JMS Weekly Update
November 22, 2020
Dear JMS Families,
We want to wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving. We hope that you enjoy this holiday break safely.
This week's Update contains important information about travel restrictions that will affect your family if you are planning to travel outside of Pennsylvania for the holiday. We urge families to take these mandatory quarantine and testing requirements into consideration and keep in mind that the decision to travel to an out-of-state destination will require students to get a negative COVID-19 test result or quarantine for 14 days prior to returning to school.
This week's Update also contains information about:
- Wednesday's 12:00 dismissal schedule
- Special School Board Meeting Notice
- Universal Face Covering Updates
- 8th Grade Career Day
- Spiritwear Holiday Sale
- School Picture Ordering Information
Remember to wear a mask, physically distance (6ft or more), avoid congregating in groups, wash your hands, complete the self-screening before coming to school and stay home if you are sick.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with any questions.
Stay Safe,
Dr. Sarah Shaw, Principal
Ms. Katelyn Deet, Assistant Principal
Weekly Schedule
Monday - Day 2
Tuesday - Day 3
Wednesday - Day 4 - 12:00 dismissal for ALL students (Schedule Below)
- HR - 8:00 - 8:09
- Pd. 1 - 8:15 - 8:36
- Pd. 2- 8:42 - 9:02
- Pd. 3 - 9:08 - 9:28
- Pd. 4 - 9:34 - 9:54
- Pd. 5 - 10:00 - 10:30
- Pd. 6 - 10:36 - 10:56
- Pd. 7 - 11:02 - 11:22
- Pd. 8 - 11:28 - 11:48
- HR - 11:54 - 12:00
Thursday - No School - Thanksgiving Break
Friday - No School - Thanksgiving Break
Monday (11/30) - Day 5
New Information
Special School Board Meeting Notice
There will be a Special Meeting of the Board of School Directors on Monday, November 23, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. to discuss the COVID-19 Instructional Plan. The meeting will be held remotely via Zoom or call-in. All members of the public who wish to join the webinar can log in by going to https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85016736109.
Out of State Travel Restrictions
If you plan to travel out of state for the holiday, please know that your child will need to quarantine for 14 days or produce a negative COVID-19 test prior to entering PA, before returning to school. During this time of quarantine you child will be able to log into class remotely, but will not be permitted to physically enter the building.
Contact Ms. Deet or Mrs. Suess with any questions regarding your travel plans.
On Tuesday November 17, 2020, the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health issued an order establishing testing and quarantine requirements that, with very limited exceptions, apply to all individuals traveling into or returning to Pennsylvania from any other state or international location. Beginning on November 20, 2020, all persons traveling into or returning to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from any other state or international location are required to either:
- Produce evidence of a negative COVID-19 test from a specimen collected within 72 hours prior to entering the Commonwealth or
- Quarantine for 14 days upon entering the Commonwealth.
You can find the full Order from the PA Department of Health here.
Universal Face Coverings Update
Children are required to wear face coverings/masks while walking to and from school.
The Order requires individuals to wear a face covering when indoors, irrespective of physical distance. When outdoors, one must wear a face covering when with others who are not members of the person's household and unable to maintain sustained physical distance.
8th Grade Career Day
On Wednesday, 11/25 (a half-day for JMS students), ALL of our 8th grade students will be participating in a VIRTUAL Career Day opportunity. As in prior years, our 8th grade students will have an opportunity to explore a variety of career pathways; this year by watching self-selected career videos.
Given some of our in-person limitations, students will be directed to a career-related website (https://www.drkit.org/career-videos/) to view eight (8) videos of their choosing, with over 400 different career options to explore. Students will also be asked to provide relevant feedback about this learning opportunity via a Naviance Survey/Feedback form.
Naviance is used throughout middle school (and high school) as students build their individualized electronic career portfolios. This 8th grade Career Day activity will be offered ASYNCHRONOUSLY. 8th grade students are strongly encouraged to use their half-day allotment to complete this opportunity and will also be required to submit a career-related artifact in the form of a Naviance Survey/Feedback Form upon closing. Any student who does not complete the activity successfully, with necessary feedback submitted, will be contacted by the Guidance Office in the coming weeks.
WHAT: 8th Grade Career Day
WHEN: The Morning of Wednesday, 11/25/2020 (Half-Day for JMS students) AFTER singing into Homeroom.
WHERE: Online via drkit.org and Students' Naviance Accounts
WHY: Completion of 8th Grade Electronic Career Portfolios Artifacts Valuable information for High School Transition and Future Planning Meeting PA Dept of Education 339 Career Standards Requirements
The Holiday Spiritwear store is open until Sunday, November 29th. Orders will be ready for shipping or local pick-up no later than the week of 12/14.
Fall Spiritwear orders were distributed. If there was an issue with your order, please contact jmsptamtl@gmail.com
Other Information
School Picture Ordering Information
School pictures have been uploaded to our photographer's website for ordering. Please visit Wayne's World of Photography to order your photos. Detailed instructions for how to do this are below. The company offers retakes if eyes are closed, glasses have glare, or hair is blown in the face. If you have any additional questions about orders or retakes, please contact Wayne Bratten at 412-257-1506. To view and order your photos:
- Visit Wayne's World of Photography.
- Click on "Schools" and then "Jefferson Middle School".
- Enter your student's MTLSD 7 digit ID number. (This number can be found on dashboard in the Student Information section.)
- Complete "student information" section.
- Complete your purchase online.
JMS Yearbooks are on sale now through January 1, 2021. We will be working throughout the year to collect pictures from the children who are working at home. If you have pictures that you would like to share with the yearbook, please email them to Ms. Beckett at abeckett@mtlsd.net.
Prices:
- Sunday, November 1 at 12:00 AM-Friday, January 1 at 11:59 PM: $45
Limited extras will be sold on the last day of school for $50. 8th Grade Advertisements are also for sale from now until January 1 for $30. Order your yearbook and take out an 8th grade ad TODAY! yearbookforever.com
Resources For Families
The following resources provide information to help Mt. Lebanon School District families and staff navigate the complexities of COVID-19 and the impact the pandemic it is having on our daily lives. These resources will be updated as more information becomes available.
The MTLSD School Counselors in partnership with The Allegheny Children's Initiative Inc., have compiled a list of social services resources that may be helpful to you and your family. Please take a look and reach out to these organizations. They are here to help with any of the following:
- Food
- Rent/Mortgage
- Utilities
- Pets
- Abuse
- Mental Health
- General Assistance
Safe2Say Something is a youth violence prevention program run by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. The program teaches youth and adults how to recognize warning signs and signals, especially within social media, from individuals who may be a threat to themselves or others and to “say something” BEFORE it is too late. With Safe2Say Something, it’s easy and confidential to report safety concerns to help prevent violence and tragedies.
Here’s how it works:
- Submit a report through the Safe2SaySomething system
- Crisis center reviews, assesses and processes all submissions
- Crisis center sends all submissions to school administration and/or law enforcement for intervention
- If needed, crisis center may contact tipster anonymously through the app
Athletics
We are excited to announce that we are now offering the convenience of online registration for our athletic programs through partner company, FamilyID (www.familyid.com). FamilyID is a secure registration platform that provides you with an easy, user-friendly way to register for our programs, and helps us to be more administratively efficient and environmentally responsible. When you register through FamilyID, you enter your information once for multiple uses, multiple kids and multiple programs.
Technology
Families In Need of Technology
As we prepare to start the 2020-2021 school year, we are asking families who need to borrow student technology to please complete the form linked below:
Be sure to list every student for whom you need to borrow a device on this form. Once you have submitted your form, you will receive status emails including device pickup details from an @mtlsd.net email address. Please also be sure to whitelist @mtlsd.net email addresses with your email provider to ensure that you receive these communications from us.
Please direct any and all questions regarding loaned equipment to our support address: RemoteSupport@mtlsd.net
JMS PTA Information
Help JMS Earn Money While You Shop!
AmazonSmile
If you haven’t used AmazonSmile Before:
- Go to smile.amazon.com and sign in with your regular Amazon username and password.
- You will be prompted to choose a charity. You should enter "Jefferson Middle School PTA Inc” into the search box that appears. It will say "Pittsburgh, PA" as the location for the charity.
- Make sure whenever you check out, you always go to smile.amazon.com on your browser.
If you already use AmazonSmile:
- Go to smile.amazon.com and sign in with your username and password
- Make sure the charity you’ve selected is "Jefferson Middle School PTA Inc." This information is located under the search bar where it says “supporting”.
- If it isn’t, you can change it by clicking on the charity and selecting “change”
- This will bring you to a page where you can search for “Jefferson Middle School PTA Inc” and allow you to switch charities.
- Make sure whenever you check out, you always go to smile.amazon.com to checkout.
- If you shop on the Amazon app. Please activate Amazon Smile on your mobile app by opening the app and finding ’Settings’ in the main menu (☰). Tap on ‘AmazonSmile’ and follow the on-screen instructions to turn on AmazonSmile on your phone.
Box Tops
Clipping Box Tops is an easy way to earn money for our school. Each Box Top is worth 10 cents, so don't forget to physically and electronically clip the for us! The clipped Box Tops can be turned into the office.
See Box Tops for more information on how to scan Box Tops and to download the app. Receipts must be scanned within 14 days for the Box Tops to be scanned electronically.
Giant Eagle
Giant Eagle Support our students! Enroll your Giant Eagle Advantage Card and earn points for FREE educational rewards with every shopping trip.
Click here to register your card. Our school code is 3369. The Giant Eagle card program is also easy to use - just register your card and shop away as usual!
Office Depot/Office Max
Office Depot/Office Max has a school rewards program. When shopping, remember to ask the cashier to tag Jefferson Middle School. For online orders, enter our school ID (Thomas Jefferson Middle School ID:70088453 Pittsburgh, PA) on the Thank You Confirmation page.
Jefferson Middle School
The Jefferson Middle School learning community has an exceptional reputation for its dedicated teachers, staff and parents working together to provide learning experiences for our children that include high expectations, a challenging curriculum and a shared commitment to provide the best education possible for each and every student.
Email: sshaw@mtlsd.net
Website: https://jms.mtlsd.org/
Location: 21 Moffett Street, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Phone: (412) 344-2120
Facebook: facebook.com/jmslebo
Twitter: @JMSMTLSD