Jaguar Journey 
Community Brief from Jackson Middle School
Monday, August 19, 2019
 
 
Thank you everyone for making Week #1 such a wonderful success! Our Jaguars are well underway and their teachers have had them engaged and learning from the first day. And as you will see below, we entered the new school year with a lot of momentum coming off of numerous trainings over the summer break and an excellent back-to-school pre-planning week.

One of the big changes for this year is OCPS rolling out the new Skyward Family Access student information system. This program replaces ProgressBook and is a powerful online tool for our families to keep up with their student's progress and other school events. Please click here for more information and details on how to register if you have not already. (Please also note that we are having a Curriculum Night on October 1st to help our families with both the Skyward and i-Ready programs.)

One of our major themes for the 2019-2020 school year at Jackson is "Making Our Way to an A" under the Florida Department of Education school grading model. Under the FLDOE grading system, our Jaguars improved +30 points last year rising from 434 to 464 total points which is a significant year-over-year gain. As a result, we are already very close to earning a B grade and have real momentum going into 2019-2020. Additionally, we monitor our OCPS School Report Card which came out in July - click here for all schools. This Report Card offers an even larger picture of the efforts made at Jackson to provide a complete education for our Jaguars.

This is my second year serving as your principal and I am very excited that we are off to a fast start. This will be a terrific year and I encourage all of our community members to get involved in the weeks ahead. Thank you for your continued support and let's make it a great Week #2!

With Jaguar Pride,

Mrs. Betzabeth Reussow 
Principal 
Jackson Middle School
 
Dates to Watch For   
 
Aug. 20: Sports Physicals, 4:30-6:30 (see below, paperwork due prior to tryouts)
Aug. 21: Soccer Tryouts, 7:30-9:00  
Sept. 2: Labor Day Holiday  
Sept. 24: OPEN HOUSE & BOOK FAIR  
Oct. 1: Curriculum Night (Learn about the Skyward and i-Ready programs for your student)  
 
 
 
Jackson Middle School Administration and Staff
2019-2020 
 
Jaguar Athletics - Soccer Teams  
Sports Tryout Dates, Sports Physicals

We will hold Sports Physical Night in the gym on Tuesday, August 20th from 4:30 - 6:30 pm. Cost of the Physical is $20.00.
 
Soccer tryouts start on August 21st at 7:30am on the soccer field.

All athletes must have a fully completed physical form turned in and signed by both parents/guardian and a doctor. NO EXCEPTIONS.

2019-2020 OCPS Sports Physical Packet

* Packets can also be picked up in PE or in the front office.


Jackson's girls soccer team in action last season. Go Jaguars!


Dress Code 
Our Jaguars' dress for school supports school safety and pride.  

The dress and grooming of Jackson Middle School students contributes to the health and safety of the individual, promotes a positive educational environment, and reflects school pride. Pleaese take a moment to review the Dress Code found in the Student Code of Conduct with your student. The document can be found on the OCPS website.

   
Student Services
2019-2020 Contacts 

 
Meet Our New Assistant Principal, Ms. McQueen! 
 
We are excited for Ms. McQueen to join our Jaguar family as our new Assistant Principal. She is originally from Fort Lauderdale. She moved to central Florida and graduated from Oak Ridge High School. She went on to attain her bachelor's degree in higher education at Florida A&M University and then completed her master's degree at the University of Florida. Her teaching experience ranges from kindergarten to 7th grade. Ms. McQueen taught English Language Arts, Math, and Science at the middle school level. We warmly welcome her to Jackson! 

 
Meet Our New SRO, Officer Figueroa!   

Jackson Middle School wants to welcome Officer Figueroa as our new school resource officer (SRO). With 15+ years of experience in the police department, we are glad to have him at Jackson serving and protecting our students.


Professional Development 
Specialized sensitivity training session to help support our students from the start of the new school year   
 
 
At  our recent Trauma Sensitivity training, we learned about Adverse Childhood Experiences and how they not only affect our emotions, but the way our brains function as well! We were also equipped with tools such as Mindfulness Moments, Calm Corners, Relational Capacity, and Positive Behavior Support that can aid our students in recognizing their emotions, focusing, and reducing anxiety, which will enable them to be more successful academically, as well as socially!
 
 
Summer Break Training for Our Teachers
Jackson's teachers and leadership team engage year-round studying the latest developments in their field.   

Throughout the entire summer, our dedicated faculty and administrators participated in a multitude of meaningful trainings, including but not limited to, A VID Summer Institute, IB Conference of the Americas, Latinos in Action, Character Lab, Trauma Sensitivity, Skyward, TransMath, and i-Ready! Their vast amount of new knowledge, skills, and strategies will undoubtedly benefit all of our students, as we make our way to an A!



Pre-Planning Week Successes 

We enjoyed a gantastic first day of Pre-Planning! Breakfast from Tainos, welcome & data report from our principal - "Be Leaders, Be Limitless, & Be Legendary!," Skyward training from our 'Skycaps,' All About AVID for our New to JMS teachers, & a PLC for our Leads! " Jackson Middle School...Making our way to an A."

 
 
Partner in Education Spotlight 
Thank you to three wonderful organizations for stepping forward to help our students in need with their back-to-school supplies! 

Pastor Gage and Alive Church 
Pastor Gage from Alive Church responded to Jackson's need by sending us backpacks and school supplies. Our Jaguars greatly appreciate their contribution!

 
 
Desiree Vezina and The Bancorp Financial Services 
The Bancorp participated in our community's Back to School backpack program, and reached out to Jackson. Director Desiree Vezina came to deliver the supplies. We thank you for your contributions to our student's learning.

 
Bethanne Bear and the Bear Realty Group Team 
Bethanne Bear and the Bear Team are outstanding Partners in Education. They support our Jaguars by donating school supplies. We appreciate your contributions!

 
Laptop Distribution
Over 1,050 laptops have already been distributed to students in very little time with less than 10% left to go! Thank you Mrs. Lebron and team!!  

Our amazing Media Specialist, Mrs. Lebron, and her helpers distributed laptops by grade level last week for a total of 501 laptops to our incoming students. And in the first week of school, our team distributed another 554 laptops for a grand total of 1,055 laptops distributed to date. What an amazing feat! Less than 100 laptops await distribution.
 
 
Need a Hotspot? 
 
OCPS middle school students who do not have reliable wireless internet access outside of the school day are eligible for a FREE hotspot and 2GB of data monthly for up to three years through a generous partnership with the T-Mobile EmpowerED program.  
 
Please visit the following link to request a FREE hotspot:   
 

SAVE THESE SPECIAL EVENT DATES:  
Spirit Night, Curriculum Night, Open House & Book Fair, and Teach-In





Vital Signs 
 
 
Credit: Mrs. Lemanski (Jackson Middle School math coach)
 
Monday's Motivational Moment!
 
IF YOU WANT HAPPINESS 

If you want happiness for an hour - 
take a nap.

If you want happiness for a day - 
go fishing.

If you want happiness for a day - 
seek popularity

If you want happiness for a year - 
inherit a fortune.

If you want happiness for a lifetime - 
help others.

~ Chinese Proverb

Please consider joining our PTSA or getting involved with our School Advisory Council (SAC) this year. If you don't have much personal time, at least consider a PTSA membership. Both volunteer groups do so much for our students & teachers - your help would mean a great deal to our school this year. Thank you! 
 
--------------- 
 
WELCOME BACK JAGUARS! WE ARE WORKING OUR WAY TO AN 'A'! 
 
Mrs. Reussow, Principal  
Jackson Middle School 
Monday, August 19, 2019  
 
Stay Connected jacksonsocialmedia

 
Jackson Middle School Leadership Team


Principal: Betzabeth Reussow Betzabeth.Reussow@ocps.net
Assistant Principal:Timothy Baumbach Timothy.Baumbach@ocps.net
Assistant Principal: Carmen McQueen Carmen.McNealy@ocps.net
6/7th Grade Dean: Joe Anna Pereira-Bannon JoeAnna.Pereira-Bannon@ocps.net
6/8th Grade Dean: Kenneth Kuczer Kenneth.Kuczer@ocps.net

 

This communication may contain information that is legally privileged, confidential or exempt from disclosure, and intended only for the use of the addressee(s) named above.  If you are not the intended recipient, please note that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. Anyone who receives this message in error should notify the sender immediately by telephone or by return e-mail, and delete the message from their computer and any printout thereof.  Please note that OCPS utilizes spam and junk e-mail filtration applications in its e-mail systems.  That filtering process may prevent or delay delivery of certain e-mail communications. If you do not receive a timely response to an e-mail communication, please contact the intended recipient by phone.

Copyright Notice 
Reproduction of this material, either written or electronically, including the general layout, graphics, analyses, and content topics without the express approval of Target Performance Systems, Inc., a Florida corporation, and OCPS - Jackson School is forbidden without written consent.  Thank you for your support of the Orange County Public Schools and especially Jackson Middle School. Please contact Principal Betzabeth Reussow at  betzabeth.reussow@ocps.net with any questions.  
  Jackson Middle School | Betzabeth Reussow, Principal | 407.249.6430 | JMS Website
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