Dear KJHS Families:
We have had a great start to the year! Our current KJHS enrollment is 1,089
students, our largest number of students since we opened in 2003. Our hallways are crowded, but we are working
with students to walk on the right side and keep hands and feet to themselves
(sometimes a challenge for young adolescents).
On Wednesday, September 1, we would like to
remember a former KJHS student, Kirby Brittain, who passed away on that date in
2008. We will honor her memory by
wearing her favorite color, pink, that day.
Her brother, Spencer, is an 8th grader at KJHS.
Measurement of Academic Progress (MAP)
computer-based testing will begin on Thursday, September 2 and run through
Friday, September 24.
Testing will take place in the morning for three
teams each day. Students will be
assessed in math, reading, and language arts.
Students will be made aware of their scores and use them to set goals for
growth in each subject area. MAP testing
began last year at our three middle schools.
This is the second year of its implementation, and we plan to enhance
our use of the information to focus on specific learning skills for individual
students.
Please help us by having your students arrive at
school on time every day! All students
should be in the classroom at 7:45 a.m. with all of their materials and be
ready to learn. Breakfast is only served
from 7:20 – 7:40 a.m.
Our first Activity Night, sponsored by the Pom Pons,
will be held on Friday, September 10 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. for KJHS 7th and 8th
grade students. Tickets must be
purchased in advance during lunch ($3.00 each).
Students must be in attendance the entire day to attend any after school
events. All students must arrive on time
and be picked up by 8:10 p.m. No student
will be allowed in after 6:10 p.m. A DJ
will provide music for dancing, the cafeteria will have concessions and games,
and Neuman Gym will be available for basketball and volleyball.
We are still collecting new and gently used books
to begin our “Cavaliers Charge through a Good Book” classroom library book
drive. Our goal is to provide 9,200 books for our classroom libraries. Thank you to those who have contributed to
our drive so far!
KJHS will also be holding a Barnes and Noble Book
Fair on Saturday, September 25 from 9:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. A percentage of all purchases that are
recognized as being in support of for KJHS, will go
back to the school to purchase additional books.
Some confusion has resulted over the request from
the PE department for students to purchase a heart monitor strap for $7. I apologize that this information was not
made available for you last spring for mail-in registration or at the August
walk-in registration. All three middle
schools are asking students to purchase this strap that will be used through
high school with the heart monitors that the district has purchased. 40
additional straps will be available at KJHS if a student is unable to purchase one. All straps will be kept at school by the PE
teachers and washed every day that they are used. They will be returned to students who have
purchased them at the end of the school year for use the following year. The PE departments are working together in an
effort to show growth and monitor physical activity in our effort to continue
to promote wellness among our students.
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the late
start days this year. Our first two late
start days will be Wednesday, September 15 and Wednesday, September 29. School will begin at 8:45 a.m. Students should not arrive at school before
8:15 a.m. on late start days. All staff
members will be participating in 90 minutes of professional development during
this time.
The volunteer screening process should be easier
this year. People who have already been through the electronic screening will
only need to fill out a paper form, which will continue their monitoring. A copy of this form is located under the News
Links listed below this letter on the webpage.
Please return the completed and signed copy to the KJHS Office.
New volunteers will need to sign up for a
background check before working in the school.
There are two ways to complete this process. The first is to come into the school during
office hours and register online on a computer in our IMC with Mrs.
Ahlers. (This only takes a few
moments). The second method is to e-mail
Mrs. Knowles, our receptionist, requesting to register as a volunteer. You will need to supply her with your full
name (no “nick” names) and an e-mail address that you check frequently. Your information will then be submitted to
Bushue Background Screening by Mrs. Knowles.
You will receive an e-mail with the directions on how to complete the
process. This information will be
forwarded to our Unit Office for processing.
An individual ID card will then be created and sent to KJHS for
distribution. You will be notified when
this occurs, so you can stop by the KJHS Office to pick up your ID card.
All volunteers must have their ID card every time
they come to volunteer at school.
The 7th Grade Open House will be held on Monday,
September 13 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. The 8th
Grade Open House will be held on the same day from 7:45-9:00 p.m.
Thank you for your continued support of
our school! As
always, please contact me if you have further questions, concerns, or
compliments. mehalllh@unit5.org.
Sincerely,
Dr. Lynette Mehall