Eagle Eye JMS Parent Newsletter #37

Hello, Jefferson Middle School families and parents!

Wow! Our TCAP Math and Science tests are complete, and we could not be prouder of our students and families. Students continue to test diligently, master the daily switched-up routines and calendars, and all the while, learning real world skills alongside of academic concepts. Once again, we must express our gratitude to our Eagle families. Thank you for all of the hard work you put in at home to ensure success, character, and achievement! We will continue TCAPs next week, bringing it home with Social Studies!

We want to remind students, families, and staff, that rest and relaxation is critical, especially during times of stress and ongoing demand for brain power. We encourage all of you to take time to do what you love! Create a small adventure for yourself and family. Breathe in the small, impactful moments as you live, love, and laugh! Relaxing and Resting = Refueling and Recharging!

Again, we anticipate glorious outcomes on our state tests, as we know all of the pieces happening all year in our classrooms. We believe that our JMS staff and student body engage in the highest levels of teaching and learning every single day, every single class period.

Social Studies TCAPS: As we anticipate a final day of testing, we are asking once again that students be present with devices fully charged. Students should be rested and nourished each morning, as we know that tests demand critical thinking and alertness.

A Reminder about the Remainder!

Again, students do not leave until June 1st, and we have so much learning still yet to do! Many teachers are taking the month of May to expand their lessons to project-based learnings or to get students prepared for the next grade level. Still others are using this time to expand their teaching with some cross curricular work with other teachers. The JMS teachers will not be slowing down after testing! This is both a testament to our teachers, but also the skills of your students. JMS students keep pushing and expanding their knowledge, and we are hear to serve them.

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

Brian Tinker, Dean of Students, bjtinker@ortn.edu

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

Monday, May 1, B Day

• Chess Club Library 2:45-3:45

• Track Practice 3:00-4:30
  

Tuesday, May 2, A Day

• TNReady Testing-Social Studies Subparts 1 & 2

• Girl Scouts Meeting Rm 208 3:00-5:00

• Track Practice 3:00-4:30
  

Wednesday, May 3, B Day

• CCTE End of Year Survey for 8th graders

• 7th/8th Grade Chorus Rehearsal Robertsville MS (Competition participants ONLY) Depart JMS 12:55 Participants will be transported by bus to RMS Parents MUST pick up students from RMS 2:30 There will be NO BUS transportation home.

• Track-Oak Ridge City Championship @ ORHS 4:00
  

Thursday, May 4, A Day

• Football Spring Practice 3:00-5:00

• Football Parent Meeting 5:00 Picnic tables in front of the school

• Track Practice 3:00-4:30

• 7th/8th Grade Chorus Spring Concert JPAC 7:00
  

Friday, May 5, B Day :

• Youth for Christ Band Room 7:15

• Kala Class to Arboretum

• Football Spring Practice 3:00-5:00
  

Saturday, May 6

7th/8th Grade Chorus to Dollywood 6:30 AM-10:30 PM

This week, we will be testing on Tuesday, May 2nd, our Social Studies TCAP. We are bringing it home and wrapping up all makeup testing, too! We encourage all of our students to finish strong this week!

STUDENTS MUST BRING THEIR DEVICES TO SCHOOL FULLY CHARGED!

See the attached flyer for STEM camp!

Please be sure students are coming to school in dress code and dressed for success! JMS Administration has noticed an increase in the areas listed below and would like to remind students and families of ORS Code of Conduct.

Students are prohibited from wearing:

• Clothing that resembles sleepwear such as lounging pants, or other lounging items. This also includes house shoes.
• Students are not permitted to wear pants or shorts with holes above the knee. This includes wearing any type of shorts or leggings underneath ripped attire.

Athletic Interest Meetings for the 2023-2024 JMS Athletic Teams are taking place over the next couple of weeks for many of our JMS athletic teams! If you are a rising 6th, 7th or 8th grader and are interested in trying out for one of the JMS athletic teams for next school year, please make plans to attend these meetings. Interest meeting dates and times are as follows:

Cross Country: Tuesday, May 9th @ 7:10am in Coach Smith’s classroom—313.

2023-2024 Sports Physical Forms are now posted on the JMS Athletics website and you can also pick up hard copies in the main office. All sports physicals for the 2023-2024 school year must be dated on or after April 16th, 2023.

FREE sports physicals will be offered on Tuesday, May 16th, from 5-8pm, at Tennessee Orthopedic Clinic at 961 Oak Ridge Turnpike. Try to take advantage of this great opportunity!

JMS Athletics Try-Out Dates:

Girls Basketball: Try-outs are on May 15th and 16th from 3-4:30pm both days in the JMS gym.

Boys Basketball: Try-outs are on May 15th and 16th from 4:30-6pm both days in the JMS gym.

Football: Spring Practice & Try-Outs begins on May 4th from 3-5pm.

Girls Volleyball: Try-outs are on June 1st from 1:30-3pm and on June 2nd from 9am-10:30am.

If you have any questions about spring athletic try-outs, please reach out to the coach of the team or to Athletic Director, Katie Bolling.

As always, GO EAGLES!

Thank you,

Coach Bolling

When the kids are in school and sports and after-school activities have ramped up, you may feel like the pressure is off to keep them active and entertained. And it’s true that kids may be getting more structured physical activity than they do during the summer months, but maintaining healthy family habits all year round helps keep kids on track —and off the couch. It also makes for great family bonding. Enjoy these tips and ideas for making fitness a family affair.

Get into a Routine

• Walk or bike to school together, if your schedules allow.
• Take a family walk around the block or neighborhood after dinner.
• Play upbeat music and dance your way through family chores.

Play Together

Instead of going to a movie or restaurant for your next family outing, plan something active:

• Explore free and low-cost physical activity options near your home (forest preserves, parks, bike paths, hiking trails, tennis courts).
• Spend an afternoon at the local playground or find a park with a walking path and fitness course.
• Play a round of miniature golf or go to the batting cages together.

Set Family Fitness Goals

• Post goals on the fridge, along with a way to track everyone’s progress. Cheer each other on as you achieve your goals—and maybe even offer some non-food prizes!
• Buy inexpensive pedometers or use your personal health trackers and have a contest to see who takes the most steps in a given week.
• ‘Tis the season for charity walks and runs! Train as a family for a 5K or 10K, and cook or go out for a nourishing breakfast afterward to celebrate your accomplishment.

Screen Your Screen Time

We’re all prone to the lure of the screen, whether it’s the TV, cell phone, computer or other personal devices. But whenever you can, get your kids to ditch the screens and use those minutes and hours to hang out, get moving and recharge together as a family. Challenge your kids to sign up for some form of physical activity through school or a local program. Everyone can find something they enjoy. Limit sedentary screen time (computers, tablets, phones, video games, TV) to no more than two hours per day. Many families use the following rule: no video games or computers (except for homework) on school nights, only two hours of TV on weekends, and only 14 hours of screen time overall. Challenge your family to skip the screen for a full week. If that’s too extreme, start by trying Screen-Free Weekends, Screen-Free Saturdays, or even a Screen-Free Night.

For more info, visit https://www.actionforhealthykids.org/blog/

As we have been taking our TCAPs this week, our students have not met for Zero Period the past two weeks. However, we will jump right back in to our SEL and Capstone learning this upcoming Wednesday.

We so much appreciate all of our parents.

Feel free to continue sending in any donations for our clinic.

One indicator of success for ORS Middle School students being College and Career Ready is:

• Math and English proficiency at or above grade level by the end of sixth grade.

We are confident that our JMS students are going to shine with evidence of proficiency and growth as we finish our TCAP testing this week!🤩

Congratulations We are so proud of our Character Trait winners each week!

🤩😍🤩

For this second testing week, we again want to shout out and acknowledge all of our students, as we are so very proud of their kindness toward one another and their teachers during the stress and bustle of testing time. THANK YOU, JMS STUDENTS for making the TCAP Math and Science testing week a successful one!!

We also want to note that our Character Trait program is tied directly to our ORS district POG, as represented in "LIFE READY" above: Students exhibit traits of citizens ready for life with age-appropriate measures of self-awareness, self-discipline, and empathy.

Clothing Closet Accepting Donations

JMS is pleased to offer support for students in need through our “Clothing Closet”. We are now accepting clean, gently used clothing items for the Spring & Summer months. Please make sure all donated items meet the JMS dress code policy. Donated items can be dropped off in the Counseling office. Thank you for your support!

Mental Health Resources

For mental health support, please feel free to reach out to the Jefferson Middle School Counseling Department at (865) 425-9301.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please refer to the information below:

Mobile Crisis/Youth Villages: 866-779-9225

Ridgeview Behavioral Health in Oak Ridge: 482-1076

Statewide Crisis Hotline: 1-855-Crisis-1 or 1-855-274-7471

Statewide Crisis Text line: Text TN to 741741

National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-TALK or 1-800-273-8255

School Counseling Support Team

Ms. Price – Counselor (5th & 7th Grade) - clprice@ortn.edu

Mr. Sudderth – Counselor (6th & 8th Grade) - pwsudderth@orth.edu

Ms. Myers - Registrar - amyers@ortn.edu or 865-425-9302

Preparing your child for State Testing

As we prepare for state testing, it is important to recognize that this can indeed be a source of added stress for students. Tests can naturally be stressful, but the added focus and attention that comes with state testing can create an even greater sense of pressure. As a school, we want to do our best to help support our students who might be experiencing some test anxiety.

Here are a few helpful tips for supporting your child:

1. In any stressful situation, whether it be in competition or with tests, deep breathing is a great way to help calm one’s nerves. Remind your child to visualize something that is calming to them, and then practice taking slow deep breaths. A great strategy to help with this is the 5 Finger Breathing Exercise. Students start at the base of their thumb and trace a finger up while inhaling, then slowly trace down their thumb while exhaling. See the image above.
2. Another strategy is the 1+3+10 Strategy. When students feel they are getting tense, they should 1 - stop and tell themselves: “Be calm,” then take 3 deep slow breaths, then count slowly to 10.
3. Do not underestimate a good night's rest. The simple reminder to get to bed a little earlier the night before can do a lot of good to help reduce one’s stress level.
4. Remind your child that feeling anxious is normal! Anytime in life when we have something important on the horizon it is normal for us to feel nervous about it. Sometimes students can compound their anxiety if they think that feeling nervous is abnormal.
5. Lastly, remind your child once the test starts, just “try their best!” It can be helpful to remind them that the primary function of state tests is to give feedback to their teachers and school. State tests help us determine what areas we can continue to improve in our instruction, as well as help us identify the learning needs of individual students.

Wednesday Homework Help is in FULL SWING. If students have questions about an assignment, need guidance about their homework, or are looking for a quiet place to work, Mrs. Huddleston and Mrs. Ozcan will be available in the Innovation Center on Wednesdays after dismissal. Students will need to be picked up by 3:00 pm. All grade levels are welcome to attend. Please e-mail Mrs. Huddleston (cdhuddleston@ortn.edu) or Mrs. Ozcan (mozcan@ortn.edu) with any questions.

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, 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.

A request for parade participants!

The 2023 Scarboro Reunion Unity Parade. The parade is scheduled for Saturday, July 29th, lineup at 8:15 a.m. This year's route will start on Tuskegee Avenue, turn left onto Benedict passing Spurgeon Chapel Church, crossing Wilberfoce to Benedict Avenue, passing side streets Bennett and Bettis Lane, turning left onto Carver Avenue, passing Mt Zion Baptist Church and ending at Grey Strange Baseball Field.

We need bands, dancers, performers, businesses, organization, the community and youth to participate. To date Cameo, Nashville Band, and singers from Nashville are participating. We need everyone.

Details are forthcoming.

Rose Weaver, Parade Coordinator

2023 Scarboro Reunion

Oak Ridge Schools will be providing resources for families as we collectively tackle this growing vaping problem in our schools and families. For the complete schedule, please follow this link:

Vaping Prevention Week - Jefferson Middle (ortn.edu)

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