“Turtle Talk” for the Week of October 26th

Posted Date: 10/26/25 (9:00 AM)

JCS "Turtle Talk"

Week of October 26th

Hi JCS families,

Thank you for joining us for parent-teacher conferences this past week. It was an excellent opportunity to have conversations together about how the beginning of the school year has been going for students and discuss ways we can work together to help students be successful.

Also, two BIG thank yous to the SPO for organizing and staffing the Book Fair AND for providing dinner for all teachers and staff attending conferences on Thursday evening!

Costumes on Friday, October 31st

We are planning to continue the JCS tradition of inviting students to bring a costume to wear to school to celebrate Halloween on Friday, October 31st. We understand that not all families celebrate or recognize Halloween and bringing a costume to school is completely voluntary and optional. Each grade level from PreK to 3rd grade will decide exactly during which part of the school day they will wear costumes, so be on the lookout for an email from your child’s teacher/grade level team with more information.

Here are the traditional guidelines that all grade levels will follow in terms of student costumes:

Each student MUST have a bag clearly labeled with their name to bring and store their costume
Costumes may not include weapons
Costumes may not include face paint or face masks
Costumes may not include hair spray/dye
Please consider that we have students as young as 3 years old who attend JCS and costumes should be appropriate for students of all ages

Thursday Ice Cream Schedule

We know that the Thursday ice cream service during lunches is popular for many of our students. Here is the schedule for October:

There WILL be ice cream service on 10/30

Parents/Family Members Who Are Veterans

Tuesday, November 11th is Veterans Day and we are looking to celebrate together as a school community. We are planning to have a short ceremony on Monday morning, November 10th at 9:30 AM shortly after student arrival. If the weather is clear, we will gather outside the front of the school near our flag pole to say the pledge of allegiance together and engage in a moment of silence. We’re also working to see if Norton student musicians will be able to join us for the playing of “Taps”. If it is raining, we will gather together in the gym.

We would like to invite any JCS parents who are veterans to join us on Monday morning, November 10th for this quick school celebration so that we can acknowledge and honor you as part of our ceremony. My own father was an Army veteran of the Vietnam War who received a Purple Heart and Bronze Star and I understand how important it is for all of us to thank and honor our veterans all throughout the year, especially on Veterans Day.

If you as a parent would be interested in joining us, please let Mr. Barrette know by sending me a quick email at pbarrette@norton.k12.ma.us. We would love to have JCS veterans join us on this special morning.

School Picture Retakes, Thursday November 6th

Inter-State Studio will be at JCS offering school picture retakes for any students who missed the first school picture day or whose family would like to have their picture retaken. More information will be shared with families once we receive it from Inter-State Studio.

Upcoming Dates and Events

View and subscribe to the JCS Public Events Calendar at https://bit.ly/jcspubliceventscalendar. Click on the "Add to Google Calendar" button in the lower right corner to subscribe to the calendar using your own calendar app. Events from the JCS Public Events Calendar also appear on the JCS website.

Early Release Day, Wednesday October 29th

Bring Costumes to School (optional), Friday 10/31

School Picture Retakes, Thursday 11/6

SPO Meeting, Thursday 11/6 at 6:00pm

Veterans Day Ceremony, Monday 11/10

NO SCHOOL, Veterans Day, Tuesday 11/11

JCS Website