Welcome back, Jardine Jaguars!

We are off to a very good start of the school year. Our first two weeks have been very successful as teachers are building strong relationships with students and starting to challenge them academically. Students have started taking all of the beginning of the year assessments with MAP and Fastbridge that give some great Math and Reading data on each of our students as they grow in their individual learning.

Students checked out their chromebooks during the first two weeks of school. I want to remind parents and families to have an onboarding process in place at home to monitor your student's online usage as well as ensuring technology is charged each morning to assure they are prepared for learning. I also encourage families to have conversations with their students in regards to taking care of their chromebook, as families will be responsible for paying for damage and repair to those devices.

As we progress throughout the first quarter, we are here to partner with you to ensure the success of each of your students as they grow academically and socially. Please check your emails (both personal and Synergy) and voicemails on a routine basis for important information from the school.

Dear Jardine Community,

As we step into a new school year, I want to again extend a warm welcome to all our students, parents, and staff! We’ve had a smooth and successful beginning of the school year and it takes all of us working together. Our students' new cell phone policy was accepted and implemented with ease. Fall sports have begun practice with our athletic department fully staffed with ALL Jardine coaches. Thank you for being an integral part of our school community. We value your input! Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and suggestions. This month, we focus on fostering a supportive environment for our students to thrive academically and socially. Let’s make this year the best one yet!

Important Events

No School September 02, 2024

In observance of Labor Day

PTO meeting

September 10, 2024

7:00 PM at Jardine Middle School

All parents are welcome to join our PTO

Family Fitness Fun Night

September 18, 2024

5:00 PM at Hummer

Harvesters

September 14, 2024

8:30 AM at Jardine Middle School

A chance to make a direct impact on the wellbeing of our community by volunteering.

Please remember to update your contact information in the school office to ensure you receive important notifications and updates.

Student Handbook

Policy (#8150) regarding student dress-

Sweatshirts/sweaters/hoodies may be worn in cool classrooms, HOWEVER, hoods must remain down while inside the building. Students will be asked to comply with this or may have consequences for failure to comply. Students who violate the dress code will have the option of correcting the situation by putting on different clothing, borrowing clothing from the school to wear, or by having a parent bring them an acceptable piece of clothing. If students refuse, it will become a disciplinary matter and may result in consequences.

Coats, hats, bandanas, book bags, string bags, and purses will be placed in student lockers. Backpacks, bookbags, string bags, and purses will not be allowed to be carried around to classes.

REWARD OPPORTUNITIES –

Students will have multiple opportunities to earn points throughout the school year for following Jardine's expectation matrix, keeping up on their academic responsibilities, and keeping up on their attendance in school. We will be introducing the Synergy Award Program this year. The points may be redeemed for various daily, weekly, and quarterly rewards. The students will have access to their points via the Synergy system on their electronic devices.

If you have not filled out your students lunch application for the 2024-25 school year, it needs to be done by the start of school. Everyone receives FREE lunch, but to keep that benefit for our students, EVERY family needs to fill out the lunch application. You can find that here - https://frapps.horizonsolana.com/TOPP01 This should only take you a couple of minutes. THANK YOU for filling them out- help us get to 100% by Monday!

Easily pay School Fees online! Create your free MySchoolBucks account to conveniently and securely pay for your student’s school fees online or with the mobile app.

With MySchoolBucks you’ll be able to quickly browse school items in our School Store, be notified when fees are due, and make payments from anywhere!

Get Started Today:

1. Go to myschoolbucks.com or download the mobile app

2. Create your free account and add your students using their school name / student ID

3. Add school items or invoices to your cart

4. Check out using your credit / debit card or electronic check
   
   

If you need assistance with your account, you can find helpful how-to videos and answers to commonly asked questions by visiting myschoolbucks.com. Or, you can contact MySchoolBucks directly by logging into your account to start a chat conversation or give them a call at (855) 832-5226.

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Click this link for a step by step with pictures!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qL34CZPfQvHPEog9rNYRTaYB1DmqG5eG/view?usp=drive_link

We would like to welcome all students and parents to a new year at Jardine Middle School. Mr. Falk is the counselor for the 6th and 8th grade (last name A-M). Mr. Barber is the counselor for the 7th grade and 8th Grade (last name N-Z). Jardine Guidance Counselors provide services for students regarding academics, career planning, and personal/social needs. Students may request to meet with a counselor by completing a “Request to See” form which can be found on the Jardine Website under the “Student Resources” tab.

Jardine Safe School Policy Statements

• All students and staff have the right to be safe at school.

• Behaviors that compromise student safety will not be tolerated.

• All known safety issues are to be reported to a counselor, administrator, school resource officer, or trusted Jardine staff member.

• Parents are encouraged to report any safety concerns to school officials.

Jardine students and staff:

• Will not spread rumors, bully others, use physical violence, racial or sexual harassment.

• When safe, will help others who are victims of these behaviors.

• Will include students who feel left out

• Will tell an adult at home and school when we know a student is a victim of these action or any unsafe behavior.

Spreading rumors is defined as passing unwanted, untrue or hurtful information about another student verbally, in writing, e-mail, or by repeating and/or encouraging rumors by receiving rumors (verbally or in writing). Frequently, extreme conflicts, threats of violence, or violence are a result of rumors.

Bullying is identified as any ongoing physical or verbal mistreatment that involves an imbalance of power and the victim is exposed repeatedly to negative actions on the part of one or more students.

Threats & Physical Violence occurs when anyone inflicts or threatens to inflict physical or emotional injury upon another student’s body or feelings.

Racial Harassment

(Board Policy #8110) “The Board of Education is committed to providing a positive and productive learning and working environment, free from discrimination, including harassment, on the basis of race, color, or national origin. Discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, or national origin (‘racial harassment’) shall not be tolerated in the school district. Racial harassment of employees or students of the district by Board members, administrators, certificated or support personnel, students, vendors, or any other person having business or other contact with the school district is strictly prohibited.” Jardine supports and follows the district guidelines.

Sexual Harassment is defined as unwanted and unwelcome behavior of a sexual nature. Sexual Harassment can be in verbal, written, physical, or nonverbal form. Sexual harassment will not be tolerated at Jardine Middle School.

Students and Parents are encouraged to report these behaviors by completing a Safety Report which can be found on the Jardine website under the “Student Resources” tab.

Immunization letters are being mailed home. If you receive a letter this is what your student needs by September 24th. Starting the 25th, students who do not have their immunizations will be excluded from school until the immunizations are received.

Also, GraceMed forms will be coming home. Parents, if you want your student to see a hygienist please fill out form and have student return to nurse's office. GraceMed will be at school September 17 & 18.

I am thrilled to announce that the Book Fair is just around the corner! It will be held from September 3rd to September 6th. This event is a fantastic opportunity for students to build their personal book collection. You can start browsing the available books and create an ewallet for the students to use to shop here: https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/jardineelementary

I look forward to seeing everyone at the Book Fair!

Jardine students are already making wonderful music! 7th and 8th Grade Band students are planning to perform at the Middle School Football Classic October 16 at Hummer Sports Park.

Check out the Jardine Middle School BAND Facebook page!

Prompt Prepared Participate Pleasant

DAILY PHYSICAL EDUCATION GOALS, LEARNING TARGETS AND OBJECTIVES

The 4 “P”s -

PROMPT

● I will show up to class on time ready to learn.

PLEASANT

● I am pleasant towards staff and students.

● I am positive towards the activity.

● I can follow directions.

PREPARED

● I am wearing the correct clothes & shoes.

PARTICIPATE

● I WILL DO MY BEST!

Welcome Back Jaguars

Hi Jardine family, we hope you had a fun and eventful summer break. We are excited to have you back and kick off the new school year!

What to expect August-September

August 12- Welcome 6th Graders Day!

August 13-16 4 days-Rules/Squads//Warm up/Fire and Tornado Procedures/Lockdown & Secured Campus Procedures/Universal Sign/Q & A, if time deck ring rules and teams. Mass Games - Deck Ring(W), 2 team pinball(Th), 4 team pinball(F)

August 19-23 5 days-Deck Ring Tournament/Lacrosse/Steal the Stuff

August 26-30 5 days-Frizz Tournament/ Reaction Ball/Go For The Gold

Sept. 3-6 4 days- H-ball on Tennis Court/Bocce Ball/Relays /Doctor, Doctor

Sept. 9-13 5 days-Football Skills & Four Down Touch Football Game/Ball Tag

Sept. 16-20 5 days- Tennis/Floor Hockey/Bean Bag Bowling/Scooter Bowling/Weights/Fitness Kickball/

Sept. 24-27 4 days-Tennis/Floor Hockey/Bean Bag Bowling/Scooter Bowling/Weights/Fitness Kickball/Flip Flop

Sept. 30-Oct.4 5 days-Health & Flip Flop/2 days outside with Kickball/2 days inside with Koosh-Ball

Contacts

Mr. Mitchell Mrs. Remer

P.E. Teacher/Coach P.E. Teacher

kmitchell@tps501.org bremer@tps501.org

We are off to a great start in 6th grade math! We just finished learning how to divide all types of fractions. Now we will be learning about adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing decimals. Decimals differ from 5th grade as 6th graders should become fluent in long division and use multi-digit decimals that extend past the hundredths place. Students use the IXL program on their chromebooks regularly in class for practice on concepts learned. Please encourage your student to charge their chromebook regularly to be prepared for class. Thank you!

Hello! In 7th grade we are working on proportional relationships building upon their knowledge from 6th grade about rate of change and unit rate. A proportional relationship is a relationship between two quantities where they increase or decrease at the same rate. In a proportional relationship, if one quantity doubles, triples, or halves, the other quantity will do the same. The key feature is a constant of proportionality (often called the "k"), which is the number you multiply by to go from one quantity to the other. This relationship can be represented by the equation y = kx, where "y" and "x" are the quantities, and "k" is the constant. On a graph, a proportional relationship will always be a straight line that passes through the origin (0, 0).

Greetings from 8th grade math staff at Jardine Middle School. We are happy to have your students back, and we have hit the ground running with solving equations and then we will be moving into solving inequalities.

When solving equations, we are working to find the value of the variable (an unknown number, usually represented by a letter) that makes the equation true. We began with one-step, then two-step, followed by multi-step equations.

Continuing with our study of equations, students will discover that equations do not always have only one correct answer. Sometimes, they have infinitely many solutions, while at other times they may have no solution. We will be encouraging students to look for patterns with equations to determine the number of solutions without actually having to solve the equation.

Our first unit will conclude with solving one-step, two-step, and multi-step inequalities. Inequalities differ from equations in that there is usually a range of solutions. These solutions are best expressed on a number line, but graphing the solutions is not an 8th grade standard. Students will need to be mindful of the inequality symbol if they ever multiply or divide by a negative, as this causes a change in the inequality.

6th Grade

Ancient World History: Hello and welcome from the 6th grade History team of Ms. Rogers and Mr. Jennings. We will be starting out this year with the study of social scientists and how they are like detectives; using clues to solve mysteries. We will begin with prehistory and move into the agricultural revolution of how early people made the shift from hunter gatherers to farming. That will then be followed by the earliest civilizations of the Sumerians and later Mesopotamian kingdoms.

7th Grade

Welcome back to school!

7th grade students have a Geography Class for the first semester. In our first unit, we are learning how a geographer looks at the world and how they use maps. Students will also be learning how to use/read maps for directions and knowledge, the importance of map skills, and the different thematic maps and how they are used. Students will also be focusing their skills on memorization of states and capitols (Ms. Miner's Class). If you have any questions please contact your student's Geography Teacher.

8th Grade

It is hard to believe that we are back in school already. Summer sure does seem to fly by. In 8th Grade, students are learning about American History. We start with the causes of the American Revolutionary War and then the war and its impact. Our next unit is on the Constitution and government.

In all grades, we are focusing on writing skills and critical thinking skills this year. Students will have to be able to explain their reasoning and use evidence to support their answers.

If you have any questions please contact your child's History Teacher.

HMH Science Dimensions™ is our online program for science. This will be our resource for readings, various assignments, and labs. Just because we are moving towards being more digital does not mean the hands-on stuff is gone. Part of science will always be about learning through experiences.

The 7th graders are off to a great start! We are learning Scientific Method and lab equipment we will be using during our investigations and experiments this year. In our first quarter this year we will be learning all about the different types of Energies through labs and investigations. This will be our Physics section this quarter.

The 8th graders are learning all about The History of Life on Earth. Students will be doing investigations to understand how the Fossil Record and Geologic TImescale has affected life on Earth and how scientists determine the age of our Planet. This will be our Life Science section this quarter.

Hello everyone, Mrs. Calvin here. Our year has started off with a bang! I have enjoyed meeting and getting to know all of my students. All of the students in the Newcomer Program have a subscription to Rosetta Stone to help accelerate their English. They are more than welcome to practice at home on the weekend, after school, or during extended vacations. The link to Rosetta Stone is located in Google Classroom on their Chromebooks. Practicing for 10 minutes every day is very beneficial.

We started off our year by learning how to open locks, use lockers and finding our way around an unfamiliar building. We reviewed many building rules and expectations during the first week. In my Newcomer 1 class, we started a new unit called “Nice to Meet You!” The students have learned common greetings, pronouns, numbers, and how to form basic sentences using “am, is, or are”. In my Newcomer 2 class we started a unit called “Here to Help”. We have reviewed how to tell time on analog clocks, using “have or need” to form sentences, analyzing cause and effect, and how to use possessive pronouns. We are preparing to read our first story about community helpers. We have had a busy first couple of weeks learning English!

Jardine Middle School PTO Meeting Minutes

Date: Tuesday, August 13, 2024

Time: 7:00 PM

Location: Jardine Middle School Cafeteria

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1. Welcome and Call to Order (~5 minutes)

- Introductions of Board Members and Attendees

-Officers for this school year introduced themselves and are as follows:

President- Michael McGuire

VP- Celena Ramirez

Treasurer- Jodi Wills

Secretary- Hannah Schumacher

-18 members were in attendance

- Review and Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes

-copies of the minutes were circulated. Jodi moved to approve the minutes this was seconded by Selena and approved by all in attendance.

2. Principal's Report (~10 minutes)

From Mr. Haag:

We’re off to a really good start yesterday and today; everything went smoothly. 503 total students enrolled as of 5pm today with the following numbers by grade level: 6th grade-170 students, 7th grade-158 student, 8th grade-175 students. Chromebooks were mostly passed out today and will finish passing them out tomorrow-including chargers for those who didn’t get one yet.

Picture day will be 8/20/24. Orders will be taken online with a link on the fb page with the needed school code. Flier will come home tomorrow. Retakes will be sometime in Oct. All students will take picture for the yearbook and school ID/synergy.

Thursday 8/29/24 will be a campus wide back to school night from 5:30-7pm with an 8th grade parent meeting at 6:30 regarding High School enrollment etc. PTO has tabled at this event in the past and combined with elementary to provide cookies to attendees.

Please remember to fill out the free reduced lunch form regardless of household income. This form is the basis for per pupil funding from the state. Only one form per family needs to be completed.

This evening there was an email regarding changes in the Middle School cell phone policy. It is now as follows: All middle schoolers must store cell phones in their lockers and they may only be used before/after school and during lunch. Consequences for not following this policy include: One opportunity to correct the behavior. If that doesn’t resolve the issue then, the phone will be turned into the office lockbox and picked up at the end of day by the student, for every instance after that a parent will have to pick up the phone from the office at the end of day. Several violations could result in lunch detentions, etc. Some students with medical needs will have different expectations for medical reasons. The Board of Education is currently looking at policy changes district wide regarding cell phone usage.

There are several new faces at Jardine including 8 teachers and 4 long term subs. These long term subs being treated like new teacher hires and attend trainings as such. HR is continuing to look for teacher candidates for the unfilled teacher positions currently held by long term subs.

From Ms. Hopp:

There is a list of rewards/items teachers and staff would appreciate during the year as opportunities arise for PTO to support staff. She will share those with PTO as needed.

AC report from Mr. Daniels:

Sports practices start on 8/19/24. Physicals have to be in before first games/competition. Practices times will be as follows:

football and volleyball - 2:45-5/5:15

tennis- 2:45-4:15

Cross Country- 2:45-4:15

Question arose about women’s wrestling and who to petition to get it added. Mr. Daniels shared that Dustin Dick was the best person to contact because he oversees all secondary athletics.

All 37 coaches for Jardine are from staff within the building.

There’s currently a district discussion about adding boys volleyball and girls flag football. Eisenhower is piloting an E sports program as well this year.

No formal decision on when to do the parent meeting for sports but thinking 8/29/24 to coincide with back to school night would be a good option.

Question was asked if communication/messaging could be sent out regarding game facilities, game day info and statistics? Mr. Daniels is looking at some programs that could do media regarding this but costs for the high end are about $600/year. It was shared that the Jardine sports portion of the school website is blank. This year coaches are required to have google classroom for sports that students will access. It will be decided later if parents will be given codes or will need to log in as their student.

3. Treasurer’s Report (~5 minutes)

- Financial Overview: current balance is $2669.35

- Budget Update:It was shared that in the past few years we’ve usually spend around 5k/yr on items such as:

teacher meals at conferences

teacher wishlist items

teacher appreciation week meals/treats, etc.

events such as 8th grade promotion and 8th grade dance

annual order of soccer socks for girls and boys soccer teams

4. Old Business (10 minutes)

- Follow-up on Previous Action Items (Bingo fundraiser)

In the past this has been an evening activity sometime right before spring break with a pizza dinner for purchase(?) and bingo cards for purchase

Previously cost $5/first bingo card and $1 thereafter

pizza dinner for a fee

silent auction/basket fundraiser with items sought from location businesses and baskets created through donations in AB classes

also had bingo prizes donated

PTO also discussed the following previous ideas:

-Concessions at athletic events: Mr. Hagg has a meeting within next few weeks regarding this and will report back.

-Dinner theater: The fall musical will be 11/14 and 11/15 at 6:30. If a dinner theater occurred it would need to be 11/14 and a coordinator would need to get with Mrs. Rowe to begin planning. It was also discussed providing a concession stand with items like popcorn, cotton candy, etc. instead of dinner.

-It was shared that SNCO parks/rec have requested to rent Jardine for sports this year and PTO could sell concessions during rental nights. PTO would have to clean up after and would need sign ups. Mr. Daniels will share rental night dates at next PTO meeting.

- Status of Ongoing Projects (do we have any?) none were shared

5. New Business (10 minutes)

Several people shared that they’d like to see Jardine Spiritwear. H & H designs was shared as a potential company to work with.

Back to School Night: PTO will table with the following ideas:

-handout @ all meetings for year and info about Bringing Bingo Night Back

-email signup for the Jardine.middle.pto@gmail.com emails and link to PTO website on school website

-raffle for free spiritwear for those who sign up for email communication

Next meeting: Bring ideas for fundraising and committees! Michael will email those who signed up emails regarding this as well.

• Fundraising (upcoming fundraisers, volunteer opportunities) restaurant nights

• Events & Activities (recap of past events, plans for upcoming events)

• Membership (recruitment and drives)

• Communications Committee (Website and Social Media Updates) Brenda will contact Ariel and share Michael McGuire’s contact info to get him linked to all these accounts

6. Open Forum/Q&A (10 minutes)

DCAC description was shared. If anyone is interested in joining or taking over Michael or Hannah’s spot, email Mr. Haag. Currently Michael McGuire, Hannah Schumacher and Sarah Meyers are representatives for Jardine Middle School.

Will we have School Sk8away nights this year? Selena will call and see about this after getting potential dates from Mr. Hagg

For the future, on the First day for next year for 8th graders who attend class at Topeka High, could there be communication regarding what students and families can expect? Already on Mr. Haag’s list

7. Announcements (5 minutes)

- Next Meeting Date and Time: Tuesday, September 10, 7:00 PM

8. Adjournment

-Meeting was adjourned by Michael about 8:15pm

Follow this link to become familiar with our student handbook! This should answer most questions you will have!

https://cdnsm5-ss11.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_8259061/Image/JMS%20Planners%20handbook%2024-25.pdf

We Support Equal Opportunities

The Topeka Public Schools, Unified School District No. 501 is committed to affirmative action and equal opportunity. No person shall, on the basis of age, race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, disability, national origin or ancestry be denied lawful access to any appropriate educational service, program, or activity provided by the school district. For students, the Title VI, Title IX, and Section 504 compliance coordinator is the General Counsel for the district. For employment, the EEO/AA and Title VII compliance officer is the general director of human resources. Compliance coordinators may be contacted at 624 S.W. 24th Street, Topeka, KS 66611-1294, (785) 295-3000. The clerk of the Board of Education has been designated to receive and redirect or handle inquiries regarding nondiscrimination policies, regulations, and procedures. The clerk may be contacted by calling (785) 295-3059 or by writing to 624 S.W. 24th Street, Topeka, Kansas 66611-1294.