Eagle Eye -JMS Parent Newsletter#24

Good evening Jefferson Parents & Families:

It has been another outstanding week at JMS! Although some after-school activities were impacted last week due to school closures in surrounding districts, we are so grateful to have had our students with us throughout the week. We would like to thank so many of you for your encouragement and kindness as we continue to work to mitigate issues related to COVID. The safety of our students and staff will remain our priority and we will continue to monitor the data and contact trace per protocol in the event a student is a confirmed case of COVID-19.

As usual, there is a lot happening at JMS this week including post-season basketball, Environmental Club, Chess Club, Lego League, and another Ski and Snowboarding Club trip to Ober. Please check the weekly schedule and information below for more details!

We sincerely thank you for your support and wish you a great weekend!

Phil Cox, Principal, pcox@ortn.edu

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

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

In an effort to ensure all of our students and staff stay as healthy as possible, we recommend that you keep your child home if they are sick, if they have been tested or have been exposed to a positive case of Covid 19. Further, the use of voluntary face coverings by members of the school community is still encouraged for the health and safety of our students, faculty, and staff.

Please see all scenarios listed below and please reach out to Mr. Corrigan at njcorrigan@ortn.edu if you have any questions!

In an effort to mitigate transmission, please keep your child(ren) home if:

1. They have been tested for Covid-19
2. They have been exposed to a positive case of Covid-19
3. If someone in your household has tested positive for Covid-19. Additionally, notify JMS Administration as soon as possible, as Nurse Cousins is able to test (with parent permission) with results within 24 hours.
4. If your child(ren) are displaying any of the following symptoms:

• Fever or Chills Temperature > 100.4 F
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Diarrhea
• Fatigue
• New loss of taste or smell
• Muscle or Body Aches
• Headache
• Sore Throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting

Monday 24

A day

Principals Meeting - ORS Budget FY23

Atomic Eagles Meeting Science Wing 2:45-4:30

Master Builders Meeting Room 102 2:45-4:30

RadioActive Brix Meeting Room 223 2:45-4:30

Environmental Club 2:45-5:00

Chess Club Library 2:45-3:45

Board of Education Meeting SAB 6:00

Girls Basketball Practice 3:00-5:00

Boys Basketball Practice 5:00-7:00

Tuesday 25

B day

Principals Meeting SAB 9:00

Atomic Eagles Meeting Science Wing 2:45-4:30

Master Builders Meeting Room 102 2:45-4:30

RadioActive Brix Meeting Room 223 2:45-4:30

Student Focus Planning Session 3:30-4:30

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

Girls Basketball Practice 3:00-5:00

Boys Basketball Practice 5:00-7:00

Wednesday 26

A day

Ski and Snowboarding Club to Ober 12:45-8:45

Food Truck for Faculty-Crazy Cuban

Special Education Meeting 1:00-1:30

VALIC Financial Advisor in Breakroom

Departmental Meetings

Girls Basketball Practice 1:00-3:00

Boys Basketball Practice 3:00-5:00

Thursday 27

B day

Student Focus Meetings - 2, 3, 6, 7 Periods

Girls Basketball Practice 3:00-5:00

Boys Basketball Practice 5:00-7:00

Mental Health 101 for Parents Virtually 6:00

Friday 28

A Day

Youth for Christ Band Room 7:00 AM

Truancy Meeting SAB 10:00-12:00

Ms. Kala’s class to Chamber of Commerce 11:45

Girls Basketball Practice 3:00-5:00

Boys Basketball Practice 5:00-7:00

Saturday 29

Basketball Sub Sectional Tournament @ Cherokee HS

Date/Times TBD

Remember when dropping off/picking up your student:

• Please avoid entering 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.

• 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.

We wanted to share a reminder about the attendance policy in ORS as well as the expectations held at Jefferson Middle School. The policies are outlined below. Please reach out to Mr. Nick Corrigan, Dean of Students, with any questions or concerns regarding attendance or tardies. He can be reached via email at njcorrigan@ortn.edu or by calling the school at (865) 425-9301.

ORS Attendance Policy

Attendance is a key factor in student achievement and therefore, students are expected to be present each day school is in session.

Students are expected to:

• Be present and on time for all assigned classes (skipping classes will count as unexcused absences).
• Present documentation of parental permission before checking out of school. Class absences as a result of early checkout are considered the same as any other absence and are subject to all attendance policy rules.
• Provide a written excuse for each absence from his/her parent or custodial parent giving the date and reason for the absence(s).

• Make up assigned work missed during excused absences

Excused Absences

Students must be in school unless the absence has been excused for one of the reasons listed below. It is the responsibility of each student’s parent/guardian to explain the student’s absence to the school in a manner satisfactory to the principal. Absences may be classified as either excused or unexcused as determined by the principal or his/her designee. Absences will only be excused for the following reasons:

1. Personal illness
1. Only seven days, whether consecutive or not can be excused by a parent note;
2. After a child has had (7) days, not necessarily consecutive, of illness related absences excused by a parent note, any future illness related absence must have a doctor’s note stating that the absence is medically necessary.
3. All parent and doctor notes must be turned into the school within three school days of the child returning to school.
2. Death in the family
3. Religious observations
4. Extreme weather conditions
5. Court appearance or legal mandates
6. Verifiable family emergency
7. School sponsored events
8. Principal has discretion to excuse absences based on the following:
1. The absence must be prearranged
2. The absence must not have an adverse effect on the child’s academic standing
3. The child must have a good attendance history
4. The child must have a good behavior record
5. The Director of Schools must agree

JMS Tardy to School Policy – UPDATED FOR TERMS 3 and 4

Students arriving to school after 7:40am must check in through the Main Office. Student tardies will be marked unexcused unless a note is received within three days from a parent or physician stating an acceptable excuse for being tardy. Students are allotted 7 unexcused tardies per 9 weeks. On a student’s fifth unexcused tardy to school each 9 weeks, students will receive a written warning documented in Skyward requiring a parent signature. After the 7th tardy to school each 9 weeks, students will receive an after-school detention for every tardy to school received (starting with the 8th). The tardies to school will start over for students each nine week term.

Please remember that student drop off begins at 7am each morning. The school day begins at 7:40am. We encourage students to be on campus 5-10 minutes early to ensure they are in class on time.

JMS Tardy to Individual Class Policy

Teacher will contact parent and submits Student Support Document on 3rd tardy to class. After 3rd tardy to class, teacher will submit a Skyward referral.

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

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

5th:

Noah Davis

6th:

Alyssa Jestes

Daniel Miller

Oliver Schmidt

7th:

Emily Katherine Schmitt

SaNiya Troupe

Kaylee Matamoros Diaz

8th:

Dylan Job

Jada Burgess

Luzmeiry Sauzo Ortiz

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

Congratulations!!

Check out this awesome opportunity for girls in grades K-12!

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 Thursday for 5 weeks (Jan. 27- Feb. 24)

TIME: 3:00-4:00 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

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.

Thank you for all of your support this season!

The Jefferson Lady Eagles basketball team has earned a 6 seed in the District Tournament and will play on Saturday against Jacksboro at ACHS at 3:30pm. The Jefferson Eagles basketball team has earned a 2 seed in the District Tournament and will play on Saturday against Lafollette at 4:45pm at ACHS.

The Tournament brackets are attached below.

Go Eagles!

Last week Ms. Kala's class had the opportunity to visit the Oak Ridge Civic Center and Wendy's. Many thanks to Wendy's for sponsoring this trip for our students!

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.

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!

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

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

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 Ms. Laurendine at jllaurendine@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/.