Jasper High School

Welcome and Recognition:

Well, summer is official over as the 2026-2027 school years begins Tuesday at 8 am. We are excited to welcome all of our students to Jasper High School. The Seniors only have 183 days of school until graduation on May 28th at 6:30, and those days will pass quickly so make the most of each one of them. We welcomed 274 freshmen to Jasper High School during our three open house days. The halls were filled with excitement and nervous energy. The staff has been busy preparing classrooms and the building for the students' return to school. I would like to thank A Clean Sweep, cleaning service, for donating over $4000 in material and labor. For several years, they have provided floor buffing services at JHS and a substantial discount. I just received notification today that Jasper High School Spanish teacher, Megan Johnson, was named to The 2027 Indiana Teacher of the Year Top 25. Megan is in the running to be selected as the 2027 Indiana Teacher of the Year. Congratulations to Megan for the recognition of her professionalism and tireless work.

First Day Reminders:

I have included the bell schedule for the first day. Students will report to their CCD class at 8am. The lunch schedule has been finalized and is included below. Students should look at their 5th period teacher to determine if they have A or B lunch. JHS was fortunate to have our clock and intercom system upgraded this summer. The sound is much better and the digital clocks have been replaced with synchronized analog clocks. A tutorial on reading analog clocks has been linked to the newsletter as well as picture of the new clocks. Yes parents, the students will need the tutorial! As students arrive on Tuesday please reference the drop-off and pick-up procedures and traffic patterns. There is a diagram and detailed explanation listed below.

New Communication Apps:

GJCS is proud to partner with ParentSquare to provide students and families a streamlined communication app for all of our schools. No longer will students and parents have multiple apps for communicating with classroom, club, or sports teams. Instructions for registering on ParentSquare have been emailed to each family. The GJCS food service provider, Sodexo, also has a new app for families to view the JHS school menu. Use the QR code to access the lunch menu app. I have also linked all of the Welcome Back Newsletters below for your reference.

New Happenings at JHS:

The Student Academic Services department has some important information to share. Check out their section for information about class changes, parent meetings, and office hours. I have also included two sections regarding scholarship information. Seniors need to pay attention to that information. Don't forget to Venmo or send in your PTO dues so your students can qualify for the PTO scholarship. The PTO is the sole provider for our amazing Post-prom gathering. A note to our students interested in being employed on the French Lick Polar Express, auditions begin soon. There is information in the Community Activities section.

Student Activities:

This week all of our fall sports began practice. The Girl's Golf Team, under new coach Abby Kennedy, started off 3-0. The did drop a match to Castle but the girls scored well and improved. Next week's athletic schedule is attached. Thank you to Mrs. Theresa Stenftenagel for creating these each week. The Marching Wildcats have been busy working with the show's coordinator and fine tuning the performance. Mr. Werne reports this group has outstanding senior leadership and are really fun to work with.

We are looking forward to starting a great year with one of the best student bodies and staffs in Indiana. Go Cats!

August 11th First Day of School

August 19th Meet the Teacher Night

August 19th-20th School Pictures

August 26th Parent Information Night

September 7th Labor Day (No School)

September 16th Professional Development Day (No School)

October 19-23rd Fall Break (No School)

November 16th FAFSA Parent Meeting (6 pm auditorium)

Newsletter 7/17/26

Newsletter 7/24/26

Newsletter 7/31/26

Don't forget to check out ParentGuidance.Org, a site designed to support you in addressing any mental health challenges your child may encounter. Whether you’re looking for expert advice, helpful tools, or a supportive community, this site has you covered.

8:00-8:10 Homeroom and hand out schedules and seating in gym (Gym Seating Assignments)

8:10-8:35 Welcome Faculty, Staff, and Students to pep session (learn school song & cheers)

8:40-10:00 Back to homerooms for device & material distribution and class meetings, Seniors remain in the gym. The other classes will meet in the Auditorium (we announce dismissals)

Schedule for the rest of the day:

Period 1 10:00-10:30

Period 2 10:35-11:05

Period 3 11:10- 11:40

Period 4 11:45-12:15

Period 5 12:15-1:50

A Lunch 12:15-12:55, Class 1:00-1:50

B Lunch 1:10-1:50, Class 12:15-1:05

Period 6 1:55- 2:25

Period 7 2:30- 3:00

Welcome to our 2026-2027 school year! As your JHS PTO, we are excited to get the year going and plan some fun events for your students! In order to do this, we need YOUR HELP!! Your PTO dues of $25 per family are used to help us with these student-focused events and also award two $500 scholarships to graduating seniors. This past year we were excited to host Post Prom, award two scholarships and provide free ice cream sandwiches to the students. We are planning on doing these AND MORE this year! Remember, if you would like your student to be considered for one of our scholarships, your dues must be paid for the year.

Please send PTO dues to school (cash or check made out to JHS PTO) in an envelope. Mark on the envelope:

· “PTO Dues”

· Student name(s) and grade(s)

Dues can also be paid to the PTO Venmo account, @jasperpto and include your student name(s) and grade(s).

Help support the PTO so we can continue to support your students!

Thank you very much for your consideration!!!

Your JHS PTO

Jasper High School would like to welcome our newest editions to the JHS staff. We are very excited to have access to the talents of these new staff members.

Mr. Jacob Berg (Math)

Mr. Mike Dorsam (Custodian)

Mrs. Heather Hawkins (Guidance)

Mrs. Stella Kendall (Instructional Assistant)

Mrs. Jessica Reinbold (English)

Mrs. Jamie Ruxer (Guidance Secretary)

Mrs. Mela Schuetz (Instructional Assistant)

Mr. Gavin Stahly (Band)

Student Academic Services counselor assignments

Heather Hawkins- Students P-Z hhawkins@gjcs.k12.in.us

Cam Harris- Students H-O charris@gjcs.k12.in.us

Erin Jochum- Career Counselor ejochum@gjcs.k12.in.us

Sean Jochum- Students A-G sjochum@gjcs.k12.in.us

We will be having evening office hours on Mondays starting on September 14th. Email your counselor if you would like to schedule an appointment.

Counselors will be meeting with all Seniors during the second week of school. We will be discussing college applications, scholarship applications, creating Parchment accounts, dual credit registration, etc.

We will have parent information meetings on August 26 to discuss grade-level-specific topics.

9th and 10th grade - 6pm

11th and 12th grade - 7pm

We will not be making any schedule changes until school resumes. Once school resumes, students will have until August 17th to make class changes. All class changes require a class change request form. We cannot accommodate requests for specific teachers, class periods, or lunch periods. Students will need to follow their current schedule until the change is reflected in PowerSchool.

For your planning purposes. On October 7th, students will be participating in a variety of activities.

Seniors- will have the option to take the SAT, or do Community Service, Job Shadow, or College visit

Juniors- will have the option to take the PSAT, SAT, or do Community Service, Job Shadow, or College visit

Sophomores- all sophomores will be taking the PSAT

Freshmen- All freshmen will be participating in the Tour of Opportunity

More detailed information about this day will be sent out once school resumes

Vocational Students

Any students traveling off campus for Vocational classes will report to Jasper High School on the first day of school, Tuesday, August 11th. You will report to your vocational class location on Wednesday, August 12th. You will be receiving an email from Jarred Howard, the Patoka Valley Vocational Co-op coordinator with more detailed information in the next week.

Sean Jochum: sjochum@gjcs.k12.in.us

Cameron Harris: charris@gjcs.k12.in.us

Heather Hawkins: hhawkins@gjcs.k12.in.us

***2027 Moratorium Weeks***

June 27th – July 4th

July 23rd – July 29th

**26-27 PHYSICALS ARE SET – Wednesday, May 5th**

Athletic Office Phone (812)482-4450

**************************************************************

Athletic Events – Week of: August 10th to August 15th

Monday – August 10th

No Events Scheduled

Tuesday – August 11th

No Events Scheduled

Wednesday – August 12th

No Events Scheduled

Thursday – August 13th

Girls Golf HOME - Quad at Buffalo Trace 5:00PM

*Forest Park, Southridge, Springs Valley

Boys Soccer SCRIMMAGE at Washington 5:30PM

Volleyball SCRIMMAGE HOME vs Barr Reeve 6:00PM

Boys Tennis SCRIMMAGE HOME vs Gibson Southern 6:00PM

Girls Soccer SCRIMMAGE HOME vs Ev Memorial 6:30PM

Friday – August 14th

Freshman Football SCRIMMAGE at Heritage Hills 6:00PM

Varsity Football SCRIMMAGE at Heritage Hills 7:00PM

Saturday – August 15th

Boys Tennis HOME vs Westlfield 9:00AM

Girls Soccer at Bloomington South – JV 1st 10:00AM

Boys Soccer at Seymour – JV 1st 10:30AM

Boys Tennis HOME vs Brownsburg 2:00PM

Please note the dates for physicals and next year's moratorium dates. Many of our Fall Sports teams begin their seasons on Monday. Good luck to all of our teams.

The JHS Marching Wildcats have completed their Camp Week and are working hard preparing for the upcoming season. They will have a Summer Showcase Performance on Sunday, August 23rd at 4:15 at Jasper High School. The competition season really heats up in September. We have some very talented students and we are looking forward to seeing the completed show.

Due to the construction we have had to change some drop-off locations. On the JHS campus traffic flows from the south to the east, around the back of school and circles to the North Drive. This is a counter-clockwise pattern. Traffic will enter campus from the south 15th Street entrance or the South St. Charles entrance and travel east. There are four entrances to JHS in the mornings.

• School buses will be dropping off students at door 9 near the crosswalk and then exit along the North Drive.
• Parent am drop-off is at the main entrance using door #1. (The red highlighted route) Please pull forward along the sidewalk to allow more students to be dropped off at one time. Parents will enter campus via the south St. Charles entrance and drive up the main drive to the front of the school. Do not enter campus from the South off 15th Street as you will be traveling against the traffic flow.
• Parent pm pick-up will be at door #8 on the east side of the school. (The yellow highlighted route) Please enter campus via the south St. Charles St. entrance and move around the south side of the gym toward door 8. Parents must park in a parking spot in the East parking lot and wait for their student to walk to the car. We will not be lining up along the sidewalk anywhere along the building. Parents will exit by driving around the back of school and leaving via the North St. Charles Street exit.
• Students driving to school may enter from the South St. Charles Street or 15th Street entrance and park in the Athletic (South) Lot, Tennis (East) Lot, or the Soccer (Northeast) Lot. These students can enter through Door 6 or Door 9. (The green route for entering in the morning and the blue, orange, and purple routes for exiting campus.)
• Students driving to school will need to choose their parking spot and purchase a parking permit for the school year. Parking permits are $25 for the year or $15 for just a semester.
• I would like to thank the Little Wildcats for helping me color code the map!

These are the clubs offered at JHS:

Academic Teams, BPA, Dance Marathon, Earth Club, FFA, German Club, GSA, Interact, JAG, Key Club, National Honors Society, Octagon Club, Performing Arts, Obscure Sports, Robotics, SADD, SOFA, Spanish Club, Spell Bowl, MotorSports,, Archery, Speech and Debate, Young Latinos Unidos, FCA, ED Rising, FCCLA, Take 3, Yogioh Club

We're reaching out to ask if you would be willing to help us spread the word about our upcoming THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride auditions and open interviews by sharing the attached flyers with your students, performers, volunteers, or community members.

Each holiday season, our railway transforms into a live, interactive theatrical experience, welcoming thousands of families from across the region. Each performance brings the beloved Christmas story to life. We're currently looking to grow our team with enthusiastic individuals who enjoy performing, entertaining, and creating memorable guest experiences.

We're casting a variety of paid roles for performers, including:

• Elves (Ages 13+)
• Hero Child (Ages 10+)
• Conductors (18+)
• Stewards (16+)
• Hobos (18+)
• Santa Claus (45+ with a real beard)

Whether someone has years of stage experience or is looking for a new performance opportunity, we'd love to meet them.

Not interested in performing? That's okay! We'll also be conducting open interviews during the same dates and times for paid, non-performing positions, including:

• Gift Shop Team
• Hot Chocolate Crew
• Other guest experience roles

These positions are a great fit for friendly, dependable individuals who want to be part of the magic behind the scenes.

Audition & Interview Schedule

• August 23 | 2:00–5:00 PM | French Lick Scenic Railway (French Lick)
• August 24 | 5:00–7:00 PM | Jasper Train Depot (Jasper)
• August 25 | 5:00–7:00 PM | Martin County Fairgrounds (Loogootee)
• August 26 | 5:00–7:00 PM | Washington County Theatre (Salem)
• August 27 | 5:00–7:00 PM | StoneGate Arts & Education Center (Bedford)

All positions are paid competitive wages, and rehearsals begin in September with performances running throughout November and December. Scheduling is based solely on availability. Those with conflicts are still encouraged to audition/apply!

The 2027 Dubois County Community Foundation Scholarship Application will be available online through our scholarship portal via the following link to our website: www.dccommunityfoundation.org/scholarships

The application will be open from August 3 to October 5, 2026.

As we enter another year of with our scholarship portal here are few reminders…

• There is one universal application for students to complete, and this application includes all Dubois County Community Foundation Scholarship opportunities and the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program (LECSP).
• Students are no longer required to review each listed/named scholarship then ‘self-select’ eligibility based upon the stated criteria for each scholarship.

Timelines for scholarship announcements remain the same with Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship made in December 2026 and the Community Foundation Scholarships made by February 2027.

Attached please find the ‘Scholarships–Frequently Asked Questions’ document that can be shared as a resource to promote the scholarships as well as guide students through the online application process. Application tutorial videos are also available for students to review regarding creation of portal access and applying online. Both are great resources but as always, please don’t hesitate to contact the Community Foundation directly with questions.

• Jasper High School Website
• GJCS APP (download through the App Store or Play Store)
• Twitter (@JasperWildcats)
• Facebook
• Instagram on jasperhighschoo1

Email: gmauck@gjcs.K12.in.us
Website: https://jhs.gjcs.k12.in.us/
Location: 1600 Saint Charles Street, Jasper, IN, USA
Phone: (812)482-6050
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JasperHighSchool.Wildcats
Twitter: @JasperWildcats