Principal’s Update 8/14/17

by · August 15, 2017

News:

 

1.  We want our student body to be full of school spirit, so we distributed over 300 shirts to 7th grade students last week!  There is a shirt for every 7th grade student, so if your child did not get one, he/she can stop by the Student Services office and pick one up.  Our students get in free to all home junior high athletic events when they wear school colors.
2.  Picture order forms were distributed to students today.  You can also order online at www.mylifetouch.com  Picture Day ID: HM787055Y0
3.  The Solar Eclipse is coming August 21.  Our science department has secured enough ISO and AAS approved viewing glasses from approved vendor Rainbow Symphony, for our students to view the eclipse.  Students will bring home a permission slip.  If you decide that your child can participate, your child should bring in the signed permission slip and $1, to help pay for the glasses. Students will get to keep their glasses.  Participating students will be outside for about 45 minutes at the peak of the eclipse.   For more information, please see NASA’s webpage: https://t.co/vbZGoixMkq
4.  Our goal is for all students to successfully complete class assignments.  This Thursday, we will begin our weekly homework checks.  Students with three or more missing assignments in a class will be assigned a consequence by his/her teacher and a parent will be notified.  Students should be able to complete the assignments while serving the consequence.  We encourage students and parents to check powerschool regularly for missing assignments. Here is a link for more information about our completion of homework assurance plan: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dGdEwbQ-5f1PcR7nTAWfwlKXcpjx9sL30s3YWJ-PZzw/edit?usp=sharing
5.  NWEA Testing – Most students finished NWEA tests in Math, Science and Language Arts last week.  We will gather students for make-up tests this week.
6.  Remember to register for the 8th grade trip to Washington, D.C. www.DCin2018.com/greenfield
7.  Students in grades 7-12 will have three days throughout the school year when they can work from home.  Teachers will have professional development for half of the day and office hours to help students during the other half.   You may choose to send your child to school and we will have supervision planned.  The dates for the eLearning days are September 27, November 1, and January 31.  We will provide more details as it gets closer.
8.  We try to have very few school-wide fundraisers.  The big one for us is our walk-a-thon.  Rather than sell a product, we ask our students to seek donations in exchange for walking around the track.  This fundraiser enables us to support the Riley Children’s Hospital, provide incentives for students throughout the year, help to fund field trips, and supply our benevolence fund.  At the end of the week, students will be coming home with a donation envelope.  We hope that you will support our goal of raising at least $7 per student.
9.  We expect to have individual ISTEP results from the Indiana Department of Education on Wednesday. The parent access code letter will be available to parents on the PowerSchool parent portal.  When IDOE “releases” the reports this week, parents can use the access code to go into the Pearson site and see the student data as well.

 

Upcoming Dates:

 

August 15: Sister City Kakuda students visit GCJHS
August 18: Back to School Dance $3 admission 3:30pm-5:00pm
August 25: School Pictures
September 1: Walk-a-thon Fundraiser
September 27: eLearning Day

 

COUNSELOR CONNECTION
Managing the Middle School Transition Years

 

        Middle school years can be challenging for both parents and students.  There are so many things changing in your child’s life.  Students are entering into early adolescent where their bodies are experiencing many changes both chemically and physically.  Sometimes their groups of friends might change drastically.  Students are trying to find their place socially which sometimes can result in being more hurtful to each other. Students are developing more independence, but at the same time are expected to have more responsibilities at school and at home.  Students and parents are trying to navigate having different teachers for each subject area. Needless to say there are a lot of changes going on.
Here are a few ways you as a parent can support your child through these transition years.

 

1.     Understand that middle school is not elementary school. The middle school years are preparing your child for high school.
2.     Identify common fears of middle school students.  Talk through these fears with your child or seek the help of your child’s guidance counselor. For example, your student might say “What if I can’t get my locker open?”  You could then talk your student through ways to solve that problem.
3.     Help supervise the completion of homework and help your child manage their homework time.
4.     Be aware of and expect early adolescent changes in your child.
5.     Talk with your child about normal changes that occur during puberty.
6.     Encourage your child to get involved in some sort of extracurricular activity.
7.     Monitor and moderate social networking and internet usage.
8.     Insist on respect from your child and show respect to your child.
9.     Parents should consistently acknowledge and reward efforts at school.
10.  Most importantly parents should talk to their child and listen to them.
If you would like additional information, please contact your child’s Guidance Counselor.
Mrs. Fortuna   [email protected] – Students with the last name A-K
Mrs. Smith   [email protected] – Students with the last name L-Z

 

Reminders:

 

1.  Students can be dropped off to wait outside in the morning. The doors to the building will open at 8:20 a.m. each day.
2.  Breakfast is available to students every morning before school.
3.  Textbook Fees can be turned in anytime this month.  7th Grade fees are $150.62. 8th Grade fees are $149.05
4.  If you still want to purchase insurance for your child’s MacBook, it will need to be inspected at the time of payment.  This can be done during the school day. Insurance costs $50 and has a $40 deductible for each claim.

 

Connections:

 

We have multiple ways for you to obtain information regarding what’s happening at GCJHS.
Instagram- gc_jhs

Athletics-  Our competition schedule is available here: http://gcjhsathletics.weebly.com/team-schedules.html

 

Dan Jack
Principal, Greenfield Central Junior High School

 

You may also like...