Eagle Eye JMS Parent Newsletter #26

Hello, Jefferson Middle School families and parents!

We officially hit the midterm for Term 3 as we push for the finish line! A finish line is really the achievement of a goal and beginning of other goals. We are so very proud of our JMS Eagles as they reach new heights and explore new territory.

Thank you for working with us on Friday during our water main break. We greatly appreciate your responsiveness and patience as we tried to get students home. The water line has been repaired, and we look forward to seeing you and your student on Monday at the normal time.

We want to take the time to encourage all of our parent and families to check in with your child weekly, daily, through conversations about classes, projects, and learning goals. One excellent way to walk through some of the content and agendas for each class is to navigate CANVAS together. Be sure to reach out if you are not currently an observer in your child's courses. Ms. Leavitt, our ITC, is always eager to assist parents with Canvas and Skyward. Thank you so much for your ongoing engagement and investment in our school's mission!

We have several events and upcoming opportunities for families and students in our newsletter. Be sure to check it all out.

Please do not ever hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns.

Have a wonderful week!

Phil Cox, Principal, pcox@ortn.edu

Ben Fowler, Vice Principal, bjfowler@ortn.edu

Brian Tinker, Dean of Students, bjtinker@ortn.edu

Elizabeth Leavitt, Instructional Technology Coach, ealeavitt@ortn.edu

Monday 6, A Day

• Chess Club Library 2:45-3:45
• Atomic Eagles Meeting Science Wing 2:45-4:30
• RadioActive Brix Meeting Rm 223 2:45-4:30
• Master Builders Meeting Rm 102 2:45-4:30
  

Tuesday 7, B Day

• Track Interest Meeting Gym 2:45-3:45
• Girl Scouts Meeting Rm 208 3:00-5:00
• Atomic Eagles Meeting Science Wing 2:45-4:30
• RadioActive Brix Meeting Rm 223 2:45-4:30
• Master Builders Meeting Rm 102 2:45-4:30
  

Wednesday, 8, A Day

• Winter Teacher/Parent Conferences
• Ski Club to Ober Gatlinburg 1:00
• Garden Club 1:00-2:00
  

Thursday, 9, B Day

• Atomic Eagles Meeting 6:00-8:00 PM in the Eagle’s Innovation Center
  
• RadioActive Brix Meeting Rm 223 2:45-4:30

Friday, 10, A Day

• Youth for Christ Band Room 7:10 AM
• Ms. Kala’s class to KARM and Goodwill
  

Saturday, 11

• First Lego League State Championship Tennessee Tech University 8:00-4:00

Students in Mr. Dodson’s Character Strong Session created a large poster integrating ideas from many of the meetings including artwork, phrases, and poems on topics like building connections, dreaming ahead, creating goals, making habits, and happiness. The time talking about what’s important in the student’s lives has been very beneficial in going beyond the subjects we teach every day. Its been a great way to better understand our kids at Jefferson Middle.

Students in Mr. Dodson’s 7th and 8th grade year long elective art class have been working on entries to the first annual America Museum of Science and Energy STEAM art competition with the theme being the Periodic Table of Elements and interpreting that in a work of art. Students from the Oak Ridge Schools may submit drawings, paintings, photos, and sculpture. More to come as the exhibition progresses.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH CONTEST 2023 The Branch’s Education Committee is sponsoring a Black History Month Contest for Oak Ridge School/Anderson County Schools Middle (6-8) and High School (9-12) youths. Awards will be given to 1st, 2nd and 3rdPlace winners from Oak Ridge Schools and Anderson County Schools. The Black History Month Contest question will be:

“How would you create a curriculum to include the Clinton 12 or the Scarboro 85 in the school system.” You could create a podcast, develop a lesson plan, or develop a creative or dramatic art project (like a mural or a play for example).

*Please see the attached flyer for details!

JMS Track & Field:

It’s almost time for JMS Track & Field! We will have an interest meeting for current 6th, 7th and 8th grade JMS students who are interested in running track this spring on Tuesday, February 7th from 2:45pm-3:45pm in the JMS gym. Students interested in running track this spring must have a current sports physical, dated April 16, 2022 or later, on file. A link to the JMS sports physical packet is linked here: http://www.ortn.edu/Jefferson/FY23_JMS_Physical.pdf. Please contact Coach Byas, Coach Bolling or Coach Jessie with any questions.

Take a moment right now and think about when your family sits down together to eat a meal—is it something that happens frequently or a rare occurrence? Is a TV usually on? Do you all sit and linger, or does everyone hurry in and hurry out to continue whatever they were doing? The family meal has become a bit of a lost art in the modern age, where life moves at breakneck speed, long work schedules are juggled, screens are glued to everyone, and activities and other commitments fill up the “off” hours.

But whether your family is just two people or ten, eating together at the table should be a priority because it offers more benefits than most people realize. Family meals don’t have to be extravagant or consist of complicated dishes; it’s less about what’s on the table than who’s at the table.

Why eat together?

Besides the obvious fact that family time is important for bonding, here are other research-backed benefits to eating together:

Physical health:

Meals tend to be more balanced and nutritious, containing the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables. People eat slower and talk more, which allows more time for digestion and helps prevent overeating because there is more time to recognize fullness. Kids who eat with their family are exposed to a wider variety of foods and become less picky.

Mental and emotional health:

It’s much-needed time to catch up, reconnect, and find out what’s happening in your children’s lives. This builds closer bonds, and you recognize potential issues your children may be having.

Through this time together, kids build greater self-esteem and parents are able to role model healthy behaviors, whether it’s choosing nutritious foods or problem-solving a conflict. Kids and teens who eat family meals may earn higher grades in school, experience fewer symptoms of depression, and are less likely to engage in high-risk behaviors, like drug use. For kids in early childhood, family meals help develop language and social skills.

And one final benefit? It saves money—potentially quite a bit, depending on how frequently your family eats outside the home.

For more tips on how to make the most of family meals, visit Action for Healthy Kids Web Site.

This past week, we spent time Wednesday morning with the following topics in each classroom.

• 8th Grade: Researching and Outlining for our Capstone Project
• 7th Grade: How Emotions Work: Part 2
• 6th Grade: Practicing Empathy
• 5th Grade: Conflict Resolution

Attention Parents and Guardians of 6th and 8th grade students

On February 16th, 17th and 27th, students in 6th and 8th grade will participate in the Oak Ridge Board of Education approved Family Life curriculum during their Physical Education class. The programming will be age appropriate and address topics covered in the 6th and 8th grade Health Education standards.

***Due to the 8th graders touring ORHS on February 16th, 8th grade students who have PE on A-days will participate in their Family Life presentation on Monday, February 27th.

6th Grade Family Life Information

Lessons presented will be age- appropriate information on the emotional, social and physical aspects of growing up. Boys and girls will be separated for this presentation, but will watch the same video. The link for the video is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw1N06PKhu4

8th Grade Family Life Information

Lessons presented will be age-appropriate information on the emotional, social and physical aspects of growing up. Information on sexually transmitted diseases, refusal skills, abstinence, HIV/AIDS is also included. Students will remain in the same classroom, unlike when boys and girls were separated in the 6th grade program. This information will be presented by Mrs. Tracey Robbins.

Per School Board Policy 4.213, a parent/guardian has the right to opt their child out of participating in the family life education programming. Your child may be assigned alternative health activities and will not be penalized academically.

https://forms.office.com/r/gGV1b9H2pc

If you would like additional information about the program, or if you have further questions, please feel free to contact Katie Bolling, Sean Jessie or Casey Ensley at 425-9301 or by email at ksbolling@ortn.edu, skjessie@ortn.edu, or ceensley@ortn.edu.

We are especially still in need of Ziploc bags! We so much appreciate all of our parents. Feel free to continue sending in any donations for our clinic.

One of ORS's areas for students being LIFE READY is Self-Discipline. One of our indicators for middle schooler students for this domain is that they: "Set meaningful and challenging goals for success in school and life and create a workable plan to achieve those goals."

Students in RTI with Mr. Martin use Freckle, Aimsweb, and Skyward to practice, perform, and measure these goals!

• Freckle Fact Practice (+, -, x, / ) = 90% + accuracy rate
• AimsWeb Probes = 10+ points per probe
• These goals are measured using Skyward grade book

Congratulations to our students who were recognized for honesty this short week back to school. We are so proud of our Character Trait winners each week!

We will feature our COOPERATION winners next week, as we had an unexpected Friday School Closed day!

We also want to note that our Character Trait program is tied directly to our ORS district POG, as represented in "LIFE READY" above: Students exhibit traits of citizens ready for life with age-appropriate measures of self-awareness, self-discipline, and empathy.

February Character Strong Trait – COOPERATION

This month’s focus is Cooperation or “working together to reach shared goals.” We all experience situations in which we must work with others to accomplish a goal or task in our life. Whether we are working with friends or with someone new, we need tools to help us navigate those situations successfully and keep our relationships healthy. As a family, talk about how this definition applies to how you work together at home. What are some goals you share?

Family Fun Activity: Cooperation Activities

Review Cooperation as a family! Search through your cupboards for some board games your family has not played in a while or grab a deck of cards for a simple game of Go Fish. Pop some popcorn and have fun playing together! Look for moments of Cooperation that you can point out.

For example:

• Choosing which game to play
• Choosing who gets to go first
• Handling wins and losses
• Working together to solve a problem

Upcoming Events for Rising 9th graders:

Can you believe it is time to start talking about high school registration? There are several upcoming events for Rising 9th graders. In an effort to ease the transition, all 8th graders have been added to the “Class of 2027” Canvas page. This is where you will be able to access videos, documents and other information related to high school registration and course selection.

• Tuesday, February 7th - JMS will be hosting a CTE (Career & Technical Education) Fair during rotation classes. Students will have the opportunity to learn about the elective options offered at the high school, which can help to set them up for success with their post-secondary plans.

• Wednesday, February 15th – Students will be given a Registration Packet during zero period. Students should review this packet with their parents/guardians, discuss and select class options. Once students have selected class options and completed the ORHS Registration Form (parent signature is required), students should return the form to their homeroom teacher on Tuesday, February 21st.

• Thursday, February 16th, Students will visit ORHS to meet with Counselors and Staff. They will review graduation requirements, course offerings and steps to register for classes, as well as tour the school. Permission slips are due by February 8th.
• Thursday, February 16th, Parent Night at ORHS

• Thursday, February 23rd, ORHS Counselors will visit JMS to assist students in completing their course selections in Skyward.

The ORHS Academic Planning Guide can be found here: https://orschools.wpenginepowered.com/highschool/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2021/01/ORHS_APG_2023-2024.pdf

APPALACHIAN STEM ACADEMY

The Appalachian STEM Academy is a hands-on learning experience for Appalachia’s middle and high school students, as well as high school teachers in STEM-related fields. Hosted by Oak Ridge Associated Universities in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, this program is a gateway to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) in the Appalachian Region. Working with award-winning scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, high school and middle school students conduct guided group science, math, and computer science technology research projects, while high school teachers work with science practitioners to develop STEM-related curriculum. Application is due February 10, 2023. To learn more and to apply go to https://www.arc.gov/arc-oak-ridge-summer-program/.

· Middle School STEM Academy Session 1: July 8-14, 2023

· Middle School STEM Academy Session 2: July 15-21, 2023

2023 STEM Promo

WE NEED YOUR HELP: After School Program

Our After School Homework Help Program needs nutritious, prepackaged snacks. All donations can be dropped off in the School Counseling Office. Thank you for your willingness to support this wonderful program.

Clothing Closet Accepting Donations

JMS is pleased to offer support for students in need through our “Clothing Closet”. We are now accepting clean, gently used clothing items for the warm, winter months (mostly in need of, girl pants in all sizes and boys clothing in small). Please make sure all donated items meet the JMS dress code policy. Donated items can be dropped off in the Counseling office. Thank you for your support!

Mental Health Resources

For mental health support, please feel free to reach out to the Jefferson Middle School Counseling Department at (865) 425-9301.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please refer to the information below:

Mobile Crisis/Youth Villages: 866-779-9225

Ridgeview Behavioral Health in Oak Ridge: 482-1076

Statewide Crisis Hotline: 1-855-Crisis-1 or 1-855-274-7471

Statewide Crisis Text line: Text TN to 741741

National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-TALK or 1-800-273-8255

School Counseling Support Team

Ms. Price – Counselor (5th & 7th Grade) - clprice@ortn.edu

Mr. Sudderth – Counselor (6th & 8th Grade) - pwsudderth@orth.edu

Ms. Myers - Registrar - amyers@ortn.edu or 865-425-9302

Because of the water break, we will have our Term 3 Student Success Assembly on Friday, February 10th.

Wednesday Homework Help is in FULL SWING. If students have questions about an assignment, need guidance about their homework, or are looking for a quiet place to work, Mrs. Huddleston and Mrs. Ozcan will be available in the Innovation Center on Wednesdays after dismissal. Students will need to be picked up by 3:00 pm. All grade levels are welcome to attend. Please e-mail Mrs. Huddleston (cdhuddleston@ortn.edu) or Mrs. Ozcan (mozcan@ortn.edu) with any questions.

Remember when dropping off/picking up your student:

• JMS's weather policy is to load busses and release car riders during most weather events EXCEPT lightning or severe rain/wind. When lightning is present we will push our students back to the building and delay releasing students. We have had three major lightning issues and a major wind/rain events during our releases over the first term, and we wanted to reiterate what our hold policy is. We thank our parents for their patience as we do our best to keep our students safe.
• DO NOT enter the bus loop when buses are present!
• Please pull your vehicle all the way up so we can keep as many cars as possible off of Fairbanks Road.
• When dropping off AFTER 7:30am, students will be directed towards the main entrance. Go ahead and pull all the way up.
• Make sure your child is ready to exit the vehicle and doesn't have to access the trunk for items, as this holds up the line.
• DO NOT park or leave your vehicles in the neighborhoods across the street from Jefferson. Traffic is heavy during pickup and drop off and parking on those streets only increases the danger to our students and parents attempting to navigate the traffic.

The dress code is always published in the yearly ORS Code of Conduct (specifically page 15 and 16 in the document below). It is the policy that your school administrators use as guidelines and that students and parents sign acknowledgements about each year. Until it is changed and approved by our Board of Education, that is our policy.

That being said, we take you and your students' feedback about this policy, and the others, quite seriously. We have had several conversations with students, staff, and parents about some of the dress code policies, most specifically #4 about loungewear. We took your concerns to other principals and have started a conversation about revisions for next year's Code of Conduct.

However, until that policy is changed, our dress code is still outlined below. In general, when a student has been identified as out of dress code, we will ask the student if they have clothes to change into in their lockers. If not, we will place a phone call home to you and ask for a change of clothes.

We do not like students missing instruction and we do not like bothering you during your day with these issues. Please help us avoid these interruptions by having a conversation with your students about the guidelines.

As always, if you have any questions, please let us know.

Oak Ridge Schools will be providing resources for families as we collectively tackle this growing vaping problem in our schools and families. For the complete schedule, please follow this link:

Vaping Prevention Week - Jefferson Middle (ortn.edu)

Parents,

We are sad to report that student vaping has increased significantly at the secondary level this school year. School Administration and staff are committed to addressing this concern, but effectively controlling this trend will be challenging. Student access, the ability to hide vapes and the odorless nature of vapes increases the difficulty of monitoring and reducing this dangerous trend.

This trend is resulting in lost instructional time for many students. Students using or possessing vapes that contain nicotine products are being assigned multiple days of out of school suspension. Students identified as using vapes or being in possession of vapes containing THC, are being expelled for a full calendar year. Approximately 50% of the students currently assigned to the Secret City Academy are there due to using a vape that contained THC.

Due to the increase in vapes containing THC, we are informing parents that the Secret City Academy is currently at capacity. The Oak Ridge Schools Code of Conduct clearly communicates our expectations regarding the unauthorized use or possession of drugs. Students confirmed of using or being in possession of drugs at school, or at a school activity, will be expelled in accordance with the Oak Ridge Schools Code of Conduct.

If your child is expelled, it is likely that they will only have the option to participate in on-line learning. Expelled students will be placed on a waiting list and granted access to the Secret City Academy when a student complete their time at the SCA. Choosing to use a vape containing THC or participating in other zero tolerance events while at school or at a school event will remove your child's ability to participate in face-to-face instruction.

Oak Ridge Schools clearly recognizes the value of attending school in person, but we also understand the importance and are committed to providing students a drug free learning environment.

Please continue speaking with your child or children regarding the harm of vaping and drugs. We are in the process of scheduling a Vaping Education Week which will focus on providing students an educational assembly to communicate the harms of vaping. We are also looking to provide a similar evening opportunity for parents to attend.

Respectfully,

Oak Ridge Schools

Youth Vaping Prevention - Additional Resources & Information

2022-2023 ORS Student Code of Conduct Handbook (see pgs 22-24)

National Institute of Health (NIH) - Smoke Free Teen

Alcohol & Substance Abuse Prevention of Anderson County - Parent & Teen Resources

CATCH My Breath - Vaping Epidemic - Parent Toolkit

This is to inform you that Coordinated School Health and the ORS Nursing Department have completed health screenings in 6th and 8th grades. This consisted of 3 screenings: Vision Screening, Blood pressure screening, and Body Mass Index screening which was calculated using your child’s height and weight. These screenings are effective in revealing common vision, health and/or blood pressure issues, but does NOT substitute for a professional examination.

If your child was screened, you can view these results online via your Skyward Parent Portal beginning January 20. Just log in and on your main screen you will see that is says there is an online form available to fill out. Just click the link to fill out the form and you will see directions on how to view your child’s results. If you see that your child did not fall within normal ranges on one of the screenings, please fill out the short online form in skyward. If not, no further action is needed on your part.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our school nurse or Marcia Wade with Coordinated School Health at mkwade@ortn.edu. Thank you.