2022-2023 Family Welcome Letter (copy)

2022-2023 Family Welcome Letter

Mr. Jeffrey Swiatowicz, Principal  

Ms. Monica Bermiss, Assistant Principal                              

Mrs. Catherine Graybosch Assistant Principal 

WELCOME TO THE 2022-2023 SCHOOL YEAR AT JOHN JAY MIDDLE SCHOOL! 

August  2022 

Dear John Jay Students and Families, 

I hope you are enjoying a wonderful summer. I also hope you are relaxed, recharged and ready to start a new school year. All signs point to another incredible, engaging, and productive school year.   

Our skilled and committed staff and faculty are already planning and preparing for your child(ren). Our enthusiastic office team is registering new families, ordering needed materials, and updating student files. Our hard-working and conscientious custodians have spent the entire summer thoroughly cleaning the facility and the school looks great! Our devoted teachers are preparing their classrooms for an optimal learning environment.  And our much-appreciated PTO is gearing up to welcome families, provide volunteer opportunities, and offer other exciting events and programs. We are indeed a joyous and caring community with the common goals of nurturing responsible, caring students and promoting high-level learning. 

At John Jay Middle School, we take tremendous pride in the strength of faculty, our educational programming, school operations, and school facility. We are excited to welcome and challenge your children to the 2022-2023 school year! 

As a school, our priorities for opening this year remain centered on two critical concepts: 

  • Upholding our mission to create safe learning experiences for all students that are engaging, relevant, and take place in an active learning environment.  
  • Working with students so that they can showcase their growth academically, socially, emotionally and behaviorally. 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR THE 2022-2023 SCHOOLYEAR 

This letter contains several important items, so please read all the information carefully and store it where you can reference it throughout the year.  

August 30 Events: 

JJMS ABC FAMILY HANDBOOK AND CODE OF CONDUCT: 

The updated ABC handbook is attached in this link. We ask all students and parents to review the JJMS ABC Handbook prior to the start of school.

Important: You are also required to submit a signature form from the District Code of Conduct (one per student) to JJMS no later than the first day of school. Students without a signature at the end of this document will not be permitted to go on the field trips we have scheduled for each grade. 

Important information about daily school operations, academics, conduct expectations and more can be found in this document. Please take the time to read this important document together with your child.  

During the first days of school, students will review important parts of our Handbook with teachers or administrators.  

ATTENDANCE: 

Attendance is taken each period of the day and marking students present or absent for each period. Regular attendance is the key to success for our middle school students. You may email JJMSAttendance@klschools.org or call 914 763 7501 and press # 2 for all attendance-related questions or calls.  

CAFETERIA: Students will be required to memorize their PIN number for this year when they would like something from the cafeteria. You will find this number in the Campus Backpack which will be sent on Monday at 4pm. 

BREAKFAST: 

Based on the Breakfast Survey that was sent out to all families in the spring, we will be implementing a breakfast program for John Jay Middle School students. We are asking that you please fill out this Breakfast Form if you are interested in your child purchasing breakfast at school.  For those of you who are not interested in the breakfast program at this time, please do not complete the form.   

Please see the details below about our breakfast program:  

  • Students who participate will enter the building during arrival time (beginning at 8:00 am) and go directly to the cafeteria.  
  • “Grab and Go” breakfast bags will be available. Sample items include a bagel, muffin, or breakfast bar along with a fruit with a choice of milk.   
  • Students will bring their “Grab and Go” breakfast to eat in their homebase classroom.  
  • Monthly Menus are available on the website.   

Breakfast costs $1.75. To see if you qualify for the Free and Reduced Priced Meal program (breakfast and/or lunch), please refer to THIS LINK. 

LUNCH: 

Lunch will be in the cafeteria this year with the entire grade eating lunch together. Lunch is no longer free as it has been for the last couple of years.  

To see if you qualify for the Free and Reduced Priced Meal program (breakfast and/or lunch), please refer to THIS LINK. 

STUDENT INFORMATION AND SCHEDULES: 

Monday afternoon (8/29 at 4pm) you will be receiving several important pieces of communication from JJMS. One of the communications will provide a link to your child’s schedule and another link to an Information Card with important details. Please have your child bring a copy (printed or a screen shot) or write out this information and their schedule on the first day of school. 

Team letters will be accessible under the Student/Parent tab on the JJMS website.

Campus Parent Website Link: https://klschools.infinitecampus.org/campus/portal/parents/katonah.jsp  

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL: 

The first day of school for all our students will be Tuesday, September 6.  This day will be focused on orientation to our building, getting to know classmates and teachers, and understanding the expectations of the classes. More than anything, we really want students to make great connections with classmates and teachers as part of our larger JJMS community! 

ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL: 

Drop Off: 

There is a seat for every student on our buses. You will be able to access your child’s transportation information through the “transportation” tab on the Parent Portal. Please check the information carefully and get to the bus stop early this year.  

If you are driving your child to school, please drop them off at the middle school in the upper parking lot. Please do not drop students off at the high school, the shopping center, or track and have them walk the rest of the way.  

Pick Up: 

At the end of the day, all students should leave school on the buses unless they are being picked up or they are walking home.  

Students who are being picked up at the end of the day should meet their parents in the upper parking lot. 

EARLY DIMISSAL FOR A STUDENT 

Students need to have a note from a parent or designated adult to leave the campus before the regular dismissal time. Students may drop this note off in the morning or parents may email a picture of a hand-written note to: JJMSAttendance@klschools.org  

Parents will be expected to sign their children out with the security greeter upon arriving at school. 

STUDENT DEVICE- iPads and MacBooks:  

All students at JJMS will have a district-issued device again this year. 6th and 7th Graders will have iPads and 8th graders will have MacBooks. We ask that the chargers stay at home so that students can fully charge their devices each night. A properly charged device will be able to last the full day of school as our devices have a 10-hour life on the battery. 

If students have questions about technology, they can stop in the Technology Offices (near our cafeteria) or send an email from their KLSD email account to studenthelpdesk@klschools.org  

Passes and Notes 

Return to Pre-COVID: Passes and notes are needed for any student not taking their regular bus home for the 2022-2023 School Year. Students may not walk off campus without permission from their parents. 

If you would like to give your child permission to leave other than their own bus at the regular dismissal time, please fill out this form each day: https://forms.office.com/r/Hqjr2CTnzB 

Once students leave campus, they are not permitted to return to campus for any reason unless accompanied by a parent.  

Permanent walkers: If your child will be a permanent walker, a note needs to be sent to the grade level administrator: 

Monica Bermiss: Grade 6

Catherine Graybosch: Grade 7 & 8 

PARENT CONTACT:  

Throughout the year, any parents wishing to share a specific concern or meet with a teacher should first contact the classroom teacher directly and then, if necessary, grade level guidance counselor to address specific concerns. Teachers may be reached via email or voice message. You will receive a team letter which identifies how teachers prefer to be contacted. 

GUIDANCE COUNSELORS AT JJMS: 914-763-7509 or 914-763-7510 

Grade 6 counselor: Katie Burns kburns@klschools.org   

Grade 7 counselor: AnneMarie MacSweeney amacsweeney@klschools.org   

Grade 8 counselor:   Jen Makover jmakover@klschools.org   

HEALTH INFORMATION: 

You should have also received a Health Emergency Information Form in the July mailing. We cannot stress enough how important it is that every family return this form. Please be aware of the immunization requirements for your child. All students must receive the required vaccines and provide proof of those vaccinations to the Health Office before school begins. Your child will not be able to attend school unless their vaccines are up to date. 

6th Grade students need the Tdap and Varicella booster shots. Please know that every vaccine already on record with your child’s elementary school Health Office is FORWARDED to the JJMS Health Office. 

7th Grade students need a meningitis shot. Please call your pediatrician if you have any questions about your child’s immunization status.  

FIELD TRIPS 

Look for information about exciting team-building field trips over the first month of school for each grade. If you have any financial hardships, please let your school counselor know and we will help so that all students can attend. 

Grade 6: Monday, September 19th and Tuesday, September 21st 

Grade 7: Friday, October 7 

Grade 8: Tuesday, October 11 

 
IMPORTANT & HELPFUL INFORMATION: 

  1. Keep your child’s “welcome” team letter in a safe place for the year. This will provide all important contact information for your child’s school year. These will be sent home soon. 
  1. Please refer to our school’s website for any important information.  You can find most of the important information on this page. JJMS Homepage  
  1. Consistently check our JJMS School Calendar through Schoology for the upcoming activities, days off, etc. 
  1. At Home Space for Learning: Please help your child(ren) set up a school space at home. With what you know about your child, this can be in the child’s room, a common space at home, an office, etc. Wherever this space is, please make sure that it is free of distractions, especially a cellphone. 

 

PARENT VISITORS/VOLUNTEERS: Please schedule a time to meet with a staff or faculty member before coming to school so that you are sure the person is available. Visitors must sign in with the security greeter and wait for the faculty or staff member to meet them. JJMS is not able to accommodate visiting students. Any visitor must comply with KLSD Board of Education Policies and with any expectations for health and safety. 

Unexpected visitors need to stay with the security greeter until the proper person is available to meet them. 

We welcome parent volunteers back into our building this year. Please click on this link if you would possibly like to volunteer AT JJMS: Become A Volunteer 

 

FINALLY: TO OUR STUDENTS 

Middle school is an exciting part of your journey towards lifelong intellectual, social, behavioral and emotional development. We are fortunate to have you attend JJMS and hope that you invest yourself in your own success and that of your peers and wider John Jay Middle School community.  

Keep in mind, you are about to start a new school year with a new schedule of engaging courses taught by caring, compassionate, and thoughtful teachers. You will have many opportunities to explore new ideas, meet new friends, and achieve personal goals. Your teachers will be celebrating your successes and guiding you to grow and learn through your setbacks.  

 

Enjoy the Labor Day weekend and the remaining days of summer. We look forward to seeing you all in person on September 6th.  

All the best! 

Jeffrey S. Swiatowicz 

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