Parent Newsletter

Thank you for a great nine weeks and semester. This is the final week of the second nine weeks. Winter Break will begin Monday December 24th continue through Monday Jan. 7th. Students will return to school on Tuesday Jan 8th.

- A look at the week ahead

- Helping students finish strong

- Teacher Feature

- Homework Help to share with students

- Setting Goals for 2019

- Tools to promote growth mindset over the break

- Counselors Corner

Hope you have a great break and we look forward to seeing everyone in 2019!

Phil Cox, Principal

Chris Layton, Vice Principal

Jenifer Laurendine, Dean of Student

We have been advertising the save the date information for our STEM night during the entire second nine weeks and will continue to do so upon our return from winter break. The goal for STEM Night is to provide students and families with opportunities to come to JMS and learn more about the importance of STEM. There will be interactive opportunities for all to participate and learn more about the impact of STEM for our students both in school and in their future. We hope to see you Feb. 19th from 6 pm - 8 pm . We will continue to advertise and supply more information in the coming weeks, so please make sure to check out our newsletters.

Monday-17

B day

Locker clean out (homerooms, see below)

Atomic Film Festival-JPAC

Environmental Club 2:45-4:00

Chess Club 2:45-3:45 Library

First Lego League, Atomic Eagles, Meeting 2:45-4:45

Franco First Lego League Team Meeting 2:45-4:30

Orchestra Concert at ORHS 7:00

Basketball vs. Jacksboro Middle School at JMS

Girls JV 5:00, Girls V 6:00, Boys V 7:00

Tuesday-18

A day

Locker clean out (homerooms, see below)

Library Club 2:45-3:45

First Lego League, Atomic Eagles, Meeting 2:45-4:45

First Lego League, Master Builders, Meeting 2:45-4:30

Franco First Lego League Team Meeting 2:45-4:00

Science Bowl 2:45-4:00-Room 317 (Little)

Homework help for 7th/8th graders 2:45-3:30-Room 301 (Hondorf)

Girls Basketball Practice 3:00-4:30

Band Holiday Concert 6:30-ORHS Performing Arts Center

Wednesday-19

B day

Locker clean out (homerooms, see below)

Benchmark Assessments

Cheer Practice 1:00-3:00

Girls Basketball Practice 2:30-4:00

Thursday-20

A day

Locker clean out (homerooms, see below)

Math Club Practice 2:45-4:00-Room 203 (Tracey)

First Lego League Team, Master Builders, Meeting 2:45-4:30

Basketball vs. Norris Middle School at JMS

Girls V 5:00, Girls V 6:00, Boys V 7:00

Friday-21

B day

Locker clean out (homerooms, see below)

Youth for Christ 7:00-JPAC

End of 2nd Grading Term

Early Dismissal

Dec.24-Jan. 7

Winter Break

Thank you! The PTO would like to thank all parents that brought in food for last week’s teacher luncheon – so many yummy looking dishes! Also, a huge thank you to the luncheon organizers: Shaynne Thompson, Julie Dallas and Becky Hughes. Without all of you we could not keep providing these wonderful lunches for our teachers!

Fundraiser Spotlight: Are you curious about how your fundraiser dollars are being used? Each week, the PTO section of this newsletter will feature a different department or classroom from JMS that was helped with money from our annual direct drive fundraiser! This week the spotlight is on the JMS Social Studies department. A large map of 1945 Oak Ridge was donated to the Social Studies department. With funds from PTO, this map was framed and is now hanging in the Social Studies wing for JMS for students to reference while learning about the beginnings of their home town! Thank you JMS families!

Over the past few newsletters we have been highlighting the end of the semester with students and parents. One of our biggest goals is to get ALL students to submit ALL assignments. We have made it a primary focus to inform students of the impact a ZERO on an assignment has on their overall grade. In addition, in keeping with promoting a Growth Mindset, we have encouraged students to make corrections on assignments or take advantage of re-take opportunities from teachers.

Here are a few practices to finish the nine weeks strong, but also prepare for the second semester in January.

- Get organized, either digitally, traditionally, or both

Utilize the tools you have including a planner, the Canvas tools discussed many times in the newsletter, OneNote, and or Microsoft Outlook to set up dates and reminders for you of when projects, tests, quizzes and assignments are due

- Complete ALL assignments with your best effort

When the nine weeks ends, many students want to rush to submit work from the first week of the term. They see their grade may need help, but the reality is you should have considered that in early October when you didn't originally submit the work. Take pride in having ZERO unsubmitted assignments. In the end, the math of including ZEROES only has a negative impact on your overall grade.

- Prepare the first time

You may have a teacher who allows test corrections or allows a re-take, but it is critical to prepare the first time. Don't be surprised if you tell your parents every night, "I don't have any homework or anything to do" and then you fail a test or quiz that you never studied and prepared to take. Even on nights where you don't have an assignment, it is always wise to spend a little time reviewing, reading and organizing. If you prepare the first time, you may not have to spend more time and extra time on a retake.

- Take advantage of the resources you have

If you don't understand something, blurting out in the middle of class, "I don't get this!" or "This is stupid and no one understands this" is not the best strategy to help you. Take advantage of time before class, after class or during lunch etc. to speak with your teacher. Use soft skills to help them understand your dilemma and problem. For example:

"Ms. Johnson, I had a hard time understanding today's lesson, is there a time I can get a little more help or a resource you think could help me?"

Don't forget to say please and thank you. Also keep in mind, if you had a hard time with today's lesson because you were distracted or distracting others you may get that as feedback from the teacher. It is not out of the question if you were off task or distracting for a teacher to comment, "I noticed you had a hard time with what we learned today, but I also noticed you were playing games as we were learning or talking with your buddy etc."

Take ownership over your learning and prepare a plan to help you be successful. Can you be Gritty? Do you want to succeed and if so, are you willing to work at the steps as listed above continuously to improve your grades?

To start the week, it may be a great opportunity to watch the video below. For many of our students, we really want them to be gritty and persevere through challenges. This final week of the nine weeks and semester will probably have projects due, quizzes, tests etc. Students need to make one more final push and finish strong!

Benchmark Assessments will be taking place this week on Wednesday, December 19th for both ELA and math. These Benchmarks will allow our school to check on students understanding of the standards in these subjects throughout the year. The data that we receive back from these assessments will allow us to provide further instruction, if needed, and feedback for all of our students as we progress throughout the school year.

To help us be prepared for these assessments that will be given online, please encourage your children to charge their devices the night before and bring them to school on Wednesday, , December 19th.

This is the second of three Benchmarks that will be administered this year. Our final Benchmark will be given before Spring Break. We look forward to seeing the progress our students have been making since our First Benchmark in September.

Mr. Mitchell's 4th period class has been on quite a learning experiment over the past few weeks. They began this nine weeks learning how to code and working on computational reasoning skills to help promote coding skills. From learning some skills in coding students began to gain an understanding as to how this could apply to work with unmanned air crafts. Students had to build a drone from a Lego Flybrix model and had to attain certain goals to get their drone to sustained flight missions. The students worked in small groups to collaborate, problem solve, think critically and utilizing the design process to work on their drones. The video below is the latest volume to the work being completed. The students and Mr. Mitchell learned more about video editing thanks to the efforts of Ms. Henderlight showing how to use WeVideo. Check out the footage and compilation of video taken last week.

Homework Help

Students attending afternoon homework help will need to arrange their transportation from school according to the schedules below. Transportation must be pre arranged before staying for homework help after school.

5th/6th grade homework help

Mr. Corrigan and Mr. Martin will offer homework help on Tuesdays and Thursdays

AM session

7 am - 7:30 am for 5th and 6th graders in Mr. Corrigan's room in the 5th grade second floor wing

PM session

2:45 pm - 3:30 pm for 5th and 6th graders in Mr. Martin's room in the 5th grade third floor

7th/8th grade homework help

Mr. Hondorf will host afternoon homework help on Tuesdays

7th and 8th grade homework help will be on Tuesdays with Mr. Hondorf from 2:45 - 3:30

Ms. Hope

I earned a Master’s Degree from the University of Tennessee with a Reading Specialist certification. I have worked for Oak Ridge Schools for 16 years. This is my 6th year at Jefferson Middle School. In addition to working as Jefferson’s Reading Specialist, I help coordinate interventions for reading and math with Mr. John Smith. My favorite part about my job is when students come to my class and ask,

“Are we going to read that book today?” Listening to students have a book chat is great.

I enjoy spending time with my husband, two sons: Carson and Grey, and my two furry buddies. Lanie is a sweet, crazy rescue and the other is a 150 pound “baby.” Our English Mastiff, Stanley. I like cooking, kayaking, exercising, and of course READING!

As an educator it is important to embrace lifelong learning because our world is so rapidly changing. One challenge of middle school is the struggle to see ahead and how this all fits together. I encourage students to work on making good habits that will support them in high school and beyond.

Mr. Linn

I was born in Williamsburg, Virginia, but grew up a Hoosier for much of my young life. I attended Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky earning a B.A. degree in History and Secondary Education. I have a M.S. degree in Education and History from the University of Tennessee, and an Ed.S. in Instructional Leadership from Tennessee Tech University.

My interest in history certainly had something to do with my many trips to Colonial Williamsburg as a kid, but even more important were the engaging history teachers and professors I had throughout my schooling. I entered the teaching profession so I could have a positive impact on students; specifically, the same impact that so many of my teachers had given me. That is, I want my students to think critically, but to also enjoy history as a good story, as is often the case. My main areas of interest are Early American history and the Civil War. I have taught for over 25 years, beginning with Anderson County Schools before coming to Jefferson Middle School in 2004.

Socrates taught that it is more important for people to think for themselves than be given the “right” answers or be taught to look for a single correct answer to a question. That fits along the lines of my philosophy on education-- I want my students to think.

When not rambling on in my classroom I enjoy playing golf, pickin’ my mandolin, hiking, relaxing at my family’s 1832 cabin on Watts Bar Lake, where I enjoy fishing and reading Henry David Thoreau.

Ms. Sears

“Bloom where you’re planted.” These words spoken by my father resonated with me every day inside and outside of the classroom. My father meant that we should do the best we can no matter the situation we are in or the grade/school we find ourselves. This was not easy as my family moved a lot growing up because my father was in the US Navy for 27 years. This meant that every new place or school I attended (and there were 13 elementary schools and 4 high schools) I was challenged to make new friends, keep my grades up, and play sports all to the best of my abilities. Over the years, many teachers helped me “bloom” especially some amazing English teachers who encouraged my high reading skills and enjoyed my writings. With these great teachers as role models, I have been given so many blessings especially the inspiration to become a teacher. As far back as I can remember, I have felt called to be a teacher. 30 years later, I still feel that anticipation and excitement of entering the classroom and spending time with amazing students. I feel rewarded to be able to watch young minds discover the many nuances in language, to see true readers emerge into lifelong lovers of literature, and to encourage writers to find a voice and style all his/her own. In between all this language arts, I hope to remember what Saint Mother Teresa said, “Kind words are short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” This means that each student has value, and that he/she understand that kindness is important in this world.

This is what I wish for my students; find a vocation you enjoy so that you love coming to work each day. In order to do that, you must set yourself up for success. What is your dream vocation? What do you need to do to set yourself up to be able to do that job? Chances are that setup starts now. Whatever grade you are in, you need to shine and bloom and grow and learn. Put all you efforts into your academics getting the best grades possible to help insure you are ready to go get that joyful dream job. Do this with a kind heart and…my goodness! What a beautiful and blessed life you will have.

This is the final week of the first nine weeks and we want our students to make a great effort this week to finish strong. After this week, we want students to spend time with family, friends and rest and relax. As we near our return to school on January 8th, we also want to help encourage students to work on goal setting for a successful second half to the school year. Even students had struggles in the first semester it is important for students to understand that they second semester is a new beginning. As a part of our focus upon our return, we will continue to inform our students about the importance of setting goals, and working towards making our goals S.M.A.R.T.

The following article lays out some good ideas and practices for students and parents about goals and how to set goals. Check out the article from Edutopia "SMART goal setting with your students" to learn more. Below is an excerpt from that article:

With all that is being written now about "mindset," it is an excellent idea to begin school by having our students set positive goals. More and more K-16 schools are introducing concepts like SMART goals as a way of gradually building students' capacity to tackle the increasing challenges they are facing.

Developing a Specific Goal

SMART goals are:

S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Attainable
R = Relevant, Rigorous, Realistic, and Results Focused
T = Timely and Trackable

Learning how to frame goals as SMART goals and being willing to adjust them to get SMARTer is an important skill that would help every student get off to a better start and have a better school year, this year and into the future.

Here is a practical example, starting with a typical, but not especially SMART, goal:

I will do better on my report card in the next marking period.

Here is a way to make it SMARTer:

In the next marking period, I will get at least a C on all my math tests, and at least a B on most of my quizzes and homework assignments.

But it's not SMART yet because it has no action plan or benchmarks. Here is a pretty SMART goal:

In the next marking period, I will take careful notes and review them at least two days before tests and quizzes so that I can ask the teacher questions about what I don't understand. I will do my math homework before I do things with friends, and when I hand it in, I will ask the teacher about anything I am not sure about. When I get anything wrong, I will make sure to ask the teacher, or one of my classmates how they got the right answer.

It's not easy to write SMART goals. This skill takes time to develop, and it’s especially important to have in place for students at the secondary level. A goal is an outcome, something that will make a difference as a result of achieving it. It can't be too ambitious to be out of reach, but also not so simple that it does not challenge. A goal has to be realistic with a stretch, requiring effort and focus to achieve it. That's why goals need timeframes and measurable action steps along the way so that we can keep track of progress and make adjustments as necessary.

Petroleum engineers secure one of the best paying STEM jobs in our ranking, earning well over six figures a year on average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These types of engineers are responsible for finding ways to extract oil and gas from underground rock formations. The outlook for petroleum engineering jobs is promising, but the field is somewhat precarious as growth depends heavily on the price of oil, which can be volatile. Petroleum engineers typically specialize in a specific aspect of the field; you can become a completion engineer, drilling engineer, production engineer, or reservoir engineer, for example.
Median Annual Salary: $132,280

We spend a lot of time working with our students on developing a growth mindset. We talk about it in our assemblies, publicize it on our school TVs, in our newsletters and through our social media campaigns. We want to take this opportunity to continue to provide information and resources in reference to promoting a growth mindset. We want to provide ideas, tools, resources and strategies to help our students think about the process of a growth mindset over the break.

While we want students to relax, rest and enjoy their holidays with family and friends, it is also important for students to continue to work their mind. While their pursuits may not be directly related to school and assignments from classes they may still have opportunities to engage in challenges designed to expand their brain and growth mindset. For example, it could be a holiday art project, using legos, reading for fun, making a video project about a topic of their choice, developing a solution to a real world issue etc.

The following article talks about how we can all work collectively to help students who may have had academic struggles understand that they are capable of learning, but there may be some challenges along the way. Promoting a growth mindset is great for all students and even adults. As our world is continuously changing, so is our need to continue to be lifelong learners. Here is an excerpt from "Helping Struggling Students Build a Growth Mindset" :

ENCOURAGING OPTIMISM ABOUT LEARNING

This outlook helps struggling students become more motivated, alert, and ready to learn, so that neurotransmitters that enable learning can be released. Many students who have learning challenges become pessimistic about school and lose hope that they can make academic progress. These teaching strategies help reinforce how useful it can be to develop a state of practical optimism:

• Model practical optimism and point out examples of this approach in action; for example, say, “We knew this would be a tough project, but we stuck with it and worked hard. Just look at what we’ve accomplished!”
• Share examples of how you have overcome learning obstacles. It’s helpful for struggling students to realize that everyone occasionally faces learning challenges.
• Share stories that illustrate the benefits of practical optimism.
• Maintain a positive learning atmosphere by posing questions such as “What was the best thing that happened today?”

In previous posts, we’ve discussed cultivating practical optimism in the classroomand in schools generally.

Good Evening from the Counseling office! This is our last newsletter for this term and for the year 2018! We hope that you have great plans for the winter holiday and the new year! This week we will focus on some fun activities that you can do with your children, some educational information for your children on how holidays are celebrated in different countries.

For many schools, this week is the last week classes are in session before winter break. Students will be headed home to enjoy holiday and winter fun, but that doesn’t mean they need to put their learning on hold. Edmentum™ is redefining the 21st century classroom and we know how much learning takes place outside the traditional classroom. Here are some ideas to keep students active and engaged over winter break:

Read for pleasure.
Remind your students that reading can be fun at any age. Whether your students are reading Christmas stories before bedtime or catching up on their favorite mystery series, winter break provides the perfect opportunity to read for fun.

For additional reading activities, check out Edmentum Reading Suite, designed to motivate readers of all ages and ability levels.

Fun Fieldtrips
Encourage your students to utilize community resources like your local library. Students can engage in hours of learning activities and keep their skills sharp.

· Attending a scheduled intramural sports activity at the Civic Center

· Accessing computers and/or a Smart TV to play educational games

· Using reliable, kid friendly resources

· Attending a play, going to a movie, or going ice skating

Create a menu
The holiday season presents many opportunities to create and plan meals. Math and the ability to tell time are essential when it comes to cooking. Encourage your students to help their families with a meal from start to finish and encounter several learning opportunities along the way.

· Search cookbooks or the web for a recipe, set a budget, and make a grocery list

· Help measure, count, and mix ingredients

· Practice writing skills by creating menus or invitations for the meal

Get Caught up
Help your students get ahead in school during winter break and throughout the year. Whether your students have fallen behind grade-level or simply need to recover a course, it is important to use every opportunity available to get caught up.

Christmas Around the World

• Costa Rica - The weather is warm at Christmastime. Trees are popular. Tamales and Empanadas are traditionally eaten.
• England - Santa Claus is known here by the name Father Christmas. Christmas trees are decorated, and stockings are hung. A drink called Wassail is served. Boxing Day is celebrated on December 26th which is also the feast day of St. Stephen. On this day, it is traditional to give alms to the poor and less fortunate.
• France - A popular dessert called the "buche de noel" or "Christmas Log" is consumed on Christmas. Often, a feast occurs after Midnight Mass on Christmas eve called the "rveillon." Gifts are given by "pere noel" which means Father Christmas. He travels with a man called Pre Fouettard-who tells pere noel how the children behaved during the previous year. In some parts of France, gifts are given on both December 6th (St. Nicholas' feast day) and on Christmas. Adults give gifts on New Year’s.
• Italy - Christmas is celebrated with a large feast after a 24-hour fast before Christmas. Children usually do not receive their presents until January 6th, the day of the Epiphany. These gifts are brought by Le Befana, a woman who flies around on a broom.
• Kenya - Lots of food is prepared, especially goat. They serve a flat bread called chapatis. Groups often go singing house to house and receive gifts of some kind from the occupants. On Christmas, these singers give any gifts to their church.
• United States - Christmas trees, real or artificial, are put up in homes early in December. They are usually decorated with multi-color lights and various ornaments. Stockings are hung, often on the fireplace mantel. On Christmas eve, children set out cookies or other goodies for Santa Claus. On Christmas morning, children rush to the tree to see the gifts there and in their stockings.

Winter Solstice

The Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year when the sun is closest to the earth, occurs on the 21st of December. In ancient times.

Dates:

January 8, 2019- Students will return to school and they will receive their new schedules for their term classes within their homeroom.

January 31, 2019- Selected 8th grade students will be participating in the NAEP test either in Math or Reading. If you would like to know more: https://nces.ed.gov:443/nationsreportcar

January 2019- TBD- Current 8th graders AVID applications will be online through your child’s English teacher’s Canvas announcement page.

Have a happy and safe holiday break!