Parent Newsletter
Feb. 12 - 16
Look forward to another great week
- A look at the week ahead
- Midterm and Beyond
- 7th and 8th grade dance
- 30 Days of Kindness continues
- School and the Real World
- Understanding Social Media
- Thank you to our amazing Counselors
- Counselors Corner
Thank you for all that you do to support JMS each and every day! We hope you have a great week!
Phil Cox, Principal
Chris Layton, Vice Principal
Concerns for student illness
We are working to make every effort to keep our building clean and sanitized as the flu season is upon us. In addition, we are reporting our absentee numbers to central office everyday and the numbers are being closely monitored. Our overall school attendance has been in the normal range with a slight increase on Friday Feb. 9th. We will continue to monitor and work to keep our building sanitized and clean.
If your child is not feeling well and has to miss school, we hope they feel better soon. For many of their classes, they will be able to keep up with missed assignments, lessons and resources by reviewing Canvas and checking other resources like OneNote and online textbooks.
Thanks for all that you do! We hope your student(s) continue to feel well and for our students who have been sick, we hope you start feeling better soon!
Phil Cox, Principal
Chris Layton, Vice Principal
A look at the week ahead
Events for the week
February 12-16
Monday 12 – B Day
Tuesday 13 – A Day
Wednesday 14 - B Day
Talent Show Practice – 1:00, JPAC
Thursday 15 - A Day
Basketball Banquet – 6:00, JMS Cafeteria
Friday 16 - B Day
Youth for Christ JPAC 7:00 A.M.
ORHS Color Guard visit – 8th grade PE class
Student Council Meeting – 6th period
Celebrating Black History Month: Frederick Douglass
Midterm and Beyond
We often see for students that the first three weeks in a nine weeks shows great success. There are often few assignments, tests, quizzes, projects etc. as the nine weeks begins. However, as time progresses, we see for some students a poor test score, missing assignments, no submission on a large project etc. leads to lack of further submission on assignments.
It can't be stressed enough for students to understand that zeroes are absolutely devastating to their grade. The graphics below help to paint the picture of how much a zero impacts a student's grade.
A pledge from midterm and beyond:
- You may have received a midterms with all A's and great grades. Great Work! Keep it up! Don't be satisfied, see if you can continue to work hard, persevere and achieve at that high level.
- Maybe you had a good midterm, but not quite what you had hoped it to be. Remember, it's just a glimpse of where you are at this time, doesn't mean it is set in stone. Keep working hard, find the places you struggled the first semester (poor tests, quizzes, missing assignments etc.) and take the appropriate steps to correct those.
-Maybe you had a very poor midterm with failing grades. Spend time working on the following things:
1. Look back at your gradebook in Canvas. Why did you have a poor midterm grades? Was it poor tests or quizzes? Did you not submit your work?
2. Devise a plan to get organized to finish this nine weeks strong. Create goals for yourself (ex. I won't have any zeroes for the next four weeks)
The ability to complete assignments both in class and at home is possible for all students. The amount of zeroes a student has either from homework or classwork often tells the story at midterm and at the end of a nine weeks period.
7th and 8th Grade Dance
7th-8th grade dance Feb. 23rd 6-8 pm JMS gymnasium
Sunday Attire or Semi-Formal dress
Tickets will be sold Feb. 12th-21st at 7:30 am in the bookstore
Tickets are $10.00 each includes entrance fee and food
30 Days of Kindness Continues
As we work to help students develop 21st century skills a part of that is to help them understand and develop "soft skills". We are working to help our students and also working to continue to promote a positive climate for all students at Jefferson Middle School. The 30 Days of Kindness campaign will continue through the rest of this nine weeks with 20 more challenges that are still to come. Check out the counselors corner section in the newsletter each week to see what next week's challenges will be.
School and the Real World
Our teachers are constantly working to grow and learn. Our teachers are working as lifelong learners to continue to pursue new ideas, innovations, techniques, strategies etc. that will help engage our students. Our students today are the most stimulated generation the world has seen. For our students, the very thought of an AOL dial up connection that may take 5 minutes to get online is nerve racking. To our students the very thought that there was a time that most people had phones in their home and students spoke to friends on phones rather than text is unimaginable.
How do we draw the parallels of school to those of the real world? So often, students are reminded that their education is their job, but for students they struggle to see that, because they don't see a paycheck. The following parallels are some of the goals we are working to help exemplify and model for students to understand the big picture of school, beyond grades, test scores, etc.
Missing Assignments
As a student, the assignments that you have assigned to you are a part of the learning process. The allow teachers to have a true understanding of whether or not you understand the information that has been taught. When you don't complete the assignments or give zero effort, it's not necessarily a reflection of what you know vs. what you don't know, but rather it reflects that you haven't tried. The parallel in the future for your career is that you will be expected to put forth effort and try (even on tasks you don't like or want to do). The challenge of trying something even though you may be unsure allows you to grow and become gritty, a very key element for success for your future.
Foregoing Opportunities to Make Corrections
You are going to make mistakes in your school career and in your future career. In your school career, when a teacher provides you with opportunities to make corrections, resubmit or even retake an assignment, you should! This is a perfect opportunity to work on growth mindset, the belief that just because you did not accomplish your goal the first time you can continue to work to get better. You should always take advantage of the opportunity to learn from mistakes and grow both in school and in the real world.
Make your social media connection, positive!
For some students in middle school, the drama of middle school whether it be in rumors or social media is captivating. The reality is, social media has created a new platform for millions of people to share, discuss and in some cases be cruel. It is important for our students to understand that their digital footprint down the road in their future may impact their opportunities. There are a growing number of colleges and universities along with employers who are utilizing social media search firms to help analyze applicants for jobs and admission to school. When you have hundreds of people, with very similar characteristics apply, this tool can sometimes provide more insight to employers at large companies and also admissions at colleges and universities.
On the other hand, some students both looking to get into a college or university or looking for their first career have utilized their social media in a positive manner in order to help others. This philanthropic approach is also a wise way to market one's self for future opportunities.
We spend time in our newsletter focusing on digital citizenship because we know for many of our students their access and time online is a large portion of their day. We want them to know the appropriate measures to take in order to be a good digital citizen.
How you treat people will impact your opportunities
We have been focused on 30 Days of Kindness, not only because it is the right thing to do to be kind, but also because it will help our students develop a much needed 21st century skill. In school, we learn a lot of great lessons about math, science, English, social studies, art, STEM etc. however one skill we should all work to focus on is promoting soft skills. Your ability to relate to others, listen to others, collaborate with others, effectively communicate in a positive manner etc. are all skills that will have a great impact on your future. These skills often have a larger impact than the hard skills. We work in our school to help incorporate these soft skills because research tells us that they will be a requirement for our students as they work towards their careers.
Be organized, be ready to work and be open to learning
Just like in school, in the real world you will be expected to be organized, be ready to work, and open to the idea of growing and learning. How can you model these ideas in your daily routine at school?
1. Show up to school on time and to all of your classes on time ready to learn
2. Focus in class as you are receiving instruction, take notes, review those notes and organize all the information you receive.
3. Realize that you have an amazing tool, the greatest supercomputer you will ever use and it is your brain. You can learn, grow, share, and continue to learn, grow and share because you are capable of increasing your knowledge.
4. Effort is a large part of the battle. When a student has a bunch of zeroes over a 9 weeks period, it is equal to not performing in your future job. In school, those zeroes often add up to a failing grade. Don't accept failure because you refuse to try. Give your best effort everyday and on every assignment.
Understanding Social Media
For many young adolescents, Facebook has become the place "for old people" as many adults (parents and grandparents) have opened Facebook accounts. Twitter is less common for a lot of teens and tweens because it too has an appeal to older people. However for students, Snapchat had become a very popular social media platform. The app itself has a lot of characteristics that students find appealing including the ability for texts to erase and disappear for what students believe is forever. A good general rule is that students should assume anything they post and make public could be retrieved, reused or seen by others.
In the world of Snapchat, it often becomes a problem if a student sends an inappropriate text or picture and the recipient takes a screen shot of the text or picture. Students can be confused because they feel as if some rule has been broken because their intent through Snapchat was for limited access in the public forum. However, the key element that many students don't think about is, when you share online via social media, you are sharing publicly. A pre social media comparison would be similar if a student were to go into a crowded theater and said something they wished they hadn't and the entire audience heard them. It would be impossible to tell the audience to disregard what they had heard.
Best rules for using social media can be found in a graphic down below. The acronym THINK helps students make better decisions when it comes to their use of social media. Also if you'd like to know more about SnapChat because you've heard your child talk about it etc. check out the video below from Common Sense Media.
A special Thank you to our amazing School Counseling Team
Our counseling department does an amazing job each and every day to help serve the needs of the students of Jefferson Middle School and we are very thankful to have them to help our students.
Special Thanks to Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation for all of your help with our Lego League Team
JMS students excel at Lego League
Congratulations to the Jefferson Middle School FIRST Lego League teams. The Atomic Eagles, JMS Master Builders, and RadioActive Brix participated in the East Tennessee State Championship on Saturday, February 10, 2018 and performed well. The JMS Master Builders earned the 1st Place Robot Mechanical Design trophy. The Atomic Eagles earned the First Place Champions trophy and will represent Tennessee at the World Festival in Houston, Texas in April.
Atomic Eagles:
Ben Dallas
Aaron Fiscor
Lindsey Fiscor
Aaliyah Herron
Marissa Kenworthy
Amelie Nagle
Brian Qu
Alex Shanafield
JMS Master Builders
Matthew Alexander
Adam Blanchard
Sydney Blancard
Jacob Mohr
Jessica Mohr
Stella Scott
Amelia Thomson
Sadie Thomson
RadioActive Brix
Johnny Clark
Abby Ellis
Roxanne Farahi
Christopher Gorsuch
Eden Hatmaker
Wesley Hixson
Henry Landau
Colby Lawson
Team C.A.T.S, a home based team consisting of all Jefferson Middle School students, earned the First Place Gracious Professionalism trophy. Please congratulate the following students:
Team C.A.T.S
Anshra Ajaz
Ashley Godfrey
Becca Godfrey
Grace Godfrey
Iliana Spence
Thora Spence
The Disco Robots, a home based team with one member attending JMS, earned the the First Place Robot Strategy and Innovation trophy and the Second Place Robot Performance trophy in a three way tie for highest robot score.
Disco Robots
Bobby Slattery
Counselors Corner
Communicating with Your Middle School Child
Hello from the Jefferson Counseling Office! We hope that you had a great week and are ready to start this next week off in a great way. As promised in last week’s Counselor Corner, we are going to continue our discussion on communicating effectively with our middle school students. To quickly recap last week’s article before moving forward, we talked about being good listeners and what that meant for us as effective communicators. Good listeners give the speaker their undivided attention, they favor their right ear, avoid interruptions and redirecting the conversation to benefit their concerns, they show interest in what is being said, they do their best to set aside their own judgements, and they provide helpful feedback when the speaker is done. Now, let us discuss the topic for this week: using and recognizing body language and non-communication.
When we communicate things that we care about, we do so mainly using nonverbal signals. Nonverbal communication, or body language, includes facial expressions, body movement and gestures, eye contact, posture, the tone of your voice, and even your muscle tension and breathing. The way you look, listen, move, and react to another person tells them more about how you are feeling than words alone ever can.
Developing the ability to understand and use nonverbal communication can help you connect with others, express what you really mean, navigate challenging situations, and build better relationships at home and work.
- You can enhance effective communication by using open body language—arms uncrossed, standing with an open stance or sitting on the edge of your seat, and maintaining eye contact with the person you are talking to.
- You can also use body language to emphasize or enhance your verbal message—patting a friend on the back while complimenting him on his success, for example, or pounding your fists to underline your message.
Now, let us look at some tips on how to read and deliver non-verbal communication.
Tips for improving how you READ nonverbal communication:
1. Be aware of individual differences. People from different countries and cultures tend to use different nonverbal communication gestures, so it is important to take age, culture, religion, gender, and emotional state into account when reading body language signals. An American teen, a grieving widow, and an Asian businessman, for example, are likely to use nonverbal signals differently.
2. Look at nonverbal communication signals as a group. Do not read too much into a single gesture or nonverbal cue. Consider all of the nonverbal signals you receive, from eye contact to tone of voice to body language. Anyone can slip up occasionally and let eye contact slip, for example, or briefly cross their arms without meaning to. Consider the signals as a whole to get a better “read” on a person.
Tips for improving how you DELIVER nonverbal communication:
1. Use nonverbal signals that match up with your words. Nonverbal communication should reinforce what is being said, not contradict it. If you say one thing, but your body language says something else, your listener will likely feel you are being dishonest. For example, you cannot say “yes” while shaking your head no.
2. Adjust your nonverbal signals according to the context. The tone of your voice, for example, should be different when you are addressing a child than when you are addressing a group of adults. Similarly, take into account the emotional state and cultural background of the person you are interacting with.
3. Use body language to convey positive feelings even when you are not actually experiencing them. If you’re nervous about a situation—a job interview, important presentation, or first date, for example—you can use positive body language to signal confidence, even though you’re not feeling it. Instead of tentatively entering a room with your head down, eyes averted, and sliding into a chair, try standing tall with your shoulders back, smiling and maintaining eye contact, and delivering a firm handshake. It will make you feel more self-confident and help to put the other person at ease.
Nonverbal communication is vital to being an effective communicator and, often times, is overlooked or taken for granted. It is extremely possible hold a conversation with another person without saying anything. So, this week, consider your nonverbal signals. Do they align with the message you are trying to convey? Are they being used appropriately? Do others understand what you are saying in your nonverbal communication? Have you had a conversation just by using nonverbal communication?
30 days of Kindness Challenge
We are beginning the third week of the 30 Days of Kindness challenge at Jefferson Middle School. Through this initiative, students were asked to participate in acts of kindness throughout their day. Below are the tasks for this week. Please take time to speak to your child or students about how they are working to be more kind both in and out of school
Monday - Thank the person for taking the time to drive you to school (Bus driver, parent, grandparent, etc.).
Tuesday - Say "Good Morning!" to five people and wish those people a great day.
Wednesday - Offer to help someone with a question they have in class or on their homework
Thursday - Comfort someone who looks or feels upset and offer to help them
Friday - Ask a teacher or staff member if there is anything that you can do to help them out