JTA Parent Update 2026 - 2027

Tuesday, September 29

• Football AWAY vs. North Middle School @ 5:30 PM
• Girls Basketball AWAY vs. St. James @ 5:30 PM

Thursday, October 1

• Girls Basketball AWAY vs. SPMS @ 5:30 PM
• Football HOME vs. Bluegrass @ 5:30 PM
  
  

Friday, October 2

• Progress Report #2 coming home - Please reach out to teachers about grade concerns

Monday, October 5 - Friday, October 9

• Fall Break

Monday, October 12

• NO SCHOOL - Professional Development Day

Tuesday, October 13

• Students return to school after Fall Break

1. We wanted to open up a school merchandise store for staff and families. There are some JTA specific options such as House Shirts, but we also have Trojan Nation options as well that work for all Trojan schools. The store will remain open until Friday, October 2nd. Gear will be delivered to JTA around the end of October beginning of November. If you are interested in purchasing gear, please visit this website to place your order!

2. 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!

3. Pre-order your yearbook for the 2026 - 2027 school year! There is NO guarantee of extra copies if you don't pre-order. Use code YBKICONS to save up to $20 on your pre-order!

"FJ Stinson has been such a pleasure in class, always working hard with his classmates and wants to be involved in every conversation we have in class! Such a pleasure to have in class!"

"Kaylee Calhoun has really shown her dedication by working hard every day! She has really shown up and shown out in math! She's never scared to ask questions when she needs help and jumps to answer questions out loud in class!"

"Kameron Kendall helps out by escorting a student to his 2nd period class every day. He volunteered for the task and faithfully makes sure the other student gets there safely."

"Korbin Pile has been a model student this year! He is always engaged, putting forth his best effort, and truly seeking to be a scholar. The kindness he shows others displays that his characteristics do not just stop at his academics, but with the characters of his heart as well."

"Judah Skeeters is a great young man and a true asset to Trojan Nation. He is dependable, hardworking, and always willing to lend a hand. As a student aide, Judah has helped put together our new sporting equipment and assists with stocking our concession stand for athletic events. He can be counted on to get the job done and takes pride in helping others.

Judah is also a member of the North Hardin High School Boys Soccer team. His willingness to work hard, help others, and be dependable makes him a great representative of Trojan Nation. We are lucky to have Judah as part of our school family!"

"I want to give a shoutout to Andrew Blackburn and Mary Ann Cunningham. I covered Ms. Barkley's class during my plan period. I enjoyed every moment of it. Andrew's enthusiasm touched my heart. He read, laugh, and clung to me. I felt like a teacher and a grandma.. Mary Ann was Awesome; she was an exemplary of a teacher to help all the students. She amazed me how she just guide Andrew to answer questions and write about the story that was read. I was glad to receive this opportunity to work in Ms. Barkley's class.

Mrs. McCoy's Drama students wrote and rehearsed monologues this week. They presented Friday and did an amazing job! Her Language Art students worked with groups to complete stations about Manifest Destiny and the Trail of Tears. These were two very important historical events for Two Roads.

Students in Mrs. Woodruff's Art class are working to better understand how artists develop and organize artistic ideas and work. Understanding and using the art elements with purpose is key to making this happen. In this project, color, line, and shape are organized in such a way as to create a sense of autumn. Students were also learning the proper use of watercolor paint and the techniques that can be applied to achieve different effects. The end result...absolutely beautiful!

We are proud to celebrate Ms. Varela, who was recognized at this month's HCS Board Meeting with the HCS Difference Maker Award for being an Active Collaborator! Thank you, Mrs. Varela, for working together with others to make a difference for our students and our JTA community. We are so proud to have you as a Trojan!

• 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: