The JMHS Family:
I want to take this time to remind everyone that our nine weeks ends on Monday, November 8, 2010. Students will begin to take their midterm exams or benchmarks beginning on Tuesday, November 2, 2010. Please make sure that our students study hard this weekend in preparation for these very important assessments.
I also know that many of you have contacted the school in reference to our attendance policy and the factors that determine if a student is requested to attend Saturday school. I want to make a few points clear, and we will also post a list of Frequently Asked Questions or FAQ’s on our website some time next week.
One of the major changes in our attendance policy this year is the fact that an absence is an absence. A student is considered absent if they are not physically present in the class. Students that turn in notes for reasons that they may have missed school, or a class period, are permitted to make-up their work without any penalty. Students receive attendance letters once they have reached three absences in a period or for the full day. We send this letter out as a reminder that once a student missed four class periods, they may be considered an attendance failure. We send out four day or period absent letters for notification of a potential attendance failure, and we send out six day letters because the student is considered truant. Six day letters require a meeting with Mr. Gordon to discuss an attendance plan.
Saturday School is provided as an option for students to make up the missed classroom time. If a student attends Saturday School, it will remove one full day absence from the student’s attendance record. Saturday School is not a punitive measure, but a means for students to make-up the time for previous absences. We will have a total of four Saturday School dates for the 1st nine weeks period, which provides students an opportunity to make up a total of four absences from school. We feel that this is a fair solution to any attendance issues our students may have.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact myself or Mr. Duarte. Remember, our entire goal is for our students to be at school everday, and our current attendance rate is roughly 98%. This data supports that our attendance policy is working and we thank your for your continued support.
Also, Congrats to our Field Hockey Team!!! They are the 2010 Battlefield District Regular Season and Tournament Champs!!!
Also, Congrats to our JMHS Marching Yellow Jackets!!! They won several 1st place awards at their latest competition last weekend!!!
Way to go Jackets!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To the JMHS Family:
First of all I would like to say thank you to all of our faculty members and students that helped to make Homecoming 2010 a great success. There was so much school spirit prevalent throughout the week and everyone really had a great time.
Friday’s homecoming activities were very energetic and our students really enjoyed the moon bounce, jousting ring, boxing ring, velcro wall, and all of the good food and activities. Also, a special thank you to John Blaze and DJ Incredible for keeping the party live!!!
The weather was wonderful and the pep rally really showed that Jayem Pride. I even took a pie in the face as part of the fun.
Homecoming is always a special time of the year for our school community and we want to always reward our students when they do the right thing at school. We had over 500 guests at the Homecoming Dance, and I also want to give a big congratulations to our football team for their victory Friday night, and to our King, Queens, Prince and Princess. Also a big congtrats to the field hockey team for their victory this week as well!!!
The next interim comes out on October 22, 2010. Students, let’s make sure we all keep our grades up!!!
This is Jacket Country!!!
Jacket Country,
Today we had our student body assembly to introduce our students to the JAYEM A.M. Instructional Model. We will begin this program on Monday, October 4, 2010 beginning at 7:35 A.M. As Interims were being distributed today, those students that have a “D” or an “F” in class have been assigned to JAYEM A.M. Parents will receive a notification today when their students arrive home.
Next week is Homecoming Week. The theme for this year is ESPN. We are kicking off our homecoming activities with a movie tonight at Maury Stadium sponsored by the SCA. The movie will be The Blindside. Please attend as we bring back a “Drive-In” type atmosphere.
The first Principal’s Coffee will be on Wednesday, October 6, 2010. I hope all of you stop by to say hello and chat with me about The JMHS.
We also have the first lady of Virginia, Mrs. McDonnell, scheduled to speak at JMHS on October 18, 2010 in reference to childhood obesity. A great cause which will help to support our NFL initiative of Play 60 and proper student diet and health. I want to thank the Governor’s office for their support.
We are off to a great start this school year and we know that things will continue to get better!!!