Family Update - October 20, 2024

Dear Families,

Congratulations to all of our students who were part of Footloose! It was an amazing show, and we are so proud of you! Thank you to all of our parent volunteers who made it possible!

This week our 8th graders will be going on a field trip downtown on Tuesday. Picture retakes will occur on Wednesday morning. Class meetings will take place during Flex on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The main topic of the meetings will be digital safety. Please find additional information below.

We hope that you and your families are enjoying the beautiful weather this weekend!

Warm regards,

Aimee White, Principal

Keona Walker, Assistant Principal

Here is the link to this week's Jones Weekend Update: https://youtu.be/kfOY2ZL0BPI

School makeup/retake pictures are scheduled this coming week, Wednesday, October 23. If you plan to have your child's picture retaken, you will need to send in the original picture packet with them on picture retake day. Thank you!

Each year at Jones we partner with the Franklin County Prosecuting Office to come in and talk with our students about Juvenile Laws and Sexting Laws. This year, at grade-level class meetings the week of October 21st, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Irene Knapp will be joining us to talk with our students about these issues. Each grade level will listen to the presentation in school during flex. Please check out this flyer that shares more about what will be discussed. If you have any questions and/or concerns about this presentation, please reach out.

Please remember that the registration and first payment was due by October 18th!

If you did not attend the mandatory meeting and have not already contacted Frau (Christy) Charlton, please do so as soon as possible.

If you have decided that your son/daughter will not be joining us, I need to know that too. Thanks! ccharlton@uaschools.org

To register for Ski Club fill out this Form:

https://forms.gle/JThtHiZvz7gkLBYA9

Ski Club has 5 sessions and the dates are: 1/17, 1/24, 1/31, 2/7, 2/14

If you missed the meeting you can see my slide deck here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ojPVBQPVvlbcX3XtmeDTEBdsZdM4GgWq/view?usp=sharing

Are you part of the Arab/Muslim community in UA? Join us for a special meeting with Dr. Nidhi Satiani, UA Board of Education member and Dr. Bob Hunt, UA Schools Superintendent to discuss important matters related to our community. This in-person event is a great opportunity to connect with UA schools decision makers and voice your concerns. Let's work together to build a stronger relationship between our community and the schools. Don't miss out on this chance to make a positive impact for our kids. We will meet in the education foundation room at Upper Arlington High School.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ua-arabmuslim-community-meeting-with-dr-satiani-dr-hunt-tickets-1039452790277?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-source=wa&utm-term=listing

Our first evening conference opportunity is on Thursday, November, 7th from 4pm-7:30pm. If your child’s teachers have requested a conference, invitations were sent out last week. If you did not receive an invitation, your child is progressing as expected and there are no concerns at this time. If you have questions, families are always welcome to communicate with teachers via email, as this is the quickest way to share information.

We are excited to announce that in honor of Red Ribbon Week, we will be hosting a Wellness Week from October 28 - November 1! This initiative aims to promote healthy habits and empower our students to make positive choices. Throughout the week, various community organizations will set up booths to share valuable information and resources on how to stay healthy. Students will have the opportunity to explore these booths during their recess and part of their lunch each day.

We’re thrilled to have participation from organizations including:

• Franklin County Public Health
• Upper Arlington Police Department
• Upper Arlington Parks and Recreation
• JMS Counseling Department
• JMS School Nurse
• JMS Media Specialist
• JMS Health Students from Mrs. Gill's classes
• JMS Sources of Strength students
• Upper Arlington Nutrition staff
• And more to come!

On November 19th, author Margaret Peterson Haddix is visiting Jones! As part of her visit, she will be autographing books. We have partnered with Cover to Cover to sell books by Margaret Peterson Haddix that she will sign during her visit. The Jones library will receive 20% of all sales. Books will be on sale from October 14 through October 28. All books purchased through the sale will be delivered to Jones. Families with financial need can reach out to any JMS school counselor or our media specialist to inquire about a scholarship to purchase a book. Scholarship funds are provided by the Jones PTO.

Click here to purchase a book.

As we prepare for the upcoming winter sports season, we are excited to announce that all registrations will be managed through FinalForms, our new online platform. This system replaces the previous 8to18 platform and is designed to simplify the registration process for our student-athletes and families.

Steps to Register for Winter Sports:

1. Create or log in to your FinalForms account: Visit FinalForms Registration to create an account if you haven't already or log in with your existing credentials.

2. Register your student-athlete: After logging in, please select the winter sport(s) your child wishes to participate in for the 2024-2025 season. This helps our coaching staff gauge interest ahead of time.

3. Upload a current physical form: If your child’s physical is not already on file or needs to be updated, upload the new form directly into FinalForms. Physicals are valid for 13 months and are required for participation. If you’ve already submitted a current physical, it will be transferred from our previous system after registration.

For step-by-step assistance, feel free to refer to the Parent Playbook for detailed instructions on how to set up your FinalForms account.

We encourage you to complete this registration process as soon as possible so that our teams are fully prepared for the winter season. If you need further assistance, please reach out.

Thank you for your continued support of our student-athletes and athletic programs!

Jones uses Jostens for our middle school yearbooks. Look for emails directly from Jostens for the information to order your yearbook if you haven't done so already.

The Tri-Village Packers (community volunteer group, TVP) are preparing to provide another round of food support for district families during the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.

You may remember their Thanksgiving 2023 and Spring Break 2024 projects that provided the same support to our community.

I am sharing two items with you today, hoping that PTOs can help get the word out to families:

• I have attached a flyer with a QR Code to the registration form. Please post, forward, and share in your community networks.
• Here is a link to the registration form. It will be open through November 8th. Again, please feel free to share.

Nearly 10 years ago, the Upper Arlington community began working together to plan for the future of our schools, leading to a new high school and all new or renovated elementary schools. Now, it’s time to come together again — to determine the best path forward for the aging middle schools and Burbank Early Childhood School. Join us for the community kickoff to phase two of facilities master planning:

• Tuesday, October 29 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at Jones Middle School, 2100 Arlington Avenue

• Wednesday, October 30 from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. at the Graf Center, 2020 Builders Place

iPad Parent Control Information

The UACS Technology department provides 2 ways for caregivers to manage screen time, review web history, manage apps and internet access after school hours. The typical built-in Apple ScreenTime and Parental controls do not work because the district manages iPads for school use at a district level - the typical consumer level settings are not available. Caregivers can review web activity and disable internet access through the Lightspeed Relay Parent Portal. Additionally, caregivers can control app access and set rules through the JAMF Parent app. Questions may be directed to FamilyTechHelp@uaschools.org.

JAMF Parental Controls Manual

JAMF Parental Setup and Guide Videos

Lightspeed Parent Portal

Transportation Questions: schoolbusquestions@uaschools.org or call 614-487-6477

Upper Arlington Schools Lunch Information link: https://www.uaschools.org/NutritionalServices.aspx

PowerSchool Parent Portal: https://ps-uar.metasolutions.net/public/home.html

If you need assistance logging into PowerSchool, you may reach out to: Building Secretary Melissa Thien at mthien@uaschools.org or familytechhelp@uaschools.org

Student Fees/SPS EZpay: https://www.spsezpay.com/upperarlington/login.aspx

NOVEMBER & DECEMBER 2024

November 4 - PTO Meeting, 8:30am

November 5 - No School - Election Day

November 7 - Parent/Teacher Conferences, 4 - 8pm

November 8 - 8th Grade Veteran's Day Celebration

November 14 - Band Concert, Grades 6 - 8, 7:30pm

November 27 - 29 - No School - Thanksgiving Break

December 2 - Packing for the Streets, 3:30pm

December 2 - 6th Grade Choir Concert, 7pm

December 2 - 7th/8th Grade Choir Concert, 8pm

December 4 - Spelling Bee Qualifier, 3:30pm

December 9 - Orchestra Winter Concert, Grades 6 - 8, 7pm

December 11 - 8th Grade Choir at UAHS, 7pm

December 20 - End of Quarter 2, Semester 1

December 23 - January 3 - No School - Winter Break

January 7 - School Resumes