Dust Devil Weekly

Red Ribbon week is always a wonderful week of spirit and creativity. Students and staff went all out this week wearing neon, fancy glasses, and comfy PJs. Red Ribbon week reminds us all of our need for clean and healthy living as well as being community minded. Speaking of community minded, it was nice to welcome students from Liberty Charter High School (including some familiar JMMS grads) this week as they performed their day of service. These students assisted in a campus clean-up, and put in some labor to help the JMMS garden project continue its progress as well.

As we look forward to next week, and Halloween, we are seeing the classroom door decorations being finalized, and there are some very cool and spooky designs. As you make your costume plans for Halloween day please adhere to the costume guidelines that are being shared. These guidelines will ensure a fun but safe celebration. In addition, we look forward to next Friday’s Lunch on the Lawn! Come on out and have lunch with your kiddoes.

I hope you all enjoy this edition of the Dust Devil weekly! See you on Monday, in your favorite band’s T-Shirt!

This week we shine our focus on the school creed BE SAFE, BE RESPECTFUL, BE RESPONSIBLE. Every school policy, and expectation that Joan MacQueen has for every member of the school community, ultimately derives from this terse phrase. Although the phrase can be committed to memory rather easily for most, and most Dust Devils are able to recite it by memory, it is often challenging for students in the Middle School grades to follow the spirit of the phrase. It is the mission of the JMMS staff to support, assist, and sometimes teach our students what it means to be safe, respectful, and responsible at school, and in the community.

For example, middle school students spend a large amount of time online, for both schoolwork and for fun. It is imperative that young people receive support and instruction in how to keep themselves safe when online. In fact, a large number of conflicts and issues modern students experience in school arise from unsafe interactions when online.

Also during the middle school years students are navigating the tumultuous life changes that define this age group. We’ve all been there. As students find their voice they often make missteps as they learn the proper and respectful way to address their peers and adults. They also must learn what it means to respect shared spaces that are used by all members of the school community. For example, many Dust Devils do struggle with showing respect for the school restrooms, which poses a challenge for supervision staff since, by code, they cannot enter the restrooms while students are occupying them.

Being responsible is also a challenging experience for middle school students, as many parents will attest. For many of our students the middle school years are the first time that they are expected to demonstrate personal responsibility. As the transform into teenagers and young adults, they can no longer rely on Mom and Dad to ensure they perform their chores, complete their homework, and monitor their due dates. Our middle schoolers still need their loved ones at this time, but the expectation is that students are becoming more and more responsible for themselves.

Being safe, being respectful, and being responsible is a tough ask of middle schoolers. But we at JMMS, and we know families at home, have high expectations for the children. This is why the school-home partnership is so very important. By working together we can ensure that all Dust Devils continue to grow into safe, respectful, and responsible young adults.