JA & JMS Battle of the Books |
Battle of the Books is a Jefferson Academy annual event. Students read 4-6 books selected by the Media Center team over an eight-week period. They form teams of one or two people and compete in two matches. Students answer questions based on the books read and receive points for correct answers. The points from the two matches are combined, and the teams with the 10 highest points compete in the final match. Teams with the three highest scores in the final match are the Battle of the Books champions for that grade.
In addition to the battles, each grade level has a contest to create a design for the T-shirt, which is awarded to the Battle of the Book Champions. Students submit a design that focuses on reading and books. The designs are judged by JA faculty members or former JA students.
Jefferson Middle School is also hosting a Battle of the Books competition March 21st-25th with 20 teams across 6th through 8th grade. Books were selected from the 2021-2022 Georgia Book Award nominees.
JMS Library Media Specialist Ms. Pals said, "Last year, JMS student Brock Booth requested that JMS host a Battle of the Books competition similar to Jefferson Academy's with Ms. Stem. Brock had already formed a group of interested students to help set our program up and to help recruit teams across the school. I love seeing students take the initiative like this, and it's especially inspiring when it's been a difficult few years to participate in activities like this. I'm thankful that we have strong library programs across our schools, and it's wonderful to see the impact in the number of students who love reading."
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Boys and Girls Club Gets Full Experience of Dragon Basketball |
Athletic Director Bill Navis and our JHS basketball coaches recently showed kids from the Jim Moran Boys and Girls Club a time to remember. Not only did they get to attend a varsity basketball game, but they were able to receive official jerseys from years past as a gift. We are so thankful for our partnership with the Boys and Girls Club and hope that experiences such as this one will build and develop the youth of our community. |
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JES Teacher Receives National Attention
Ms. Suzanne Slaughter attended the International Council for Exceptional Children Conference in Orlando, Florida from January 16th - 19th. The Council for Exceptional Children is a 100-year-old professional organization of educators dedicated to the success of children with exceptionalities through advocacy, standards, and professional development. Suzanne participated in the Teacher Education Division Kaleidoscope poster presentation competition in the literature review category.
Suzanne’s passion area and recent work in the University of Florida’s education doctoral program has been in the area of improving the teaching of reading to students with intellectual disabilities. The topic of her presentation and upcoming dissertation is: Increasing Teachers’ Knowledge and Skills in Reading Instruction for Students with Intellectual Disabilities: A Professional Learning Community Approach. The poster presentation competition required participants to design a poster based on research from peer-reviewed literature and to be prepared to explain and defend their research findings. Professors and graduate students from various locations in the country such as California, Utah, Washington State, Florida, Texas, and more visited Suzanne’s station at different times to hear her presentation of the research. The professors asked clarifying questions of Suzanne for her to defend her position in the approach to the problem and provided feedback for future avenues of approaching the focus of the research. A rubric was used by the professors for grading the poster, the depth of research, Suzanne’s depth of knowledge of the research, and her presentation of the research. Suzanne was then awarded the Outstanding Literature Research Award. Congratulations Suzanne!
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In celebration of Black History Month, JCS will be posting social media highlights of influential community members throughout the month. These profiles will also be linked on our website for those not on social media. Be sure to stay tuned and learn more about these incredible individuals leading change within our community. |
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This February, the theme for CTAE month is "Winning in CTAE"! Our Schools of Excellence are a great example of how we are winning here at JCS. Students are exposed to a wide variety of career options as early as sixth grade and then provided the freedom to choose which school or pathway they feel more connected with. Our Schools of Excellence would not be complete without the partnership of our local businesses allowing students to gain real-life work experience. Are you curious what all CTAE pathways we offer? Check out our Schools of Excellence catalog here.
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Boys Basketball
The JHS boys beat Chestatee this past Friday 70-51 on the road and then defeated Elbert County 83-42, bumping them to an overall 20-2 season record. Tonight, February 1st, is senior night against East Hall in a critical region game. Swim & cheer will be recognized at halftime of the girl's varsity game. The basketball teams will be recognized before the boy’s game.
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Girls Basketball
This past weekend, the JMS 6th/7th-grade teams won the Premier League Championship. Our JHS Lady Dragons defeated Chestatee on the road Friday night 58-41. Despite losing to Elbert in overtime, our Lady Dragons still hold a winning season record.
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Bass Fishing
At Lake Seminole, against 200 different teams, Cam Gunter and Cole Griggs qualified for State with a 20th place finish. Way to start the season strong, Bass Dragons!
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Dance
Our Dance Dragons finished in 2nd place at their competition this past weekend at Mill Creek. Unfortunately, that was the final competition for this season, but they will continue to perform at home basketball games. Excellent job, Dance Dragons!
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Swim and Dive
The Sea Dragons took 1st place at the Northwest Georgia Swim and Dive Championship. The girls also took 1st place in the girl's division. Every single swimmer made it back to the finals. Our JMS swim dragons competed in the North Georgia Championships among 34 other middle schools this past weekend. Our team came in 3rd in overall team scores and 2nd in the girl's division. We took 27 swimmers, 23 made it back to the top 16 finals, and 4 were final alternates. Well done, Sea Dragons!
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Wrestling
The Dragons tied with West Laurens in the Class AAAA State Duals Championship Match. The officials went to the tie-break system, and West Laurens finished with one more pin than we did. Our guys finished as the State Runner-Up. The JMS wrestlers placed 2nd in the Traditional Middle School Division Dual State Match. This past weekend our JHS wrestlers won the Traditional Region Area Tournament and had 11 total wrestlers moving on to the preliminary round of the State Tournament. Well done, Dragons!
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All-State Chorus
Congratulations to the following JHS students for making the auditioned 2022 Georgia All-State Chorus:
Reagan Duke
Auldyn Walker
Hollis Webb
These young ladies will rehearse with the other students in the state that also made it through the All-State Chorus audition process. They will then perform together on Saturday, February 19th, at the Classic Center in Athens.
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Winter Guard
On Saturday, January 22nd, the JHS Winter Guard premiered their 2022 competitive program, “This Gift,” at Alpharetta High School for the Southern Association for Performing Arts season opener. This is the winter guard’s first appearance since 2020, and they placed 3rd in their class out of 10 teams. Congratulations to all members of the team, as well as their coach, Kristy Callum!
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Mark your calendars for the upcoming Jefferson Academy "Share the Love of Reading" and "Readathon" events happening this month!
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AFJROTC Top Performers
The "Top Performer" award is granted to one or two outstanding cadets every three years, during the tri-annual Unit Evaluation (UE) and presented by the AFJROTC Regional Director who is conducting the UE. Top Performers receive a certificate and a ribbon to wear on their uniforms. Congratulations to Marcos Santana and Natalie Wortham, who were presented this award by Mr. Rob Atkins, Region 5 Director.
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JES One Word Challenge
This month at JES, the entire school participated in The One Word Challenge. All staff and students considered what word they would choose to help shape their mindset and actions for the 2022 year. One Word for Kids, written by bestselling author Jon Gordon, helped spark the students' imagination and make the concept come alive. The words were written on snowflakes and are now on display for all to see. So join us and choose your one word. It might just lead to your best year ever!
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JES Kindergarten Registration
JES will be hosting a community Q&A meeting for upcoming kindergarten parents on March 3rd at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will be held in the JES cafeteria. Parents will learn more about the registration process, hear from the JES administration and kindergarten teachers, and receive a tour of the kindergarten hall. Parents will also receive information packets to help get the registration process started. For those in attendance, they will be doing a drawing for a free student Chromebook! Please help us spread the word about this important meeting.
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Stay connected with us on social media! |
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Jefferson City Schools | Exposure to Excellence Promotes Excellence
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