Jonathan Alder Junior High

Good afternoon! This has been an exciting week around JAJHS.

Early in the week, we were honored to host the Jonathan Alder Board of Education meeting in our library, where we featured some of our 8th grade art students and their work. Our “Celebrating Students” teacher committee hosted a winter spirit week this week with various dress-up themes each day. Our week wrapped up with our first-ever Challenge Day activities featured below as well as our winter pep rally to celebrate our winter student-athletes!

Please be sure to review the important information below regarding upcoming events and activities. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

I hope that you and your family have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Mr. Malany

Principal

On Friday, February 17th, we hosted our first-ever Challenge Day in coordination with Mrs. Byers from our Think Big Space! Our goal with this day was to teach, model, and promote skills related to teamwork, collaboration, design process, creativity, and vulnerability! Students participated in activities such as marble maze design challenges, breakout boxes, and robot coding bowling. Each activity included a debrief of the importance of the “soft skills” in accomplishing their tasks.

Thank you to all of our parent chaperones, staff volunteers, and to our PTO for a super fun first dance of the 2022-2023 school year! We appreciate all your efforts in helping our JAJHS students build memories that will last a lifetime!

If you haven't done so already, please take a moment to watch this helpful VIDEO on how to pair with your student and set up notifications on Canvas!

JAJHS Track practices begin next Tuesday, February 21st. Practices will be from 3:00 P.M. - 5:00 P.M. Monday through Friday at the high school with the exception of next week. February 21st through February 24th practices will be at the junior high in the gym.

Please remember to send a water bottle and appropriate clothing with your student.

On January 30th & 31st, Mrs. Wolfe, our high school guidance counselor, met with 8th grade students at the JAJHS to discuss scheduling information and graduation requirements. Packets and registration sheets were sent home with students. Please see below for remaining important dates:

February 17th: 8th graders gave completed scheduling forms with parent/guardian signature to their Social Studies teacher.

February 21st & 22nd: Guidance staff will be in 8th grade Social Studies classrooms to finalize 9th grade schedules and input to SchoolLinks. We will be using the schedule forms signed by parent/guardian.

To see the presentation and the forms that are given to the students, please go the the JAHS Scheduling Page

If your student is interested in engineering, please see this overview of the engineering curriculum at the high school. Check out the specific course descriptions HERE. Listen to former students discuss this class in their own words HERE.

Jonathan Alder Junior High School is planning a tour of Gettysburg, PA and Washington, D.C. for 8th grade students from May 30, 2023 - June 2, 2023.

If your student is registered to go on the trip, the second payment of $200 was due by Friday, February 10th. Students who have registered for the Washington D.C. trip will be receiving additional information soon. Any immediate questions or concerns can be directed to Mrs. Kaumeyer (kaumeyem@japioneers.org).

Having a student planner is an essential part of success at JAJHS. Planners are used as hallway/restroom passes. In each class, teachers explicitly share with students what reminders to write in their planners. We believe that developing these executive functioning skills are an important part of helping students grow.

As we enter a new semester, this is a great time to check in on this. Please ask your child to see her/his planner. If it has been misplaced or is not in a functional condition, replacement planners can be purchased in the JAJHS office for $5.00 with checks being payable to “Jonathan Alder Junior High School.”

Thank you for your help with developing this important life-long skill.

If you have a student athlete, free sports physicals will be available this summer through Memorial Sports Medicine June 1st through July 31st for the 2023-2024 season. See flyer below!

Common Sense Media is an online tool that can help parents and students make informed decisions regarding media use. This tool can be used for many types of media, including books, movies, video games, and apps. Additionally, the “Parent Tips and FAQ” section can provide families with valuable support on facilitating social media, cell phone, and screen time use with their child.

We have a few vacancies available for our building! If you know someone who may be interested, please encourage them to apply on our district website. We have the following positions available:

• Substitute teachers

• Substitute bus drivers

• Substitute custodians

The approved, revised 2022-23 and 2023-24 academic calendars are now available on the District's website and can also be found in the links below.

2022-23 Academic Calendar (Revised Dec. 15, 2022)

2023-24 Academic Calendar (Revised Dec. 15, 2022)

2/20/23 President's Day - NO SCHOOL

3/3/23 Professional Development Day - NO SCHOOL

3/17/23 End of 3rd Quarter

3/20/23 - 3/24/23 - Spring Break

Email: cazareje@japioneers.org
Website: http://www.alder.k12.oh.us/
Location: Jonathan Alder Junior High School, Killbury-Huber Road, Plain City, OH, USA
Phone: 614-873-4635
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonathanalderjrhigh/?ref=bookmarks
Twitter: @AlderJHS