Parent Newsletter

We hope last week was a good start to the second semester for you and your student. This week we are going to continue our focus on strategies to help students and parents. Check out this week's newsletter topics:

- A look at the Week Ahead

- STEM Night is 2/19/19

- Success Assemblies and keys to success

- Utilizing tools for success for students and parents

- Breaking down the 9 weeks

- Finding Winter Weather School Information

- Teacher Feature

- Counselors Corner

Thanks for your support of Jefferson Middle School,

Phil Cox, Principal

Chris Layton, Vice Principal

Jenifer Laurendine, Dean of Students

Monday-14

A day

Success Assemblies 5th/6th grade, 1:00/1:50

Chess Club 2:45-3:45-Library

Environmental Club 2:45-4:00

Basketball vs. Webb School of Knoxville at JMS 8th Grade Night

Girls Varsity 6:00, Boys Varsity 7:00

Tuesday-15

B day

Homework help for 5th/6th graders 7:00-7:30-Room 219 (Corrigan)

JMS Spelling Bee 9:00-11:00-JPAC

Library Club 2:45-3:30

First Lego League, Atomic Eagles, Meeting 2:45-4:45

First Lego League, Master Builders, Meeting 2:45-4:30

First Lego League Team, Franco, Meeting 2:45-4:30

Science Bowl 2:45-4:00-Room 317 (Little)

Homework help for 5th/6th graders 2:45-3:30-Room 319 (Martin)

Homework help for 7th/8th graders 2:45-3:30-Room 301 (Hondorf)

Wednesday-16

A day

Ski/Snowboard Club to Ober Gatlinburg 1:00-8:45

Cheer Practice 1:00-3:00

Thursday-17

B day

Homework help for 5th/6th graders 7:00-7:30-Room 219 (Corrigan)

Math Club Practice 2:45-4:00-Room 203 (Tracey)

Homework help for 5th/6th graders 2:45-3:30-Room 319 (Martin)

First Lego League Team, Master Builders, Meeting 2:45-4:30

First Lego League Team, Franco, Meeting 2:45-4:30

Friday-18

A day

Youth for Christ 7:00-JPAC

Saturday-19

Atomic City Invitational 8:00-5:00-JMS

We have been advertising the save the date information for our STEM night during the entire second nine weeks and will continue to do so upon our return from winter break. The goal for STEM Night is to provide students and families with opportunities to come to JMS and learn more about the importance of STEM. There will be interactive opportunities for all to participate and learn more about the impact of STEM for our students both in school and in their future. We hope to see you Feb. 19th from 6 pm - 8 pm . We will continue to advertise and supply more information in the coming weeks, so please make sure to check out our newsletters.

It's that time of year where the winter weather can have an impact on school days. As we go through the winter months of January and February going into Spring Break, please remember the information below about Winter Weather and Oak Ridge Schools:

1. If a snow day is called by the Oak Ridge Schools, parents and staff members will receive an automated phone call from Oak Ridge Schools to inform them. In addition at JMS we will update through our Twitter account @JMS_Eagles.

2. You can also check the Oak Ridge Schools website www.ortn.edu

3. We are "Oak Ridge City Schools", so when checking on the status of a snow day, please do not confuse with Anderson County Schools

4. With bitterly cold weather we are having students go into the building to their respective areas (5th/6th to gym and 7th/8th to lobby) upon their arrival to campus for the mornings with bitterly cold temperatures

5. On non-delay days Supervision of students begins at 7 a.m. including car riders. The bus riders arrive between 7:00 am - 7:10 am, when buses are in the bus loop cars should not enter the bus loop. For a one hour or two hour delay please add the appropriate times (8:00 am for 1 hour delay; 9:00 am for 2 hour delay)

Last week on Friday Jan. 11th we hosted our success assemblies for 7th and 8th grade. On Monday, Jan. 14th we will have our success assemblies for 5th and 6th grade. The goal of the success assembly is to share ideas, resources and strategies for students to have great success. We spend time discussing expectations for academics, behavior, school rules and safety. In addition, we spend time providing students with strategies, resources and information as to how they can communicate and work with JMS administration, the school counseling office, and other resources.

Our goal for the success assembly is to help all students understand the best strategies, approaches, and utilization of resources to help them be successful academically, socially and emotionally. We host these each nine weeks and work to give feedback for students to have a better understanding as to the best practices for success.

Students received their 2nd Nine weeks grades this past Friday. As we complete the first semester of the 2017-2018 school year there are a few key tips for students and parents to maintain and continue to work towards success:

1. Organization is critical - For many students the first step to success is often difficult because organizational skills can be challenging. Often we have students who miss assignments, fail to submit assignments, or forget they had been assigned. We often work with students to help them with organizational skills including planners, use of Canvas, working to help students understand how to use Microsoft Office products etc.

2. Submission of ALL assignments - We work to encourage students to TURN in ALL Assignments. We focus on this idea as a part of our Grit, Perseverance, and Growth Mindset series as well as through our newsletter, success assemblies, and through our school announcements and tv's.

3. Take advantage of redo's - There are many classes where students have the opportunity to retake a quiz, make test corrections, resubmit an assignment or even turn in an assignment late. Often students do not take advantage of these opportunities until the end of the nine weeks and sometimes never. Some points are better than no points, and working to improve low scores can greatly benefit your grades.

4. Prepare each and every day - When students have a passion, an art, a sport, a game, a hobby etc. that they wish to excel at they work again and again and again to make their best efforts to improve. The same is needed in the learning process. We work through the growth mindset, perseverance and promotion of Grit to help students learn how to be relentless in their pursuits of knowledge and skills.

Jaimie McMahon -8th grade ELA

I decided to become a teacher because I passionately wanted to have a job where I helped people. I realized that giving students an education helped them, not just for that moment, but for their entire futures. This is why it is important to be a life-long learner. Everything you learn impacts the rest of your life. For example, I have continuously taught myself and have been taught various computer and tech skills which allow me to do new things in my classroom –like the documentaries we are now doing with WeVideo. Or perhaps it is in my personal life, like learning French allowed me to order food, book a hotel, and get train tickets in France on several trips. However, the challenges of learning new technology and new languages is nothing compared to the biggest challenge I faced in middle school: learning to like myself. There is a ridiculous amount of pressure in middle school to look a certain way, like certain music, to not like “childish” things; who you talk to and where you go is scrutinized to a pathological degree. Once I gave permission to myself to like what I liked, who I liked, and embrace real friends and family, I was infinitely happier. I credit my parents and brother for wanting to be around me as showing me I was worthy of being liked. Additionally, playing sports gave me self-confidence and a sense of acceptance. I believe that acceptance was based on teammates focused on a common goal. Perhaps that experience informs my hobbies today. I love to travel and I love to read, though I don’t get much chance to read what I choose. Camping with my family is a fabulous way to spend time. Yet, my greatest enjoyment comes from coaching my two oldest daughters’ soccer team. It allows me to spend so much time with them, teaches them good life skills like commitment and sportsmanship, and I get to cheer them on in their challenges. So my advice to students: like yourself; find a group with common interests and common goals; and when it comes to family, remember the immortal words of The Beatles, “All you need is love…love is all you need.”

Emily Haverkamp - Media Specialist

This is Mrs. Haverkamp’s 5th year at JMS. Mrs. Haverkamp started her teaching career in Anderson County. She taught in the elementary classroom for 13 years in grades 3-5. After getting her Master's degree in Library Science she spent the next two years split between Andersonville and Norris Elementary schools working with technology and the library. Her dream was to always work with middle school students. Working at JMS is her dream job.

Mrs. Haverkamp graduated from Anderson County High School in 1993. "Honestly, I was not the best student and my experience in school really motivated me later in life to pursue an education degree in order to help students who struggle as I did." She considers one of her gifts as a teacher helping struggling students discover a love of learning. Mrs. Haverkamp found herself drawn to the library during high school and there her love of the library and reading was fostered by Ms. Nageotte, her high school librarian. She was just 17 when she graduated and decided to attend Roane State. "Roane state prepared me for the next step in my education and I transferred to Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville." Mrs. Haverkamp graduated with a teaching degree in December 1998. In 2008 she went back to school to get her Master's Degree in Administration and Supervision with a Concentration in Library Science from Middle Tennessee State University.

As for best advice she would, of course, encourage everyone to read. Read often and everything! "The best part of my job is when a student asks me for a book and then later tells me that they loved it. There is nothing better." Mrs. Haverkamp loves this quote by JK Rowlings, "If you don't like to read you haven't found the right book". She's also a big fan of the author Alex Haley and loves his quote, "If you see a turtle on a fence post realize he had help getting there." For her this means we all need to help and be helped at different times in our lives and encourages students to not be afraid to, “ask for help”. One of the things Mrs Haverkamp likes most about JMS is how well the teachers help each other by collaborating to improve their students' education.

When not in the JMS library Mrs. Haverkamp enjoys spending time with her family outside. The family spends a lot of time outdoors hiking, camping, and (in the summer) they waterskiing as often as possible. She also enjoys reading (of course), history, and genealogy. Mrs. Haverkamp sets a reading goal for herself every year. This year the goal is to read 62 books by Dec 31st. She is almost there! She keeps a chart on a bulletin board in the library that rates the books she has read for the school year. Go by the library and look at the list. You might find your next read there!

Ms. Mayes - French

I grew up mostly in West Tennessee, but both of my parents are from Knoxville, so this area has always been a second home. I went to UT Knoxville for both my undergraduate and Master’s degrees. During my undergraduate studies, I had the great fortune to spend a year in Montpellier, France as an exchange student. It was, without a doubt, the best year of my life up to that point. After college, I met my husband, and we settled in Knoxville. I taught high school in Knox County for 6 years before deciding to stay home with my infant daughter. I taught part-time at Jefferson from 2011 to 2014, when a full-time position came open at Robertsville, and I (somewhat sadly) made the move across town. When it became possible for me to teach French at both middle schools, I jumped at the chance. I am glad to be back at Jefferson (although I still love my Ram Fam at Robertsville, too!).

The best advice I can give to my students is to step out of your comfort zone and try something new. A big part of being a successful language learner is taking risks. Many times we are so afraid that we will get something wrong that we don’t want to try. I tell my students that I would rather have them write a long sentence in French with lots of errors than to write a shorter sentence with perfect grammar. Even if they make mistakes, I can usually understand what they’re trying to say, and then we can work together on how to express their thoughts in a way that other French speakers can understand. I have plenty of stories from my time in France about embarrassing mistakes I made, and I hope that helps my students realize that making errors isn’t the end of the world.

I come from a family full of teachers (my mom taught ESL at Woodland until she retired a few years ago), but in high school I said I would never be one. (Never say never, kids.) I loved learning, though, and I had a few really great teachers who made me want to learn more and gave me confidence to believe I could do so. My favorite teacher in high school was Mr. Cooper, my Latin (and 10th grade history and English) teacher. He didn’t just teach us how to conjugate verbs and decline nouns, although that was a large part of our curriculum. He helped us make connections between the Latin words and English words that we already knew, and he showed us how to play with language (semper ubi sub ubi). I hope my French classes contain a little bit of the relevance and playfulness that Mr. Cooper’s classes did.

Besides being a language nerd, I like to cook; I specialize in procrastibaking. I also love the outdoors, and enjoy jogging and hiking. I also love reading.

Lifelong learning is a term that gets thrown around in educational circles, but it is a fact of life and a necessity! I graduated with my Master’s in 2002, when we were still using floppy disks to store computer files. I have had to learn a lot just in terms of technology to continue to offer my students the best French learning experience I can provide. And the continued learning isn’t just for my career. I have found that anytime I want to make a part of my life better, I need to learn new information or new skills to make that happen. Whether it is learning to cook or learning to better relate to my friends and family, it never stops. It’s best to embrace progress over perfection, because I will never be perfect!

When I was in middle school (and I’m old enough that we called it junior high back then), I think the biggest challenge for me and many of my classmates was relationships. Although I cringe to think about it now, we spent a lot of time talking about other people and putting them down. I see this a lot in middle school students today, so maybe it’s universal. As I’ve gotten older, I have realized that even those people who seem to have it all together are struggling with something. I think I might have been kinder to people if I’d figured that out earlier. If I could go back and do things differently, I would try to show kindness to everyone. It doesn’t cost anything, and it has benefits for the giver and the recipient.

Next PTO Meeting Coming Soon: Plan to attend the next PTO meeting on Tuesday, January 29 at 7:40am. Meetings are kept short and are conveniently scheduled immediately after drop-off so anyone can attend. Come and learn about what the JMS PTO is planning for this Spring!

Fundraiser Spotlight: Are you curious about how your fundraiser dollars are being used? Each week, the PTO section of this newsletter will feature a different department or classroom from JMS that was helped with money from our annual direct drive fundraiser! This week the spotlight is on Mr. Jaeger’s Engineering VEX program at JMS. In Mr. Jaeger’s class, students learn engineering skills to design everything from rulers, to bridges and fan-propelled cars. The students use Engineering journals provided by the PTO to keep notes and drawings while creating their incredible projects! Thank you JMS families!

If you have questions about how you can get involved with PTO at JMS, please contact Sandy Pelletier sandy@issi.net

Canvas

For 2018 - 2019 Canvas will serve as the place to get information about your child's class. For example, "what did you do in school today?" or "what did you learn about today?" etc. Canvas allows teachers to post announcements, links to resources, videos, PowerPoint notes, links to OneNote and other information that will help students in the class.

We ask our teachers to work to keep the announcements section updated each week in Canvas. This will allow parents to see a glance at the week ahead. Please keep in mind that some assignments, quizzes, tests, projects etc. may be subject to change and that the look at the week ahead is a tool to help students and parents have an idea of what will be discussed each week.

The Canvas 10 Challenge

The idea is to take 10 minutes per week to have your student log on to Canvas and spend 10 minutes reviewing their classes to get a better idea of the work they have each week.

Have you heard your student talk about OneNote? Have you wondered what it is and how it can be used? Check out the following information about OneNote and how it can help students stay organized, stay informed and have access to class information to be better prepared. The video below gives a great description as to all of the tools that can be utilized in a classroom through OneNote.

Remember the days of taking notes? Did you ever miss some items? What if you had access to them again after class? OneNote allows teachers to post notes to their Canvas page and allows for students to have access to information on their devices as it is being given to them. One goal of this is to allow students to have deep discussions, ask questions, and work to review as they learn content.

Check out the video resources both above and below to get a better idea and feel for how you can check with your student and their OneNote in order to get a better feel for materials from their classes. In addition, if you have questions you can contact Ms. Henderlight our Instructional Technology Coach to learn more about how you can engage with OneNote to help support student learning. Her email is hvhenderlight@ortn.edu

One major goal we want to help our students understand and learn is the goal of effort and completion. We are going to focus this nine weeks on the danger of failing to attempt, try your best, or submit work. We are going to focus this nine weeks through our Parent newsletter, Twitter Account, our BrightSign TV's and weekly announcements to help students understand to turn in ALL assignments to maximize their opportunities. Check out the graphics below to highlight and help students understand the Power of a Zero.

For some students if they simply do not complete something, they do not submit anything. In the previous example, if a student were to submit their assignment and receive a 50% on the assignment it would make a dramatic improvement in their overall score.

We want to help our students understand that homework, quizzes, projects, tests etc. are a type of assessment being made by a teacher to find where a student may need help. For a student to simply not submit, complete or finish something, it only serves to provide for a negative on their average. Submit your work, if it's wrong, your teacher can help you learn from your mistakes.

For many classes, the math is simple. Total points achieved divided into Total points possible. The example here shows a student with Two A's, Two B's and a Zero. It is eye opening to see the damage the Zero has done to the student's average.

For many students, the first two weeks of each nine weeks is very successful. As students get back into the groove of school following a break they work to keep up with assignments, deadlines, and often there are very few major tests, quizzes or projects etc. Students need to take advantage of the first few weeks of a nine weeks to complete all tasks, prepare for future quizzes, tests and projects. It can be more stressful as the nine weeks moves into week three and four. By the end of week five, students will receive midterms, which are a measurement of where there grade is at that current time.

We plan to spend time during the 3rd nine weeks to help students keep up each week, review each week and reflect on what they have to do that week. For some students, it requires taking each task one day at a time, completing it, and looking for the next task. For some students, when they get behind, the future quizzes, assignments, tests and projects can seem like an insurmountable amount of work and it is easy to quit. We often see this impacting students by the midterm and then seeing students looking to improve in the last two weeks of the quarter.

Our goal is to help reflect each week, take a moment to prepare for the upcoming week and work to make sure we are completing all of our tasks. Students may want to create and design a system that helps remind them including checking Canvas weekly to see assignments that are due soon and those that are upcoming.

We have spoken about the 4 C's of 21st Century learning including creativity, collaboration, critical thinking and communication in past newsletters. We will continue to discuss and promote these characteristics in more detail in future newsletters. However, there are many in the professional world that are reporting other skills that will be needed for our students in the future careers as adults including the importance of soft skills.

What are soft skills and how can they be applied to students?

According to the AMLE (Association of Middle Level Education), "Today's employers perceive a lack of soft skills among recent graduates. Soft skills, sometimes called key skills, core skills, key competencies, or employability skills, are those desirable qualities that apply across a variety of jobs and life situations—traits such as integrity, communication, courtesy, responsibility, professionalism, flexibility, and teamwork."

The research adds, "While these soft skills are cited as integral to workplace success—according to CareerBuilder, 77% of employers say that soft skills are just as important as hard skills—college professors identify the same characteristics as important to college success. Young people who transition successfully from high school to college show an ability to manage their time, meet deadlines, get along with classmates and roommates, and deal with setbacks."

How does this impact middle school students?

We see throughout middle school that social communication and interaction for students can be challenging. In the age of social media, we have seen the conversation shift and we feel it is important for students to understand the impact of social media as well as responsible digital citizenship. We utilize the newsletter with students, parents, and staff along with our school TV's and success assemblies to promote digital citizenship responsibilities and social media awareness.

As we work with students to promote the 4 C's and college and career ready skills like soft skills, one element we will continue to focus on is communication and for middle school that is often through social media. Our series on Social Media for parents is designed to help parents, grandparents, and guardians have a better understanding of the impact of social media as a communication platform.

For more information check out the article from the Association for Middle Level Education.

The first graphic below gives an idea of now only how prevalent social media has become, but also how quickly it has changed communication in comparison to other forms of communication including the radio, telephone, and television.

The video below is designed to help parents develop some best practices when it comes to social media and having a better understanding about it, how it works and the impact. Also you can find great information and resources about social media, video games and other media from the Common Sense Media site.

Good evening from the Counseling Office! We hope that you had a nice weekend and got yourself back into the mindset of school. Thank you to the current 7th and 8th graders for being attentive during our Success Assembly this past Friday!

This month we will concentrate on communicating effectively. Having the ability to be effective communicators does not just happen overnight or come easily to everyone. What does it even mean to be an effective communicator? According to reference.com, effective communication can be defined as, “communication that is clearly and successfully delivered, received and understood. Learning the skills of effective communication can help people to resolve differences while building trust and respect. Some skills associated with effective communication include being a good listener, using and recognizing body language and non-verbal communication, taking control of emotion and stress, and understanding and empathizing with others. Applying these skills to everyday communication can help people to better connect with their family, friends and classmates.”

1. Being a Good Listener

This week, we will be discussing the first skill that needs to be practiced when trying to be better communicators: being a good listener. This can be a simple, but difficult skill to master. People often focus on what they should say, but effective communication is less about talking and more about listening. Listening well means not just understanding the words or the information being communicated, but also understanding the emotions the speaker is trying to communicate.

There is a saying that talks about how we hear what others are saying, but we do not always listen. There’s a BIG difference between engaged listening and simply hearing. When you really listen (when you’re engaged with what’s being said) you will hear the subtle cues in someone else’s voice that tells you how that person is feeling and the emotions they are trying to convey. When you are an engaged listener, not only will you better understand the other person, you will also make that person feel heard and understood, which can help build a

stronger, deeper connection between the both of you.

By communicating in this way, you will also experience a process that lowers stress and supports physical and emotional well-being. If the person you are talking to is calm, for example, listening in an engaged way will help to calm you, as well. Similarly, if the person is agitated, you can help calm them by listening in an attentive way and making the person feel understood.

If your goal is to fully understand and connect with the other person, listening in an engaged way will often come naturally. If it doesn’t, try the following tips. The more you practice them, the more satisfying and rewarding your interactions with others will become.

Here are some strategies we can use to achieve being better listeners:

1) Give the Speaker Your Undivided Attention – Notice the body language, tone of voice and other nonverbal cues in order to determine emotions related to what is being said.

2) Favor Your Right Ear – Because the left side of your brain is the primary processing center for both speech comprehension and emotions, try turning your head so that your right ear is slightly in front. This will assist in picking up those higher frequencies.

3) Avoid Interrupting or Trying to Redirect the Conversation to Your Concerns – “If you think that is bad, let me tell you about my day…” is the last thing someone wants to hear. Do not plot your comments or what you are going to say or come back with as it takes your attention away from the speaker.

4) Show Your Interest in What is Being Said – Respond to the speaker with brief responses to show them you are interested. A simple “okay”, “sure”, or “uh-huh” goes a long way.

5) Try to Set Aside Judgement – Just because you are listening to someone does not mean that you agree or have to agree with what they are saying. However, it is best to set aside judgements and withhold criticisms and blame. The most difficult discussion could lead to the most profound connection with someone.

6) Provide Feedback on What You Have Listened To – Make sure that you are listening and understanding everything that is being said by paraphrasing what you have been listening to. “What I am hearing is…” or “From I have heard…” are great ways to lead into these confirmations. Be careful to not repeat verbatim or redirect the conversation.

Whether you are a parent, teacher, administrator, counselor or student you can always practice being a better listener. Discuss the strategies listed above with your child(ren) or students and have them practice being good listeners. Have them repeat what you are saying back to you and have them explain how they think you are feeling about what you say.

Next week we will look at the second skill used in being a more effective communicator: Using and Recognizing Body Language and Non-Communication.

Dates to Remember:

January 8, 2019 - Students return to school and they will receive their new schedules for their term classes within their homeroom. RTI changes will NOT be made until after grades are due on Wednesday, January 9th. Therefore, those schedules changes will not be on the schedule for the students on Tuesday morning. RTI changes will be available no earlier than

Thursday, January 10th through Skyward.

January 21, 2019 - AVID applications for 8th grade students interested in the AVID program at the high school are due. The application can be found through their English teacher’s Canvas page. If there are any questions about AVID, the application process, or the due date please contact Andy Magee at 425-9252 for more information.

January 28, 2019 - AVID recommendations from teachers are due. Again, please contact Andy Magee if there are any questions concerning AVID, the application process or the due date.

January 31, 2019 - Selected 8th grade students will be participating in the NAEP test either in Math or Reading. If you would like to know more about the NAEP test, please contact Andy Magee at 425-9252 if you have more questions. More information will be provided closer to the test date.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RurH739zdN0&feature=youtu.be