Incoming 6th Graders

Moving to Middle School

Jefferson Middle School

Important Dates For Incoming 6th Grade Students

Tuesday, January 24, 2017 -  Incoming 6th Grade Parent & Student Interest Night at 5:30 p.m. in the School Cafeteria

Tuesday, May 23, 2017  - JMS Open House

  • 5:30 p.m. PTSA General Meeting in our School Cafeteria
  • 6:00-7:00 p.m. Classroom Visitations
  • 6:45 p.m. Incoming 6th Grade Parent-Student Meeting in our School Cafeteria

Wednesday, May 24, 2017 - Victor Students Visit and Tour JMS at 10:15a.m.

Tuesday, May 30, 2017 - Anza Students Visit and Tour JMS at 10:15 a.m.

Tuesday, June 13, 2017  - 6th Grade Elective Choices due to JMS – Information to be shared during Elementary Visit and Tour to JMS on 5/24/17

Friday, June 30, 2017 - Final Day JMS Office will be Open for the summer. The office will close from Monday, July 1 - Monday, August 21

Monday, July 31 – Friday, August 18, 2017 - TUSD Jump Start Summer Session  8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Monday – Friday at Bert Lynn Middle School

Tuesday, August 22, 2017- Jefferson Middle School Office Opens to the Public for the 16-17 School Year 

Thursday, August 24, 2017 - Registration Packet Pick-Up 9am-3pm in the Jefferson Middle School Cafeteria 

Wednesday, August 30, 2017 - Camp Jaguar! 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. meet in the School Cafeteria

Thursday, August 31, 2017 - Registration Packet Return – Sixth Grade time slot 11:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m.in the School Cafeteria

Monday, September 4, 2017 - Labor Day Holiday

Wednesday, September 6, 2017 - 1st Period Classes Posted in the front of school, after 4p.m. (Time TBD). Students receive the remainder of their schedule during their 1st period class on the first day of school.

Thursday, September 7, 2017 - First Day of School – Welcome Back!

Tuesday, September 26, 2017 - Back-to-School Night (BTSN) – 5:00 p.m. 

Preparing and Transitioning into Middle School

Preparing for middle school is a crucial point in a lifetime of learning. While elementary school focuses on the student, and high school solidifies his skills, middle school is when your child will decide how important education is to him. Middle-school lessons will not simply teach facts — they will also teach how these facts carry over into real life. Long-term interdisciplinary units will call for creative, agile thinking. The change in scheduling will let your child immerse himself in complex, multi-dimensional topics. 

Sixth grade brings many changes. Your child will be transitioning to Jefferson middle school where s/he will be among the youngest in the school. The transition to middle school brings many changes from new classmates, using and maintaining organization of a locker, and moving from having one teacher to having a different teacher for each subject. Preparing your child in advance to be aware of the changes this transition will bring helps in preparing their mindset. Students will have more long-term homework assignments and cross-curricular projects, and will need to step up their organizational skills to keep track of different assignments and deadlines from their teachers. You can help him develop study and time-management skills by having your write down and keep track of his summer activities and engagements in a planner, as when they get to Jefferson, they will be required to maintain their assignments in a Daily Student Agenda, provided by our PTSA and uses in each of their teachers classrooms.

There may be more opportunities for your child to take part in sports and clubs on campus. During the summer engage your child in activities that interest him or her. If s/he likes to act or play tennis, support these opportunities by going to a play, or finding a court to play tennis.The transition to sixth grade can be challenging because of all of the new changes physically, socially and academically. Make it a priority to schedule time with your child involved in the activities that interest him. This will strengthen the bond between you at this very vulnerable age. Take your child to see and walk the campus during off hours (Schedule in advance with the school) this will assist them in  getting use to the campus layout. This will not only strengthen the bond between you at this very vulnerable age, it will also help your child feel more comfortable with the transition to their middle school.

The Middle School Mission is Different

In middle school, teachers focus with a more heightened emphasis on a student's acceptable conduct, personal responsibility and organization, and proficiency in academic performance. Students are expected to be more responsible and take responsibility for their learning. It's not that middle school teachers care less; they care differently in helping to develop your child into a responsible and productive citizen of our school community while additionally developing their talents and leadership. Part of the mission of middle school is helping students learn the self-management and social system skills that will be necessary to successfully cope with high school. Self-management skills include developing the discipline to keep track of homework and the work ethic to process it on time. These are essential educational responsibilities students must learn to assume.

What are the social system skills?  "Follow with rules, learn and follow school routines and procedures, be respectful and cooperate with staff." If a young person doesn't learn adequate self-management responsibility and social system skills in middle school, he or she will have a more difficult time making it through high school - an even larger facility, with less tolerance for off-task and socially disruptive behavior. This is why it is important for parents to continue focus on their supervision and guidance on the development of study skills, organization, personal responsibility and help your child learn these skills to be successful and the best that they can be as a Jefferson Middle School Student!

Articulation Evening Events

Click here for presentation from "An Evening with the Principal" January 24, 2017

Open House 2017 Presentations:

1.) Welcome Incoming 6th Grade!

2.) Teaching Team Presentation

3.) Math Pathway Presentation 

Incoming 6th Grade Parent Packet 2017:

Click on link for --> Student Packet of Important Parent Information and forms distributed during the Incoming 6th Grade Student Tours

Click to view the 6th Grade Suggested Supply List

Incoming 6th Grade Required Summer Reading List

All Jefferson Students are required to complete reading homework over the summer in order to prepare for the new school year and the rigor of our English Language Arts classes. Students are required to select 2 books from the Incoming 6th Grade Reading List. To view the reading list and book summaries click here or view the Summer Reading Lists page under the 'Academics' top tab. 

Incoming 6th Grade ELECTIVE SELECTION Google Form

To be completed by Tuesday, June 13th at 11:59 p.m.

6th Gde Google Form Linkhttps://goo.gl/forms/XjtpmXRfslOac1D93

Elective Course Descriptions:

  • Beginning Band (year long class) – This class is for anyone who has never played an instrument and would like  learn. In addition, Beginning Band is for incoming 6th graders who have played an instrument in elementary school. We offer all wind instruments, including but not limited to flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, baritone and tuba, plus all percussion instruments.  You do not have to have any music experience.   Beginning Band will perform 3 times through out the year, including a trip to Disneyland for a band competition. 
  • Chorus (year long class) – This class is for any student who enjoys singing. Singing or musical experience is not required.  The JMS Chorus performs a minimum of 5 times throughout the school year, including a trip to either Disneyland or Knott’s for a competition, and then a concluding performance at the JMS Spring musical.
  • 21st Century Journalism, Digital Media & Design and Publication: (Yearlong class for: 6th/7th/8th) This course is for students with strong writing and technical skills. The course requires an completed application which can be downloaded here. Students from each grade level will be considered to participate in this class to create publications, including but not limited to the Jefferson yearbook, Student newspaper, and digital media presentations and publications.
  • Elective Wheel (Class rotates every quarter) – Classes offered within the elective wheel offer a variety of enrichment for our 6th grade students. Classes this school year include: Leadership, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), Health, and Technology – Study Skills are incorporated throughout each elective course, each quarter.

Middle School Book Resources

Camp Jaguar for Incoming 6th Grade Students

Jefferson Middle School strongly encourages all of our incoming 6th graders and students new to JMS to attend our Camp Jaguar prior in the summer prior to starting the school year. To learn more, check out our Camp Jaguar page by clicking here