JPPS Elementary School Naming Opportunities

GYMNASIUM AND RECEPTION AREA

A naming opportunity is available for the JPPS Gymnasium and Reception Area. These two adjacent spaces have been recently refurbished. A fresh coat of paint as well as new doors, storage and lighting upgrades have transformed the area. The stage is now equipped with extension platforms and a separation curtain. The spaces serve multiple purposes, including physical education, drama, extracurricular activities, holiday celebrations, and a meeting place for the Home & School Association, Town Hall, and staff—and the list goes on. Situated adjacent to the front main lobby, the gymnasium is a focal point of attraction for JPPS, as it should be for any educational facility. It speaks to the quality of all of its facilities and the importance allocated to a healthy body, healthy mind. From an early age, a comprehensive physical education program helps our students develop the skills and attitudes they need for a life-long commitment to making educated choices for healthy living. A visually appealing and safe environment for physical education is the starting point for any physical education program. Student participation in the physical education and other extracurricular leadership team-building activities taking place in the gymnasium ensure from the outset the development of a student’s committed participatory role in the life of JPPS. In other words, it translates into strong academic performance! Naming of these two spaces will be available for an investment of $250,000. The donor’s name will be incorporated above the two new doors to the gymnasium in the lobby.

FAÇADE AND SCHOOL YARD ENHANCEMENTS

No JPPS parent feels enamoured by the first glimpse of the school. Thank goodness that JPPS’s academic offering is solid, because from the outside we are not communicating the high quality of education that is offered on the inside! Security is also an issue, and increased competition from other Jewish elementary day schools makes attracting families a real challenge; therefore, it is critical that we consider some important upgrades to the public face of JPPS. For a relatively modest investment, not only could the façade be enhanced, but also the asphalt could be replaced in part by a soft play surface and the security system and fencing upgraded. Designated areas for traditional games like hopscotch and basketball as well as meeting areas designed to encourage social interactivity in small groups will serve as a welcome break from the structured environment of the classroom. Naming of this initiative will be made available for a minimum $250,000 investment. A discreet donor plaque will acknowledge this enhancement.

MUSIC PROGRAM

JPPS’s Choir may be small, but it is wonderful, and it is the seed from which a full-fledged music program must grow. Let’s introduce our children to the world of music and expose them to instruments they may never have touched, beginning with recorders, xylophones, and a variety of percussion instruments. The smile on their faces is reason enough, not to mention the well-known fact that students involved in music at an early age excel at all other subjects, especially mathematics. With a modest $35,000 investment, JPPS students will be equipped for a small band. The timing is right as it coincides with an increase in the program from 30 to 60 minutes per week. Support of the Music Program at JPPS will be recognized on a plaque in the music classroom.

SMART BOARDS

To equip all JPPS classrooms with SMART Boards, 22 will be required, and they are available for naming. It’s all about using the latest technology to engage our JPPS tech-savvy students. Capturing the computer screen on a white-surfaced board, SMART Boards respond to the touch of a finger as well as to digital ink markers. Notes written on the boards can be saved for later use. Combining the simplicity of a whiteboard with the power of a computer, they are fast becoming an indispensable tool for teachers to engage students in the classroom. For students, it literally means “learning at their fingertips.” Interactivity is taking on a whole new meaning! The SMART Boards will carry signage along the bottom edge to clearly recognize the donors. This “engaging” opportunity will be made available for the actual cost of the purchase and installation of a SMART Board, that is, $6,000.

LAPTOPS FOR GRADES 4, 5 & 6

Three lockers, each holding approximately 20 to 25 laptops, are strategically located close to the Grade 4, 5 and 6 classrooms, equipped with special keys and accessible only to teachers who reserve them! By the time students reach Bialik Senior High, they will have their own laptops; in the meantime, a measured introduction to using the laptop begins at the earliest levels. Unlike the static, cumbersome desktops located in dedicated classrooms, laptops travel to the classrooms where needed and when. A continual program of renewal, and therefore, the purchase of replacement laptops, is planned, which for 20 laptops can cost upwards of $40,000. Nevertheless, a naming opportunity of a laptop locker will be made available for $20,000 and remain there for at least three to five years, after which the donor’s name will move to a wall-mounted plaque in an appropriate school location.

ADOPT A JPPS CLASSROOM!

Equipped across the board with new whiteboards, desks, and chairs, a number of our classrooms are just waiting for a patron! In fact, once it’s adopted, we will make the classroom truly state-ofthe-art with the addition of a SMART Board and an LCD projector. Memorializing a loved one or a former teacher is within reach, at $100,000. There is a limited number of these classrooms available.

JPPS TILES AVAILABLE

An opportunity to commemorate a loved one who has passed away, or to pay tribute to a special person, is available, as it has been in the past. As you descend the staircase to the gymnasium lobby at JPPS, look up! Each tile is available at a cost of $1,800, or half a tile for $1,000. This is a tangible way to carry on the legacy of a loved one and also a significant source of support for JPPS.