Jackson Hole Middle
School
March 2010 Newsletter
March is a busy month! Parent teacher
conferences, the book fair, PAWS testing, the end of 3rd quarter and
our quarterly recognition program will all be happening in the next
three weeks.
PAWS testing starts on Monday, March 8, and will continue until March 23.
PAWS, or the Proficiency Assessments for Wyoming Students, are our
state standards tests. All students grades 3 - 8 and grade 11 are
tested in Reading, Writing, and Math. Eighth grade students will also
be testing in science. These tests are required under the federal law,
No Child Left Behind, and are used for school improvement purposes. As
a staff we analyze how are students are performing in these three
areas, and develop our professional development plans and school goals
partly based on this data. You will receive your child's scores in
August. You can help by being sure your child gets enough sleep and a
good breakfast! You may also pack healthy snacks for some energy
during testing. Your child's attendance is critical for this testing,
as the state requires nearly 100% participation.
Conferences are half way over.
If you missed conferences on Monday, please come today, Tuesday March 9
at the Middle School, from 3:00 - 7:00. 6th graders will be in the
commons, 7th graders in the large gym, and 8th graders in the small
gym. We look forward to seeing you and your child there!
The media center has been hosting a book fair, and the last day is Tuesday, March 9. Ask your kids to tell you about the books they have heard about!
The end of the third quarter is March 19th,
so the quarterly recognitions will be coming up. Sixth and Seventh
graders will be going to the rec center. They will have the opportunity
to swim, play basketball, dodgeball or soccer in the gyms. Seventh
graders will go on the 19th, and sixth graders will be going on the
24th. Eighth graders will be going to Snow King on the 19th, for
skiing, skating or tubing. There will be a small cost for the eighth
graders. More information to come. (Students who have not completed
their PAWS testing may have to make up their testing during this time)
Get your yearbook order in today!
The price of a yearbook before spring break is $15.00, after Spring
Break the cost goes up to $18.00! You may pick up a form at the
office.
Beyond Dances: Deb Wagner, one
of our parent volunteer coordinators, is heading up a group to explore
additional social opportunities for students. If you are interested in
helping plan this activity, please email Deb at sunketchum@yahoo.com.
Reminders:
No school on Friday, March 12.
Spring break starts on Sat. March 27th.
School begins on Monday, April 12.
February 2010
Please come
to our annual spelling bee on Wed., Feb.
10 at 1:20 in the large gym.
Each homebase has conducted a spelling bee to determine the two spellers
that will compete in the school wide competition. The top three winners will go on to the state
competition, and if a student does well there, he/she will be sent to
Washington D.C. to compete in the national spelling bee!
As you have
probably already heard, there is a dance tonight at the Middle School from
7:00 – 9:30 p.m. The cost is $3.00 and the proceeds will go to Haiti as
part of the student council fund raiser. As always, we will be emphasizing to
students our three (plus one) major expectations for all Middle School
activities: to be safe, respectful and responsible, and appropriate, and have
several teachers and administrators monitoring the dance. The kids have a lot of fun!
We are also
looking at expanding beyond dances for evening activities for students. Our parent volunteer coordinators, Teresa
Nye, Trish Mayer, and Deb Wagner are looking for interested parents to help
organize these events. We are
aiming for one in the spring, and then expanding the opportunities for next
year.
We are JHMS! You have probable noticed our various banners and posters
around the school celebrating the students, staff and parents of JHMS. There is a lot of pride at JHMS, and we
want to celebrate our great students and staff as we continually strive to be
better. For the next few months we will have a strong focus on student responsibility
to their own learning; by being prepared for learning, taking pride in their work
and by asking questions when they don’t understand something. Watch out for new posters, and help your
child understand that it is their education
and their responsibility.
Another way
we keep JHMS a great place for learning is by continually re-teaching our
expectations for behavior. This is
part of our Positive Behavioral Support system, developed at the University of
Oregon. For instance, soon after
the winter break Bo Miller, Jeff Parrott and I visited all the classrooms to
talk about lunch cleanup, cell phones, coming to class prepared, “PDA” – or
public displays of affection (romantic in nature), and snowballs. Student council will be coming up with
our next reteaching activity, and will put together some skits to be video
taped.
Yearbooks are on sale now, and if you buy them before spring
break you will save three dollars!
Ask your child for the form!
ATTENTION 8th grade parents! Dr. Scott Crisp, the new principal of Jackson Hole High School will have monthly
open house sessions for any 8th grade parent from 12:00 – 1:00pm
on March 2, April
13, May 4, and June 1. Feel free
to drop in JHHS to meet our administration, counselors, or specific teachers.
Parent-teacher conferences will be on Monday March 8, and
Tuesday March 9 from 3:00 – 7:00.
We will be sending home more information closer to the conferences.
PAWS testing also begins on March 8th,
and will continue through March 26th. These tests are required by the No Child Left Behind
Law. We continually do well on
this test, and use this data to help up set school improvement goals and to
monitor student achievement. We need all students here!
As always,
we appreciate your help and support of your child’s learning! Parents Involved in Education meetings
are the first Wed. of each month at 12:00. I hope to see you there!