JMS Weekly Update
March 6, 2022
Dear JMS Families,
This week's Update contains information about the following:
- JMS Science Bowl Team Earns 2nd Place!
- K-12 Asynchronous Learning Option
- Reporting Student Behavior
- JMS Yearbook Names
- JES Alum Memory Brick Sale
Please complete this FORM if anyone in your family has tested positive for COVID-19 or has been experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. We want to keep the children here and we want to keep them safe. This information is critical to the safety of the students and staff at JMS.
Take Care,
Dr. Sarah Shaw, Principal
Ms. Katelyn Deet, Assistant Principal
Weekly Schedule
Tuesday - Day 2
Wednesday - Day 3
Thursday - Day 4
Friday - Day 5
Monday (3/14) - Day 1
New News
JMS Science Bowl Team Earns 2nd Place!
Congratulations to the JMS Science Bowl Team (Soham Dam, Michael Zhu, Dominic Rowles, and Caleb Campanaro) for their 2nd place finish in the Western Pennsylvania Regional Science Bowl on Saturday.
They competed against 27 teams from the Western Pennsylvania Region. This is only their third year participating in this competition. We are very proud of this team's hard work!
Thank you to our coach, Mrs. Mercier, for her time and dedication preparing the JMS team for this competition.
As we approach the end of the Third quarter of the 2021-22 school year, we are providing students with the opportunity to move between IN-PERSON LEARNING in their home building and K-12 ASYNCHRONOUS LEARNING via Waterfront Learning.
Moving to K-12 Asynchronous Option
Students currently learning in-person in the school building can select to move to the K-12 Asynchronous option by completing this FORM. Please complete and submit this form by March 11, 2022.
Students currently learning asynchronously can choose to return to the school building by completing this FORM. Please complete and submit this form by March 11, 2022.
Changes will be effective on the first day of the fourth quarter, March 21, 2022. If you do not wish to make any change to your student's current placement, you DO NOT need to complete the form or take any action.
If you have any questions about the Asynchronous Learning option, please see this FAQ. You may also wish to contact your school counselor.
Reporting Student Behavior
If we are not aware of student behavior, we cannot intervene.
We encourage any student or parent who has information to share about student behavior to use one of three readily available reporting methods, so we can do our due diligence at JMS, to support our middle school children. This support includes following-up with our families and students who might be in need of interventions to include guidance, education and/or consequences, as appropriate.
JMS behavior reporting functions include:
- School-based Student Statement Form (located in the guidance office and/or main office)
- Online Bullying Reporting Form
- Safe2Say App
If you are hearing from parents or students about student behaviors at JMS, the first, and best step is to report these incidents. It is also completely appropriate, and reasonable, for parents to have direct contact with other parents, particularly when behaviors are happening online or outside of school, in an attempt to have a constructive discussion about what has happened. We know this can be a difficult step, but parents are invested and responsive when they become aware of this information.
We are in the process of proofing our yearbook. Your child's name, as it appears on Dashboard, is the name that will be included in the yearbook. If you would prefer for your child to have a different name published in the yearbook, please complete this FORM.
Please complete this form by Monday, March 7th.
If your child's name in Dashboard accurately reflects their chosen name, you do not need to complete this form.
Are you a current 5th grader at JES? Are you a graduate of JES? Are you a past or present faculty/staff member of JES?
If you answered "YES" to any of these questions, then we have a wonderful opportunity for you!
We are selling memory bricks for our walkway at JES from March 7th through April 1st.
Click the LINK above to learn more.
Other Information
PSSA/Keystone Testing Schedule
The district will be administering the PSSAs and the Keystones this year. The results we achieve on these exams provide us with valuable information that can be used to assess our students knowledge of grade level standards, our teaching, and our educational programing.
Our testing schedule for the Spring of 2022 is as follows:
- April 26-28 - English Language Arts (ELA) PSSA - Grades 6-8
- May 2 & 3 - Math PSSA - Grades 6-8
- May 4 & 5 - Science PSSA - Grade 8 only
- Keystone Algebra 1 - May 23 & 24 - Grade 8 only
Please understand that during the testing window, pre-approved absences will not be approved.
Technology
Families In Need of Technology
As we prepare to start the 2021-2022 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
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.
JMS PTA Information
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.
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