Family Update - April 14, 2024
April 14, 2024
FROM THE PRINCIPALS
Dear Families,
Teachers from UAHS will bring Ferris the Dog to JMS on Wednesday, April 17th during our lunch periods. Our students contributed to Coffee for Veterans earlier this year, and a visit from Ferris is a reward for reaching our donation goal. We are excited to host him and his crew!
We will have class meetings this week during Flex. Students will be reminded so that they can plan their work time accordingly. During the meetings, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Irene Knapp will be joining us to talk with our students about juvenile law and sexting. (See additional details below.)
On Friday, 8th graders will participate in Shadowing Day, and we will welcome 5th graders from Tremont and Wickliffe for lunch. (Barrington 5th graders were here on April 5.)
We'd like to give a huge shout out to our students who performed in the Jones Talent Show on Friday evening. They are an impressive and courageous group, and we thank them for entertaining us!
Thank you for your assistance in sending students with charged iPads and positive attitudes for state testing last week -- we appreciate your support!
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Warm regards,
Aimee White, Principal
Heather Markward, Assistant Principal
Aimee C. White, Principal
Heather Markward, Assistant Principal
JONES WEEKEND UPDATE
Please go to this link for the Jones Weekend Update: https://youtu.be/VaH2jUnutF0
VOLLEY FOR A CAUSE
Please join us in the UAHS gymnasium on Friday, April 26th for our second annual Volley for a Cause volleyball game. This fun filled volleyball game will be played between the staff at Jones and Hastings (with some help from our students!). Ticket sale proceeds will benefit Special Olympics and Best Buddies programs, and we will host a sensory toy drive leading up to the event to donate as well. Here is the link to donate sensory toys. Students in both schools will be learning about the important role that both organizations play in the community leading up to the event.
Doors will open for the event at 6:45pm, and the game will begin at 7pm and conclude at 8pm. Tickets will be sold during lunch periods at both schools the week of the event - April 22nd-26th. Tickets are $5 (or $4 + a sensory toy) - cash only.
A special thanks to the Jones and Hastings PTOs for supporting the concession stand! We will donate all proceeds from food and drink sales to the organizations as well. We hope you will join us for this fun community event to support a great cause!
6TH GRADE CLASS PARTY - VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
PTO is looking for approximately 10 parent volunteers to help with the 6th grade class party at JMS on April 26th. Parent volunteers will help with set up and tear down, cleanup, and handing out snacks to students. The party is scheduled from 1:30-3:20, but PTO will need some help before and after (12-4).
If you are interested in volunteering, please up at the link below:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080B4DA9AF2CA5F94-48939298-6thgrade#/
7TH GRADE CLASS PARTY
We are excited to announce that our 7th grade class party will be on Friday, May 17th at Get Air Trampoline Park. Students will depart on school buses after 2nd period and will arrive back at Jones in time for lunch at school. There is no additional cost to the students to attend. The cost of the party, including transportation and admission, will be covered by the class party fee (paid at the beginning of the year).
- Please complete and return the forms (link below) to your Social Studies teacher by Friday, April 26th. 7thgrade#/https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o-WSyqkNKr4HQG3i8TPN_wS34K5PdpkM/view
- Please complete the online Get Air waiver: https://columbus.getairmanagement.com/Waiver2.html
- Consider volunteering for the class party!: Parent Volunteer Signup:
- https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090F4AABA82DAAFA7-48927197-
For questions, please contact:
Jackie Magill at jmagill@uaschools.org
Rachel Travis at rachtravis@gmail.com
UA OPTIMIST SERVICE LEARNING AWARD
The Jones Service Learning committee invites service-minded students to apply for a service learning award to be presented by the Upper Arlington Optimist Club. The UA Optimist Club will recognize the winner at their annual awards banquet on April 29 and make a $250 donation in the winner's name to a charity of their choice. If your child is someone who enjoys serving others and has a commitment to regular service, we want to hear from them! Please complete the Google form on your Canvas page by 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 18. If you have any questions, please see Mrs. Tarr in room 204 or email her at dtarr@uaschools.org.
JUVENILE LAW & SEXTING 101
Each year at Jones we partner with the Franklin County Prosecuting Office to come in and talk with our students about Juvenile Laws and Sexting Laws. This year, at grade level class meetings the week of April 15th, the Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Irene Knapp will be joining us to talk with our students about these issues. Each grade level will listen to the presentation in school during flex. Please feel free to check out this flier that shares more about what will be discussed. If you have any questions and/or concerns about this presentation, please reach out to your grade level counselor.
SPECIAL EDUCATION FAMILY SURVEY
The survey team at Ohio State University is looking forward to Upper Arlington parents to complete the Special Education Family Survey at the link below. We have received a notice from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce indicating that our district is a participant in this year’s survey.
The survey is open now until May 7, 2024. The survey has been translated into 5 different languages (Arabic, Nepali, Somali, Chinese, and Spanish). You can find these translated versions at HERE. Please use the password: 2024 to access the files.
STUDENT IPAD DISTRIBUTION INFORMATION
Each student will return their old iPad and receive a new 10th-generation iPad as the 2024-25 school year begins. These new devices include a keyboard case plus increased storage, processor speed, and a USB-C charging cable and power adapter.
All Middle and High School students will need to pick up their device over the summer during the weeks of July 29th and August 5th. For students that are not able to pick up their devices during these 2 weeks, we will have iPads available for pickup at the tech offices in each building at the start of school.
There will be more details coming out in future updates.
SUMMER 2024 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE PROGRAM
Dublin City Schools is hosting an in-person, pre-college, project-based artificial intelligence program at Emerald Campus. Inspirit AI is an AI education program developed and taught by Stanford and MIT graduates. Class will meet on weekdays from Monday June 17 - Friday June 28, (no class June 19). High School Session: 8:30 - 11:30am / Middle School Session: 12:30 - 3:30pm
Students from grades 6-12 will learn the fundamental concepts of AI. Students will learn to program AI using Python, discuss ethics and bias within AI, and complete a group project applying AI to disciplines like healthcare, astronomy, finance, among others. No prior computer science experience is required to participate.
Check out the program brochure for more information about curriculum, schedule, projects, teaching team, and more! The program is open to all interested students. If students are interested, please have them fill out a short interest form to receive registration information directly from Inspirit AI.
GIRLS SOCCER MEETING
On Tuesday 4/23 there will be a parent and player informational meeting for any rising 7th and 8th graders who are interested in playing girls soccer next Fall. The meeting will take place in the JMS cafeteria and will be led by our head coaches. If you have any specific questions, please reach out to our head coaches directly using the email addressed below.
Santina Graceffa- smgraceffa@gmail.com
Katie Aiello- aiellokatie8@gmail.com
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 cannot 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.
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 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
JMART VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
Please consider volunteering for JMart. It is a great way to see the students in action
and support the PTO. Due to lack of volunteers, JMart has not been open very much
since the holidays so they are so excited when we have volunteers and are open during
lunch. Grab a friend and sign up below.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0D4FABA62F4-49072558-jmart
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 16 - Give Back Night @ Dewey's
APR 22 ~ Community Naloxone Training, 6:30-7:30pm at UA Public Library
STUDENTS RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES HANDBOOK
April 19 - 8th Grade Shadowing Day
April 19 - 7th Grade Career Day, Flex
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
May 2 - Mandatory 8th Grade parent/student DC Meeting, 7:30pm
May 6 - Packing for the Streets, 3:30pm
May 6 - 6th Grade Choir Concert, 7pm
May 6 - 7th/8th Grade Choir Concert, 8pm
May 9 - Orchestra Concert, Grades 6 - 8, 7pm
May 10 - 7th Graders to King's Island, 7am to7pm
May 14 - 17 - 8th Grade DC Trip
May 16 - Parent Football Meeting for Rising 7th/8th Graders, 7pm
May 17 - 7th Grade Class Party @ Get Air, 10am to 12pm
May 20 - Spring Athletic Recognition Night (see coaches for times and locations)
May 23 - Early Dismissal, 1:30pm - Last Day of School
May 23 - 8th Grade Celebration
May 26 - UAHS Commencement Exercises
May 27 - Memorial Day
May 29 - Middle School Orchestras to Chicago
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