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 2/17: NO SCHOOL

Tuesday 2/18: 92.73%

Wednesday 2/19: 93.98%

Thursday 2/20: 92.23%

Friday 2/21: 91.48%

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!

- Finally some beautiful weather for our Dust Devils to enjoy in the quad!

- Students preparing for the end of Trimester 2 on campus! The Trimester ends this coming Friday, February 28th. Look for report cards on Wednesday, March 5 on StudentVue!

AUSD is in the process of planning for the upcoming school year. As a small school district, even minor changes in enrollment can significantly impact staffing decisions. To help us prepare effectively, we are asking for your input to confirm whether your child will be returning for the 2025-2026 school year. Please complete a separate survey for each child. Surveys must be submitted by Friday, February 28th. Thank you for your time and assistance in helping us plan for a successful school year.

JMMS Form

This year we are excited to announce that our 8th Grade Promotion will take place on Wednesday, June 4th at 4 pm. As many families know, we usually have our Promotion on the last day of school early in the morning. However, this year that would fall at the same time as Granite Hills' Graduation ceremony. We know that many of our families will be celebrating their graduating Seniors that morning so we have decided to celebrate our promoting 8th Graders the afternoon before. We are excited to have our ceremony at a special after school event. We look forward to seeing you all there!

It is time for Open Enrollment at Creekside for the Dual Language TK and Kindergarten programs. Space is limited so if you are interested, contact Creekside to sign up now!

Historian Carter G. Woodson launched Black History Week in 1926 to recognize the significant contributions of African Americans during the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln (February 12) and abolitionist/writer Frederick Douglass (February 14). Congress expanded it to National Black History Month 50 years later during the nation’s bicentennial celebration at which time then-President Gerald Ford urged the country to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history."

https://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2025/black-history-month.html

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/

Weds 2/26 - Anything but a Backpack Day

Fri 2/28 - Trimester 2 Ends

Weds 3/5- Trimester 2 Report Cards Posted to Student Vue