Jonathan Alder Junior High

JAJHS Families,

I can't believe we are already arriving at the end of the first quarter of the school year!

As a reminder, the quarter officially ends this Friday, October 25th. Final first quarter grades will be available on Canvas on Friday, November 1st.

If you have any trouble accessing Canvas, please view our guides located here and here or contact Mrs. Schrock schrocni@japioneers.org for assistance.

Recently, we celebrated National Digital Citizenship Week. For a great overview of Digital Citizenship efforts around our district, please take a moment to review this link. Additionally, it is important to note that families play a significant role in establishing, monitoring, and reinforcing safe online practices. Please consider discussing these items with your student:

• Anytime students are on devices (social media, video games, texting, etc.), they are creating a digital footprint that may be connected to them for decades. Emphasize to your child that the profile they create and the way that they portray themselves and interact with others should reflect their true character.

• There can be school and legal consequences for inappropriate digital interactions, even if they occur outside of school but cause a disruption to the school environment. Emphasize to your child that messages, pictures, and videos can be taken out of context or may be shared (even in the future) by someone whom your child thought would keep it private.
• We continue to reinforce the message to our students: "See Something--Say Something!" Emphasize to your child that they should tell a trusted adult if something online does not sound, look, or feel right. In the same light, emphasize to your child that receivers of their digital content are being told to report anything inappropriate. Again, students should be intentional with what they say and do online and refrain from impulsive or "popular" or "trendy" inappropriate messages.

Our goal is to support students and their families as our kids navigate these fun and popular yet challenging and dangerous digital waters! If you have any questions, concerns, or would like additional resources, please contact us at school.

Enjoy the beautiful fall colors and have a great end to your week!

Sincerely,

Mr. Malany

10/25 End of 1st Quarter

10/25 Deadline to register for 8th gr. Washington D.C. trip

11/04 Parent-Teacher Conferences

11/05 No School/Professional Development Day

11/07 Parent-Teacher Conferences

11/27-11/29 Thanksgiving Break

12/06 7PM Junior High Dance

12/12 7PM Junior High Choir Concert

12/17 7PM Junior High Winter Band Concert

Email: ungerdo@japioneers.org
Website: http://www.alder.k12.oh.us/
Location: Jonathan Alder Junior High School, Killbury-Huber Road, Plain City, OH, USA
Phone: 614-873-4635
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonathanalderjrhigh/?ref=bookmarks

As we are wrapping up the fall athletic season, there are plenty of things to celebrate! This season saw three conference championships! 7th grade Volleyball finished with a perfect 22-0 season and went on to win the CBC tournament championship. Both girls and boys Cross Country dominated throughout their season en route to a great running in London where both teams secured the CBC title.

There is still one more chance at a CBC championship this fall as our Cheerleaders head to Ben Logan on November 9th to compete in the tumble division. Congratulations to all of our fall athletes for their success on the field as they continued to grow and learn in their sport each day!

Looking ahead to our winter sports season, there are a few reminders I want to share. All students must meet academic eligibility requirements in order to play any of our winter sports offered. This means a student-athlete must be passing five (5) classes. Additionally, each athlete must have a current physical on file in order to participate in tryouts and/or practices. Families should also complete all required paperwork through Final Forms. You can find information regarding Final Forms on the district website or by clicking the following link: https://alder-oh.finalforms.com/

Go Pioneers!

Mr. Pettit

* Mr. Woolley and Mr. Whitt's Science classes are studying electricity. On Tuesday, they had a lab that was "shockingly" fun!

* Mrs. Danner's Language Arts classes are finishing literary analysis essays and preparing to enter the world of investigative journalism. By the time we finish, there will be no question we can't answer (with research and dedication!)

* All 7th grade Math classes are starting our new unit "Stretching and Shrinking" which focuses on indirect measurement using similar and congruent figures! Students are now allowed to bring in their calculators from last year! This is the same calculator that was listed on the school supply list at the beginning of the year: the TI-30XIIS calculator.

* Mrs. Hall's Science classes will continue to explore the theories of Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics.

* Mr. Kyle's Health Class: During the week of November 11-15th, as part of our school district's Health curriculum, we will launch the Signs of Suicide Program: SOS. This program is sponsored by Nationwide Children's Hospital. More details will be coming in the next newsletter.

* Mrs. Gavrilescu's Math classes: As we continue to follow the Connected Mathematics Program (CMP) throughout the year, please refer to this link for Frequently Asked Questions, and for Homework Support you can click here. It demonstrates not "new math", but a new way to "learn math", communicate, and "construct meaning." There is always an adjustment period to this at the beginning of 8th grade, so please be patient with your child and the teacher.

Your student is also connected to an account on Khan Academy with their Fall MAP scores. Khan can be used to practice current classroom skills, as well as skills that are above or below grade level (assigned by mappers.) If you have any questions or concerns, talk to your student first, and then send an email.

Mr. Peck's Art classes: The artwork of 7th and 8th graders at the Junior High is featured throughout the hallways of our school! Highlighted in this newsletter are Scratch-Board projects that 8th grade students have been working on. Students have been using scratch tools to remove black ink on the boards, revealing the white paper underneath. Using photographs as a reference tool, the students are able to create the light/dark values and textures as they 'scratch' their drawings!

The JA Junior High Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held on:

Monday, November 4th

4:00-7:30pm and

Thursday, November 7th

3:00-6:00pm

Parent Requested Conference for 7th and 8th grade:

Parents-- two weeks ago, your student's homeroom teachers sent out an email with the link to sign up for individual conferences with teachers.

Individual conferences will be on Monday, November 4th from 5:40-7:30pm and on Thursday, November 7th from 3:00-4:30.

If you would like to meet with one of your student's teachers, you can also click here to access the link and sign up for a slot.

Teacher Requested Conference for 7th and 8th grade:

Teachers may also be contacting parents for "team" conferences. If you are requested for a team conference, you do not need to also sign up for individual conferences. If you have questions, please contact your student's homeroom teacher.

Band:

Our Winter Band Concert for both 7th and 8th grade will be on Tuesday, December 17th at 7:00pm in the High School Auditeria. Details to follow!

Choir:

Our Winter Choir Concert for both 7th and 8th grade will be on Thursday, December 12th at 7:00pm in the High School Auditeria. Details to follow!

Boosters:

Our next booster meeting will be held on Monday, October 28th, at 7:00pm in the High School Choir Room. All parents are welcome to attend!

Throughout the school year, the student council members help to organize several school activities and will serve as the planning committee for the school dances. Our first dance of the school year will be on Friday, December 6th from 7:00-9:00pm. More details will be coming soon!

Basketball:

Girls 7th and 8th grade Basketball Tryouts are October 25th from 3:05-5:00pm at JA Junior High.

Questions should be directed to Coach Saiter (7th grade coach, saiter.angie@gmail.com ) or Coach McGonigle (8th grade Coach, taylorjeanmcg22@gmail.com )

Boys 7th and 8th grade Basketball Tryouts are on November 1st from 4:35-7:45pm at JA Junior High. (Students may not wait after school for tryouts.)

Questions should be directed to Coach DeWitt ( dewitty11@hotmail.com )

Wrestling:

Wrestling can hold their first team practice on November 15th. More information regarding the wrestling season will be forthcoming.

***All students hoping to play a winter sport need a current physical on file in order to tryout. Turn these in to your coach or to Mr. Pettit.

Our school nurse, Ms. Spencer, will be at the Junior High on Tuesday, November 12th for Vision and Hearing Screening. The students to be screened include all 7th graders, new 8th graders, and all Band Members. We remind students who normally wear eyeglasses to be sure to bring your glasses to school that day!

In an effort to maximize both student safety and efficiency on our morning car drop-off procedures, please assist us with these items:

• When dropping off, only use the left side of the parking lot to form a single line of cars. Avoid using the right lane which causes students to cross in front of cars in the left lane and ultimatly slows down everyone in line.
• On rare occasions, there are enough cars in line that causes waiting cars to back up onto Kilbury-Huber Rd. To avoid this, please feel free to use the entrance closer to the football field to create an "overflow pull-in lane" when needed.
• If you are the family of a teenage driver who drops off a sibling, please share the above procedures with them to ensure everyone's safety.

Please refer to photograph below. We appreciate your attention to this matter

Are you Interested in hearing about current and projected student enrollment, the growth of the district, and our school building capacities? Please mark your calendar and join Superintendent Gary Chapman for a 30-minute conversation at the next Jonathan Alder Junior High PTO meeting on Thursday, November 14th.

If you cannot come to the November 14th meeting, additional dates are listed below on the Community Conversation schedule. Everyone is welcome!

The annual College Credit Plus meeting will be on Thursday, October 24, 2019. The meeting will be held in the JA High School library from 6:00-7:00pm. Representatives from Clark State Community College and Columbus State Community College will be in attendance. Parents of 7th and 8th graders are welcome!

For more information from the Ohio Department of Education, about the College Credit Plus program click here.

The L.I.F.T. Learning Center provides after school homework help for 5th-8th graders at DNA Community Center, located in the old elementary school in Plain City. Adult and high school volunteers assist students with school assignments, organization, reading, writing, and test preparation. Students also have access to chromebooks for research and teacher suggested educational links. The program runs weekly, Monday through Thursday 2:45-5:00pm.

Paperwork for the program is in the junior high office and also online on the DNA website: dnaplaincity.org

Did you know that every 50 Box Tops buys a new book for the Junior High Library?

Turning in Box Tops just got easier with Mobile technology! No more clipping--scan your receipt! The new and improved Box Tops mobile app scans your store receipt, finds participating products and instantly adds Box Tops to your school's earnings online. No clipping required! Download on the App Store or get it on Google Play.

Help support our JH Library with Box Tops! If you have question, please contact Mrs. Conley at conleysh@japioneers.org.

The Jonathan Alder PACE program helps to provide information, resources and networking opportunities to support gifted students and their families. JA PACE is a community based group open to all families in the Jonathan Alder School District. For more information on the PACE Program please click here.

The PTO is a volunteer group that supports the students and staff of the Jonathan Alder Junior High.

Parents: Please consider joining the JAJHS PTO! The meetings are held in the Junior High library, usually on the first Thursday of the month at 2:30. Our next meeting will be on Thursday, November 14th.

Bus Passes

Many times students want to ride a different bus home with a friend. To do so, the students must have a Bus Pass from the office to give to the bus driver.Both students must bring in a note from parent/guardian to give to the office. Mrs. Unger will write a bus pass for the students to pick up after lunch.

Medications at School

Sometimes parents ask that school personnel administer medication to their child during the school day. When this is necessary, we require written permission and instructions from the parent and in some instances from the doctor. The required form “Distribution/Student Use of Medicines/Medications” must be completed. You can pick up this form in the Junior High Office.