Dear parents/guardians,
Happy Monday Patriots and Happy New Year! 2025 is going to be an awesome year for JSMAL! We cannot do it without you, so thank you for your support. Preparing your cadet (s) for high school is our mission and we need you to help us with that mission.
Testing - This week we get a chance to take the state assessment in Math and Language Arts (PM2). This is the second one of the year and it is important. When you see your cadet’s scores, you will want to compare them to PM1 taken in September. We hope to see growth (look at the scale score). For cadets at a 3, 4, or 5…congratulations! These cadets are on track to be high school ready. For cadets at a level 2, no worries, we still have two quarters to get them to a level 3 and above. For cadets at a level 1, we plan to intervene, pull them out of electives, tutor, etcetera… to get them on grade level. How can you help? Ensure that they are in school, every day. Communicate with their teachers about what you can do for each subject area. Monitor your parent Focus account to see how your cadet is progressing week to week.
Report Cards – Second quarter report cards will be available January 13 in your parent Focus portal. If you would like a printed copy, please email Ms. Adams at adamse@duvalschools.org or stop by the front office.
Town meetings with Dr. Bernier - Do you have thoughts about what works well in our school district? Ideas for improvement or concerns? You are invited to attend and engage with Superintendent Dr. Bernier in a discussion about the current state and future of Duval County Public Schools. All events begin at 6 p.m. and will conclude at 7:30 p.m. I had the pleasure of going to the one at JWJ last Thursday and it was excellent. Dr. Bernier is truly listening to parents, and he gives a great state of the district review of how we are doing and his priorities. He listened intently to each parent and had a slew of staff to jot those down and get back to each parent.
Jan. 14 - Kernan Middle School
2271 Kernan Blvd. S., 32246
Jan. 16 - Highlands Middle School
10913 Pine Estates Rd. E., 32218
Jan. 21 - Arlington Middle School
8141 Lone Star Rd., 32211
Jan. 21 - Chaffee Trail Middle School
11770 Sam Caruso Way, 32221
Please plan to join Dr. Bernier and share your views on our school and the future of our district! This would be a great time to tell him why JSMAL needs to stay right here on Burma Road and not be considered for consolidation into any other school. I plan to attend the one at Chaffee Trail Middle School on Jan 21rd.
Free Health Services - Duval County Public Schools' continued partnership with Hazel Health allows each student to receive high-quality telehealth care at no cost to their families. Students can receive virtual medical care or teletherapy at school or at home on any smartphone, tablet, or computer. All Hazel Health visits are safe and confidential. Hazel Health providers are available to all students, regardless of insurance and there is not out of pocket expense for the family to initiate a visit. Providers are available Monday-Friday 7 am-5 pm. Visits can also be initiated at home. Consent forms are good for the duration of time that the student is with DCPS. See attached flyers for more information.
The JSMAL library is ready for cadet use! – Ms. Kampfer, our test coordinator, has been spending all her free time in the library (media center) reorganizing, sorting, cataloging, and getting it ready for our cadets to use. This Monday and Tuesday, your cadets will come during their ELA class to the library so she can introduce them to the library and teach them how to find and check out books.
Coach Thompson is bringing back the Sneaker Ball! Open to all cadets! Date: Jan 17, 2025, 6-8pm. Dress Attire: Formal with favorite sneakers! Cost: $25-includes dinner. Concessions: will be available bring money. Pay online on SchoolCashonline.com.
Calendar Events this week:
Monday, Jan 6 – Teacher Planning Day.
Tuesday, Jan 7– (A Day) First day of 3rdQuarter. Boys soccer vs JWJ at home, 5pm.
Wednesday, Jan 8 – (B Day) 6thgrade ELA state testing (PM2). Boys and Girls Basketball at home vs JWJ starts at 5:30pm.
Thursday, Jan 9 – (A Day) 7th Grade ELA state testing (PM2). SAC meeting at 5:30pm in the media center.
Friday, Jan 10– (B Day)
Saturday, Jan 11 - All Middle and High Schools open for families to check out. 9am – 3pm
Coming soon:
Monday, Jan 13 – 2nd quarter report cards posted in parent portal.
Tuesday, Jan 14 – 8th Grade ELA state testing (PM2).
Thursday, Jan 16 –
Friday, Jan 17 – Qtr. 2 Honor Roll Recognition at morning formation. Sneaker Ball, 6-8pm. $25
Thursday, Feb 13 – Mid Year Stakeholders Meeting with SAC in Media Center at 5:30pm.
Tamara Roper
Proud Principal
JSMAL Vision: We exist to ensure that all cadets value and demonstrate leadership, character, citizenship, physical development, and academic excellence.