JAGWIRE
January/February 2024 - Family Edition
Contact Us
Email: JolliffMiddle@k12cpschools.com
Website: cpschools.com/o/jms
Location: 1021 Jolliff Road, Chesapeake, VA, USA
Phone: 757-465-5246
The Principal's Jam
Happy New Year, Jaguars! I can't believe our school year is nearly half way over. The new year always presents an opportunity to hit the "reset" button, to reflect on what has been going well and what needs more attention in the coming months. There are so many things going well this year. Sports championships, students achieving amazing things in the classroom, club days, and a vibrant Student Council Association that never stops.
One area that I have added to my New Year's Resolution list for 2024 is to be intentional about our Jaguars living out all of our P.R.E.S.S. (Pride, Respect, Effort, Safety, and Social Responsibility) characteristics. The one we are missing the mark on as a school is "Respect". Many of our discipline incidents center on peer-to-peer conflicts and not handling conflict appropriately, whether that is student-teacher relationships or student-student relationships.
Respectfully disagreeing and working through conflict are not a high priority for middle school aged students. Those are learned skills, for sure. For the second half of the school year, we're going to collectively focus on developing skills in how to treat one another with respect, how to resolve conflicts with our peers, how to communicate when we disagree with one another, and how to go the "extra mile" to forgive and move on from conflict. We'll talk about this in our discipline assemblies and in our morning minutes. My hope is that you'll discuss these topics at home over dinner or on car rides.
2024 is going to be a great year! I'm excited to continue partnering with you to prepare our students to reach their greatest potential. Let's resolve to keep working together to make JMS a place that students want to come to and learn EVERY single day.
Your Principal,
Mr. Close
Counselor Connections:
Happy New Year from JMS Guidance!
Each new year brings the prospect of hope and thoughts about plans for the future. Over the next two months, the Jolliff Middle School counselors will continue to work with our students to support academic success and promote career development! As we finish the semester strong, we will focus our student support on the activities below:
Career Exploration Classroom Guidance
Academic Success Planning
Celebrating Honor Roll Students
Course Scheduling for the 2024-2025 School Year
Chesapeake Virtual Academy
Applications for Middle School or High School CVA will be available on the CVA Website beginning January 8, 2024. Students enrolled in CVA in the 2023-24 school year must reapply for the 2024-25 school year if they would like to remain in the program.
WBHS Scheduling Info Night - Jan 23rd!
JMS Rising 6th Grade Info Night - Jan 24th!
Course Scheduling for the 2024-2025 School Year
Please mark your calendars as we prepare for the 2024-2025 Course Scheduling Process. Instructions on how to choose your courses will be posted on the JMS website.
Current 6th and 7th Grade students will begin Elective Scheduling in early February and will be expected to complete all elective courses selections by February 16, 2024. All course recommendations and elective courses will be available for families to review and confirm in ParentVue on March 1, 2024.
Current 8th grade students will begin High School Scheduling later this month! Please note the dates below:
- Thursday, January 18, 2024 - The Western Branch High School Counselors will visit our 8th graders for a Scheduling Assembly.
- Wednesday, January 23, 2024 - All 8th grade families are invited to attend the Scheduling Information Night and Course Fair at Western Branch High School from 5:00pm- 7:00pm. The presentation will begin at 6:00pm.
- February 9, 2024 - Deadline to enter all 9th grade course selections.
- March 1, 2024- All course recommendations and elective courses will be available for families to review and confirm in ParentVue.
Nurse's Notes
JANUARY/FEBRUARY SCHOOL HAPPENINGS
DATES TO REMEMBER IN DECEMBER:
January 15th: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - Schools Closed
January 25th: Early Release Day
January 26th & 29th: Teacher Workdays - No Students
February 19th: Presidents Day - Schools Closed
February 26th & 27th: 7th Grade Field Trip to VA Aquarium
March 1st: MakerFest
Online purchases can be made here!
Flowers will be delivered to your student on Wednesday, February 14th!
YOUNG, GIFTED & BLACK: AFRICAN AMERICANS AND THE ARTS
Western Branch High School is proud to announce their 11th Annual Black History Month Production, "Young, Gifted & Black: African Americans and the Arts." This year's showings will take place on Friday, February 23 in the Western Branch High School Auditorium. Please accept this as a special invitation to attend this year's show.
We encourage you to share this invitation with your family, friends, colleagues, and other members of your specific community who may be interested in attending. To learn more about this year's theme, African Americans and the Arts, click here.
Friday, Feb 23, 2024, 07:00 PM
Western Branch High School, Bruin Place, Chesapeake, VA, USA
YG&B T-Shirt Orders
If you would like to support our production by ordering a special edition t-shirt, please click the image. You will be redirected to the Online School Payments (OSP) storefront. All orders must be received by Tuesday, February 6th. Orders will be ready for distribution on February 20th.
SAVE THE DATE -- March 1st, 2024
MakerFest @ JMS
Jolliff Middle School will host its first-ever “MakerFest”! During this 2-hour experience, student innovators will lead and showcase wildly fascinating and interactive maker stations where attendees will tinker, experiment, create, and leave with cool, maker projects!
Friday, Mar 1, 2024, 06:30 AM
Jolliff Middle School, Jolliff Road, Chesapeake, VA, USA
JMS Athletics
Spring Conditioning Information
Get your tickets on GOFAN.CO!
Chesapeake Public Schools is providing an opportunity to purchase online and mobile tickets for ALL middle and high school athletic events (which includes all sports for home and away games). Purchasing tickets online permits fans to easily access and share tickets (email or text) without standing in line.
All middle and high schools will have a dedicated GoFan page for ticket sales. The service, which enables attendees to pay and access tickets electronically. The middle school tickets will be available prior to the start of their season.
All school accounts can be accessed using the GoFan.co (not .com) website. Click here for the JMS school account!
Students MUST have a current sports physical on file with the Athletic Director in order to tryout for any sport. Physicals must be dated after 4/1/2023.
PTA News:
PTA Reflections 2023-2024 Winners!
This years theme was "I am hopeful because..."
First Place:
Film: Layla Armitage
Photography: Lailah McGhee
Literature: Ava Heath
Visual Arts: Gabrielle Nguyen
Second Place:
Film: Kylie Heath
Photography: Aidan Bani
Visual Arts: Lailah McGhee
Bedford Falls Book Fair - Sponsored by the PTA!
Save the dates! The PTA will be hosting the book fair Feb 26th-March 1st, 2024! Students will visit during their English classes and be able to make purchases all week! Family Nights will be Feb 29th & March 1st (times to be announced)
Monday, Feb 26, 2024, 08:00 AM
Jolliff Middle School, Jolliff Road, Chesapeake, VA, USA
GET CONNECTED AND STAY CONNECTED!
SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS
We hope you will stay connected to JMS via the platform of your choosing. Our website,
is updated regularly, so please register for notifications by visiting the homepage and scrolling down the right side to submit your email address. Our website can link you to our social media accounts on Twitter - @JolliffMiddle, Instagram - @JolliffMS, and YouTube - @CPS JMS.
Follow Us on "Jolliff Middle School" Official Facebook Page!
JAGS CARE...RESOURCES FOR THRIVING!
CPS INFORMATION
Based on the results of our recent calendar survey, a new academic calendar option, Option B, was presented to the School Board on January 8, 2024. Before proceeding, the School Board wants to survey our school community regarding the two options. We invite you to review and complete our 2024-2025 Academic Calendar Options survey and select your preferred option for the 2024-2025 school year.
Please provide your feedback by January 22, 2024: http://cpschools.com/surveys
It's everything Chesapeake, in your pocket!
We're thrilled to announce the new app for Chesapeake Public Schools!
It's everything Chesapeake, in your pocket.
Download for Android: https://bit.ly/44UPkHQ
Download for iPhone: https://apple.co/3KcIghX