“Energy and persistence conquer all things.” – Benjamin Franklin
Hello, Jefferson Middle School families and parents!
Another week has flown by us, but not without growth, success, and achievement! We are thankful for the conversations and collaboration during parent teacher conferences, and we are always honored to serve our students alongside of our families. We truly appreciate your feedback, questions, and suggestions in our shared goal of success for your children. So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, as we approach the holiday season, we say, "Thank you so very much".
We encourage you to take time to read through the newsletter this week as there are several events, opportunities, and announcements!
Monumental Moments this past week
- Wednesday SEL Zero Period!
- SMART goals were set in all core content all across the building for students, relating to benchmark scores, behavior, and academic growth!
We appreciate and encourage all of our families to reach out with any needs, questions, or concerns.
Have a wonderful evening!
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
Monday, October 31, 2022
- Health Screenings 6th and 8th Grade during PE classes
- Author Dusti Bowling Visit-Library 6th period-Mrs. Humphrey’s ELA classes, 7th period-Ms. Mills ELA classes
- Cheer Practice 3:00-4:00
- 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
- Boys Basketball Practice Gym 3:00-5:00
- Girls Basketball Practice Gym 5:00-7:00
Tuesday, November 1, 2022
- Health Screenings 6th and 8th Grade during PE classes
- Atomic Eagles Meeting Science Wing 2:45-4:30
- Master Builders Meeting Rm 102 2:45-4:30
- RadioActive Brix Meeting Rm 223 2:45-4:30
- Girl Scouts Meeting Rm 208 3:00-5:00
- Basketball Foothills Tip-Off Classic (Varsity ONLY) @ Eagleton Girls vs. Heritage-7:30, Boys vs. North Middle-8:00
Wednesday, November 2, 2022
- Health Screenings 6th and 8th Grade during PE classes
- Cheer Practice 1:00-2:00
- Talent show practice 1:00-2:00
- Gardening Club 1:00-2:00
- Boys Basketball Practice Gym 1:00-3:00
- Girls Basketball Practice Gym 3:00-5:00
Thursday, November 3, 2022
- Health Screenings 6th and 8th Grade during PE classes
- RadioActive Brix Meeting Rm 223 2:45-4:30
- Basketball Foothills Tip-Off Classic (Varsity ONLY) @ Eagleton Girls vs. Horace Maynard-5:00, Boys vs. Heritage-6:00
Friday, November 4, 2022
- Health Screenings 6th and 8th Grade during PE classes
- Youth for Christ-Band Room 7:10
- Ms. Kala’s class to TN Bank 1:45-2:00
- Boys Basketball Practice Gym 3:00-5:00 Girls Basketball Practice Gym 5:00-7:00
Saturday, November 5, 2022
- Basketball Foothills Tip-Off Classic (Varsity ONLY) @ Eagleton TBD
Sunday, November 6, 2022
- Basketball Foothills Tip-Off Classic (Varsity ONLY) @ Eagleton TBD
We are now taking referrals for the Oak Ridge Schools Angel Tree Program. This service is made possible by our generous community, businesses and organizations that want to ensure all children have the option to experience the magic of Christmas!
If your family is in need of some assistance this Christmas, please fill out the attached form and return it to your school counselor by Monday, October 31st. Families will be served on a first come, first served basis. Names will be screened with other organizations and churches in the community that provide a similar service.
If you have any questions, please feel free to call me at 865-425-3205 or email me at jbruce@ortn.edu and I will be glad to answer them.
We are distributed picture proofs to your child's homeroom teacher last Monday. Orders are due no later than Wednesday, November 2nd .
Make-up pictures and group picture day is scheduled for November 30th. If you have questions, please email Mr. Mitchell at: jjmitchell@ortn.edu
Holiday Food Drive
For well over 30 years, Jefferson has sponsored a food drive to aid our Oak Ridge families in need. This year, the food drive runs from November 1-10. We encourage all students to consider donating non-perishable food to the cause. All of the contributions go to two Oak Ridge food pantries. In the past, we have collected more than 30 boxes of food. Here is how to help:
- Food pantries can only accept non-perishable foods
- Canned goods, boxed food mixes, cereal, condiments, spices.
- Please check to make sure food is not expired
- Bring donation to your homeroom
- Homeroom reps will keep track of number of items donated
- Homeroom with the most donations receive a prize
Please consider participating in this worthy cause. If everyone brings in just one item, we will have donated over 700 items!
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2022-2023 Silverman Strings Scholarship recipient
4 Cs: Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communication, Creativity
FOCUS: Communication
Teaching students that communication can come in many ways is important. It is not just speaking verbally with someone to communicate but can also be non-verbal cues such as hand gestures and facial expressions as well as written emails, presentation materials, and more. Now that we live in such a digital world, it is also important to teach children how to navigate digital spaces with responsibility.
CHALLENGE: One aspect of communication from our 4 Cs rubric for Communication: "I can share differing opinions without putting others down and make others feel appreciated".
Ask your child to share his or her opinion on a topic they discussed this past week in one of their classes, Then, ask them to share a differing opinion they heard in that discussion. Ask how they help others feel appreciated when opinions may clash.
STUDENTS of the WEEK
We want to congratulate our Student of the Week winners, nominated by their teachers. We are so proud!
- 5th grade: Damion Ulven, Matthew Ferry, and Jude Brantley
- 6th grade: Kelly Ramirez, Analia-Chavarria-Cruz, Cristel Andino-Ordonez, and Kimberly Santos-Guerra
- 7th grade: Te’a Baird, Zoey Unterberg, and Madeline Erwin
- 8th grade: Xander Valentin and Kamden Pitkanen
Athletic Update:
The Eagles and Lady Eagles basketball teams are gearing up for their first basketball games of the season this weekend in a pre-season tournament at Eagleton Middle School. The Lady Eagles take on Webb on Saturday at 11:30am. The Eagles take on Gresham at noon on Saturday. On Sunday afternoon, both teams face Maryville at 2:30pm and 3:30pm. Their first home game is on Thursday, November 10th. Go Eagles!
Go Eagles!
Our BASKETBALL schedule is below!
Coach Katie Bolling
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RESTROOM | HALLWAY | CAFETERIA |
RESTROOM
HALLWAY
CAFETERIA
The Tennessee Department of Education announced today the 2022 Reward and Priority schools, which are two key designations under Tennessee’s school accountability system. The Oak Ridge School district is proud to share that four schools have been named Reward Schools: Linden Elementary, Glenwood Elementary, Willow Brook Elementary, and Jefferson Middle School. Reward status is the top distinction a school can earn in Tennessee. Reward schools are those that are improving overall student academic achievement and student growth for all students and for student groups, and they are identified annually.
Dr. Borchers states, “The Oak Ridge School District focuses on growth and improvement, even in times of instability, and because our students are much more than the sum of their test scores, we will continue to focus on the Oak Ridge Schools’ Portrait of a Graduate which can be found on our district website at www.ortn.edu/pog. The Portrait of a Graduate was developed collaboratively with the community and focuses on achieving college and career readiness for every student by developing a shared vision among all key stakeholders regarding the key competencies that students need to be successful in work, citizenship, and life.”
