JTA Parent Update

Monday, December 8

• Boys Basketball AWAY vs. Stuart Pepper @ 5:30 pm

Tuesday, December 9

• Boys Basketball HOME vs. LaRue County @ 5:30 pm

Wednesday, December 10

• Beginning Band Concert
  
  

Thursday, December 11

• Boys Basketball AWAY vs. East Hardin @ 5:30 pm

Friday, December 12

• Winter Dance 3:00 - 5:30 pm

Monday, December 15

• Boys Basketball AWAY vs. North Middle @ 5:30 pm

Tuesday, December 16

• Concert & Symphonic Band Concert

Wednesday, December 17

• Holiday Meal - 7th & 8th grade parents are invited to enjoy lunch with their student!
• Boys Basketball HOME vs. Bluegrass Middle @ 5:30 pm

Thursday, December 18

• 8th Grade Boys Basketball & Cheerleading Faculty Recognition Night @ 5:00 pm in the GYM
• Boy's Basketball HOME vs. Scott Middle School @ 5:30 pm

Friday, December 19

• Snack Cart - please give your student money if they are interested in purchasing
• 8th Grade Field Trip to EC3 9:00 - 11:00 am

Monday, December 22 - Friday, January 2

• Winter Break

Monday, January 5

• Professional Development Day - No School for Students

Tuesday, January 6

• Students return to school

• 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!
  
  
• We would like to thank all families for their patience and cooperation with our first NTI day of the year. It was not expected for this time of year, but all the teachers would like to thank the students who completed their work and turned it in. If your student did not complete their assignment, we still encourage them to get it done and turned it. These assignments must be turned into the state.
  
  
• i-Ready testing will take place December 15 - 16 for both reading and math. We are asking that all students come to school ready to use their brain power to grow and meet their goals since their fall diagnostic. Please encourage to get plenty of rest the night before, eat breakfast, and come motivated with a positive mindset to do well and put forth their best effort.
  
  
• Our school is inviting all 7th and 8th grade parents who are interested in enjoying the school's holiday lunch with their student to come and enjoy some time with them. If you plan to attend, please complete the attached form by December 12th so we can prepare accordingly.
  *Link to form here

Our students enjoyed their first school-wide field trip to Louisville's Actors Theater to view the first showing of A Christmas Carol. The theater praised JTA and its students for their behavior and enthusiasm. We would like to thank all of our students for representing our school positively.

We would love to recognize these students and parents for showing characteristics of an Active Collaborator.

• An active collaborator is an individual who demonstrates empathy and respect for diversity, culture, and opinions of others through responsible actions, interacts collaboratively with positive body language and tone, actively participates in resolving conflicts, and contributes ideas while encouraging shared participation of group members to achieve a common goal.
• Student can:
• recognize differences in others, seek to include the perspectives of those outside their own, and consider how their actions impact others both positively and negatively.
• demonstrate body language and verbal responses indicative of positive, energetic engagement; words and tone indicate respect and sensitivity to others.
• anticipate that conflict may happen and has a plan for addressing it directly and respectfully.
• support equal participation by asking clarifying or probing questions, paraphrasing ideas, and synthesizing group thinking.

"Brody White is amazing. He is always respectful to staff and peers. Brody is dependable, hard working, and kind. As both a leader on the baseball diamond and in the classroom. JTA is lucky to have him as a Trojan."

"Emi' Henry is always helping out classmates and exemplifying the attributes of an active collaborator. She is a natural leader in partner and group settings."

"Aralynn Hall and Hailey Lewis are always collaboratively working in class to hold each other accountable and helping each other succeed in the classroom. They have a great work ethic and always producing high quality work."

"Bradley West stands out frequently as an active collaborator. He frequently seeks out peer interactions and uses them to positively influence his academic ideas."

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.

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 (serves 4–5)

• Cake Layer

  • 1 box yellow cake mix (often $1–$2)

  • 1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

  • 2 eggs

  • 1/3 cup oil

  • 1/3 cup water

  • 1 tsp cinnamon

  • 1 tsp vanilla (optional)

• Cinnamon Sugar Topping

  • 1/4 cup sugar

  • 1 tsp cinnamon

  • 1 tbsp melted butter (optional but delicious)

Directions

1. Make the Batter

• In a bowl, mix together:

  • Cake mix

  • Pumpkin

  • Eggs

  • Oil

  • Water

  • Cinnamon

  • Vanilla

  Mix until smooth.

2. Spread Into Pan

• Pour batter into a greased 9×13 pan.

3. Add the Snickerdoodle Topping

• In a small bowl, mix sugar + cinnamon.

• Sprinkle evenly over the top.

• Drizzle melted butter lightly over everything for a crackly top.
  
  

4. Bake

• Bake at 350°F for 25–30 minutes or until the center is set.
  
  

5. Cool & Cut

• Let cool completely before slicing into bars.

• Top with whipped cream or a cream cheese drizzle if desired.