Trojan News

Spirit Week is Next Week!

Get ready to show your school spirit! Spirit Week starts Monday, Oct. 26, and we'll be sharing the flyer with families as well. Whether you're dressing up, dressing down, or digging through your closet for that one item that somehow fits the theme, we hope everyone participates and has some fun.

District Learning Walk Feedback

The feedback from last week's district learning walks was overwhelmingly positive. Several classrooms were launching inquiry-based projects and making great use of HQIRs. It was evident that teachers are intentionally co-planning, and the collaboration happening throughout the building did not go unnoticed. Visitors observed meaningful peer-to-peer student discourse, much of it student initiated, with students confidently using content-specific vocabulary. Overall, engagement levels were high. Great job, team!

Now for the growth area...

Pacing was the star of the show. Remember the anatomy of a lesson:

• Bell ringers and activation of prior knowledge: approximately 10 minutes
• Teacher directions/modeling: approximately 10 minutes
• Student work and active engagement: about half of the class period
• Closure/exit ticket: approximately 5-7 minutes

If your lesson feels like you're trying to fit a three-hour director's cut into a 45-minute sitcom, it may be time to tighten the pacing. Also, be sure to have something meaningful ready for those students who finish early.

Saturday School Grades Request

Ms. Skeeters is requesting that grades be updated in Infinite Campus by Tuesdays to help with Saturday School planning. If you only enter grades once a week, you're welcome to continue doing that on whatever day works best for you. Just keep in mind that when reports are pulled on Tuesday, those are the grades that will be used for Saturday School assignments. Several parents have shared that they need more notice to plan transportation and schedules. Having grades updated earlier in the week also gives teachers additional time to prepare any work students may need to complete.

Attendance Initiative

Our new attendance plan calls for WIN teachers to reach out to parents when a student's attendance falls below 90%. We already have several students below that threshold, but I do not expect anyone to go back and retroactively make phone calls. Instead, I will be sending letters home to those families so we can establish a starting point. Mr. Payne will keep everyone updated as the initiative moves forward. I will also provide a list of students receiving attendance letters so you'll know which students have already had initial contact made.

Growth Check Conferences

I have started growth check conferences with teachers. Please be sure to: Read the email with conference directions, complete your reflection sheet prior to the meeting, bring the reflection sheet with you, and sign up for a conference time using the Boss Time link.

Halloween in the Halls Candy Drive

Our annual candy drive for Halloween in the Halls continues through October 28. The House that brings in the most candy will earn a ribbon toward the House of the Year competition.

Halloween in the Halls - October 28

A reminder that Halloween in the Halls is one of our designated "All Hands on Deck" events for the school year.

A few reminders:

• Faculty meeting immediately after school
• We encourage staff to dress in costume
• Families are welcome to attend with you
• Families are welcome to stay for dinner
• Event begins at 5:00 PM

To help fuel the festivities, I'll be providing soup and cinnamon rolls for staff. We'll eat during the faculty meeting so no one has to survive the evening on leftover Halloween candy alone. If you need to go home after school to pick up your children or take care of family responsibilities, I completely understand. Just plan to be back by 5:00. Costumes must remain school-appropriate. Masks are not permitted, and face paint may not completely cover the face.

Annual Holiday Food Drive

The annual Holiday Food Drive will run November 4-11. All donations directly benefit JTA families. The House that brings in the most items will earn another coveted House of the Year ribbon.

KSA Celebration

Congratulations, JTA! Our KSA scores increased 11.4 points. That kind of growth doesn't happen by accident. It is the result of countless hours of planning, collaboration, data analysis, intervention, and hard work from every member of this team. Take a moment to celebrate that accomplishment. You've earned it. We will be diving in to this data a little more deeply during upcoming PLCs.

Movie Night at the Cassady's

Due to the cold weather, movie night at my house was moved to Saturday, October 24. We'll get started as soon as it's dark enough outside. Bring:

• Your family
• A lawn chair
• A blanket
• A snack to share

Featured presentation: Hocus Pocus 2

Weather permitting, it promises to be a much better experience than watching everyone pretend they're comfortable while slowly turning into popsicles. We hope you'll join us!

Open Enrollment

Open Enrollment is October 5-26, and all employees are required to complete the enrollment process this year. Please take a few minutes to review the information and instructions shared by Wanda Ballard and make sure all required steps are completed before the deadline.

Instructional Focus: Sept & Oct

This month, we're continuing our focus on Agency & Student Ownership of Learning. Our goal is to create classrooms where students are doing the heavy lifting by setting goals, monitoring their progress, making choices, and taking an active role in their learning journey. Think less "teacher as tour guide" and more "teacher as coach."

Our Portrait of a Learner competency for October is Engaged Learner. Look for students who actively participate in class, ask thoughtful questions, stay focused on learning tasks, and take ownership of their progress. Engaged learners don't just complete assignments. They show curiosity, persistence, and a willingness to grow. When you see students demonstrating these qualities, take a moment to celebrate and recognize their efforts. Those small moments of encouragement can make a big difference.

Cell Phone Violations = Office Referrals No points for phone infractions. Instead, do an office referral and confiscate the phone. Hand it to Ms. Skeeters with a post-it, and she’ll return it at day’s end. These referrals help us track repeat offenders—because unlike points, phone violations don’t reset.

Hallway Presence = Behavior Prevention Be visible during class changes and reach out to parents when needed.

Flex Friday: This week is 8th Grade

Friday, October 23 is 8th grade's turn for Flex Friday. Please remember to have students complete their Preference Sheet.

Infinite Campus: Keep the Grades Coming
Please post at least two grades per week in Infinite Campus. We regularly encourage parents to check grades, and many of them actually take us up on that offer.

Parent Contacts Matter
If a student's grade is slipping, please reach out to parents before report card surprises occur. Also, don't underestimate the power of a positive phone call home. Parents are often shocked to receive one, and students tend to remember them far longer than we expect.

Saturday School
Please check the Saturday School list and send assignments to Mr. Bennett or Ms. Howell for students attending.

Attendance, Attendance, Attendance

Please take attendance every class period. This is a district expectation, but more importantly, it is one of the ways we keep students safe and account for their whereabouts throughout the school day. Attendance data also drives many of our interventions, reports, and family communications, so accuracy matters.

Social Media Spotlight
Social Studies has the social media spotlight this week! Send Ms. Varela a photo and short blurb highlighting something happening in your classroom. Our students are doing some amazing things, and we want the world to know about it.

Lesson Plans
Please upload lesson plans to the Shared Lesson Plans drive by Monday morning.

Weekly PLC Minutes
Meet with your grade-level partner to plan, collaborate, and problem-solve. Don't forget to submit Weekly PLC Minutes at least every other week.

Difference Maker Award

Know someone who consistently goes above and beyond? Submit a Difference Maker Award nomination. Schools run on countless acts of kindness, flexibility, and problem-solving. Let's make sure those efforts get recognized.

Dress Code Checks

Please continue conducting dress code checks during WIN. Consistency across classrooms helps eliminate confusion and reduces the number of debates beginning with, "What about all the other students not in dress code?"

Need Some Boss Time?

Questions? Concerns? Ideas? Need to talk through a situation? Use the Boss Time link to schedule a meeting.

Schedule Your Observation

It’s also time to start scheduling your observations. Most of you will need to complete a mini observation by December 15, so please don’t wait until the last minute—December calendars fill up fast!

A huge shoutout to Mr. Hamer for stepping up to help with PM car rider duty not once, but twice this week! Dismissal can feel a little like directing traffic at the Kentucky Speedway, and his willingness to jump in and help keep things moving is greatly appreciated.

Students in Ms. McCoy's class were not only annotating texts, they were doing it well and were able to clearly explain their thinking. It's one thing to highlight and underline. It's another thing entirely to articulate why. Great work helping students engage deeply with the text!

If you're looking for a model of effective stations, take a trip down to Ms. Stevens's classroom. Stations are a staple of her instruction. They are well organized, expectations are clear, and students know exactly what they should be doing. The result is a classroom where students take ownership of their learning and keep themselves productively engaged. Great work creating that structure and independence!

Shoutout to Ms. Howell and Mr. Edwards for a great example of collaborative instruction. Students examined primary sources to determine why colonists viewed post-war costs and British policies as unfair. Both classrooms were filled with meaningful student discourse, thoughtful analysis, and active engagement. It's always exciting to see strong collaboration between teachers translate directly into rich learning experiences for students.

A shoutout to Mr. Bennett for using the Praise, Question, Suggestion protocol with student work. By projecting examples and facilitating constructive feedback, students are given the opportunity to think critically, celebrate successes, and identify areas for growth. Plus, it's a lot more effective than asking, "Any questions?" and being met with twenty-five blank stares. Great strategy!

The biggest shoutout this week goes to our entire staff for contributing to an 11.4-point increase in KSA performance. That kind of growth is not the result of luck or magic. It's the result of planning, collaboration, intervention, high-quality instruction, and a relentless commitment to doing what's best for students. Thank you for the work you put in every day.

Thank you to all of our staff members for the incredible work taking place across the building. Every learning walk, classroom visit, and student conversation continues to reinforce what we already know: great things are happening at JTA!