We would like to thank all the parents of 8th grade students that participated in the Parent/Teacher Conferences on February 16th and 17th. It was great to be able to visit with you regarding your student’s 9 grade course requests. We would also like to applaud all the 8th grade students that put in the time to complete their 4-Year Plan for high school. They completed this while keeping in mind what their current plans are after high school. This plan can be accessed in Naviance. Parents, please ask your student to show you the work they did and share their plans for the future.

Mr. Falk and Ms. Waldy will now begin working with 6th and 7th grade students on plans for next year. Related Arts classes available include the following:

7th Grade 8th Grade

Band (Year) Band (Year)

Orchestra (Year) Orchestra (Year)

Full Year Choir (Year) Full Year Choir (Year)

PE (Semester) PE (Semester)

FACS (Semester) Career & Life Planning (Semester of High School Credit)

Art (Semester) Design (Semester of High School Credit)

Computer Applications (Semester) Integrated Computer App. (Semester of High School Credit)

At this time in the year, we feel it is a good time to review our attendance policy. All contacts to excuse absences must be made within 24 hours of the absence. Please refer to the state and school policies below in regards to student attendance.

ATTENDANCE/TRUANCY

Regular attendance is required by law. Please refer to the District Student Handbook for further guidelines. It is necessary that a parent/guardian notify the school within 24 hours whenever a student is absent.

Truancy is defined by Kansas state statute (K.S. 72-1106) as a student under age 18 who has been absent unexcused from school on three (3) consecutive days or five (5) days absent within a semester or seven (7) days within a school year.

Parents will be notified for the following attendance issues:

• Multiple unexcused absences

• Excessive lateness to school

• Excessive (10 or more) absences

• At truant status: Home visits are made by our counselors prior to truancy being filed.

Additional Jardine Middle School policies regarding attendance:

• After 10 absences, doctor’s documentation will be required for any further absences.

• Family vacations or family trips will need prior administrative approval. If approved, the absence will only be excused up to 3 school days.

Thank you!

Remind your students if they need help with any issue—peer, classroom, or any outside difficulties all they need to do is ask for help. Also available to students, through Family Service and Guidance Center, are services tailored to meet the needs of any particular student. Just call the social work office for further information. Fingers crossed Spring and warmer weather are coming soon.

Ronda Sparks, LMSW

785-235-7189

John Wooden once said, “Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”

Our spring sports season will begin after spring break. I will have a form out during lunch to see who is interested in boys/girls track, boys tennis and girls soccer. You must have a physical on file in order to participate. We will also follow the KSHSAA guidelines for eligibility.

We plan to begin on March 22nd.

I would like to remind all students that want to participate in athletics that KSHSAA has a rule that you must pass five of your six classes before you can participate. This rule applies to the quarter before the season begins. For example, the boy’s basketball season will be based on the 2nd quarter grades. For the sixth graders who want to participate next year, your eligibility will be based on your fourth quarter grades. The district has an eligibility rule that you must pass all classes in order to play during your season. We run weekly grade checks and if you are failing a class you have until the day of the game to pass that class. This does not mean waiting until 1pm that day of the game to turn in late work. Please be a student first and the rest will take care of its self. KSHSAA also has a rule on physicals, if you want to participate for the 2022-2023 season. You must have a physical on file dated after May 01, 2022.

Library & Chromebooks

• Students have been busy researching a popular middle school author. This allowed them to use 2 credible resources, create a visual aid, and learn about the people that are writing our literature.

• We’ve also been TASTING books. The students have been experiencing book tasting at the 2nd floor cafe. They’ve been reading three different books during their meal then checking out books to read. They were also given a snack to enjoy while reading to jazz music.

• If your student is having chromebook issues, please tell them to visit the library to talk to Ms. Gilliland

• Currently we are visiting about Cyberbullying and having a discussion about how to properly deal with social media.

• Each student at Jardine is allowed to check out up to 3 library books at a time. The students are allowed to checkout anytime they have permission from their teachers.

• After spring break the students will be participating in a book scavenger hunt, while we prepare and take the State Assessments.

• Be on the lookout next month for final procedures for the year dealing with chromebooks and clearing library records of all checked out materials.

It was good to see everyone at parent teacher conferences, even if it was via Zoom! The 3rd quarter is drawing to a close soon and grades will be wrapping up! Let’s finish this quarter off strong and move into the final part of the year with our grades moving in the right direction! Boys basketball is also coming to an end soon and that means that Track and Tennis are also coming up! If you are interested in these two sports be on the lookout for the team meetings held by Mr. Daniels (tennis), and Mr. Taylor (Track).

As we usually do we also want to take this opportunity to remind you all of our PE rules:

Prompt Prepared Participate Pleasant

ITEMS NEEDED FOR PHYSICAL EDUCATION CLASS:

• Tennis shoes - No Crocs, boots, slides, sandals, etc.

• Clothing you can comfortably participate in. No hoodies, coats, tight pants, shirts that dip down in the front, midriffs, tank tops etc.

• No jewelry. Watches included.

• Deodorant should be kept in bookbags.

• If a student utilizes an inhaler, the necessary paperwork must be on file with the school nurse. Please mark inhalers with names.

*We will meet in the gym and place belongings against the walls. Each grade will have a designated spot to put their belongings every day.

TIMELINESS

• A student is tardy to class if they are not in the gym when the bell rings.

• Points will be deducted if you are not in your assigned squad spot when daily roll is being taken.

NON-PARTICIPATION

• If a student is to be excused from participation for an extended period of time because of health or physical problems, a note from a medical doctor to the teacher will be necessary.

GRADING

All grading will be done daily and meeting our district P.E. Standards.

Ways to earn daily points:

1. Prompt - be on time to class…………………………... ..(1 point)

2. Prepared - correct clothing/shoes worn for class ……….(1 point)

3. Participate - participate in class activities ……………….(1 point)

4. Pleasant - have a good positive attitude ………………...(1 point)

Each weekly assignment will be worth 20 points (4 points per day)

SAFETY RULES AND MISCELLANEOUS REMINDERS:

• Students are to enter the far east door of the gym at the beginning of class. Girls will exit through the south gym doors. Boys will exit into the hallway from the boys’ locker room.

• All students will go to the locker room at the end of class to use the restroom, put on deodorant, get drinks etc. You will be verbally dismissed from the locker rooms.

• Do not handle any piece of equipment unless under direct supervision of the teacher.

• HORSEPLAY will NOT be tolerated.

• NO food including gum and candy. Water ONLY!

• Last hour and bus riders.

• Noise level in the locker room is 0-1.

• CELLPHONES are to be kept in your bags at all times.

• Teachers need to know immediately if there are ISSUES in class.

• DRILLS: Secure campus, lockdown, fire drill and tornado drill procedures.

• Talk through a day in PE. Roll, warm-ups, universal signal, explanation of activity, 10-minute bell, locker rooms, dismiss form locker rooms and exit out the designated doors.

• Practice universal P.E. signal.

• Daily class leaders.

Have a great end of the year!

JMS PE

6th grade science is learning Earth’s Water and Atmosphere

They will discover that water continually cycles among land, ocean, and atmosphere via transpiration, evaporation, condensation and crystallization, and precipitation, as well as downhill flows on land.
They will determine how the ocean influences the environment. We will also learn that weather and climate are influenced by interactions involving sunlight, the ocean, the atmosphere, ice, landforms, and living things. These interactions vary with latitude, altitude, and local and regional geography, all of which can affect oceanic and atmospheric flow patterns.

*****

7th grade

We are finishing up our Chemistry unit and will be moving on to Geologic Processes and History of the Earth. We will learn concepts and ideas through labs, classroom work, projects and using our HMH ebook.

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8th grade

The 8th graders will be transitioning out of chemistry into how humans have impacted the world around us. We always end our chemistry unit with several labs, one of which will deal with plastics. This is an easy and familiar way to introduce one of the major impacts humans have had on our environment. From oil, to the reliance we have on plastics, and then what happens to plastics when we are done with them. Plastics has had one of the biggest impacts both positive and negative, so we will explore both and see if there are any reasonable alternatives and what the future might hold.

*****

7th Grade Kansas History is forging ahead. We have started learning about the legislation that set the stage for the Civil War. Students will delve into the causes and effects of the War as it pertains to Kansas. Once Kansas became a state, even more settlers moved into the new state, and towns began to grow. Students will explore the lives of pioneers on the prairie and the struggles and hardships they faced. From blizzards to prairie fires, disease and famine to successes and homesteads. Our hope is our students will appreciate the sacrifices it took to make Kansas the great state it is today.

*****

8th Grade- Wow! The year is almost to the end. 8th Graders have pre-enrolled for their Freshman year. The idea of being a freshman has some nervous and others excited.

In U.S. History class we will be learning about the American Civil War and then dissecting the Reconstruction Era.

*****

In 7th grade math we are currently in the middle of Module 4 (Percents). In this unit, students deepen their understanding of ratios and proportional relationships from Module 1 by solving a variety of percent problems. They convert between fractions, decimals, and percents to further develop a conceptual understanding of percent (introduced in Grade 6 Module 1) and use algebraic expressions and equations to represent and solve multi-step percent scenarios. Our goal is to finish Module 4 before Spring Break.

*****

During March, 8th grade math students will be continuing their study of functions. In this unit of study, they will be exposed to new vocabulary, such as bivariate data set, positive/negative association/correlation, input and output, clustering, discrete, outliers just to name a few. Students will be learning the concept of a function, its formal definition, and how it works as an input-output machine. For example, if the function is multiply by 5, the output will always equal the input times 5. The input is the set of x values, also called the domain. The output is the set of y values, also called the range.

A linear function is defined by y = mx + b, and its graph is a straight line. Students begin comparing two functions represented in different ways. For example, students are presented with an equation, a word problem, the graph of a function, and the table of values that represent a function and are asked to determine which function has the greatest rate of change.

Students are expected to be able to do the following tasks:

1. Interpret the graph of a function to identify key features, including whether the function is linear or nonlinear.

2. Find the average rate of change.

3. Determine whether a given representation represents a function, and create representations of real-world functions. For example, the water flowing from a faucet into a bathtub is a linear function with relations to time if the flow of water is constant.

4. Create a rule (an equation) that represents a function.

5. Identify whether a function is discrete or not discrete.

6. Determine restrictions on the variables.

7. Compare functions and determine which has the greater rate of change.

The summative assessment for this unit will be during the week of March 28th. As a reminder, assessments are weighted at 60% of students’ math grade. The other 40% is classwork activities, some of which you may see as homework if they are not completed during class.

Reminder: After school tutoring is available most weeks from Tuesday-Thursday, from 3:00-4:30. A snack is provided, but parents are responsible for student’s transportation at 4:40.