| Get Your Scorpion Scoop - Week of 10/5-10/9! |
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Principal’s Message
Hello Scorpion Families,
It was another busy week at San Jose. 8th graders visited College of Marin on Friday for the Empower Tomorrow field trip. I want to extend a huge shoutout to our staff and parent chaperones who accompanied our students. 8th graders across NUSD learned about high school, college preparedness, and potential careers for their future. It was a great afternoon!
We hope you can join us for Lunch on the Lawn this Friday at San Jose! It is a wonderful time to join your Scorpion at school. Please DO NOT drop off food in the front office and leave campus. Our staff cannot manage large volumes of deliveries. Can't make it? You're welcome to send food with another parent/guardian! We will provide food as usual for any student who wishes to have school lunch.
Friday's Lunch on the Lawn will be a celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. Families will have the opportunity to engage with all sorts of activities - music, art, food and beverage - it's going to be wonderful! And in the meantime, all in the community are invited to prepare for Dia de Los Muertos at the end of the month by supporting efforts to build a Katrina Doll, as well as build and contribute to an altar. More information below and coming soon!
This Wednesday is International Walk and Roll to School Day! Leadership has partnered with Safe Routes to School and has awesome prizes in store for our walkers, rollers, bussers, carpoolers, etc. Remember, if you don't bike, take the bus, or carpool, even parking and walking part way to school counts. We look forward to seeing our Scorpions arrive safely and with care for the environment on Wednesday!
San Jose's drama department is working tirelessly to bring to you their fall production. Tune in below for information about how to get your tickets! You will not want to miss this show!
TICKETS HERE: The Outsiders Tickets
At the upcoming Board Meeting on Tuesday, October 6th, Trustees will consider the staff recommendation to transition the 6th-8th grade program from the Hamilton TK-8 school site over to San Jose Middle School. Staff worked on an Equity Impact Analysis report in order to help Trustees with their decision. This impact report can be found here. The purpose of the analysis is to provide staff with implementation considerations if the plan moves forward. We will provide another update as soon as we have more to share. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.
Please be sure to review each section of the newsletter, including the last section titled "Fliers, Opportunities, Announcements, and More!", as it is updated weekly and includes excellent opportunities and information for our families.
In collaboration,
Whitney McEachern, Principal
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October:
📌 10/5-6, 10/12-13, 10/16 - School Fuel Softball Tournament
📌 10/7 - Walk and Roll to School! (SAVE THE DATE! More info coming from leadership soon.)
📌 10/9 - Lunch on the Lawn
📌 10/9 - Choir Concert
📌 10/12 - Staff Development Day, NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
📌 10/20 - PTA Meeting, 6 PM, SJMS Library
📌 10/21 - Outsiders Production for Students, 2 PM, Black Box Theater
📌 10/23-26 - Outsiders Drama Production
📌 10/29 - Minimum Day, 12:44 PM Dismissal
📌 10/30 - On-Campus Halloween Festivities (More info from leadership coming soon.)
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We hope you stayed cool this weekend, it will be another hot week! Please make sure to come to lunch on the lawn this Friday. There will be a special Hispanic Heritage Month focus, and this is a great way to spend time with your student.
We don't have a School Fuel softball team from San Jose but definitely go and support the games and School Fuel.
Next Monday 10/12 is a teacher work day so there is no school for students.
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Hi Scorpion Families!
Attendance Awareness Month has come to an end, but that does not make your student’s attendance any less important. Please continue supporting your student in attending as often as possible. When students improve their attendance rates, they improve their academic prospects and chances for graduating from High School.
We will continue distributing attendance rewards for students who are doing a great job with their attendance. We currently still have 165 students who still have not missed a day of school, nor have they been tardy a single time. 30 students, 10 from each grade level, have been picked at random and received rewards this week!
Parents, please continue to support the general well being and safety of our campus by reminding your students to keep their hands to themselves. Generally, middle school aged students really enjoy rough housing and wrestling around with one another. This, however, doesn’t make for the safest and most productive learning environment. As students have been warned several times, this behavior will start to be addressed through the behavior matrix.
Thanks for your help!
Mr. G
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Routines and Dreams!
Happy Fall, parents and guardians! As our school year picks up momentum, establishing strong daily routines is the single best way to set your student up for success. From consistent sleep schedules to designated homework zones, predictable habits give middle school brains the anchor they need to thrive.
Speaking of predicting the future: did you ever guess you’d be in your current career when you were your child’s age? Did you take an interest assessment back in the day that pointed you toward becoming a chef, only to end up as an architect?
While daily routines anchor our students in the present, career awareness helps them look ahead and connect today’s habits to tomorrow’s dreams. This past week, our 8th graders took another exciting step toward their futures with Mr. E, completing a Career Interest Profiler on CaliforniaColleges.edu. Students identified potential career paths matching their personal strengths, explored two additional career guidance sites, and were encouraged to interview you, their teachers, and other trusted adults about their professional journeys. 8th graders will also participate in the Empower Tomorrow Field Trip at College of Marin’s Indian Valley Campus next Friday where they’ll meet adults from their various careers and have an opportunity to ask questions and see their tools for their respective careers.
We encourage you to check in with your 8th grader about their Career Interest Profiler results and view the presentation slides. Ask them what surprised them about their top career matches! You can also create a parent account to review your student's career assessments, track their college planning progress, and eventually use the platform to guide them through high school course planning, college applications, and financial aid options (like FAFSA/CADAA).
Recently, we visited all 6th-grade English classes to deliver an Introduction to Counseling & Wellness at SJMS. Students learned how to self-refer for a 1-on-1 meeting with a counselor, how to utilize the Wellness Hub, and how to request a wellness break during the school day. We also explored the many scenarios and challenges counselors can help students navigate. Shout-out to our 6th-grade class—we were so impressed by their active participation and thoughtful questions!
This past week, our 7th and 8th graders covered this same material during Science classes through a custom video presentation that we created. In addition to reviewing counseling services, self-referrals, and wellness support, we partnered with students from leadership to share an important message for Suicide Prevention Month. Student leaders highlighted key warning signs to watch for, emphasized the importance of speaking up when a peer is struggling, and shared local and national crisis resources like the 988 Lifeline. You can watch the full video with your student here: Introduction to Counseling & Wellness 7th/8th 26-27
A snapshot of what’s coming up in counseling and wellness:
Week of 10/05/2026- 7th Grade- We Lead Ours -WELO:
Looking ahead, we are excited to welcome back We Lead Ours (WELO). WELO will be delivering their 5-day workshop on substance use education and prevention to our 7th graders through their Science classes. We have been fortunate to partner with WELO for several years now, and our students always benefit from their engaging, empowering curriculum. We look forward to another fantastic week of learning and skill-building with their team!
https://www.weleadours.org/
Wellness Hub:
We are delighted to welcome the return of our Wellness Hub for the third year! The Wellness Hub is closed the first couple of weeks of school and will have more information for you to follow! We aim to keep our Wellness Hub stocked for students to have access to a safe space on campus that is filled with snacks, mindful activities, arts and crafts, board games, etc. We welcome new or gently used donations, and we also update our Wellness Hub Amazon Wishlist regularly as our inventory runs low. If you wish to support wellness initiatives at SJMS, we have linked our wishlist here! Thank you for your consideration and partnership. We look forward to sharing more news and happenings with you soon! SJMS Wellness Hub Wishlist
Thank you!
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It was great to see some of the 6th grade Volleyball game vs. Sinaloa this past week. We are excited for the remainder of these seasons and getting to watch all of our teams play.
Upcoming Games
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10/6: 6th Volleyball @SJMS vs. White Hill @4:00
10/6: 7th/8th Volleyball @SJMS vs. Sinaloa @5:00
10/8: Flag Football @Mark Day vs. Mark Day @4:00
GO SCORPIONS!
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The 2026-2027 NUSD Middle School Handbook was sent home with your Scorpion at either schedule pick up or the first day of school. The final page should have been signed and returned to SJMS by Friday, 8/28. Please keep the handbook in a safe place at home, and consistently review it, as well is the SJMS Behavior Matrix. Both consist of expectations that are reviewed regularly at school. We highly encourage you to discuss high expectations at home with your Scorpion. Thank you for partnering with us to ensure your student knows how to be #ScorpionStrong!
Middle School Handbook PDF:
SJMS Behavior Matrix:
 
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