J. W. Leary Junior High School
September 12, 2021
Hello everyone,
We have had a great start to the school year!! There is nothing better than seeing the kids back in school. I am not really sure if we should be counting this as the first full week of school but I am doing it anyways!!
Transportation with bussing is running smooth. Drop-off and pick-up are a little better. I continue to ask that families use the parent loop to help us ensure that children are not crossing in front of busses as drop-off and pick-up occur.
Several of our advisory teachers will begin to use materials from the Positivity Project, a program Jefferson has used. Here is a letter with more information. This weeks character trait is other people's mindsets-relationships and curiosity!
Wednesday 9/15 was supposed to be our Curriculum Night. Given the continuing rise in COVID cases and the positive feedback from Parent-Teacher conferences last year we are going to adjust things. In place of curriculum night we will be creating a presentation that continues brief videos with all of our information. I understand that this is not ideal, but we are happy to provide this asynchronous alternative, since last year's Curriculum Night was cancelled altogether. The presentation will be widely shared when available. Thank you for adjusting with us.
Thank you everyone for supporting our children!!
School Number Days
Monday is Day 6
Tuesday is Day 1
Wednesday is Day 2
Thursday is Day 3
Friday is Day 4
This weeks word of the week is Hello
The character trait this week is other people's mindsets, relationships!
This letter outlines a lot more information.
Thank you community Partners!!
I also want to thank several volunteers who provided information to children earlier this week. On September 7th JW Leary held a day where community members provided information to the children about services available. The community members were invited to share based on the information that came from the 2021 End of Year Student Survey. Within the survey students shared what would help them to start the 2021 school year. The items shared ranged from making friends and anxiety to what to eat and coping with stresses of different activities (social media, drugs, unhappiness). Kristin Colarusso-Martin helped us to connect to the community partners who could provide support for the items children had listed and educators facilitated conversations on the topics.
Thank you to the partners who contributed to the day.
Trooper Baillargeon met with the 20 cohorts of children to educate the children about protocols/precautions/legal issues relating to social media use.
The following community partners held interactive virtual sessions with children throughout the day:
Wanda Collins from Cornell Cooperative informed children of Peer Led Activity and Nutrition (PLAN);
Amber Stickney from PALs talked to children about self-development and healthy relationships;
Janna Giltner from Seaway Valley Prevention Council shared information about marijuana/vaping prevention and education;
Hilary Avallone and Michael Kelly from the Q Center spoke with children about allyship and supporting others;
Amy Canniff from the Child Advocacy Center spoke to children about emotional, physical and digital safety;
Reese from the Holistic Life Foundation helped children learn strategies to cope with anxiety;
Ronee Cree from St. Lawrence County Community Services spoke with children about peer counseling and peer services.
JW Leary is thankful for the community partners who volunteered their time to offer insight, contact information and an avenue to potentially help children navigate this unique time. Thank you Kristin and JW Leary educators for helping with this work!
All JH Events
DATES TO REMEMBER 2021-2022--this links the calendar that is regularly updated
YearBook Club meets after school on Wednesday in Room 501
FREE Breakfast & Lunch will continue for the 2021-2022 school year!
Please continue to complete your free and reduced lunch application! By filling out an application for free and reduced lunch, you help the district apply for grant funding for scholastic and extracurricular activities. Additionally your family will be all set up to receive free and reduced meals next fall.
If your child has not return their Chromebook or owes money for damage to their Chromebook they will not be issued a new Chromebook.
Paperwork that needs to be returned ASAP
Massena CSD Student/Parent Contact Information Sheet-please review the information on this sheet making any needed corrections and return it to advisory on the first day of school. It is important to have your accurate information as this is the information we use to communicate with you.
2021-2022 Residency Questionnaire-Please fill this out. This helps to determine what needs are present within the district/building. Please have your child return the form to their advisory teacher who will get it to the main office.
Free and Reduced Lunch Application-By filling out an application for free and reduced lunch, you help the district apply for grant funding for scholastic and extracurricular activities. Please have your child return this form to their advisory teacher.
Chromebook Acknowledgement Form-This form is located as the last page in the Chromebook contract. By signing the form it is indicated that you have reviewed and will abide by the contract. Chromebooks will not be issued until this form is received.
Children should carry this with them daily
Student Handbook/Agenda-The school has created an agenda that contains an overview of the school year, the school rules, and a place to write assignments/notes. Children should carry this with them everyday and you are encouraged to check it at home.WEB (Where Everyone Belongs) 7th and 8th Grade Student Orientation!
Activities in JW Leary Classrooms
Helping children to learn about and learn from experiences relating to 9/11.
Thank You Girl Scout Troop #50403
Thank you to Girl Scout Troop #50403 in Massena NY who donated school supplies for children at JW Leary.
Sandy Robison Girl Scout Troop #50403 leader has shared that the money the girls have earned from selling cookies and candy were used to purchase the supplies. The girls wanted to help kids their own age. As the troop has requested the materials are going to be distributed to children who need them. The donated materials make it possible for all children to have access to what they need for a successful school year.
Thank you Girl Scout Troop #50403 for helping to support the children at JW Leary.
Register for SchoolTool
If you would like access to the MCSD Parent Portal, please send an email to the following address: parentportal@mcs.k12.ny.us with your child(ren)'s name(s) and date of birth(s).
Please also verify your email address in the body of the email. Please anticipate a minimum of 3 to 5 business days for you to receive an email verifying your account.
MCSD Parent Portal - https://schooltool8.neric.org/SchoolTool_MASS/Default.aspx
SchoolTool Mobile App for Parents
The Schooltool Mobile Application is now setup and available for Massena CSD parents and students.
This link provides instructions for configuring and using the Massena CSD Schooltool mobile application for iOS and Android devices.
Attendance
We at JW Leary Junior High School believe that consistent attendance at school is imperative to attain a thorough and complete education. It is important that students be in school on time each day in order to be presented with academic material that will help them grow as a student. We also recognize that there are circumstances in a child’s life that may require them to miss school occasionally. These tardies or absences are understandable and accepted as long as the occurrence doesn’t become frequent.
It is a school-wide goal at JW Leary Junior High School to improve student attendance. In order for parents to assist us with this school-wide goal, we ask that parents make every effort to schedule family vacations during our school breaks. In addition, we ask that parents schedule students’ doctor’s appointments after school as much as possible. When students are signed out of school early, they miss valuable instructional time and could begin to fall behind academically when leaving early becomes excessive.
School starts at 7:30 AM. Students who arrive in their classrooms after these times are reported to the main office as tardy for school. Absences are identified by a student being out of school for an entire day. Both of these attendance measures are forwarded to a database where we keep track of attendance for each child. When a student is absent from school, the nurse’s office will call the child’s home to make sure that the parent is aware of the child’s absence in order to ensure the child’s safety.
The expectation at JW Leary Junior High School is that parents will forward, in writing, a note that includes the date(s), student’s name and explanation of absence or that parents will complete this Form. We keep these notes on file in the office.
Each week an attendance check is done on all of our children. In addition to sending attendance information with progress reports and report cards additional letters may be sent if problems arise.
Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help your student or your family as we get back into school.
If you have ideas, questions, or concerns please email azullo@mcs.k12.ny.us or call the school 315-764-3720.
Mrs. Zullo
J. William Leary Junior High School
Email: azullo@mcs.k12.ny.us
Website: https://jwjh.mcs.k12.ny.us/
Location: 1 School Street, Massena, NY, USA
Phone: 315-764-3720
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/812944242085434