JMS Parent Newsletter
Excellence in Education
"Make each day your masterpiece." ~ John Wooden
TN READY TESTING BEGINS THIS WEEK!
Week Four: April 19 - 23, 2021
Good evening, JMS Parents & Families!
We hope you had a great weekend! We appreciate everyone's cooperation with drop off and pick up each day! It is going very smoothly!
This week we received information that Oak Ridge Schools will not be offering Connect OR (virtual option) for the 21-22 school year. For more details, please see below.
Reminder that we will be kicking off TN Ready testing for in building students this Thursday, April 22nd with our Writing Assessment! COR students will be coming to JMS on Wednesday, April 21st. You can find more information below and please reach out to Ms. Laurendine at jllaurendine@ortn.edu if you have specific questions.
It is essential that your students get to campus on time/early on testing days. If your child is late, they will not be permitted in the testing locations (they will stay in library) and we will have to make up their test. Also, please see below for a few other testing reminders:
- All cell phones and student laptops must be kept in locker during testing.
- No Apple, FitBit or other smart watches are permitted in the testing location. Please keep them home or in lockers. If a student has a smart watch, they will be asked to take off and will be kept in a secure location until conclusion of the testing time.
- Students will need to bring No. 2 pencils. We will have extra in each location.
We are still accepting enrollment for Bridge Camp! This is an excellent opportunity for your child to receive focused instruction to assist in Learning Loss from Covid closures. Please contact Callie Painter (Bridge Camp Administrator) for more information. You can also see the registration form below.
Please see below for information about Lego Mini Camp with Ms. Shanafield, Signing Your 1:1 Access From and also information on how to purchase a JMS Yearbook Online!
Super Wednesdays will be canceled through the duration of TN Ready testing. We will have one more Super Wednesday session on Wednesday, May 19th.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at your convenience.
Have a great week!
Phil Cox, Principal, pcox@ortn.edu
Jenifer Laurendine, Vice Principal, jllaurendine@ortn.edu
Nick Corrigan, Dean of Students, njcorrigan@ortn.edu
Ben Fowler, Instructional Technology Coach, bjfowler@ortn.edu
The Eagle Eye - A Look at the Week Ahead
Monday, April 19
A Day
PTO Meeting Zoom 7:45am
Fire Drill 1pm
Atomic Master Brix Meeting Rm 102 2:45-4:30
Homework help for A-K 2:45-3:45
Track & Field-Tom Hayes Invitational - ORHS - 4:30
Cheer Interest Meeting - Gym - 5pm
Tuesday, April 20
B Day
Progress Meeting Location TBD 8:45am
Homework help for L-Z 2:45-3:45pm
Environmental Club 2:45-5pm
Track Practice 3:00-4:30pm
Girls Volleyball Interest meeting - Picnic tables in front of school 5pm
Football Interest - Gym - 6pm
Wednesday, April 21
A day
Faculty Food Truck-Bunnz
System-wide Groups
NO Wednesday homework help
TNReady TCAP ELA Subpart 1 - ConnectOR students - Grades 5th and 6th Library 1-3pm
Track Practice 1-2pm
Thursday, April 22
B Day
TNReady TCAP ELA Subpart 1-In person students - Grades 5th-8th 7:45-10:15am
Homework help for A-K 2:45-3:45pm
STEM KAP Focus Group SAB Board Room 3:30-4:30pm
Track & Field Meet – Anderson County HS - 4:30pm
Friday, April 23
A Day
TNReady TCAP ELA Subpart 1-ConnectOR students
Grades 7th and 8th Library 8-9am
Homework help for L-Z 2:45-3:45pm
Track Practice 3:00-4:30pm
Update - NO Connect OR (Virtual Learning Option) for 2021-22 School Year
We would like to inform you that Oak Ridge Schools will not offer ConnectOR, a virtual learning program, for the 2021-22 school year.
This decision is the result of information recently received from the Tennessee Department of Education. On Monday, April 12 the state board of education extended a rule that requires virtual programs like ConnectOR to end when the Governor-declared state of emergency ends. At a press conference on Monday afternoon Governor Lee announced, “In-person learning is safe and it’s the only way our students will get back on track after significant learning loss. I support the state Board of Education’s work to ensure that in-person learning is again the standard in TN and virtual learning is reserved for emergency use only.”
To continue virtual offerings outside of the state of emergency, school districts must apply to open a separate, standalone virtual school. Based on the size of Oak Ridge Schools, creating a standalone virtual school is cost prohibitive and could potentially reduce the face-to-face opportunities that are of great value to Oak Ridge students and teachers.
Tips from Mr. Fowler - Signing the 1:1 Access Form on Mobile Device!
Hello JMS parents. It's that time of year where we ask you to sign the 1:1 Access Form so we can smoothly deliver your student's laptop at the start of school at the end of July. Accessing the form is as simple as logging into Skyward and clicking on the form. However, Skyward looks quite different on mobile devices, so I am sending out a guide on how to fill out the form on a mobile device.
As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me a bjfowler@ortn.edu.
ConnectOR TN Ready Assessment Information
All Jefferson students currently enrolled in Connect OR are expected to come into Jefferson, in order to complete their TN Ready tests.
Upon arrival, students will be checked in, given hand sanitizer, and then escorted to their secure testing locations. Grades 5 and 8 will be testing in the JPAC, during morning test administration, while grades 6 and 7 will be testing in the library.
More information will be released soon regarding the Wednesday afternoon testing locations, however, the check in process will be the same. Student check in will take place at the far left set of double doors of the main entrance, nearest the Jefferson Middle School Library. Please have your student ready to check in 20 minutes prior to their exam start time, as testing will begin promptly and late student entry will be prohibited.
Please review the attached TN Ready testing schedule, focusing specifically on the yellow highlighted ConnectOR times, in order to best preplan for the coming weeks.
Please contact Vice Principal Jenifer Laurendine at jllaurendine@ortn.edu, 6th/8th grade School Counselor Falon Sullivan fcsullivan@ortn.edu or 5th/7th grade Counselor Maria Castle mcastle@ortn.edu if you have any questions.
8th Grader Emily Edwards Wins TASL Award!
Congratulations to Emily!!!
Spots Filling Up Fast - Sign Up for Summer Bridge Camp Today!
The COVID-19 pandemic caused school closures throughout Tennessee that resulted in lost classroom time for students. On January 22, 2021, the Tennessee state legislature took action to create and fund new summer learning opportunities for students to help make up for disrupted classroom time. These programs provide an important opportunity for additional instruction for students. Starting this summer, all school districts in Tennessee will offer in-person learning loss remediation programming in the form of learning loss bridge camps.
The Learning Loss Summer Bridge Camp for students will include daily programming from June 2-16 from 7:45am-1:45pm each day. Students will receive instruction and intervention in both reading and math, along with a block for both STEM and physical activities. Breakfast and lunch will be provided to all students in attendance.
If you would like more information about JMS Bridge Camp or are interested in your child attending, please contact Callie Painter at CLPainter@ortn.edu. We have also included the enrollment letter below. Please fill out and return to the main office.
Bridge Camp will be daily from June 2nd - June 15th, then also the first week of each Fall/Spring Break of the 21-22 school year. Transportation and meals will be provided. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Ms. Painter at clpainter@ortn.edu or Ms. Laurendine at jllaurendine@ortn.edu.
Lego Robotics Mini Camp Opportunity
Ms. Shanafield and Dr. Thomson of East Tennessee Robotics Foundation are offering a chance for students to build and program Lego robots over a period of 4 Mondays after school in the JMS library. Due to the limited number of robots and COVID, space is limited. They will honor, first registered, first served. Please see information below and also link for registration.
Introduction to Lego Robotics Mini Camp, sponsored by the East Tennessee Robotics Foundation, will be offered Mondays after school for students who register. Space is limited due to the number of robots and COVID precautions so registration is required; first registered, first served. A confirmation email will be sent to those students with more information about the program. A wait list will be generated from those who are not selected, and space will be offered if it opens.
Interested students can register at this link: https://forms.gle/WeTdPbYVP7qu5hhp6
If you have questions, please contact Ms. Shanafield at jshanafield@ortn.edu.
The Reading Eagle
JMS PTO News - Board Members Needed!
Next PTO Meeting:
The next PTO meeting will be tomorrow, Monday, April 19 at 7:50am via Zoom. Meetings are kept short and are conveniently scheduled immediately after drop-off so anyone can attend. If you would like to receive a Zoom invite, please email sandy@issi.net.
PTO Board Elections Are Coming Soon and Your Help Is Needed:
At the May meeting, new PTO Board members will be elected. In order for the PTO to continue at Jefferson, new board members are urgently needed. All current board members are either moving up to the High School or can no longer serve. Please consider serving in one of the board positions next year. For more info, contact Sandy Pelletier sandy@issi.net or plan to login to our next Zoom meeting on April 19.
JMS Counselors Corner
Good Evening from the Jefferson Middle School Counseling Department. Thank you for another wonderful week of learning and growth. This week, our 8th grade Eagles successfully selected their Freshman Year classes for the upcoming 2021 – 2022 school year. Thank you to all of our families for helping them in making these selections and to the Oak Ridge High School Counseling Department for making the trip over! We are so proud of our rising Wildcats!
Tips and Tricks for Testing
For the month of April, the Counseling Department is focusing on providing tips and tricks to prepare our Eagles as we move closer to our TN Ready testing window. We know how overwhelming and anxiety inducing testing can be! Understanding this, we want our Eagles to feel confident going through testing this school year. Below are some tips that might aid in reducing anxiety and increase our students’ overall readiness/confidence levels when approaching exams:
- Set aside time to do some fun activities leading up to exam day! Studies show patterns of relaxation leading up to testing can provide the rest the brain needs to perform well and better handle stress.
- Have a healthy dinner. Brain food matters!
- Arrive to the school early those days, in order to prevent stress on the mornings of exams.
- Read the questions quickly, before reading the passage, in order to identify what you are searching for in the text.
Message from ORHS to Rising 9th Graders and Parents
Oak Ridge High School is looking forward to meeting you in the coming weeks as you make your course requests for your ninth-grade year. Below are some important dates and some information to assist you in your decisions.
Registration for ConnectOR Students:
ConnectOR Registration will be the week of April 19th through April 23rd.
If you have any questions feel free to contact ORHS freshman school counselor Ashley Bennewitz at abennewitz@ortn.edu or JMS 8th grade school counselor Falon Sullivan at fcsullivan@ortn.edu
Registration for rising 6th, 7th, and 8th graders
If you have not signed up for electives for the 2021-2022 school year please follow the directions below. We currently have a list of 45 students that have not chosen elections. This list includes current in-building and ConnectOR students.
- READ the grade level curriculum guides.
- WATCH the brief overviews by the grade level counselors and teachers. They will explain what rotational classes you will take, and what options you have a choice in.
- DISCUSS what classes fit their interests, academic goals, future career goals, and just seem fun.
- Students log into Skyward, click on Schedule and select electives (ONE for rising 6th graders and TWO for rising 7th and 8th graders). Rising 5th graders (current 4th graders) will select their electives in the fall after they get to JMS.
- Students select ALTERNATIVE courses in Skyward. If for some reason the course does not work in their schedule, students should choose TWO elective courses they are also interested in. There are over 12 electives for 7th and 8th graders to choose from, so their alternative choices are important.
- Watch the videos for your grade level and read the guides below.
JMS 2021 Electives – 5th Grade playlist
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBX9jG90vAUlyaUERUQObfohgYZdOMIz2 (Links to an external site.)
JMS 2021 Electives – 6th Grade playlist
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBX9jG90vAUnJczjMbTRdoGByP_Em-SOP (Links to an external site.)
JMS 2021 Electives – 7th Grade playlist
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBX9jG90vAUlqcXHZ5kdbf15D_L_Hf9g8 (Links to an external site.)
JMS 2021 Electives – 8th Grade playlist
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBX9jG90vAUnf_5sbGF2EZwXpVPeapjoF (Links to an external site.)
You can access all these resources on our school website, https://www.ortn.edu/jefferson/academics/curriculum/ (Links to an external site.)
Mental Health Resources
For further mental health support, please feel free to reach out to the Jefferson Middle School Counseling department at (865) 425-9301. If you or someone you know is in crisis, please refer to the information below:
Mobile Crisis/Youth Villages: 866-779-9225
Ridgeview Behavioral Health in Oak Ridge: 482-1076
Statewide Crisis Text line: Text TN to 741741
National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-TALK or 1-800-273-8255
Educational Supports Available:
After School Homework Help
Monday & Thursday – Last Names A-K can stay after school
Tuesday & Friday – Last Names L-Z can stay after school
Please remember that students will need to be picked up by 3:45 PM.
Super Wednesday Homework Help
Students should report to the Eagle Innovation Center (main lobby). Wednesday Homework Help session is from 1-3:45 PM. Please remember that students will need to be picked up by 3:45 PM.
We Need Your Help!
Thank you so much to those who have considered donating prepackaged snacks for our After-School Homework Help Program. We are still asking all who are able and interested in supporting this program to donate nutritious, prepackaged snacks for our students. All donations can be dropped off to the Jefferson Middle School Counseling Office or in the office at the front entrance. We thank you so much for your willingness to support this wonderful program here at JMS.
Student of the Week:
Trace Jackson
Duncan Hazenfield
Important Dates:
April 19th -23rd Rising freshman from ConnectOR to register for ORHS
April 21st-May 14th -TNReady Testing Window
May 28th - Last Day for students
The Business Academy at ORHS
Mr. Sprouse's Students Writing Poetry from Paint Samples
JMS Athletic Update
The Jefferson Track & Field team will participate in two meets this week. On Monday, the JMS Track & Field team will participate in the Tom Hayes Invitational at Oak Ridge High School. On Thursday, JMS will travel to Anderson County High School for a meet. Both meets begin at 4:30pm. Masks and social distancing will be required for all spectators. Good luck to all of the Jefferson student-athletes participating in the meets this week and GO EAGLES!
JMS Athletics interest meetings continue this week. There will be a cheerleading interest meeting on Monday and volleyball and football interest meetings will be held on Tuesday. Masks and social distancing is required at the meetings. Specific information is listed below by sport. Please visit the Athletics page on the JMS website for up to date JMS Athletics information. Please contact JMS Athletic Director, Katie Bolling, at ksbolling@ortn.edu with any questions.
JMS Athletics Interest Meetings:
- JMS Cheer: Monday, April 19th—5pm @ JMS GYM.
- JMS Volleyball: Tuesday, April 20th—5pm @ Picnic Tables in front of Jefferson Middle School.
- JMS Football: Tuesday, April 20th—6pm @ JMS GYM.
JMS Athletics Try-Outs Information:
- JMS Cheer: Cheer Try-Out Clinic—April 26 & 27—2:45pm-5:30pm (JMS GYM). Cheer Try-Outs—April 29—2:45pm-4:30pm (JPAC).
- JMS Volleyball: Try-Outs—May 28th—1:30-3pm and June 1st—9:30-11am.
- JMS Girls Basketball: Try-Outs—May 11th & May 13th—3-4:30pm.
- JMS Boys Basketball: Try-Outs—May 17th & May 18th—5-7pm.
- JMS Football: Try-Outs & Spring Practice—May 3 through May 14th—3-5pm.
Free Sports Physical Clinic @ ORHS:
Oak Ridge High School will be hosting a free sports physical clinic on Sunday, May 16th from 3-4pm for middle school athletes. Please make plans to take advantage of this great opportunity!