Dear JRMS Families, 

We had several important meetings last week that I believe will help move our efforts to improve consistency, communication, and expectations forward. 

We debriefed our recent MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) meetings and identified next steps to strengthen the process. Staff also participated in discussions about establishing common norms for our meetings and improving our approach to responding when students make poor decisions, including our referral forms, procedures, and opportunities for students to learn from their actions. 

Our PLCs took a closer look at using writing to demonstrate deeper thinking and understanding (part of our School Improvement Plan), and we held many conversations about professional learning goals throughout the week. While all of this work is important, some of the highlights of the week came from time spent with our students. 

Eighth Graders Visit Joel Barlow High School. 

Our eighth graders visited Joel Barlow High School, and I had the pleasure of joining them for my first visit as JRMS Principal! 

It was fun to see their excitement as they began looking ahead to high school. The JBHS staff and students provided a warm and welcoming environment, and the student ambassadors did a wonderful job describing the school, its many offerings, what students can expect, and sharing advice and lessons learned from their own experiences. 

Thank you to everyone at JBHS for making this such a positive experience for our students!

National School Lunch Week – A Little Fun in the Cafeteria! 

In celebration of National School Lunch Week, I was invited to join our cafeteria staff in serving lunch to students. I had a great time serving grades 7 and 8 on Thursday and grades 5 and 6 on Friday! 

There were plenty of surprised looks, laughs, funny comments, follow-up conversations, and more than a few Ratatouille references! It was a fun way to connect with students and experience a small part of what our cafeteria staff does every day. 

Thank you to our cafeteria team for welcoming me behind the serving line and for all they do for our students!

Hot Off the Press – The Tiger Telegraph! 

Our latest edition of the Tiger Telegraph was published and distributed this week! It was wonderful to see the students' hard work come together in such a fine publication. Congratulations to everyone involved! 

This edition also included portions of an interview with me, and I appreciated the opportunity to share a few things that are important to me: my excitement about being back in middle school, how fulfilling it is to work with students, and my belief that we often learn more from our mistakes than from our successes. 

I hope our students continue to recognize that making mistakes is part of learning and growing. What matters most is how we respond, what we learn, and what we do next. 

Great job to our student writers, editors, and everyone who contributed to this edition! 

Closing thought: 

This week was a nice reminder of the many ways we work to make JRMS a better place for students. Some of that work involves thoughtful conversations and planning behind the scenes, while other moments are simply about being present, sharing a laugh, and connecting with students. Both are important, and I appreciate the opportunity to be part of them. 

Thank you for your continued partnership and support.

~Chris