James W. Smith Elementary

09/03/2026

🎮 First Level Up Leader Award 26-27 📣

Our Level Up Leader Award goes to our Data Manager, Mrs. Christina Monette!

From jumping right in with building student schedules in Infinite Campus, helping teachers with day-to-day tasks, ensuring attendance and sign notes are accounted for, to welcoming and onboarding new enrolled students—she has done it all like a pro!

Mrs. Christina has truly leveled up and set the bar high for our monthly nominations… stay tuned to see who levels up next month!

🏆 Congratulations, Mrs. Monette! 💙💛

09/03/2026

🌟 Blue Jays—let’s celebrate this win! 🌟

Behind every great day in school is a whole team of amazing people doing their jobs exceptionally well. From:
🧼 Custodians keeping our schools clean and welcoming
📚 Support staff teaching life skills, collaboration and helping students thrive
🚌 Bus drivers getting our students to school safely and on time each and every day
🥘 School nutrition for feeding our students healthy meals to keep them fueled for success… a student from the first week of school, “wow they really did a good with the food this year!”

…and so many more staff members with roles that may be different, but the impact is always HUGE.

Because when every role matters, everyone succeeds. 💙💛

🎉 And guess what? Our growth is real—and it shows.
🏆 We exceeded growth this year and earned a 66 Performance Grade Score—and we’re only 4 points away from becoming a B School!

Huge shout-out to our teachers, students, and staff who put in the hard work day after day to help us soar to new heights. 🐦🪽

📈 Our motto: Teach. Learn. Grow. Achieve

Let’s keep leveling up, Blue Jays! Stronger today. Better tomorrow. 🎮✨

09/03/2026

We are already leveling up and making great strides this school year. Catch all the latest updates in our September 2026 issue of Blue Jay News here:

Blue Jay News!

08/30/2026

👋💙 Level Up with us as we welcome Mrs. Kay—our newest staff member and Blue Jay! 🎮✨
This school year, she’ll serve as a Personal Needs Assistant at James W. Smith. We’re grateful to have her on our team! 💙

08/28/2026

🎮✨ First Week Recap! ✨🎮

What a week at James W. Smith! Students, teachers, and staff leveled up from the very start—meeting new challenges, conquering new levels, and reaching new heights through hands-on learning. 💪📚

From playing music & keeping rhythm 🎶 to STEAM experiences that sparked curiosity, and collaborating in PE, to third grade cursive writing practice, our Blue Jays worked hard every day. ✍️✨
They also made new friends, jumped into classroom routines, and explored real-life learning—like full-blown science experiments in the hallway to help students visualize and understand. 🔬👀

We’re so proud of our Blue Jays for pushing through new things, trying their best, and growing together. 🌟

Here’s to an amazing start—let’s keep building momentum! 💙💛

Photo credit 📸 Craven County Schools!

08/27/2026

🚍💙James W. Smith Bus Evacuation Practice Day! 💛🚍

Yesterday, our students at James W. Smith put their learning into action during Bus Evacuation Practice Day! They reviewed the expectations for being safe, responsible, and respectful on the bus—because great choices matter and help everyone ride with confidence. ✅

After watching safety videos, students practiced important evacuation safety moves, including how to exit and evacuate through the back of the bus with the assistance of our awesome bus drivers! They listened carefully, worked as a team, and showed what this will look like. 💪👏

Today, we’re celebrating how they leveled up by practicing what they learned—and we couldn’t be more proud! 🎉

Parents, if you are unsure what the expectations and consequences for the bus are… Please see the last two pictures of this post! We appreciate your support to help keep our students safe!

08/27/2026

📚✨ Day 4 is in motion! Our students are rolling in a little more confident—smiles on, backpacks ready, and hearts full of “I can do this!” 😄🚍🚗

We’re on our way to teach • learn • grow • achieve—and we can’t wait to see all the amazing things this day brings! 💪🌟

08/25/2026

🎉 First Day of School Fun! 🎉

James W Smith Blue Jays leveled up on the first day of school! 😄📚✨🎮🕹️

Just a few pics—because we were definitely too busy teaching, learning and having fun!

Can’t wait to see what the week brings as our students continue to level up every day! 💙

We are so glad to have our Blue Jays back! 💛

08/23/2026

🎉 WELCOME BACK, Families & Students! 🎉

We’re SO excited to kick off a brand-new school year! Get ready to level up—academically, creatively, and together. 💙🐦

📬 Please be sure to check:
✅ JWS Blue Jay News

Can’t wait to see you at school—let’s make it an amazing year! 🚀✨

Welcome Back, Blue Jays!