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Welcome Letters: 6th & 7th Grade Teams
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Summer Reading 2024
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Dear JJMS Team Grit Families, 
Welcome to seventh grade! Team Grit is looking forward to working with your child.  We hope seventh grade will be an engaging, positive experience for our students as we guide them through the seventh-grade curricula.  We are an energetic and dedicated team of teachers who will collaborate with each other and your child to ensure both academic success and social and emotional growth. 
For your child to fully reach his/her potential, we feel that communication between school and home is essential.  Therefore, please keep the following information on hand:  
In addition to being posted in our classrooms, nightly homework assignments, long-term assignments, assessments, and team events will be posted on Schoology.   
Please help your child check homework postings nightly.  Schoology can be accessed at https://klschools.schoology.com/.  
Please use your child’s credentials to log into Schoology to more easily review assignments and grades.
Please check the “Grades” section of Schoology weekly to keep updated on missing assignments and graded work.  
If you ever have any questions, please contact team teachers via e-mail: 
Team Grit | ||
Mrs. Jessica Balanda | ELA | jbalanda@klschools.org |
Mrs. Kathleen Beckley | Math | kbeckley@klschools.org |
Mr. Gregg Kastanis | Science | gkastanis@klschools.org |
Mr. David Ley (Co-Team Leader) | Social Studies | dley@klschools.org |
Ms. Melissa Smyth (Co-Team Leader) | Special Education Teacher | msmythe@klschools.org |
The seventh-grade supply list is posted on the school website under the “Students and Parents” tab. Most class supplies are included here, but there may be a few additional items you need to supplement. On the first day, please have your child bring the supplies and we will help organize the supplies in the first few days of school.
Again, we welcome both your child and you to seventh grade and hope you had a happy and healthy summer vacation. 
Sincerely,  
Team Grit