JCMS Parent Newsletter
February 8-12
General News
- Winter Math Night - Come out and join us for our Winter Math Night http://tinyurl.com/zp5u7kc
- Picking Up Your Student - Please make sure that you are picking students up in the afternoon in the back of the building. Picking them up in the front lot is very dangerous with all of the bus traffic and then walkers as they leave after buses.
- Snow Make-up Days -
Date Missed - Make-Up Date
January 11 - Monday, January 18 (MLK Day)
January 12 - Monday, February 15 (Presidents Day)
January 20 - Thursday, May 19
- Picking Students Up - Make a doctors appointment for your student during the school day? No problem! - call ahead or write a note for your student to bring to the main office letting us know what time you will be here. By letting us know ahead of time, we are able to have your student in the main office ready to go by the time you arrive.
- 2015-2016 Yearbooks - Now on Sale!! Order forms are being mailed home or you can go to: ybpay.lifetouch.com and enter Yearbook ID Code: 12069116. Prices start at $25 for a yearbook.
- 8th Grade Math Help - Struggling in Math? Want just a little more practice with a particular topic? Need some help on homework? You have come to the right place!! - http://tinyurl.com/hx3vf9a
- 7th Grade Math Help - Struggling in math? Mrs. Ballenger will be available for tutoring and extra help every Thursday until 4:00pm.
- New ISTEP+ Test - If you want to see what all the hype is about and try some of the new ISTEP+ based questions yourself, visit http://parcc.pearson.com/practice-tests/english/.
- 2016 ISTEP+ Windows - Please avoid scheduling all appointments or other things where your student misses school on the following dates: February 29-March 11 and then April 18-29. These dates are when we will be taking ISTEP+ this year.
- Comment Box - Please help make our school better. If you have feedback for us or a suggestion on how we would do something better, please click the following link and let us know. Be as detailed as possible in your suggestion so we are able to act upon it. http://goo.gl/forms/yUo6t4sp8X
Kindness Award Winners from Last Week
Mrs. Barnes
Mrs. Beville
Joseph Wehner
Braydon Carr
Macie Foga
Timothy Allman
Mackie Wilson
Elizabeth League
Marcus Perry
Mrs. Donnell
Mrs. miller
Logan Forney
Marissa Caudill
Ms. Bezy
County Wide Spelling Bee
Thursday, Feb 11, 2016, 09:00 PM
Brush Creek Elementary School, North Vernon, IN, United States
Word of the Week
Definition: To grow vigorously.
In a sentence: Some middle school relationships flourish over a weekend and some
crash and burn, depending on what is said on social media.
Social Media
Monitoring the New Social Media Kids are Using
As parents, when we talk about Social Media, we generally are referring to Facebook, Instagram, or SnapChat. However, while those are the three most used social media apps, new and troublesome apps are emerging for our kids continually. They range from seemingly innocent apps that keep our kids connected to sharing conversations, pictures, and videos with complete strangers, apps to openly bully others, and apps to hide pictures and content from adults.
According to the Pew Research Center, nearly three quarters of tweens and teens have or have access to a smart phone which opens up activities and conversations difficult for a parent to monitor. Ninety-four percent of these tweens and teens go online daily which 24% report being online “almost constantly.” The most widely used apps are Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat.
Most disturbing are apps emerging that can potentially put kids in danger, help them anonymously bash and bully others, and hide inappropriate pictures, conversations, and videos from parents who are monitoring their phone use. If you would like to learn more about some of the most popular apps used by tweens and teens, you can see a complete list at www.gaggle.net/top-social-networking-sites-and-apps-kids-use.
Apps emerging and becoming popular:
Best Secret Folder: An app that is used to hide folders on your phone. The icon is disguised as “My Utilities,” so no one will ever guess there are private photos tucked away in your phone. There is an “Intruder stopper” option that plays a fake video upon opening to throw parents off track.
Burn Note: A texting app that erases messages after a set period of time. Messages are stored until first viewed and then deleted.
Burnbook: An app for users to anonymously post pictures and text. It has become a collection of mean comments and threats from students directed at their peers. The app’s developer is warning that nasty posts are not anonymous and your IP address can and will be tracked if you write something illegal.
Fling/Super Fling: An app that allows you to send a text, photo or video to 50 completely random users anywhere in the world.
Kik: An instant message service that also allows photo sharing. It is loaded with sex and porn spammers and requires no legitimate identification required to register or track members. Gaggle has seen many incidents via this app with inappropriate photos. Go to Gaggle.net to watch a real story about an incident on Kik involving a real student.
Meet Me: A social networking site that lets users tailor their searches for potential social contacts by age and geography.
Omegle: A popular video chat among teens that is similar to Skype but connects you with strangers. It is a free download and lets you chat and video call others using a webcam. You are able to have group video chats. Users are able to have group chats.
Periscope: A new app created by Twitter that allows users to broadcast live video and audio online. There have been reports of harassment and bullying. It has become a concern of the parents of many of the children and teenagers. A concern is the location sharing feature. If users neglect to turn off the location sharing feature, viewers can locate the Periscope user.
Photo Swap: Anonymous photo exchanging with a large amount of sexual content.
Smack High: An app geared towards high school students that allow kids to share instant school specific news and happenings by talking “smack” about others.
Tinder: A voting-/photo-based location-sharing dating website often used for casual sex.
Truth: App used to message your phone contacts anonymously.
Video Kik: Send videos of any length on Kik Messenger. It is flooded with sex spammers and has become super easy for kids to access all kinds of porn.
Vine: This app allows users to post short videos. Kids are using Vine to physically hurt and publicly humiliate each other.
Yik Yak: Similar to ask.fm, but views are limited to those geographically close to the poster. Yik Yak is now blocked in 85% of all high schools, according to the company.
You Now: A live video streaming app, where kids as young as 7 years of age are videoing themselves in order to win points. Children are being viewed and followed by adults.
Having regular discussions with your children about technology dangers, rights, and responsibilities is a great way to instill good behavior and decision making in them. Explain that is isn’t them you don’t trust, but the adults who are using these tween and teen apps to look for victims. Require that you have current log in information for their social media accounts and let them know you regularly monitor what they are using. Remind them that they should not hide behind technology to be hurtful and unkind to others but to use it for fun, lighthearted posts that keep them connected to their friends.
Contact Us
Email: nhilL@jcsc.org
Website: ms.jcsc.org
Location: 820 W Walnut St, North Vernon, IN, United States
Phone: 812-346-4940
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jenningscountymiddleschool
Twitter: @JCMSPathers