JTA Parent Update 2026 - 2027

Tuesday, October 27

• Boys Basketball HOME vs. West Hardin @ 5:30 PM

Wednesday, October 28

• Halloween in the Halls 5:00 - 6:30 (or when candy runs out)
• Book Fair Begins

Thursday October 29

• • Boys Basketball HOME vs. Bluegrass @ 5:30 PM

Friday, October 30

• Last day of Trimester 2

1. We are looking for volunteers to help us with events throughout the school year. If you are interested in volunteering, please refer to the flier to the right. You must also visit this website to complete verification steps. Thank you!

2. Saturday School will resume this weekend. Please have your student dropped of by no later 8:30. Doors will open at 8:20 and close at 8:30. Please be here at 11:30 to pick your child up.

3. JTA Is hosting a Candy Drive for our annual Halloween in the Halls. We are asking for any donations to give our community the best experience! Students can turn in candy to their WIN teacher. The homeroom with the most amount of candy turned in will earn a ribbon on their flag for the House of the Year Competition.

4. Halloween in the Halls is October 28. That is also the day we will allow students to dress up for Halloween. Costumes must remain school appropriate, and masks are not allowed. Face paint cannot cover the entire face as to hide the student’s identity.

*Jazz Band will be Performing at Halloween in the Halls! Jazz Band Students will stay after school on Wednesday October 28th. They may bring their costumes to change into (Not required). Students will set up and begin performing for the early Birds at 4:45 at the entrance of Halloween in the Halls. Performance ends when the doors open at 5pm.

5. November 19 will be the sixth grade a Holiday Meal. December 17 will be the seventh and eighth grade holiday meal.

6. Impact Aid forms were sent home with students. It is extremely important that EVERY student completes the form and returns them to school ASAP. This form is required for all students, and we need everyone’s help to ensure 100% participation. The last day to submit them is October 30. These can be turned into your child's WIN teacher.

7. "The Healthy Kids Clinic" provides services at school without students having to be signed out of school. You can call our school nurse to set an appointment for immunizations, school and sports physicals or any health issues. The proper forms must be filled out and the student can be seen.

8. Mrs. Cardona is sending home requests to 6th grade students this week and next week for missing documents/records. Please check in with your child to see if they brought anything home.

9. North Hardin High School BETA Club is hosting a Trunk or Treat on October 26, 2026 from 5:00 - 7:00 PM in the Front Bus Parking Lot.

"Madison VanSyckel, recently wrote a letter to Pringles for Ms. LaPerle’s ELA assignment on audience and purpose. To her surprise, she received a letter back along with a coupon! It was exciting to see a classroom writing assignment turn into a real world connection. Way to go, Madison!"

"Mrs. Varela would like to recognize Kaylee Hulsey for already completing the Library's Halloween Reading Challenge. She has read 300 minutes in the month of October already! If you would like to participate, check Beanstack or see Mrs. Varela."

"Mason really locked in during the lesson, stayed focused, and gave their best effort from start to finish. I’m so proud of the hard work and determination they showed this week! Keep up the great work—you’re showing what happens when you stay focused and don’t give up!"

• Volleyball Open Gym will begin Wednesday, October 21 (this is a change from previous newsletters), from 3:00-4:30 PM and will be every Wednesday until November 18
  
  
• Tryouts will be on November 20th and 24th
  
  
• Athletes who want to go to open gyms and try out must have their physical updated in Healthy Rosters. If students have any questions, please see Ms. Barkley or Mrs. Colston

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.

We are encouraging our teachers to use Apptegy Rooms with you, so you can get consistent, quick, and reliable communication. The best feature is it is similar to texting because we know how busy life can be. Please download the Apptegy App and sign up to receive communication from your student's teachers!

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.

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.

Please refer to the links below for information on these topics: