• Senior Mural Applications due January 29th

• Senior Year Checklist

• Missing Cap and Gown orders!!

• Debate Makes History!

• Freshman Mentor Program

• Spring Sports

• Hometown Ticketing

• NFHS Livestream Information

• EKL Calendar and Notifications

• ACT Prep Class

• Suicide Prevention Presentation

• 2nd Semester Schedule Changes

• Senior Shortened Schedules

• Join our PTO!

• Follow BVW PTO on twitter / Like us on Facebook

• Blue Valley West High School

• Need Tech Support?

• Hybrid Calendar for 2nd Semester

• Counseling Canvas page

• Your Spot for Jaguar Spirit Wear

• Athletics, Events, and School Events Calendar

• Past Jaguar Journals

• Blue Valley School District

• Durham Bus Company contact information:

email admin6700@durhamschoolservices.com

or call 913-681-2492

• 7:30am Doors Open at BVWest

• 7:45am Class begins promptly for Hybrid and Virtual Students

• Lunch Information - Have you scanned your Mobile ID Card?

If you already did this at the beginning of the year, you do not need to do it again.

Step 1: Check you BV email for a message from Titan School Solutions

Step 2: Open the attachment of Mobile ID Card

Step 3: Screenshot the ID Card to save as an image on your phone

Step 4: Open your barcode image at the register and scan to pay.

• Jan. 19th 2nd semester begins

• New Bell schedule begins for hybrid and virtual students (UPDATED on January 13th)

• Hybrid schedule begins:

• Jan. 19th:

• Students whose last names begin with the letters A-L will attend school in person following the hybrid schedule.

• Jan. 21st:

• Students whose last names begin with the letters M-Z will attend school in person following the hybrid schedule

Schedules changes can be made - see Counseling section below for more details

Seniors shorten Schedule - see Counseling section below for more details

Need some help?

Blue Valley has a variety of resources available for parent support on the district’s Canvas web page

We continue to be excited about Canvas and the positive impact this learning management system continues to have on our students. Thank you for your support of Blue Valley Schools.

If you have questions, please contact the main office at 913-239-3700.

Please have your students join the Tech Support Zoom in the Jag Hub if they are having issues getting to their 2nd semester classes. We can help with:

• How to see their schedules

• How to find the zoom links

• Tech issues getting to class

We will be in the Jag Hub Tech Support Zoom during blocks 1 & 2 all week.

If your student has schedule change questions, please reach out to their alpha counselor listed in the Counseling Canvas Course.

To get to Jag Hub Zoom open the Canvas Jag Hub:

• Click on Zoom on the left navigation

• Click Join

Jan. 14th:

• Courses in Canvas concluded at 11:59pm and are no longer visible on the Canvas Parent app

• A concluded course is only visible through the Canvas Website by selecting All Courses from the Courses tab

• Grades are visible through the Past Enrollments section in the Canvas Website. Access Past Enrollment (Video tutorial)

Jan. 28th:

• Final exam scores and other individual assignment grades can be viewed in Canvas

• Semester grades reports will be published on ParentVUE

This program is offered to all parents in Blue Valley. Parents and teens should attend this event if they would like more information about panic, depression and/or suicidality. Julia Harkleroad will be discussing the basic protocols in case of suicidal ideation and planning as well as managing impulsive emotions, intrusive thoughts and high stress environments She will introduce the biomechanics of stress and the differences between suicidal ideation and suicidal planning. Julia will share insight into breathing, heart-rate variability, pain management, relationships, drugs and alcohol, sleep, social media and mindfulness.

All sessions are open to all BV parents and teens. If a session time does not work and you wish to join live, feel free to register for a session that works for you, even if you are not part of that feeder system. Registration is now open.

• Blue Valley North Feeder Schools K-12: 1/19/21 @ 4:00PM

• Blue Valley High Feeder Schools K-12: 1/20/21 @ 6:00PM

• Blue Valley West Feeder Schools K-12: 1/21/21 @ 4:00PM

• Blue Valley Northwest Feeder Schools K-12: 1/21/21 @ 7:00PM

• Blue Valley Southwest Feeder Schools K-12: 1/22/21 @ 10:30AM

Did you know that Blue Valley offers a variety of career-ready programs for high school students in partnership with Johnson County Community College? Through this partnership high school students have the opportunity to earn college credits at little to no cost, advance toward an associates degree, earn certifications and more!

Watch this video for an overview of current and future opportunities students have to learn real-world skills and practical knowledge with a career focus.

Click on anyone of the following programs being offered to find out more:

Automotive Technology Program

Construction Management Program

Associates Dual Degree

Welding and Metal Fabrication Programs

Fire Sciences

Culinary/Hospitality

Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning Program (HVAC)

This week we would like to highlight the Fire Sciences

This program is for students who are academically very capable, who are highly motivated and who see the benefit in obtaining a dual diploma program because it is cost-effective. They’ll walk away from Blue Valley with a high school diploma and an associates degree at minimal cost or no cost to the student. They are students who have high ambitions for the future and financially see a reason that this benefits them.” - Katie Bonnema, Director of Career-Ready Programs.

Through the Dual Degree partnership with Johnson County Community College (JCCC), high school juniors and seniors can work toward earning their high school diploma and associate degree simultaneously. The program provides students the opportunity to attend JCCC full-time, receive dual credit for their coursework and take an average of 15 credit hours each semester at no cost to the student. Careful course selection and ongoing communication with counselors at both JCCC and the student’s home high school is necessary to ensure coursework is aligned to achieving these simultaneous credentials.

Watch this video for an overview of the Fire Sciences

Join us for our virtual Zoom information sessions dedicated to sharing details about individual programs. Unable to make a session? Recordings will be available for those who are unable to attend the live event.

If you are interested in the Dual Degree Program or other Career-Ready opportunities, let your counselor know. If you have questions, please contact Sarah Beren at sberen@bluevalleyk12.org or 239-4141 or visit the district website.

Greetings class of 2021! We are excited to begin the process of selecting an artist for the Senior Mural for the Class of 2021.

For those of you that don't know, every year BVW Senior Class officers have the honor of selecting a senior artist to paint a "Senior Mural." Once an artist is selected, then those students will be working with admin and art teachers to complete and paint the mural.

The mural is intended to be a representation of the Senior Class, its students--and their experiences with student life at BVW. This Mural is 4'x4' in size and hangs in the main office for a year before being moved to the classroom hallway. Artists begin working on it during the late winter/early spring months, and it is revealed at the Class Day Ceremony in May. It is a special tradition that the Senior Class enjoys every year.

If you are interested in submitting an application to be selected, please click here to download the fillable form.. You will need to complete, print, and return it to the main office at BVW. Please remember you will need to sketch your mural idea on the backside of the form. Please make sure that all applications are received in the main office by 3:15 on Friday Jan 29th.

This opportunity is open to all students (in-person or virtual), just as long as you are a member of the class of 2021!

Best of luck and we look forward to celebrating this senior class!

• If you have not already done so, please order your Cap & Gown. These are custom ordered.
  

• Every Senior must Submit their contact information and sizing for their cap and gown. This does not place your order. You must make your payment.

• Step by step instructions to order your cap, gown, and tassel

• Contact BVW’s graduation official, Renee Trimble with Herff Jones with any questions: 620.203.8465 or rltrimble@herffjones.com.
  

• Madeline Kirby/Rudrani Dutta—Quarterfinalists

• Cheryl Wang/Josh Tran—Quarterfinalists

• Aiden Koudele/Madison Coyne—Octofinalists

• Avery Vogel/Rebecca Xue—Octofinalists

*ALL four teams make it into elimination rounds, and ALL four teams won at least one elim round. No other school at the tournament did this. Both of these are firsts in school history!

• Sai Pradhan/Nargis Suleman

A first in school history!

• Supta Das/Zakariya Ahmed—Quarterfinalists

• Samuel Wang/Puneet Bagga—2:3

The Mentor Program is taking applications for new mentors for the spring 2021 semester. Applications are open to Sophomores and Juniors only. The mentor program focuses on developing connections between freshmen and BVW upperclassmen. Mentors must be available during ACU/Advisory time and willing to share some of their personal academic intervention time to help cultivate these relationships and support freshmen.

It is not too early to get your paperwork in for spring sports. The participation packet can be found on our athletics webpage, www.bvwestjags.com Spring sports begin Monday, March 1st. More information from head coaches will be coming soon.

The Blue Valley School District is partnering with Hometown Ticketing to provide digital ticket purchasing for all athletic events. This will allow our schools to be cashless at the gate AND to limit the number of spectators to the KSHSAA guideline of up to two parents/guardians at all events. Please contact the Athletics Office - 913-239-3771 if you have any questions.

The Blue Valley School District has partnered with the NFHS Network to provide a livestream of all district athletic events in the high school main gyms. Our swim/dive meets will be streamed through YouTube, when possible. Links and additional information can be found on the athletic website, www.bvwestjags.com or go directly to www.nfhsnetwork.com and search “Blue Valley West High School. $11.95 a month will give you unlimited access to any game broadcast

All athletic events can be found on our league website at www.easternkansasleague.org or on the school website, by sport. On the EKL website, you can subscribe to receive notifications of changes, updates or cancellations. It is a great way to find out about any changes as soon as they are made on the site.

Questions? Contact Cindy Roach - Athletic Director croach@bluevalleyk12.org or 913-239-3770.

prACTice! – Jan Berghaus, BVW teacher offers a prep class for the ACT test to optimize the

performance and reduce anxiety for our students. Her focus is on strategy that has been

developed by teaching an ACT prep course and compiling tips from students on what they wish they had known before taking the test. Students will become familiar with the ACT test and be given an edge on attack skills.

Due to COVID uncertainties, the class will not be held on site.

Students signing up for the class need to stop by room 301 to pick up an ACT booklet used to

develop strategies. The booklet also provides opportunities for practice.

Below are the dates for sign up. Mrs. Berghaus suggests that students take the class right before testing.

DATES:

• Wednesday 1/27 for the February 6 test

• Wednesday 2/10 for the free February 23 test given to all Juniors (test is scheduled by the State at this time, if postponed, your registration will be applied to the rescheduled class coordinated with new test date)

WHERE: a ZOOM link will be sent out at 3pm the day of the class

WHEN: 7:00 – 8:30pm

COST: $30 (total charge will be $32.23 as only credit card payment can be accepted this time and there is a surcharge) Sign up closes at 2pm the day of class. No refunds will be available, but payment will be forwarded to the next class offered. Google Eventbrite and look for prACTice! Or use the QR code below to sign up.

Information about the schedule change process can be found on the counseling canvas page here.

Please note that schedules can be changed beginning on January 19th unless you have one of the following issues:

• Missing a graduation requirement

• Duplicate course (courses listed twice in error)

• Missing a class

• "See Counselor" listed in schedule

Any other requests will need to wait until January 19th.