Family Update - March 23, 2025

Dear Families,

Many thanks to the PTO volunteers who helped during Belonging Week - it was a hit! Thank you to our PTO for providing a lunchtime DJ on Monday and popsicles for students on Friday. Both were greatly appreciated and enjoyed!

We begin QTR 4 on Tuesday, and it typically feels like a sprint to the finish. Spring at Jones is a fun and wonderful time. It is also extremely busy! Please reach out if you or your students need assistance along the way. We can help!

Our 8th graders will have their class picture taken this coming Friday during Flex. We look forward to seeing everyone Tuesday morning!

Warm regards,

Aimee and Keona

Here is the link to Jones Weekend Update: https://youtu.be/jHVpPq-cm6s

Testing season is upon us and we are confident in our students’ readiness. While state tests provide us with valuable information, they are only one indicator of students’ abilities. Therefore, we want students to put forth their best effort without being stressed. Please encourage your student(s) to:

• Believe in their own abilities

• Charge their ipads fully at night

• Get proper rest each night before testing

• Eat a healthy breakfast

We will run an adjusted schedule, so please make sure your students are on time to school. More information will be provided as we prepare for each test. Testing will begin with the Language Arts exam on April 9th and April 10th.

Please join us in the UAHS gymnasium on Friday, April 4th for our third annual Volley for a Cause volleyball game. This fun filled volleyball game will be played between the staff at Jones and Hastings (with some help from our students!). Ticket sale proceeds will benefit Special Olympics and Best Buddies programs. Students in both schools are learning about the important role that both organizations play in the community leading up to the event.

Doors will open for the event at 6:45pm, and the game will begin at 7pm and conclude at 8pm. Tickets will be sold during lunch periods at both schools the week of the event - March 31st- April 4th. Tickets are $5 - cash only.

We will also have a concession stand at the event! We will donate all proceeds from food and drink sales to the organizations as well. If you would like to sign up to donate items for the concession stand to help our causes, please use the sign-up genius link attached.

We hope you will join us for this fun community event to support a great cause!

This week students wrapped up an action packed volleyball unit, it's always so much fun to see how much we grow and learn during this team based activity. Congratulations to our Grade 6 Tournament winners. Period 2 - The Eagles and Period 8 - The Dolphins

There will be a preseason informational meeting for the Boys Golf Team. Any 8th Grade boy interested in trying out for the High School boys 2025-26 season should attend.

The meeting will be held on Sunday, March 30th, at 7:00 PM in the UAHS North Commons. Please enter the doors at the front of the building on Zollinger Rd. The North commons area is located through the first doors on the right.

This semester, we are thrilled to introduce the Career Explorations Speaker Series. This optional program will take place during Flex in the JMS cafeteria, providing students with the chance to learn from professionals in a variety of fields and gain insights into potential career paths. Students can sign up for sessions with speakers that interest them by visiting this link: Career Explorations Speaker Series Sign Up. Here's the dynamic list of our JMS speaker series open to all grade levels:

• March 26, Meghan Moledor, PMP (Pharmaceutical Scientist)

• April 1, Dr. Kelly Tyler (Dermatologist/Physician)

• April 2, Angela Morelli (LISW-S; Clinical Social Worker)

• April 14, Dr. Elizabeth Griffith (Professor of Earth Sciences at The Ohio State University)

Please don't forget that the final payment for the trip is due by March 14th.

As announced in the fall, the MANDATORY final/pre-departure parent/student meeting is April 30th at 7:30 pm. Please put it on your calendar now if it isn't already on it. If you absolutely can not make it to that meeting, you can attend the HMS meeting on May 1 at 7:30 pm at Hastings. This option is not ideal as you will not hear specifics about the Jones trip nor get to meet your child's chaperone.

Tomb of the Unknowns Writing Contest 2025

On March 26th during Flex, 8th-grade students will have an opportunity to write an essay responding to the following prompt, "What would it mean to you to lay the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery?" Based on their responses, four students will be selected to lay the wreath during our visit to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington, D.C. Participation is voluntary. The students will be writing their essay on paper, not on their iPads. They are not allowed to use notes or previously written texts when completing the work, but can think about what they will write and brainstorm ideas.

Responses will be scored according to the following criteria:

Creativity - The response presents a unique and interesting perspective and may include an anecdote or extended metaphor, for example.

Personal Connection - The response demonstrates a meaningful personal reason explaining the student’s desire to be a wreath layer. The response demonstrates how the student’s life will be impacted by the opportunity.

Format & Mechanics - The essay is easy to read and understand. Student has made a reasonable effort to correct errors in spelling, sentence structure, and grammar.

Keeping your student healthy and safe is our priority. Please complete the DC Health Form for the school nurse to prepare for your student’s well being:

1. Log into your Parent PowerSchool account

2. Navigate to Student Forms

3. Ensure that 2024-2025 Enrollment forms have been submitted (DC Health Form cannot be accessed until this information has been completed)

4. Scroll down to DC Health Form to complete the form and submit ** you will need all your child’s medication information to complete this form** (you will no longer need to provide insurance information). Please note: you must indicate ‘yes’ your child takes medications outside of the school day for the section to open up to be completed. The prescription medication form is hyperlinked in this section.

5. This form opens Friday, February 14. Please complete one form for each student as soon as possible. It will close prior to Spring Break on Friday, March 14, to allow the nursing staff time to organize and process this important information. You will receive a weekly reminder to help with this first step of preparation for our trip.

6. If you are having technical difficulties, you may contact familytechhelp@uaschools.org

7. Any other questions, please contact your school nurse Shannon Johnson at snjohnson@uaschools.org

If your baby is graduating 8th grade this year, send in a photo and some words of encouragement for the Jones yearbook! The cost is $20, and the funds raised go towards scholarships for camps and school trips for Jones students.

The deadline to submit is March 15th, but we do have limited space in the yearbook pages, so don't delay!

*Please send in only one tribute per student to allow for as many students as possible to get a spot.

Link to our page on Local Level Events

If you have any questions, email Alice Speegle at aspeegle@uaschools.org

PowerSchool CyberSecurity Incident Update - Students and Families

As you may recall, PowerSchool was the target of a cybersecurity incident that resulted in the exfiltration of data from the Students and Teachers tables for some PowerSchool SIS customers by an unauthorized user. Upper Arlington City Schools was impacted by this incident.

All current and former students and their parents/guardians qualify for free credit monitoring through Experian due to the December cybersecurity incident.

PowerSchool has made the final CrowdStrike Incident report available for everyone’s review. Please click here to read the communication from Powerschool and to sign up for the free credit monitoring. Some students, parents and guardians may have already received this information in an email. If you have not received direct communication, please review the above linked information. PowerSchool has extended the sign-up deadline for the Experian credit monitoring services to July 31, 2025.

IEP Progress Reports: Elementary and Secondary (parents)

Unfortunately, the Progress Report icon in PowerSchool has been eliminated. This was out of Upper Arlington’s control. In order to access your child’s IEP progress report, your child’s intervention specialist or speech language pathologist will share the report after each reporting period. You should receive the 3rd quarter progress report via SameGoal by March 25th.

Transportation Questions: schoolbusquestions@uaschools.org or call 614-487-6477

Upper Arlington Schools Lunch Information link: https://www.uaschools.org/NutritionalServices.aspx

PowerSchool Parent Portal: https://ps-uar.metasolutions.net/public/home.html

If you need assistance logging into PowerSchool, you may reach out to: Building Secretary Melissa Thien at mthien@uaschools.org or familytechhelp@uaschools.org

Student Fees/SPS EZpay: https://www.spsezpay.com/upperarlington/login.aspx

MARCH & APRIL 2025

March 24 - No School - Teacher Work Day

March 25 - 4th Quarter Begins

March 28 - 8th Grade Class Picture, Flex

April 4 - Volley for a Cause

April 7 - PTO Meeting, 8:30am

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

April 9 & 10 - Language Arts Ohio State Tests, All Grades, Special Schedule

April 11 - 8th Grade Shadowing Day

April 11 - Career Day

April 18 - No School

April 22 & 23 - Math Ohio State Tests, All Grades, Special Schedule

April 24 - Spring Band Concert, Grades 6 - 8, 7:30pm

April 25 - Service Learning Hours Due

April 29 - Science Ohio State Tests, 8th Grade Only

April 30 - Parent/Student DC Required Meeting, 7:30pm