JMS Weekly Update
September 20, 2020
Dear JMS Families,
Last Monday, at the School Board meeting, Dr. Steinhauer recommended that we take the next step towards our return to in-person instruction. The District is targeting the transition to the hybrid model beginning the week of October 5, 2020.
We are working tirelessly to prepare our teachers, our classrooms, and our building for this transition. It is important to us to share meaningful and accurate information with you, therefore we will be communicating more details about the hybrid model pending the Board of School Director's approval of this transition at the meeting on Monday, September 21st at 7:30PM.
Our next communication will include information about arrival and dismissal procedures, building expectations and procedures (classroom, cafeteria, hallway, masking, etc.), bring your own technology (BYOT), ultra board barrier usage, and more.
We greatly appreciate your continued patience and support. Please reach out to myself or Ms. Deet if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Dr. Sarah Shaw, Principal
Ms. Katelyn Deet, Assistant Principal
Weekly Schedule
Tuesday - Day 1
Wednesday - Day 2
Thursday - Day 3
Friday - Day 4
Monday (9/28) - No School - Yom Kippur
Tuesday (9/29) - Day 5
New News
We have been getting some questions about attendance, so we have created an attendance FAQ for you. In this document you will find information about the attendance codes, what to do about early dismissals/late arrivals, pre-approved absences and absence excuses.
We are re-launching our Spiritwear store as promised. Check out the new colder weather items-hats, sweatshirts, joggers, and fleeces. Orders can be placed using this link. Items can be shipped to your home (free over $99) or local pickup will be available. The store will close October 5th with delivery around October 29th.
Material Pick-Up
If your child was unable to get his or her materials last week during the second wave of material distribution you can come to pick up your materials between 8am-3pm during the week. If this time does not work for your family, please contact Ms. Deet to arrange another time.
Other Information
Micro-experiences
We are in the process of developing micro-experiences for students. These experiences will take place at JMS. Initially, these experiences will occur before/after school. Students who participate in these experiences should complete the Self-Assessment Form and the MTLSD Athletic & Activities Participation Waiver, prior to participating. Students will also be required to comply with the universal masking and physical distancing requirements.
At this time, participation in these micro-experiences is voluntary. Students will not be penalized (grades, attendance, etc.) for choosing not to participate in these activities.
The Mt. Lebanon School District is now serving free Grab-and-Go Meals to any student in the community under the age of 18, with no eligibility requirements, until further notice. The meals will be distributed at the elementary schools. Please be sure to complete the meal survey sent every Friday afternoon.
Meals will be available from 10:45 until 1:15 every day to accommodate all students during their lunch periods.
Athletics
Boys Basketball Tryouts
7th and 8th grade boys basketball tryouts will be held the week of Oct. 26th.
Specific dates for each grade and times will be shared at a later date. All students interested in trying out must be registered through Family ID and have an up to date physical submitted. If they do not have this completed, they will not be permitted to tryout. You can complete both by going to the following link https://athletics.mtlsd.org/registration .
Any questions on physicals and registration, should contact the athletic office. Please continue to look for information on the weekly updates and morning announcements.
-Coach Dietz
We are excited to announce that we are now offering the convenience of online registration for our athletic programs through partner company, FamilyID (www.familyid.com). FamilyID is a secure registration platform that provides you with an easy, user-friendly way to register for our programs, and helps us to be more administratively efficient and environmentally responsible. When you register through FamilyID, you enter your information once for multiple uses, multiple kids and multiple programs.
Technology
Families In Need of Technology
As we prepare to start the 2020-2021 school year, we are asking families who need to borrow student technology to please complete the form linked below:
Be sure to list every student for whom you need to borrow a device on this form. Once you have submitted your form, you will receive status emails including device pickup details from an @mtlsd.net email address. Please also be sure to whitelist @mtlsd.net email addresses with your email provider to ensure that you receive these communications from us.
Please direct any and all questions regarding loaned equipment to our support address: RemoteSupport@mtlsd.net
JMS PTA Information
JMS PTA membership drive is open. In a typical year, your membership fee to the JMS PTA helps to meet our budget commitments to various PTA-sponsored school programs. This year we have reduced the membership cost to $15, to cover primarily the national and state dues and fees associated with the organization, and we have included an option to make a donation, 100% of which goes to JMS PTA-supported activities. Membership includes one vote per household at PTA meetings, inclusion in the Membership Directory, and PTA Newsletters. Families can link a second parent's email to their first at no additional cost or decide to purchase memberships for two parents. Membership Toolkit has a mobile app for your convenience.
You will be prompted to update your family's information, opt in or out of the directory, and update your child's team, optional phone contact info, and the elementary school from which they came.
Please join us!
Help JMS Earn Money While You Shop!
AmazonSmile
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
Clipping Box Tops is an easy way to earn money for our school. Each Box Top is worth 10 cents, so don't forget to physically and electronically clip the for us! The clipped Box Tops can be turned into the office.
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.
Giant Eagle
Giant Eagle Support our students! Enroll your Giant Eagle Advantage Card and earn points for FREE educational rewards with every shopping trip.
Click here to register your card. Our school code is 3369. The Giant Eagle card program is also easy to use - just register your card and shop away as usual!
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
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.
Email: sshaw@mtlsd.net
Website: https://jms.mtlsd.org/
Location: 21 Moffett Street, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Phone: (412) 344-2120
Facebook: facebook.com/jmslebo
Twitter: @JMSMTLSD