October 2025 SJHS Newsletter

Terrier Families,

It's hard to believe we're almost a quarter of the way through the school year!! Time flies, and as it's flashed by, our students have settled into their routines for the school year.

The first quarter is all about building a strong foundation, and I hope all students have taken advantage of the time so far to create a foundation that leads them to continuous success throughout the remainder of the school year. If that's not been the case, there is still time to change course and adjust their mentality as it relates to the overall attitude towards school, classwork, etc. It's important to maintain a focused and disciplined mindset while we're at school in order to be our best. That is something all students must challenge themselves to do on a daily basis.

In addition, October is a time of reflection and goal-setting. As we prepare for parent/teacher conferences later this month, I encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity to connect with your child's teacher, celebrate achievements, and discuss areas for growth. Your involvement makes a significant difference.

Finally, it's been an exciting season of fall sports with our softball team making it to the sectional championship and our baseball team making an appearance at the IESA Class 2A State Tournament. Our cross country team, the remaining fall sport, will wrap up their season in the coming weeks, and I'm excited to see how they close out their season. We are so proud of our coaches and teams, and we look forward to seeing what the rest of the year holds with our student athletes in their future sports this school year!

Thank you for being an integral part of your child's education and our school community. Together, we're laying the foundation for a successful year ahead.

Sincerely,

Mr. Ryan Pirok

Jr. High Principal

The 2025-2026 CUSD #6 school calendar has been attached for your reference.

UPCOMING DATES:

📌Friday, October 10: 2PM Dismissal - End of 1st Quarter

📌Monday, October 13: No School - Columbus Day

📌Thursday, October 23: No Student Attendance - Parent Teacher Conferences - 11:30AM-7:00PM

📌Friday, October 24: No Student Attendance - Parent Teacher Conferences - 8AM-3:30PM

🥞Click for BREAKFAST Menu

🥪Click for LUNCH Menu

As we're approaching the end of the 1st quarter, please take some time to view your child's grades on Skyward to ensure they're ending the semester on a positive note academically. If there are any concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child's teachers via email or phone call.

Check out the girls and boys basketball schedules! You can see them in action starting this month - go terriers!!!

🏀GIRLS Basketball Schedule 2025

🏀BOYS Basketball Schedule 2025/2026

🐾As a reminder, please be sure to check out our Athletics Page on our website!

Please see the attachment below for our semester incentive policy. At the conclusion of every semester, students are rewarded with a field trip and/or celebration based on their ability to meet all of the following criteria:

• C average in ALL core classes (ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies)
• No more than 2 referrals
• No in-school suspensions
• No out-of-school suspensions
• No unexcused absences (please note that this includes, but is not limited to, exceeding the allotted amount of parent call offs)

The attachment goes into more detail, so I encourage you to read over it. This document is also included in the handbook as an appendix.

Picture Day is scheduled for Monday, October 20! More information will be shared with you soon.

Parent-Teacher Conferences are an essential opportunity for families and teachers to connect, reflect on student progress, and work together to support continued growth.

This fall, conferences will be held on:
📅 Thursday, October 23 from 11:30 AM – 7:00 PM
📅 Friday, October 24 from 8:00 AM – 3:30 PM

We strongly encourage all families to schedule a time to meet with their child’s teachers. These conversations are a valuable way to understand your child’s strengths, areas for growth, and how we can partner to help them succeed. Additionally for this year, we plan to have all students fill out a self-reflection that can be referenced at parent/teacher conferences, so you can get an idea of what your child's personal perception of their performance and attitude here at school is. When the time comes, we invite you to contact the office directly to set up a time. Conference slots can fill quickly, so please don’t delay in making your appointment.

➡️ Please Note: If your child is currently receiving a D or F in any subject, you can expect to hear directly from their grade-level team to set up a conference. These meetings are especially important to ensure we are working together to address academic challenges and develop a plan for improvement.

We look forward to seeing you during conference days and appreciate your continued involvement in your child’s education.

If your child has not signed up yet for Fan Club, this is your last chance!! The Fan Club sponsors have re-opened membership enrollment, so if you are not a member and wish to be one PLEASE get the membership form and money turned in to the junior high office by Wednesday, October 8. The membership form is attached below as a PDF and an image of the form is there for your convenience - please read it thoroughly, so you can see what is all included with your membership!

Thanks to everyone who participated in our fall fundraiser - it was a huge success! We will let you know once items have arrived for distribution. They should be delivered by the end of October or early November. Your support is greatly appreciated!!!

Congratulations to the Terrier Softball team on a great season! The girls were named regional champions and advanced to the sectional championship. Unfortunately, they fell to Pana, which resulted in them ending their season with a record of 13-1.

Special shoutout to Brooke Coalson and Penn Laux who received IESA sportsmanship pins during their regional and sectional championship games!

Terrier Baseball had another memorable season! In post season play, they won their regional championship against North Mac. The team proceeded to the sectional and were named sectional champions after their win against Auburn! This secured them an appearance in the IESA Class 2A State Tournament! This is the 3rd year in a row that the Terrier baseball team has been state bound. Unfortunately, the terriers took a loss in the first round of state and ended their season 12-10.

Congratulations to Cam Scroggins and Hunter Harbison for receiving IESA sportsmanship pins during the regional and sectional championship games!

This month, our school is focusing on the word “Self-Direct.” It’s a powerful skill that encourages students to take ownership of their learning, their actions, and their goals—both inside and outside the classroom.

To be self-directed means that a student is learning how to manage their time, make responsible choices, ask questions when they need help, and take initiative without always needing reminders. It’s about building independence, confidence, and the ability to reflect on their progress and adjust as needed.

You may see this in your child when they:

• Start their homework on their own without being asked,

• Set personal goals for improvement,

• Choose to reread a difficult text or retry a math problem to better understand it,

• Or even when they recognize they need a break and take a moment to regroup before continuing.

You can support this at home by encouraging your child to take small steps in managing their responsibilities, and by celebrating when they show initiative or perseverance.

Self-direction isn’t about being perfect — it’s about learning how to keep moving forward, even when things get challenging. Thank you for reinforcing these values at home and helping us raise thoughtful, capable, and independent learners!

We’re excited to announce the launch of our brand-new student newspaper, The Terrier Times! Created by our talented student writers of 8th grade and their sponsor Mrs. Klein (8th Grade ELA teacher), this paper will highlight school events, student achievements, creative writing, opinion pieces, and more. It’s a wonderful way for students to develop their voices, build writing skills, and stay informed about what’s happening around campus.Take a moment to check out their first issue!! 👇

Red Ribbon Week is a national drug prevention awareness campaign observed every year in the United States. This year it takes place during the week of October 27-31.

🎗️ What It’s About?

Red Ribbon Week promotes drug-free lifestyles among youth and encourages healthy, drug-free choices. Schools, communities, and organizations participate by organizing themed events, dress-up days, educational activities, and awareness campaigns. Junior High Student Council plans to celebrate that week with various dress up days. Please see the dated, themed days on the attached image! Please encourage your child to participate in the dress up days!

At Staunton Junior High, we believe in acknowledging the positive contributions our students make every day — both in and out of the classroom. That’s why we’re excited to display our Student Spotlight section on the junior high website! This featured section highlights students who are recipients of a positive referral and considered to be a top-notch terrier. Whether it's an act of kindness, strong character, academic achievement, or a special accomplishment, our outstanding staff are encouraged to recognize the outstanding things our students are doing. This space is dedicated to celebrating those moments and shining a light on the excellence within our school community. Students receive a write-up and are rewarded for their accolade. Be sure to check in regularly to see the incredible ways our students are making a difference and living out the values we’re proud to promote at Staunton Jr. High!

A few weeks ago, we decided to try adjusting student dismissal to 3pm. Before announcing that change to families, we wanted to see if it would be successful, smooth, safe, and efficient. Thankfully it's been working well thanks to our staff who have dismissal duty, as well as our students who have been cooperating with the procedures in order to make the dismissal process as smooth and functional as possible. This also includes our bus drivers who wait patiently in the bus lane for all students to board and ensure student safety from the beginning to the end of their route. With that all said, all students are now being released at 3pm.

Thank you for your patience and understating as we work through these changes to how we operate. We're hoping that this helps us to discover our best procedure and practice!

We encourage your son/daughter to submit an essay to the Patriot's Pen writing contest. Conducted nationwide, this VFW-sponsored youth essay competition gives students an opportunity to write essays expressing their views on an annual patriotic theme. The 2025-2026 theme is "How Are You Showing Patriotism and Support for Our Country?". Please see the attached PDF for more detailed, important information (students were distributed a hard copy of the entry form, as well). Essays are due by October 31.

Just a reminder of our transportation policy when it comes to sporting events and other school-affiliated activities! The release to leave with someone other than a parent is attached for your convenience.