Wow! We are finding it hard to believe that we are nearing our first benchmark, Fall is certainly in the air, and our October break is fast approaching. We are confident that students will once again reflect the academic excellence that is ongoing each day in our building and in their homes!

This upcoming week, be sure to check out our BOOK FAIR. Also, we have SPIRIT WEEK. Be sure to check out our celebrations below for Student of the Week, Athletics, and our FLL!!

As a reminder, students should prepared for each class, each day, and ready to engage with content, peers, and learning. Students should keep devices charged, complete homework assignments, and check Canvas for teacher messages and announcements. We also want to emphasize a routine of sleep, nutrition, punctuality, and attendance--all critical to maximizing success for your child. 🙂

We hope that you carefully take a look at our updates and information below; we do our very best to provide clear information, present opportunities, and update you on processes. Finally, we encourage all of our students and families to take a few moments to look through our JMS Handbook. We want you to know we love your children and have the highest expectations for academics and behavior!

The JMS administrative team is here to support students, teachers, and families. If you need anything, please reach out to us. As always, we thank our parents and our staff for what they do to help our students be the best they can be.

Phil Cox, Principal, pcox@ortn.edu

Ben Fowler, Vice Principal, bjfowler@ortn.edu

Jacob Quilliams, Dean of Students jrquilliams@ortn.edu

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

Monday, 18: B day

• Book Fair
• Movie Star Monday
• FLL Atomic Eagles Meeting Science Wing 2:45-4:30 FLL
• RadioActive Brix Room 223 2:45-4:30
• FLL Secret Innovation Room 219 2:45-4:15
• Cheer Practice 3:00-5:00
• Cross Country Practice 3:00-4:30
• Chess Club Library 3:00-4:00
• Volleyball vs. Clinton (VARSITY ONLY) @ Clinton 6:30 JV
• Football vs. Robertsville @ Blankenship Field 6:00
  

Tuesday 19: A day

• Book Fair
• Twin Tuesday
• Well Child Checkups Eagle’s Nest
• FLL Atomic Eagles Meeting Science Wing 2:45-4:30
• FLL RadioActive Brix Room 223 2:45-4:30
• FLL Secret Innovation Room 219 2:45-4:15
• Cross Country Practice 3:00-4:30
• Football Practice 3:00-5:15
• Volleyball vs. Robertsville @ JMS Gym JV 4:00, Varsity 5:00
• 7th/8th Grade Chorus Concert JPAC 7:00
  

Wednesday 20: B day

• Book Fair
• Wacky Wednesday
• Cheer Practice 1:00-2:00
• Football Practice 1:00-3:00
• Volleyball Practice 1:00-2:00
• Girls Basketball Fall League Practice Gym 3:30-6:00
• Girls Volleyball Team to Vols Volleyball Match 7:00
  

Thursday 21: A day

• Book Fair
• Blue and Gold Day Student Focus Meeting Eagle’s Nest Pep Rally Gym 7th Period Cross Country Practice 3:00-4:30 Football vs. Robertsville @ Blankenship Field 6:00
  

Friday 22: B day

• Student Council Meeting Innovation Center 7th period
• Football Practice 3:00-5:15
• Volleyball Practice Gym 3:00-5:00
• Cross Country Section 2 Meet @ Woodland Park Baptist Church, Chattanooga-Girls 6:00, Boys 6:30
  

This week is Spirit Week! The dress up themes are as follows. Please remember that dress code applies and no face paint or hair dye cannot be brought to school.

The JMS FLL teams started our season with a Sumo Bot competition at the Tennessee Valley Fair on Sunday, September 10, 2023.

The Atomic Eagles, JMS Master Builders, RadioActive Brix, and Secret Innovation teams all competed. The following sumobots finished in the top of the 27 entries through a double elimination bracket:

• 1st Place SumoBot – Neytiri – by Ava Hartye, RadioActive Brix
• 2nd Place SumoBot – Kitty Kat Bot Bot – by Skyla Hartye, RadioActice Brix
• 4th Place SumoBot – Lucky Llama – by Natalie Shanafield, Atomic Eagles
• 5th Place SumoBot – Dragon Fire – by Owen Bass, Addie Driskill, and Phoebe Weston, Atomic Eagles
• 7th Place SumoBot – Silent Storm – by Nina Vasquez, RadioActive Brix
• 7th Place SumoBot -Heavy Sleeper – by Maverick Fitzwater, Tommy Sauer, and Harry Shanafield, Atomic Eagles
• 11th Place SumoBot – Confetti – by Laney May and Hannah Rieger, Secret Innovation

Flu Shot Clinic Info- Parents and Students

In an effort to remain healthy, take advantage of this preventive health service! The annual flu shot clinic will be on Wednesday, September 20th from 2:00-5:00pm in the SAB Board Room. Please bring the completed consent form (attached) and your pharmacy insurance card. If you would like a paper copy to complete, please have your student pick one up from the school nurse's office or complete one when you arrive at the clinic. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Madison Branham at (865) 425-9031.

https://www.scholastic.com/bf/jeffersonmiddleschool17

A Message from Ms. Bolling about Intersession.

All students should receive a copy of the form on Monday as all JMS students are invited to attend Intersession. The forms are due back by Wednesday, September 20th. Transportation requests cannot be accommodated after Wednesday, September 20th.

Students turn their form in to teachers, Ms. Bolling, or Ms. Davis in the Main Office. Some of our students think that attending Intersession is a negative thing because it was strongly encouraged for many students the last couple of years. Please remind students that this is an opportunity for enrichment and reinforcement and please promote and encourage students to attend intersession as much as you can! I am very excited about the courses that we are offering this fall and I think our students will really enjoy them!

We are so proud of our RESPONSIBLE STUDENTS here at JMS. We are especially proud to share the names of our selected Students of the Week. SHOUT-OUT!🤩

5th grade

Valeria Rodriguez Plascencia

6th Grade

Dalton Williams

7th grade

Wyatt Barna

Ta’Miyah Porter

Mercedes (Madison) Jackson

Berlyn Hollander

8th grade

Leelu Wilson

Stephanie Kenworthy

We have been back to school a few weeks now and the back-to-school illnesses are working their way through the student body. As always, we want your student to be present. However, if they are sick, we also understand them staying home until they recover.

Any time a student is absent, they can always work on the classwork they missed by checking Canvas. Students will always have time to submit assignments when they return. Students are allowed 7 parent notes throughout the year. You may email them to us or your student can drop them off when they return. Often students will hand the note to an administrator standing at the front door, and we will make sure it gets to Ms. Langford, our attendance coordinator.

Be safe and be well!

Please contact our HR Department TODAY!

$94.00 - $141.00 / Per Day

https://ortn.tedk12.com/hire/index.aspx

The links below contain resources for setting up and accessing Skyward and Canvas, an updated calendar, along with a welcome message from our ITC coach and a link to district and school websites.

• Elizabeth Leavitt, ITC: Welcome Message

• School Calendar

• ORS District Website

• Jefferson Middle School Website

• Canvas Parent Account Setup.docx
  
• Skyward Family Access Account SETUP .docx
  

Please reach out to Elizabeth Leavitt at ealeavit@ortn.edu

Athletic Update:

We have a very busy week of JMS athletics ahead with the volleyball and football City Championship games! On Monday, the Lady Eagles volleyball team will travel to Clinton for a varsity match at 6:30pm. The Eagles football team will host Robertsville for a JV football game at 6pm at Blankenship Field. On Tuesday, the Lady Eagles will host Robertsville for the City Championship volleyball match. JV will play at 4pm, followed by varsity at 5pm. On Thursday, the Eagles will face the Rams for the City Championship football game. Kickoff will be at 6:30pm at Blankenship Field. On Friday, the JMS Eagles cross country team will travel to Chattanooga for the Sectional cross country meet. The JMS cheerleaders will be selling spirit links before school, in the lobby and gym, Monday through Thursday this week. Spirit links are 10 cents each and the homeroom that purchases the most spirit links during spirit week will earn a donut party. The spirit links will be collected on Thursday afternoon to take to Blankenship to decorate the field. Go Eagles!

Thank you,

Coach Bolling

Volleyball - $3

Football - $5

Students Aged 0-Kindergarten free!

Don't miss out! Be sure to access our newsletter below.

Kidcentraltn.com- A Resource for Families!

KidCentral TN - KidCentralTN.com

KidCentral TN is a one-stop shop for Tennessee families to raise healthy and happy kids. Find parenting tips, track child milestones and access TN state resources.

www.kidcentraltn.com

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 of last year, 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.

You have received many communications this summer from the district about registering for the Bus through Skyward. If you have, but are not sure what bus your student is riding, here is how you check it.

FIRST! Log into Tyler's Versatrans E-Link https://transportation.ortn.edu/elinkrp/Login.aspx

Username: (use student’s name) firstname.lastname This is case sensitive–example: john.smith
Password: (use student birth date) in this format 03122007 for March 12, 2007

Click on Students, then View My Students. If you see a bus route there, you should be good. If you DO NOT see a bus route, you will need to update bus service! You will not have bus service on the first day of school.

To get bus service, log into Skyward and click on Forms. There is a bus request form. Transportation is working to move quickly to add new students to the bus, but it will take a few days before your student can be added to bus service.

First Student Transportation is working hard to get routes assigned to all students who requested bus service.

Once you are registered for transportation, you will be able to track your child's bus using the app information detailed below. Please see information on how to register for MyStop below.

MyStop - Parent/Student Login (You may click on the MyStop Picture to the left!)

• Username: (use student’s name - case sensitive) firstname.lastname
• Password: (use student birth date) in this format 03122007 for March 12, 2007

MyStop Phone App Available In Your App Store

Go to: Versatrans My Stop™ provides mobile access to bus information. This app displays the location of the user’s assigned school bus, as well as the estimated time of arrival to their stop. Students can plan for late or on-time arrival, and prevent missed pick-ups or being left outside in inclement weather.

Can’t Access the MyStop App?

If you are having difficulty accessing the MyStop App please take the following steps:

1. Please confirm the following:
2. You have downloaded the App from Tyler Technologies.
3. You are using the legal student name as listed in Skyward.
4. You have selected all lower case letters.First Student Transportation is working hard to get routes assigned to all students who requested bus service.

   
   

No worries! Though the video is an old one, it still checks out for all of our current procedures. If you are unsure of where or how to drop off or pick up, watch the video below!

PARENTS on the Softball Field / 5th Grade:

You may be asked to move by Dr. Quilliams, Mr. Cox, or Mr. Fowler if you are parked right at the bus loop entrance OR next to the small median between the loop. Parking in these locations makes it more difficult for bus drivers to maneuver into position.

Additionally, STUDENTS SHOULD NEVER CROSS THE BUS LOOP. They may take the sidewalk around, or cross into the parking lot under direction from the administrator there and walk down the grass field to the sidewalk. This is a safety issue for students and drivers.

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

The local news has reported a small rise in COVID cases over the last couple of weeks. Below is a screenshot of the Isolation Guidance from the TN Department of Health (last updated 11 October 2022). The full document is linked below: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/health/documents/cedep/novel-coronavirus/Isolation-QuarantineRelease.pdf