JCIB Middle Parent Newsletter

The first semester will be over before we know it! Remember, check grades in the PowerSchool Parent Portal often. Teachers should be updating gradebooks weekly so you have an accurate look into how your student is performing. It also also helpful to review their newsletters. You should receive one on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month.

Nov. 8 - Veteran' Day Program at 9:00am

Nov. 11 - Veterans Day (school closed)

Nov. 19 - PROSPECTIVE Student Inquiry Night/Open House from 5:30 - 7:15 (please share with parents)

Nov. 22 - Turkey Bowl (must have good behavior and limited tardies to attend)

Nov. 25/29 - Thanksgiving Break (No School)

Dec. 2 - Return from Thanksgiving Break

Dec. 11 - Band and Choir Holiday Performance at 8:45am

Dec. 12 - Poetry Slam

Dec. 17 - Drama Performance at 6:00pm

Dec. 20 - End of the first semester

Dec. 23 - Jan. 7 - Mid-year holidays

Jan. 8 - Students return

We will host inquiry night/open house for PROSPECTIVE students on November 19. Please feel free to share this information with parents and students who you feel may be interested in learning more about JCIB Middle School! Inquiry night will begin at 5:30 and is a come-and-go event.

Join us for a heartfelt program at JCIB Middle on Friday, Nov. 8 at 9:00 AM.

Enjoy performances by our talented Choir and Advanced Band! Let’s come together to honor those who served.

Show your JCIB pride and support our school! Check out JCIB hats, shirts, hoodies, and more at the link below. 10% of sales will come back to our school! https://scarletandgoldshop.com/collections/jcib-middle-school

Talk to your student about making positive choices regarding behavior at school and the impact that making positive choices may have on their own success. It is our belief that rewarding positive choices will negate negative choices!

Yearbooks & student recognition ads are for sale! Visit our online yearbook store to purchase a yearbook and design a student recognition page to celebrate your student! Have photos from a school event? Upload them to Yearbook Snap with access code "jcib" to send them to the yearbook staff. Please contact Mrs. McCauley at hmccauley@jefcoed.com with questions.

Click HERE for more information!

The Grove for Parents is available for parent use! The Grove for Parents is designed to be a one-stop-shop for frequently referenced documents. Please consider bookmarking this resource page.

At JCIB Middle School, we believe in promoting respect, kindness, open-mindedness, and other positive behaviors. Our school will incentivize making positive choices through PBIS/House activities. Students who demonstrate exemplary behavior will be rewarded throughout the year by participating in these exciting opportunities! Student who accumulate multiple behavior infractions (i.e., defiance, cheating, tardies, etc.) may utilize this time to reflect on their choices and work to develop a plan to meet expectations moving forward. It is our hope that these experiences will motivate students to make positive choices, resulting in a more fulfilling school experience.

Teachers make efforts to update gradebooks in PowerSchool regularly. The best way to better understand your student's performance in a class is to check grades through the PowerSchool Parent Portal. Please access the Parent Portal by clicking the link below and setting up your account.

Parent Schoology codes have been sent out as well to parents via email. Schoology is a great resource that allows parents to be more aware of assignments, due dates, resources, etc.

A lot of wonderful things are happening in classrooms across JCIB Middle School! Encourage your student to share some of the great learning experiences they had had so far! A key part of the IB curriculum centers on service opportunities. Ms. Brown (below), our IB MYP coordinator, works with students to find service opportunities both locally and globally.

Parents should receive a grade-level newsletter on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month. Please take time to review grade level expectations, upcoming assignments, highlights, and other announcements. The most recent newsletters (as of 10/28/24) are available below.

We are concluding October and starting November with Red Ribbon Week. It kicked off last week with an assembly where some of our 8th graders delivered a school wide presentation on the risks of drug and alcohol use and ways to say no. This week, students have continued learning about the risks in addition to having some fun participating in themed dress up days.

As the month progresses, there will be a lot of excitement. There will be another Spirit Week leading up to Thanksgiving break, which will conclude with our annual turkey bowl. Your student’s behaviors and tardies impact their ability to participate, so please encourage them to do their best to earn the privilege of attending. In addition, remind them that though we are approaching multiple breaks, school is still in session. Continue monitoring grades and contacting teachers if your student is falling behind. Don’t wait until December.

The bathroom hygiene stations have been well received by most students. If you would like to contribute to ensure that our stations remain well stocked, please do so by sending spray deodorant, lotion, and/or feminine products. You or your student can bring them to me or drop them off in the main office.

Please let me know if there is anything going on with your student that may affect their ability to be successful in class by emailing jstinson@jefcoed.com. I will do my best to provide direct support or resources.

WIN stands for What I Need. This is a time for students to make up assessments, get a head start on homework, study, do research, read, or complete service entries in Managebac.

WIN is a great time to practice self-management & organization skills! Here are a few of our favorite tips:
1. Set goals that are challenging and realistic

2. Plan short and long-term assignments - break big tasks into smaller chunks

3. Use a planner to help make sure you meet deadlines

4. Make a plan to prepare for summative assessments and end of unit tasks - don’t wait until the last minute!

All classrooms are equipped with a class set of Chromebooks. All students will have access to a Chromebook during the school day when determined by the teacher. If you have specific questions about Chromebooks, please contact our media specialist at hmccauley@jefcoed.com.

Please encourage your student to get to class on time. In middle school, tardies are often a result of disorganization and socialization. It can be helpful to look at their binder and backpack together to ensure they are organized and knowledgeable of where their materials for each class are located. Students who accumulate 9 or more tardies per semester may be withheld from participating in PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports)/House activities, such as our annual Turkey Bowl and March Madness competition. We want our students to develop healthy habits that will set them up for long-term academic and personal success. Tardies will also be addressed according to Jefcoed Student and Parent Handbook.

Students who attend school regularly and are on time to class have greater academic success than those who are often absent and tardy. JCIB students who miss school often struggle to keep up with their assignments which creates stress on the student. Please make attendance and promptness a priority for your student. All excuses should be emailed or brought in to Mrs. McCrary, office secretary. She can be reached at marcymccrary@jefcoed.com.

Due to the negative impact student absences have on our State Report Card, vacations during school days will not be approved by administration. All parents have 7 parent excuses to use at your discretion during the school year. Many use these for illnesses that do not require a visit to a doctor, personal family matters, unavoidable trips, and other things. Use these with care because unexcused absences are unable to make up missed work.

Nine (9) unexcused absences from a class in a semester can result in a failing grade and zero earned credit in that class.

Breakfast and lunch is provided free of charge for all Jefcoed students during the 24/25 school year! Students will only have to pay if they purchase extra items. If you will purchasing extra items, please send a check or make a deposit in your students account because charging lunch (negative balance) is not allowed. Here is the link to the online payment platform. You can contact our cafeteria manager by emailing tscoggins@jefcoed.com.

Students are expected to keep backpacks, purses, and other bags (i.e., messenger bags) in their locker. The policy, developed through teacher feedback and collaboration, serves multiple purposes. Removing backpacks and purses from the classroom learning environment increases the level of safety for all students; while also increasing engagement throughout the classroom setting. Historically, students use backpacks and purses to conceal their cell phones in class, thus, creating unnecessary distractions and potentially unsafe situations.

Please read this section carefully, as student safety is our highest priority.

An adult will be directing traffic during morning arrival and afternoon dismissal.

Morning procedures:

Both cars and buses will utilize one line in the morning for student drop-off. A teacher will be present in the morning to direct traffic starting at 7:20. Students may not be dropped off until that time. Please do not drive around buses after you drop your student off, as this poses a safety threat to students and drivers. Lastly, please only drop off your student in the arrival line, not the parking lot.

Dismissal procedures:

Buses will begin lining up in a single-file line for dismissal at approximately 2:30. If you arrive prior to the buses, please allow space at the front of the school for the buses to get around you. Behind the buses cars will form two lines. Once bus riders are dismissed, teachers will direct traffic. They are trained to get students in their vehicles safely, so please pay close attention to their directions when going through the car line. We kindly ask that all parents picking up students by car come through the car line, and not park in the parking lot. Your help during dismissal is greatly appreciated and helps us ensure that students are dismissed safely to their vehicles. Car riders must be picked up at 3:20.

Electronic devices should be powered off and placed in their locker until school is dismissed. Cell phones, smart watches, earbuds, etc., are not allowed in classrooms unless the student is given direct permission from the teacher. Students with a cell phone or other electronic device in their possession will have their device taken to the front office, and a parent will be contacted. Students with emergencies may make a phone call from the front office. Some students may not have lockers for the first few days of school. In that case, students should have their cell phone powered off and placed in their backpack.

The following practice is utilized by JCIB administrators when addressing cell phones:

1st offense - The cell phone is held in the front office until the end of the day, and the parent is contacted.

2nd offense - The cell phone is held in the front office, and a parent/guardian must pick the device up from the school.

At this time, all students should have a district-issued Chromebook.

Bus Transportation and Behavior Requirements

Buses are scheduled to arrive and depart at the scheduled times. If bus arrival or departure times change, communication will take place via district communication platforms. Buses may not stop to pick up students once they begin moving from the pickup location. Parents, under no circumstance should a vehicle be used to prevent a bus from pulling off. Also, the bus should never be followed with the expectation that it will stop to pick a student up anywhere other than the designated bus stop. It may take several days for bus route times to become more exact, as back-to-school traffic often impacts our commute times.

All students are expected to follow bus rules. A failure to follow bus rules may result in a bus suspension. Please encourage your student to follow bus rules and expectations so all students have a safe and supportive ride to and from school. There are many things that students can do on the bus to create a positive and safe environment, including:

• homework
• read a book
• listen to music (with headphone)
• talk calmly to seatmates
• etc.

Students may not scream, throw objects, put hands on one another, change seats while the bus is in motion, turn around in their seats, use profanity, leave messes, etc. Please access the Jefferson County Code of Conduct for specific behavior requirements on the bus.

Turning in work on time is an essential habit of a successful student. All teachers will utilize the same late work policy, regardless of grade level or subject.

If making a payment to the school with a check, please review the following guidelines:

• We have bus stops at various locations throughout the county that parents transport their students to each morning and pick them up from each afternoon. Our current bus schedule is shared above so you can see the stops. Locations and times are subject to change.
• If your student will be transported to school by car, drop-off begins at 7:20 am and pickup concludes by 3:20 pm each day.

• Email is by far the easiest way to reach an administrator or coordinator if you have questions. You'll find all of our contact information at the bottom of this newsletter.
• Email is also the easiest way for us to share information with you, so please check the email you shared with us regularly.
• Next year's school calendar is shared below for your convenience.

Lori Lightsey, Principal

Michael Cloninger, Asst Principal

Lauren Brown, MYP Coordinator

April Miller, DP Coordinator

Pleasant Grove Campus - 379-5280

Shades Valley Campus - 379-5356