Here are the Highlights from the Weekly School Messenger Call for the Week of November 12th!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We want to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving! We will not do a School Messenger call next weekend and the school will be closed except for scheduled games and practices on campus! Please do not come to campus unless you are a part of one of the teams. We hope that everyone will take advantage of the time off to rest and visit with family and friends. We will see everyone on the 27th!

Annual Thanksgiving Food Drive

It is that time of year again! The annual canned food drive is upon us. We will be collecting as many cans and non-perishable items as we can this year to donate to Metropolitan Ministries. This is a great cause and JWMHS always does a fabulous job supporting our community. There are many Mustang and local families relying on us to donate, so please bring in canned foods to your RANCH classes during November.

Thank You to Publix

Thank you to the Publix at Mitchell Ranch for their generous donation of turkeys for our faculty and staff Thanksgiving Feast that will be held this Thursday. If you would like to make a donation, please do so via Rycor or send in gift cards or cash to Mrs. Mattos in the Main Office. Anyone who makes a donation to the Faculty and Staff Thanksgiving Feast will receive Mustang gear!

Get Ready for Baby It’s Cold Outside Baby Items Donations

While you are out shopping during the holidays, please consider purchasing baby items for our annual Baby It’s Cold Outside Baby Items Drive. Families in Pasco County will benefit from diapers, clothing, books, baby wipes, and other items. When we return to school on the 27th, please begin to turn them into your RANCH classes! Thank you in advance for your donation to all of our causes this month and next.

The Most Wonderful Week of the Year

We will hold our annual Most Wonderful Week of the Year on December 4th to 8th  with dress up days and activities. You can purchase your all-inclusive wristband on Rycor/Student Pay for $10 beginning Tuesday, November 28th to make sure that you can deck the halls of JWMHS all week! This will include Bahama Bucks on Friday the 8th! More information can be found on our website later this week (https://tinyurl.com/JWMHSMWWOTY)!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to our Marching Mustangs who made All-State: Joel Adamski and Zane Newell! Way to go!

Congratulations to Finn Beatty who came in 4th at the State meet! Congratulations to all of our other swimmers and divers on your performance this weekend as well! We are proud of you!

Congratulations to Mustang Football on another great season!

Best wishes to our Winter Sports! Play with integrity and good sportsmanship! Boys Soccer is off to a great start at 3-0 and Girls Weightlifting won last week as well!

Save the Date, Class of 2024! – Financial Aid Night For Seniors Class of 2024

We will be hosting a Financial Aid and Scholarship Night on November 28th at 6:30 p.m. in the Media! The FAFSA is all new this year and opens on December 1st. We will have a PHSC financial aid advisor give us updates on what to expect with the all new FAFSA. Mrs. Chamberlin will share Scholarship information and applications that will be coming available. Click here to register: https://forms.office.com/r/BfCaMbbXyJ

ASVAB For Juniors and Seniors

The ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery Test) will be offered on December 4th in the media for all interested juniors and seniors.

Go to our website for more information and click here to register: https://forms.office.com/r/pqNFTiyW8d

Senior Portraits

Senior Portraits must be taken no later than November 17th. That is THIS WEEK! Be sure to make your appointment at giganteproductions.com TODAY. Limited space is available for portrait sessions at school or in their studio. Don’t delay. Make your appointment today!

Senior Dedication Page in the Yearbook

Do you want a Senior Dedication in the 2024 Stampede Yearbook The deadline is November 17th. THAT IS THIS WEEK! Gather your photos, write your message, and visit yearbookforever.com to purchase and submit your dedication ad. More details can be found on our school website on the JWMHS Senior Dedication page or see Mrs. McNulty in Room 517.

Yearbook Sales

If you haven’t purchased your copy of the Stampede, be sure to buy your yearbook on Rycor by January 15th. The only way to guarantee you get a yearbook is to preorder in advance. Yearbooks are $80 until December 31st when the price will increase again!

Driving to School & Pick Up and Drop Off – Please Follow the Rules and Be Patient!

As you come to school, please follow the speed limit and the signs in the parking lot as to the direction of the traffic flow and where to drop off and pick up students. As a reminder, all students should be dropped off and picked up in the Red Car Loop. No one should be dropped off or picked up anywhere else on campus, especially Photonics Blvd. Also, please be ready to drop off your student when you get to the car loop. Please do not have further conversation at the car and please do not dilly dally as you exit and get your items to go to school. It is holding up the car line and we are trying to get people and cars in and out quickly.

Parking on Campus

All parking spots are assigned to staff or students. Please park in your assigned parking spot only. You can apply to park by following the parking procedures listed on our website. Only juniors and seniors are allowed to park on campus. Students that have been approved to park on campus can view their parking spot numbers in My Student. Student Parking passes will be passed out during all lunch periods. All student drivers must pick up their parking pass and display the pass in their vehicle.

Arriving to Campus & Class on Time

Please arrive in your classes on time each day, as being on time is important now and in the future. Security gates will remain open each day until 8:30AM. If a student arrives after 8:30AM, he or she must go to Student Services and check in there as the gates will close and should remain closed for security. Do not prop open gates or put items in gates so that the gates remain open. If you arrive to campus on time, you should not need to worry about having to use these gates. If you arrive late to campus, please do not ask someone to come and open the gate. Please follow our expectations and report to Student Services. Violations of these expectations will result in disciplinary action.

Free Lunch and Breakfast

All students will be receiving free breakfast and lunch this year. You do not need to apply for Free or Reduced Lunch. Breakfast will be served each morning until 8:20AM when the warning bell will sound. If you need to put money on your lunch account, you can do so at this time via www.mySchoolBucks.com or sending cash or a check payable to JWMHS.

Please Keep Campus Clean – Throw Away Your Trash

Any drink containers or food wrappers need to be disposed of in our commons area garbage cans and not classroom garbage cans or recycle bins. Please take pride in your school and keep it clean!

Mustang Athletics

Tickets for all games can be purchased on GoFan.co and we encourage you to make sure that you familiarize yourself with that website. (https://gofan.co/app/school/FL5921).

Kindness

I say this every week, but I hope that this week families will talk with each other about being kind and avoiding hate speech and hateful acts. There is no place at JWMHS for words and actions that are hateful and bigoted. Each of us is unique and has something to offer our Mustang community. Hopefully, as we are kind, we can see that our differences bring us together and make us stronger. Again, please be kind to each other.

Around the Ranch Newsletter

We will not have an Around the Ranch Newsletter this week!

Please make sure that you are checking our website for a full transcript of the email that has gone out to Mustang Families as there are many reminders and announcements that do not get repeated every single week.

Let’s make JWMHS the best place to be! We look forward to a great week in #MustangNation!

Again, on behalf of the Faculty, Staff, and Administration of JWMHS, I would like to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving. I am grateful for each of you and to be a Mustang! I hope you are too!

Have a great evening!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Go Mustangs!

~ Ms. Schultz

Quick Links

Around the Ranch Newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/AroundTheRANCH

Highlights from the Weekly School Messenger Call: https://tinyurl.com/JWMHSWeeklyCall

Meet the Faculty and Staff! Watch a video about your teacher and get your class supply lists: https://tinyurl.com/JWMHSOrientation

Login to your Parent Portal and Complete the Forms Required for the New Year: https://pasco.focusschoolsoftware.com/focus/index.php?skipSSO

Pay Student Fees or Purchase a Yearbook or Locker: https://www.studentquickpay.com/pasco/

RANCH Round Up from Mrs. Chamberlin: https://www.smore.com/mfg1q

Athletic Information: https://jwmhs.pasco.k12.fl.us/athletics/

Complete Athletic Paperwork: https://athleticclearance.fhsaahome.org/

GoFan Ticket Sales: https://gofan.co/app/school/FL5921

Safety and Security Policies for Athletic Events: https://jwmhs.pasco.k12.fl.us/wp-content/uploads/jwmhs/2019/08/front.USE_.2.pdf

Request a Schedule Change: https://tinyurl.com/JWMHSScheduleChange

Purchase Mustang Gear: https://tinyurl.com/JWMHSSpiritStore

Apply to be a Volunteer: http://pasco.k12.fl.us/comm/page/volunteer

Purchase a Mustang Legacy Brick: https://tinyurl.com/mustanglegacybrick

Reminders and Announcements

Meeting With School Counselors 

For those who have requested to see their school counselors, we ask that you are patient as we register new students and systematically review schedule issues and change requests. We anticipate that we will be able to serve everyone faster this way. We thank you for your patience.

Guidance Meetings

School Counselors and Academic Advisors have been going into English classrooms to discuss requirements and other important information with students. We encourage parents to speak with their children regarding this information. It can also be found on our website (https://jwmhs.pasco.k12.fl.us/academics-guidance-and-testing/). It is very important that everyone is on the same page regarding this information so that there are not any surprises. We also review this information during the first week of school and during course selection in the winter.

Pasco eSchool Placeholders

Of note, if you have an eSchool placeholder, on campus or off campus, please sign up for your classes as soon as possible. Directions can be found on our website.

Parent Bill of Rights Acknowledgements in myStudent

If you have not logged into your Parent Portal of myStudent, we ask that you do so this week. There are consent forms that need to be completed as a result of the Parents Bill of Rights legislation. We would like to partner with you regarding making decisions for your child that are consistent with your wishes as a parent/guardian. Please help us do so by completing this important paperwork. Login here: Login to your Parent Portal and Complete the Forms Required for the New Year: https://pasco.focusschoolsoftware.com/focus/index.php?skipSSO

Changes can be made by following the directions that we are providing on our website (https://jwmhs.pasco.k12.fl.us/how-to-for-parents-and-students/). We would encourage you to review what you have already done if you have said no to anything as there have been changes made to further explain each of the items.

Dress Code Policy for the 2023-2024 School Year

We are very grateful to the students who were able to follow the expectations outlined in the Student Code of Conduct (https://www.pasco.k12.fl.us/library/student_services/conduct/csc_eng.pdf) and proud of them for showing their #MustangExcellence! Keep up the great work! You are off to a great start!

I again want to reiterate and emphasize some of our policies and procedures. We ask that you review the Dress Code Policy with your child as we will be enforcing this. We are not kidding. The main changes include that students cannot wear shirts that expose their midriff and stomachs. And, all shirts must have straps. These, however, are not the only changes. Please view this policy here: https://jwmhs.pasco.k12.fl.us/2023-2024-dress-code-policy/

Cell Phone & Earbud Policy for the 2023-2024 School Year

As a reminder, students will not be able to use cell phones and earbuds during class time. Students will be able to use them during passing and lunches. Students will be expected to put their cell phone and earbuds in cell phone storage areas in the classroom. Students will not be able to take phones to the restroom during instructional time. Please make sure that you review this policy with your child so that everyone understands the expectations of students. It can be found here: https://jwmhs.pasco.k12.fl.us/cell-phone-policy-for-2023-2024/

Healthy Student Forms and the Clinic

We sent home the Healthy Student Form. This will allow your child to receive Tylenol or Ibubrofin in the Clinic. Please make sure that you complete this form if you would like for the Clinic, School Nurse, and Clinic Assistant to help in these matters.

Pick Up and Drop Off Continued

As a reminder, all students should be dropped off and picked up in the Red Car Loop. No one should be dropped off or picked up anywhere else on campus. Children should also not be going into the parking lot to cross traffic and enter a car or exit a car. Students should wait on the sidewalk for parents to drive around. We have rules in place to keep children safe and to avoid accidents. Students and parents, please follow and support our rules.

Make a Donation to JWMHS!

You will get free Mustang gear for donating to our Mustang Excellence Fund or to our Staff and Faculty Appreciation Fund. If you have already made this donation, we thank you in advance. These donations will help us throughout this school year as we recognize our Mustangs for their hard work and excellence! There is still time to make these donations and get your free Mustang gear! Here is the link to make a donation: https://www.studentquickpay.com/pasco/

Mustang Spirit

You can purchase a BEAT THE KNIGHTS shirt, Tradition Starts Here Stampede shirt, or Stang Gang shirt online via Rycor! Get them in time for the big game and show your #MustangPRIDE!

Here is the link to our online Mustang Spirit Store to purchase Mustang Gear (BEAT THE KNIGHTS shirt, Tradition Starts Here Stampede shirt, or Stang Gang shirt). You can purchase polos, jackets, hats, and other Mustang Gear! https://tinyurl.com/JWMHSSpiritStore