Parents and guardians,

Two full months under our belt and significant student learning is starting to happen. Our hope is that your child comes home every day having spent a great amount of time reading, writing, thinking and discussing various topics in all their classes. Creating life-long learners is no easy task but we’re fortunate for the opportunity to guide your children for 180 days a year.

If you haven’t done so already, we encourage you to ask your child about ThinkCERCA. This is the vehicle we use to implement school-wide writing strategies on a daily basis. The intent is for our staff to use common language and strategies while teaching all aspects of writing. When patterns and processes become routine, students have a greater chance of being successful. Like Thomas Jefferson, ThinkCERCA believes, “for students to succeed in today’s ever changing world, they need to be able to evaluate and synthesize information as well as construct and communicate their thoughts effectively.” This approach focuses on structuring all writing experiences around Claim, Evidence, Reasoning, Counter-argument and Audience. We hope to create consistency in all of our classrooms when it comes to literacy development.

At Thomas Jefferson, we prioritize creating an intentional climate and cultural and ensuring we have high quality instruction that produces results for student learning. This work requires a great deal of collaboration and partnership between teachers. Our mission is to create an environment where learning is the norm and chaos is minimal. Any time you put nearly 900 middle school students in one building there is always opportunity for interesting behavior. But our teachers have committed to establishing clear expectations (both behaviorally and academically) and then doing everything within our power to support students in their quest to meet those expectations. Anytime partnership with parents presents itself, we want to take full advantage.

On October 31, we had over 200 students perform in our Fall Arts Assembly. The combination of orchestra, choir, band and dance allowed many students to highlight the hard work they’ve put in over the past several weeks. Thank you to the parents who were able to attend and support our students. Fall Sports ended with Boys Cross Country and Tackle Football winning the VPS district championships. There was plenty of action throughout the season that made for an exciting start to the year.

When you have questions, comments or concerns, never hesitate to reach out to our team. We appreciate feedback and constantly look for new ways to support students.

Important Dates and Information

November 7 – Veteran’s Day Assembly

November 11 – No School (Veteran’s Day)

November 12 – PTSA Meeting (4:00 – General)

November 19 – Choir Concert

November 22 – End of Trimester #1

November 27-29 – Thanksgiving Break

December 6 – Honor Roll Celebration

December 10 – Report Cards Go Home

December 12 – Band Concert

December 17 – Orchestra Concert