Eagle Eye -JMS Parent Newsletter#33

Good evening Jefferson Parents & Families:

It has been another great week at Jefferson! Track and field season is well underway, JMS athletic programs will soon be hosting spring tryouts, and a number of JMS students have exhibited their academic prowess in local, regional, and state contests to kick off our final term of the year. Additionally, TNReady testing is now only a couple of short weeks away and our students have proven their readiness throughout the year on class and benchmark assessments!! Please be on the lookout for state testing updates and reminders in the next couple of weeks as we prepare for our TNReady assessments to begin on Tuesday, April 19. More detail is provided below regarding how this year's test scores will apply to student grades in accordance with ORS and state department policy. We are so grateful for the opportunity to work with your students and we are confident they will do an outstanding job!!

There is a lot happening at JMS this week, so please take a look at the week at a glance schedule below for more details. Additionally, please don't hesitate to reach out if we can be of further help!

Thank you for your support and we hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Phil Cox, Principal, pcox@ortn.edu

Dr. Josh Tipton, Vice Principal, jctipton@ortn.edu

Nick Corrigan, Dean of Students, njcorrigan@ortn.edu

Yearbooks on sale NOW - April 30!! Go to--Yearbookordercenter.com

Order number--Jefferson Middle School 1575

Monday 11

B day

Girls Basketball Interest Meeting Ms. Taylor’s room (218) 7:00AM

Teacher Recommendations window open thru 4/14 3:00

Chess Club Meeting Library 2:45-3:45

Environmental Club 2:45-5:00

Track & Field Practice 3:00-4:30

Tuesday 12

A day

Cheer Interest Meeting Ms. Brewster’s room (315) 7:00AM

Food Truck for faculty Crazy Cuban Teacher

Recommendations window open thru 4/14 3:00

Instructional Coaches Meeting 2:45-3:15

RadioActive Brix Meeting 2:45-4:30

Girl Scouts Meeting Room 208 3:00-5:00

Track & Field Meet @ Campbell Co HS 4:45

Wednesday 13

B day

Football Interest Meeting Mr. Murphy’s room (227) 7:00AM

Mandatory Intruder Training - Library 2:00-3:45

Athletic Coaches Meeting Eagle’s Nest (Immediately following Intruder Training) Departmental Meetings 1:00-2:00

Teacher Recommendations due TODAY by 3:00

Thursday 14

A day

Boys Basketball Interest Meeting Mr. Nicely’s room (304) 7:00AM

LAST DAY for instructional teaching supplies

Special Areas Meeting

Track & Field Meet @ William Blount HS 4:30

Friday 15

NO SCHOOL Good Friday!

Congratulations to JMS student Vansh Patel, who finished 5th overall in the 2022 Tennessee Titan Spelling Bee this year! Vansh was our school spelling bee champion this year and finished in the top 5 of school winners!

Charli Henry was recognized for participating in the Oak Ridge NAACP Black History Month Writing contest. Charli had to independently conduct research on the Scarboro 85 and submit her findings to Ms. Rose Weaver, the Chairman of the NAACP Education Committee.

The Oak Ridge/Anderson County NAACP will host a special awards program for winners/participants of the 2022 NAACP Black History Trivia Contest on April 19, 2022, 6 p.m. at the Scarboro Community Center, 148 Carver Avenue, Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Congratulations Charli!

The Tennessee Mathematics Teachers Association Math Contest was held at Roane State Community College on Tuesday, April 5.

All 8 students who competed in the TMTA Math Contest ranked in the top ten for Oak Ridge. Here are the rankings:

Algebra

1st place: Simon Weston

3rd place: Dylan Job

6th place: Emmett O’Meara

7th place: Bree Wood

Geometry

1st place: Elena Vogt

2nd place: Evan Biewer

3rd place: Charles Rogers

6th place: Jonas Davis

We are so proud of our students and look forward to receiving news regarding regional and state rankings soon!

Throughout the year our 7th grade team has engaged in multiple community service projects and worked to help others. On Wednesday, March 30 the 7th grade participated in a service project by writing notes of appreciation to the MVPs of our community: firefighters, police, and health care providers. This joint project was a collaboration with the pre-service teachers that we have the honor of working with at JMS. Ms. Richardson, Ms. Huddleston, and Ms. Van Fleet are all adult students working to obtain a degree in education. They designed the project as part of their requirements for participating in a service project. The students enjoyed taking time to show gratitude while also being creative!

The FIRST Lego League teams and a STEM class attended the Smoky Mountain Regional FIRST Robotics Competition on April 1, 2022. While on the University of Tennessee campus, the students also participated in an engineering campus tour and a presentation about Friendly AI and Robotics (FAIR) for Dementia Care.

Last week Ms. Kala's class visited One Bank. Students learned about opportunities in the financial industry and attended a presentation on financial responsibility!

Thank you to Wendy's of Oak Ridge for always greeting us with great customer service and providing our students with sweet treats!

Dear parents, it is time to reserve your child’s copy of the yearbook. Yearbooks are $20 each and orders should be placed online at yearbookordercenter.com. When prompted, please use our school code 1575. Reserve your copy today. Ordering will be open until April 30th!

*Please note: Online purchases include a service fee set by the vendor*

Request to See a Counselor Form:

If your child would like to visit with their school counselor, please have them click the following link:

https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=vdNYGNb6YE61OeUm8KqiP7G5HNanvSRHqIRqq3rFqlxUOVIzQlhQOURUWDhZRUxZRDBCV1BDMU5PVy4u&fsw=0

If you have a School Counseling need, please reach out to:

• Ms. Cormack - 5th & 7th Grade Counselor - khcormack@ortn.edu
• Ms. Price - 6th & 8th Grade Counselor - clprice@ortn.edu
• Ms. Myers - Registrar - amyers@ortn.edu

With state testing quickly approaching we wanted to share some helpful test-taking tips to manage anxiety and stress! Please reach out if you have any questions!

The following students will be recognized as students of the week for displaying Creativity this week!

5th

Sally Chen

Wynnie Uptgraft

6th:

Talon Hale

Camila Ramirez Cazares

Sawyer Byrd

7th:

Jayla Goins

Jacob Tabares

8th:

Isabella Ball

Students may pick up their certificates in the front office on Monday morning.

Congratulations!!

• All online registration must be completed by April 14th.
• In addition, all 8th graders, have been added to the “Class of 2026” canvas page. This is where they will be able to access videos, documents and other information related to high school registration and planning.

Elementary schools will come to visit JMS during the second week of May. Rising 5thgrade students will ride over on buses, hear from JMS administrators/staff, and tour the building with student council representatives.

Rising 5thGrade Registration Events

• May 10th- Woodland 9-11 a.m.
• May 12th- Glenwood 9-11 a.m.

• May 12- Rising 5thGrade Parent Night: 6:00-7:30 p.m. (teachers not required to attend but any help is greatly appreciated!)

Are you interesting in having a happy family? Well behaved kids? Strong bonds of love and respect? Kids kept safe from alcohol and drugs? Register today for the virtual parenting class offered by TNVoices.

WHEN: Every Tuesday for 5 weeks (April 19- May 17)

TIME: 3:00-4:30 Central Time

LOCATION: Virtually via Zoom

CONTACT: Brittany Ballard @ bballard@tnvoices.org

REGISTRATION Link: Meeting Registration - Zoom

PROVEN BENEFITS

For Parents:

• improves parenting skills

• increases family unity

• improves family organization

• increases good communication

• decreases family conflict

• decreases stress and depression

For Children:

• increases social skills &

cooperation

• improves school performance

• reduces misconduct & aggression

• reduces depression & anxiety

• reduces alcohol & drug use

*Flyer Information attached

TN Voices is teaching a Spanish Common Sense Parenting Class virtually via zoom starting April 14th, 2022, every Thursday from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. CST/11 a.m.-1 p.m. EST for 6 weeks. Common Sense Parenting is a six-week course for ​parents who want to build on their existing​ skills or learn new ways of dealing with their children’s behaviors. The class can be attended by anyone in the State of Tennessee. Please help us to spread the word. Please find the link for registration below:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/la-crianza-practica-tickets-297351013887

2022 JMS Spring Athletics Interest Meeting and Try-Out Dates:

JMS spring athletic try-outs are coming soon! There will be interest meetings for all rising 6th, 7th and 8th grade JMS students interested in trying out for the following JMS athletics teams as indicated below. Free sports physicals will be offered on Sunday, May 22nd at ORHS from 1-4pm. More information and details will be shared soon.

Cheer:

Tuesday, April 12: Interest Meeting @ 7am in Ms. Brewster’s classroom (Room 315)

April 25 & 26: Try-Out Clinic—3-5pm—JMS Gym

April 28: Try-Outs—3-5pm—JPAC

Football:

Wednesday, April 13: Interest Meeting @ 7am in Coach Murphy’s classroom (Room 227)

Spring try-outs and practice the first two weeks of May.

Girls Basketball:

Monday, April 11: Interest Meeting @ 7am in Ms. Taylor’s classroom (Room 218)

Try-Outs: May 16th and 17th from 5-6:30pm

Boys Basketball:

Thursday, April 14: Interest Meeting @ 7am in Coach Nicely’s classroom (Room 304)

Try-Outs: May 16th and 17th from 3-5pm

Volleyball:

Tuesday, April 19: Interest Meeting @ 7am in Ms. Taylor’s classroom (Room 218)

Try-Outs: May 26th (1:30-3pm) and May 27th (9am-10:30am)

The previously scheduled track meet at Lenoir City on Monday has been canceled; however, the Eagles have added a meet at Campbell County on Tuesday, 4/12 and will still travel to William Blount on Thursday!

Go Eagles!

We also ask for your support in ensuring your student arrives to school each day in dress code. Spring is here and we want to remind our students and parents about the dress code at Jefferson Middle School.

The Board of Education and our administrative team believes that appropriate dress and grooming contribute to a productive learning environment. We expect students to give proper attention to personal cleanliness and to wear suitable clothing. Students are asked to wear simple, comfortable clothing that is clean and neat. Shoes should be worn at all times. Students are not to wear clothing which compromises safety or modesty; nor clothing which is disruptive to the educational process.

Students are prohibited from wearing:

1. Clothing or accessories which by reasonable judgment is considered unsafe, dangerous or a health hazard (examples include, but are not limited to: wallet chains; spiked collars, necklaces or rings with spikes or sharp edges; oversized belt buckles; picks and combs).
2. 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.
3. Clothing or accessories which contain or suggest offensive or obscene symbols, signs, slogans or words degrading any gender, cultural, religious or ethnic values.
4. Clothing or accessories which contain or suggest language or symbols oriented toward violence, vandalism, sex, drugs, alcohol or tobacco.
5. Clothing that resembles sleepwear such as lounging pants, or other lounging items. This also includes house shoes.
6. Skirts and dresses that are inappropriate for bending, sitting, standing and reaching,
7. Attire that is disruptive to the instructional process which may be inclusive of, but not limited to: bare midriffs; halter tops; short shorts; tight, see through, or revealing clothing; or clothing which allows underwear to be exposed, (examples include, but are not limited to: sagging pants, tank tops, spaghetti strap tops, muscle shirts, etc.
8. A belt is mandatory if pants or shorts will not stay at the waist without one.
9. Mid-thigh is the appropriate length for shorts, skirts, and dresses.
10. Mid-thigh length top is appropriate for covering leggings.
11. Hats, hoods, head coverings, athletic headbands not worn during athletic event, bandanas and sunglasses are not to be worn inside the school building.
12. Any articles which can be related to gang activity such as: items with gang names; gang initials; or individual gang member monikers; gang related jewelry; gang related tattoos; or self-inflicted scars. This may include such items as shoe laces, belt buckles, hats or tattoos. (TCA 49-6- 4215
13. All students must wear shoes. It is strongly suggested that students wear shoes which either enclose the foot or are secured with heel straps.
14. Coats, jackets and blankets must be removed upon arrival at school, be placed in lockers until the student leaves the building.

Consequences for violations of the dress code guidelines will follow the ORS District Disciplinary Code.

The College of Engineering at Tennessee Tech would like to extend an invitation to your rising 8th and 9th grade female students for the 2022 Engineering a Future Summer Camp!

Engineering a Future (EAF) is a 5 – day experience for rising 8th and 9th grade young women with an interest in engineering, taking place from June 6 – 10. This is a residential camp and food and board will be provided. This is an amazing opportunity for students to learn more about the field of engineering, make connections with other young women interested in STEM, and be mentored by current female engineering students and professionals! Campers will be led in exciting, hands-on experiments, participate in fun engineering challenges, and have the chance to explore our campus.

Registration closes April 1st and there is a $25 attendance fee. Fee waivers are available.

Please reach out to Sara Bowman with questions at sebowman@tntech.edu or 931-372-3830.

The Cybersecurity Education Research and Outreach Center (CEROC) at Tennessee Tech will be hosting a GenCyber Residential Student Camp on the Tennessee Tech campus from Sunday, June 19, 2022 concluding Friday, June 24, 2022. The NSA sponsored GenCyber camp will provide an exciting week for high school students and current 8th graders in middle schools (rising freshman for the 2022-2023 school year) to experience the world of cybersecurity through hands-on activities and games. As part of the week, guest speakers from academia, government, and industry will visit the camp sharing their personal and professional experiences in cyber.

Student participants will get a Raspberry Pi computer of their own, which can go home with them at the end of the camp. During their time a camp, participants will also earn GenCyber Coins (camp cryptocurrency) with which they can purchase prizes from the online store at the end of the camp.

Students will be provided with shuttle service from three different major cities (Nashville, Chattanooga and Knoxville) to travel to/from Tennessee Tech campus at Cookeville on before and after the week-long residential camp.

As part of our “get the word out” efforts, CEROC will be conducting two introductory Zoom webinars for interested students discussing the camp, expectations regarding the camp, as well as cybersecurity in general. Each of these webinars will be later followed by a two hour camp teaser experience in which students can get hands-on experience with cybersecurity and get a taste of what to expect at the actual camp.

Middle School Webinar Dates (for current 8th graders only):

• Camp Introduction Webinar: January 28, 2022 from 4:00-5:00pm CST
• Camp Teaser Webinar: February 2, 2022 from 6:00-8:00pm CST (group will be selected from those attending the Camp Introduction)

Please register for the introduction webinar at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QC2KGT6. A meeting link will be sent to the out to those registered no later than three (3) days prior to the meeting. Camp information will be posted at https://www.tntech.edu/ceroc/outreach/gen-cyber.php.

The site will be updated as new information becomes available. Other questions can be sent to ceroc@tntech.edu.

Space is limited as only 35 participants will be selected from across the state.

About Katerpillar Kids Camp

Katerpillar Kids Camp is a special camp for children who are grieving the loss of a loved one. The camp is coordinated by Covenant Hospice and sponsored by Variety, and celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2019. Many campers come to camp because they lost a parent, however, children who have lost any family member or a friend is welcome to participate. Learn more at the Covenant HomeCare and Hospice website.

About Mane Support

Mane Support is a nonprofit organization that provides a ministry through equine-assisted grief counseling to children, youth, teens, and adults who have experienced the death of a loved one or other types of trauma. Horses can play a special role in the healing journey. Therapists and equine specialists of Mane Support are certified through EAGALA (Equine-Assisted Growth and Learning Association). In addition, they have experience, degrees and certifications in the fields of equine training and management, child development, and thanatology. All Mane Support activities are conducted on the ground; there is no horse riding. Mane Support is located in Roane County.

Save the Date!

We are excited to announce that we have partnered with Mane Support to host our next in-person Katerpillar Kids Camp to children 1st- 12th grade grade! Camp will take place on Saturday, April 23 and Sunday, April 24 at Mane Support in Roane County.

Who: Children 1st – 12th grade and their parents or guardians

What: A FREE grief camp that teaches children how to cope with the loss of a loved one through a variety of activities including equine therapy, games, music, etc.

When: Saturday, April 23 and Sunday, April 24, 2022.

Where: Mane Support in Roane County – transportation will be available.

The USDA has extended FREE breakfast and lunch for ALL students this school year!

Please find the April Breakfast and Lunch Menus attached below for your convenience!

Sign up for the JMS PTO Newsletter to receive PTO news, updates, and learn about opportunities to get involved in some great initiatives! Contact jeffersonmspto@gmail.com for more information!

Thank you for your patience and communication during our first week back! Please be sure to discuss your child's method of transportation each day to ensure they know where they are to go at dismissal.

First Student Transportation has posted 2021-2022 Bus Routes and you can find them here:

https://www.ortn.edu/Transportation/2021_Revised_JMS_Bus_Routes.pdf

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Mr. Corrigan at njcorrigan@ortn.edu or Ms. Myers at amyers@ortn.edu.

SIGN UP FOR MYSTOP - BUS TRACKING APP!

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

• 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.
5. You have placed a period between the first and last name.
6. The birthdate is correct and only consist of 8 numbers.

If this information doesn’t allow you to successfully download your child’s MyStop App account, please contact Amy Myers at 865.425.9302 or email amyers@ortn.edu. You can also view more information on the ORS District website at https://www.ortn.edu/district/bus-routes/.