Dust Devil Weekly

Once again this school year we will be focused on improving school wide attendance at JMMS! Each week we will report out our daily attendance rates. Our goal is to be above 96% each day...we can do it!

Monday 1/20: No School

Tuesday 1/21: 85.57%

Wednesday 1/22: 86.82%

Thursday 1/23: 91.02%

Friday 1/24: 87.28%

GRADE LEVEL ATTENDANCE WINNER THIS WEEK: 8TH GRADE!

PERFECT ATTENDANCE WINNERS:

Did you know that an Excused absence is the same as an Unexcused absence for a student? If your child is going to be out for an extended amount of time, you can request and Independent Study Contract. This contract acts as attendance for the time they are not in school, as well as, allowing students to stay on top of their studies!

- Students and staff prepared for our Yondr Rollout on Monday, January 27. Look for your child to have their Yondr Pouch in their backpack on Monday afternoon!

- Thank. you to the San Diego Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Unit for the valuable presentation at JMMS on Wednesday, January 22nd. We appreciate the useful resources that you shared. For those who were unable to attend, click here for parenting tips and resources and/or visit https://www.icactaskforce.org/ for more information.

-Valentine Grams will be on sale for $3. They will include a carnation, a bracelet and a ring pop!

- In science, grade 8 students enriched their understanding of the cross-cutting concept, focusing on "systems" thinking. They played a game that got them to identify system parts, inputs, outputs, and interactions within. This hands-on approach made the learning process exciting and relatable.

• Parent Volunteers NEEDED for our Winter Wonderland Dance on Friday, February 7. Please contact Mrs. Tompkins if you would like to help.
• If your child sold See's Candy online as a part of our fundraiser during the Holidays, please email Mrs. Tompkins with any names so she can give credit to your child for the sales. You can email her at dtompkins@alpineschools.net
• ASB is looking for any donations of candy for rewards during our Spirit Days. If you would like to donate any candy to our JMMS ASB, please send it in and make sure it has a note that states it is for our ASB class! Thanks in advance for your support!

This week the 5th graders from Shadow Hills and Boulder Oaks will be visiting JMMS! This year they will have a 6th grade "buddy" and will shadow part of the school day with that friend. Our ASB has also planned a Spirit Assembly and they will eat lunch with our 6th graders as well. In preparation of 3 days of special visitors, our cafeteria is planning on serving pizza lunch for Tuesday-Thursday of this week at JMMS. Luckily, most of our students choose pizza daily! They will still have some salad options available as well. Thank you to our cafeteria for helping to make these days a success for our 5th and 6th graders!

Freshman Showcase - February 5th, 5:00pm to 7:30pm at Granite Hills HS

Freshman showcase is an opportunity for families to come visit our campus and see what our school has to offer. Families will be able to get information on curriculum, athletics, clubs, information about our PTSA and much more. Please refer to the attached flyer for the event.

Register Your Student(s) at Granite Hills

Enrollment to Granite Hills High School is now open. Follow the instructions below to begin that process. (Registration is not required to attend our showcase).

1. Go to bit.ly/GUHSDRegister to begin the registration process through our district. Complete all sections and click the red “Submit” button when finished. District staff will process your registration within 5 - 10 business days.
2. After your registration is processed, you will receive an email to create an Infinite Campus Parent Portal Account. This account allows you to check your student’s schedule, attendance, grades, etc. throughout the school year.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing many of you here at Granite Hills High School!

The Alpine Education Foundation is excited to invite students to participate in the upcoming STEAM Fair at Joan MacQueen Middle School on February 1st! This is a fantastic opportunity for students to showcase their creativity and innovation by submitting an age-appropriate science project for the fair or hosting a vendor booth to share or sell their businesses, creations, or inventions. We encourage all students to get involved and be part of this inspiring event! Click on this link to learn more and register your student.

We know that the colder weather is upon us. We wanted to give families a reminder that students are not allowed to bring blankets to school. Unfortunately, the blankets have become a distraction on campus. Students should focus on jackets, sweaters, or sweatshirts to stay warm. We do allow hats including beanies. Thank you for your continued support.

We appreciate your patience as we put all of the pieces in place to get our JOAN MACQUEEN PTA MEMBERSHIP DRIVE underway! And....it is time! Our Membership Drive has begun! You can join online beginning NOW for just $15 a membership. We have set a goal of 200 members and we are well on our way with already 50 members! Please consider joining our newly formed PTA. PTA is a vital part of any school community and JMMS is excited to have a PTA back on campus to support our students, staff and greater school community! We will be hyping up the students by hosting a little membership competition. The grade level with the most memberships will receive a MEGA ICE CREAM SUNDAE SOCIAL! The second place grade level will receive ice cream cone party and the third place will receive a popsicle party. We want to reward all grade levels as this is an exciting time for JMMS and our newly formed PTA! You can join by using the link here:

https://jointotem.com/ca/alpine/joan-macqueen-pta/join

We are excited to announce that our 6th grade class will be attending Camp Cuyamaca from March 17-21, 2025! We know that is months away; however, because the week has a cost of $350 we like to give our families the time to start making payments asap. If you would like to start making payments or pay for camp in full, you can pay cash or make a check payable to Joan MacQueen Middle School beginning now. You can bring the cash or check to the JMMS office. Time to start getting excited for camp!

As we begin the year, it is important to remind your student that they need to have their Chromebook each day charged and in their backpack. While we know that we want our middle schoolers to work on becoming more independent, we also know that it takes time. So, as they work to develop these skills, please help them by giving them reminders nightly to charge their Chromebooks and then to put it in their backpack in the morning. Thanks for your continued support!

JMMS is excited to offer Spirit wear for our Dust Devils! You can find offers and options here:

https://macqueenmiddlespiritwear.com/

Tues 1/28: School Site Council Meeting

Tues 1/28-Thurs 1/30: 5th Grade Visits to JMMS