Dear parents/guardians,
Happy Sunday Patriots! We had a great first week back to school! Just a few reminders for you. Your cadet earns BIZI bucks (School store money) every time they show up to school and class on time and for behaving. They can earn up to 200 Bizi bucks each week. They get more for doing things above and beyond and behaviors that align with our Cadet Creed. Every two weeks, Bizi looks at grades in Focus and give additional buck for every A, B, and C. 25 Bucks for every A, 20 Bucks for every B, and 15 Bucks for every C. Have your cadet show you their Bizi account and the awesome things they can buy in our school store.
Testing - This week we finish taking the state assessment in Language Arts (PM2) and we start the Math test for all students except those taking High School Alg I and Geometry. 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 level 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 tomorrow, 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.
2nd Quarter Honor Roll Recognition – Formation on Jan 17 and Food Truck on Jan 17. We will be rewarding all Honor Roll Cadets with a lunch from the Food Truck at no cost to you.
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 - Chaffee Trail Middle School
11770 Sam Caruso Way, 32221
Jan. 23 – Alfred duPont Middle School
2710 Dupont Ave., 32217
Jan. 28 - Arlington Middle School
8141 Lone Star Rd., 32211
Please plan to join Dr. Bernier and share your views on our school and the future of our district! This would be a wonderful 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 21st.
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, 6-8, Dress Attire: Formal with favorite sneakers! Cost: $25-includes dinner. Concessions: will be available bring money. Pay online on SchoolCashonline.com.
Literacy Week – The last week in January will be Literacy Week for Duval County Public Schools. We will be hosting the Scholastic Book Fair in our Library/Media Center all that week. On Wednesday, January 29, we will open the Book Fair to parents and families from 5-6:30 pm. We will have different activities all week. Stay tuned.
Calendar Events this week:
Monday, Jan 13 – (A Day) 2nd quarter report cards posted in parent portal. Girls Soccer at home vs JWJ at 5:30pm. Boys and Girls Basketball at Baldwin.
Tuesday, Jan 14 – (B Day) 8th Grade ELA state testing (PM2). Boys and Girls Soccer @ Baldwin.
Wednesday, Jan 15 – (A Day) 7th grade Math state test. Boys and Girls Basketball at home vs Lakeshore.
Thursday, Jan 16 – (B Day) 6th grade Math state test. Boys Soccer at home vs Lakeshore.
Friday, Jan 17 – (A Day) Qtr 2 Honor Roll Recognition at morning formation. Sneaker Ball, 6-8pm. $25
Coming soon:
Monday, Jan 20 – MLK Day No School.
Tuesday, Jan 21 – 8th grade math state test (Not Alg or Geo).
Wednesday, Jan 29 – Family Bookfair
Monday, Feb 10 – Vision Screening for 6th graders.
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.