Jaguar Junction - October 2021

JARDINE MIDDLE SCHOOL

A note from your Principal - Mr. Haire

It's hard to believe that October is already here and the first nine weeks is ending on October 8th. With that said, students do not have school on Monday, Oct 11 or Tuesday, Oct 12 for professional development of teachers. With the end of the nine weeks comes conferences, AB teachers will be reaching out about scheduling conferences with you. This year, we are doing student lead conferences where each of our students will be preparing and presenting a powerpoint during the AB conference time. It is our continued goal to help students take more ownership, take accountability, and to be a part of the educational process with the team. We are looking forward to this new adventure with our conferences. Conferences are going to be offered again via zoom for convenience as well as safety. However, if you need an inperson conference, those accommodations can be met by contacting your student's AB teacher.

I also want to remind parents of our afterschool program. We have tutoring, intervention, and enrichment offered Tuesday-Thursday each week. We also have a zoom link for those kids who may not be able to stay for tutoring, but need the support when they arrive home after school.

A note from your Assistant Principal - Mr. Haag

Parents and Students -


Riding on the school bus is a privilege and not a “right.” School bus safety is one thing we take very seriously. The main goal of a bus driver is to transport your students from point A to point B safely. Every time a student does something out of line it takes the driver’s eyes off of the road. This could be a student being too loud, not sitting properly, showing bullying behavior, inappropriate language, etc. Depending on the severity of the action, if a student receives a bus misconduct notice, the following consequences will occur:


· First write up - Verbal warning or a 3 day suspension from the bus.

· Second write up - 3 - 5 school day suspension from the bus.

· Third write up –5 - 10 school day suspension from the bus.

· Fourth write up - 1 month suspension from the bus.

· Fifth write up - your student will be suspended from the bus for the remainder of the school year.


We do reserve the right to issue a higher consequence depending on the action of the students involved.


Please help us help your students to be safe on the bus and help the bus drivers instead of work against them.


After School Program


Our After School Program is up and running. It takes place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 3:00 - 4:30 pm. Currently our focus has been on tutoring and homework help. We will be adding to the program to work in some enrichment opportunities as well. Students must be picked up no later than 4:45 pm. If you are interested, please use this link to sign your student up for the program:


https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeRT-ZZ68O0NyFvMb7q4faDaK3EuM4HETu7B3ZWfK0Ev_08ag/viewform

Counselor Corner - Mr. Falk & Ms. Waldy

Character Education Program

Jardine Middle School has a “Positive Character Program”. The program recognizes positive character traits of Self-Awareness, Compassion, Responsibility, and Respect. The goals of the program are to recognize students for exhibiting positive character qualities at school, encourage positive behaviors, and make students more aware of their actions. Therefore, this program helps Jardine to be recognized as a safe and welcoming learning community.

Jardine grade level teams nominate four students to recognize each month. Each student is nominated for exhibiting one of the four character traits on a consistent basis. Their picture is taken and put on the TV outside the main office. These students also get ten 5-Star Student points to purchase an item or enter their name into a quarterly prize drawing.


Naviance

Naviance is our career exploration program for the district. Throughout the year, Mr. Falk and Ms. Waldy will be working with students to help them complete Naviance tasks. The students will complete tasks that will help them create goals, understand their learning style, choose future classes, explore post-secondary opportunities available to them, and much more. This program is a fun way for students to develop a strong mindset that will help them in the long run.


Red Ribbon Week

Red Ribbon Week is October 23-31 every year. The theme this year is “Drug Free Looks Like Me”. School wide activities will be set up to recognize Red Ribbon Week.

Sports - Mr. Snyder

George Halas once said, "Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it.”


Our fall season is close to coming to an end. We have started off with a spike from our Varsity Volleyball team setting a 3-4 record working hard for city on October 3th. We will have a playoff on October 4th at place TBD. City Championship will be held at Topeka West High School on October 6th, $2.00 at the door.

The Football team took the field with our Varsity coming off a victory over Landon Middle School School 54-06. The JV team played well against Seaman Middle school but lost, our next game will be Eisenhower Middle School at Hummer Sports park on September 21st. City Football will be at Hummer Sports Park October13th, $2.00 at the door.

The girls tennis team will finish the season at Kossover on September 29th for the city tournament.


Girls Basketball and Boys Soccer meeting October 12th 6:30 on zoom, practice begins October 14th. Students must pass 5 classes in order to be eligible to play 2nd quarter. A physical must be on file with Mr. Snyder dated after May 1st 2021.


Girls Basketball and Boys Soccer zoom code-
https://tps501.zoom.us/j/85387237346

Password- jardine

Chromebook Information & Library News - Ms. Gilliland

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

  • All grade levels have been discussing Digital Footprints and how it affects their student lives.

  • 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.

  • At the end of October book club will be starting after school.

  • 8th grade completed a world tour research project this week.

  • Over the next couple weeks the students will get the opportunity to listen to books that are on this year’s State William Allen White list.

Band Notes - Ms. Rowe

We have a band performance just around the corner! The 7th and 8th Grade Band will perform at the Jardine Football Classic at Hummer Sports Park. The game is Wednesday night, October 13. We do not have an exact start time yet. Students will meet Mrs. Rowe at the sports park with their instruments and music. We will play music for pregame, halftime and post game in the bleachers. Our Jaguar musicians will wear black shirts/hoodies/jackets, dark pants (no faded/ripped jeans or shorts), and tennis shoes/sneakers (no boots/sandals/slides).

Check out the Jardine Middle School BAND Facebook page!


Drama Department Information- Ms. Rowe

An ordinary used book shop by day, A Likely Story becomes a magical place each night. Thanks to a spell from the Book Fairy, the characters inside the books come alive each and every night. Six of those characters — Dorothy Gale, Robin Hood, Pollyanna, Sherlock Holmes, Heidi, and Tom Sawyer — long to help Margie, the scatterbrained owner, save her struggling store. But they’re not allowed to leave the building or be seen by human eyes.

So when a pair of bungling smugglers comes looking for a stolen necklace hidden inside one of the books, the characters are torn. Should they warn Margie and risk disappearing forever? Or can they find a way to defeat the crooks without being seen?


Auditions have concluded, parts have been posted, and practice has started!!! Performances of “The Enchanted Bookshop” will be November 18-19. Email Tracy Rowe with questions: trowe@tps501.org


LIKE the Jardine Middle School Drama Facebook page!

Get Moving! PE Notes - Mr. Coffman & Ms. Remer

Almost Finished with 1st Quarter!!!

Hey Jardine Community!!! Conferences are closing in now and a new quarter has almost here. The PE department wanted to take this opportunity to revisit our rules and expectations in physical education class.


JARDINE MIDDLE SCHOOL

6-8 PHYSICAL EDUCATION EXPECTATIONS


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.

Language Arts - The Language Arts Team

By Mrs. Appelhanz

Reading is Fundamental. In fact, it is one of the most important ingredients to becoming all that you can be. Reading develops your brain, provides a window into the world around you and helps you do better in all school subjects. Most importantly, reading can not only help you become a better student, but a better person. You can learn from the brightest people whenever and wherever you choose.

As important as reading is did you know that:

  • 800 million people around the world cannot read or write.

  • Many families (and some schools) have no books for children to read.

There are likely many children and people in our city that fall into this group. If you are already a strong reader, helping others to read is an amazing gift that you can give. Here are some ideas below as to how you can help your student:

  1. Let your child select books. When you visit the library, let your child select books. Try both fiction and informational books, and ask the librarian for recommendations based on your child’s interests. The more interest your child has in a book, the more apt they are to read it.

  2. Develop family reading routines and rituals. Find a regular time of day when you can dedicate reading into your day. You can read in the morning, after school, or before going to bed. Simply setting aside 20 minutes every day can make a huge improvement in your student’s vocabulary and comprehension.

  3. Talk to your child about what they’re reading. When you engage with your child and discuss what they’re reading you can make great connections from the reading and apply it to other subjects or relate it to real life experiences. If you can obtain an extra copy of the book, read it with them so you can see what they are or aren’t getting from the book.

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6th Grade: (Ms. Appelhanz/Ms. du Bois/Ms. Wooten) We are still reading our first novel and studying the elements of plot; working on grammar fundamentals and encouraging independent reading.

7th Grade: (Ms. Bisconer/Ms.Morlock/Ms.Wooten) We will be composing a personal narrative for the culmination of Collection 1 and beginning Collection 2 with a focus on summary, author's purpose, and simile and metaphor.

8th Grade: (Ms. Watson/Ms. Pumford) starting Collection 2, which focuses on a study of both classic and modern horror stories. We'll be working on citing textual evidence to support our analysis of a story, as well as looking at the ways in which authors use word choice and literary techniques to influence our understanding of a story.

ELL: (Ms. Scott) ESOL 1: Unit 2 - Water for Life Key Focus: Elements of Plot; Main Idea & Details

ESOL 2: Unit 2 - Play to Your Strengths Key Focus: Analyze Character, Plot, Setting & Theme

ESOL 3: Unit 2 - Stand or Fall

Key Focus: Analyze Story Elements: Plot, Character, Setting

(Ms. Shelton) Newcomer 1: Greetings, numbers, family members, and school supplies.

Newcomer 2: Careers, high frequency words, phonics: long i and long u, cause and effect

Science - Ms. Abellon, Mr. Lobatos, Mr. Jennings & Mr. Morris

6th graders just finished Engineering and are ready to delve in Chemistry. 6th grade will develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures. They were introduced to how to use the periodic table and how to read it.

They will now develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance after learning the kinetic energy. We will use the HMH to develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance.

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Seventh graders are continuing to learn about Physics through the many forms of Energy and its Energy transfers-transformations. Students have completed classwork, done computer simulations, investigations and labs to help them understand those concepts. We will be moving on learning all about Waves in a week or two and then on to chemistry.

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October will be a change for 8th graders. We will be going from Earth history and evolution, into space. Our space unit will discover why the moon has different phases, compare the size and scale of celestial objects, learn about the creation of the solar system, and the life cycle of stars. This tends to hold the interest a bit better than fossils and is a fun and very visual unit to teach.

History Happenings - Mr. Jennings, Mr. Schawo, Ms. Miner & Ms. Morelli

It’s been fun learning about Stone Age people and the move from hunting gathering societies to farming communities. Ask your students about the mystery surrounding Otzi, the Iceman, a stone age man who was frozen in ice for over 5000 years.


In October we will be exploring how early people in Southwest Asia faced a series of problems and the way they solved those problems led to the first cities and the first civilization in the world, Sumer. Next we will learn about the 7 characteristics of a civilization; stable food supply, technology, religion, system of government, the arts (art, music, and architecture), social structure, and writing. We will then learn about 4 empires that controlled the land in Mesopotamia (the land between the rivers). These are the Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and the Neo-Babylonians. Finally we will be looking at achievements of the Sumerians and the empires in Mesopotamia before moving on to Egypt.

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7th grade Social Studies is going to examine the Push/Pull Factors of Immigration. We will be reading immigrant stories, past and present and determining why people left their homes and moved somewhere new. Immigrant stories are always rich in history, and long-forgotten details, which makes them very interesting. Students will virtually visit a 19th century tenement in New York City, and learn about the screening process of Ellis Island. Our students are continuing to work on their map of the USA, its states and capitals.

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8th Grade History- School is off to a great start here at Jardine! This month in 8th grade the students will be learning about our government the Constitution and the early years of the United States. Please keep asking your children about how classes are going and what they are learning in each subject.

Math - The Mighty Math Team

The 6th grade math team is wrapping up their first module on Arithmetic operations including division of fractions. Heading into our second unit, students will be introduced to the concepts of ratio and rate. After the concept of ratio equivalence is defined, the students will explore collections of equivalent ratios in real-world contexts. Students have access to IXL which allows our students to work on their current and previous math skills. They can access their assignments anywhere they have internet access so please encourage your student to practice at home.

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The 7th grade math team is finishing up our unit over proportional relationships. During this unit, we found that our students came in with prior knowledge over ratios, which gave us the opportunity to dig a little deeper. Our next unit is called Rational Numbers. Students will return to the number line to model the addition and subtraction of integers (7.NS.A.1). They use the number line and the Integer Game to demonstrate that an integer added to its opposite equals zero, representing the additive inverse (7.NS.A.1a, 7.NS.A.1b). Their findings are formalized as students develop rules for adding and subtracting integers, and they recognize that subtracting a number is the same as adding its opposite.

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Eighth graders at Jardine Middle School Building on their knowledge about angle and inputting it to learn about triangles.

  1. We have used the knowledge about types of triangles to find missing angles and found easier ways to do so using triangle angle sum theorem, exterior theorem of triangles, base angle congruence, and angle-angle similarity.

Triangle angle sum theorem-The angles within a Triangle.

Exterior Theorem of Triangle- Exterior angles are equal to the two non-adjacent angles.

Base angle congruence of Triangles- Find the missing angle with isosceles and equilateral triangles.

Angle- angle Similarity- If two triangles have two angles that are congruent, then the two angles are similar.

  1. Next, we moved onto triangle inequality theorem. Knowing the definition will assist with understanding how to construct a triangle. They will be able to find a possible missing side by finding the difference of the two given sides and the sum of the two given side.


Triangle Inequality Theorem-Any two side sum is greater than the third side.

Computer Applications - Mr. Esau

A majority of October will be coding on Code.org, robots (if in person), and Google Sheets. Students will also be continuing their typing practice to ensure they are prepared for 8th grade computer lab, which is a high school credit course. The goal for students to be typing by high school is 50 words per minute at 95% accuracy or better! In 7th grade, students need to be typing around 35 wpm and 95% accuracy. Please don’t hesitate to email me at besau@tps501.org if you have any questions.

Art - Ms. Latham

I am glad to return this month back to the art classroom and get to know our 7th grade artist. It was nice to have time to be at home with our newborn baby, but the art studio is where I belong. I am so excited to start another school year as a Jardine Jaguar. This month we are focusing on one point perspective and building up our drawing skills. Students are learning to create 3 dimensional work by way of learning to apply overlapping, shading, and perspective lines. We will continue to build upon these skills as we move through the first quarter. Our focus is on creating 2 dimensional drawing. It is my hope to move into painting by the end of the month. Please ask your student about their art experience and to share their work with you. It really means a lot to our young artist.

PTO - Come join us!

Dear Jardine Families:


Our PTOs have decided to team up again this year to sell trash bags as a fundraiser!

These are quality bags suitable in size and strength for our trash needs and the yard work we will be starting soon. These bags are twice as strong as most store brand bags and people love them!! There are several different sizes of bags available, but they all cost the same…. only ($10.00) per roll.


Yellow – 39 gallon 25 bags per roll

Pink – 39 gallon 25 bags per roll

White – 15 gallon (tall kitchen) 65 bags per roll

Blue – 55 gallon (super size) 16 bags per roll

Orange – 55 gallon 1 bag for $2.00 (Pumpkin face printed in black)


We are taking orders from October 4th, 2021 through October 15th, 2021. Money should be collected when the order is taken. Checks can be made payable to either Jardine Elementary PTO or Jardine Middle PTO, whichever your child attends. Please return the order form by October 15, 2021. The bags will be available for pick‐up October 21st during parent teacher conferences. Pick up will be on Randolph, instructions to follow. Please note that 1 case of bags (10 rolls) weighs approximately 50 lbs. Your order will need to be picked up, as the rolls of bags are too heavy to send home with your child.


Let’s all get behind this effort and support our amazing schools! Buy your bag supply from us and offer them to relatives, friends, and neighbors. If you want to go door‐to‐door in your neighborhood, please have an adult accompany your child. Again, please back us in this effort to make this project a success. All profits from this sale will go to the PTO and be given to the school where needed.


If you have any questions, please contact Ariel Wilson at jardine.elementary.pto@gmail.com or at jardine.middle.pto@gmail.com. Thank you in advance for your cooperation and continued support!


Sincerely,

Jardine Elementary PTO & Jardine Middle PTO

Notice of Non-Discrimination

The Topeka Public Schools, Unified School District No. 501 is committed to affirmative action and equal opportunity. No person shall, on the basis of age, race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, disability, national origin or ancestry be denied lawful access to any appropriate educational service, program or activity provided by the school district. The Title VI and Title IX compliance coordinator is the Assistant Superintendent for Teaching/Learning/Administration. The Section 504/Title II compliance coordinator is the Coordinator of College and Career Ready Services. For employment, the EEO/AA officer is the General Director of Human Resources. All compliance coordinators may be contacted at 624 SW 24th Street, Topeka, KS 66611-1294, (785) 295-3000. The clerk of the Board of Education has been designated to receive and redirect or handle inquiries regarding nondiscrimination policies, regulations and procedures. The clerk may be contacted by calling (785) 295-3045 or by writing to 624 SW 24th Street, Topeka, KS 66611-1294.