The Paw Print - November 2025

Terrier Families:

As we turn the calendar to November, it’s hard to believe the first quarter of the school year is already behind us. This milestone provides a great opportunity to reflect on how much our students have accomplished in just a few short months. We’ve seen tremendous growth—in academics, in leadership, through extracurriculars, and in the way students are supporting one another throughout our school community.

1st Quarter report cards have been available for your review on Skyward and were distributed at parent/teacher conferences. I encourage families to take time to review progress together. Celebrate successes, discuss areas for improvement, and set goals for the second quarter. Our teachers and staff are always ready to help students.

Parent-Teacher Conferences were a great opportunity to celebrate student achievements and discuss next steps for continued success. If you were unable to attend, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your child’s teachers to connect—our partnership makes all the difference.

Fast approaching is the midterm for the 2nd quarter on November 14, which means progress reports will soon be released. Please remind students to stay on top of their academics, as we draw closer to midterm and final grade deadlines.

As a reminder, there will be no school from November 26-30 due to Thanksgiving Break. We hope your family enjoys a safe, relaxing, and well-deserved break and holiday filled with gratitude and time together. Thank you for your continued support and partnership. I am proud of the progress that our students continually show, and I look forward to a successful second quarter ahead.

Sincerely,

Mr. Ryan Pirok

Jr. High Principal

We’re proud to share that Staunton Junior High School has received a Commendable designation on the 2025 Illinois School Report Card! This recognition reflects the hard work, dedication, and growth of our students, staff, and families throughout the previous school year.

Illinois designates schools using five possible performance categories - please see the graphic below for more information on what each designation indicates.

We are especially proud to note that Staunton Junior High came very close to earning an Exemplary designation, which represents the highest performance category a school can achieve. This speaks volumes about the dedication of our teachers, the effort of our students, and the partnership we share with our families and community.

All schools in the Staunton School District received the Commendable designation this year, reflecting the consistent commitment to student learning and growth across all grade levels.

The Illinois School Report Card provides families with information about academic progress, school climate, and student success indicators. We encourage you to visit www.illinoisreportcard.com to explore more about Staunton Junior High’s results and learn how our continued focus on excellence is making a difference for our students.

The 2025-2026 CUSD #6 school calendar has been attached for your reference.

UPCOMING DATES:

📌Monday, November 10: NO SCHOOL - Full School Improvement Day

📌Tuesday, November 11: NO SCHOOL - Veterans Day

📌November 26-28: NO SCHOOL - Thanksgiving Break

🥞Click for BREAKFAST Menu

🥪Click for LUNCH Menu

1st Quarter report cards are available to view in Skyward. They were also distributed at parent/teacher conferences. You can access them by clicking the following in Skyward:

• Gradebook
• Portfolio (PDF of grade reports available)

Student Council is doing a food drive from November 3-20! Please see the flyer for more information on what they're asking for, since there are specific items being requested! Thank you for your support!!

Congratulations to Leah Moore (7th), Elaina Oller (7th), and Carter Kolesar (7th), who all participated in the Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) Cross Country Class 2A State Meet! The meet took place on October 18 in Normal, IL at Maxwell Park. Special shoutout to Leah Moore, who placed 10th in the girls race and earned a medal! What a great end to the season!

Congratulations to all of our SJHS students who earned high honor roll or honor roll at the conclusion of 1st quarter! High honor roll indicates that a student received all As in their classes and achieved a 4.0 GPA. Honor roll recognizes those students who have earned a 3.5 GPA or higher, which could be a various combination of grades received in each class throughout the quarter.

Check out the girls and boys basketball schedules! Catch them at any of their games:

🏀GIRLS Basketball Schedule 2025

🏀BOYS Basketball Schedule 2025/2026

🐾Click HERE to access our Athletics Page to see all things Staunton Sports! This page also includes our transportation forms. Go Terriers!

Jr. High Student Council members sponsored a Halloween-themed door decoration contest! Grouped by their homeroom, students were responsible for selecting a theme and decorating their door. See all of the doors by clicking the attached link!

Check out the November issue of the Terrier Times, compiled by Mrs. Klein's 8th grade newspaper club! Click the link below!

Congratulations to the following junior high students that participated in the ILMEA All-District Choir/Band Festival on November 1! The process for this event is based on an audition, and nominated students perform in an ensemble with other selected students/schools that participate in our assigned district, which is District 4. Congratulations to all involved! Thanks to our choir director, Mrs. Schaffer, and our band director, Mr. Prager, for supporting our students in their musical endeavors.

Please see the attachment below for our semester incentive policy. At the conclusion of every semester, students are rewarded with a field trip and/or celebration based on their ability to meet all of the following criteria:

• C average in ALL core classes (ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies)
• No more than 2 referrals
• No in-school suspensions
• No out-of-school suspensions
• No unexcused absences (please note that this includes, but is not limited to, exceeding the allotted amount of parent call offs)

The attachment goes into more detail, so I encourage you to read over it. This document is also included in the handbook as an appendix.

On Wednesday, November 12, all students who sold items through our fall fundraiser will need to pick up their packaged orders from 3:30-6 PM at the community room. It is imperative that ALL items be picked up due to the products needing to stay refrigerated.

Below, you'll see the Macoupin County Public Health Department's fall newsletter for students/families. Please check it out, if you get a chance!