JMS Weekly Update
October 17, 2021
Dear JMS Families,
This week's Update contains information about the following:
- Study Lab
- Athletics - 7th & 8th Grade Boys Basketball Tryouts
- PTA - Election Day Bake Sale
- PTA - Spiritwear Delivery Update
Please continue to let our nurse, Mrs. Suess, know if anyone in your family is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. We want to keep the children here and we want to keep them safe. This information is critical to the safety of the students and staff at JMS.
Take Care,
Dr. Sarah Shaw, Principal
Ms. Katelyn Deet, Assistant Principal
Weekly Schedule
Tuesday - Day 4
Wednesday - Day 5
Thursday - Day 1
Friday - Day 2
Monday (10/25) - Day 3
New News
Why not catch the power of better study habits and improved grades?
Study Lab is an after-school opportunity for your child to get organized and develop a plan. It offers a quiet place – free of distractions – for accomplishing tasks at the end of the school day. All JMS students are invited to attend. Study Lab will be offered each Tuesday and Thursday from 3:15-4:00pm in Writing Lab 104 for the remainder of the year.
A JMS staff member will guide students to review their assignments, via Dashboard, and to prioritize school work to include missing and incomplete assignments, as well as to plan for future assignments. If a Study Lab student displays confidence and competence in their work, the student will be provided the time and space to complete school work independently during the time allotted. If the student demonstrates a need, the staff member will provide more direct support in planning for work completion.
Study Lab will also provide students another structured opportunity to connect with their on-and off-team teachers to obtain materials, submit assignments, and seek additional guidance from teachers after school. JMS teachers are generally available to meet with students most days after school through 3:45pm.
Overall, Study Lab will assist your child with their individual academic needs in a fun, focused, and structured environment.
Attendance Policy
If a student cannot attend Study Lab they are expected to make the staff members (Study Lab Coordinators) aware with a note/email from a parent or through spoken communication. Parents may also contact the staff member via email if a student cannot attend or if they have any general questions about their child's participation.
Please email Mrs. Allison Levison (alevison@mtlsd.net) or Mr. Peter Berg (pberg@mtlsd.net) for more information.
Other Information
If you would like to order school pictures please follow the directions below;
- Visit Wayne's World of Photography.
- Click on "JMS."
- Enter your student's MTLSD 7 digit ID number. (This number can be found on dashboard in the Student Information section.).
- Click on "Order Prints/Products.
- Complete your purchase online.
JMS Yearbooks are on sale now through January 14, 2022. 8th Grade Advertisements are also for sale from now until January 14 for $35.
Prices:
- Now- Sunday, October 31 at 11:59 PM: $45
- Monday, November 1 at 12:00 AM- Tuesday, November 30 at 11:59 PM: $50
- Wednesday, December 1 at 12:00 AM- Friday, December 31 at 11:59 PM: $55
- Saturday, January 1 at 12:00 AM- Friday, January 14 at 11:59 PM: $60
Limited extras will be sold on the last day of school for $60
Order your yearbook and take out an 8th grade ad TODAY! yearbookforever.com
Technology
Families In Need of Technology
As we prepare to start the 2021-2022 school year, we are asking families who need to borrow student technology to please complete the form linked below:
Be sure to list every student for whom you need to borrow a device on this form. Once you have submitted your form, you will receive status emails including device pickup details from an @mtlsd.net email address. Please also be sure to whitelist @mtlsd.net email addresses with your email provider to ensure that you receive these communications from us.
Please direct any and all questions regarding loaned equipment to our support address: RemoteSupport@mtlsd.net
Athletics
Middle School Athletics
You can learn everything you need to know about Middle School Athletics, including starting dates, by visiting the MS Athletics Webpage.
7th and 8th grade boys Basketball tryouts:
8th Grade
8th grade tryouts will be held on Thursday Oct. 28th and Friday Oct. 29th after school in the gym. Tryouts should be over around 5:00-5:15 on both days.
7th Grade
7th grade tryouts will be held on Monday Nov. 1st and Wednesday Nov. 3rd. Please note the change in dates from the original 7th grade tryout dates. Tryouts will be after school in the gym and should be finished by 4:45 on both days.
Please email Coach Dietz, rdietz@mtlsd.net, with any questions.
JMS PTA Information
Election Day Bake Sale
We’re looking for a few volunteers to staff the JMS PTA Bake Sale table at school (Tuesday 11/2). Please sign up for a morning table shift or to donate bottled water here. if you'd just like to contribute money so you can help fill the table with donuts and coffee you can donate here .
Spiritwear Delivery
The final spiritwear shipment was sorted Friday afternoon and distribution in homerooms will happen early next week. There are some isolated backordered items beyond these three shipments. If you have a backordered item, you will receive communication from Shields Embroidery advising you of the backordered items. Please check all orders and email any order issues (missing item, wrong item received, or damaged item) to jmsptamtl@gmail.com by Tuesday, October 19th. Please include your order number. The vendor will begin addressing all order issues Wednesday.
Odyssey of the Mind is a creative problem solving program that is offered internationally every year. A team of 7 kids select and solve a "long term" problem from the 5 given each year, and perform the solution in an 8 minute skit. Costumes, drama, sets and humor are encouraged. Creativity within a set of rules is the name of the game. The program encourages teamwork, independence and perseverance, as adults cannot help in any way! Teams compete regionally first (at a local high school). Winning teams compete at the State and World levels. Competition is in person in 2022.
Odyssey relies on parent coaches to volunteer their time and talent to form and lead teams. The easiest way to participate in the program is to find a group of friends and form a team. Don't worry, there are more experienced coaches in the district who will be happy to guide you and answer questions. Most coaches have no experience when they start and learn along the way. Teams meet about once a week, until the Regional competition in March.
Ready to learn more?
Please watch this Mt Lebanon Odyssey video created by the Mt Lebanon High School Odyssey team, and see our article, Voyage of Discovery, in the most recent edition of the Mt Lebanon Magazine.
Ready to start a team?
Please contact Jasmine James (gifta.james@gmail.com), Odyssey Coordinator at JMS for more information, and to get registered.
Reflections Arts in Education Contest
The 2021-22 theme of "I Will Change the World By..." will inspire students to think about the impact that they will have on our world! Entries are due to the Main Office by October 13th.
The entry form can be found here. Check out this video for inspiration.
PTA Membership and Directory Access
The JMS PTA Membership Drive is now open! Parent membership in the PTA helps us meet volunteer needs and budgetary commitments which enrich programs for our JMS students and staff. Members receive access to a member directory which has a mobile app.
Go to My Account.
- Check that your updated student info is correct. Indicate your child's team.
- Indicate your preferences for inclusion in the directory. Add a second contact so that both receive directory access and all PTA correspondences. Student phone is optional.
- Purchase a parent membership for $20
- Consider a donation. Donated funds stay 100% with JMS programs without fees. We encourage this rather than purchasing a membership for both parents, unless both parents wish to vote in meetings or hold PTA office.
JOIN US! Together we can do a lot of good for JMS!
SHOPPER & SCHOOL REWARD PROGRAMS
Amazon
If you haven’t used AmazonSmile Before:
- Go to smile.amazon.com and sign in with your regular Amazon username and password.
- You will be prompted to choose a charity. You should enter "Jefferson Middle School PTA Inc” into the search box that appears. It will say "Pittsburgh, PA" as the location for the charity.
- Make sure whenever you check out, you always go to smile.amazon.com on your browser.
If you already use AmazonSmile:
- Go to smile.amazon.com and sign in with your username and password
- Make sure the charity you’ve selected is "Jefferson Middle School PTA Inc." This information is located under the search bar where it says “supporting”.
- If it isn’t, you can change it by clicking on the charity and selecting “change”
- This will bring you to a page where you can search for “Jefferson Middle School PTA Inc” and allow you to switch charities.
Make sure whenever you check out, you always go to smile.amazon.com to checkout.
If you shop on the Amazon app. Please activate Amazon Smile on your mobile app by opening the app and finding ’Settings’ in the main menu (☰). Tap on ‘AmazonSmile’ and follow the on-screen instructions to turn on AmazonSmile on your phone.
Box Tops
Scanning Box Tops is an easy way to earn money for our school. See Box Tops for more information on how to scan Box Tops and to download the app. Receipts must be scanned within 14 days for the Box Tops to be scanned electronically.
Office Depot/Office Max
Office Depot/Office Max has a school rewards program. When shopping, remember to ask the cashier to tag Jefferson Middle School. For online orders, enter our school ID (Thomas Jefferson Middle School ID:70088453 Pittsburgh, PA) on the Thank You Confirmation page.
Resources For Families
The following resources provide information to help Mt. Lebanon School District families and staff navigate the complexities of COVID-19 and the impact the pandemic it is having on our daily lives. These resources will be updated as more information becomes available.
The MTLSD School Counselors in partnership with The Allegheny Children's Initiative Inc., have compiled a list of social services resources that may be helpful to you and your family. Please take a look and reach out to these organizations. They are here to help with any of the following:
- Food
- Rent/Mortgage
- Utilities
- Pets
- Abuse
- Mental Health
- General Assistance
Safe2Say Something is a youth violence prevention program run by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. The program teaches youth and adults how to recognize warning signs and signals, especially within social media, from individuals who may be a threat to themselves or others and to “say something” BEFORE it is too late. With Safe2Say Something, it’s easy and confidential to report safety concerns to help prevent violence and tragedies.
Here’s how it works:
- Submit a report through the Safe2SaySomething system
- Crisis center reviews, assesses and processes all submissions
- Crisis center sends all submissions to school administration and/or law enforcement for intervention
- If needed, crisis center may contact tipster anonymously through the app
Jefferson Middle School
The Jefferson Middle School learning community has an exceptional reputation for its dedicated teachers, staff and parents working together to provide learning experiences for our children that include high expectations, a challenging curriculum and a shared commitment to provide the best education possible for each and every student.
Email: sshaw@mtlsd.net
Website: https://jms.mtlsd.org/
Location: 21 Moffett Street, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Phone: (412) 344-2120
Facebook: facebook.com/jmslebo
Twitter: @JMSMTLSD