Although, in some ways, this is the "final countdown" for 2022-23 school year, it is also a mark of new beginnings! We are confident that our JMS students have been challenged, grown in so many ways, experienced new adventures, and will be impacted for the good as they begin the summer journey and beyond. Of course, with it being the last week of school for students, there will be a mix of events, emotions, and expectations. We encourage our families and students to be reminded that school is still "in" until it is "out"! Please be sure to check out all of the newsletter items, as this will be the final one for this school year.

A Reminder about TCAP Scores:

The TCAP cut score counts as 15% of your student's grade. That score is a derived score from your student's raw score, processed through a state approved algorithm to approximate the grade scale. Your student will receive the full breakdown of their scores later in the 23-24 school year.

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 29

NO SCHOOL! Happy MEMORIAL DAY!!!

Tuesday, May, 30, B Day

• 6th Grade Awards Ceremony JPAC 8:15
• 8th Grade Awards Ceremony JPAC 11:30
• PTO sponsored luncheon for 8th graders afterward!
• Girls Basketball Practice 3:00-4:30
• Boys Basketball Practice 4:30-6:00

Wednesday, May 31, A Day

• 7th Grade Awards Ceremony JPAC 9:30

Thursday, June 1, B Day

• Last Day for Students 12:45 dismissal
• Volleyball Try-outs 1:30-3:00

Friday, June 2

• NO SCHOOL
• Volleyball Try-outs 9:00-10:30
• Boys Basketball Practice 11:00-12:30

The remaining yearbooks will be sold on the last day of school for $20, cash only. All students will report to homeroom and then grade levels will be called to come to the library to make a purchase beginning with 8th grade, 7th, , 6th, and 5th.

2023 ORHS Golf

Tryouts will take place at the home of ORHS Golf Oak Ridge Country Club on June 1st. Meet at 2:30 pm on the putting green with a 9-hole tryout to follow beginning at 3:00

Email head coach Scott Hinton at shinton@ortn.edu to confirm tryout opportunity and more information

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.

Girls Volleyball Try-Outs are on June 1st from 1:30-3pm and on June 2nd from 9am-10:30am. All girls planning to try-out must have a 2023-2024 sports physical on file. See Coach Bolling with any questions.

Summer cross country workouts begin on June 6th at 9am. All student-athletes planning to run cross country this fall must have a 2023-2024 sports physical on file. See Coach John Smith with any questions.

As always, GO EAGLES!

Thank you,

Coach Bolling

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

5th: Cal Sizemore and Polina Maltseva

6th: Sally Chen, Braylen Butler, and Ashton Whalen

7th: Zimarion Carroll, Abigale Ault, and Lexanie Talamantez

8th: Kaylynn Albright and Charlotte Baldwin

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.

Hello JMS Parents/Guardians!

We are happy to partner with some great community resources in order to help our families and students. Please complete this digital form if you would like to receive any community services at this time.

https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=vdNYGNb6YE61OeUm8KqiP-8sdKnf9OxDpE01Pal3iMFUQlBSNjlJSkw0NEdUWEJQS0JLV1IzN0NXMy4u

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

• 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.

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