June 15, 2009

Dear Johnston Middle School Stakeholder,

It has been another successful year at Johnston Middle School. Our students posted strong gains in almost every area on the TAKS tests. 95% of all students met the standard for TAKS reading school-wide, and 89% met the standard for math school-wide. 94% of our eighth grade students met the standard for social studies, and 97% of our seventh grade students met the standard for writing. In the second year that science has counted in the accountability system, 80% of our 8th graders met the standard. Of the 25 academic categories used by the Texas Education Association to assign accountability ratings, eighteen performed at the exemplary level, and another five performed at the recognized level. Not only did the number of Johnston Middle School students meeting the standard for each test increase, but the number of our students achieving commended status increased as well. Additionally, the majority of our students scored above the average on the Stanford test in comparison to their peers across the country. Most importantly, Johnston Middle School achieved a TEA preliminary rating of RECOGNIZED for the first time in school history.

• JMS received TEA Gold Performance Acknowledgments in Reading, Writing, and Social Studies based on the number of students achieving commended status on the TAKS tests.
• Quartile I growth in Math, Science, Language Arts, Reading, and Social Studies based on HISD’s ASPIRE model.
• Johnston Middle School continued its status as an International Spanish Academy.
• JMS received a $405,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to help develop the Japanese and Chinese programs.
• JMS was designated a “NO Place for Hate” school for the eighth consecutive year by the Anti-Defamation League.
• Four of our Odyssey of the Mind teams advanced to the regional competition, and one team earned 3rd place at the state competition.
• The Advanced Orchestra received UIL Superior ratings for the 24th consecutive year.
• Our 6th cohort of students took the Spanish AP exam.  We expect these 27 students to receive high school and college credit when the results are sent to us later in July.
• At the IMPACT II academic competition, JMS students claimed all the 1st place prizes and both 2nd place prizes.
• 81 JMS students auditioned for Region XXIII Honor Choir.  44% of them advanced to the Honor Choir clinic.  Of the final 180 Voice Honor Choir, 20% are JMS students.
• Our students were winners at the regional Science Fair competition, and some of our students competed at the State History Fair in Austin.
• The JMS Jazz Ensemble was again invited to perform all around the region.
• JMS artists were awarded either 1st, 2nd, or honorable mention in various prestigious art competitions, including the Houston Livestock show and rodeo art competition.
• The KickStart program was wildly successful in its second year of existence.
• The Minute Maid girls’ and boys soccer teams won 1st place for the spring season.
• The UIL girls soccer team won 1st place in its division.
• The 8th grade football team finished in 2nd place in Zone V.
• 7 JMS students qualified for state recognition with the Duke University Talent Search
• The JMS Art Department hosted the Rodeo Art Open House for the second year in a row.
• Two JMS pianists were accepted into the classical piano program  at HSPVA, which is 40% of their freshman class.
• Five Broadcast Journalism students entered a high school competition in St. Lois.  These students won every category in which they participated
• The JMS Name That Book team took 3rd place out of 20 schools.
• In its first year of existence, the JMS Robotics Team took top honors at the South Texas Lego League Tournament.
• 36 JMS students were chosen for the All-City Band, which represents more than 1/3 of its membership.
• The JMS Theatre Department captured 1st Place in the UIL One Act Play competition.
• The 7th and 8th grade volleyball were both zone champions.
• The 8th grade girls track team was zone champions
• The JMS 7th and 8th grade boys and girls teams were zone champions in basketball.
• The JMS 7th grade boys, 8th grade boys, and 8th grade girls swim teams were all zone champions.

I am enormously proud of the accomplishments of our students and faculty. Your support is instrumental in our success. I am enclosing a copy of our bell schedule. Please note that the dismissal time remains at 3:47, and there will be one early dismissal per month. All returning Johnston Middle School students were issued a book near the end of school. Please make sure your student reads the book and completes the assignment over the summer. It is vitally important that all students engage in some summer reading and math during the break. We want all of our students to return to us sharp and ready to go for the 2009-2010 school year.

The Dress Code for the 2009-2010 school year will remain the same. Please see the attachment for more information. Please note that all outer shirts MUST be purchased from the PTO. On Fridays, students will be allowed to wear club shirts or a shirt purchased from the PTO.

On behalf of all of us at Johnston Middle School, I want to wish you a safe and restful summer.

Sincerely,

Dave D. Wheat
Principal