JTA Parent Update 2026 - 2027

Monday, August 17

• i-Ready Reading Diagnostic
• Girls Basketball HOME vs. Scott Middle School @ 5:30 PM

Tuesday, August 18

• i-Ready Math Diagnostic
• Football HOME vs. West Hardin Middle School @ 5:30 PM
  
  

Thursday, August 20

• Girls Basketball HOME vs. T.K. Stone @ 5:30 PM

Friday, August 21

• APEX Color Games

Monday, August 24

• Girls Basketball AWAY vs. West Hardin @ 5:30 PM

Tuesday, August 25

• Football HOME vs. West Hardin @ 5:30 PM
• Girls Basketball AWAY vs. Meade County @ 5:30 PM

Wednesday, August 26

• Girls Basketball HOME vs. Bluegrass Middle @5:30 PM

Thursday, August 27

• Girls Basketball HOME vs. St. James @ 5:30 PM

Friday, August 28

• Back to School Dance 3:00 - 5:00 PM

1. If you have not filled out and returned your back to school paperwork, please do this ASAP! We need all information up to date for our district and school policies.
   
   
2. On Monday, parents that did not complete their annual update in IC will be receiving their students Census Verification Form sent home with their students. Please update any information and sign the bottom. Then return the information back to school. Students can give this information to their WIN Teacher.
   
   
3. Parents of car riders: As we continue throughout the year, please remember to pull as close to the vehicle in front of you as possible when dropping off or picking up your child. This allows us to load and unload more vehicles at the same time and helps the line move much faster for everyone.
   
   
4. Parents of car riders: For families who regularly pick up their child in the afternoons, please make sure you have a car rider tag. We will only use the tags on days when weather conditions require students to remain inside. During inclement weather, students will wait in the library, and we will call them outside by their car rider number. On normal weather days, students will simply wait in the designated area outside and load when you arrive.
   

Although the district-wide free breakfast and lunch program is no longer available due to a loss of funding, JTA will continue to provide free breakfast and lunch for every student. There is no need to send money for regular breakfast and lunch meals.

We are able to continue offering free meals to all students for two very important reasons:

1. First, families complete the Free and Reduced Lunch Application. Once a school reaches a certain qualifying percentage, all students can receive free meals. Even if you do not think your family will qualify, completing the application is extremely important because it helps determine our eligibility as a school.
   
   
2. Second, students participate in the meal program. The more students who eat breakfast and lunch at school, the stronger our chances of maintaining this benefit in future years. We encourage students to take advantage of the meals available to them. As many of our middle school parents know, growing kids are often hungry, and that's okay!

• It includes the Free and Reduced Lunch Application.
  
  
• It provides access to Infinite Campus Parent Portal, which allows you to monitor grades, attendance, and other important information.
  
  
• It ensures that we have your current phone number, address, and email address.
  
  
• School messages, phone calls, emails, and notifications are pulled directly from the information in Infinite Campus. If your contact information is outdated, you may miss important communications from the school.

• Parents must have an Infinite Campus Parent Portal username and password.
  
  
• If you do not have your login information, please contact JTA for assistance.
  
  
• If you already have a Parent Portal account, you do not need a new one.
  
  
• Visit www.hardin.kyschools.us and select Parent Portal under the Students and Families section.
  
  
• Click Campus Parent and log in with your username and password.
  
  
• Follow the prompts to review and update your family's information.
  
  
• Only one parent per household is required to complete the update.
  
  
• Some forms required by state or federal regulations may still need to be completed on paper, and those went home with students today.

1. Submit excuse notes within 5 days of your student's return to class in order to excuse an absence.

• Parents may excuse their children for ANY reason up to 6 days.
• Medical notes from a provider will be accepted for 5 absences, but thereafter, the note must state that the student was seen and treated for an illness.
• Truancy notices begin at 3 unexcused absences. (Full day and tardies)

2. Signing In:

• Before 10:30 am = tardy
• Between 10:30 am and 1:55 pm = half day absence
• After 1:55 pm = full day absence

• Before 9:05 am = full day absence
• Between 9:05 am and 12:31 pm = absent half day
• After 12:31 pm = tardy

• Doctor notes and parents notes emailed to: JTAMSattendance@hardin.kyschools.us
  
  
• Excuse notes (doctor’s or parent-written) must be submitted within 5 school days of your child’s return to school.
  
  
• Transportation changes must be submitted in writing. We cannot accept changes over the phone. This can be: A written note sent with your child OR An email sent to the following email address: jta@hardin.kyschools.us
  

• All transportation changes must be received by 2:30 pm on the day of the change. NO EXCEPTIONS will be made after 2:30 pm.
  
  
• Please use these shared emails instead of contacting individual staff members to ensure your message is received and processed promptly

Get ready for one of the most exciting events of our APEX fundraiser! Next Friday, students will have the chance to participate in the APEX Color Games, featuring outdoor games, fun challenges, and an epic color packet battle finale! There is still time to support our school and help us reach our fundraising goals. Every donation makes a difference and helps provide valuable opportunities for our students. Be sure to get those final donations in before Friday at 8:00 a.m. so they can count toward our fundraiser totals. We can't wait for a day full of fun, color, and celebration!

The school nurse paperwork was sent home the first week of school. If you want your child to see the school nurse for any reason, they must have it completed and returned. That documentation MUST be on file for school health personnel to see and treat students.

Important Student Health Information

• In alignment with updated requirements from the Kentucky Board of Nursing and the Kentucky Department of Education, a written provider order must be on file before any prescribed medication can be administered by the school nurse. In the past, a grace period was allowed for submitting this documentation. However, effective with the 2025–2026 school year, that grace period will no longer be permitted. When bringing prescribed medication to school for administration by the nurse, you must also bring the written provider order at the same time. Without it, the medication cannot and will not be given to your student.
  
  
• Also in alignment with updated requirements, effective for the 2025-2026 school year, over-the-counter medications (i.e. Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Neosporin, Tums, etc.) cannot be given to a student without a written consent on file. If you give permission for your student to receive over-the-counter medications administered by the school nurse, please return your Healthy Kids Clinic registration forms with your consent. We will no longer be able to accept verbal permission.

Hardin County Schools has another tool to communicate with students, parents, staff and the community. Smart device users can download the HCS App from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. Each school and the district will still communicate through the all-call system with phone calls, text messages and/or emails. That is why it is critically important that your phone number and email address are current in the HCS Parent Portal

Proper appearance and dress makes a good impression and keeps the educational and learning environment professional. The Hardin County School District asks that students and parents accept responsibilities concerning student dress code.

• Tank tops, tube tops, halter tops, crop tops, shirts that show the midriff, bareback tops, off-the-shoulder tops, spaghetti straps, low-cut and/or revealing tops, blouses or dresses are prohibited.
• Shorts, skirts, and dresses must meet the 5 inch rule, (no more than 5 inches from the top of the knee all of the way around using an index card placed vertically for measurement)
• Pajama pants are not allowed.
• Visible rips, tears, or holes located higher than finger-tip length are not permitted, unless an underlayer (ex: leggings, form-fitting pants, a neatly sewn patch, undershirt, etc.) is worn underneath the affected area.

KENTUCKY STATE LAW

Students may have cell phones and electronic devices (including Bluetooth headphones) in their possession, but they must be turned off or silenced during the school day. Cell phones, earbuds/headphones, & other electronic devices must remain out of sight from the time class starts at 8:00 AM until the time they exit the school building, except when authorized by a teacher or administrator. This includes use in the cafeteria at lunch and in the hallways during transition. If students use these devices, teachers will take the device and turn them into the office to collect at the end of the day. They will also face a consequence per school policy.

PARENT CONTACT DURING SCHOOL HOURS

If a student needs to contact their parent or guardian, the student should use the Student Signup form to put in a request to come to the front office to call home.

To minimize disruption to the learning environment, parents are kindly requested to contact the school's front office directly at 270-877-2135 if they need to relay an urgent message to their child during school hours. This allows school staff to deliver messages efficiently and ensures that classroom instruction remains uninterrupted.