James W. Smith Elementary

10/10/2026

Blue Jays, help us celebrate our JWS Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Gomez! 💛💙

Mrs. Gomez brings learning to life with her creative teaching style, making lessons engaging, meaningful, and memorable for her students. She thoughtfully differentiates learning to meet each student’s needs and help every learner grow. As a dedicated teacher leader, she inspires those around her and makes our school community stronger.

We’re so grateful for all you do, Mrs. Gomez. Congratulations—you truly deserve this honor! 🎉👏

10/04/2026

Hello Families!

Please see our Blue Jay News for the month of October 2026:

Blue Jay News!

09/30/2026

🏃‍♂️ Join Us for the James W. Smith Family Walk-A-Thon! 🏃‍♀️

Bring the whole family—cousins, friends, and more—out for a morning of fun, movement, and friendly competition! This funds raised will help go towards our new playground!

There will be food vendors with savory snacks and sweet treats!

📅 Date: Saturday, November 7th

📍 Location: WCHS Track

⏰ Time: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM (Stick tallying begins at 11:45 AM)

🎟 Admission: Adults: $10 | Students (and school-aged relatives): $5

👕 What to Wear

Show off your team spirit! Families are encouraged to coordinate in matching or same-color shirts. Wristbands and name bibs will be provided upon arrival for every pre-paid registrant.

🏆 The Competition (Stick Run)

Collect a stick for every lap completed. Check in at the counting station by 11:45 AM to tally your family's total laps! Awards will be given to the families with the most laps for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place!


⚠️ Important Registration & Payment Guidelines

Everyone must be accounted for ahead of time so we can prepare wristbands and bibs. No payments or additional family members will be accepted on the day of the event.

*Both the registration form AND payment must be completed by Monday, November 2nd:

Step 1: Complete Registration JWS Walk- A- Thon Google Form: Fill out the required form for your family at
https://forms.gle/dooY6fFBPVLhbjMz5


Step 2: Submit Payment:

School Cash Online: Visit https://cravencountyschools.schoolcashonline.com/ then log in and search for "James W Smith Walk-A-Thon".

Cash: Send the exact cash payment to your child's teacher along with the JWS Walk- A- Thon Google Form. The amount of money submitted must match the information in the JWS Walk- A- Thon Google Form.


📩 Questions?

Event Details: Contact Rachel Roccuzzo at [email protected]

Payment Questions: Contact Courtney Norman at [email protected]

We cannot wait to see you on the track!

— JWS Administration & Staff

09/28/2026

Last Wednesday, our 3rd graders practiced important water safety skills at the Twin Rivers YMCA! 💦🏊‍♂️ They learned how to be safe and responsible in the water, while also showing what it means to be kind, respectful, and prepared.

Our Blue Jays did an amazing job practicing our expectations outside of our walls—and we couldn’t be prouder! 💪✨

Thank you to the our 3rd grade teachers, bus driver, chaperones, YMCA team and everyone else who helped make this such a meaningful experience for our students. 💙🐦

09/27/2026

👑💙 LET’S GIVE ONE LAST SHOUT OUT TO OUR PRINCE & PRINCESS! 💛👑

Join us in celebrating our 5th Grade Prince & Princess Representatives from JWS!

These two outstanding students were selected by their peers because they consistently demonstrate what it means to be SAFE, RESPONSIBLE, and RESPECTFUL—even when faced with difficult situations. 💙

Their hard work, positive choices, leadership, and commitment to modeling our desired behaviors truly deserve to be celebrated! 👏🏽✨

We are SO PROUD of these students and all they have accomplished! We can’t wait to watch them continue to grow, LEVEL UP, and LEAD our school this year! 🎮

Congratulations, Prince & Princess! 💙💛

You (and ALL OF OUR STUDENTS) make JWS proud!

09/27/2026

What a week we had of Blue Jay & West Side pride! 🎉

✨ We celebrated all week with fun themes every single day, showing off our West Side spirit like never before! 💙

On Friday, our JWS PTO came to greet our students at the doors as they arrived on campus. Then, we kicked it up even more with West Craven High School’s Homecoming game happening Friday evening, where two of our 5th graders, selected by their peers, represented JWS on the 🏈 field at half time with Mr. Ward.

We loved seeing the excitement in the halls and outside of our walls! 💙💛💙💛

Thank you to everyone who helped make Spirit Week special—our students, staff, creative families, and PTO! Now… let’s keep that Blue Jays energy going as we continue to LEVEL UP this school year! 💛🎮

09/27/2026

We had a great time at the Cove City Fireman’s Day and parade today! We saw so many students and their families, as well as raised a lot of money for our PTO and our new playground at James W. Smith—thank you to everyone who worked together to make it possible! 🚒🔥

We’re so grateful for our JWS family and the community for coming out and supporting our Blue Jays! 🐦🛝💙💛

09/26/2026