This past week we got the fall season under way in more ways that you can imagine. The fall pep rally saw our community come together to celebrate our community, students, and athletes. I am always blown away by how much support this community has for the school. The Cobra Backers are easily the best booster organization I have ever had the privilege of working with. There is so much equipment that our activities and sports teams have that the school would not be able to obtain for the students if not for the Backers. There isn't a sport or activity in the school that has not received some sort of support from them over the years. Another thing I want to say about the fall pep rally is this. How about that band? Man oh man Mr. Moore has done so much with that group, they sounded great! I can't wait to hear them get better and better with every performance this year.

This past week also saw the kickoff of both our e-Sports and Outdoor Skills programs having their first meetings. These two programs are brand new this year. E-sports has been working on updating the gaming computers to get ready for the season. For e-Sports there are three seasons we will be participating in. The fall season will be lead by Mr. Henry and Mr. Alley will take over for the winter season in January, and Mr. Wick will close out the spring season that starts in April. The students are excited about getting the season off and running and we are equally excited to bring you all the updates. E-sports is going to be hard to spectate, but the coaches have been coming up with great ideas on how we can bring you the action along the way.

Outdoor skills is also getting up and running as a quasi year round sport. It will see events like archery, competitive shooting, fishing, and trap shooting. Right now they are running a raffle in conjunction with Quail Forever that will hopefully fund the program for the whole year. Get with Mr. Keehn to get your tickets Gary.keehn@jhcobras.net

This upcoming week will also see the return of the Drama program to Jackson Heights. We will be holding auditions this week for the fall play. From what I have been told, there has not been a play in the high school for the past decade. Mrs. Cormier has selected the fall play and I am excited for it. "The Butler Did It!" by Todd Wallinger. This is going to be a fun one. She is holding auditions for students this upcoming Friday during the First Friday events.

There is so much amazing things going on this year and we aren't taking our time to get things going. the combination of the staff, students, and this amazing community will be able to make magic happen this year.

Keep on making a difference.

Derek E. Smith

This coming Tuesday and Wednesday, we will be switching to a block schedule in order to accommodate MAP testing in the high school. All students 7-11 will take both the ELA and Math assessments. We use these tests to assess multiple things from student growth, to educational efficacy. For out students however, they may be most interested in their exemptions which we are utilizing as an incentive to take these tests seriously. For each test, they will be taking the test again in December. We will then assess a combination of either proficiency or their growth. If a student hits either rubric, they will be given the opportunity to exempt themselves from an assignment they have taken this semester.

While seniors do not take MAP testing, there are still ways for them to get their exemptions this semester.

• Fall:

• 7-11: Meeting MAP growth/proficiency for the semester in ELA

• 7-11: Meeting MAP growth/proficiency for the semester in Math

• All Grades: Students will receive one opt out for completing their student led conference. (used on any class)

• Seniors only: Complete two of the following: job shadow/college visit, complete FAFSA, complete ASVAB, or participate in Apply Kansas

We had so much fun doing it last year that by George lets do it again!

The car bashing must go on! However, we can't do it alone. If you have a car that you are willing to donate to the cause, please reach out to the High School and we will be most excited.

This week, the cobra cup got fully running with our first House meetings this past Monday. This coming Monday the houses will choose their perspective teams.

The scoring for the houses comes from several sources. Student behaviors are being rewarded with points. These can be from a student picking up someones dropped things, or that student that is struggling to pass the test suddenly gets an A on the big test. All staff are entering behavior points for students as they see them. It's not all positive though, if students do something that they should not be doing, that can result in negative points for their house as well. Being rude to the food serve workers, or having a cell phone violation are a couple examples of students jeopardizing their houses.

This week started off slow with points, but once staff and students saw the stakes, points started coming in fast. While the standings are named after house leaders today, after Monday the houses will have individual names so we will go by those from them on.

We have brought back the extended learning opportunity (ELO) this year. ELO will be held Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays this year from 3:30-4:30. Staff will be on hand to assist students with any extra support they may need on these days. Any student may attend ELO for help. However, if students have failing grades, they are required to attend ELO and participate in order to maintain good standing to participate in sports or activities.

Monday:

Middle School Volleyball @ Oskaloosa 4:30 pm

Tuesday:

High School Volleyball @ Horton 5:00 pm

Wednesday: NA

Thursday:

Middle School Pep Rally @ El Gym 2:45 pm

Middle School Volleyball VS P. Ridge @ Home 4:30 pm

Middle School Football VS P. Ridge @ Home 6:30 pm

Friday:

HS Football @ Horton @ 7:00 pm

While you are all aware I am an outdoors enthusiast, many do not know that I exclusively use primitive for archery. I started out using a compound bow when I was young, but about twenty years ago I decided to switch to traditional archery only. It means countless hours of target practice before I was comfortable taking it to the woods for season and then meant dozens of times watching the big one stay just outside of range to take an ethical shot. I will never forget my first harvest of a buck with my recurve bow (I have since switched to a long bow) and that feeling I had was easily top ten moments for me. Lots of work, time, and dedication went into finally harvesting that buck. I have since gotten more, but it never beats that feeling from the first one. I am so glad that we are bringing outdoor skills to our students and encouraging the outdoor lifestyle.

Always try to be nice, but never fail to be kind.

Email: derek.smith@jhcobras.net
Website: jhcobras.net
Location: 12692 266th Rd Holton, KS 66436
Phone: (785)248-4386
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jackson.Heights.USD335

https://www.citylinktv.com/channel/cobra