It is incredible to think that we are already into the 2^nd Quarter with our students!   Time flies, and we want to thank our families once again for the support of our students and our community.  It has been a great school year!

Report Cards

As we move into 2021-22 School Report Cards have moved digital as well.  All families can access their child’s report card via ProgressBook.  If you are having trouble accessing ProgressBook, please call our office at 513-367-4831 or email michelle.imsicke@southwestschools.org and we will help you get logged in!

If your child earned a D or F during first quarter, you should have also received a message from their teacher.  The focus of the messaged should be working together to create a plan so that our students earn above a D or F during the 2^nd quarter!  We look forward to working in partnership with our families to help achieve this goal!

Extended Learning Plan

Speaking of grades, Harrison Junior School is excited to bring back our extended learning plan.  This is a time where several of our HJS teachers will work to provide supports for your child to help complete their schoolwork. There are 2 different tiers of support. 

First, students who failed 2 or more core classes will be required to stay after school on Wednesday during the 2^nd Quarter.  They will work with our ELP team to complete work and stay focused on success for the 2^nd Quarter.  In addition, these teachers will help provide support in areas where students are struggling.  Again, for students who failed 2 or more classes, this is required.

On Thursdays, this same group of teachers will work with any student who wants to pop in and get extra support.  This is NOT 1 on 1 tutoring, instead this is a tremendous resource for our students to have teachers assist in communicating and supporting areas of struggle.  We have multiple Math, ELA ,and Special Educators assisting us so they will work to get your child support.

Each of these will run after school from 2:45 – 4:30.  Students may get on the Activity Bus or will need to be picked up by 5:00 P.M.

Outside of our ELP teachers, we are blessed to have a staff that will go the extra mile for students.  Especially when students and families are going the extra mile to get caught up.  If you have a concern, please reach out directly to your child’s teachers via email or a phone call.  They will each work to support your child and provide additional resources when available.

COVID -19/Masking

As many of your read in last weeks email from Mr. Hamstra, Harrison Junior School is back to optional masking.  This is the same policy that we opened the school year with, and we will continue to partner with the local Health Department and follow the guidelines established for Hamilton County.  With this in mind, we still have several students who choose to wear a mask at school and that does assist us in keeping the number of students we need to quarantine to a minimum.  For example, this week, we had 4 students test positive for COVID, but did not have to notify any students of quarantine.  We LOVE keeping our students face to face, so we will continue to strongly encourage students to mask.

If your child is scheduled to go on the Washington D.C. trip, please keep in mind that we are just 10 days away from this trip.  Students who may be quarantined during the trip due to not masking, not being vaccinated, or not having a confirmed COVID case in the past 90 days will be unable to attend.  We know how much this trip means to our students and the incredible experience that it provides.  If your son or daughter are planning to attend the D.C. trip, please help us make them aware of the potential of being quarantined and the impact it would have on this experience, and please STRONGLY encourage them to mask up as we approach this experience. If you have any questions, please call my office directly at 513-367-4831.

Celebrations

As many of you saw online this week or at the football game on Friday night.  Harrison Junior School and Harrison High School are the ONLY school in the State of Ohio and one of the Top 25 Nationwide to be selected as a Banner Award Winning Unified Champion School.  This is a tremendous accomplishment for not only our Special Olympians, but our entire community.  We believe strongly in the importance of inclusion with our Special Needs students and celebrate their successes.  Thank you to the countless family and community members who were a part of this celebration and thank you to our entire staff from our Special Education Department, teachers, bus drivers, custodians, front office staff, and others for their support!

In addition, our Fall Sports Season closed out with success.  Our fall teams finished no lower than 3^rd place in any sport and we had a league title earned in 7^th Grade Volleyball. 

Our arts programs continue to thrive with our 1^st concert in nearly 2 years by our chorus program, and this week we will host our first band concert of the year!

Students continue to get involved in programs like Yearbook, E-Sports, and Student Council. 

If you want to see your child get involved in a program, please see our last parent email blast with a list of contacts.  We will also work to get this information published on the HJS Website.

Bullying

2^nd Quarter each year typically brings out the highest discipline rate of the entire school year.  This includes a rise in bullying concerns among our students.  We all wish we lived in a world without bullying, but it is a struggle in every school in the country.  Our staff works hard to teach students how to communicate, and we work hard to address issues when they arise.

If you have a concern about your child being bullied or bullying others we want to hear from you.  Please take a moment to review our bully policy as well as learn about the steps we take to help our students.  This can be viewed HERE.  In addition, we ask our students to fill out a “My Side of the Story” if they feel like they are being bullied.  This allows us to have written documentation of not just the concern, but also the steps taken in an effort to correct the issue.  You can print that document HERE. 

Thank You

Once again, thank you for being supportive in our community and in our schools.  We look forward to a great week!