Jabish Brook Middle School The Falcon’s nesT · 2017. 10. 2. · Jabish Brook Middle School Page...

LETTER FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Jabish Brook Middle School

October, 2017 Volume 13, Issue 1

The Falcon’s nesT

JBMS is entirely online! Newsletters, email reminders, and grading information is available

via email, our school website and PowerSchool! If you are having any problems with Pow-

erSchool or if you do not currently receive school email reminders, please contact our school

office.

I am immensely proud of the work completed in order to bring Google Classroom to Jabish

Brook! JBMS faculty have once again led a pilot program for the district on the expansion

of integrating technology into the classroom. Please know while this building is leading the

district on the use of these technologies, it is a work in progress, as we all learn to develop

and improve on these methods to support the classroom.

Classroom use with chromebooks, both district-based and personal devices will continue to

increase over the course of the school year. MCAS testing this spring will be via computer

devices, and our theory is simple: the more time and use the students with devices for aca-

demic work, the better prepared they will be for online testing, including writing with a key-

board. If for any reason you know of a student who does not have access to a device or inter-

net access at home, please contact me directly at the school. Teachers are instructed to pro-

vide multiple methods of access while we all learn the benefits of this technology, and make

sure we do not leave anyone out.

Our first issue of this year’s Falcon’s Nest newsletter is packed full of information on events

and activities happening at the middle school. Please encourage your child to take advantage

of the many programs, activities and events scheduled!

Adapting to the demands of middle school can sometimes seem overwhelming for our

students. The faculty and staff at Jabish Brook Middle School are here to help with the chal-

lenges and opportunities with our middle school environment. We developed this newsletter

in order to assist with this process and provide direct information to our school community.

If at any time you have specific questions or problems, please contact our teachers via tele-

phone or email directly to answer questions and concerns with the classroom. Our Guidance

Counselors, Mr. Rick Morton for Grade 8 students and Ms. Jennifer Parker for Grade 7 stu-

dents, Ms. Bressette, our school nurse, Mrs. Cousland, the Assistant Principal and I are

available to provide any direction or assistance for parents and students.

Direct communication between home and school is a two-way street, and if you have any

questions or concerns - please let us know! Find us on Twitter, as we advertise all of the

great things happening at Jabish Brook. Find us at JBMS Falcons or @jbmsprincipal.

Sincerely,

Thomas K. Ruscio, Principal

JBMS MID-TERM

REPORTS ONLINE

Mid-Term Progress Reports

will be sent via secure docu-

ment email October 10th.

Parents are reminded to use

their child’s four digit code to

access mid-term progress re-

ports, report cards via secure

document email.

Student grades may also be

accessed via PowerSchool.

Teachers are instructed to up-

date grades on a weekly basis,

not a daily basis.

If there are any questions re-

garding grades or student pro-

gress, please speak with the

classroom teacher.


HALL LOCKERS at JBMS

1. Home room teachers assign each student a locker.

2. Students may use only the hall locker assigned to them.

3. Students must use JBMS locks. NEW LOCKS cost $5.00.

4. It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that all hall lockers are locked and se-cure, ask if you are having difficulty with the combination lock. Right-Left-Right.

Students should not place valuable items in their lockers. We recommend students not bring valuable items to school. Attentions Parents: Many students HAVE NOT SECURED THEIR LOCKERS WITH LOCKS… AGAIN LOCKS ARE HIGHLY RECOMMENDED and locks will be available throughout the year from Ms. Cousland in the main office. A secured/locked locker is the only way to protect your child from hallway locker theft.

FROM THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

FROM THE JBMS LIBRARY

Our library is on the second floor and it open from 7:30-2:30 Monday-Friday. Students may use the library with permission

from their teachers or when classes visit as a group. Books can be borrowed for two weeks and may be renewed. There are

no fines for late books. We’ve got a great fiction collection, graphic novels, magazines and nonfiction to support the curric-

ulum and keep your middle schooler reading. The JBMS library website (hosted on the school site) has links to many refer-

ence resources to help your student with homework and school projects. Please check it out: [https://sites.google.com/a/

belchertownps.org/jabish-brook-middle-school-library/].

Also:

The JBMS library collects Box Tops for Education!! Please collect and submit box tops all year long. The proceeds are

used to purchase posters, bookmarks and even books. It’s an easy way for us to fund the little extras we need to try to make

our library a better, more fun place to be. Thank you for helping us try to reach our goal of $500 this year.

See you in the library! – Mrs. St.Amand


STOP & SHOP A+ BONUS BUCKS PROGRAM

We are asking parents again this year to support the Stop & Shop A+ Bonus Bucks Pro-

gram.

To register for Stop & Shop you can fill out a form at the store or pick one up here at our

school and drop it off at Stop & Shop. Our school ID # is 05330. You can also register

online by logging on to www.stopandshop.com/aplus or dial 1-877-275-2758 to register

your card over the phone. Remember, even if you registered your card last year, you

must re-register this year for our school to receive credit. Monies raised from Stop &

Shop are used to reduce the cost of our end of the year field trips!

This program donates FREE educational supplies, equipment and check donations!!

Attending to this simple process makes a HUGE difference to our school. Thank you for

your support and participation in these programs!

FROM THE SCHOOL COUNSELOR’S OFFICE

Ms. J. Parker – 7th Grade Class of 2023 Mr. R. Morton – 8th Grade Class of 2022

SPRING 2018 MCAS TESTING

The Spring 2018 MCAS testing window is April 2nd to May 25th. Actual dates and times will be an-

nounced at a later date. Please continue to check future newsletters and the counselor’s web pages for

dates and times.

. GRADE 8 NEWS

PATHFINDER: PATHFINDER: A representative from Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical School

will be visiting our students at Jabish Brook Middle School in early November. Mr. Leroux, School Coun-

selor/Admission’s Coordinator-9th Grade, will be meeting with our students to discuss the course and shop

offerings at Pathfinder, as well as to discuss the application process. Following this visit, interested stu-

dents will have the opportunity to sign up for the Pathfinder Showcase, which will be a field trip from

Jabish Brook, which will allow students to shadow 3 different shops. More information will follow on the

dates of these events.

Please feel free to contact Mr. Morton, Grade 8 Guidance Counselor at Jabish Brook, or Mr. Leroux at

[email protected].

HEALTH OFFICE NEWS It has been a great start to the new

school year here at JBMS! It is always

good to come back and see the physical

and developmental changes in the 8th

graders that have occurred in the few short weeks

of summer. As I watch the faces of the rushing 7th

graders in the halls, I’m noticing more relaxed faces

as they “settle in” and adjust to their schedules and

the academics. It is a good time to remind parents

that the adjustment to middle school can take some

time based upon your child’s personality. Every be-

ginning of the school year is when I am the busiest

and tend to see more 7th graders …. with quite an

array of symptoms. My cabinets are full to the brim

with saltines, cheerios, ice packs, heating bags, chap

sticks and lozenges. I assure you we will get

through this!

Soon I will begin screening for vision, hearing,

height and weight on all 7th graders as this is a state

mandate. You will be notified only if there is a rea-

son to follow-up with your child’s PCP. We will also

be introducing the SBIRT screening which stands

for Screening, Brief intervention and Treat-

ment. This is a survey that evaluates and identifies

any student(s) at risk for possibly engaging in sub-

stance abuse. Mr. Ruscio will be providing you with

more information in the upcoming weeks.

Students will soon be screened for scoliosis to de-

tect early signs of possible spinal problems. If you

as a parent/guardian would like to exclude your child

from this screening, you must provide a note two

days prior to the screening.

I cannot stress enough how important the emergen-

cy card information is…..if you have changed a home

or cell phone number, please let me know. Also, feel

to call me with any medical concerns at 323-0433,

opt.4.

I am looking forward to providing a safe and healthy

year for all!

Volume 13, Issue 1

JBMS Student Council

Student Council’s first meeting - Wednesday,

November 1st from 2:30PM - 3:00PM

SCHOOL DANCE There will be a dance sponsored by the JBMS Student

Council for 7th and 8th grade students on Friday,

October 20, 2017 from

7:00-9:30 PM in the JBMS

Gymnasium. The cost to

get in to the dance is

$5.00. Pizza will be on

sale for $1.00 per slice

and there will be games

to play for $2.00.

Jabish Brook After School

Program The After School Program at Jabish Brook is accepting enrollments for Homework Club, Running Club, Math Peer Tutoring, and Ultimate Frisbee. Programs are available on Mondays and Wednesdays beginning October 1st - December 6th.

Late buses will be available to transport students home from the After School Program on Mondays & Wednesdays until December 6th . There will be no After School during Thanksgiving week (Nov.20-25) and there will be no late buses running that week.

Enrollment forms with club descrip-tions are available in the office and online at www.belchertownps.org. Click on Jabish Brook Middle School and go to After School Program. Please contact Mrs. Strout or Mrs. Flood with any additional questions.


JBMS SKI AND SNOWBOARD CLUB

It is time to start thinking about winter, snow and skiing! The JBMS Ski & Snowboard Club is a great way for your child to stay active, meet new friends and build self-confidence. Skiers and snowboarders of all experience and abilities are welcome to join, including beginners looking for lessons and rental equipment. We will travel to Wachusett Mountain on Wednesday nights, for six consecutive weeks, beginning on January 3, 2018. Flyers with package information are available in the front lobby at JBMS. Please see Mrs. Zazzaro-Williams in room 216 if you have questions. Parents/guardians of interested students should attend the sign up night on Thursday, October 26, 2017 at 6:30 P.M. We will present program information and answer any questions that you may have. Permission slips will be also be signed at this time, and instructions will be provided for online registration and payment with Wachusett Mountain. A six week lift ticket is $120.00 and the program fee is $150.00 per student which includes transportation. Lessons and rental equipment are available at an additional cost. The program fee payment is due in full at the sign up night. Lift tickets, lessons and rental equipment can be paid at a later time, but must be sub-mitted prior to the start of the program in January. If your child is interested in participating, please send an email of interest as soon as possible with your child’s name and grade to Melissa Zazzaro-Williams: mwilliams@belchertownpsorg. Thank you!

UPDATE FROM THE BAND ROOM

As usual, we are off to a busy start in the band room! Thank

you for all of your support in preparation for the Fair Parade.

Jazz Band auditions will be during class the first week of October. Jazz Band

rehearsals will start Monday, October 16th and will continue every Monday from 2:30-

3:30PM. The 7th & 8th grade bands and choirs will attend the Multi Band Concert at

Umass Fine Arts Center on Thursday October 19th. All students attending the trip will need

to bring a lunch from home that day. We will leave at 8:45AM and return by 12:45PM

If you do not get email updates from me, please let me know at [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


8th GRADE FIELD TRIP

WASHINGTON D.C.

Registration is now open for the 8th grade field trip to Washington, D.C. We will be traveling from May 29, 2018 - June 1, 2018. The trip price is $699 for quad occupancy. To register, please visit http://www.etadventures.com. At the top right section of the screen is a button designated "Customer Login/Register". Trip/Group Code: jabish18 Password: wastrip18 You will then click "Make a New Reservation", and follow the proceeding steps to complete registration. You will need that username and password, along with your reservation number, to make future payments. If you have any questions about the trip or reservation process, please contact Educa-tional Travel Adventures (ETA) at 866-273-2500. You can view the full parent letter on the JBMS Website. Ms. Laramee and Ms. G. are looking forward to a great trip!

NATIONAL GRID FUNDRAISER Sept 25th - Oct 13th

This fall we are hosting a fundraiser with National Grid. LED light bulbs, lamps, low-flow shower heads, and power strips are being sold. All proceeds from this fundraiser go towards funding the JBMS After School Program. We hope that you will consider

supporting our school in this way so we can continue to provide additional services to all students at little cost.

Order forms are due by Friday, October 13th to Homeroom teachers. Please contact the office if you need additional order forms or information.

http://www.etadventures.com/

Please join us for a viewing the documentary SCREENAGERS October 3, 2017 at 6:30 in the Belchertown High School Auditorium. Run time is 1 hour 10 minutes.

About the Film:

Are you watching kids scroll through life, with their rapid-fire thumbs and a six-second attention span? Physician and filmmaker Delaney Ruston saw that with her own kids and learned that the average kid spends 6.5 hours a day looking at screens. She wondered about the impact of all this time and about the friction occurring in homes and schools around negotiating screen time—friction she knew all too well.

In SCREENAGERS, as with her award-winning documentaries on mental health, Delaney takes a deeply personal approach as she probes into the vulnerable corners of family life, including her own, to explore struggles over social media, video games, academics and internet addiction. Through poignant, and unexpectedly funny stories, along with surprising in-sights from authors, psychologists, and brain scientists, SCREENAGERS reveals how tech time impacts kids’ development and offers solutions on how adults can empower kids to best navigate the digital world and find balance.

After School Program Parents: The goal of our after school program is to provide a safe and structured environment for the students to complete school work and receive extra help as needed. We hope to continue this program free of charge and we would welcome your involvement and support of our homework club and our other after school activities in any of the following ways: □ Help with after school fundraisers and after school events □ Donation of goods for prizes at fundraisers □ Tax Deductible monetary donation to continue to provide services for our students (Make Checks Payable to: Town of Belchertown) We thank you in advance for any support you can provide for the program

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