In order for our school to thrive, we need to have strong connections between our students, their families, and the school. Open communication and teamwork within these groups will ensure all of our students shatter expectations.

In light of that knowledge, I would like to make every effort to more actively involve our students and parents in the planning process here within the district. There are several initiatives that will unfold this spring including our Graduate Profile and the development of our Academic Pathways, and in order to complete them, we need to hear from our students and their parents. Therefore, as mentioned in The Sting, I will be creating a District Parent Advisory Committee and a District Student Advisory Committee. The Student Committee will meet on one Wednesday a month during the day and will include several smaller groups combined by grade level. The Parent Committee will have its first meeting on Thursday, April 14th in the High School Media Center at 5:30 pm.

If you are interested in joining the Advisory Committee, please complete the form below. If you have any questions please feel free to email me.

rebecca.hutchinson@concordschools.net

Our district had another very successful winter season. Records were broken and titles were claimed. We are so proud of the grit our YellowJackets show on and off the court!! My favorite accolade is that Concord had TWENTY-FOUR Academic All-Conference athletes between the four sports. The Girl's Varsity Basketball team lead the charge. Followed by the Girl's Competitive Cheer Team. See Mr. Lehman's blog below for team breakdowns.

On March 22, 55 students in Jr. Jackets-2nd grade stayed after school for “Superheroes-in-Training Camp”. Students visited three different stations where they decorated superhero masks, played a superhero game and listened to a story about a hero while having a snack. At the end of the program, the students met in the cafeteria where four lucky children won door prizes. A fun time was had by all!

As we head towards the spring, we are excited to begin planning for Kindergarten Roundup. The event will be in May and consists of several different components. We have two dates for roundup scheduled:

Monday, May 2nd from 8:00 am - 2:30 pm

Tuesday, May 3rd from 3:30 pm - 7:00 pm.

If you have a child that will be five by December 1, 2022, they are eligible to participate in either Jr. Jackets or kindergarten in the fall of 2022. Any interested parent should complete the Google Form below to schedule a time to bring their child to Roundup and also plan on attending the parent meeting on Wednesday, April 13, at 6:00 pm in the Elementary Cafeteria for more information about the kindergarten enrollment process.

Junior/Senior Prom Announcement 2022

The Junior class announces that Concord High School’s Junior/Senior Prom will be held Saturday, May 7th from 7-11 pm. This year’s venue is the Cascade Manor at 1970 Kibby Road, in Jackson. The theme is a Masquerade Ball. Appetizers and drinks will be served, and a DJ will be providing entertainment. Tickets will be sold April 18-23rd during lunch periods. Career Center students may purchase their tickets during Flex 1 classes on Wednesday morning. Students purchasing tickets must have Junior or Senior status as must their guests. This includes guests from other schools. Guest forms should be completely filled out and turned into the school office by April 18th.

I am so proud of our students and the effort they put into their reading this month. It was awesome!! It was so fun to see the joy as everyone enjoyed the dress-up days and fun activities fostering a love for books. I am fairly certain I was greeted at the door this morning by The Hulk which was quite the surprise, and then I was shocked to find a bunch of superheroes jamming in the gym all day long. PLUS, our middle school students had the opportunity to tackle some new books in the Reading Month Book Clubs. I want to thank the staff and PTO for their hard work in pulling this month together. Our kids are incredibly lucky to have such caring adults in their lives. THANK YOU!!! Below you will find some more pictures of MARCH IS READING MONTH

Kindergarten - Andrew Miller, Nevaeh Steers, Marley Thurman

1st Grade - Evelyn Frazer, Raegan Clark

2nd Grade - Jayceon Funderburg, Pierce Morrill

3rd Grade - Raegan Arbuckle, Emilia Hernandez

4th Grade - Hayden McCann, Piper Morrill

5th Grade - Karson Frazer, Amariana Carter

Concord has partnered with the JCISD and other county school districts to support the Jackson County Early College to provide our students with a very incredible opportunity to earn college credits while attending high school. There are several virtual information meetings that you can attend. Check out the flyer below for integration about how to learn more.

Hello Class of 2022,

I wanted to send out this reminder that the majority of the local Concord scholarships are due by the end of the school day on March 22nd.

Reminder, these 4 scholarships must either be handed to me directly OR you can hand them to Mrs. Couling in the main office - directly - face to face.

1. Beryl & Margaret Luttenton Scholarship
2. Bruce & Pat Klett Scholarship
3. Buskirk Memorial Scholarship
4. Dr. and Mrs. Keefer Scholarship

There are other local Concord student scholarships that are also posted in the Class of 2022 Google classroom There are different instructions for how to turn those in and it is important that you follow the directions on those applications. Their deadlines are fast approaching as well.

The deadline for the Sigmund Scholarship is also approaching. This one is also Jackson County local and is up to $5,000. There is one for college and one for the trades. Here is the direct link to it again:

https://www.sigmundfoundation.org/scholarships

Please remember that the only guaranteed no to a scholarship is the one you do not apply for...

Mrs. Otto

We want to make you aware of a Netflix show that kids are talking about here at school and that seemingly has content that is not appropriate for younger kids to watch. The show is called Squid Games and it has repetitive violence throughout it that is connected to themes generally associated with children (like outdoor games, ie: Red Light Green Light). The content can be traumatic for children to watch and is leading to increased anxiety among children as it can be extremely gruesome. The next thing to be aware of is a mobile video game called Among Us. It is a murder-mystery game where cartoon-like characters use weapons to kill each other. A great resource to check out in regards to dangerous media Common Sense Media

Ms. Price announced the date Concord will host the graduation ceremony this week. It is earlier than it has been in the past. Please see the letter that was sent to the parents of our seniors for more information.

This fall we have been working on upgrading the look of our website. Our hope was to make it more visually appealing and easier to navigate. The website is still under a bit of construction as some of the pages are begin reviewed for relevancy, but the new site is live. You can see the link below for more information. This winter we will be launching a new application for access information about the district on your mobile device. Stay tuned for updates.

Have you liked the Elementary/Middle School Facebook Page? What about the Concord Community Schools Facebook Page??

If you have not yet, this week is a great time to start. The Elementary and Middle schools use the Facebook page to post many updates, announcements, and student photos; the Concord Community Schools page is a great way to see how a YellowJacket week unfolds! Don't miss the news - like and follow the pages today.

Concord Elementary/Middle School Facebook Page

Concord Community Schools Facebook Page

Our district is facing a staffing shortage. We are in need of bus drivers, food service staff members, coaches, and individuals willing to work through EduStaff as Guest Teachers or subs for all of our positions. These staffing shortages are wreaking havoc across the state. If you are interested and able, we would love to have you on our team. Below you will find information about signing up to work as a Guest Teacher through Edustaff along with our fall Guest Teacher Incentive. Further, you can view unfilled positions on our website. If you have any questions, please call one of our offices.

At Jacket Java, on Tuesday Mr. Arbuckle talked about social media and 10 unsafe apps that parents need to be aware of. You can view the recording by following this link. Additionally, you can find more parent resources through this link.

The Food For Thought Backpack Program for Concord will be starting up soon. This program offers FREE wholesome food to students for the weekend. To become a part of the program parents must sign and return the registration form. If you are interested in receiving this free program, stop in the office for the registration form.