New Parent Packet 2026-2027

N EW FAM I LY INFO R MATI O N

2026 2027 U S J B R U I N S .O R G

MISSION STATEMENT “We instill a passion for academic, artistic, and athletic excellence while committing to personal integrity,

Welcome to USJ I am so happy to welcome your family to the University School of Jackson. You are about to begin a journey with us, and your learning experiences will create memories that will

mutual respect, and lifelong learning.”

IDENTITY STATEMENT

last a lifetime. USJ is an extraordinary community where our teachers, staff, and families are making excellence happen

USJ is a non-denominational, non-

every day. Our school is a special place, and we are so

sectarian, college preparatory school

excited that you have chosen to join us.

dedicated to academic excellence

I know that starting a new school can be a little overwhelming, so we have put together a packet with some information to help with this transition and inform you of

and to our founding principles of faith, service, and scholarship.

Based on a heritage grounded in

the different parent groups which you can join. We hope

Judeo-Christian values, we provide

that you will take advantage of some of these opportunities

an educational environment where

and become involved in the life of the school.

students of all ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds are valued and

Thank you for entrusting your children to USJ. If you ever have any questions, please know that you can always reach out to me. I’m looking forward to working with your family throughout your time with us.

respected. The faculty, administration, and students are empowered to nurture and embrace the JudeoChristian values and our operating principles. Through the fulfillment of

Laura Moore,

our mission and adherence to these

Director of Admissions

core principles and values, we prepare

731.660.1692

our graduates to be responsible and

lmoore@usjbruins.org

informed world citizens.

Leadership Team

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

At USJ, we encourage open communication between our families, faculty, staff and administration. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Head of School Don Roe, Head of School droe@usjbruins.org Becky Baskin, Assistant to the Head of School 731.668.0447, bbaskin@usjbruins.org

Lower School Courtney Burnette, Lower School Director cburnette@usjbruins.org Lisa Cates, Lower School Secretary 731.668.8401, lcates@usjbruins.org

Chairman: Matt Fite Vice Chairman: Brian Dougan Jeff Watlington Meredith Franz Will Dement Courtney Goolsby Stephen Hammond Doug Haltom Andrew Long Whitney Overton Ajay Patel Henry Smith Kathryn Tucker Sara Jane Via Lee Yandell

Early Childhood Leslie Scott, Early Childhood Director lscott@usjbruins.org Lisa Cates, Lower School Secretary 731.668.8401, lcates@usjbruins.org

Middle School Margaret Livingston, Middle School Director mlivingston@usjbruins.org Alissa Wells, Middle School Secretary 731.660.2110, awells@usjbruins.org

Upper School Shane Jacobs, Upper School Director sjacobs@usjbruins.org Kim Rainey, Upper School Secretary 731.660.1447, krainey@usjbruins.org

Frequent Contacts College Counseling Carol Ryan, Director of College Advising cryan@usjbruins.org Aftercare Rachel Winfrey, After-School Care Director rwinfrey@usjbruins.org Director of Student Health Mary Ann Giampapa, Nurse mgiampapa@usjbruins.org Lower School Guidance Sarah Jones, Counselor sjones@usjbruins.org Middle/Upper School Guidance Keli Gooch, Counselor kgooch@usjbruins.org

Beginning of School Wednesday, August 5

Monday, August 10

Infant & Toddler Parent Orientation

Staggered Start - Jr. Cubs, Cubs & Jr. Kindergarten

Scheduled times

Thursday, August 6

Middle & Upper School New Student Orientation Lower School Parent Orientation (Jr. Cubs - 5th) Jr. Cubs-K: 5:30pm-6pm 1-5: 6:15pm-6:45pm

Infants & Toddlers Staggered Start Infants & Toddlers - Girls Only

Jr. Cubs, Cubs & Jr. Kindergarten - Girls Only This will be the first day for girls in Jr. Cubs, Cubs, and Jr. Kindergarten.

First Full Day of School This is the first full day of school for students in grades K-5.

The hours are 7:50 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. for grades K-5

This is the first full day of school for Middle and Upper School students.

The hours are 8:00 a.m. – 3:05 p.m.

All Infants and Toddlers in School All Infant and Toddler students will attend.

This will be the first day for girls in the Infant and Toddler program.

Tuesday, August 11

Friday, August 7

Staggered Start - Jr. Cubs, Cubs & Jr. Kindergarten

Lower School Come & Go Day (Jr. Cubs - 5th) 8:30am-9:30am: Girls

Jr. Cubs, Cubs & Jr. Kindergarten - Boys Only This will be the first day for boys in Jr. Cubs, Cubs, and Jr. Kindergarten.

10:00am-11:00am: Boys This is an opportunity to see your classroom and meet your teacher. Uniforms are not required.

Infants & Toddlers Staggered Start

Wednesday, August 12

All Students - Full Day All students in Infant, Toddler, Jr. Cubs, Cubs, Jr. Kindergarten, Kindergarten, and Grades 1-5 attend for a full day.

Infants & Toddlers - Boys Only This will be the first day for boys in the Infant and Toddler program.

Middle/Upper School Student Orientation- Uniforms Required Bring Computer and School Supplies.

6th Grade: 8:00 a.m. - 10:35 a.m.

7th & 8th Grade: 11:30 a.m. - 2:05 p.m.

9th Grade: 8:00 a.m. - 10:35 a.m.

10th, 11th, & 12th Grade: 11:30 a.m. - 2:05 p.m.

Information and questions will be shared and answered by your teacher on the new school year.

•T eachers will email welcome letters to their students on Thursday, August 6.

2026 - 2027 Calendar Highlights July 2026 7/31 – New Teacher Orientation August 2026 8/3 – PD Day / Teacher Breakfast 8/4 – PD Day 8/5 – PD Day 8/6 – PD Day/LS Parent Orientation 8/7 – LS/MS/US Student Orientation 8/10 – 1st Full Day of School/Sr. Walk & Breakfast 8/13 – MS/US Parent Orientation September 2026 9/7 – Labor Day Off 9/8 – Late Start 9/15 – Parent/Teacher Conferences – 3:30-6:30 pm 9/16 – Parent/Teacher Conferences – 8-3 pm 9/25 - Homecoming October 2026 10/2 – Q1 Ends 10/5–10/9 – Fall Break 10/12 – Late Start/Q2 Begins November 2026 11/25-11/27 – Thanksgiving Break December 2026 12/15-12/18 – MS/US Exams 12/18 – Q2 Ends 12/19-1/3/27 – Christmas/New Year’s Break

January 2027 1/4 – PD Day 1/5 - Students Return 1/18 – MLK Off 1/19 – Late Start February 2027 2/12-2/15 – Winter Break 2/16 – Late Start March 2027 3/5 – Q3 Ends 3/8-3/12 – Spring Break 3/15 – Late Start/Q4 Begin 3/26-3/29 Easter Break April 2027 4/12 - Late Start May 2027 5/8 – Graduation 5/18-5/21 – Exams 5/24 – Admin Day

A full calendar of events is listed on our website at usjbruins.org

Cafeteria Account Welcome to the USJ cafeteria! You will have a cafeteria account once your information has been added in the school system. Once the account is added, you will receive an email link to set up your lunch account.

Lunch Times: 10:50am-11:15am • Toddlers, Jr Cubs, Cubs, Jr. K 11:05am-11:35am • Kindergarten 11:00am-11:25am • 1st Grade 11:40am-12:05pm • 2nd Grade 11:45am-12:10pm • 3rd Grade 11:05am-11:30am • 4th Grade 12:20pm-12:45pm • 5th Grade

Your login will be your Blackbaud ID; the same as your myschoolapp.

11:45pm-12:15pm • 6th-8th Grade 12:45pm-1:15pm • Grades 9-12

To add money to your lunch account, login to usjbruins.lunchtab.app.

If you are new to USJ, you will receive a welcome email to setup your Lunchtab account. If your child has any food restrictions you are able to identify those during the setup.

Lunchtab will notify you daily when the account is below a $50 positive balance. It is highly recommended that you enroll in auto-recharge. You can customize the amount and the threshold that you want to prompt the recharge. Please note that the process takes a week to finalize the deposit, and some banks require account verification before it initiates the first payment. We recommend setting the threshold to $50 and a minimum of $100 per recharge.

At anytime you can view your family in the Lunchtab parent portal to edit spending limits, restrictions or allergies, and review each child’s recent purchases.

If you have any questions, contact the business office at student.billing@usjbruins.org.

Our lunch menus are updated weekly and can be found on our usjbruins.myschoolapp.com portal.

Technology Requirements All students in grades 4-12 are required to have a laptop.

The minimum specifications for all laptops used by USJ students on campus are as follows:

Apple Minimum Specs OS 13 Ventura 4 GB RAM 128 GB HD Anti-virus/Spyware Required

Windows 10/11 Minimum Specs 4 GB RAM 128 GB HD Anti virus/Spyware Required

Devices that do not Meet Device Requirements Smart Phones Tablets

Carpool Carpool is the system we use to safely and efficiently get your child into the building in the morning and into your car in the afternoon. Please do not park your car in the carpool area and leave it unattended.

School administrators have devised a carpool plan so that the process goes as smoothly as possible.

- Parents can help the carpool process by following arrival and dismissal times.

- Never park your car where it blocks traffic.

- Students can help the process by getting to their carpool pick-up spot as soon as possible after dismissal.

Upper and Middle School Carpool Middle School carpool flows on the east side of the McClellan Road campus to the cafeteria doors, Entrance 1. Please form one line on the outside, leaving the middle lane open so cars can exit when the child arrives. As you wait, pull your car up as far as possible. Your child will walk to your car. Do not stop where your child stands if there is space to pull forward. When students are safely in the vehicle, parents may pull to the outside lane to exit.

- Middle and Upper School students are not to be dropped off or picked up in the front of the Upper/ Middle School building during carpool hours. (7:15 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. and 3:05 p.m. - 3:25 p.m.)

- The front parking lot will be one-way traffic from 7:30 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. and from 2:50 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. daily.

- Parents and guests will not be allowed to park in the Upper School parking lot waiting to pick students up after school. Students can only be picked up from the carpool line.

- All buses will pick students up on the Upper School side of the building. Buses will enter the last turn into the parking lot and proceed to the curb area for pick-up.

Lower School Carpool Lower School students are assigned carpool numbers and a specific drop off/pick up door, which is staffed by school personnel. Every Lower School child will receive a school issued carpool number and a mirror tag. Carpool numbers are available in your child’s classroom as students return to school. Every Lower School family must complete the Lower School carpool form. The driveway behind the Lower School is closed to traffic except during carpool times. (There is no through traffic.)

- To help the flow of carpool, parents should not arrive before carpool starts.

- If parking your car, park only in parking lots and not on the road or in front of the school where you could block traffic.

- Infants and Toddlers parents must park in the parking lot on the Early Childhood Gym side of the Lower School building or the front parking lot and walk their students into and out of the school building.

- For the safety of our students, only school issued carpool tags are acceptable for student pickup.

- All Jr. Cubs through 5th Grade students will be dropped off and picked up in carpool.

- An email with a detailed carpool map will be sent prior to school starting.

“My School App” Information The “My School App” is in the top right corner of our USJ website home page at www.usjbruins.org. This tab is designed for our current families to help with any important information during the school year.

The tab links to the usjbruins.myschoolapp.com portal, where you can find the following information:

Back to School Information Calendar and Calendar Highlights Calendar of Weeks and Bell Schedule DESKTOP Carpool Directions CLICK HERE Event Broadcasts Family Directory Grades/Report Cards Inclement Weather Information Infant and Toddler Schedule Lunch Menus Middle School Test and Homework Schedule Parent Involvement Information Spirit Store Summer, After School, and Winter Programs Transportation Options CLICK HERE Uniform Information USJ Arts Guild Bruin Box Office

MOBILE

Grade Level Representatives Jr cubs - Morgan Gray Cubs - Meredith Fuller Jr K - Makenzie Acosta & Lauren Robinson K - Caitlin Masoud 1 - Kristen Hutchinson 2 - Alexis Long 3 - Amber Harris 4 - Emily Gamble 5 - Daisy West 6 - Carrie Brown Campbell 7 - Brittney Tucker 8 - Maegan Rothrock 9 - Celia Allen 10 - Brooke Dorris 11 - Melissa Hutchison 12 - Jamie Davenport

Ways To Get Involved at USJ USJ parents play a key role in the success of USJ. From volunteering to work at concession stands and Holiday Mart to serving on the Board of Trustees, parents are always involved in school activities.

Board of Trustees

Arts Guild

school needs, the Parents Club

Members of the Board of

The Arts Guild supports the Fine

supports the teachers through

Trustees meet each month.

Arts at all grade levels. The Guild

projects and a network of

provides support for numerous

room mothers.

Bruins Club

plays, musicals, and art festivals,

The Bruins Club supports the

as well as providing summer

total athletic program at USJ by

scholarship opportunities

Moms in Prayer International

providing funds for many extras

for deserving students and

The Moms In Prayer

that our athletes need. Besides

continuing education for faculty.

International group is two or

revenue from its annual Super

The Guild also buys additional

more moms who meet for one

Booster membership drive, the

music and art equipment

hour each week to pray for

Bruins Club earns a significant

and supplies.

our children, our schools, our teachers, and our administrators.

portion of its income from operation of concession stands

Parents Club

Mothers, grandmothers, or

at USJ home athletic events. In

The USJ Parents Club, which

anyone who is willing to pray for

recent years, projects funded

supports the school in many

a specific child and school are

by the Bruins Club included

ways, has one major fund-

invited. Moms in Prayer at USJ

irrigation systems for athletic

raiser each year: the Holiday

meet every Wednesday from 8

fields and a new spring

Mart, which is always held the

a.m. - 9 a.m.

sports concession stand

weekend before Thanksgiving.

with restrooms.

Besides raising money for many

Culture of Generosity At USJ you have many opportunities to support the school. While each opportunity for support serves different needs, they all enhance your student’s experience. Your time and talents are great assets to the USJ family – thank you! There are many channels to direct a monetary gift as well.

FUND FOR EXCELLENCE (FFE) The Fund for Excellence (FFE) is USJ’s annual giving platform. It supplements the annual budget and covers expenses that tuition doesn’t. A gift of any size to the FFE is critical in funding multiple areas of instruction and can be designated to the area of most interest.

ENDOWMENT FUNDS Invested funds in an Endowment provide a steady, predictable flow of income to support USJ over time.

For example, the Donald Newman Endowed Chair of Mathematics provides support for specific elements of the USJ experience. The principal dollars invested in any endowment provide long term stability and growth, while the institution can utilize a set percentage of interest accrued on an annual basis.

LEGACY SOCIETY With a $2,500 or greater donation to the Fund for Excellence, you can become a member of the Legacy Society. Your gift supports the FEE as well as the other support groups at the school. Benefits include: a Super Booster membership, Holiday Mart Patron status, a Silver Level USJ Arts Guild sponsorship, and recognition and invitations to special events.

FOUNDERS SOCIETY With a $5,000 donation to the Fund for Excellence, you become a member of the Founders Society. Your investment supports all aspects of the Legacy Society and also earmarks money for the USJ Endowment.

If you would like to make a gift of support to USJ, please contact a member of our development team or go online to usjbruins.org/give.

Trey Teague, Development Director

Elizabeth Atkins, Assistant Development Director

731.668.8401, tteague@usjbruins.org

& Alumni Director 731.300.3687, eatkins@usjbruins.org

Social Media Stay up to date on the day to day happenings on campus. facebook.com/usjbruins twitter.com/usjbruins instagram.com/usjbruins

U S J B R U I N S .O R G