Dear Jones families, As we begin 2012, we want to celebrate all of the many wonderful events that have occurred during November and December at Jones Elementary. We appreciate all of your support and encouragement as we continue to strive to provide the best education for all of our stu-dents. Your positive participation in our November parent-teacher con-ferences was greatly appreciated. Communication between school and home is a critical part of student success and we value your partner-ship. Please continue to keep the lines of communication open. Our Blackboard website and our Fox Folders, along with e-mail updates, are our key means of communication. Please make sure that your child’s teacher and the office have current email addresses and up-to-date contact numbers. December was an extremely busy month. Students had the opportunity to do their holiday shopping at the PTA Winter Wonderland, where they purchased and created gifts for family and friends, as well as enjoyed some delicious bake sale items and fun games. On December 14th, we were entertained by the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students who worked diligently during Band, Strings, and Chorus lessons to provide us with delightful seasonal music during the Winter Concert. Congratu-lations to Mrs. Nicholas, Mrs. Dickenson, and Mrs. Cox for their fantas-tic energy and enthusiasm as they helped the students prepare for the wonderful performance. There have been several glitches this year with our new attendance system. Classroom teachers take attendance each morning and then automated calls go out to contact numbers if a student has been marked tardy or is absent. Because of the glitches, some parents have received tardy/attendance calls when their children were at school. This is something that the county is working on and that we will monitor closely. I apologize for the confusion and panic that these calls may cause. If you receive a call and you know that your child is at school, please contact the office immediately. We would like to say "thank you" to the parents who completed our 2011 Community Engagement Survey. We are grateful for the large increase in feedback. For all parents, please be aware that our School Improve-ment Plan is available on our Blackboard website. If you are interested, a copy is available upon request and parents are welcome to attend our monthly School Improvement Meetings. We again want to share our appreciation for all that you do throughout the year to make Jones Elementary School a place where the community and school work together to provide our children with the very best edu-cation. Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2012! Warmly, Sara Pickens