Week 28
Good Afternoon Jacques Memorial Families,
Thank you all for taking the time to cast your vote at the polls yesterday. As you may know our students had the responsibility of selecting a name for our mascot the Jacques Jaguar as part of the KIDS Vote Too! Project. We will reveal the results tomorrow night at our annual Family Fun Night event!
JMS Family Fun NIGHT!
We can’t wait to see you tomorrow evening, Thursday, March 30, 2023, for our Annual Family Fun Night! 6:00-7:30 PM
All JMS students and their families are invited to attend this night of literacy and math fun. Students will also showcase what they have learned with our new STEM initiative LEGO Discovery! Come and meet Tuckerman and Finley, the Jacques therapy dog team, and enjoy math, literacy activities, and dinner with family and friends. Pizza will be served!
School Safety
In light of the recent events that have occurred in Nashville TN, I wanted to share with you some of the current security measures that are in place at JMS. I acknowledge that this recent event has caused an increased level of concern. These events and others dating back to Columbine, have challenged us to rethink our approach to school safety and security.
In terms of physical security, our building is locked during school hours and visitors must enter through a single point of entry. Significant investments have been made in access control and camera surveillance systems throughout our school, including a new large screen video monitor that was installed in the main office this year that allows constant surveillance of all exterior doors. Visitors will be processed through the Raptor System which requires them to present identification and wear a sticker that identifies them as a visitor.
In the event of an emergency, we have conducted several drills every year and we are proficient at getting our students and staff behind locked doors, evacuating to our rally point, barricading and countering. as practiced in drills throughout the school year. We practice these drills with School Resource Officer Rich Addonizio and Milford Police Department. This past summer I engaged in active shooter training with the Milford Police Department which required me to collaborate with emergency personnel in response to different emergency scenarios. I have written a School Emergency Operations Plan that is reviewed annually by the Department of Homeland Security.
Communication and information sharing within our buildings, with law enforcement and the community is critical to our collective safety. The channels of communication are open so that distressed students and staff can be identified and supported. We have created an environment where we can identify threats, rapidly lockdown buildings and call law enforcement to the scene.
Part of our proactive approach is to maintain a school environment that is welcoming to the community and supportive of our students and staff; a place where anxieties can be reduced and conflict deescalated effectively. We encourage you to share any information with the district that will allow us to take a proactive approach to any situation or specific threat.
Please feel free to contact me at the school if you have any questions or concerns regarding our security or safety protocol.
PTO Update
The MES PTO will be hold it’s next virtual via ZOOM on Wednesday April 5th. We will be discussing open executive board positions, spring book fair at JMS and playground improvements. We hope you can join us!
RED SOX Day at JMS
In honor of baseball opening day all students and staff are encouraged to support their favorite baseball team and wear team gear tomorrow, Thursday, March 30th 2023! Go Red Sox!
Please find attached to this email our lunch program menu for the month of April.
Thank you for ongoing support of our school, our staff and of course, our students.
Tim O’Connell
Principal