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HJS Update

Posted on: May 9, 2023
Update

Parents, we are quickly closing in on the end of the school year and we have several items that we want to share out with this week.  Please take a few extra minutes to read through this email as it provides some important information that will impact on your students.

Speak Love

This past Friday, we had Nick Jackson the founder and CEO of SPEAK Love come and speak to our students and staff.  The focus of this talk with our students was on our core values of Trust, Respect, Ownership and Leadership.  This included a heavy focus on respect and how we treat each other.

For most of our students, they have done an incredible job navigating Middle School.  In addition, part of Middle School is going to include students making missteps but focusing on ownership and taking the steps to say, “here is how I am going to correct this.” 

The conversation also included information regarding bullying.  This included reviewing coping skills students can use if they are being bullied, as well as support and encouragement from our students to NOT participate in bullying of others.

Please take a moment and talk to your child about the assembly and ask what their take-aways from the program included.

6th Grade Dance

The 6th Grade dance is this Thursday after school from 3:00 – 5:00.  Admission to the dance is $5 at the door.  For those of you who have had 6th Grade students in the past, we made the change in time to better accommodate our students.  Several of them are unable to find rides to and from the dance and this allows us to leverage our Activity Bus to get as many students involved as possible.

Activity bus routes are available at the following link: https://www.southwestschools.org/departments/transportation-12/wildcat-express-%28js-hs-activity-shuttle%29-26/

Please know, students do not get dropped at the door of their home, but instead will be dropped off at one of the following locations.  If your child needs to ride the Activity Bus on Thursday for the dance, they will need to sign up tomorrow to ensure that we have enough seats on the bus.  Students can sign up for the Activity Bus on Thursday in the front office.

The theme of the dance is Neon (At the request of our students).  Students can wear their neon to school or change in the locker rooms prior to coming to the dance.

Parents can pick their children up outside of the main parking lot at the conclusion of the dance.  Concessions will also be available at the dance as well.  Candy and soda will be available ranging from $1 to $3 in price.

Please note, students on social probation (meaning they are 6th Graders who have been suspended during 4th quarter or have served ASA during 4th quarter) are not permitted to attend.  If you are unsure if your child is on social probation, please reach out to Mr. McBee at brandon.mcbee@southwestschols.org.

If you have questions regarding the dance email christian.tracy@southwestschools.org.

 

8th Grade Dance

Tickets are on sale for the 8th Grade dance.  Cost of the dance is $15 each and tickets must be purchased in advance.  We will be sending out an email with specifics to this dance.  If you have questions regarding the 8th Grade dance, please contact Jamie.johnson@southwestschools.org

QUEST

Tomorrow, we will be sending out the QUEST document for parents.  There are a few key changes that we want to make you aware of as parents and some new options that will be available for our students.

Students will be signing up for QUESTs in groups.  This means that students may be in a QUEST that lasts the entire day, or they will be in two half day QUESTs that are combined.  This will help us streamline our sign-up process and better accommodate additional students.

The other item that has come based on feedback from our families is that students and families now have the option to lead their own QUEST.   For example, during the Fall, we had a student who was unable to get into a QUEST that they were happy with, however the family had a grandparent who wanted to take the child to the Taft Museum of Art.  The parents shared with us a photo and a little bit of this student’s experience.  Suddenly, we realize that we have tons of families that would like to do something like their children and be able to share in that experience.

With this in mind, we have the “Choose Your Own Adventure QUEST” where families can fill out the one-page form and agree to share a photo of their experience with us.  Students that Choose their Own Adventure and share their experience with us will be marked as attending on the QUEST Day.  Some families have already reached out about doing their first college visit, taking their child to different museums, as well as other creative ideas.  If this is something that you would like to do with your child (or with a member of your family) please complete and sign off on the form and have your child turn it into the office prior to May 19th.  This will allow us to mark them on their QUEST and open up other opportunities for our students who will be completing their QUEST with our staff.

If you have questions regarding QUEST, please contact christian.tracy@southwestschools.org

Important Dates for the Remainder of the Year

May 9th – Chorus Concert

May 10th – Incoming 6th Grade Visit

May 10th – Department Head Meeting

May 11th – 6th Grade Dance (Info will go to parents today, $5 at the door, concessions available, will need to sign up for the Activity Bus ahead of time)

May 12th – STEAM Showcase

May 17th – Day of Service

May 19th – Special Olympians Dance 

May 19th – In-Service Day – No Students

May 24th – HJS Staff Meeting

May 24 & 25th – Student Leadership Retreat to Camp Joy

May 25th – Laptop Collection

May 26th – Grad Walk, Play Day, Awards Day, 8th Grade Dance (7-10)

May 30th – Quest Day

May 31st – Grade Level Days (or Back up Play Day if we have to cancel due to weather)

May 31st  - Commencement @ 7:30 (The BIGGEST DAY of the Year)