The General Gist (Week of March 19, 2023)

This Week’s Message
On the eve of spring, we have so much to celebrate in the past and so much to hope for in the future.  We just wrapped up very successful Winter 2 sports and spring concert seasons, and our 8th graders took home the AVID Spirit Week trophy yet again (check out this AVID Spirit Week video, created by Ms. DeHoff, our Office Coordinator Extraordinaire)!  To top things off, we qualified 16 students for the National History Day state competition, and we took 11 girls to the GEMS STEM conference this weekend!  This is our last full week before spring break.  We hope you can make time to join us for conferences before heading off for break!

This Week’s Events
Mar. 20: Spring Sports Turnouts Begin
Mar. 21: EMS Team Meeting, 7:15 am
Mar. 22: Emergency Drill, All 3 Lunches
Mar. 22: AVID Family Night, 5:30-7:00 pm
Mar. 23: Unity Council Meeting, Library, 3:15-4:30 pm (make-up from Dec. 1)
Mar. 23: JSMS 2024 WA DC Trip Info Meeting, A-202, 5:30-6:30 pm

Events on the Horizon (Tentative)
Mar. 27: AVID Site Team Meeting, A-234, 7 am
Mar. 27: Threat Assessment Staff Training, Library, 3-4 pm
Mar. 28-31: Spring Conferences, Early Release, 11:25 am
Apr. 3-7: Spring Break (No School)
Apr. 11: Guiding Coalition, Library, 3:15-4:30 pm
Apr. 13: STEAM Team Meeting, A-135, 7:15 am
Apr. 18: PTSA Meeting, Library, 6:30 pm
Apr. 20: Staff Meeting, Library, 7:15 am
Apr. 20: Incoming 6^th Grade Registration Night, 6:30 pm
Apr. 21: Volunteer Appreciation Celebration, Time TBD
Apr. 24: AVID Site Team Meeting, A-234, 7 am
Apr. 25: EMS Team Meeting, 7:15 am
Apr. 27: JSMS Family STEAMworks Night, 6-8 pm
May 1: Pacific Science Center “Space Odyssey” Workshops, 6th Grade Science Classes
May 2: Guiding Coalition, Library, 3:15-4:30 pm
May 4: STEAM Team Meeting, A-135, 7:15 am
*May 8-26: State Testing Window
May 11: Unity Council Meeting, Library, 3:15-4:30 pm
May 12: PTSA Bingo Night, JSMS, 5:30-7:30 pm
May 16: EMS Team Meeting, 7:15 am
May 16: PTSA Meeting, Library, 6:30 pm
May 18: Staff Meeting, Library, 7:15 am
May 18: 7^th Grade Energy Expo, Commons, 5:30-6:30 pm
May 29: Memorial Day (No School)
May 30: AVID Site Team Meeting, A-234, 7 am
May 31: 8th Grade All-Music Extravaganza, SKSD, 6:30 pm
Jun. 2: Class of 2030 Visit, JSMS, 11:00 am-1:30 pm
Jun. 3: Music in the Parks 8th Grade Field Trip, TBA
Jun. 5: Final Choir Concert, JSMS, 6:30 pm
Jun. 6: Guiding Coalition, Library, 3:15-4:30 pm
Jun. 8: Marine Science Field Trip to Seattle Aquarium (All Day)
Jun. 8: Final Band and Orchestra Concert, JSMS, 6:30 pm
Jun. 13: AVID Site Team Meeting, A-234, 7 am
Jun. 15: Staff Meeting, Library, 7:15 am
Jun. 16: Early Release, 11:25 am
Jun. 16: 8^th Grade Dance, Commons and Gym, 5-7 pm
Jun. 19: Juneteenth (NO SCHOOL)
Jun. 20: 8^th Grade Breakfast and Celebration @ DEFY, TBA
Jun. 20: 6^th and 7^th Grade Carnival, TBA
Jun. 22: Last Day of School, Early Release, 10:45 am (changed from 6/21 due to snow)

*Events added to The General Gist this week

Future 7th and 8th Grade Course Registration
Last week, our counselors began visiting our current 6th and 7th graders’ Science classes to prepare them for 2023-24 course registration.  Next year, we will change how we serve our highly-capable student population.  Instead of offering self-contained ELA and Social Studies “Quest” classes, we will offer “Advanced” ELA and Social Studies courses open to all students who want to challenge themselves with more rigorous instruction.  Parental permission will be required to request the courses, and placement will be offered on a space-available basis.  Students must also meet minimum performance levels in order to maintain enrollment throughout the school year.  Specially-designed instruction will be given to highly-capable students in Advanced classes.  Students who are identified as highly-capable but wish to opt out of Advanced classes may do so via a form.  Also, it is likely that National History Day will no longer be part of our Advanced Social Studies curriculum; instead, we are exploring the option of offering it as a club activity available to any student in the school.

In addition, starting next year, students and parents may request placement in Tier 2 Math and ELA Support classes; however, availability will be based upon capacity and student needs.  Students who are below grade level in ELA and/or Math, as evidenced by multiple indicators, will still be automatically enrolled in Tier 2 Support or Tier 3 Universal Support classes.

WA DC Trip
We have a great opportunity for next year’s 8th and 9th graders to travel to Washington DC during Spring Break 2024!  To learn more, come to a student/parent informational meeting this Thursday, March 23 at JSMS.  The meeting will be held from 5:30-6:30 pm in Ms. Falla’s classroom (A202-upstairs).  You may also reach out to Ms. Falla by email at falla@skschools.org.

Parent Conferences
Spring conferences will take place the last week of March.  Monday, March 27 is a full day with a regular schedule.  The rest of the week are half-days with early release at 11:25 am.  AM and PM bus transportation will be provided, and sack lunches will be available for pre-purchase.  Conferences will be held on Tuesday and Thursday of that week from 12:30-3 pm and 4-7 pm.  Here is a link to our Spring Conference Schedule. 

The conference scheduling tool opened in Skyward Family Access for families last Friday, March 17 and will close on March 27.  Conferences are open and encouraged for all students; however, special conferences will be pre scheduled for students who have been identified by their teachers as students in need of “priority conferences” during the Tuesday early afternoon session.  For more information on how to schedule conferences, click on this link.

Spring State Testing
This spring, all students will take required Smarter Balanced state tests in the areas of English Language Arts (ELA) and Math.  In addition, our 8th graders will take the Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Sciences (WCAS).  Our testing window this year is from May 8-26.  It will be very important that we have all students in attendance for each test day, so we ask that you schedule appointments outside the school day or outside the testing window.  More details will be provided in coming editions of the General Gist.

End-of-Year Events
You may be wondering about our traditional end-of-year celebrations.  For starters, three snow days have pushed our last day back to June 22.  We have plans for our 8th Grade Dance on June 16 and 8th Grade Breakfast and DEFY Field Trip on June 20 for all 8th graders in good academic, behavioral, and financial standing.  If all goes well, 6th and 7th graders will have an in-school carnival on June 20 while the 8th graders are on their field trip.  More details will be sent out soon.

Brain Research
Our Guiding Coalition team members are doing a book study on John Medina’s Attack of the Teenage Brain.  The final three chapters address things students can do to develop socially and academically.  Here is another excerpt from Chapter 6 on Exercise and Teen Behavior:

“Depression, naturally, contributes to poor health, poor grades, and poor social skills.  Left untreated, the consequences may be long-term.  Depressed teens are much more likely to stay depressed when the teen years are over.

There is good news…Depression is very treatable by a variety of measures, a few surprising.  It’s now clear that the star subject of this chapter, exercise, can exert powerful antidepressant effects.  The influence is so strong that the American Psychological Association (APA) recommends mental health professionals make it a major player in a comprehensive treatment regimen.  One landmark study showed that rigorous exercise was as successful for treating major depression as antidepressant medications in adult populations.  And a follow-up study 12 months later showed that subjects who continued to exercise had a much lower chance of relapse.  Exercise can’t replace psychotherapy, and it shouldn’t be a substitute for taking meds.  But the APA is serious when it says that exercise deserves a guest-of-honor place setting at the therapeutic table.”

Athletics
Turnouts for Spring Sports start this Monday, March 20.  Our offerings are Football, Volleyball, and Cross Country.  All student-athletes must have a completed sports registration on file through Final Forms in order to participate in turnouts.  For sports information, please reach out to our Athletic Director, Kevin Plutko at plutko@skschools.org.  For sports registration information, please contact our ASB Bookkeeper, Alanna Speidel at speidel@skschools.org.

Here is a link to our Spring Sports Schedules.  Be sure to click on each event to verify the level and location of each event.

Clubs
After school clubs are a great way for students to explore their interests and connect with peers.  We will provide a list of active clubs in The General Gist, on our website, and on our TVs in our commons.  Please make sure you pick up your student promptly at the club’s end time.

Anime Club meets every Monday from 3-4 pm in Portable 2.  Join the club’s Google Classroom: LTYU556.  Ms. Chalmers is the advisor.  For more info, contact chalmers@skschools.org.

Art Club meets every Wednesday until 4:00 pm in Room A-123.  Ms. Million is the advisor.  For more info, contact million@skschools.org.

Chess Club will meet with Gamers Unplugged every Wednesday in Room A-224 from 3:00 to 4:30 pm through March 8.  Ms. Cave is the advisor.  For more info, contact cave@skschools.org.

Dance Club meets every Tuesday from 2:50-4 pm in Room A-246.  Ms. May is the advisor.  For more info, contact may@skschools.org.

Diversity Club meets every Wednesday from 3-4 pm in Portable 4.  Ms. Steen is the advisor.  For more info, contact steen@skschools.org.

Gamers Unplugged meets every Wednesday from 3-4:30 pm in Room A-224.  Mr. Wallach is the advisor.  For more info, contact wallach@skschools.org.

K-Pop Club meets every Wednesday from 3-4 pm in Room A-230.  Ms. Happold is the advisor.  For more info, contact happold@skschools.org.

Magic: The Gathering Club meets every Thursday until 4:30 in Portable 1.  Mr. Musselman is the advisor.  For more info, contact musselman@skschools.org.

Photography Club meets every Friday from 3-4 pm in A-233.  Mr. Durham is the Advisor.  For more info, contact durham@skschools.org.

Pickleball Club meets every Tuesday morning from 7-8 am in the Gym.  Ms. Langhorn is the advisor.  For more info, contact langhorn@skschools.org.

STEAM Club meets the 1^st and 3^rd Wednesday of every month.  Mr. Lantz is the advisor.  For more info, contact lantz@skschools.org.

Yearbook Club meets every Thursday until 4:30 in Room C-206.  Ms. Cave is the advisor.  For more info, contact cave@skschools.org.

AVID
This year’s AVID Family Night is this Wednesday, March 22 from 5:30-7:00 pm.  The families of our 6th, 7th, and 8th grade AVID Elective students are invited to join us for a free AVID family meal and presentations from our AVID students.  We look forward to celebrating our students’ successes with you!

STEAM
We are excited for the return of Pacific Science Center’s free in-school workshops!  On May 1, our 6th graders will be treated to “Space Odyssey” workshops in class, and the rest of our students will be able to view and interact with exhibits during their lunches.  This is all made possible by our STEAM Coordinator, Ms. Barich, and our partnership with West Sound STEM Network’s Director Dr. Borders.

National Blue Ribbon Update
In Fall of 2018, our Guiding Coalition established three long-range goals: to become a Washington STEM Lighthouse School, an AVID Schoolwide Site of Distinction, and a National Blue Ribbon School.  We are honored to have accomplished the first two goals, and we are excited to share that we are within a stone’s throw of a National Blue Ribbon!

The National Blue Ribbon program was created in 1982 to recognize outstanding public and private schools in our nation for their overall academic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups.  To qualify, schools must be in the top 15% of schools in their state.  A most recent snapshot of John Sedgwick’s academic performance finds us in the top 20% of schools!  Additionally, we have been on a positive trend since setting our “Big 3” Goals in 2018, rising 42 places in the WA Middle School Rankings on SchoolDigger, an independent website which rates schools based solely upon their performance on state standardized tests.

It takes our whole Sedgwick Community to achieve a goal like this, and with your continued support, we have no doubt that we can achieve a National Blue Ribbon this spring!  For more details, take a look at our National Blue Ribbon Status Report which includes links to comparable middle schools as well as SchoolDigger’s data (on last slide).

PTSA
Membership: Our PTSA is healthy because of our strong membership.  You can become a member for only $10.  To learn more about how you can be involved, visit our PTSA website.

Next Meeting: April 18 at 6:30 pm in the JSMS Library

Attendance Matters
Did you know?  By 6th grade, absenteeism is one of three signs that a student may drop out of high school, and by 9th grade, attendance is a better predictor of graduation rates than 8th grade test scores.  Statistically-speaking, students should miss no more than 9 days of school each year to stay engaged, successful and on track to graduate. 

It may come as a surprise, but in Washington State, starting at 8 years of age, students are responsible for getting to school; parents are only required to provide an alarm clock and a bus route or transportation.  Seven unexcused absences within a 30-day period or 15 within a full year requires that schools file a court petition.  All absences should be cleared within 48 hours (via phone, email, or ParentSquare) and cannot be cleared after two weeks.  Keep in mind that excused absences may require a note from a medical professional. 

Inclement Weather
Winter weather can cause potential late starts or school closures.  To ensure you receive timely notification, please review our district’s inclement weather procedures on our website.  In addition to providing helpful information, the newsletter at the bottom of the page includes instructions for updating your contact information.

School Entry
On school days, our doors open to students at 7:30 (8:15 on late start Wednesdays).

Student Drop-Off and Pick-Up
If you plan to drop-off or pick-up your student in a personal vehicle, please follow the directional signs upon entering school property.  Here are the basics:

1. Turn RIGHT upon entering the school.
2. You may drop-off or pick-up your student in the roundabout OR the parking lot.
3. If you are dropping off, picking up, or planning to park in the parking lot, USE THE THRU LANE ON THE RIGHT.
4. If you are dropping off or picking up in the roundabout, USE THE LEFT LANE UPON ENTERING, THEN MOVE OVER TO THE CURB WHEN TURNING INTO THE ROUNDABOUT.

Most importantly, DO NOT BLOCK TRAFFIC IN THE RIGHT-HAND THRU LANE.  Instead, continue into the parking lot to drop-off or pick-up.  If you park in the lot at the end of the day, please be aware that you will be blocked in until around 2:50 pm.

Celebrations and Thanks

• Congratulations to last week’s Caught Being a General student winners: Pedro F-E. (6^th), Sage B. (7^th), and Lilli C-C. (8^th)!
• Congratulations to last week’s Caught Being a General staff winner: Mr. Torgerson!
• Congratulations to Ms. Scheer who was named by her peers as Sedgwick's Masonic Educator of the Year!
• Thank you to Ms. Wilhelm and Ms. Willson, along with our AVID and Leadership students, for planning a fun spirit week and AVID Family Night!
• Congratulations to our 8th graders on their AVID Spirit Week victory!
• Thank you to all of our students and staff who dressed up, participated in lunch games, and cheered on their classmates during our pep assembly!
• Congratulations to all of our students who competed in this year’s National History Day competition!  Thank you to our social studies teachers for preparing our students so well, and thank you to our parents for your never-ending support!
• Congratulations to our GEMS STEM conference students, and thank you to Ms. Barich and Ms. Cave for providing a great opportunity for our students!
• Congratulations to all of our Band, Choir, and Orchestra students on your school, district, and OMEA performances, and thank you to Mr. Schroeder and Ms. Martin for your excellent teaching and conducting!
• Thank you to our amazing ASB Bookkeeper, Alanna Speidel, who spins so many plates with precision and grace!

Quote of the Week
"The deep roots never doubt spring will come." – Marty Rubin

Stay Connected
We love keeping in touch with our families!  Here are some ways to stay up-to-date on important information and events throughout the year:

• Instagram & Facebook: @jsgenerals
• Weekly Newsletter: The General Gist
• School Website: johnsedgwick.skschools.org 
• JSMS Schoolwide Google Classroom (for students)

Links to Important Resources
JSMS Website
General Guide
Skyward Family/Student Access
HelloID
Meals
Transportation

 

 

Dan Novick

Principal

 

 

John Sedgwick Middle School

8995 SE Sedgwick Rd.

Port Orchard, WA  98366

 

Office: 360.874.6090

Fax: 360.874.6430