JJHS Newsletter

Red Ribbon week is October 26th-30th! Have your students join in on the fun with our dress up days! 😃

JHS is excited to offer this special STEM experience as part of a grant our campus received! On November 10 & 11, our students will participate in engaging, hands-on science labs during the school day with the Texas Mobile STEM Lab.

But the fun isn’t just for JJHS students! 🎉 Our Family STEM Night is open to the entire community, and we invite students and families from all of our campuses to come join us for an evening of hands-on learning, exploration, and fun!

📅 November 10
⏰ 5:30–7:00 PM
📍 JJHS Cafeteria

Bring the family and come experience STEM with us! 🧪⚙️🐾

To help us keep dismissal safe, organized, and running smoothly, we ask that parents and guardians please avoid calling to check out a student or arriving for student pickup after 2:45 PM unless it is an emergency.

The end of the school day is a very busy time on campus as students and staff are preparing for dismissal, buses, parent pickup, and after-school activities. Late checkouts can make it difficult for our office staff to locate students and have them safely checked out before dismissal procedures begin.

If your student needs to leave early, please plan to arrive before 2:45 PM whenever possible.

We understand that emergencies happen and will always work with families when an urgent situation arises. Thank you for helping us keep afternoon dismissal safe and efficient for all of our Bulldogs! 🐾

The last day of the 9 weeks will be Friday, October 16th. This is when teachers will turn in final grades for report cards. Report cards will go home on Thursday, October 22nd.

This year, we are excited to introduce The Bulldog Way, a simple set of schoolwide expectations designed to create a positive, respectful, and academically focused environment for every student at JJHS. Teachers began introducing these expectations in classrooms yesterday, and today, our campus administration met with each grade level during class meetings to talk about what it means to live The Bulldog Way every day.

Our expectations are simple: Bulldogs bust their tails from bell to bell, are respectful, are responsible, do the right thing even when no one is watching, and take pride in our school. These expectations apply everywhere, from classrooms and hallways to the cafeteria, extracurricular activities, and anywhere our students represent JJHS.

Our goal is for The Bulldog Way to become more than a poster on the wall. We want it to become part of our campus culture and a common language used by students, staff, and families. We appreciate our parents and families reinforcing these expectations at home as we work together to help our Bulldogs have a successful year.

Every Student. Every Day. Whatever It Takes. 🐾

We know that we are having some extreme heat right now! 🥵

If your child is wearing shorts to school, please check to make sure they are mid-thigh, which aligns to our dress code. Last week in our class meetings, we made sure all students understood this measurement. Mid-thigh means right in the middle from your hip bone to your knee.

Please take a few moments to review our Discipline Matrix, which provides guidelines for how campus administration will respond when a student is referred to the office for a disciplinary concern.

Our teachers will continue to address many classroom behaviors before an office referral is necessary. Teachers may use strategies such as private conversations with students, parent/guardian phone calls, parent conferences, redirection, and lunch detention. We understand that students sometimes need reminders and opportunities to correct their behavior, so depending on the situation, teachers may use several interventions before referring a student to an administrator.

Once a behavior is referred to the office, campus administration will use the Discipline Matrix to help determine the appropriate consequence. The matrix is designed to promote fairness, consistency, and accountability across our campus.

Please keep in mind that certain behaviors are more serious in nature and require an immediate office referral. In those situations, classroom interventions may not occur before the student is referred to administration.

Our goal is not simply to assign consequences, but to help students learn from their choices, correct their behavior, and make better decisions moving forward. We appreciate our families partnering with us as we work together to maintain a safe, respectful, and productive learning environment for every student.

If your student is absent due to illness, Dr notes must be turned in within 2 days of returning to school. You can send these directly to Ms. Ebony Jackson at esjackson@jeffersonisd.org.

If you have a new phone number or an address change please let Ms. Jackson know ASAP.

Regular attendance is one of the most important factors in your child’s academic success. We want to partner with our Bulldog families to make sure students are at school, on time, and ready to learn each day.

Under Texas compulsory attendance law, school-aged students are required to attend school each day unless they have an allowable absence. Texas law also requires schools to take specific steps when students accumulate unexcused absences.

What should parents know?

• If a student has 3 unexcused absences (or parts of days) within a 4-week period, the school is required to notify the parent/guardian and begin addressing the attendance concern.
• If a student has 10 or more unexcused absences (or parts of days) within a 6-month period during the same school year, the student may be referred to truancy court, and state law requires the district to take additional action.
• Texas also has a separate 90% attendance rule. Students generally must attend at least 90% of the days a class is offered to receive credit or a final grade. This requirement can apply even when some absences are excused.

We understand that students get sick and that families sometimes face circumstances outside of their control. Our goal is not simply to penalize absences, it is to work with families early when attendance becomes a concern and help students stay on track.

Every day matters! Missing school means missing valuable instruction, classroom discussions, interventions, enrichment, and opportunities to learn alongside classmates. If your child must be absent, please communicate with the school and provide any required documentation as soon as possible.

Thank you for partnering with us to make strong attendance part of The Bulldog Way! 🐾

Please support us in reminding your children to turn their phones off and put it in their bags for the entire school day. See all prohibited devices below on the attached flyer. If you need to relay a message to your child, please call our front office.

The pep rally time for JJHS home games will be 3:00 pm. If the teams need to leave earlier for an away game, we will communicate the new pep rally time in parent square.

We will continue implementing our Clear Bag Policy for visitors. Visitors will enter and exit the pep rally through the exterior gym doors on the bus lane side, not through the front doors of the school. There will also be a table with a sign in sheet for visitors.

If you need to sign your student out after the pep rally, you will exit the gym and come to the campus front door to sign them out as you would on a normal school day. Visitors will not be allowed into the school past the interior gym doors.

Thank you for helping keep our schools safe and secure!

We cannot allow students that are not participating in athletic events stay after school to wait on games to start. They will not be monitored. Students need to ride the bus home, or be picked up from campus when school releases and return with family to attend games.

Please reach out if you ever have questions/concerns. Office- (903)665-2461 ext 2013, almotley@jeffersonisd.org

Christus St. Michael SPIRIT will be coming to JJHS on November 5, 2026 and November 10, 2026 offering a FREE asthma screening clinic. A pulmonary function test will be performed and your child will be seen by a nurse practitioner, who will perform a respiratory exam, explain test results, and order medications as needed. If your child needs an inhaler or breathing treatments ast school an asthma action plan will be written and given to the school nurse. Contact Nurse Motley at 903-665-2461 ext 2013 if you want to schedule an appointment for your child. Appointments are limited and on a first come first serve basis.

On Tuesday, October 27, 2026, Sergeant Ethan Sartor will present Tucker's Law to grades 6-12. Tucker's law includes fentanyl abuse prevention, substance use and abuse, drug poisoning awareness, suicide prevention, and awareness of local school and community resources. Per House Bill 3908, Texas Education Code (TEC) §28.004, and TEC §38.040, Tucker's law is to be presented yearly to grades 6-12.

If your child is experiencing any emotional issues, you may reach out to Tami Whitington.

Email: tcwhitington@jeffersonisd.org

Phone: 903-665-2461 ext 2033

Use the Incident Report form on the JISD Police site by clicking here.

🏐10/19-JJHS Girls Volleyball AWAY vs Harmony @ 4:30 PM

🏈10/22-JJHS Boys Football HOME vs West Rusk @ 5:00 PM 🎸Dress like a Rockstar!🎸

10/26-10/30: Red Ribbon Week! See post at beginning of newsletter

Click the links below to see this month's breakfast & lunch menus.

Jefferson Junior High School

Principal: Courtney Braddock

Asst. Principal: Tim Phy

Dean of Students: Hailey Guichet

Website: www.jeffersonisd.org