Eagle Eye -JMS Parent Newsletter#18
November 29 - December 3, 2021 - Week 18
Happy Friday!
Jefferson Parents & Families:
As we get ready for students and staff to return to school on Monday, we again want to express our gratitude for the many ways you support JMS. We look forward to seeing our students again soon and we are excited about all of the great things happening at Jefferson as we draw closer to the conclusion of the fall semester. We hope that you have enjoyed a great Thanksgiving holiday and have a wonderful conclusion to the week!
Also, just a reminder that the use of voluntary face coverings by members of the school community is still encouraged for the health and safety of our students, faculty, and staff.
There is a lot happening at JMS this week, so please take the time to check the week at a glance schedule.
We sincerely thank you for your support and hope you have a great weekend!
Phil Cox, Principal, pcox@ortn.edu
Dr. Josh Tipton, Vice Principal, jctipton@ortn.edu
Nick Corrigan, Dean of Students, njcorrigan@ortn.edu
What Should I do if My Child is Sick?
In an effort to ensure all of our students and staff stay as healthy as possible, we want to be sure you are keeping your child home if they are sick, if they have been tested or have been exposed to a positive case of Covid 19.
Please see all scenarios listed below and please reach out to Mr. Corrigan at njcorrigan@ortn.edu if you have any questions!
In an effort to mitigate transmission, please keep your child(ren) home if:
- They have been tested for Covid-19
- They have been exposed to a positive case of Covid-19
- If someone in your household has tested positive for Covid-19. Additionally, notify JMS Administration as soon as possible, as Nurse Cousins is able to test (with parent permission) with results within 24 hours.
- If your child(ren) are displaying any of the following symptoms:
- Fever or Chills Temperature > 100.4 F
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Diarrhea
- Fatigue
- New loss of taste or smell
- Muscle or Body Aches
- Headache
- Sore Throat
- Congestion or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
Drop off/Pick Up
- Please do not enter the bus loop when buses are present!
- Please pull your vehicle all the way up so we can keep as many cars as possible off of Fairbanks.
- Make sure your child is ready to exit the vehicle and doesn't have to access the trunk for items, as this holds up the line.
2021-2022 JMS Student Handbook
Reminder: Attendance & Tardy Policies
We wanted to share a reminder about the attendance policy in ORS as well as the expectations held at Jefferson Middle School. The policies are outlined below. Please reach out to Mr. Nick Corrigan, Dean of Students, with any questions or concerns regarding attendance or tardies. He can be reached via email at njcorrigan@ortn.edu or by calling the school at (865) 425-9301.
JMS Tardy to School Policy
Student tardies will be marked unexcused unless a note is received within three days from a parent or physician stating an acceptable excuse for being tardy. Students are allotted 4 unexcused tardies per 9 weeks. After the 4th tardy to school each 9 weeks, students will receive an after-school detention for every tardy to school received (starting with the 5th). Each 9 weeks, the tardies will start over for each student.
Please remember that student drop off begins at 7am each morning. The school day begins at 7:40am. We encourage students to be on campus 5-10 minutes early to ensure they are in class on time.
JMS Tardy to Individual Class Policy
Teacher will contact parent and submits Student Support Document on 3rd tardy to class. After 3rd tardy to class, teacher will submit a Skyward referral.
ORS Attendance Policy
Attendance is a key factor in student achievement and therefore, students are expected to be present each day school is in session.
Students are expected to:
- Be present and on time for all assigned classes (skipping classes will count as unexcused absences).
- Present documentation of parental permission before checking out of school. Class absences as a result of early checkout are considered the same as any other absence and are subject to all attendance policy rules.
- Provide a written excuse for each absence from his/her parent or custodial parent giving the date and reason for the absence(s).
- Make up assigned work missed during excused absences
Excused Absences
Students must be in school unless the absence has been excused for one of the reasons listed below. It is the responsibility of each student’s parent/guardian to explain the student’s absence to the school in a manner satisfactory to the principal. Absences may be classified as either excused or unexcused as determined by the principal or his/her designee. Absences will only be excused for the following reasons:
- Personal illness
- Only seven days, whether consecutive or not can be excused by a parent note;
- After a child has had (7) days, not necessarily consecutive, of illness related absences excused by a parent note, any future illness related absence must have a doctor’s note stating that the absence is medically necessary.
- All parent and doctor notes must be turned into the school within three school days of the child returning to school.
- Death in the family
- Religious observations
- Extreme weather conditions
- Court appearance or legal mandates
- Verifiable family emergency
- School sponsored events
- Principal has discretion to excuse absences based on the following:
- The absence must be prearranged
- The absence must not have an adverse effect on the child’s academic standing
- The child must have a good attendance history
- The child must have a good behavior record
- The Director of Schools must agree
Week at a Glance - November 29 - December 3, 2021
Monday 29
A day
Truancy Referrals Due
Environmental Club 2:45-5:00
Atomic Eagles Meeting Science Wing 2:45-4:30
Master Builders Meeting Room 102 2:45-4:30
Radioactive Brix Meeting Room 223 2:45-4:30
Chess Club Meeting Library 2:45-3:45
SECME Room 101 2:45-3:45
Basketball Game vs. Jacksboro @ Jacksboro
Boys JV 5:00
Girls Varsity 6:00
Boys varsity 7:00
Tuesday 30
B day
Winter Screener-Math STAR
6th Grade Team Meeting
Instructional Coaches Meeting Eagles Nest 2:45-3:15
Student Focus Planning Session 3:30-4:30
Atomic Eagles Meeting Science Wing 2:45-4:30
Master Builders Meeting Room 102 2:45-4:30
Radioactive Brix Meeting Room 223 2:45-4:30
Girls Basketball Practice 3:00-5:00
Boys Basketball Practice 5:00-7:00
Orchestra Concert ORHS Auditorium 7:00
Wednesday 1
A day
Winter Screener-ELA Written Expression
Collaborative Teams
8th Grade TACL Field Trip to Blount Mansion
East Tennessee Historical Society 1:00-7:15
Cheer Practice 1:00-2:15
Boys Basketball Practice 3:00-5:00
Ski/Snowboard Club Meeting Library 1:00-2:00
Thursday 2
B day
Winter Screener-ELA STAR Reading
Student Focus Meeting
Radioactive Brix Meeting Room 223 2:45-4:30
Basketball Game vs. Rockwood @ JMS
Boys JV 5:00
Girls Varsity 6:00
Boys Varsity 7:00
Friday 3
A Day
Youth for Christ Band Room 7:00 AM
Ms. Kala’s class to ORAU 11:45-2:00
Girls Basketball Practice 3:00-5:00
Boys Basketball Practice 5:00-7:00
Saturday 4
First Lego League Scrimmage
Cherokee Middle School 8:00-3:00
FREE BREAKFAST & LUNCH FOR ALL STUDENTS! November & December Menus
The USDA has extended FREE breakfast and lunch for ALL students this school year!
Please find the November and December Breakfast and Lunch Menus attached below for your convenience!
In The Spirit of Giving: JMS 7th Graders Help Support the Emory Valley Early Learning Center
During the first two weeks of November, 7th grade students at JMS collected items for Emory Valley Early Learning Center. Students brought in toys, sensory items, arts and crafts supplies, and dress up costumes.
On Wednesday, November 17, Ms. Pemberton, Ms. Humphrey, and Dominic Vasquez (our student representative), delivered the items to EVELC’s director, Terry Peek.
Many thanks to the students, staff, and parents who participated!!
- Note: One phone includes the mural that Mr. Dodson and JMS art students have been working on at EVELC!
In the Spirit of Giving: JMS 5th Graders Donate to the Oak Ridge Family Resource Center
The JMS Band Shines at the ETSBOA Jr. Band Clinic!!
Members of the JMS Band attended auditions for the annual ETSBOA Jr. Band Clinic on Saturday, November 20. Official results were posted prior to Thanksgiving and we are thrilled to announce that all 10 of our students who auditioned made the clinic! Congratulations to Mr. Cantrell and the following JMS band students on this outstanding accomplishment!
Bronze Band
Dominic Vasquez
Christian Dodson
Gabe Sherman
Drew Rodabaugh
Gabrien Kanko
Silver Band
Tony Sachitano
Audrey Leach
Gold Band
Cynthia Markus-Brock
Jason Mohr
Lewis Niad
Go Eagles!
ETSBOA Jr. Band Clinic Representatives from JMS!
Building Experience and Expertise in Drone Photography: Mr. Mitchell's Class Is Engaging in Cutting Edge Photography
Students are also learning about aspect ratio, exposure value, shutter speed, and aperture. Soon, when the class has collected enough footage, they will be editing these photos with Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Premiere. The Adobe suite is the industry standard with photography and video editing.
Check out some of the work by Mr. Mitchell's students below!
Counseling Corner
If your child would like to visit with their school counselor, please have them click the following link:
If you have a School Counseling need, please reach out to:
- Ms. Cormack - 5th & 7th Grade Counselor - khcormack@ortn.edu
- Ms. Price - 6th & 8th Grade Counselor - clprice@ortn.edu
- Ms. Myers - Registrar - amyers@ortn.edu
JMS Athletic Updates from Coach Bolling
The Jefferson basketball teams and cheerleaders were off this week for Thanksgiving, but will crank District play back up on Monday, November 29 at Jacksboro.
The Eagles will host Rockwood on Thursday, December 2nd. Boys JV will start at 5PM and varsity action will tip off at 6PM with the Girls Varsity followed by the Boys Varsity to conclude the night.
Go Eagles!
Updated JMS Basketball Schedule!
PTO News!
Sign up for the JMS PTO Newsletter!
SECME Diversity in STEM Education
SECME mission is to increase the pool of historically underrepresented and underserved students who will be prepared to enter and complete post-secondary studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), thus creating a diverse and globally competitive workforce. Does this sound like the opportunity you want, are you wanting to learn about careers in STEM, do you want to further your education after high school. Would you like to learn about diversity, and culture? If the answer is yes, SECME is for you. Come pick up a parent permission form from Ms. Kala in room 101. SECME meets every Monday after school from 2.45-3.45pm.
First Student Transportation - Bus Information
Thank you for your patience and communication during our first week back! Please be sure to discuss your child's method of transportation each day to ensure they know where they are to go at dismissal.
First Student Transportation has posted 2021-2022 Bus Routes and you can find them here:
https://www.ortn.edu/Transportation/2021_Revised_JMS_Bus_Routes.pdf
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Ms. Laurendine at jllaurendine@ortn.edu or Ms. Myers at amyers@ortn.edu.
SIGN UP FOR MYSTOP - BUS TRACKING APP!
Once you are registered for transportation, you will be able to track your child's bus using the app information detailed below. Please see information on how to register for MyStop below.
MyStop - Parent/Student Login
- Username: (use student’s name - case sensitive) firstname.lastname
- Password: (use student birth date) in this format 03122007 for March 12, 2007
MyStop Phone App Available In Your App Store
Go to: Versatrans My Stop™ provides mobile access to bus information. This app displays the location of the user’s assigned school bus, as well as the estimated time of arrival to their stop. Students can plan for late or on-time arrival, and prevent missed pick-ups or being left outside in inclement weather.
Can’t Access the MyStop App?
If you are having difficulty accessing the MyStop App please take the following steps:
- Please confirm the following:
- You have downloaded the App from Tyler Technologies.
- You are using the legal student name as listed in Skyward.
- You have selected all lower case letters.
- You have placed a period between the first and last name.
- The birthdate is correct and only consist of 8 numbers.
If this information doesn’t allow you to successfully download your child’s MyStop App account, please contact Amy Myers at 865.425.9302 or email amyers@ortn.edu. You can also view more information on the ORS District website at https://www.ortn.edu/district/bus-routes/.