Jardine Middle School
October 2023 Newsletter
Note from the Principal
I also want to remind parents of our afterschool program. We have tutoring, intervention, and enrichment offered Tuesday-Thursday each week. Mr. Haag arranges this program for students so please reach out to thaag@tps501.org for questions about our offerings.
Note from the Assistant Principal
BUS INFORMATION
Bus Consequences
Riding on the bus is a privilege and not a right. Appropriate behavior is expected. The school will follow up on any disciplinary referral and the student will receive a warning, detention, bus suspension or school suspension as warranted. When a student receives a disciplinary bus write up, the incident will be investigated and disciplinary consequences will be taken up to and including Out of School Suspension, short or long term bus suspension as determined by the investigation and severity of the incident.
** Any acts of fighting on the bus will result in an automatic loss of riding privileges for the remainder of the school year.
School Hours
School hours are 7:50 am to 2:45 pm. Our front doors open to all students at 7:15 a.m. Students who walk or who are car riders use our front drive and doors. Bus riders will enter through the south gym parking doors.
Counselor Corner- Mr. Falk & Mr. Barber
Character Education Program
Jardine Middle School has a Positive Character Program which 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. These students will get a certificate as well as twenty 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. Specific lessons and tasks within Naviance are required by the State of Kansas to be completed at each grade level. AB teachers will be working with students to complete Naviance lessons prior to October Parent/Teacher Conferences. The lessons will encourage students to identify their strengths and interests, set goals for personal growth, and explore options they will have after high school. Mr. Falk and Mr. Barber are going into grade level classes to have the student complete Naviance self-assessments. These assessments will help them create goals, understand their learning style, choose future classes, consider post-secondary opportunities available to them, and explore possible career interests. Parents will be notified at Parent/Teacher conferences if their students have not completed any tasks or lessons.
Red Ribbon Week
Red Ribbon Week is October 23-31 every year. The theme this year is “Be Kind to Your Mind. Live Drug Free”. School wide activities will be set up to recognize Red Ribbon Week.
NURSE NEWS- Ms. Bailey
- If your student is sick and sends a text to come get them, please have them go see the nurse and go through Ms. Bailey to call you. If they are not seen by the nurse, then their absence will not be excused.
-Your students immunizations need to be up to date by October 24. If your student is missing a required immunization, they will be excluded from school starting October 25 until proof of immunizations are received by the nurse. If your student is on this list, you have been contacted by the nurse already.
Thank you for your help with these!
Social Work Corner- Ms. Sparks
Library News
This month for library lessons, the students are working on Destiny Discover. They are creating their favorite list as well as listening to book trailers for this year’s William Allen White State Award Nominees. The 7th grade will be exploring World Book and the 8th graders will be creating an author bookmark soon.
Throughout the year in library classes the students will be going through a new online digital citizenship curriculum. This will help navigate the tech world we all live in.
If your student is having chromebook issues, please tell them to visit the library during AB time to talk to Ms. Gilliland
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.
Chromebook chargers: You can purchase one from A office for $25 or follow these links at Walmart.com or Amazon. Please do not continue to charge your chromebook with a phone charger as this will destroy the chromebook battery due to the different watts.
The BIGGEST thank you to everyone who supported our book fair. We made our largest profit since the schools have combined. It takes a village and we are excited to purchase new items/books for our libraries!!
This month we are featuring the genres of Sports Fiction and Mystery, The authors, Jerry Spinelli, Rick Riordan, and Alan Gratz; The nonfiction section of pets and ghosts, and the Series’s of Hoot and Among The Hidden
Sports & Other Extracurricular Activities
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 that finished their season placing 3rd at the City championship.
The Football team heads into the city championship next week with an undefeated record. City Football will be at Hummer Sports Park on October 11th. $2.00 at the door.
The girls tennis team finished winning the city championship! They had a great season.
Girls Basketball and Boys Soccer meeting October 12th at 6:00 on zoom. Practice begins October 12th. 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 1, 2023.
Girls Basketball and Boys Soccer zoom code- https://tps501.zoom.us/j/88245545803
Password- jardine
PE Happenings
Physical Education National Standard #4
Last year’s P.E. newsletter entries familiarized students and parents with the P.E. National Standards. We have five standards and only Standards 1-3 have been published in previous newsletters. Let’s finish the task of educating about all the Standards we cover in class. Standard #4 is by far my favorite to see students participating in daily.
Standard 4: The physically literate individual exhibits responsible personal and social behavior that respects self and others.
I can be responsible for my actions.
I can demonstrate sportsmanship and fair play.
I can work cooperatively with other students in my class.
I can listen to feedback.
I can respect others.
I can be safe while moving and when using PE equipment.
I can follow directions and listen to my teacher’s instructions.
I can follow the rules of the game.
I can be a great leader and follower.
Every single day in PE class we see students incorporating this standard into everything they do. On the same note, we see students who need refreshers and reminders about these standards as well.
Our current newsletter program will not allow for the visual to be posted, so if you are waiting to see the class visual, please email Mrs. Remer at bremer@tps501.org
Activities in September are/will be (weather permitting): Tennis, Weights, Physical Fitness Testing, Floor Hockey, Kickball, Ball Tag, Two-Team Pinball, Foxtail etc.
Language Arts
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.
Here's What's Happening in Language Arts-
6th Grade: (Ms. Appelhanz/Mr. Henry/Ms. Morlock) We are still reading our first novel, Among the Hidden, and studying the elements of plot; wrapping up Unit 1 and encouraging independent reading. Unit 2 beginning mid-October.
7th Grade: (Ms. Bisconer/Ms.Morlock/Ms.Carrington) 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/Ms. Bisconer) 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.
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It’s hard to believe that the first quarter has flown by so quickly! Students in the ESOL elective were reminded of the key components that go into Project Based Learning and set out to complete their first project of the year. They took a deeper look at how we can learn important life lessons from the challenges the characters in movies we watch have to overcome.
Quarter 2 will focus on the benefits of having a pet! We will practice going through the steps of the writing process in order to write an argumentative essay, complete with evidence and properly cited sources.
History Happenings
7th Grade- World Geography is delving into Population Geography. We are examining the push and pull factors of immigration, and the cultural, economic, and political effects of immigration to a nation. We also will identify the impact immigration has on nations people are leaving. Students will learn about Ellis Island, Angel Island, and how immigration to the United States has changed in the last century, especially in the last few decades. America is called the melting pot, and we will examine the contributions of different ethnic, racial, and religious groups who have immigrated to the United States over the years.
In addition, students are continuing to learn about the United States in terms of states and capitals. Please help them review this information at home if possible.
8th Graders have just finished learning about the American Revolution and the creation of our government. Next, they will be focusing on the Early Republic and how the first 4 four presidents handled situations at home and abroad. Please, keep asking your child what they are learning about. Spark the conversation so that everyone is communicating.
Also, the 8th graders are working on knowing where the states are located. They will eventually be able to place 50 states and capitols on a US Map. Please review the US Map with your child when possible.
Mighty Math Team
In our new unit, the 6th grade math 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 IXL anywhere they have internet access so please encourage your student to practice at home.
The 7th grade math team recently finished 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.
Happy Fall Y’all 8th Grade Math Students and Parents- We have begun Unit 2 in 8th grade math and algebra. Both math students and Algebra students will be working on standards 8G.1-6. These cover angle relationships and triangle theorems.
This unit will introduce students to many new vocabulary terms that are essential to completing presented tasks and assignments. For example, if students are told that two angles are supplementary and given information about the two angles, they will be expected to write and solve an equation to solve for unknowns. Without knowing that supplementary angles are two angles that have a sum of 180°, it is hard to correctly set up an equation to solve.
Vital to success with new vocabulary terms is the taking of notes and using precise language. We are building thinkers here at JMS, and to this end, we often answer questions in diverse ways. Our answers can do one of two things- either stop thinking or promote thinking. We choose the latter. This means that student questions are usually answered with a question posed back to the student! When students experience “frustration” with math, we have two tools in our toolbox. We can either decrease the difficulty of the task or increase the ability of the student. We again choose the latter. It is an adjustment for students to learn in this manner, but our goal is to build thinking classrooms where we facilitate learning for all.
Science Team
Currently 6th graders are exploring the engineering design process and focus on how to develop criteria and constraints for that problem so as to ensure a successful solution.
For the month of October, 6th graders are ready for CHEMISTRY!!! They will understand the structure, properties and interactions of matter at the molecular scale. They will identify the basic properties of matter and create models to represent atoms and molecules.
7th graders are finishing up All 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, how Waves are used in everyday day communication(s) and technology.
Expanding off of what we learned last month, 8th graders will explore how it is possible that so many different animals exist in the fossil record. Looking at similarities between species and understanding how natural selection happens, we will look at how we can change how animals look and act. Students will be presented with genetic, anatomical structures, and embryology to compare similarities and differences.
Band
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 11. 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/Crocs).
Check out the Jardine Middle School BAND Facebook page!
JMS Drama Department
You’ll love this musical version of Jack and the Beanstalk. See Jack as he goes up the beanstalk and into the castle where he not only fights Gogmagog, the giant, but a malicious troll as well.
Join us to learn the exciting outcome in “Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum!”
Auditions have concluded, parts have been posted, and practice has started!!! Email Tracy Rowe with questions: trowe@tps501.org
Performances are November 9-10, 2023, 6:30 pm, Jardine Middle School Commons. $5/adults, $3/students, children age 5 and under are free.
Check out the Jardine Middle School Drama Facebook page!