Jaguar Junction-December/January
Jardine Middle School
A note from your Principal - Mr. Haire
Thank you to all the parents who learned new tools to come to our parent teacher conferences this month. Teachers reported an outstanding turnout of parents as well as just great conversations. We so appreciate your flexibility and willingness to engage in your child's education even when it means adding a little stress and work to your day to make this happen.
In addition, thank you for the support switching to remote learning this last week. Although we have had minimal Covid issues in the school and even the district, the community spread is rising and with that, the impact on our schools was going to be affected in the process. In efforts to keep students learning and to keep everyone safe, remote learning is the tool to assure this is happening. With remote learning, attendance is expected daily in each class as well as completing and maintaining homework and learning. With some extra attention, our students are going to become more organized, adaptable, and more resilient through this year.
As always, we continue to offer tutoring "remotely' for students who need an extra push or support. For information on this, please email Tammy Hazelton at thazelton@tps501.org to set up your student for extra help and support.
A note from your Assistant Principal - Mr. Haag
Tips For Being Successful During Remote Learning -
Parents/Guardians and Students - here are some tips you can use to be successful while we are in our remote learning phase:
Set a routine - get up at the same time every day. Put your schedule next to your computer to refer to. Get plenty of sleep.
Find a place to use as your “Learning Center.” Find a quiet place away from distractions. Set up your computer in a place where you can focus. YOUR BED IS NOT A LEARNING CENTER. If you are too comfortable your brain will be more distracted.
Have your camera on during direct instruction from your teachers. This is a school wide expectation that must be followed. You may be put into the waiting room until you comply with this reasonable request.
Be engaged in your learning. Ask questions. Answer questions. Take ownership of your learning.
Remember - your attendance counts. Missing classes (even remotely) goes against your attendance status and could result in issues with truancy.
Remember - Not turning in work lowers your grades. Some were surprised with their grades from the first quarter. The lower grades for many was due to two reasons: 1. Not turning in assignments and 2. Not preparing for their assessments which are weighted more heavily. Taking care of these two things can greatly improve your grade.
Please remember - just because you are at home during this time does not mean the expectations have lessened. You are still in school, just doing it from a different place.
Remote Tutoring Info - Ms. Hazelton
New Snow Day Procedures - Important
Counselor Corner - Mr. Falk
Naviance
Naviance is our new career exploration program for the district. The State of Kansas mandates that all students, grades 6-12, have an up to date Individual Plan of Study (IPS). Throughout the year, Mr. Falk, and the teachers will be working with students to help them complete Naviance Tasks. New tasks are made available to the students near the beginning of each 9 weeks.
The students will use 20 minutes during their 1st period on Wednesdays every other week to complete the tasks. They can also complete them on their own. The tasks needing to be completed at this point are as follows.
6th Grade
Quarter 1 Lessons
Scavenger Hunt
Learning Styles Inventory
Quarter 2 Lessons
Career Cluster Finder
7th Grade
Quarter 1 Lessons
Scavenger Hunt
Career Key
Add Careers to your list
Personal/Social SMART Goal
8th Grade
Quarter 1 Lessons
Career Key
Explore Career & Interests
Quarter 2 Lessons
Add Careers to your list
Career SMART Goal
Second Step
The 1st period time on Wednesdays that the students are not completing Naviance tasks is used for Second Steps Lessons. Second Step is our Social Emotional Learning (SEL) program. The students watch a video created by Mr. Falk and participate in remote discussions with their teachers and classmates. The current unit is “Mindsets and Goals”. The next unit will be “Bullying and Harassment”
High School Enrollment
Mr. Falk routinely uses December and January to prepare the 8th grade students for High School enrollment. This will still take place. However, specifics on how this is going to be done is still in the works. Parents and students will be given updates as the process gets underway.
Nurse News - Ms. Bailey
A note from our Social Worker - Ms. Sparks
Greetings from your school social worker!
Well--we are back to remote learning until our school environment becomes a safer place for in-person learning. A fresh reminder of tips to help your student become more successful in learning remotely seems to be an appropriate topic for parents.
The Covid-19 Academic Resource Center suggests a few tips for success:
1. Create a good work space
Take away distractions
Often times it seems students pick a spot for learning that is close to a television set or
high traffic areas in their homes. Unfortunately, it is difficult to pay attention to the lesson
when students hear other activities going on in the home. Picking a quiet, alone time
space enhances your student’s ability to hear and participate in the zoom class.
Gather your supplies
Students should gather papers, pencils, pens, calculators or anything needed to complete
work they are actively working on while on line before class. Leaving the zoom class to
find materials can be disruptive to their learning.
Tech check
If a student has their computer turned on and ready for signing in before class starts
they will be ready to begin the lesson on time. It also helps to have zoom codes and
passwords by their computers so they are ready to sign into class at the appropriate time.
2. Stay in touch
Teachers and support staff are all on duty and available for guidance and support. Call,
or e-mail during the school day with questions or concerns.
3. Don’t rush work
Schedule a time to complete work after zoom classes (i.e. 1 hour). If work is completed
early, do other school work. If students rush through an assignment to do leisure activities
their work may not be accurate. If a student knows they have to only do schoolwork during
that hour they may be more inclined to work more slowly.
4. Look for support
If your student is struggling with their schoolwork, ask for help. Teachers can arrange
break out rooms for students to receive small group instruction. Tutoring may be another
option. Wednesday’s are days where no new materials are introduced. Those are good
days to go over school work that is more difficult with the teacher.
Remember---We are here for you and your students. Please contact us with any questions or comments.
Chromebook Information & Library News - Ms. Gilliland
Chromebooks
The following information are tips about your chromebooks.
If your chromebook is broken or not working correctly, please follow these steps:
1. Restart your device-power off with the button on the side or go to the clock bubble in the bottom right corner and power off
2. Sign out of your device-go to the clock bubble in the bottom right corner and click, in the pop up menu in the top left you will see your name-click sign out
3. Make contact with your school Librarian-Ms. Gilliland at agilliland@tps501.org
4. If Ms. Gilliland can’t be reached please contact techsupport@tps501.org the district Information Technology department
TYLER SIS logins are different from the chromebook login. Please use the following format user name: ###### (student Id) password: birthdate: mmddyy
All students will still be responsible for any damages to their device during this time, so please keep your device in a secure location out of the way of liquids, dropping from heights, and small toddlers.
School based sites and programs that content areas have in common are, but are not limited to are: NoRedInk, Newsela, MobyMax, Google Classroom, Zoom, HMH, and Clever
Reading Resources HIGHLIGHT!!
As our continuous learning evolves please use the following resources to help with additional reading while away from the physical school library.
http://destiny.topeka501.org/-Our Online School Card catalog located under the TPS 501 Bookmarks-you can access ebooks or put books on hold for circulation
https://www.worldbookonline.com/-World Book is an online encyclopedia subscription the district pays for. They have opened up many additional resources since this online learning was taking place. All students will need the username: tps501 and password:library to access the MANY resources for all grade levels
https://kslib.info/221/Online-Databases-The State Library of Kansas has many additional resources available. Many databases along with many elearning audio books and platforms. If you need a State Library ID or card, please email me and I will get you one. agilliland@tps501.org
https://tscpl.org/-Topeka Shawnee County Library is always a good source. You can sign up to get a free digital library card. Your username is: 501###### (student id) Password is: year of graduation-6th grade-2027, 7th grade-2026, 8th grade-2025
Band Notes - Ms. Rowe
This student demonstrates the “sail” mask.
Career & Life Planning - Ms. Wentz
The semester is well under way and we have covered a multitude of subjects. Each
student researched a career they were interested in and designed a slideshow with their information. The research included the education and training needed for this career, job skills needed, earnings and benefits with this career and factors that influence the availability of their career choice.
We have moved on to the “Navigate” curriculum, The major topic of this curriculum is
choosing a college, how to get into a college, the cost of the program and finally, paying for the education.
Thank you for sharing your student with me. It is my hope that with the information they receive in the class they are able to make informed decisions in the future.
Language Arts - The Language Arts Team
Winter break is fast approaching and there is no better time than to catch up on some good reading! I know what you’re thinking….if I’m not in school, why should I read? Here are a few reasons why it’s important to read EVERY DAY.
Reading keeps your mind active. Reading helps keep your brain engaged and prevents it from losing its “power.” Just like any other muscle in your body, the brain needs exercise to keep it strong and healthy. So, if you don’t use it, you lose it – and we want you to remember everything you’ve learned in school so far!
Knowledge. Everything you read fills your head with new information, and you never know when it might come in handy.
Improved Focus and Concentration. Our internet-crazed world draws our attention in a million different directions: checking our email, sending a text message, skyping, gaming, etc...It can lead to high levels of stress and reduce productivity. When you read a book, all of your attention is focused on the story – the rest of the world just falls away and you become absorbed with every detail.
FREE Entertainment. Libraries have books on every subject you can think of. They constantly get in new books so you’ll never run out of reading material. There are also many sources online where you can download free e-books, so go hunting for a new book to read!
So, grab a hot cup of cocoa, put on your favorite pajamas and fuzzy slippers and get lost in a book over the break. Your brain will thank you for it later!
Here's what's happening in Language Art - - - -
6th Grade:
Both: Working on Unit 2: Animal Intelligence - focusing on author’s purpose, denotation/connotation, text evidence, main idea & detail
Wooten: reading “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever!”; Q2 book report due after winter break (choice book - must be at least 100 pages, no graphic novel, new to student)
du Bois: reading “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever!” building vocabulary with Unit 3 words “Mime in a Box.”
7th Grade:
Martin/Bisconer: Unit 2 is underway for 7th grade ELA. We are focusing on main idea and elements of figurative language for this quarter. Both classes have completed or started an independent novel study for students, and are working hard to maintain rigor and enthusiasm while we are all remote.
8th Grade:
Watson/Pumford: We are finishing our “Thrill of Horror” Collection this month and working on understanding irony and citing textual evidence.
Reading Intervention-Appelhanz: December: Main Idea, Context Clues, nonfiction reading skills with our Scholastic Action Reading Magazine. January: Hopeful to be back at school to try and do mid-year reading level testing; continuation of nonfiction reading skills.
ELL:
Scott: Unit 4: Here, There, and Beyond
Enduring Understandings (Big Ideas/Concepts): How does your location affect the way you live?
Essential Question(s):
How do I define unfamiliar words in a text using context clues and prior knowledge?
How do I determine the main idea and supporting details of diverse media to make connections?
How do I organize my ideas for a compare/contrast essay?
How do I answer questions and solve problems using research:
Shelton: Newcomer 1: Unit 5, “At Lunch” We will be learning about food, food counts, and money. Unit 6, “Information Everywhere”. We will be learning about sources of information, library resources, technology, and commands.
Newcomer 2: Unit 3, Our Living Planet. We will be learning about animals, plants, Ecosystems, adjectives, and spelling. Unit 4: Past and Present. We will be reading about World War II, the Holocaust, and the Three Branches of Government. We will work on spelling words that end with y, and write a comparison paragraph.
Gifted Language Arts - Dr. Spero
Sixth grade gifted students finished reading Night by Elie Wiesel. Seventh and eighth grade gifted students finished reading horror genre short stories as The Monkey’s Paw. Seventh graders are reading Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, and eighth graders are reading Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Students are working on citing textual evidence; providing objective summaries of texts; determining the meaning of words and phrases; analyzing the impact of word choices; analyzing the structure used to organize texts; determining narrator point of view and credibility; and viewing writer techniques for expressing character traits and motivations.
Gifted students wrote country position papers on behalf of their assigned country as delegates in the Topeka Model UN and have started drafting resolutions to propose for debate. Topeka Model UN will be a virtual conference scheduled for the week of February 22-26 and March 1-5, 2021.
Science - Ms. Abellon, Mr. Lobatos, Mr. Jennings & Mr. Morris
Seventh graders are completing our Chemistry Unit and will be moving to learning about Physics through the many forms of Energy and its Energy transfers-transformations. Students will complete classwork, do computer simulations, investigations and labs to help them understand those concepts. We will be moving on learning all about Waves afterwards.
We have to make a change already for 8th grade science. Due to the uncertainty of the amount of time we might spend during the second quarter in possible full remote, we are no longer going to do chemistry. Instead, chemistry will be pushed back to later in the year to increase the student's chances of being in class to do labs. For those students who remain full remote, I will be trying to find simple labs they might be able to do at home, and they will have access to a video of me doing the lab for them. Instead of chemistry, we will move on to our Earth history unit learning about how animals have changed over time based off of the fossil record, learning about how DNA determines traits, and how natural selection works in the wild. The Earth history unit is typically done at the beginning of the year, and will work well coming after the space unit we finished up during the first quarter.
History Happenings - Mr. Jennings, Mr. Schawo, Ms. Miner & Ms. Morelli
7th Grade World Geography will be exploring all the different groups who have an interest in the Amazon Rainforest. We will examine each group and how their uses of the rainforest impact its ecosystem, biodiversity and the planet overall. Through virtual field trips, research and reading we will determine those impacts and possible solutions for them.
Then, lace up. The Global Sneaker will take us around the world as we see all the parts of the sneaker's production and material resourcing. Students will explore factories and living conditions of workers who make the majority of our clothes, why our clothes are less expensive today, and how the environment is also affected.
In 8th grade, the students have just finished learning about the Constitution. We will be diving into the first 7 Presidents' foreign policy plans, the economy of the United States, and the growing division between northern and southern states.
Happy Holidays from us here at Jardine.
Math - The Mighty Math Team
In 7th grade math, we are continuing along in Module 2: Rational Numbers. Our next focus will be on multiplying and dividing integers and rational numbers. You can expect to see homework that asks your child to do the following:
■ Multiply and divide integers and other rational numbers.
■ Apply multiplication and division of integers to real-world contexts.
■ Recognize patterns that indicate whether a product or quotient is positive or negative.
■ Convert fractions to decimals and vice versa.
■ Use properties, such as commutative or associative properties, to evaluate expressions efficiently.If your child needs additional support in math, please consider after school tutoring.
8th graders just finished up a unit on Geometry and linear equations. We are now moving into identifying slope and y intercept from an equation, from a graph and from two points. Students will be expected to plug in information to missing variables and solve. Please continue to check your students grades on Tyler SIS and ask them about their assignments on Google Classroom. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask the teachers.
Computer Applications - Mr. Esau
Art - Ms. Latham
PE Happenings - Ms. Remer & Mr. Coffman
REMOTE STUDENTS-
Weekly Jardine Middle School P.E./Health Lesson Plans
PE ZOOM CODE IS ALWAYS- 993 7299 8742
PASSWORD IS ALWAYS- jaguars
*Weekly Activity Logs are due EVERY Friday before 5:00 p.m.
Directions to PE Assignments:
Log into the PE google classroom, find class work, find the day of the week (either Monday/Tuesday OR Thursday/Friday), click on the assignment agenda, do the workout, go to the Activity log also located in google classroom, fill out the Activity Log, submit the activity log after your send weekly workout or before Friday at 5:00 for full credit.
Please email Mr. Coffman (8th graders) or Mrs. Remer (6th graders) with any questions you may have OR stay on the zoom end of the zoom calls for a personal zoom session.
STUDENTS AT JARDINE-
We are having a wonderful time with your students in P.E. class. They are doing a fantastic job of keeping their masks on, social distancing and using sanitizer. Extra measures are also taken by sanitizing equipment after each class as well.
Some of our September - October activities have been:
Touch football, wall paddleball, wall volleyball, human ladder, steal the stuff, tennis, deck ring and pin ball.
Some of our November/December Activities:
Koosh ball, ball tag, basketball skills, basketball tournament, volleyball skills, volleyball tournament and pickle ball.
Reminder four items needed each day in class:
Tennis shoes, water, deodorant and loose fitting clothes.
Para Spotlight
Introducing Mr. Stone -
Mr. Stone is currently in his sixth year at Jardine Middle School working with our scholars. Mr. Stone’s hobbies include working with animals and also playing/singing music. He frequently performs impromptu solos on social media. Mr. Stone is a retired special education teacher who decided he still had a calling to work with students. We were fortunate to snag him for Jardine Middle School where he has made a huge impact in the lives of students and our staff. Needless to say, Mr. Stone does have a mischievous side, as he likes to play pranks and joke around with our fellow paraprofessionals. He has an infectious smile and sense of humor. Thank you, Mr. Stone, for all you do for our students and your dedication to Jardine Middle School..
Para Spotlight
Introducing Mr. Gesner -
Mr. Gesner is currently in his second year here at Jardine Middle School. He currently is a paraprofessional with our students in our STRIVE program working alongside Ms. Brosius, the STRIVE teacher. He has been a paraprofessional with Topeka Public Schools for four years. His hobbies include reading, gardening, traveling, cooking, and spending time outdoors. Mr. Gesner has built strong relationships with some of our students and works hard to ensure they get the best learning opportunities as possible. Thank you, Mr. Gesner, for all of your hard work and dedication to Jardine Middle School.
Jardine Activities - Mr. Snyder
JC Watts once said, “Everyone tried to define this thing called Character. It is not hard. Character is doing what’s right when nobody’s looking.”
We did start our boys soccer and girls basketball for the second quarter, however we went back to remote and had to put the season on hold.
I would like to remind everyone about KSHSAA guidelines:
Remote Learning & Direct Instruction Policy – Effective 1st semester 2020-2021 school year (approved by KSHSAA Executive Board 07/22/20) Students who are receiving direct instruction via remote learning and are enrolled in at least 5 new subjects of unit weight will be eligible for participation in KSHSAA sponsored activities only at the member school in which they are enrolled and receiving instruction.
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.
Picture day has moved to January 26th- more information to come.
PTO - Volunteers Needed!
Call for volunteers! We need YOU! We will be fundraising to support our Jardine Jaguars starting in January. Please join us on Thursday, December 10th @7pm to plan family activities and a silent auction. The Zoom link will be emailed by Mr. Haire and posted to the Jardine PTO Facebook page.
Many families have expressed concern regarding the educational opportunities for kids this school year. After the winter break, we will be calling for volunteers to work with small groups of students when they are not in class. Parents, grandparents, and family friends are all welcome to volunteer. The first step is to complete the background check form for the school district. Please submit this form by December 20th so that you can be ready to say YES when we return from winter break!
Jardine Middle School
Website: www.topekapublicschools.net/jardine
Location: 2600 SW 33rd St, Topeka, KS, USA
Phone: (785) 730-8100