Mr. Falk and Ms. Waldy will be working with 8th grade students during December and January to review their 9th grade course requests and guide them to complete a 4-Year Plan on Naviance. This information will be reviewed with parents of all 8th grade students at Parent/Teacher Conferences on February 8th and 9th.

On January 17th, one counselor from each high school will be coming to Jardine to give a 60 minute presentation to students. Topics will include TCALC, Washburn Tech, AVID, ROTC, JAG (Jobs for American Graduates), and other programs offered at specific schools. It will also include a Q&A opportunity for students to ask questions they have regarding high school. It is recommended that students start thinking of questions they have and bring those to the presentation.

If your student is planning on requesting a transfer to a different high school, it is important that they apply once they begin to accept them on January 1st. The application link will be put on the students’ science class Google Classroom after winter break. If transfers are not approved prior to high school visits in May, students will only be allowed to visit their assigned high school based on their attendance area. Specific high school visit dates will be announced at a later date.

Each high school will be hosting a meeting for parents and students to attend. This is a great opportunity for parents and students to meet high school counselors. It also will provide information about the enrollment process and class offerings at each high school. Dates and times for each high school meeting are the following:

Highland Park High School

Wednesday, January 25th 6-7 PM

Topeka High School

Wednesday, January 18th 6-7 PM

Topeka West High School

Wednesday, January 11th 6-7 PM

Winter break and the associated holidays—like Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa—inject some fun into an otherwise dull, cold time of year. But when the festivities end in the new year, kids often struggle with the transition back to routine, rules, and homework. Returning to the classroom doesn't invoke the same excitement as in August, and summer break feels overwhelmingly far away.

So how can you help your whole family get back into the swing of things? Parents magazine lists tips to follow to support your children as they begin a new semester at school (author Fionna Tapp, 2022).

Return to Bedtime Routines

Although parents may let their kids stay up late or sleep in during special occasions (like winter break), they should transition to their regular sleep patterns before returning to school. That's because quality, consistent sleep is essential to your child's ability to learn.

Too little sleep has been associated with "attention, behavior, and learning problems," according to a statement from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). "Insufficient sleep also increases the risk of accidents, injuries, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and depression."

So how can you help your whole family get back into the swing of things? Follow these seven tips to support your children as they begin a new

In the days before classes start, move bedtime back by 15- 30 minutes each night until you're back to their sleep normal schedule. The AASM recommends the following optimal amounts of sleep for children and teens:

• Ages 4-12 months: 12-16 hours (including naps)

• Ages 1-2 years: 11-14 hours (including naps)

• Ages 3-5 years: 10-13 hours (including naps)

• Age 6-12 years: 9-12 hours

• Age 13-18 years: 8-10 hours

Create a Back-to-School Countdown

Lazy days spent relaxing in pajamas seem to abruptly stop once school starts again. Ease the transition back to class, especially for younger kids, by creating a visual countdown for the end of winter break (put a calendar on the refrigerator and mark off the days). That way, the different routine won't creep up so unexpectedly. Older kids can enter the date on their personal calendars, letting them track how much more freedom they can enjoy.

Discuss The Year Ahead

Before school starts in the fall, it's a great idea to chat with your child about expectations for the year ahead. After winter break, parents might presume their children won't need the same amount of preparation, since teachers and classes largely remain the same. But some things will change in the new year—such as the coursework your child will do each day. Talking through any worries or concerns can help them feel more confident.

Celebrate Their First Week Back

Returning to school after a fun-filled winter break can feel a little disappointing. Help soften the blow by organizing something special to celebrate the completion of their first week back. Some examples: a movie night, special play date, dinner at their favorite restaurant, game night, or bowling.

Stock Up on School Supplies

Start the new year ready for new challenges by ensuring your child has all the resources they need. For younger kids, this might mean a fresh set of sharpened colored pencils, new glue sticks, boxes of tissues, or hand sanitizer. Older kids might appreciate some new reading material, colorful folders, or notebooks.

Make Your Mornings Easier

School mornings can be hectic, especially if kids have gotten used to moving at a slower pace during the holidays. Make the before-school hours run smoothly by planning tasks the day before. For example:

• Ask kids to organize and pack their school supplies and backpacks before bed.

• Prepare breakfast or lunch the night before.

• Lay out clothing options.

• Agree on a bathroom schedule if you have a large family.

• Plan to leave a 10-minute buffer to avoid being late on the first day back.

Validate Your Child's Feelings

Just as you might not look forward to your own daily grind after winter break, it's normal for kids to have mixed feelings, too. They might be eager to see their friends and their teacher—or they might feel anxious and apprehensive about the situation. Both reactions are normal and valid. Encourage kids to voice their feelings and listen with patience. When children feel heard, they're more likely to share their feelings and worries. Act as a safe space, and let your kindness help them muster the courage needed to face all of life's challenges.

Some of you may have received information in the mail concerning your student still needing shots for school. Some of the students are on a catch up basis, or just need 1or 2 vaccinations given. The school does need proof of vaccinations. This is a Kansas State law regarding inoculation unless there is a medical or religious exemption. If you have any questions please let me know.

Thank you!

Our girl’s basketball team has continued to perform on the court to remain undefeated in league play. The junior varsity and B team are improving each game they play. The city championship will be December 14th at Highland Park High School.

Reminder that all students must have a parent stay with them at all sporting events.

With the semester ending, the boys basketball season will begin soon. I have visited with students concerning eligibility, KSHSAA has a rule that students must pass five of the six classes in order to be eligible for the season. We also require our student athletes to pass all classes in order to play during the week. A check on progress happens each Friday and the student/athlete has until the day of the game to improve grades. This does not mean turning in late work at 2:00 the day of the game will allow the student/athlete the opportunity to play. If you have questions please give me a call.

Boy’s basketball will start January 5th, you must have a physical on file and be eligible under KSHSAA guidelines. I plan to have a boy’s basketball parent zoom meeting on January 11th at 5:30pm. Zoom code and more information will be sent on the first day of practice.

December is a busy month for Jardine musicians!

All JMS Band students will be featured at the Winter Band Concert on Monday, December 12th at 6:30 pm. The free concert is in the gym.

Jardine Middle School 6th and 7th hour String Orchestras will present their Winter Concert on Monday December 5th at 6:30 p.m. on the lunchroom stage. We have been working very hard to get our new songs together in a very short period of time. Come show your support.

Our Jardine Middle School Orchestras will be performing at the Burnett Center on December 9th at 10:30 a.m.

We will then travel to the Topeka/Shawnee County Public Library and present songs at 11:30 that day. Students will need to bring $ to buy their lunch at McDonald’s that day or bring a sack lunch.

We will return to school during 6th hour.

My students really look forward to, and enjoy these day trips!

For the month of January we will be working on Newton's laws of Motion and the applications to the real world. Students will describe and demonstrate how Newton’s Laws relate and apply to real world situations. Analyze different types of push and pull forces and describe how they act on natural systems. Describe various relationships between forces and motion.

7th Grade Science - We are learning all about “Matter and its Interactions”- chemistry units. We will be learning about The Periodic Table of Elements, States of Matter and their physical and chemical properties. We will be doing experiments and investigations to observe and learn about chemical reactions as well as balancing chemical equations.

8th Grade Science - The 8th graders seem to like where we are headed next…into space. Before the winter break, we will take a look at the relationship between the Earth and the Moon. How it was created, the phases it goes through each month, and the gravity that keeps it in orbit. After the break, we start in on the life cycle of stars, including the Sun. This will help us better understand how our own solar system was created.

Happy holidays from the History department.

7th Grade Social Studies - We will be finishing World Geography with a unit about the push and pull factors of immigration. We will examine all the good and bad reasons why people leave one country and come to another. Students will also learn about life in America for early immigrants during the Industrial Revolution.

We will begin Kansas History in January. Kansas is rich in history. We will begin with the early explorers to the area that is now Kansas and the Indigenous Peoples who already inhabited the area. Students will analyze adaptations made by the early people in order to survive the sometimes harsh surroundings.

8th Grade History - Wow! The first semester is almost over. Time is sure flying by. In 8th grade, the students have been learning about the expansion of the United States. We will be turning our focus to the expansion of slavery and the causes of the American Civil War. Please ask your children about school and what they are learning about in their classes.

6th grade math - In December students are starting a new unit on rational numbers. They will begin by being introduced to integers (positive and negative whole numbers and zero), comparing and ordering integers and learning about absolute value (the distance from a number to zero). In January when we return from break they will be working on rational numbers and the coordinate grid where they will use all four quadrants. This will be a lot of new concepts and skills for the students!

7th grade math - In 7th grade, we are starting our third Module “Expressions and Equations.” This module consolidates and expands students’ previous work with generating equivalent expressions and solving equations. Students solve real-life and mathematical problems using numerical and algebraic expressions and equations. Their work with expressions and equations is applied to finding unknown angles and problems involving area, volume, and surface area. Your child will be successful if they can:

▪ Determine whether a given value is the solution to an equation.

▪ Write, solve, and interpret equations and inequalities given various contexts.

▪ Use angle relationships, write an equation to solve for the value of a variable and/or determine the measure of an unknown angle.

▪ Use the properties of inequalities to write a true inequality statement.

▪ Determine when an inequality statement will be true and when the same statement will be false.

▪ Graph the solution of an inequality on a number line.

If your child needs additional support in math, please consider after school tutoring.

8th Grade Math - December will be a quick and busy two weeks for 8th grade math students. They will be introduced to scientific notation, which is a convenient way to write numbers that

are very large or very small. Students learn to convert standard numbers to scientific notation and perform operations on numbers in many forms. Finally, students compare numbers written in various forms to put them in order or to determine which number has the greatest or least value.

You can help at home in many ways. Here are just a few tips to help you get started:

The idea of “how many times larger” comes up often in this topic. To determine “how many times larger,”you need to divide. For example, if the area of your living room is 330 square feet and the area of your bathroom is 110 square feet, you would need to divide 330 by 110 to determine that the living room is 3 times larger than the bathroom.

Discuss with your child why “how many times larger” indicates the need to divide. Perform some of these calculations together, gathering ideas from real-life numbers such as sports statistics and merchandise prices.

In January, students will begin working on slope and graphing linear equations to represent constant rate problems. The lessons in this unit introduce students to the three different forms: a linear equation in two variables can be expressed in- standard form, point-slope form, and slope-intercept form. They will be expected to be able to translate between the three forms, as well as write, interpret, and graph information from various situations.

You can help at home in many ways. Here are some tips to help you get started.

Point out activities involving rate in everyday life (i.e., things you do that can be measured in terms of the time it takes to do them, such as number of words typed per minute or number of hot dogs sold per hour). Have a conversation about whether those rates are actually constant or whether we simply speak of the average rate as if it were constant. For example, do you actually drive through town at a constant rate of 30 mph,or is that your average rate? We will use constant rate often in this topic to mean average rate.

Reminder: Students will be taking the MAP Assessment on December 6th, with a makeup day on December 7th.

8th Grade Algebra - December will be a quick and busy two weeks for 8th Grade Algebra students. They will continue their work with linear equations by exploring simultaneous equations and inequalities (systems of equations/inequalities) using graphs, as well as multiple algebraic methods. Students discover that, as with linear equations/inequalities in one variable, a system can have a unique solution, no solution, or infinitely many solutions.

You can expect to see homework that asks your child to do the following:

▪ Write a system of equations for situations involving constant rate.

▪ Graph a system of equations and interpret the point where the lines intersect as the solution to the system.

▪ Substitute numbers for specific variables to verify the solution for simultaneous equations.

▪ Determine whether a system has a unique solution, no solution, or infinitely many solutions.

▪ Solve simultaneous equations by using the computational methods of elimination and substitution.

In January, students learn the concept of a function, its formal definition, and how it works as an input–output machine. For example, if the function is” multiply by 5”, the output will always equal the input times 5. Students learn that the equation y = mx + b defines a linear function whose graph is a straight line, and that a nonlinear function is a set of ordered pairs that graph as something other than a straight line. Students begin comparing two functions represented in different ways. For example, students are presented with an equation, a word problem, the graph of a function, and the table of values that represent a function and are asked to determine which function has the greatest rate of change.

Students continue to investigate functions by connecting a context (word problem) to a set of

ordered pairs that model the function at certain inputs. These ordered pairs are then organized in tables and graphs that visually represent the functions. Students discover the relationship between slope and rate of change as well as between the y-intercept point and the initial value of linear functions. Further investigation leads to determining whether a function represents an increasing, decreasing, or constant relationship. Students close this topic by using graphs and verbal descriptions to explore nonlinear functions.

You can expect to see homework that asks your child to do the following:

▪ Interpret the graph of a function to identify key features, including whether the function is linear or nonlinear.

▪ Find the average rate of change.

▪ Determine whether a given representation represents a function, and create representations of real-world functions. For example, the water flowing from a faucet into a bathtub is a linear function with relation to time if the flow of water is constant.

▪ Create a rule (an equation) that represents a function.

▪ Identify whether a function is discrete or not discrete.

▪ Determine restrictions on the variables.

▪ Compare functions and determine which has the greater rate of change. Construct or interpret a table of values, a graph, or an equation that models a linear function.

▪ Interpret the meaning of values from equations, tables, or graphs in the context of a verbal description.

▪ Identify which function has a faster rate, steeper slope, or better value.

▪ Determine the rate of change and initial value of a function based on a variety of representations.

▪ Determine whether a function represents an increasing, decreasing, or constant relationship.

▪ Explore nonlinear functions by using graphs and verbal descriptions.

Reminder: Students will be taking the MAP Assessment on December 6th, with a makeup day on December 7th. Students will also be given a District Semester Exam which will be a comprehensive assessment of concepts and standards covered during the first semester.

MS PE, as we start to wind down with the first semester of PE here at JMS it is a good time to revisit what it takes to get an A in PE. There is still a lot of time to raise our grades or maintain that A that many of us have right now. Classes are going great! Let's all close out the first semester with our best efforts. As a reminder we will post the rules and regulations below.

JARDINE MIDDLE SCHOOL

6-8 PHYSICAL EDUCATION EXPECTATIONS

Prompt Prepared Participate Pleasant

ITEMS NEEDED FOR PHYSICAL EDUCATION CLASS:

• Tennis shoes - No Crocs, boots, slides, sandals, etc.

• Clothing you can comfortably participate in. No hoodies, coats, tight pants, shirts that dip down in the front, midriffs, tank tops etc.

• No jewelry. Watches included.

• Deodorant should be kept in lockers.

• If a student utilizes an inhaler, the necessary paperwork must be on file with the school nurse. Please mark inhalers with names.

*We will meet in the gym and place belongings against the walls. Each grade will have a designated spot to put their belongings every day.

TIMELINESS

• A student is tardy to class if they are not in the gym when the bell rings.

• Points will be deducted if you are not in your assigned squad spot when daily roll is being taken.

NON-PARTICIPATION

• If a student is to be excused from participation for an extended period of time because of health or physical problems, a note from a medical doctor to the teacher will be necessary.

GRADING

All grading will be done daily and meeting our district P.E. Standards.

Ways to earn daily points:

1. Prompt - be on time to class…………………………... ..(1 point)

2. Prepared - correct clothing/shoes worn for class ……….(1 point)

3. Participate - participate in class activities ……………….(1 point)

4. Pleasant - have a good positive attitude ………………...(1 point)

Each weekly assignment will be worth 20 points (4 points per day)

SAFETY RULES AND MISCELLANEOUS REMINDERS:

• Students are to enter the far east door of the gym at the beginning of class. Girls will exit through the south gym doors. Boys will exit into the hallway from the boys’ locker room.

• All students will go to the locker room at the end of class to use the restroom, put on deodorant, get drinks etc. You will be verbally dismissed from the locker rooms.

• Do not handle any piece of equipment unless under direct supervision of the teacher.

• HORSEPLAY will NOT be tolerated.

• NO food including gum and candy. Water ONLY!

• Last hour and bus riders.

• Noise level in the locker room is 0-1.

• CELLPHONES are to be kept in your binders at all times.

• Teachers need to know immediately if there are ISSUES in class.

• DRILLS: Secure campus, lockdown, fire drill and tornado drill procedures.

• Talk through a day in PE. Roll, warm-ups, universal signal, explanation of activity, 10-minute bell, locker rooms, dismiss form locker rooms and exit out the designated doors.

• Practice universal P.E. signal.

• Daily class leaders.

• Students enjoyed Genre, Ms. G’s twin sister, in the 2nd floor Cafe the past few weeks. They were able to read different genres and find a book they enjoyed while in the cozy atmosphere of a cafe setting with small treats. Ms. G enjoyed her vacation to Florida during this time! :)

• The students also participated in the WORLD BOOK RACE game. There were trivia questions relating to a variety of searches using world book online encyclopedia. The students were divided into teams and had to race to answer the questions. I enjoyed seeing the competitive side of the kids and the fact they were learning and didn’t even know it!! YES!!!!

• As we return from Holiday Break, we will remind students about Destiny and exploring creating an author bookmark using Canva. This should be a fun project.

• If your student is having chromebook issues, please tell them to visit the library to talk to Ms. Gilliland

• Each student at Jardine is allowed to check out up to 3 library books at a time. The students are allowed to checkout anytime they have permission from their teachers.