Jaguar Journal

Martin Luther King Jr. Day: School is Closed on Monday, January 20th.

Central v. Centennial: Tonight is the Central/Centennial Girls and Boys Game at Centennial High School. As a reminder, middle school students MUST have a current Student ID AND be accompanied by their PARENT/GUARDIAN.

Future Freshman Night: Future Freshman Night at Central & Centennial will be on Wednesday, January 22 starting at 6pm. All 8th Graders and their families are invited.

Cell Phone Survey: Parents & Guardians, please take some time to fill out our Parent Cell Phone Survey to let us know your thoughts.

eLearning: With the cold weather coming later this weekend please review our eLearning plan.

• eLearning Support for Families

• Unit 4's eLearning Procedures

• Unit 4's eLearning District Expectations

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.

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.

• MLK Jr. Holiday, January 20 (No School)

• Early Out (12:35), February 3

• NAAPID, February 10

• President's Day, February 17 (No School)

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.

Donations can be dropped off in the main office.

Did you get any unwanted toiletries over the holidays? You can donate it to Jefferson and our students will gladly use them. (i.e. body spray, lotion, hand sanitizer, deodorant, etc.)

Also, our classrooms could benefit with more boxes of facial tissue (Kleenex) and sanitizing wipes (Clorox wipes).

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.

We had a blast bowling and bonding this week at Old Orchard Lanes & Links. A huge shout out to the families that donated funds to make sure ALL students could go on the trip. It takes a village, and we are grateful for ours.

The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD) will host a free dental clinic at Jefferson Middle School on March 5-7, 2025. The deadline for signing up is Wednesday, February 5, 2025. Parents do not need to be present for their student to participate in the clinic. Parents do need to give their consent and they can do so at the following sign-up links:

English: https://form.jotform.com/241134496849163

French: https://form.jotform.com/241135350557149

Spanish: https://form.jotform.com/241134505428147

Have you ever considered becoming a mentor with CU 1 to 1 Mentoring? We currently have several students who could benefit from a little extra support & encouragement from a caring adult. Mentoring involves meeting with the student 1 hour a week during the school year to play games, talk, do crafts or play sports. There are upcoming training sessions in January and February. If you’re interested or have questions, contact Erica Kirstein kirsteer@u4sd.org.

MathCounts: Next meeting is January 23rd.

Congratulations to the JMS Dance Team on their CLEAN SWEEP! Two first place wins at their regional competition in Eureka both in Hip Hop and Pom! The team qualified to compete at State Finals in the Junior High Hip Hop category. Congrats dancers!

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

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 COZY20

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