The Navigator Newsletter

Sycamore Junior High's Parent Communication

October 2, 2020

School Goals

Ensure safety of self and students

Provide engaging, standards-based digitized curriculum both F2F and Virtually

Remain prepared to adapt

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F2F Parents: Remember to Scroll down to see F2F content

This Section Applies to Virtual Classroom Learners

COMING UP

This week:

  • October 6: School Picture Retake/Makeup Day 8:05am-Noon (details below)


Mark your calendar

  • November 9: No School
  • November 20: Parent-Teacher Conferences 8am-3pm; No School for Students

  • November 23: Parent-Teacher Evening Conferences 4:30-7:30

School Pictures - VIRTUAL

If your student had pictures taken on September 2nd... YOUR PHOTOS ARE READY!

Click on the button below to get started. The event Code is FE40620

VIEW AND ORDER PHOTOS HERE
http://click.e.jostens.com/


FALL PICTURE/RETAKE DAY - Tuesday, October 6, 2020


If you missed your picture day or want your picture retaken, you are welcome to come in anytime between 8:05 AM - 12:00 PM


Students ONLY should arrive ready to have their picture taken and should enter the gymnasium through Door #13 -just past the black gate. Upon entry, students will have their temperature taken. Once students have taken their picture they will exit door number 14 which is at the back corner of the building. Parents, please wait in your vehicle for your students as we cannot allow any parent into the building.



YEARBOOK INCLUSION

If your child is unable to participate in any of the scheduled picture days and wants to be included in the JH Yearbook, please email a photo to Melissa Speelman at SpeelmanM@sycamoreschools.org.

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Parent/Teacher Conferences

Parent/Teacher Conferences conferences will be held virtually, for both Virtual Classroom and Face-to Face students. The Junior High will host conferences on Friday, November 20 during the day and on Monday evening, November 23. Parents will receive details regarding the conferences as they get closer.

PTO NEWS

MEMBERSHIP

The PTO has chosen to provide membership at NO cost this year. Your FREE PTO membership gives your family access to the Sycamore Junior High Student Directory, which is published through an app called Directory Spot. In order to have access to Directory Spot this year you MUST fill out the membership form.



HASSLE-FREE FUNDRAISING

This year, the PTO is faced with the challenge of fundraising during a global pandemic. Because our annual fundraising events are currently on hold, this could greatly impact our ability to give back to our students and staff throughout the year. The PTO Board has chosen to offer a "Hassle-Free" fundraising event in hopes that we will be able to maintain our level of financial support to the Junior High. Hassle-Free donations can be made on the website listed above. We appreciate your support!


Questions?? Email Kim Hueil at jhptowaysmeans@sycamoreschools.org.



Earn money for Sycamore Junior High PTO

with Pipkin’s Fruit and Vegetable Market


This year, more than ever, we need EVERYONE to participate in our hassle-free fundraising efforts. Whether it’s Kroger Community Rewards, Amazon Smile, Pipkin’s or Box Tops, we need your support!


This week, let’s talk Pipkin’s Fruit and Vegetable Market – you can earn money for the PTO in two easy steps!

  1. Buy yummy fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers at Pipkin’s market located right next to Sycamore Junior High.

  2. Save your receipt and drop it off in the Pipkin’s box right outside the Junior High Office.


Pipkin’s donates a percentage back to the Sycamore High School PTO. If you’re virtual, please email Rhonda at starghill.rm@gmail.com to arrange a pickup of your receipts.

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Yearbook Club!

Yearbook Club is going to look a little different this year, but the good news is that we will still be publishing a 2021 SJHS Yearbook! We would love to have all of our students help whether they are physically at school or learning from home. Meetings will be virtual and so will photo submission. Students will need to join Google Classroom and fill out the form posted there to participate. The Yearbook Club Google Classroom code is: bxgmafr All of this information will go out to students in our first installment of video announcements next week, but feel free to share this now. Please encourage your student to join Yearbook Club and help us document this unique year!


Parents, if you have any photos from athletic events or any other school-related event the Yearbook Club would love to include them in the 2021 yearbook. Please send photo submissions to Melissa Speelman at speelmanm@sycmoreschools.org .


2020 Yearbook and 2021 Yearbook Information


  • Ordering information for the upcoming 2021 yearbook will be coming soon!

child nutrition message

Virtual Meal Curbside Pickup

Effective Wednesday, September 30th the pick-up location for all families for virtual meals is no longer at the High School. You instead will pick up at your student’s assigned school location. IF you have multiple students that attend different buildings, meals for all of your children will be available for pick up at the OLDEST child’s school. You do not need to visit multiple schools.


Pickup times below:

Blue Ash- 10:00-11:00 am

Maple Dale- 1:30-2:30 pm

Montgomery- 10:00-11:00 am

Symmes- 10:00-11:00 am

EH Greene Intermediate- 9:30-10:30 am

Junior High- 10:00-11:00 am

High School- 11:00-12:00 am


Maps for pick up locations at each school are located here. If you have not already signed up and would like to do so, please sign up here. Please note, the cutoff each week to sign up is Sunday at Midnight.



If your student(s) are quarantined at home and you would like access to school meals, you can sign up for the virtual meal curbside pick up by registering here and get meals this way until you are back at school. All meals are free to ALL students until December 31st. Find out more information about pick-up times, locations, and FAQs by clicking here.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Attendance

New Sycamore Attendance Line

ALL K-6 parents are asked to call 686-1707 to report a student absence each morning before school begins. The message will prompt parents to do the following:


  • To report an absence that may be related to COVID-19 symptoms, exposure, or diagnosis, please press 1.

  • To report an absence unrelated to COVID-19, all K-6 parents of students in the Virtual Classroom should press 2.

Any 7-12 parent of students in the Virtual Classroom reporting an absence after 9:00 should call the school building’s main line.


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2020/2021 Immunization Requirements

Please turn in your required immunization paperwork to nurse Amy Bonham ASAP at jhimmunization@sycamoreschools.org.


In Ohio, the following vaccines are required by law:


7th-grade students must show proof that they have received (1) dose of Tdap, and (1) dose of MCV4 . This requirement must be met NO LATER THAN THE 14th day of attendance at school for the 2020-21 school year.


If you have questions, please email Amy at bonhama@sycamoreschools.org or call 686-1763.

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This Section Pertains to Face to Face Classroom Students

COMING UP

This week:

  • October 6: School Picture Retake/Makeup Day 8:05am-Noon (details below)


Mark your calendar

  • November 9: No School
  • November 20: Parent-Teacher Conferences 8am-3pm; No School for Students

  • November 23: Parent-Teacher Evening Conferences 4:30-7:30

Reunification

In the event of an emergency where an evacuation of the school building is necessary, students will be transported to safety at Sycamore Community Schools’ reunification site:

Blue Ash Recreation Center 4433 Cooper Rd. Blue Ash, OH 45242

Detailed information can be found on the district website under Reunification Plans.

For more information on safety & security at Sycamore Schools, visit the district Safety & Security web page.

School Picture Retake Day

Did you miss Picture Day? Want to have your photo retaken?


Josten's will be here in the building on October 6. F2F students can have their picture taken between 8 and 9:30am

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Parent/Teacher Conferences

Parent/Teacher Conferences conferences will be held virtually, for both Virtual Classroom and Face-to Face students. The Junior High will host conferences on Friday, November 20 during the day and on Monday evening, November 23. Parents will receive details regarding the conferences as they get closer.

PTO NEWS

MEMBERSHIP

The PTO has chosen to provide membership at NO cost this year. Your FREE PTO membership gives your family access to the Sycamore Junior High Student Directory, which is published through an app called Directory Spot. In order to have access to Directory Spot this year you MUST fill out the membership form.



This year, the PTO is faced with the challenge of fundraising during a global pandemic. Because our annual fundraising events are currently on hold, this could greatly impact our ability to give back to our students and staff throughout the year. The PTO Board has chosen to offer a "Hassle-Free" fundraising event in hopes that we will be able to maintain our level of financial support to the Junior High. Hassle-Free donations can be made on the website listed above. We appreciate your support!


Questions?? Email Kim Hueil at jhptowaysmeans@sycamoreschools.org.



Earn money for Sycamore Junior High PTO

with Pipkin’s Fruit and Vegetable Market


This year, more than ever, we need EVERYONE to participate in our hassle-free fundraising efforts. Whether it’s Kroger Community Rewards, Amazon Smile, Pipkin’s or Box Tops, we need your support!


This week, let’s talk Pipkin’s Fruit and Vegetable Market – you can earn money for the PTO in two easy steps!

  1. Buy yummy fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers at Pipkin’s market located right next to Sycamore Junior High.

  2. Save your receipt and drop it off in the Pipkin’s box right outside the Junior High Office.


Pipkin’s donates a percentage back to the Sycamore High School PTO. If you’re virtual, please email Rhonda at starghill.rm@gmail.com to arrange a pickup of your receipts.

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Yearbook Club

Yearbook Club is going to look a little different this year, but the good news is that we will still be publishing a 2021 SJHS Yearbook! We would love to have all of our students help whether they are physically at school or learning from home. Meetings will be virtual and so will photo submission. Students will need to join Google Classroom and fill out the form posted there to participate. The Yearbook Club Google Classroom code is: bxgmafr All of this information will go out to students in our first installment of video announcements next week, but feel free to share this now. Please encourage your student to join Yearbook Club and help us document this unique year!


Parents, if you have any photos from athletic events or any other school-related event the Yearbook Club would love to include them in the 2021 yearbook. Please send photo submissions to Melissa Speelman at speelmanm@sycmoreschools.org .


2020 Yearbook and 2021 Yearbook Information


  • Ordering information for the upcoming 2021 yearbook will be coming soon!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Attendance

New Sycamore Attendance Line

ALL K-6 parents are asked to call 686-1707 to report a student absence each morning before school begins. The message will prompt parents to do the following:


  • To report an absence that may be related to COVID-19 symptoms, exposure, or diagnosis, please press 1.

  • To report an absence unrelated to COVID-19, all K-6 parents of students in the Virtual Classroom should press 2.

Any 7-12 parent of students in the Virtual Classroom reporting an absence after 9:00 should call the school building’s main line.


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2020/2021 IMMUNIZATION REQUIREMENTS

Please turn in your required immunization paperwork to nurse Amy Bonham ASAP at jhimmunization@sycamoreschools.org.


In Ohio, the following vaccines are required by law:

7th-grade students must show proof that they have received (1) dose of Tdap, and (1) dose of MCV4 . This requirement must be met NO LATER THAN THE 14th day of attendance at school for the 2020-21 school year.


If you have questions, please email Amy at bonhama@sycamoreschools.org or call 686-1763.

Layover

Here at Sycamore Junior High, we have found that students’ engagement in classwork and homework is critical to optimizing their mastery of required academic standards. We hope parents will help us by reinforcing the importance of completing classwork and homework.


The Junior High has support programs to assist students who encounter challenges completing their work. This year, due to the pandemic, we are not able to offer our after- school BENCH program, but will continue the Layover program. If students are unable to complete classwork and homework as expected, they will be placed in the lunchtime support bell called Layover until that work is completed and turned in. We provide supervisors who can assist students in their work to ensure that the student’s challenge is not failure to understand the concepts. HAVE NO FEAR regarding the “oops” situations we all face. To address the occasional “oops”, every child each quarter and for each teacher will have one parachute pass to redeem for those occasional “oh no!” circumstances. If an out-of-the-ordinary circumstance happens within your family (e.g. illness, death in the family), please reach out to your child’s teachers and an exception can be made.


Students who are required to attend will be notified ahead of time and subsequently reminded of their Layover. If a child does not, after these reminders, come to the Layover Room, we have no other choice but to use the microphone in the cafeteria to request their attendance.


These support programs have been in place for years and have been an integral part of the improvement in student achievement at Sycamore Junior High. We hope that our programs assist you and your family during the evening homework time as you are able to remind them about Layover and the school’s expectations around homework completion.


We appreciate your support as we partner with you to maximize every student’s potential!

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