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Happy Friday Central Junior High families!

Today we had our first Club Friday! This is a time where staff and students get the opportunity to connect in a different way. Students had the chance to select different activities from ping pong, cookie decorating, and lego club to name a few. We will have a club Fri each month. Today was a great first club day. We’re excited for the months to come.

We understand that unexpected situations may arise and that families may occasionally need to request a transportation change late in the day. Between 1:45 and 2:10 p.m., our office is preparing for dismissal, making this one of the busiest times of the school day. We will make every effort to communicate transportation change requests received during this timeframe, however, we cannot guarantee that the message(s) will be delivered before dismissal. All requests received after 1:45 p.m. will be documented, and our office staff will make every effort to notify the student via email and the teacher through Google Chat and email. To help ensure a smooth and safe dismissal, we encourage families to submit transportation changes as early as possible. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!

If families did not see the latest levy information, please click here and here! This information can also be found on the PLSD website. If families have questions, please contact the district office.

Recently, a significant amount of trash and large messes have been left behind on the tables and floors during both breakfast and lunch periods. Maintaining a clean dining environment is a shared responsibility. It is not the role of our duty aides to clean up avoidable messes left behind by individual students. Their primary responsibility is to supervise and ensure a safe, orderly environment for everyone. Moving forward, any student who leaves a mess and/or refuses to clear their area will be assigned community service after school or detention. If issues continue, additional discipline could be applied. Please speak with your students and we thank you in advance.

Lastly, next Fri Oct 23rd we will be having Career Day! We are so excited to have visitors to our building showing/describing their careers. Students have the opportunity to select which sessions they attend during the day. We thank in advance any of our family members who have volunteered their time for this event: whether it’s sharing your career during a session(s) with students or being a PoPPS volunteer. Please know we appreciate your time and look forward to spending the day with you next week!

Take care and we’ll chat again next week! GO TIGERS!

Important Dates:

Oct 23: Career Day!

Week of Oct 26: Spirit Week!

Nov 6: Teen Night

You may have seen our recent District communication about changes to attendance communication this school year. As Ohio implements new attendance requirements under House Bill 96 (HB 96), families will receive more information from schools about the amount of instructional time students miss.

Our focus in Pickerington is on awareness, communication and support—not simply counting absences.

Why does attendance matter?

Regular attendance gives students consistent opportunities to learn from their teachers, collaborate with classmates, participate in classroom experiences and build the knowledge and skills that support their success.

What can families expect?

At 38 hours of missed instructional time:

Your school will contact you to make you aware of the amount of instructional time your student has missed. This early communication is intended to provide families with information before a student reaches the state's 5% attendance threshold.

What is the 5% threshold?
Ohio considers missing 5% or more of the instructional time for which a student is enrolled to be a level of absenteeism that requires additional attention and intervention.

At 65 hours of missed instructional time:
Your school will make personalized contact with your family. This provides an opportunity to talk about your student's attendance, understand any challenges that may be getting in the way of regular attendance and connect you with support or resources when needed.

Why does missed time matter?

We understand that students sometimes need to be absent. Illness, appointments, family circumstances and other situations happen, and absences will continue to be identified as excused or unexcused based on the reason for the absence and applicable District requirements.

At the same time, even an excused absence means a student misses something—a lesson, a class discussion, time with classmates, hands-on learning or an opportunity to practice an important skill.

Our goal is to recognize concerns early and work alongside families before attendance becomes a bigger challenge.

Every day a student is able to be at school is another opportunity to learn, connect and grow. Together, we can help our students make the most of those opportunities.

For more information, visit Student Attendance: What Families Need to Know on the Pickerington Local Schools website.

PERSONAL COMMUNICATION DEVICES (Board Policy 5136) For purposes of this policy, “personal communication device” (PCD) includes, but not limited to, computers, tablets (e.g., iPad-like devices), electronic readers (“e-readers”; e.g., Kindle-like devices), cell phones, smartwatches, smartphones (e.g., iPhones, Android devices, Windows Mobile devices, Meta Glasses, etc.) not owned by the district. Students in grades 7-12 may use PCDs before and after school, during their lunch break, in between classes as long as they do not create a distraction, disruption or otherwise interfere with the educational environment, during after school activities (e.g., extra-curricular activities), or at school-related functions. Use of PCDs, except those approved by a teacher or administrator, at any other time is prohibited and they must be powered completely off (i.e., not just placed into vibrate or silent mode) and stored out of sight. Educational environment is defined as district properties including fields, buildings, and district provided transportation. Students should not loan out personal devices or district devices assigned to the student. The district is not responsible for items that have been loaned out, lost and/or not-returned. If a student fails to comply with a request to remove or power off their personal communication device(s), the building administrator my confiscate the device and request that a parent/guardian pick up the device(s).

At Central Jr High School, our policy is as follows:

If a student is seen using a PCD, AT ANY TIME during the school day, it will be confiscated by staff.

First offense: student can pick up from the office after the final bell rings at 2:10.

Second or more: device will be held in the main office, in a locked drawer and room until a parent/guardian can pick up. Pick up times are M-F 8:00 am - 1:45 pm; and 2:30 - 3:00 pm.

The beginning of every quarter resets offenses.

The parent/guardian picking up any device must present a valid photo ID to obtain the device from the office. If anyone other than the parent/guardian is picking up the device, the parent/guardian must call the office ahead of time to give the name of an ADULT to pick up the device.

School-Based Health Clinic

Pediatric Associates has an office located at Tussing Elementary that is available to all PLSD students and the community of Pickerington. The clinic offers the following services: helping with sore throat, headaches, earache, bad cough, strep test, immunizations, blood work, physicals, well check-ups, sports physicals, medication, asthma, etc.

The clinic is open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; and closed from 12:00 - 1:00 pm for lunch. Walk-ins are welcome, or to schedule an appointment call 614-864-3222.

Emergency Resources

Crisis Text Line: text "HOME" to 741741

Nationwide Children's Youth Hotline: 1-614-722-1800

Teen Hotline: 1-614-294-3300

Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673

Safe Schools Tip Line: Call or text 1-844-723-3764

Suicide Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 or 1-614-221-5445

Sheriff Department: 1-740-652-7900

Families, we are having a Career Day on Oct. 23rd and we need your help.

We love it when parents, grandparents, siblings, friends come in to share their career with our students. It doesn't matter what field your career is in, all of us have a career path story. Those who present would only have to prepare 20-25 minutes of material/activities. Hands-on activities or props that relate to your career are great time fillers too. We are asking for people to present 6 sessions from 9:30-1:30 (you would also have a half hour lunch during that time.) If you or someone you know could present sessions for the day or would be a great keynote speaker or both, Please complete this form ASAP. Thanks in advance for your help. Career Day Speakers 26-27 - Family Form.

Please mark your calendar for Oct. 23rd and plan appointments around that day. We love to have all kids participate. If there is no way around scheduling an appointment for that day, please plan to arrive extra early. Kids will be in assemblies, and classrooms outside of their normal schedule, so getting them to the office might take a bit longer. It might also require us to call them out of an assembly, which could be disruptive, so please plan ahead. Thanks!

Please follow us on Facebook: Central Junior High School PTO

Central JH PTO

Kelly Martin, President: kelly.martin_rvjhpto@hotmail.com

Be sure to get your athlete registered to stay up to date on all communication from coaches for the upcoming seasons.

Students: $5 Adults: $7

Cash/Card is accepted at the gate. If you pay online, there will be additional fees.

Click here to purchase tickets: https://oh50010917.schoolwires.net/Page/126

You may purchase a Tiger Club Pass ($50/student) or a Central Club Pass ($100/adult) that is good for all regular home games for every sport.

To purchase Club Passes, use the same link as above and select Central. Once there, you will select Purchase Yearly Passes.

**Students are now required to show their student ID card to attend athletic events. If your student does not have an ID card yet, you can show the attendant your Infinite Campus information from your phone until your ID arrives**

Does your student speak, read, write, and understand a language other than English?

Pickerington Local Schools offers students in grades 7–12 the opportunity to demonstrate their language skills by taking the AAPPL assessment. Depending on their results, students may be able to:

• Earn up to 4 high school world language credits

• Meet the language proficiency requirement for the Ohio Seal of Biliteracy

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What is the AAPPL?

The AAPPL (ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages) measures how well a student can use a language in real-world situations. Students are assessed in four areas:

• Speaking

• Writing

• Reading

• Listening

The full assessment takes approximately two hours. Students must be able to read and understand the test directions in English and be able to speak, write, listen, and read in the language they are testing.

What languages are available?

AAPPL testing is available in ASL, Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

Testing may also be available for other languages, although the test format and cost may be different. Families interested in another language should still complete the AAPPL Interest Form, and someone will follow up with additional information.

What happens after the test?

Students receive a score for each of the four areas tested. Pickerington Local Schools will review the student's results to determine how much high school world language credit the student has earned.

Students may earn up to 4 world language credits based on their results. Students may also qualify for the Ohio Seal of Biliteracy if they meet the required language proficiency level within 15 months of graduation and meet the English proficiency requirement through the ELA II or OELPA assessment.

Cost

The AAPPL assessment costs $20. The fee will be added to the student's Infinite Campus fee account after testing.

Fall 2026 Testing Dates

Pickerington High School North: October 28, 2026
Pickerington High School Central: October 29, 2026
Lakeview Junior High: November 18, 2026
Central Junior High: November 19, 2026

Interested in having your student participate?

Please complete the AAPPL Interest Form to let us know your student would like to test. Additional information about the testing process will be shared with interested families.

This is a great opportunity for students who already know another language to have their skills recognized and potentially earn high school credit and the Ohio Seal of Biliteracy.

• PLSD 2026-2027 District Calendar - click here

• Districtwide Activities Calendar

  Upcoming events and important dates are listed in the Districtwide Google Events Calendar, which is synced with individual building, program and athletic team calendars. Once inside the district wide calendar, to display the events of a particular building, team, program or activity, you will need to check the specific corresponding color-coded box(es) from the list on the left-hand side.

The Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Department of Public Safety have launched the SaferOH tip line that will accept both calls and texts 24 hours a day.

This tip line allows students and adults to anonymously share information with school officials and law enforcement about threats to student safety—whether that involves a threatened mass incident or harm to a single student.

Every tip can remain anonymous. School safety analysts may ask for additional information, but the caller can remain secret or leave his or her contact information for later follow-up.

Calls or texts to 844-SaferOH (844-723-3764) are answered by analysts in the Ohio Homeland Security’s Threat Assessment and Prevention (TAP) Unit. When action is needed, the TAP Unit immediately forwards information to Pickerington Schools, local law enforcement agencies, and others, if necessary.

Principal: Sheila Evans

Assistant Principal 7th Grade: Henry Lee

Assistant Principal 8th Grade: Kevin Smith

Dean of Students: Sydney Dillard

Building Secretary/Athletics: Tiffany Dalton

Building Secretary/Registrar: Lisa Holley

Attendance: Pat Petrini

Office Assistant: Madelyn Gomez

Counselors: Kris Owen: A-Ga, Erica Reynolds: Ge-N, Rachel Londberg: O-Z

Nurse: Aarika Breckenridge /Mindy Stillwell

Safety/Security: Devon Queener

School Resource Officer (SRO): Nick Baehr; Jeremy Collier

Email: Sheila_Evans@plsd.us
Website: pickerington.k12.oh.us
Location: 457 Lockville Rd.
Phone: 614-548-1700
Instagram: @pickcentraljrhighschool