Family Update - September 8, 2024

Dear Families,

On Friday, we were inspired and entertained by Dr. Buddy Berry. Students enjoyed his presentation, and we hope they shared details with you! Many thanks to the UAEd Foundation, our Jones PTO, the Hastings PTO, and Partnership for All for bringing him to both middle schools!

We have class meetings this week during Flex, and Service Learning Day on Friday! We are excited!

Please check out pictures from last week below. It was a good one!

Warm regards,

Aimee White, Principal

Keona Walker, Assistant Principal

Here is the link to Jones Weekend Update: https://youtu.be/qrW7_hSF7nY?feature=shared

In light of the tragic school shooting in Georgia this week, we wanted to reshare some information about our safety plans.

Safety preparedness: Safety is our top priority for all students and staff in our schools. We make every effort to be prepared for every possible type of emergency by regularly conducting safety drills and collaborating with our school resource officers and the Upper Arlington Police Division. Collaboration with families and local safety officials are critically important, and we are grateful for the strong partnerships in place in our community. You can learn more about our safety preparedness and prevention efforts at www.uaschools.org/safety.

Reporting concerns: We also reinforce with all students and staff members the importance of reporting any suspicious or concerning activity. We encourage all students, staff members and family members to share their concerns either by phone or email. Students and family members can also file a report through our STAY SAFE, SPEAK UP! reporting system. In addition to the link in this email, you can also find the SPEAK UP! system linked to our website and available in ClassLink on all student iPads. Reports filed through this system can be made anonymously. If your safety concern requires immediate attention from law enforcement, please call 911.

The district has assessed course fees and they are available to pay online. These courses include:

Science (6, 7 and 8) and physical science, language arts (6, 7 and 8) and Concilium, tech ed, art, life skills, French 1 and German 1. If your child is taking one or more of these classes, please go onto EZ Pay and pay fees for this year. Thank you!

MATH COUNTS club is for any Jones student who loves math! MATH COUNTS is a nation-wide middle school mathematics competition that builds problem-solving skills and fosters achievement through four levels of fun, in-person "bee" style contests. Our second meeting will be at 7:30am on Friday, September 13th in Mr. Shininger's room (246). Typically we will meet on Fridays before school, but that schedule is subject to change. Contact Mr. Shininger at bshininger@uaschools.org with any questions!

Please go to: https://shop.hrimaging.com

Validation is an especially useful tool in helping your student feel heard and maintaining an open line of communication with your student. A good rule of thumb is “feelings first, logic last”. Some validating statements to try BEFORE offering suggestions or solutions:

• I can tell this is important to you.
• I can see how that might make you feel (insert emotion here).
• It must feel very difficult for you to be in this situation.

What validation does not mean…

• you agree with everything your child is saying.
• you can no longer set limits.
• you are trying to make your child feel happy or change their distress emotions to positive emotions.

With the youth and middle school seasons fast approaching, the UA Girls Basketball high school coaching staff is excited to offer our annual preseason youth skills clinic for 2024. This fun filled and high energy three-day session will focus on core fundamentals, individual skill development and foundational habits. If your daughter is unable to attend all three sessions due to conflicts, please prorate the correct amount based on $30.00 per session.

Where: Upper Arlington High School
Dates: Sept 28, Oct 5, Oct 19
Time: 8:30 - 10am
Cost: $90.00

For payment, please Venmo to @uagirlsbasketball or bring a check on day 1. Please make the check payable to "UA Lady Bears Basketball". To register, please click here: https://forms.gle/5szfQTxKqzXVzKiB9

If registering multiple children, please complete one form per player.

Each player is required to bring an indoor ball (size 28.5) and water bottle to the session.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

When you visit Jones and need to move about the building for a meeting or event, you need to have your SafeSchool ID or driver's license. Your SafeSchool ID from Tremont or Barrington will not work at Jones. The first time you come, please bring your driver's license so you can sign in for Jones and then it will show up in your wallet on your phone, if you would like to use that option. Thank you!

Camp fees and forms should have been turned as of September 6th. If your student is not planning on going to 6th grade camp (we hope all do), you still have to complete the forms in PowerSchool and be sure to mark "Not Attending". Remember that all medication forms should be turned in to Nurse Johnson by September 13th. We are two weeks away and so excited to see your students in the beautiful Hocking Hills. Please refer to the attached PDF for information that was shared last week. You can reach out to Laurie Sutherin (lsutherin@uaschools.org) or Karl Kirkpatrick (kkirkpatrick@uaschools.org) if you have any questions.

If your child requires medication while at camp, please submit forms/meds to Nurse Shannon by 9/13/2024 - this is a hard deadline to ensure that dosages/times can be verified. The deadline is the same for both 6E and 6W.

For prescription medication, the

Prescribed Medication Authorization Form

must be completed by parent and provider for each medication.

For over-the-counter medications that you are sending, please complete the medication plan and indicate if your camper is administering the medication/s.

Please call 614-487-5091 or email snjohnson@uaschools.org with any questions. An email with more info was sent on 9/3/2024 to refer to as well.

Thanks!

We are excited to offer a trip to Washington, DC for the 8th-grade class from May 13 to 16, 2025! In order to prepare for the trip, there is a MANDATORY parent and student meeting on October 1, 2024 at 7:30 pm in the JMS auditorium. This is a required meeting that we have been advertising since June. Please make sure it is on your calendar so that the date and time are reserved for this meeting. You will hear some details about the trip, learn about the registration process, and complete a required form. PLEASE BRING A PEN! If you have questions, please contact Frau (Christy) Charlton: ccharlton@uaschools.org.

If you are absolutely unable to attend the meeting at Jones on 10/1, please attend the meeting at Hastings on 10/2 at 7:30.

See you in October!

SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER 2024

September 13 - Service Learning Fair, Lunch Periods

September 13 - 8th Grade Band @ UAHS, 7pm

September 18 - Early Dismissal Day, 1:30pm

September 23 - 26 - 6th Grade Camp

September 30 - October 14 - Golden Bear Spirit Fundraiser

October 2 - Picture Makeups/Retakes

October 7 - PTO Meeting, 8:30am

October 7 - Packing for the Streets, 3:30pm

October 10 - End of Quarter 1

October 11 - No School for Students

October 14 - No School - Teacher Work Day

October 16 - Fall Athletic Recognition Night (see coaches for time and place)

October 18 - 20 - Fall Production

October 22 - Parent/Student Ski Club Meeting, 7pm