JMS Weekly Update
September 26, 2022
Dear JMS Families,
This week's Update contains information about the following:
- How to Buy School Pictures
- Looking for Parent Volunteers - Writing Lab
- PTA - Reflections
Please notify our nurse, Mrs. Raco, and complete this FORM if your child has tested positive for COVID-19.
Take care,
Dr. Sarah Shaw, Principal
Mrs. Katelyn (Deet) Toth, Assistant Principal
Weekly Schedule
Tuesday - Day 1
Wednesday - Day 2
Thursday - Day 3
Friday - Day 4
Monday (10/3) - Day 5
New News
School pictures have been uploaded to our photographer's website for ordering. Please visit Wayne's World of Photography to order your photos. Detailed instructions for how to do this are below.
The company offers retakes if eyes are closed, glasses have glare, or hair is blown in the face. If you have any additional questions about orders or retakes, please contact Wayne Bratten at 412-257-1506. To view and order your photos:
- Visit Wayne's World of Photography.
- Click on "JMS."
- Enter your student's MTLSD 7 digit ID number. (This number can be found on dashboard in the Student Information section.).
- Click on "Order Prints/Products.
- Complete your purchase online.
Orders are due by October 2nd. All orders received after October 2nd will be shipped home and will be charged sales tax and shipping.
Writing Lab Volunteer Program
Volunteering in the Writing Lab offers a flexible schedule and a priceless chance to help our young writers. There is absolutely no requirement for a volunteer to be a grammar expert! The teacher provides a streamlined conference sheet with a few targeted questions in regard to the content and organization of the student’s paper. The volunteer listens to the student read the paper aloud and then offers feedback in the areas designated by the teacher.
Anyone interested in helping this year should sign up here .
Clearances are needed prior to helping.
Contact Melissa Kelly (mkelly@mtlsd.net) with any questions.
Reminders
JMS Yearbooks are on sale now through December 16, 2022. Order your yearbook and take out an 8th grade ad TODAY! yearbookforever.com
Prices:
- Now- Friday, September 30 at 11:59 PM: $45
- Saturday, October 1 at 12:00 AM- Monday, October 31 at 11:59 PM: $50
- Tuesday, November 1 at 12:00 AM- Wednesday, November 30 at 11:59 PM: $55
- Thursday, December 1 at 12:00 AM- Friday, December 16 at 11:59 PM: $60
Limited extras will be sold on the last day of school for $60
8th Grade Advertisements are also for sale from now until December 16 for $35.
Please watch this video if you need help on How to Order a 2022-2023 JMS Yearbook and Purchase an 8th Grade Advertisement.
If you are unsure if you've already ordered a yearbook, please watch the video below to see how you can check your order status: How to Check for 2023 Yearbook Purchase
Lunch Information
Children need healthy meals to learn, so the Mt. Lebanon School District is committed to offer healthy meals every school day for our students. For the 2022-2023 school year, breakfast costs $1.75; lunch costs $2.65 for elementary students and $2.80 for middle school and high school students. Your children may qualify for free meals or for reduced price meals. Reduced price is $.30 for breakfast and $.40 for lunch. Click the link below for free or reduced price meal benefits, and a set of detailed instructions to help you apply.
2022-2023 Free/Reduced Lunch Application
You can also apply for free and reduced meals online via the state's COMPASS portal. Please follow the link below to begin the online application.
Payschoolscentral.com is an online lunch money accounting system where you easily monitor and deposit money into student lunch accounts.
By logging onto www.payschoolscentral.com, you can easily :
Set up an account
Deposit money at your convenience using a credit card
Set e-mail reminders to notify you when your child's account has a low balance
Set up recurring payments
Check your child's account balance (no fee charged)
Request an activity report to check account activity for the previous 30 days (no fee charged)
To set up an account, all you will need is:
- A valid email address
- A credit card
- Your child's student identification number, school and grade
There will be a 3.9% per transaction fee. Each child in your family can be set up on the same account therefore you can add money to each child's account during the same transaction. Transactions processed by pay are safe and secure using Secure Socket Link. With this technology, schools can be assured that all student information, credit card and all other student data will be highly encrypted and secure. Once the money is put on the account, it typically appears on the account in about 30 minutes.
Please follow the link below to a video that will walk you through how to add funds to your student's account.
If you choose not to use pay for credit card transactions, the District will continue to accept cash and checks. Click here for more information.
Technology
Families In Need of Technology
As we prepare to start the 2022-2023 school year, we are asking families who need to borrow student technology to please visit www.mtlsd.org/families/technology/one-to-one
Athletics
Middle School Athletics
You can learn everything you need to know about Middle School Athletics, including starting dates, by visiting the MS Athletics Webpage.
Basketball
7th and 8th grade boys basketball tryouts will begin the week of October 24th. Dates and times have not been set. More information will be provided starting in October. Please make sure your son has an up to date physical and they are registered through family id before tryouts. If this is not completed, they will not be permitted to try out. You can email Coach Dietz with any questions at, rdietz@mtlsd.net.
JMS PTA Information
Reflections - Show Your Voice!
If your JMS student has a special talent they can enter in the PTA Reflections contest. All information and entry form are included in the link above. The theme this year is "Show Your Voice!". The deadline is October 17th and cannot be extended. All entries can be sent to Carol Rossetti at carolguy72@aol.com
Thank you!
PTA Membership and Directory Access
Our Membership Store is now open! We hope you will consider joining out PTA to help fund excellent educational opportunities for our children. Directory access is available to JMS PTA members only.
Please email jmsptamtl@gmail.com if you have any questions.
SHOPPER & SCHOOL REWARD PROGRAMS
Amazon
If you haven’t used AmazonSmile Before:
- Go to smile.amazon.com and sign in with your regular Amazon username and password.
- You will be prompted to choose a charity. You should enter "Jefferson Middle School PTA Inc” into the search box that appears. It will say "Pittsburgh, PA" as the location for the charity.
- Make sure whenever you check out, you always go to smile.amazon.com on your browser.
If you already use AmazonSmile:
- Go to smile.amazon.com and sign in with your username and password
- Make sure the charity you’ve selected is "Jefferson Middle School PTA Inc." This information is located under the search bar where it says “supporting”.
- If it isn’t, you can change it by clicking on the charity and selecting “change”
- This will bring you to a page where you can search for “Jefferson Middle School PTA Inc” and allow you to switch charities.
Make sure whenever you check out, you always go to smile.amazon.com to checkout.
If you shop on the Amazon app. Please activate Amazon Smile on your mobile app by opening the app and finding ’Settings’ in the main menu (☰). Tap on ‘AmazonSmile’ and follow the on-screen instructions to turn on AmazonSmile on your phone.
Box Tops
Scanning Box Tops is an easy way to earn money for our school. See Box Tops for more information on how to scan Box Tops and to download the app. Receipts must be scanned within 14 days for the Box Tops to be scanned electronically.
Office Depot/Office Max
Office Depot/Office Max has a school rewards program. When shopping, remember to ask the cashier to tag Jefferson Middle School. For online orders, enter our school ID (Thomas Jefferson Middle School ID:70088453 Pittsburgh, PA) on the Thank You Confirmation page.
Resources For Families
The MTLSD School Counselors in partnership with The Allegheny Children's Initiative Inc., have compiled a list of social services resources that may be helpful to you and your family. Please take a look and reach out to these organizations. They are here to help with any of the following:
- Food
- Rent/Mortgage
- Utilities
- Pets
- Abuse
- Mental Health
- General Assistance
Safe2Say Something is a youth violence prevention program run by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. The program teaches youth and adults how to recognize warning signs and signals, especially within social media, from individuals who may be a threat to themselves or others and to “say something” BEFORE it is too late. With Safe2Say Something, it’s easy and confidential to report safety concerns to help prevent violence and tragedies.
Here’s how it works:
- Submit a report through the Safe2SaySomething system
- Crisis center reviews, assesses and processes all submissions
- Crisis center sends all submissions to school administration and/or law enforcement for intervention
- If needed, crisis center may contact tipster anonymously through the app
Jefferson Middle School
The Jefferson Middle School learning community has an exceptional reputation for its dedicated teachers, staff and parents working together to provide learning experiences for our children that include high expectations, a challenging curriculum and a shared commitment to provide the best education possible for each and every student.