JTA Parent Update

Monday, September 15

• Academic Team Tryouts with Mr. Edwards @ 3:00 - 4:15 (only attend today or Wednesday)
• Girls Basketball HOME vs. TK Stone @ 5:30

Tuesday, September 16

• Football AWAY vs. Bluegrass @ 5:30

Wednesday, September 17

• Academic Team Tryouts with Mr. Edwards @ 3:00 - 4:15 (only attend today or Monday)

Thursday, September 18

• FLU SHOT CONSENT FORMS DUE FOR STUDENTS - These were sent home the day of progress reports. If you are interested in your child receiving a flu shot, please return this form signed. IT IS COMPLETELY OPTIONAL!
  
  
• Girls Basketball AWAY vs. West Hardin @ 5:30
  
  

Monday, September 22

• Girls Basketball HOME vs. Bluegrass @ 5:30 (Faculty Recognition Night)
  
  

Tuesday, September 23

• Football HOME vs. Stuart Pepper @ 5:30 (8th Grade Night)
  
  

Thursday, September 25

• Girls Basketball AWAY vs. Stuart Pepper @ 5:30

• The school nurse would like to inform everyone that flu shot consent forms for students are due no later than Thursday, September 18. These were sent home September 8 with students when progress reports came home. This is completely optional, so if you are not interested, please disregard this message.
  
  
• PER KENTUCKY STATE LAW, if your students shows up late for school, a parent/guardian must sign them in. Please walk your child inside and sign them in. Thank you!
  
  
• Saturday School is gearing up and starting this weekend. If you received a phone call inviting your student, please have them at JTA no later than 8:30 am on Saturdays. Your student can only come if you are invited.

Tuesday, September 9 was High Attendance day in the region. To celebrate, students participated in two events: the Dominant House Competition Pep Rally and kickball for the first competition among the houses. During the pep rally, teachers revealed which houses they belonged to, so students knew which house they would be competing with this year. Our houses are: The Slay Squad, The Flexers, The No Cap Crew, and the Drip House. Then each house competed in a kickball competition for the first ribbon the year. The Flexers came out on top!

Our goal for the year is 94.21% in attendance, so every day that we surpass that goal, we win. On high attendance day, our overall attendance was 96.7%, which is pretty great. 8th grade's attendance was 95.81%, 7th grade's attendance was 96.92%, and 6th grade's attendance was 97.37%. 6th grade was rewarded with having electronics at lunch for having the highest attendance. Thank you to everyone for surpassing our school's overall goal!

We would love to recognize these students for showing characteristics of a Personal Champion:

• Creates goals, identifies necessary actions, and utilizes resources to reach them
• Demonstrates skills to manage emotions to make responsible decisions and successful choices
• Perseveres through challenges to complete a task and recovers quickly from setbacks
• Understands and communicates own strengths and needs Seeks and responds positively to feedback

WAY TO GO STUDENTS! WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU! KEEP UP THE AMAZING WORK!

"Catherine (Cath) Casey and Sofiya Hunsaker completed the lovely poster demonstrating their understanding of biodiversity, and the role biodiversity plays in a healthy ecosystem. These students were personal champions, going above and beyond in their creativity, and they were actively collaborating and communicating throughout the project. Huge shout out to you both, Cath and Sofiya!" -Ms. Troutman

"Annora Storms, Aralynn Tedmore , Atty Meenach, and Kam Pile created engaging Canva slides that showed their grasp of statistic unit concepts. They chose a question, conducted a survey, collected data, used various methods to graph the data, and critiqued their findings. These students were true team players, pushing the boundaries of their creativity and actively collaborating throughout the project." - Mrs. Shabib

"Ryder Maxwell and CT Robinson showed their integrity, respect, and leadership on Friday, September 12 in Mr. Hamer's 4th period gym class. I had to sub for his class, and these students took the leadership role to make sure class functioned as normal. They led stretches, workouts, and running. They also made sure everyone knew the rules to free play with remaining safe and respectful. Thank you so much to these two students. They were awesome along with the entire class period!" - Mrs. Howell

Our 8th grade yearbook and newspaper class has published their first edition of the JTA Trojan News. If you'd like to read what is going on at our school or see student work, please click below.

The girls basketball team played Fort Knox on Monday, September 8. Both the 7th and 8th grade teams beat Fort Knox this week in basketball. Then they played North Middle School on Thursday, September 11. Both the 6th grade and 8th grade teams beat North Middle School. Way to go ladies! Catch their next game Monday, September 15 against TK Stone at home.

We had an incredible time celebrating our 8th grade girls basketball players on their special night. Thank you to the families, teammates, and fans who came out to support and cheer them on. These girls have left a mark n our program and we are so proud of them!

The JTA Football team played East Hardin this week and won 32-0. Way to go Trojans! The Trojans remain undefeated this season. Catch their next game Tuesday, September 16 against Bluegrass at 5:30. This game will take place at John Hardin High School.

Archery tryouts will be September 17 from 5:30 - 7:30pm in the North Park Elementary Gym. If you have any questions, please reach out to Coach Robert Cooper.

Boys basketball tryouts will be next week (TBD). We just want everyone to be aware that if your child is interested, they need to have a sports physical to be able try out. More information coming soon. If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to Mr. Roberts at mark.roberts@hardin.kyschools.us.

Students interested in playing lacrosse for North Hardin can pick up information in the front office.

This is information for both North Hardin and John Hardin Swim.

Mrs. Barber's class practiced peer reading as they continued their study of Summer of the Mariposas. Students took turns reading aloud while the other partner took notes over the facts of the chapter, their reactions, questions, and connections to their own live.

Science meets survival in Mr. Barger's classroom. As part of an exciting cross-curricular unit, students are diving deep into thermal concepts then taking that knowledge beyond the textbook. Their challenge? Design the ultimate outfit for trans-Saharan travelers, where scorching days and freezing nights demand serious scientific thinking.

From fabric choices to insulation strategies, these young innovators are blending physics, geography, and design to solve real-world problems. Their creativity and collaboration on display are just as impressive as the science behind it!

Mrs. Howell's 8th grade social studies class completed a survival simulation to learn about the Colony of Jamestown. Students worked to make decisions to see if they could survive the challenges of the establishment of Jamestown. The simulation also taught them the political, economic, and social effects of the colony.

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.

A new Kentucky law, KRS 160.145 (aka Senate Bill 181), requires school districts to adopt a traceable communication system that “shall be the exclusive means for school district employees and volunteers to communicate electronically with students.” You can read more about HCS Traceable Communication when you CLICK HERE.

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

The Parent Portal is a wonderful tool to keep track of grades and attendance. Log in to the Parent Portal by CLICKING HERE. A Parent Portal app is also available from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. If parents do not have login credentials for the Parent Portal, they should contact their child’s school.

A new Kentucky law requires schools to provide a moment of silence or reflection at the beginning of each school day's first class. It shall be of at least one (1) minute but not to exceed two (2) minutes in duration. Students will be required to remain seated and silent and do nothing to distract others. See KRS 158.175 and Hardin County Board of Education Policy 8.1351 for more information.

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.

Students may have cell phones and electronic devices 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.

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.

Ingredients

• 1 lb lean ground turkey (or ground chicken/lean beef if preferred)

• 1 medium onion, diced

• 2 bell peppers (any color), diced

• 1 medium zucchini, diced

• 1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed & drained

• 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes (no salt added if possible)

• 1 cup frozen corn

• 1 packet taco seasoning (or homemade blend: chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano)

• 2 cups cooked brown rice (or quinoa for variation)

• 1 tbsp olive oil

Optional toppings: shredded lettuce, salsa, avocado slices, shredded cheese, plain Greek yogurt (instead of sour cream).

Directions

1. Cook the base: Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add diced onion and cook until softened (about 3–4 minutes).

2. Add protein: Stir in ground turkey. Cook until browned, breaking it apart with a spoon (about 6–7 minutes). Drain excess fat if needed.

3. Add veggies: Toss in bell peppers and zucchini. Cook for 5 minutes until slightly tender.

4. Flavor & beans: Sprinkle in taco seasoning. Stir well, then add black beans, tomatoes, and corn. Let simmer for 10 minutes to blend flavors.

5. Mix with rice: Stir in cooked brown rice until heated through. Taste and adjust seasoning with a pinch of salt or squeeze of lime.

6. Serve: Scoop into bowls. Let family members add toppings of choice.