Parent Newsletter

Thank you for a great week last week! We have completed the TN Ready cycle of tests for the 2017 - 2018 school year. Thank you so much for all of your efforts to help students prepare for TN Ready. We are looking to finish the 2017 - 2018 school year strong and appreciate all of your support and efforts!

Here is a look at the newsletter for this week:

- A Look at the Week Ahead

- Finishing the Nine Weeks strong

- Grit, Growth Mindset, and Perseverance

- Connecting 21st Century skills to Education: Communication

- Avoiding the Summer Slide

- Understanding Social Media: Snapchat

- Counselors Corner

Thanks for all that you do each and every day to help the students of JMS!

Phil Cox, Principal

Chris Layton, Vice Principal

Tuesday May 8th is Teacher Appreciation Day and we'd like to take a moment to thank all of our amazing teachers for all that they do each and every day. Our teachers work extremely hard to make a difference in the lives of students. Way beyond teaching content our students work to engage our students in real world opportunities and develop skills in order to help our students achieve their lifelong dreams and goals. While teacher appreciation day is set for Tuesday May 8th, we want to make sure our amazing teachers know how much we appreciate them each and every day!

May 7-11

Goodwill Sack Pack Donation Drive sponsored by Student Council

Monday 7 – A Day

JMS administration visits Woodland 4th graders

SECME Banquet at 6 pm at RMS

Tuesday 8 – B Day

Band visits Glenwood and Woodland Elem.

Wednesday 9 – A Day

Wilderness connections Backpacking Field Trip—Wednesday-Friday

--Big South Fork National River & Rec. Area

5th graders learn about electives for next year 6th period

6th graders learn about electives for next year 7th period

7th & 8th grade Chorus rehearsal, JPAC-1 PM

Staff Meeting-Chief Akagi, Ofc Swigert and Ofc. Bunch discuss School Safety, 2 PM

Thursday 10 –B Day

5th and 6th Grade Chorus Spring Concert, JPAC-7 PM

Friday 11 – A Day

Youth for Christ, JPAC-7 AM

Woodland Elementary 4th graders visit JMS

Saturday 12 and Sunday 13

DaVinci Arts and Science Fair, JMS

Parents,

It’s hard to believe it is that time of year again, but we are beginning the online registration for student’s laptop devices for 2018 – 2019 school year. As with year’s past, students and parents are responsible for completing both the CELA and TUA form online. This form has been combined into a single form in Skyward and can be found once you log onto Skyward. We will continue to work over the next six weeks as the school year ends to send out information and links to help facilitate the process. We will continue to send out information over the next few weeks in order to encourage parents to complete the process.

Please check out the video below for more instructions on how to sign up online.

Thank You for your assistance,

Jefferson Middle School

JMS will host Spring Open House for rising 5th - 8th grade students on Thursday May 24th. Please make sure to checkout the newsletters on May 13th and 20th for more details.

We would like to send a special thank you out to Ms. Sharon Cousins, the JMS school nurse. Ms. Cousins is an absolute blessing to JMS and our students and families. She works each and every day to help support the students of JMS. In addition to her amazing efforts, Ms. Cousins works to support students in such a positive and inspiring manner.

Congratulations to Jefferson Middle School for being named the top MakerMinded School in Tennessee. MakerMinded is a STEM based competition that seeks to create the next generation of manufacturing leaders by saturating today’s learning infrastructure with a manufacturing mindset and bridging the gap between activities and programs that engage and educate youth and the students who can take advantage of them. Students have worked this year to document activities taking place all over JMS. We are thrilled to receive a Virtual Reality Kit as the prize for this competition!

Special thanks to all of the volunteers including students, parents and JMS staff who worked on Saturday to make the JMS garden project begin to become a reality. We are very excited about this project that began as a project in a class driven by student ideas, innovation and design. Also a special shout out to Ms. McCullough for all of her efforts in fostering this dream and vision into a reality with the help of the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation grant.

Special thanks to 7th grade science teacher John Beard for the photo collage below

It's hard to believe, but Friday May 4th students brought home midterm reports for the 4th nine weeks. That means there are only four weeks remaining in the 2017 - 2018 school year. As an ongoing theme, we have spoken to our students about Grit, Growth Mindset and Perseverance. For some students they have worked hard and diligently to complete and achieve many of their academic goals. For others this year may have presented many challenges and maybe student goals were not as readily achieved. With just four weeks remaining in the school year, we want to help students focus and finish strong. Below are a few tips to help students finish strong, promote a growth mindset, display an attitude of grit, and persevere through the end of the school year.

Step 1: Don't take ZERO for an answer

For many students, lack of success and low grades is often attributed to lack of submission. Don't let non submission of work be the reason you struggle. FAIL can be seen as a "First Attempt In Learning". We have often Failed and we will often FAIL in our lives whether it be the first time you tried to ride a bike, speak, throw a baseball or solve a quadratic equation. The key is to make the attempt, learn from your mistakes and plan on how to grow moving forward.

Step 2: You CAN achieve, you just have to work hard and believe

The key to having a growth mindset begins with one simple idea, you are capable of learning and value the process of lifelong learning. The idea that some people can do some things and others can't or the belief that you just aren't "a math person" or "won't ever understand how to write well" is a fixed mindset. Use tools, resources and experts to help build your skills. There is a lot of power in the word YET! You may not be great at something YET, but with time, effort, practice, revision and work you can be.

Step 3: We have spent a lot of time talking about the power of GRIT! The idea that working hard over long periods of time to achieve and reach a goal. Here is a great example of being able to practice GRIT. You have four weeks to give your absolute best. Take note of your grade at midterm and see where you are with your grade. Set a new goal and work hard for four weeks to reach that goal. It may be you have a 99% and you work to keep it or even have a 100%. It may be you have a 40% and you work hard to make it a 75% but find a goal, dig in for four weeks, limit distractions and submit all of your assignments, show you can be GRITTY!

We have spent the past few weeks helping our students understand the power of grit, perseverance and having a growth mindset. We want our students to realize that their abilities are only hampered by their beliefs of whether or not they can achieve. For example, it is not uncommon to hear a middle school student comment, "I'm just not good at (insert subject)" and often the actions observed reflect students who are not attempting that particular subject. As a part of our series on Grit, Perseverance and Growth Mindset, we want to challenge our students. Last week, we spoke of the power of YET! We want our students to realize that their brain is a muscle and like proper training of a muscle, it needs to be challenged in order to help it grow.

The video below highlights a challenge taken on to show "grit" in the role of a young student working to start his own business. We often hear about our students and their dreams, ideas, and goals, but the challenge is to help them understand that with those dreams, ideas, and goals there will be challenges and need for grit, perseverance and an ability to have a growth mindset.

Communication has changed drastically over time and it continues to change in forms and delivery in our world today. For many of our students, communication is often facilitated digitally and through social media platforms or text. However, we know and understand that working with students on their communication skills is also a key and critical element to helping them achieve in the success in their futures. We are committed to work with students on appropriate communication skills and also appropriate communication practices.

As an instructional tool and model, many of our teachers have been experimenting with PBLs (Problem Based or Project Based Learning). One of the critical elements and concepts in a PBL is to work to solve an authentic problem while working to build content knowledge and show 21st century skills, one of which is communication. For students, these opportunities are shown through communication within a group setting as students work to collaborate, delegate and discuss ideas. However, it is also vital for students to communicate through the process including communication in an effort to find and secure resources, ideas, and resolutions etc. Also it is vital for students to learn the real world skill of presenting ideas. Often students will say they are too shy to present, but through the practices of communication we work to help alleviate students of these concerns.

The video below shows a great example of how PBLs have been used at a school in Manor, TX with one of the defining goals to work with students on communication. Students at this school focus on PBLs more than most schools, in fact it is the main delivery for instruction. As a school, our goals and instructional model is different, but as we have more and more teachers working to design instruction with PBLs in consideration many of our amazing teachers are finding ways to incorporate these life skills, like communication, in their instruction.

As the school year winds down and the summer weeks approach one fear and reservation for students is "the summer slide". How can you utilize the tools provided by Access Oak Ridge? Even though devices will be collected, the features and digital resources of Access Oak Ridge program are web based. That means all of the tools are available to you and your student over the summer months on any device you have that connects to the internet.

A few critical elements to avoiding "the summer slide" include having students read throughout the summer. Studies show that students who read over the summer increase their chances of success for the next school year by almost up to 45%. In addition, over the course of K - 12 education summer slide can attribute up to almost four lost years of reading skills.

Do you want your student to get some extra math practice? Log on to Ten Marks

Do you want your child to work on reading skills? Log on to MyOn, MobyMax

As students transition from grade to grade, these and many other tools are available to them year round. If you have questions about these resources and how they can help students with the summer slide check out the information on the JMS website for each of the various digital tools.

We often hear from parents and teachers, "I wish social media had never been invented." There are definitely times that social media has been misused since it's beginnings. For many, we think of MySpace and Facebook as the first of social media networks. At this point, the evolution of social media has changed so much, we see many examples of new social media appearing often.
Why? Why do new social media platforms exist? Wasn't Facebook enough?

The truth is, in many cases, new social media platforms emerge because students abandon "old ones" once adults begin to join. For example, Facebook was originally created by Mark Zuckerberg for people with college/university email addresses only. But that's not a great concept for a billion dollar idea, so after some time it opened to practically anyone. Well anyone over the age of 13 that is willing to attest to that by clicking a tiny box.

The social media platforms are evolving and in many cases the terminology, techniques, and capabilities are far beyond the belief, thoughts and realization of many parents. Most concerning in the age of social media has been the adverse effects that have arisen especially among students including cyber bullying, depression and social media addiction.

One of the more popular new platforms is SnapChat. According to Common Sense Media, "Kids and teens love using the messaging app Snapchat because it lets you send texts, pictures, and videos that you program to disappear after a few seconds. Snapchat also offers fun, easy-to-use instant-editing tools that let you add cool effects to your "Snaps," such as captions, drawings, and emojis.

The fact that the messages don't last makes texting feel like a game, and it offers a sense of freedom: Kids can share the silly, fleeting moments of the day that don't rise to the level of, say, an Instagram or Facebook post that documents their lives. On the other hand, they may be tempted to share sexy images, thinking the pics will go away.

But parents should be aware that it's not actually true that Snaps disappear forever. You can purchase additional "Replays" -- though you're limited to one Replay per Snap. It's also possible -- especially in the case of friendship drama or dating/flirting situations -- that the receiver could take a screenshot using his or her phone or another app to capture Snaps. So kids really need to use good judgment about what they send."

Check out the video below about SnapChat. In addition to the information above, issues are becoming common as people share on snap chat in hopes of quick exposure with the effect of disappearing. Sometimes others capture the "snap" on their phone by "screen shotting" the snap. There have been cases where people become upset that their "snap" was captured and could either be re posted or shared or documented as evidence etc. The reality that many teens do not realize about SnapChat, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook etc. is that when you post it, you have essentially released it to the world.....period!

Good evening from the counseling office. It is hard to believe we only have 20 days of school left and that we have finished up testing for this school year. We appreciate your support and dedication that you have provided your child during these past three weeks of TN Ready testing. We would like to provide you with information this week with:

12 ways to raise a competent, confident child with grit

"The exhausting cycle of constantly monitoring their work and performance...makes children feel less competent and confident." - Elizabeth Kolbert

It has become a commonplace idea that failure is good for kids, and builds resilience. But when children fail over and over and don't have the support to keep trying, all they learn is that they're failures. Resilience comes not from failing, but from the experience of learning that you can pick yourself up, try again, and succeed. That requires at least some experience of success, and lots of emotional support.

So it’s true that we all learn from overcoming challenges, but we also learn best when we experience success, which motivates us to tackle more difficult challenges. Mastery begets mastery. Failure sets up a cycle of lack of confidence, giving up and more failure.

We're also told that we as parents are over-protecting our children, so they don't gain confidence from learning to handle things for themselves. This is anxiety-provoking for any parent, because the line between appropriate support and helicoptering is rarely clear. (Isn't a helicopter parent just someone who hovers more than you do?) All parents want to protect their children -- that's our job! -- but we also don't want to stymie the development of self-confidence, resourcefulness and grit.

So are kids today really less confident than they used to be? There hasn't been any convincing research to support that claim. But it certainly stands to reason that the more practice children have in managing themselves and their lives, and overcoming obstacles to meet their goals, the more confidence and competence they'll develop. And I don't think it's news to any parent that our natural desire to protect our children and make sure that everything goes well for them can make us over-protective.

So how do we hit that sweet spot of appropriate support and protection on the one hand, and enough independence to foster confidence and competence on the other?

1. Stop controlling and start coaching.

Coaches help kids develop skills, but kids play the game. Your job as a parent is to support your child so she can flourish and develop. Doing things FOR them robs them of the opportunity to become competent. Doing things WITH her teaches them how and builds confidence. This means we have to manage our own anxiety and let go of our need to control.

2. Remember that perfection is not the goal.

Resist the temptation to "improve" on your child's task, unless the outcome is vitally important. Constant intervention undermines a child's confidence and prevents him from learning for himself.

3. Let him try to do it himself from the earliest age.

Rein in your own anxiety. That doesn’t mean abandoning him to it. Stand by, smiling, ready to be helpful in whatever way actually helps your child -- BUT keep your mouth shut and your hands to yourself except to give appropriate encouragement, unless you REALLY need to help.

Clucking anxiously about how worried you are as he climbs that play structure may make you feel better, and it may impress the other parents on the playground with your attentiveness, but it won't help your child. In fact, it limits him. Just ask if he is keeping himself safe, then stand by and spot him. Smile proudly. Say:

"Look at you! I knew you could do it!"

(And if he falls, you’re there to catch him. Which is, after all, what allowed him to try it.)

4. Help her build confidence by tackling manageable challenges.

Emotional development researchers call this "scaffolding," which could be defined as the framework you give your child on which she builds. You demonstrate how to do something, or you use words to suggest a strategy, or you simply spot her. This assistance helps her to succeed when she tries something new, and small successes achieved with your help give her the confidence to try new things herself. Scaffolding also teaches children that help is always available if they need it. You want your kids to know that deep in their bones before they hit adolescence.

5. Don’t set him up for failure.

Offer structure to help him succeed. Should you step in when you see failure ahead, or "let him learn a lesson"? Always a hard call. Rescuing children can prevent them from learning important lessons. But research shows that children who see their parents stand by and let them fail experience that as not being loved. Instead of learning the lesson that they should have practiced that clarinet, or read the directions on that science kit, they learn the lesson that they are failures, that they cannot manage themselves, and that their parents did not care enough to help them not be failures or teach them to manage themselves.

But isn't stepping in “rescuing them?”

That all depends on how it's done. If you take over the science fair project and do half of it the night before it's due, that's worse than rescuing: not only does your son learn that you will bail him out if he goofs off, he learns that he is incompetent.

But if you help him each step of the way to organize his ideas and his work, BUT resist the impulse to improve on the project yourself, he completes the job, hugely proud, and having learned something about how to plan and execute a complex project.

6. Encourage, Encourage, Encourage. And teach self-encouragement.

All humans need encouragement. Encouraging your child not only keeps him feeling more positive and motivated, it also gives him an inner voice that will help him to encourage himself for the rest of his life. Give your child maxims to repeat as mantras when the going gets tough. "Practice makes progress!" and "If you don't succeed, try, try again!" and "I think I can, I think I can!" are designed to help us manage our frustration. When your son goofs a piece on the piano and has to start over, or your daughter strikes out with the bases loaded, they need an automatic internal comforting voice to encourage and motivate them. Otherwise the harsh criticizing voice steps in, triggered by the disappointment.

7. Instead of evaluating, describe and empathize.

Praise evaluates the outcome of your child's action: "Good job!" It doesn't give the child much information about what was good about what he did, or why you think it was good, and it teaches the child to rely on external sources to evaluate him. You can refine your praise to make it serve your child better by giving him the power to evaluate for himself. Just describe what he did and empathize with how he must feel: "You just kept practicing and didn't give up....You must feel so good that you finished that!"

8. Focus on effort, not results.

"I see you worked so hard on this."

"How did you learn to do that?!"

Give positive feedback about specific things that she has control over, like hard work or perseverance, rather than things they feel they have no control over, like being smart. The point is never the product -- you don’t want them resting on their laurels at the age of six, or sixteen. Your goal is for them to keep trying, practicing, improving, and for them to learn that when they work hard, they can accomplish their goals.

9. Model positive self-talk.

Whatever you model, your child will learn and will emulate. Positive self-talk has been shown to improve our ability to master difficult tasks, unlike the self-disparaging comments many of us so automatically make. If something negative about your child -- or, equally important, about yourself -- starts to come out of your mouth, bite your tongue. Most parents know better than to say "What an idiot!" to their child (and most of them are able to stop themselves), but a surprising number see nothing wrong with berating themselves that way in front of their kids. Just train yourself not to do it. (It certainly isn't good for you, either. Would you let anyone else talk to you that way?)

10. Don't be afraid of your child's feelings.

When your child encounters frustration, remember that your empathy will be a critical factor in his overcoming it. Instead of automatically jumping in to remove the source of the frustration, give it a larger context by communicating your compassion that he has to encounter this circumstance:

"I'm sorry this is so hard..."

"It's really disappointing when...."

"This isn't how you hoped it would turn out..."

It's okay for children to get frustrated and to be disappointed. Your child may cry and sulk all day, but your unconditional understanding will help them grieve. Once they're done grieving, they'll be ready to pull themselves together to try again the next day, especially when you express your confidence in them. That's how children develop resilience.

11. Don't set your child up for extra frustration.

Parents are often told that frustration is good for kids, since the world will be full of frustrations. That's a bit like saying that it's a cold, cruel world so your child should learn to sleep without blankets.

Your child will naturally develop the ability to handle increasing amounts of frustration and anxiety as they attempt more difficult challenges. But those frustrations are inherent in growing up and are guaranteed aplenty in life. There is no benefit whatsoever to setting your child up for extra frustration or negative experience. In fact, they will see your doing so as evidence of your lack of caring, which is always translated in their mind as their lack of value, and which therefore undermines their confidence.

12. Affirm your child’s ability to impact the world.

Competence and feelings of mastery are about power and derive from a child's experience of herself as having an effect on the world.

"If I stand on the stool, I can flip this light switch and light up the room!"

All children will experience reasonable limits to their power (“I can't make the rain stop, and neither can Mommy"), but the more your child has opportunities to make a difference in the world, the more they will see themselves as capable.

In the end, our job as parents is to work ourselves out of a job, and it starts when our children are very young. All kids eventually grow up and live their lives without us. How they live will depend partly on whether we've been able to rise above our own anxiety and our impulse to control our child. You know the old adage about giving our children roots and wings? Unconditional love is the roots. Confidence is the wings. Young people who have both live bigger lives.