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Category: Middle Schools

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The Great Utah ShakeOut Earthquake Drill

On April 19, 2018, hundreds of thousands of Utahns will “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” in the Great Utah ShakeOut Earthquake Drill.

All schools are encouraged to participate in this drill, or to conduct an earthquake drill sometime in the month of April. Please take this opportunity to incorporate emergency preparedness in classroom lessons and teach proper ways to protect oneself during an earthquake.  The drill will help us to be prepared for a catastrophic disaster in our area.

We encourage all schools to register at www.ShakeOut.org/Utah. After you register your school, please click on the “Resources” tab; where you will find a Shakeout Drill Manual for K-12 schools. This manual will provide you great information for your school’s exercise.

Please review the Jordan School District Incident Command procedures for the Earthquake Action Plan and Standard Operating Guidelines.

Please plan and prepare to take part in this statewide earthquake response exercise.

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New ESL Endorsement Courses

Applications are being accepted for the 2018-2018 program. There will be 2 cohorts, one beginning in August and one beginning in January.

Applicants will be placed based on critical need for Office of Civil Rights (OCR) compliance regarding English learners and timely application.

Because of the SUU process, applicants will not be added to a cohort within 30 days of the first night of class.

Information regarding the endorsement and the application are located at http://edsupport.jordandistrict.org/als/teachers/pd/esl-endorsement-options/

Contact deborah.brey@jordandistrict.org with questions.

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Utah Retirement Systems will be available for one-on-one retirement planning sessions at South Jordan Middle School (10245 S. 2700 W.) on Wednesday, April 18, 2018.  See the instructions below to register for an appointment.  Counseling sessions are available at other locations that are also listed on the URS website.     

  1. Go to www.urs.org.
  2. Log into your myurs account by clicking on LOGIN in the upper right corner of the screen.
  3. Click on the Education Tab.
  4. Click on “Individual Retirement Planning Sessions”.
  5. Find the session that works best for you.  Select the session to reserve your appointment.
  6. Please be sure to bring your estimated annual salary, any retirement plan balances outside of URS, and your Social Security statement (get yours atwww.ssa.gov).

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DATE:  
March 12, 2018

TO: 
Building Administrators

FROM:   
Scott Thomas, Administrator
Paul Bergera, Staff Assistant
Lance Everill, Facility Operations Coordinator
Ron Boshard, Risk Management Coordinator

SUBJECT: 
Great Utah Shake Out

On April 19, 2018, hundreds of thousands of Utahan’s will “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” in the Great Utah Shake Out.

All schools are encouraged to participate in this drill or hold an earthquake drill in the month of April. Please take this opportunity to incorporate emergency preparedness in classroom lessons and teach proper ways to protect yourself during an earthquake.  The drill will help us to be prepared for a catastrophe disaster in our area.

We encourage all schools to register at www.ShakeOut.org/Utah. After you register your school, please click on the “Resources” tab; here you will find a Shakeout Drill Manual for K-12 schools. This 17 page manual will provide you great information for your schools exercise.

Please review Incident Command procedures relevant to earthquake drills.

Please plan and prepare to take part in this statewide earthquake response exercise.

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Coming soon to Jordan School District and Administrators like you!

In collaboration with the Friday Institute, USBE, and UEN, JSD will offer a "Leadership in Blended and Digital Learning (LBDL) Academy," designed specifically for administrators to lead schools toward blended and digital learning. Through research-based content and job-embedded experiences, participants will gain skills and knowledge to promote teacher buy-in, best practices, and technology-transformed learning. The instruction will follow a blended-learning model and will consist of 5 face-to-face sessions with additional online content, held 2018-2019. Participants completing the LBDL Academy will receive a USBE EdTech Endorsement. If you are interested in hearing more detailed information, please contact Shelley Nordick: shelley.nordick@jordandistrict.org or 801-567-8110 .

Testimonial Video of LBDL Academy Participants

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DATE:  
March 15, 2018

TO:  
All Jordan School District Principals – with bus route students

FROM:
Scott Thomas, Administrator of Auxiliary Services
Herb Jensen, Director of Transportation
Kathy Simmons, Transportation Trainer/Risk Coordinator

SUBJECT: 
State Required Bus Evacuations and School Bus Safety 2017-2018

State required semi-annual school bus evacuations have been scheduled for this spring.  This applies to those students that ride the bus daily to and from school.

The evacuations will be conducted during the week of:

Monday, April 23, 2018 thru Friday, April 27, 2018

Your school’s regular bus driver will perform this evacuation as they drop your students off in the morning, one day during that week.  This procedure takes place at your school and is located in your normal bus drop off/pick up zone.  All professional school bus drivers that transport students are required to perform evacuation procedures in case of an emergency.  Bus evacuation will be through the rear door, side door, front door or a combination.  Students will then, under the direction and supervision of the bus driver, evacuate and meet in a safe place approximately 100 feet away from the bus.

Your assistance is welcome but not mandatory to complete this required evacuation drill quickly, safely and effectively.

We appreciate all you do to help us safely transport your students.

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The IRS revised the W-4 and withholding calculator to reflect changes in the tax law (new tax tables, itemized deductions, increases in child tax credit, the new dependent credit and repeal of dependent of exemptions).

Employees are advised to review their current W-4 withholding.  The withholding calculator on IRS.gov can be useful for employees who wish to update their withholding in response to this new law, or for changes in their personal circumstances in 2018.

Further information from the IRS is attached.

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Principals:

Please take note that the 2018-19 Upcoming Plan, Progress Report and Council Signature Form are due to be completed online no later than March 30, 2018. this due date is determined by the State LAND Trust deadlines that we have been given.

The State has updated some of the object codes that are to be used for your Land Trust budgets. Attached is a revised Land Trust Budget Guideline sheet that we have come up with to help make your budget codes match the state budget codes. Please refer to this when working on your Upcoming Plan for 2018-19.

Don't forget to send the emails to your SCC members under Council Signature Form. There has to be a majority accepting the plan before it can be finalized and sent to the AOS for review and the Board for approval. Remember, accepting means that they "participated in reviewing the implementation of the current School LAND Trust Plan and have participated in development of the 2018-19 School LAND Trust Plan".

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DATE:  
Thursday, March 8, 2018

TO:  
All Principals

FROM: 
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curriculum and Staff Development
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT: 
Extension of UEPC School Climate Survey Window

Because of the delayed start and other issues we experienced during the beginning of the UEPC School Climate Survey, the window has been extended to Friday, March 23, 2018. Principals are encouraged to remind parents and faculty members again about the survey and to ensure that all students second grade and up have the opportunity to take the survey.

Also, as a reminder, here are the links for you to track respondent participation in the student, parent and faculty/staff surveys:

Parent Survey:  https://co1.qualtrics.com/reports/public/dWVwYy01YTdkZjIyNzhhM2M0MjAwMGQ0NDg0M2ItVVJfOU5zdmU3OTRNTDVCWVFB

Student Survey: https://co1.qualtrics.com/reports/public/dWVwYy01YTdkZmE1Y2U2ODY5MTAwMTgyMDM4NjktVVJfOU5zdmU3OTRNTDVCWVFB

Faculty Survey: https://co1.qualtrics.com/reports/public/dWVwYy01YTdkZmI4NWM3NzZhNDAwMTQ0NzY3MzEtVVJfOU5zdmU3OTRNTDVCWVFB

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Elementary and Middle School Principals:

March 13, 2018 – ASB Auditorium -- Language Arts planning meeting for elementary sixth grade and seventh grade Language Arts teachers. From 8:00am to 12:30pm, seventh grade Language Arts and ELA Special Education teachers will meet with their sixth grade elementary feeders to help better prepare middle school teachers and students for next year. See attached schedule and be sure that one 6th grade or 7th grade Language Arts and ELA Special Education teacher from your school arranges to attend. The Curriculum Department will pay the cost of a half-day substitute. Please direct any question to Becky Gerber (Elementary) at 88087 or Mindy Dummer (Middle School) at 88152.

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THREE SCHOOLS IN UTAH WILL BE GIFTED A $100,000 DON’T QUIT! FITNESS CENTER FROM THE NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR GOVERNORS’ FITNESS COUNCILS

NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN!

Salt Lake City, UT – Continuing his goal of ending childhood obesity, fitness icon Jake Steinfeld, Chairman of the National Foundation for Governors’ Fitness Councils (NFGFC), has kicked off 2018 by selecting the State of Utah for its 2018 DON’T QUIT! fitness campaign.  The NFGFC will deliver a state-of-the-art DON’T QUIT! Fitness Center to three schools for demonstrating leadership in getting and keeping their students fit. The nomination process opens today and will run through Friday, April 6, 2018.  Anyone can nominate a school by visiting www.natgovfit.org.

“Childhood obesity is a serious problem that can follow a child into adulthood. I’ve declared war on this preventable disease and I’m inspired to see elected leaders like Governor Herbert immediately jump on board to join the battle and welcome us into his state. Every state leader that I’ve met with recognizes that obesity is neither a democrat nor republican issue, it’s a kids issue and all have vowed to do everything possible to help,” said Jake Steinfeld.  “So far we’ve delivered DON’T QUIT! Fitness Centers in 24 states and Washington, DC and the response from students, teachers and communities has been unbelievable.  Kids are excited about working out and being physically active and, as a result, their academic performance and self-esteem has skyrocketed.  Now, Utah schools have an opportunity to make a change that will have a lasting impact on kids well into their future.”

“I am grateful for this opportunity for our schools,” said Gov. Gary R. Herbert. “Health and wellness are key to both success and happiness, and we want to help our students establish habits that will give them bright and strong futures.”

The National Foundation for Governors’ Fitness Councils program will make its way into all 50 states in the coming years. Each fitness center is financed through public/private partnerships with companies like The Coca-Cola Company, Anthem Foundation, Wheels Up and Nike, and does not rely on taxpayer dollars or state funding. TuffStuff Fitness International provides all of the fitness equipment, which is manufactured right here in the United States.  The Foundation’s goal is to build a nation of the fittest, healthiest kids in the world.

“I have witnessed firsthand the positive impact fitness centers have had on students and their communities. When you provide schools with the tools and inspiration, you’ll be amazed by the changes that take place,” continued Steinfeld.  “Our children are our most precious resource and by providing them with a strong foundation in health and fitness, we can feel confident that they’ll excel beyond their wildest dreams.”

Physical activity and exercise are shown to help prevent and treat more than 40 chronic diseases, enhance individual health and quality of life, and reduce health care costs.  In schools, studies show that physical activity improves academic achievement, increases confidence and self-esteem, reduces discipline problems, cuts absenteeism, and fosters better interpersonal relationships.

For more information about the NFGFC or to download a nomination form, visit www.natgovfit.org.

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DATE:
February 27, 2018

TO:
All Principals

FROM:
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curriculum and Staff Development
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:
Research Project

The Research Review Committee has reviewed a research project in which your school has been asked to participate.

Project Title:  "Social and Emotional Education in Primary Schools"

Applicant:  Jordan Smeltzer

The project has been approved by the District Research Review Committee. The applicant has been directed to contact you to discuss the extent of the project and to obtain your permission to conduct the study at your school. Participation in the study is at your discretion. If you have questions or concerns, please contact Ben Jameson at 801-567-8243.

The project will involve a one hour interview with a willing teacher in your school with two or more years of experience.

Thank you for your assistance.

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Copy & Print Toner

JSD has a copy machine and printer toner contract that has been competitively solicited for use by all schools and departments within the district.  Because we purchase as a whole district more than $50,000 annually of this one type of item on a regular basis, it necessitates additional steps under the law.  This is intended to save time and money for the district and its employees.  If you use the toner contract for the first time you may want to review all vendors and their prices before making a purchasing decision.  Prices are based on a percentage off discount of retail price.

For ease of use and to ensure best value to the district, any purchase over $1000.00 requires two documented quotes, put on as a requisition in Skyward.  Award may be on an all or nothing basis or you may want to award per printer model to get the best value.  Any purchase under $1000.00 will not require competitive quotes.

The preferred method of ordering toner is with the district P-card or an open purchase order is acceptable also.  Open purchase orders can be for the fiscal year or the length of the contract whichever is preferable.  Please reference the contract number on the purchase order.  A list of toner contracts can be found on the Purchasing Department website.

Please note when getting quotes from Coast to Coast their Diamond Series is not OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer). This means Brother, Epson, HP, Lexmark, etc. brands.  Diamond Series would be considered remanufactured not OEM.