Longhorn Ledger

Happy Monday!!!,

We’ve wrapped up week two at Dr. John Long Middle School, and it’s great to see our Longhorns continuing to thrive! Students are settling into their routines, participating actively in class, and demonstrating our PBIS expectations daily. The positive energy in the hallways and classrooms is a testament to the hard work of our students, staff, and families—thank you for your ongoing support!

Important Reminders:

• Florida Heat: Remind student to dress comfortably and bring a water bottle to stay hydrated.
• Car Loop Tips: Arrive early, avoid using phones, and follow staff directions for safety. Use the interior lane only for drop-off/pick-up, and remember parents are prohibited from using the school road between JLMS and WRES to drop-off/pick-up their children.
• Student Phone Usage: In accordance with an update in Florida state legislative policy, grades Pre-K through 8 students who bring WCDs to school must ensure that they remain on silent mode and completely out of view for the entire school day. These expectations also apply to extracurricular and co-curricular activities that occur before or after the school day.
• Student Dress Code: Shirts must have straps and cover the waist; no halter tops, crop tops, or visible undergarments. Bottoms should be long enough to fully cover the buttocks.

• Horseplay: Please talk to your students about avoiding horseplay. It can lead to accidents or injuries, and we want to keep everyone safe.
  

We’re excited to see all of our Longhorns back tomorrow ready to learn and grow. Thanks for your continued support!

With Appreciation,
JLMS Administration

P.S. Watch for weekly editions of our newsletter via MyStudent, social media, and our JLMS website

Do you know a staff member at Dr. John Long Middle School who goes above and beyond? Whether it's a teacher, coach, counselor, or support staff, we want to hear about it! Submit your shout out and help us celebrate the amazing people who make our school special—your message might even be featured on the school website!

For the safety and supervision of all students, please remember that students are not permitted on campus before 8:40 AM. The front gates will not open until 8:50 AM, and there will be no staff available to supervise students prior to that time.

We kindly ask families to plan accordingly to ensure students arrive no earlier than 8:40 AM. Thank you for helping us maintain a safe and secure environment for everyone.

Hello,

Pasco County Schools is committed to reducing absenteeism and increasing student achievement outcomes. That’s why this year we will be increasing awareness around the importance of attendance—with the goal of strengthening our collective responsibility to make sure students are learning every day. We’re implementing new procedures with tracking, interventions, and supports to meet this goal.

For parents, absences will need to be reported via your myStudent Parent Portal.

To submit an absence:

1. Log in to your myStudent Parent Portal.

2. Navigate to the Forms section.

3. Complete and submit the Absence Reporting Form for approval.

For step-by-step instructions and helpful resources, please visit: www.pasco.k12.fl.us/attendance/absence

In addition, we’ll be sharing attendance facts and tips on our new Attend and Achieve webpage all year long!

Attendance is foundational to student success. If you have any questions or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact your school’s office.

Thank you.

There are two ways to drop off/pick up your student in the AM & PM: pulling up in the interior lane of car loop or parking in a space where students cross in the crosswalk.

*The school road between JLMS & WRES and the street corners at the Ridge may NOT be used to drop off or pick up students. This is a major safety issue.*

IMPORTANT: Parents/Guardians should stay in the interior lane of the car loop closest to the sidewalk and pull all the way forward to the front of the car loop which is located right across from the band room. Students may only exit from the passenger side of the vehicle. Parents may not allow students to exit vehicles in the exterior lane closest to the lot spaces. This is a major safety issue. Parents may also park in the parking lot and walk their child to the crosswalk. A staff member will safely cross your child to the sidewalk. Student drop off begins at 8:50 am.

As we prepare to start the new school year, I want to remind everyone of the importance of

pedestrian safety at the start of the school day and at dismissal. This is especially important this school year, as we expect to have more students walking and riding bikes to school with the elimination of courtesy busing.

If you drive your student to school, please be extra careful in the school zone near our campus.

Students are often in a rush to get to school and they are often distracted, so drivers should

exercise a heightened sense of awareness.

Please join us in reminding your student of some basic rules of pedestrian safety.

•We will not have a crossing guard assigned to our school this year, so our students

should always use the marked crosswalks in front of our school.

• Do not cut between cars that are stopped in front of school.

• Phones should not be used in the car line. Eliminate distractions while crossing the street. Earbuds or earphones should be taken

off. Avoid reading or sending texts while crossing.

• Make eye contact with drivers to ensure that they see you before you cross the street.

With patience and with a commitment to following some simple safety rules drivers, cyclists,

and walkers can get where they need to go safely and on time.

Students should not submit more than one schedule change request or send emails to counselors as it slows down the completion process. We are working diligently to complete schedule change requests as soon as possible. We aim to get schedules corrected or requests addressed as soon as possible and notify you whether or not the change is possible. Thank you so much for your patience.

• Rycor via MyStudent Parent Portal Set-Up Steps

  Interested in paying for things such as students fees, yearbooks, and field trips online in the comfort of your own home with a credit card?

  Then follow the steps below to get started. Your MyStudent Parent Portal is also necessary to view your child’s attendance, progress reports, and report cards.

  
  

  Rycor is a secure, streamlined system (replacing Acorn) and enables parents to add school purchases to their shopping cart for multiple children at different schools, and complete transactions through the use of a credit card. This does NOT include lunch payments.

  Step 1: Set up a MyStudent Parent Portal Account
  *In order to use Rycor (see Step 2) you need to give the system 24 hours to link your Parent Portal account to the Rycor system*

  
  

  Step 2: Student Fees/Rycor (24 hours after initial set up in MyStudent Parent Portal)

  • Go to https://www.studentquickpay.com/pasco/
  • In the blue Parent Account Activation box, select “Continue”
  • Enter the email address associated with your Parent Portal account and select “send email”
  • This will generate an email that prompts you to activate your account
  • Open your email and click the link
  • Continue by creating your password and activating your account
  • Once this is completed, you can view fees and items that can be purchased

  Please note, this will NOT change the process for putting funds on your student’s meal account. In order to do so you will still go through MySchool Bucks.

  
  

  Step 3: Ready to Use

  • Sign into your MyStudent Parent Portal

  Example of what you will see when you sign in:

  You will then sign into Rycor, using the e-mail address associated with your MyStudent
  Parent Portal account

  • Select your child’s name from the tab next to the summary tab
  • Scroll down to additional items and select the item you are wanting to pay for
  • Follow check out directions (very similar to online shopping)

For the past several years, all Pasco County Schools have been part of a federal program called the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). This program has allowed us to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students, regardless of income.

However, due to rising food costs and changes in federal legislation, our district will be making some changes starting with the 2025–2026 school year.

This year, we will move to a hybrid model:

• Schools in high-poverty areas will continue offering free meals to all students through the CEP program.
• All other schools will return to the traditional meal program, where families will need to fill out Free and Reduced-Price Meal Applications to see if their child qualifies for free or discounted meals.

Below are helpful links to guide you:

• CEP & Non-CEP School List
• Food and Nutrition Services FAQ
• Free and Reduced Meal Application FAQ
• Food and Nutrition Department Website

If you have questions, please contact us through Let’s Talk: School Meals. We’re happy to help.

We truly value the opportunity to support your child’s health and learning and remain committed to ensuring that every student has access to nutritious meals.

Sincerely,

Pasco County Schools

Website: https://jlms.pasco.k12.fl.us/
Location: 2025 Mansfield Boulevard, Wesley Chapel, FL 33543, USA
Phone: (813) 346-6200
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrJohnLongMiddleSchool
Twitter: @JLMSlonghorns