Jaguar Journal

MAP Testing: We will be MAP testing and taking our midyear Panorama survey on December 9th and 10th.

MTD IDs: Students MUST HAVE their ID in order to ride the MTD bus. If a student loses their ID, they will need to get a new one at a cost of $2. New IDs can be purchased in the main office. IDs will not be sold during or after dismissal time.

Community Events: Here is the link on the Unit 4 website of different events happening in our community. This will be updated each month so please be sure to check it out.

Club/Event Reminder: If your student is attending a club or a sporting event please make sure you are picking them up on time. Our staff works long hours and when students are not picked up on time, they have to stay and wait for students to be picked up.

Focused Learning Statement

Jefferson Middle School students will expand their content area vocabulary knowledge in order to increase reading comprehension of informational and literary texts.

Words have power; use them wisely.

• MAP Testing, December 9th & 10th

• Scholastic Book Fair Dec. 9-13

• Early Out (2:05), December 19 & 20

• Winter Break, December 23-January 3

• Institute Days, January 6 & 7 (No Student Attendance)

• Early Out (12:35), January 13

Please be sure that students are dressing for the weather. If the feels like temperature is above 20 degrees we may be going out for recess. It is important that students are wearing protective winter attire. If you know someone in need of a coat, hat, or gloves reach out to the school.

Each year during the holidays, we would like to show our appreciation to all our Teachers and Staff at Jefferson, as they go above and beyond for our students! We would like to help Principal Freeman fill his Santa Bag with Gift Cards for the Jefferson Team! They can be in $5, $10, $15, $20+ increment per card as they will be selected at random. The cards can be dropped off at the main office at Jefferson with Mr. Freeman's name on the envelope. We will be collecting them now until the 13th as the drawings will be the week of the 16th.

You can also make a donation on MemberHub and we can purchase the Gift Cards for you as well! Thank you in advance for your help in donations! Happy Holidays! PTSA https://jmsptsa.memberhub.com/store/items/511950

Please know that the offices can no longer pass messages to students past 2:00pm. We risk students not getting the message.

If you need to get a message to your student through the offices, please call us before 2:00pm.

Thank you!

Please use the following phone number when calling in your student for an absence: 217-351-3786 or email Mrs. Madden at maddenli@u4sd.org.

The Centennial High School Football Team and Boys Basketball Team came and spoke to interested 8th graders about high school expectations as a student athlete. They discussed grades, attitude, work ethic, program expectations, and more. The Centennial Girls Basketball Team will meet with interested 8th grade girls next week.

Our 6th grade students will be going on two field trips soon: to the UIUC Ice Arena and Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. Permission slips and the $10 fee were due before Thanksgiving break, so please turn it in ASAP if you haven't already. We are so excited for these opportunities! Thank you so much to the families that donated funds to sponsor students on this trip.

Our 6th grade families are the BEST! Thank you to all that signed up to bring supplies for decorating cookies on the last day before break. We are so grateful for the family support. It takes a village!

In 6th grade social studies, we learned about Stone Age diets and made our very own Stone Age menus. Our wonderful Helena P. even made and brought in one of her Stone Age creations to share with the class: Banana Coconut Balls!

MathCounts: Next meeting is January 9th.

Keep up to date with Jefferson Athletics on Facebook! Follow for try-outs announcements and schedules/game updates!

The JMS library will host a Scholastic Book Fair from December 9 to 13! Please visit this link for more information and to preview some of the titles Scholastic will have available for purchase! If you have any questions or would like to help with the fair, don't hesitate to contact our Library Media Specialist, Ms. Tee, at teeca@u4sd.org.

If you would like to purchase some Jefferson Apparel take a look at our school store!! The store has a large variety and you can order ANYTIME. Order soon to get 20% off with code SPIRIT20

The following are the names and contact information for the administrators and counselors who will be working with each grade level. They will be your first point of contact for any student concerns, questions, etc. that should arise.

• Principal: Kyle Freeman (freemaky@u4sd.org)

• Associate Principal: Megan Kirby (kirbyme@u4sd.org)

• 6th Grade:

• Mark Butler, Dean of Students (butlerma@u4sd.org)

• Abby Fadelle, Counselor (fadellab@u4sd.org)

• 7th Grade:

• Jeremy Wills, Assistant Principal (willsje@u4sd.org)

• Todd Griffith, Counselor (griffito@u4sd.org)

• 8th Grade:

• Taylor Foltz, AD/Dean (foltzta@u4sd.org)
  

• Jessica Joyner, Counselor (joynerje@u4sd.org)
  

• MTSS Counselor: Whitley Tate, Counselor (tatewh@u4sd.org)

• When dropping your student off in the morning you may drop off in the circle drive or anywhere around Jefferson. Please me mindful to not block traffic in the morning. All students will enter through the main entrance of Jefferson.

• During pick up DO NOT park in the circle drive. MTD and district buses park in the circle drive starting at 2:20. We dismiss at 2:35 and students can exit using their nearest exit of the building.

• Parking in the staff parking lots in order to drop off and/or pick up your student before or after school is NOT ALLOWED. If you are dropping off your student before school for practice or rehearsal, you must drop them off in the circle drive, and they have to enter through the main entrance Do not pull through the service drive.

• Do NOT BLOCK TRAFFIC FLOW IN AND OUT of the circle drive at any time
  

Lunch time at the Middle School is a time where students can eat (lunch is free for all Unit 4 students), socialize appropriately, and take a "brain break" from their school day.

Please note: Students are not allowed to order from food delivery services during their lunch times because they cannot exit building doors to retrieve the items. IF food is ordered (by either the student OR family) and delivered in the Main Office, your students will not receive their food order. Thank you for understanding. Food deliveries cause multiple challenges for our staff, so we appreciate your adherence to this request.

Cell Phone usage in schools has been a nationwide "hot topic." Everyone from the federal government to the surgeon general is weighing in.

The fact of the matter is this: Cell Phone usage in classrooms/schools can be distracting from the learning environment, and can also be harmful to mental/social health.

Jefferson Middle School will be following our Unit 4 School Board Policy regarding Cell Phone usage. Please review the Cell Phone & Electronic Device Guidelines with your student(s).

We encourage you to speak with your student(s) about cell phones. Cell phones will not be aloud at any point throughout the day at Jefferson, this includes lunch. Cell Phones should ideally be put in a student's locker or in a binder. They should not be sitting out on a desk/table.

Is your student concerned about their safety or the safety of others? Securly is a program the district uses for students to report issues around safety. Students can access this program through email, phone, website or app. See below for access information.

• Download the Securly Tipline app from the App Store or Google Play

• Call or text 1-833-300-STOP

• Email tipline@securly.com

• Follow this link: securly.com/tip

Home Access Center (HAC) is a great way to get information about your students' grades, attendance, class assignments, etc.!

Please read the one-pager below and feel free to watch the short videos about Home Access Center.

HAC One-Pager for Families

HAC Introduction Video
Checking Schedules and Grades Video
Checking Attendance Video