Current 8^th Grade Registration

On Monday and Tuesday of this upcoming week, we will be having our High School Guidance Department stopping in to do our course registration with current 8^th Grade students.  Students meeting times will be posted and shared with you by the High School Guidance staff!  Thank you to our 8^th Grade teachers for their hard work setting our students up for success at the High School.

Parents, you are welcome to be a part of your child's meeting with the guidance counselor and have the opportunity to get questions one on one about your child's future.  If you would like to be a part of those meetings, please reach out via email to your child's High School Guidance Counselor at the following email address:

Last names A-G - jenny.barker@southwestschools.org

Last names H-O - steve.barnes@southwestschools.org

Last names P-Z - connie.acra@southwestschools.org

Incoming 6^th Grade Parent Night

Incoming 6^th Grade parent night will be this Tuesday.  Our first group is at 6:00 P.M. which is students with the last name A-K and students with the last name L-Z will take place at 7:00.  Our guidance staff is meeting with our Incoming 5^th Grade students on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at each elementary school.

If you know a current 5th Grade family, a potential open enrollment family or private school family that may be interested in attending, please feel free to forward this email to them with the information.  They are also welcome to contact our office at 513-367-4831.

Washington D.C. Information Meeting  

This Thursday, at 6:00 P.M. Mr. Johnson will be hosting the Washington D.C. Information Night for our current 7^th Grade students.  The meeting will take place in the HJS Commons.  Students are welcome to come with their parents, but they are not required.

If you are unable to attend the meeting, we will have the information posted online under the "Washington D.C." on the HJS web page.

Please Check Your Child's Phone

During the past several weeks, we have had several incidents of concerns that have centered around messages that students have on their phones.  We want to take a moment and ask each of parents to take time this week and go through your child's phones and review their messages to each other and take some time to discuss what is appropriate.  One of the lines that we often say to kids is "if you would not say it to your grandma, you should not be sending it on your phone."

Our goal is to continue to work with families as we all learn how to handle digital messaging and provide supports for students and families alike.  In many cases, disputes between students start on the phone and spill into the school.  Students continue to learn how to handle these situations better each day, but they are still kids and the support that we can provide to our children and lessons we can teach them will never stop.

This week, please take a few minutes to discuss with your child the importance of being a good digital citizen and take a few moments to review the content of their phone to ensure that they are living up to your expectations as a family.

Save our Schools Act/Erin’s Law Updates

In December of 2022, Ohio’s 134^th General Assembly enacted Erin’s Law (Senate Bill 288) which included requirements for student instruction, parent and legal guardian notification and training for school personnel on sexual abuse prevention and dating violence prevention.  The law went into effect on April 4, 2023.  Students in grades K-6 are required to have one hour of training on sexual abuse prevention annually, and students in grades 7-12 are required to have one hour of training on dating and sexual violence prevention once during their 7-12^th grade years, which we will include in the High School Health curriculum.  We have partnered with the Council on Child Abuse (COCA) for this training.  Please see the attached letter from COCA regarding the training overview that will be presented to students.   

Additionally, on March 24, 2021, Ohio’s 133^rd General Assembly enacted House Bill 123, or the SAVE Students Act.  This legislation called for a comprehensive approach to school safety, to meet the physical and emotional safety of students and educators.  The law went into effect July 1, 2023.  The requirements include student and staff training annually in grades 6-12, for one hour in each of the following topics: suicide awareness and prevention, safety training and violence prevention, and social inclusion.  We have partnered with the Hamilton County Education Service Center on this training, and we will be using the Sandy Hook Promise curriculum materials from “Start With Hello” and “Say Something” to cover this content with our students. 

We will be holding a parent information session on February 12^th in the SLSD Activity Center Auditorium for parents of students in grades K-6 from 7-7:30pm and for parents of students in grades 7-12 from 7:30-8pm.  The purpose of this meeting is for parents to hear from the presenters about the content that will be included in the student presentations.  There will be an opportunity for parents to ask questions at the end of the information session. 

If parents feel that the information might cause their child to become very upset or trigger memories from a past or recent trauma, there is an opt-out letter that will be coming out prior to the student presentations.  Parents must indicate their desire to opt their child(ren) out of the presentation in writing by signing and turning in the district opt-out form to their child’s principal.

Thank You

Once again, thank you to our families who continue to work with us day in and day out.  We want each of you to have a great week!

Harrison Junior School