evolve. But we all seem to want evidence that our school is "the best" and test scores seem to be the variable "du joir" at this point. But I find in many other arenas in life many people don't value "the evidence" so as always we are human and very nuanced and not very consistent and it would do us all well to read the article and sit back and think. Then go support your local school!
Kristen Graham
@newskag
Education reporter, Pulitzer Prize winner
covering Philadelphia schools for the Inquirer & philly.com.
Obsessed w/the Phillies. Tips? kgraham@phillynews.com.
Helen Gym
@ParentsUnitedPA
Parents United is an independent all-volunteer
collective of public schools parents making sure the District's budget
puts kids and classrooms FIRST.
Diane Ravitch
@DianeRavitch
I write about education. I blog at Bridging Differences at Education Week.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Target supports Schools
Support J.S. Jenks via Target
on Facebook. If you haven't voted yet, time is running out.
Please go to Facebook and search "Give With Target."
You'll have to enter Jenks for the school and 19118 for our zip code. We only have 200 votes. For every 25 votes we get a $25 gift card! Target will continue to donate to schools up to $2.5 million. They are already donating $2.4.
You can vote once a week.
Please go to Facebook and search "Give With Target."
You'll have to enter Jenks for the school and 19118 for our zip code. We only have 200 votes. For every 25 votes we get a $25 gift card! Target will continue to donate to schools up to $2.5 million. They are already donating $2.4.
You can vote once a week.
Local Parent's Comment to a NY Times Op Ed
Rebecca Poyourow's letter is all over Twitter so I wanted to keep it circulating. Rebecca is an extraordinary parent activist and we are lucky to have her passion in Philly.
http://dianeravitch.net/2012/08/19/a-parents-letter-to-frank-bruni-of-the-new-york-times/
The Op Ed is linked here
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/opinion/sunday/bruni-teachers-on-the-defensive.html?_r=1&ref=frankbruni
http://dianeravitch.net/2012/08/19/a-parents-letter-to-frank-bruni-of-the-new-york-times/
The Op Ed is linked here
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/opinion/sunday/bruni-teachers-on-the-defensive.html?_r=1&ref=frankbruni
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