Welcome back!

We are so very excited to see your students back in our building tomorrow! We will send you this weekly newsletter on Saturday or Sunday before the start of the new week. It has a ton of information, and we always recommend a thorough read. For this 2023-2024 school year, we are focused on expanding the academic success of all of our students while giving them opportunities to engage in high interest programs and activities. All of this to help your student develop into the young men and women of limitless potential that you and we know they can be.

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

New Year, New Newsletter!

If you want someone else to see this email, forward it to them!

Don't want this email? There are buttons on the side that allow you to remove yourself from this mailing list.

I have added to this list all parent emails in Skyward for our current students AND all emails received from our Rising 5th grade parents and their contacts from May. Any questions, email bjfowler@ortn.edu

Monday, July 24: A Day

• Early dismissal 12:45
• Cheer Practice 1:00-3:00
• Football Practice 3:00-5:2
  

Tuesday, July 25: B Day

• Football Practice 3:00-5:15
• Volleyball Practice 3:00-5:00
  

Wednesday, July 26: A Day

• Football Practice 1:00-3:00
• Volleyball Practice 1:00-3:00
  

Thursday, July 27: B Day

• Cheer Practice 3:00-5:00
• Volleyball Practice 3:00-5:00
• Football Scrimmage vs. Coalfield @ Blankenship Field 6:00
  

Friday, July 28: A Day

• Volleyball Practice 3:00-5:00
  

We want to welcome our new Dean of Students and introduce him to you. Dr. Quilliams has a strong academic background as a technology coordinator, data coach and U.S. History teacher and received his PhD from UTC in Leadership and Learning in 2019. We are excited to welcome Dr. Quilliams to Oak Ridge Schools.

Scan the QR below and add bookmarks to your device for:

• Skyward Account Setup OR Reset!
• Canvas Observer Account Setup!
• Video Message from our ITC, Elizabeth Leavitt
• School and District Calendars

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!

Lists of Students and Homerooms have been posted in the Lobby for 8th grade, the JPAC Auditorium for 7th grade, the Gym for 5th and 6th graders, and the cafeteria for ALL students. If your student is eating breakfast with us, they should speak to the teacher on duty about when and how to get to the cafeteria.

When they are dismissed, they should go to their FIRST period, which is also their home room. Student schedules are live in Skyward, and you and your student should be able to log in and see their schedule now. Staff will have their laptops out and Skyward up to help students find classrooms.

Laptops will be given out during 1st period on Monday. If you are new to the district you may not receive a laptop until later this week. However, all students should have devices by Thursday at the latest. If your student does not have a device by Thursday, please contact Mr. Fowler at bjfowler@ortn.edu

Student lockers will be issued with their schedule. Your student's home room teacher will give them the Locker Number and Combination. If there are any issues, have your student email Mr. Fowler bjfowler@ortn.edu OR Dr. Quilliams at jrquilliams@ortn.edu

Please reach out to Susanne Wren if you are interested:

jeffersonmspto@gmail.com

• 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.

Please be sure students are coming to school in dress code and dressed for success! JMS Administration 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.

We are excited to begin the 2023-2024 JMS Athletics Seasons in early August. The JMS football team, cheerleaders and volleyball team have their first contests on Thursday, August 3rd. JMS athletic spectator ticket prices for the 2023-2024 school year are $5/ticket for home football and basketball games and $3/ticket for home volleyball matches. Kindergarten and under are admitted free. Please make plans to come out and support our JMS Athletic teams this fall! Go Eagles!

As always, GO EAGLES!

Thank you,

Coach Bolling

The Jefferson Middle School FLL Teams are seeking new members. These members will have an opportunity to compete in the FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL) competition http://firstlegoleague.org. All students interested in being part of a JMS FLL team are expected to complete the application in full. Students are expected to turn in the application and all the parts by the due date to the counseling office at JMS by 3pm on August 4, 2023 (no late applications will be considered). If you have any questions please contact, Janie Shanafield, jshanafield@ortn.edu.

Application is below!

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