The Navigator Newsletter
Sycamore Junior High Family Communication
February 17 , 2023
3 Day Weekend
Aviators,
This week we had a WONDEFUL & YUMMY dinner provided to our staff from PTO. Thank you to everyone who helped and donated to fuel our conference night. Your kindness and generosity goes a very long way and we are so grateful for your support. Today also is the start of a three day weekend and we hope you each have a restful & fun weekend.
This newsletter contains a few important items regarding the bridge closure, cell phone policy, and scheduling for students. The Cooper Rd. bridge will be closing on March 1st. Please be prepared to ride the bus. When ALL students utilize the busing system, it will benefit EVERYONE in our community. Also, we have seen an increase in poor choices around cell phone use in our building. Cell phone use can be distracting in many ways and cell phones are NOT permitted to be used at school during the school day. If your child is bringing their cell phone to school it is expected to be turned off and placed in their bag or locker. It should not be in their pants or shirt pockets. Your students are reminded about this policy through various means of communication. The policy, from the handbook, is listed below. Lastly, tomorrow the window for student scheduling will open up. Please take a look at the information below and reach out to counselors with any questions you may have.
As always, we are so lucky to know and serve your child! Thank you for your continued support to make this the best learning environment possible.
-Mrs. Schunk, Mr. Meyer, Mr. Cole
Coming Up
February 18: Online Scheduling Window Opens for 23.24SY
February 20: No School President's Day Holiday
February 27 - March 3rd: Art Spirit Week
March 1: Cooper Road Bridge Closure (See communication below)
March 3: Deadline for ordering the 2023 SJHS Yearbook
March 3-5th: Fine Arts Weekend
March 6 - March 10th: Student Counsel Spirit Week
March 16: End of Quarter 3
March 17: No School: Student Personalized Learning Day
March 20-24: Spring Break
Sycamore Junior High Cell Phone Policy
Cell phones are not permitted to be used or carried by students during instructional hours unless instructed to do so for classroom usage by a certified staff member. Consequences for violating this policy may include, but are not limited to:
1st Offense
Warning issued to the student, cell phone confiscated and turned in to the front office. Parents/Guardians will be notified.
2nd Offense
Parent/Guardian responsible for picking up the phone.
3rd Offense
Detention and parent/guardian responsible for picking up the phone.
4th Offense
Saturday school and phone will be held by administration for one week. Parent/guardian responsible for picking up the phone after one calendar week.
5th and Subsequent
Repeated violations are considered insubordination and will result in more serious consequences. Parent/Guardian responsible for picking up the phone.
Cooper Road Bridge Closure
Sycamore Community Schools is preparing for impacts to transportation services and increased traffic on Cooper Road due to upcoming bridge repair work.
The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) will completely close the Cooper Road bridge in both directions over I-71 beginning in mid-March. The project is expected to take approximately two months to complete, pending weather conditions. We anticipate the project, combined with ongoing construction at the new Sycamore Junior High, will cause a significant impact on traffic.
ODOT plans to detour traffic from Montgomery to the Ronald Reagan Cross County Highway and Kenwood Road. Drivers should expect delays along Cooper Road as well as increased traffic on Delray Drive and Cooper Lane during arrival and dismissal times at Sycamore Junior High. This could also cause some delays in bussing for our E.H. Greene Intermediate, Symmes Elementary, and Montgomery Elementary students.
To help alleviate some of the anticipated traffic, we are strongly encouraging students to ride the bus to and from school. If you need information about your student’s bus stop, please visit our Transportation website. You will need your student’s ID number to look up their bus route information.
We are working with local law enforcement to provide assistance with pick up and drop off at the junior high. Please look for more information in the coming weeks about potential changes to our procedures for junior high car riders.
To help ensure the safety of all students, motorists should remain alert, reduce their speed, and watch for stopped traffic and pedestrians. Car riders should plan to leave home earlier in order to arrive on time.
Thank you in advance for your patience and cooperation. We look forward to having better traffic patterns in place when the new junior high opens in the fall.
SHS Scheduling Update - Rising 9th graders
SHS Scheduling Update
The next step in the HS scheduling process is for students to add their requested courses online. Students will receive their unique username and password (specific to the online scheduling portal) in an email on February 17. That email will also include the instructions linked here.
Students will have one week to enter their desired classes into the scheduling portal. For rising 9th graders, that will be February 18 - 26.
After course requests are entered, counselors then meet individually with students to review selections, answer questions, and finalize the requested courses for the upcoming school year. For rising 9th graders, these meetings will happen during the week of February 27.
Rising 8th Grade Scheduling News!
Scheduling for the 2022-2023 school year is upon us! For current 7th grade students (Rising 8th), we incorporate an online scheduling component in which students will be entering their course requests into an online portal. Below are some upcoming dates regarding the scheduling process.
The Junior High 8th Grade Course Planner is now available online! You can find it on the website by going to: Junior High → Counseling → Course Planner & Scheduling or by clicking here.
February 18th - Feb 26th: Online Scheduling. Students will have one week to enter courses they would like to take next year into the online scheduling portal. Core courses (Language Arts, History, Math, Science) and World Languages, if applicable, will be pre-loaded. Students will then select their music and any electives, schedule permitting.
Early March: Rising 8th grade students will receive verification slips via My eBackpack. This will be a list of courses that were selected for the next school year.
During online scheduling week, students can contact their counselor with any questions or if they need assistance with the online scheduling portal.
Mr. Brenner A-G brennerb@sycamoreschools.org
Mrs. Suter H-N suterk@sycamoreschools.org
Mrs. Morris O-Z, ESOL morrisra@sycamoreschools.org
Time is running out! Reserve your 2023 Yearbook TODAY!
Time is running out to order your 2023 SJHS Yearbook. The final deadline to order is March 3, 2023. The SJHS Yearbook Club is committed to documenting this school year for YOU! The cost is $35/copy. Click HERE to order your 2023 Yearbook.
Do you have photos you would like to submit to the Yearbook Club? Click HERE and find the “Submit Photos Here” button (you must have a Sycamore email to upload photos)! We want to represent ALL students in this year's historic yearbook.
*Please note the order confirmation email comes from: support@studiosourceyearbooks.com. Last year we had some duplicate orders because it was difficult for people to locate their confirmation.
Questions? Contact Mrs. Melissa Speelman
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Sycamore Junior High School
Email: jhadmin@sycamoreschools.org
Website: www.sycamoreschools.org
Location: 5757 Cooper Road, Cincinnati, OH, United States
Phone: 5136861760