Howdy Longhorns,

Week two of the new school year at Dr. John Long Middle School has flown by! Students are settling into their routines, working hard, and exemplifying our PBIS expectations. A huge thanks to our dedicated faculty and staff for making the start of the 24-25 school year such a success.

Important Reminders:

• Florida Heat: Remind student to dress comfortably and bring a water bottle to stay hydrated.
• Car Loop Tips: Arrive early, avoid using phones, and follow staff directions for safety. Use the interior lane only for drop-off/pick-up, and avoid using the school road between JLMS and WRES.
• Student Phone Usage: Phones can only be used before/after school or with teacher permission for classwork. Students should remove earbuds/ headphones and place phones in backpacks as soon as they enter campus. They should keep them off and out of sight during class and passing periods.
• Student Dress Code: Shirts must have straps and cover the waist; no halter tops, crop tops, or visible undergarments. Bottoms should be long enough to fully cover the buttocks.

• Horseplay: Please talk to your students about avoiding horseplay. It can lead to accidents or injuries, and we want to keep everyone safe.
  

We’re excited to see all of our Longhorns back tomorrow ready to learn and grow. Thanks for your continued support!

With Appreciation,
JLMS Administration

P.S. Watch for weekly editions of our newsletter via myStudent and social media.

PTSA Reminder: In order for your child to purchase a dance ticket during the scheduled lunch ticket sale dates next week, each student will need to submit a permission slip and transportation form (Form 166 and Form 166 e) with their ticket money. These two forms are required by the school. Please complete the attached forms and place the forms in an envelope with your child's dance money and place this in your child's backpack if your child intends to purchase a ticket. Ticket costs are as follows: $8 members, $10 non-members, and $13 for ticket/membership bundle. In addition, there are a few volunteer slots open if your are an approved volunteer and would like to assist at the dance. Please use the sign up genius link posted on the volunteer page of our website. jlms.givebacks.com

There are two ways to drop off/pick up your student in the AM & PM: pulling up in the interior lane of car loop or parking in a space where students cross in the crosswalk.

*The school road between JLMS & WRES and the street corners at the Ridge may NOT be used to drop off or pick up students. This is a major safety issue.*

IMPORTANT: Parents/Guardians should stay in the interior lane of the car loop closest to the sidewalk and pull all the way forward to the front of the car loop which is located right across from the band room. Students may only exit from the passenger side of the vehicle. Parents may not allow students to exit vehicles in the exterior lane closest to the lot spaces. This is a major safety issue. Parents may also park in the parking lot and walk their child to the crosswalk. A staff member will safely cross your child to the sidewalk. Student drop off begins at 8:50 am.

As we prepare to start the new school year, I want to remind everyone of the importance of

pedestrian safety at the start of the school day and at dismissal. This is especially important this school year, as we expect to have more students walking and riding bikes to school with the elimination of courtesy busing.

If you drive your student to school, please be extra careful in the school zone near our campus.

Students are often in a rush to get to school and they are often distracted, so drivers should

exercise a heightened sense of awareness.

Please join us in reminding your student of some basic rules of pedestrian safety.

•We will not have a crossing guard assigned to our school this year, so our students

should always use the marked crosswalks in front of our school.

• Do not cut between cars that are stopped in front of school.

• Phones should not be used in the car line. Eliminate distractions while crossing the street. Earbuds or earphones should be taken off. Avoid reading or sending texts while crossing.

• Make eye contact with drivers to ensure that they see you before you cross the street.

With patience and with a commitment to following some simple safety rules drivers, cyclists,

and walkers can get where they need to go safely and on time.

Students should not submit more than one schedule change request or send emails to counselors as it slows down the completion process. We are working diligently to complete schedule change requests as soon as possible. We aim to get schedules corrected or requests addressed as soon as possible and notify you whether or not the change is possible. Thank you so much for your patience.

Rycor via MyStudent Parent Portal Set-Up Steps

Interested in paying for things such as students fees, yearbooks, and field trips online in the comfort of your own home with a credit card?

Then follow the steps below to get started. Your MyStudent Parent Portal is also necessary to view your child’s attendance, progress reports, and report cards.

Rycor is a secure, streamlined system (replacing Acorn) and enables parents to add school purchases to their shopping cart for multiple children at different schools, and complete transactions through the use of a credit card. This does NOT include lunch payments.

Step 1: Set up a MyStudent Parent Portal Account
*In order to use Rycor (see Step 2) you need to give the system 24 hours to link your Parent Portal account to the Rycor system*

Step 2: Student Fees/Rycor (24 hours after initial set up in MyStudent Parent Portal)

• Go to https://www.studentquickpay.com/pasco/
• In the blue Parent Account Activation box, select “Continue”
• Enter the email address associated with your Parent Portal account and select “send email”
• This will generate an email that prompts you to activate your account
• Open your email and click the link
• Continue by creating your password and activating your account
• Once this is completed, you can view fees and items that can be purchased

Please note, this will NOT change the process for putting funds on your student’s meal account. In order to do so you will still go through MySchool Bucks.

Step 3: Ready to Use

• Sign into your MyStudent Parent Portal

Example of what you will see when you sign in:

You will then sign into Rycor, using the e-mail address associated with your MyStudent
Parent Portal account

• Select your child’s name from the tab next to the summary tab
• Scroll down to additional items and select the item you are wanting to pay for
• Follow check out directions (very similar to online shopping)

Save the date for some scrumptious spirit events!

8/27 Culver’s

9/15 Texas Roadhouse

10/23 Twistee Treat

11/19 Five Guys

12/17 Bubba’s 33

All enrolled students of Pasco County Schools are eligible to receive a healthy breakfast and lunch at school at no charge to their household for the 2023-2024 school year. No further action is required. Each student(s) will be able to participate in these meal programs without having to pay a fee or submit a meal application.

Food & Nutrition Services will continue to process Directly Certified (SNAP, TANF, Medicaid, Homeless, Migrant) students. These families will get a letter stating their Directly Certified status of free or reduced. This letter will not have any bearing on their meal cost for the 2023-2024 school year. However, this letter can be provided by the parent if they would like to see if they are eligible for other benefits (i.e. testing fee waivers).

A la Carte items including vending machines will still be available for purchase including additional meals and/or components of the meals.

Families can reach out to Food & Nutrition Services directly through Lets Talk, call FNS at 813.794.2480, or email FNS_Finance@pasco.k12.fl.us if they have any questions regarding this new program.

Website: https://jlms.pasco.k12.fl.us/
Location: 2025 Mansfield Boulevard, Wesley Chapel, FL 33543, USA
Phone: (813) 346-6200
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrJohnLongMiddleSchool
Twitter: @JLMSlonghorns