Family Update - March 24, 2024
March 24, 2024
From the Principals
Dear Families,
Many thanks to our PTO for celebrating Jones' 100 Year birthday! Our new boulder was placed in front of the school, and students received a treat during lunch on Monday. It was a great day!
We hope that you and your families enjoy a safe and restorative spring break! We look forward to welcoming students back on April 1.
Warm regards,
Aimee White, Principal
Heather Markward, Assistant Principal
JONES WEEKEND UPDATE
Please go to the following link for the Jones Weekend Update:
MENTOR/AMBASSADOR OPPORTUNITY
Are you a sixth or seventh grader who loves helping people and interacting with students in different grade levels? Consider being a mentor or ambassador for the 2024-2025 school year! There will be an information session about the program and selection process on April 4th during flex. Mark your calendars if you are interested.
LOST & FOUND ITEMS
We have laid out lost and found items in the cafeteria. There are many coats, hoodies and water bottles. Please encourage your student to look for their missing items prior to April 5. At that time, we will donate what remains to "Resale for Research", a UA nonprofit. The funds raised go directly to life-saving research at Nationwide Children's Hospital and other hospitals around the country.
JONES TALENT SHOW
The Jones Talent Show will take place on April 12 from 7-9 pm. Auditions will take place April 3 - 5 from 3:30 to 5pm.
Please sign up at the link at the bottom for auditions or if your student is interested in participating in tech crew. Please e-mail jagomez@uaschools.org if you have any questions.
8th GRADE CLASS PARTY - VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
The events for our 8th graders keep on rolling! We are in need of 15 parent chaperones for their class party at Ten Pin Alley on April 5 from 10:00am-1:00pm. Teachers will be chaperoning as well. Thank you for your help in making this a fun, safe event for our kids!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080849ADA72BA02-48441388-8thgrade#/
7TH GRADE CAREER DAY
Call for Presenters!
7th Grade Career Fair
April 19, 8:15am-10:15am
Looking for parents and community members interested in sharing their career journey with our 7th-grade students. Volunteers will give several 15-minute presentations to small groups. If you are interested in volunteering your time, please let us know by completing the link below. We have such a wide variety of experts in all of you! Please consider sharing with our students.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSccsNcYTY3GvCEF67LZ7rta2HO2Gmziq5xneHzcypt_FJcfrQ/viewform
SPORTS EQUIPMENT COLLECTION
8th-grade Spanish students are collecting baseball equipment for their service learning project.
Gently used and cleaned baseball equipment (mitts, baseballs, any sports jersey/pinny & baseball/soccer cleats- No bats) to send to NPH orphanage in the Dominican Republic.
If you have anything to donate, please have your child bring items to school. There are boxes by the main office and on the 3rd floor by the Spanish classrooms. Items will be collected through April 12th.
PURPLE DAY
Jones Middle School will once again celebrate Eplispy Awareness this school year. Our Purple Day at Jones Middle School will be on April 24. Eplispy affects 3.4 million people nationwide and includes Jones Middle School students. We pick this day to honor students affected by this brain disorder. We will be selling Purple Day Gear to show support for these students. Jones Middle School students and families can purchase t-shirts or sweatshirts and wear them to school on April 24. You can buy these items by clicking on this link: https://jupiter.areswear.com/store/?storeName=Jones_MS_Purple_Day_2024. The store will close in 12 days (Tuesday, March 26) to ensure we have the gear for Purple Day. Please get in touch with Mr. Adam Oliver (aoliver@uaschools.org) if you have any questions.
WASHINGTON DC TRIP
This is a friendly reminder that the MANDATORY pre-departure meeting for the DC trip is May 2 at 7:30 pm in the JMS auditorium. We are hoping that this date is already on your calendar as you were given the date at the fall meeting. Students and parents need to attend the meeting which will last approximately one hour. You will hear general information, sign a permission form and then get to meet your child's chaperone.
If you ABSOLUTELY can not attend on May 2nd, please go to the meeting at Hastings the previous evening (May 1) at the same time (7:30) in the HMS Auditorium. You will not get to meet your child's chaperone at the meeting that takes place at HMS.
We are all gearing up for a great trip and can't wait to see you on May 2nd! If you have questions, please contact Christy Charlton at ccharlton@uaschools.org.
FOSTERING A CONVERSATION
“What Makes Humans Happy?”
Dr. Laurie Santos will address this question with our community on April 2nd at 6 p.m. when she speaks in the UAHS Performing Arts Center. Dr. Santos is a professor of psychology and former head of Silliman College at Yale University. Her podcast, The Happiness Lab, is a top-three Apple podcast. This event is part of the Fostering a Conversation series, led by UAHS students, which connects our community across generations through a collaboration of the Upper Arlington City Schools, Upper Arlington Education Foundation & Alumni Association, and the Upper Arlington Community Foundation. You can learn more and get tickets at the link below. UACS Staff receive one free ticket and must show ID at the door. We hope to see you there!
https://uacommunityfoundation.com/programs/fostering-conversations/?blm_aid=44296192
SUMMER ACADEMY 2024
New date! Summer Academy registration
Due to a conflict with the Fostering a Conversation event, registration for Summer Academy will open at 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, April 3 on our website. Upper Arlington Schools is proud to offer exceptional summer academic and well-being programming for our students free of charge for 2024 thanks to federal funding.
8th GRADERS - SAVE THE DATES
8th Grade Yearbook Tributes - Every year 8th grade parents have the opportunity to purchase a tribute for their child in the Jones Middle School Yearbook. This is usually wishing them well as they prepare to transition to UAHS in the Fall. The cost is $20 and all orders are ONLINE this year! We ask that you limit your order to one tribute per 8th grade child. The deadline to order is March 31, 2024 but don't wait because we do have a set number of tributes we can accept due to yearbook page restrictions.
Use this link to place your order: https://www.locallevelevents.com/events/details/31723
8th Grade Class Party - Friday, April 5 during the school day from 10:00-1:30pm.
8th Grade Shadowing Day - Upper Arlington Schools is committed to providing our students with career exploration opportunities. We will continue this commitment with our 8th grade students having the opportunity to career shadow on Friday, April 19, 2024 (excused absence). Shadowing Day is a dynamic opportunity for our students to spend a day observing and interviewing an employee in a career of special interest to your child. Career shadowing gives students the opportunity to explore a job in depth to gain valuable insight about the world of work. Students who have never spent a day at work with an adult may want to consider shadowing a parent, guardian, relative, or close family friend as a first experience. Please use this link to register your student for Shadowing Day:
https://forms.gle/HHL8f6ApP4BHzzam9
8th Grade End of Year Celebration - May 23 at 8:30AM (last day of school) - we will be developing a committee of 8th graders interested in planning the Class of 2028's Celebration. More to come!
JONES YEARBOOK
You can now place your orders online for a 2023-24 Jones Yearbook. Yearbooks can be purchased anytime between now and May 2024. They will be mailed to your house in mid July 2024 so please make sure we have a current home mailing address.
Please go here to order your 23-24 Yearbook: https://www.jostens.com/apps/store/productBrowse/1049802/Jones-Middle-School/2024-Yearbook/20230801042909197104/CATALOG_SH
PTO BOOK TALK
We're excited to share a new (optional) district-wide You Belong Family Book Read, a collaboration among PTOs and Upper Arlington City Schools to build community through shared experiences. During the month of April families are invited to read Just Roll With It, a middle-grade graphic novel that focuses on themes surrounding mental wellness and belonging. On May 11 community members are invited to a celebration at Thompson Park from 12:00pm - 2:00pm featuring a discussion with the illustrator and author of Just Roll With It, Veronica Agarwal and Lee Durfey-Lavoie.
In addition to getting a behind-the-scenes look at creating graphic novels on May 11 and discussing themes from the book, we'll also be collecting gently used books with Seeds of Caring. Bring any youth or adult book along with you May 11 and decorate a bookmark to add a little more love to your donation.
To purchase your copy of Just Roll With It or to purchase books to donate to a school, please visit Cover to Cover. For more information on the You Belong UA Family Book Read, please visit https://youbelongua.org. We'll be updating information on the website as more details are finalized.
ABOUT THE JONES PTO
Each year we strive to support our students and our school. With our annual Golden Bear Spirit fundraiser as well as generous donations, we look for ways to help enrich Jones as a whole in a variety of ways.
Some examples of our work include mini grants used by staff for programming and classroom needs, balls and equipment for students to use during their outdoor time, provide meals for staff events, distribute custom Jones planners for students at no cost, as well as plan class party events and give surprise treats to students such as popsicles and ice cream. These are just a few examples as we continue to evaluate and meet our schools needs in the best way possible. Please click this link for more information on the PTO ---> https://www.jonespto.com/about-us
How Can You Support the PTO?
We encourage every Jones family to become a PTO supporter. This one time fee ($25 per family) will help us off-set some of the expense in supporting our students and school throughout the year. Please consider becoming a Jones PTO supporter. The more involved we are together, the more we can work to build community and enhance our students middle school experiences.
Please click this link if you would like to support the PTO ---> https://www.jonespto.com/support-the-pto
Other Helpful PTO Information
- Please take time to follow us on Instagram at #jones_pto. We post lots of updates and helpful information all throughout the year.
- Our website also has a page that shows important dates throughout the year.
- Want to volunteer? We have lots of opportunities to volunteer at all levels of commitment. Please visit the Support the PTO page and fill out a Volunteer for PTO form if you are interested!
Family Connect Program
We are here to help connect new families who could use help navigating all things related to school and community (such as academics, sports, clubs, PTO, extracurriculars, community traditions and celebrations, etc.) to those families who have more experience. Our end goal with this program is to promote hospitality and friendship. If you are interested in learning more about being involved in this program, please email janina.fowler@gmail.com.
THE STAND PROJECT
The Stand Project is an Upper Arlington community action project focused on the prevention of youth substance abuse and committed to standing by students and families in finding help. While substance abuse prevention is at the core of our mission, we engage the community through education on a broad range of topics that impact young people's risk and protective factors.
Save the dates for these informative programs! Event details and additional resources can be found on our Spring 2024 Flyer and events calendar.
APR 4 ~ The Fentanyl Crisis with Beth Weinstock, MD of BirdieLight, 7-8:30pm at UAHS
APR 16 - Give Back Night @ Dewey's
APR 22 ~ Community Naloxone Training, 6:30-7:30pm at UA Public Library
STUDENTS RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES HANDBOOK
March 25 - 29 - No School - Spring Break
April 1 - PTO Meeting, 8:30am
April 1 - Packing for the Streets, 3:30pm
April 3 - 5 - Talent Show Auditions
April 5 - 8th Grade Class Party, 9:30am to 1:30pm
April 6 - JMS Orchestra, Solo & Ensemble Contest
April 6 - 7th & 8th Grade Choir, Jr. High Solo & Ensemble Adjudicated Event
April 10 - Talent Show Tech Crew Rehearsal, 3:30 - 5pm
April 11 - Talent Show Dress Rehearsal, 3:30 - 6pm
April 11 & 12 - Language Arts Ohio State Test, All Grades, Special Schedule
April 12 - Talent Show, 7pm
April 19 - 8th Grade Shadowing Day
April 25 - Band Concert, Grades 6 - 8, 7:30pm
April 25 & 26 - Math Ohio State Test, All Grades, Special Schedule
April 26 - 6th Grade Class Party, 1:30 - 3:20pm
April 26 - Volley for a Cure, UAHS, 6 - 9pm
May 1 - Science Ohio State Test, 8th Grade Only, Regular Schedule
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