Hello, Jefferson Middle School families and parents!

We are all filled with gratitude as we anticipate celebrating Thanksgiving with our families and friends next week! Students have been sharing about their holiday traditions across the building this week. Whether you plan to gather and eat turkey and all the fixings, watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, video chat with far-away loved ones, bring out the "special" dishes, play trivia and board games, we encourage you to enjoy each moment; live in the present. Love and be loved.

Please take time to view the pictures below: field trips, STEM projects, and JMS Eagle athletes! We truly spill over with so much pride for all our students.

Also, come support our Eagles and Lady Eagles basketball Monday here on our home court!

We appreciate and encourage all of our families to reach out with any needs, questions, or concerns.

Have a wonderful week!

Phil Cox, Principal, pcox@ortn.edu

Ben Fowler, Vice Principal, bjfowler@ortn.edu

Brian Tinker, Dean of Students, bjtinker@ortn.edu

Elizabeth Leavitt, Instructional Technology Coach, ealeavitt@ortn.edu

Week of November 21-25 , 2022

Monday 21 B Day

• Chess Club Library 2:45-3:45
• Atomic Eagles Meeting Science Wing 2:45-4:30
• RadioActive Brix Meeting Rm 223 2:45-4:30
• Master Builders Meeting Rm 102 2:45-4:30
• Basketball Game vs. Eagleton at JMS BJV – 5:00, GV – 6:00, BV – 7:00
• Board of Education Meeting SAB 5:00

Tuesday 22 A day

• Atomic Eagles Meeting Science Wing 2:45-4:30
• RadioActive Brix Meeting Rm 223 2:45-4:30
• Master Builders Meeting Rm 102 2:45-4:30

Wednesday 23- Friday 25: NO SCHOOL!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

November FOCUS: Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is just that--CRITICAL! Critical thinking is crucial for middle school students to be equipped to respond to academic, social, and emotional challenges successfully. We must provide learning opportunities, experiences, and platforms that allow and even insist that students think critically

CHALLENGE: One part of our rubric, "Clearly explains the new knowledge gained through the task."

Ask your child to share some new knowledge gained in Math, Science, Social Studies, Language Arts, or any elective class this week. Ask them what task or tasks helped them to gain this knowledge. Finally, ask them to connect it to his or her life and world.

We want to congratulate our Student of the Week winners, nominated by their teachers. We are so proud!

• 5th grade: CJ Stewart
• 6th grade: Ronnie Perry, Laney Harper
• 7th grade: Kaylen McClendon, Valón Nayi (Vandan) ,Kory Gentry
• 8th grade: Ava White, Aubriela Consaul

Athletic Update:

The Jefferson Eagles basketball teams and cheerleaders will host Eagleton on Monday evening at JMS. Boys JV will begin at 5pm, followed by girls' varsity at 6pm and boys' varsity at 7pm. All tickets are $5 and children 6 and under are free. Go Eagles!

Go Eagles!

Coach Katie Bolling

Ms. Candie Price (5th and 7th Grade)

Mr. Paul Sudderth (6th and 8th Grade)

Please contact our school counseling department with any other questions at 865-425-9302. Ms. Amy Myers, school registrar, is happy to assist with enrollment, withdrawal paperwork, transportation, Skyward, school updates, etc.

• November Character Strong Trait: Empathy

Leadership is how we influence others. It’s a powerful way to positively impact the world around us. This month we will help students build their leadership skills while practicing EMPATHY. One way to think about Empathy is “understanding and connecting with other people’s feelings.” It is a practice we can use to help us grow strong relationships.

• Family Fun Activity:

Review Empathy as a family! Schedule a family movie night so that you can specifically watch for feelings and emotions. Let everyone know that you’d like them to point out how the characters in the show are feeling and that you will pause periodically to discuss Empathy. As emotions are identified, invite one another to Empathize by sharing about a time they felt that way or imagining how they might be feeling in that moment.

• Emotional Support through the Winter Months

Although the holidays are a wonderful time of year, the winter months can also bring more frequent emotions like depression and anxiety. If you have seen an increase in these emotions in your child and need further support, please visit the website below from Kids Health. There are many helpful parenting tips of how to support your child during this season!

Please know the JMS School Counselors are always happy to help as well. https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/sad.html

Clothing Closet Accepting Donations

JMS is pleased to offer support for students in need through our “clothing closet”. We are accepting clean, gently used clothing items for students in need. Please make sure all donated items meet JMS dress code policy. Donated items can be dropped off in the JMS Counseling office. Thank you for your support!

• Ms. Price - 5th and 7th Grade Counselor - clprice@ortn.edu
  
• Mr. Sudderth - 6th and 8th Grade Counselor - pwsudderth@orth.edu
• Ms. Myers - Registrar - amyers@ortn.edu