Jones Middle School

May 2019

Be Responsible	Be Respectful	Be Safe

Jones Middle School 2100 Arlington Avenue Upper Arlington, OH 43221 614.487.5080

Mr. Jason Fine Principal Ext 3001
jfine@uaschools.org

Mrs. Tammy Yockey Assistant Principal Ext 3002
tyockey@uaschools.org

Dear Jones Families,

Incredibly, this is our last newsletter of the year. In less than a month our school year will be done. May is a very busy time at Jones, so please be sure to keep checking the list of upcoming dates.

As the year draws to a close, I would like to pause and appreciate the tremendous growth our students have made. The new sixth graders who were nervous about lockers, schedules, and a new school are now confident and enthusiastic members of our school community. Our seventh grade students are ready to become eighth graders, and our eighth graders are preparing to move to the high school.

There have been, and will be, changes in technology, assessments, and devices, but several things never change. Our students, families, and staff have a commitment to hard work and achievement, to kindness and making the world a better place, and to forgiveness and second chances. That's why I am so passionate about this place.

Sincerely,

Jason Fine Jason Fine

Upper Arlington Pillars of Ethical Behavior

Fairness and Justice Respect for Self and Others Responsibility Trustworthiness
Caring and Compassion

Citizenship	1

Important Dates:

April 30 - 7th Grade Camp Parent Meeting, 7pm May 1 - 6th Grade Honors Awards, 5:30pm
May 1 - 7th Grade Honors Awards, 7:30pm

May 6 - Washington DC Student/Parent Meeting, 7pm May 7 - No School for Students, Primary Election Day May 8 - Purple Day
May 8 - 7th & 8th Grade Spring Pops Concert, 7pm May 9 - Band Concert, 7pm (Grades 5 - 8)
May 10 - 7th & 8th Orchestra Grade Ice Cream Social, 7pm May 13 - 8th Grade Lunch on the Mallway
May 13 - Spring Sports Recognition, 6:30pm

May 14 - Fall Production Informational Meeting, Jones Auditorium, 7pm (see below) May 14 - 17, 8th Grade Washington DC Trip
May 15 - 6th Grade Choir Showcase, 7pm

May 20 - 5th & 6th Grade Orchestra Concert, 7pm May 20 - 21 - 7th Grade Camp, House East
May 22 - 23 - 7th Grade Camp, House West

May 24 - 8th Grade Recognition and 8th Grade Honors Awards, 4pm May 24 - 6th Grade Pool Party - End of the day
May 24 - Last Day of School

May 26 - UAHS Commencement Ceremony

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Meet Our Teachers

Get to know our Jones staff. Each month we will feature one group.

From left: Mrs Holder, Mr. Riesen, Ms. Spangler

Steve Gdovin teaches Technology and Engineering Education and works with the Robotics Club. He attended Miami University He is married to Michelle and has 2 daughters, Lucy(7) and Molly(4) Mr. Gdovin enjoys Fishing, softball, golf, home construction projects. His favorite part of teaching is seeing the light bulb go off when students figure out and learn something new.

Nicole Holder is an Intervention Specialist who teaches 6th and 7th graders and coaches 7th grade volleyball. She attended The Ohio State University. She has been married to her husband Blake for 2 years and they have a 2-year-old rescue pup named, Rhett. Mrs. Holder loves to be outside, hiking, backpacking, spending time on the boat, and taking the dog to dog parks. Her favorite part of teaching is looking at all the progress students make over time. She says, “I love when there is a goal that my students have been working on for a while and they finally master it. It is such a great moment of pride for the student and for all the people that worked so hard to get that student there. Especially when you have had students for multiple years, it is so amazing to see the progress made over those several years.”

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Grant Riesen is an Intervention Specialist for grades 6-8. He also coaches cross country and track at Jones. He attended The Ohio State University. Mr. Riesen is engaged to Keely, and has a 2-year-old boxer/bloodhound named Winston. He loves listening to vinyl records, reading a good book, running, and spending time with family and friends. His favorite part of teaching is building relationships with students and staff.

Sarah Santilli teaches 6,7,8 Choir, 6,7,8 General Music and is part of the Fall Production team. She also runs Honor Choir with Mrs. Widing.She attended The Ohio State University and Capital University's Kodály Institute. Her family lives in Buffalo, NY and she visits as often as she can. Ms. Santilli enjoys performing in community musical theatre around Columbus and has started taking adult dance classes. Her favorite part of teaching is watching students confront a challenge and work together to come up with a solution. It is also wonderful when you see students look at the world through other another person's eyes and gain a whole new perspective.

Caitlain Spangler teaches reading, language arts, math and science for all three grades. She coaches swimming and water polo at the high school and works with the amazing Interact Club here at Jones. She went to Miami of Ohio and the University of Dayton. Mrs. Spangler has a sister and brother and her parents live nearby. She loves getting together for cookouts or movie nights. She has a dog and a cat - both are amazing! She loves playing water polo and going to Disney World. Miss Spangler says she loves teaching because, “I have the best students in the world!”

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For Your Information

Fall Production 2019

The show for 2019 will be announced on May 8th at the 7th & 8th grade Choir Concert. It will be a show that is in a Traditional Broadway style. In an effort to streamline our scheduling, the Fall Production Information Meeting will be held in the SPRING.

Students and Families, grades 5, 6, & 7, interested in Fall Pro 2019 should plan to attend this meeting on Tuesday, May 14 from 7:00-8:00pm in the Jones Auditorium. There you can meet the Production Team and Parent Volunteers, learn about the schedule for the fall, and hear about some new developments we are excited to share! Time will also be available for individual questions.

If you're planning ahead, the performances will be October 17, 18, 19, 20, 2019. Please send questions to Sarah Santilli at ssantilli@uaschools.org.

Thanks to the generous support of the Jones PTO, author Alan Gratz will be visiting Jones on May 9th.
	
Alan Gratz is the author of several books for children and young adults, including New York Times
		
bestseller Refugee.

Mr. Gratz will autograph books while he is at Jones. You may purchase a book at any book retailer,
		
including Cover to Cover, and drop it off in the Jones Learning Center prior to May 2nd if you would
	
like to have it signed by the author. Read more about Alan Gratz here.

Author Visit

Yearbook Information

Please remember to purchase your 2018-2019 yearbook. It is easy to do and you place your order online using this link. The cost is $45 and the book will be mailed to your home toward the end of July. If you are unsure if you have purchased one yet please contact Nicole Morgan
at nmorgan@uaschools.org. If you plan to move this summer or have changed your address this school year, please send your updated mailing address to Nicole Morgan at nmorgan@uaschools.org.

Also, if you take any pictures of Spring sports, class parties, Washington DC, 7th grade camp, etc. we would love to have them. Just put them onto a flash drive and drop off in the main office or email them to nmorgan@uaschools.org.

Thank you,

Mrs. Nicole Morgan and Mrs. Janie Greiner nmorgan@uaschools.org or jgreiner@uaschools.org

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UA Schools Summer Academy Summer Math Camp

This is a summer course for elementary and middle school students who will use their school-issued computers and the ALEKS program to build math skills. ALEKS is a web-based learning program that assesses what a student knows and does not know for each grade level, then builds a personalized learning plan based upon what the student is most ready to
learn. This class is excellent for students who seek to strengthen and extend their previous years math knowledge. Students will work at their own pace, in class, and at home, with guidance from high school tutors and middle school math teachers. As students gain mastery of topics, they will be continually reassessed to make sure that knowledge is retained. The ALEKS program has been offered with great success to select students in the Upper Arlington Schools for over ten years as a tool for math remediation and acceleration.

Course Instructors:	Mr. Jim Fronk	Mr. Darrion House Math Teacher	Intervention Specialist
Jones Middle School	Jones Middle School jfronk@uaschools.org	dhouse@uaschools.org 614 488-1235	937 360-1958
Dates:	This course runs Monday through Thursday, starting May 29th through June 27th.

Time:

Location:

Grade Level:

Cost:

9am – 10am

Jones Middle School, Room 123

3 through 8

$225 Resident, $250 Non-Resident

Registration:	Limited to first 70 students registered. Registration deadline is May 26th. Register at parks.uaoh.net. Select course code 923003 for students entering grades 3 through 5 and course code 923011 for students entering grades 6 through 8.

Due to summer schedules and travel, it is expected that students will miss
sessions. Attendance at all sessions is not mandatory. By registering for this class, your student will keep their school-issued computer during the summer.

This is an Upper Arlington Schools sponsored course.

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