JCSD E-Connection

Five Johnston High School students — Eshaan Chandani, Anita Dinakar, Aarushi Gupta, Jackson Liu and Sophie Ruddy — have been named National Merit finalists, bringing them one step closer to consideration for 7,250 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million. Read more.

The Johnston school board on Monday accepted Superintendent Laura Kacer's voluntary resignation effective June 30. The board thanked Kacer for her years of service and commitment to the District and said it planned to quickly consider its next steps in the process of selecting the district’s next superintendent. Several JCSD staff members spoke in support of Kacer.

JHS sophomore Jacob Helgeson won the state wrestling championship in the 152 lbs weight class. Johnston took home five medals: Braden Blackorby (145) 2nd, Sam Zindel (182) 4th, Kaia Fox (170) 5th, Jashua Anglo (126) 7th. JHS junior Margi Skinner was also selected to sing the National Anthem before the semifinals. Read more and watch a video.

The regional championship for girls basketball will be at 7 p.m. tonight at JHS in a game against Sioux City East. Come cheer on your Dragons as they vie for a bid to state! As the regular season for winter sports wound down, the teams recognized this year's seniors in girls and boys basketball, dance and cheer. See photos.

Johnston Middle School eighth graders Syon Aggarwal, Maris Clifton, Liam Dickson and Diksha Chembum Keezhidam competed Saturday in the Iowa Regional Middle School Science Bowl at Iowa State University and took 2nd place out of 21 teams! They were advised by science teachers Jaret Miller and Adrianne Herbert. Congratulations!

Terreon Robinson is our fifth official graduate of Johnston’s Drop-In School! The program, which began last spring, promotes student success by re-engaging students in school with a safe, supportive setting and smaller class sizes. Terreon is taking this next year to work and focus on music production. As he celebrated his graduation, he said: “Terryy says spread the love!"

Johnston Innovation captured the grand championship at both the Great River Show Choir Invitational 2023 and at the Urbandale Show Choir Invitational. All of Johnston's show choirs continue to do well. Sound Advice, Bella Voce, Synergy and Innovation all placed 1st in Urbandale. Get the latest updates on JCSD Show Choirs Facebook.

JHS students Sophie Etnier, Esha Bolar, Eshaan Chandani and Anjali Kumar have qualified for the 2023 National Speech & Debate Tournament, June 11-16 in Arizona. Sophie qualified in Program Oral Interpretation, Esha in Original Oratory (and is the first 4-year national qualifier in Johnston history), and Eshaan and Anjali in Public Forum.

Congratulations to JHS senior Skyler Vong, who finished 15 out of 32 top bowlers at the state bowling tournament Monday in Waterloo. He bowled a 211, 176 and 237. Skyler qualified for state by placing 8th out of 48 at the IHSAA Bowling State Qualifying Meet in Cedar Rapids. Johnston’s boys bowling team placed 4th out of 8 teams at the qualifying meet. Way to go!

Wallace 5th graders recently went to JA BizTown, a simulated town with 14 businesses. They spent four weeks learning about basic economy, business management, work readiness and financial literacy. They also learned how to manage a business, pay taxes and be financially responsible.

Our 8th grade show choir IMPACT finished their season with another 1st place win at the Pella Dutch Masters Invitational 2023 last weekend. The students, led by Jorie O'Leary, also received Best Vocals and Best Choreography in the middle school division. Ruth Nord also received Star Performer.

Eight Johnston High School students in the inaugural EMT (emergency medical technician) program recently attended STEM Day at the Iowa Capitol. They met with lawmakers and others from across the state to share their experiences and the impact that science, technology, engineering and math are having in school.

The Johnston boys swim team placed 15th among 29 teams at the 2023 IHSAA State Swimming Meet. Kyle Gjoraas took fourth in the 500-yard freestyle and fifth in the 200-yard freestyle. His 4:37.60 time in the 500 prelims broke a school record. Some highlights: Medley Relay- (Dicken, Sheth, Deacon, Silken) 1:42.53 (16th). 200 Free- Kyle Gjoraas 1:42.44 (5th). 500 Free- Kyle Gjoraas 4:38.07 (4th). 200 Free (Silken, Meyer, Deacon, Gjoraas) 1:30.42 (15th).

Johnston robotics teams T.H.O.R., Atomic Narwahls, Disco Duckbots and Radiant Rivals will advance to the FTC Iowa Championship, March 3-4 at the Xtream Arena & GreenState Family Fieldhouse in Coralville following the Super Qualifier in Norwalk. First Tech Challenge is a robotics challenge for 7th to 12th graders. Read more and visit johnstonrobotics.org for more information about robotics in Johnston.

The JHS Girls in Tech club volunteered last weekend at the Girls in Science Festival at the Science Center of Iowa, where they taught girls about electrical circuit by making a greeting card with LED lights. The club will be featured in next week's Scholastic Spotlight on WHO-TV, which airs between 6 and 6:30 a.m. Mondays. The segment is also expected to feature JHS sophomore Kathir Kalyanaraman about his founding the Tech Gift Foundation.

The Johnston band program will host its Frizzante! spaghetti dinner fundraiser Tuesday, March 7. Two seatings at 5 and 7 p.m. Music by 9th grade Jazz Band and high school Jazz Combo, Jazz Nexus and Jazz Syndicate. Reservations required by Feb. 28. Tickets $15 adults; $10 kids. Proceeds toward new band instruments.

A live and online auction will be held for the 20th year to benefit the Dragon Scholarship Fund. The live event will be held 6-10 pm March 4 at the Stoney Creek Event Center. Tickets are $40 and can be purchase at http://bit.ly/3Y6QAEX. The online auction will run Feb. 26 to March 4. Money raised will benefit scholarships for JHS students.

JHS students have begun rehearsing for “Frozen: The Broadway Musical” after being chosen as the only Iowa school given exclusive rights to perform the Disney musical. Frozen will be performed 7 p.m. April 20-22 at the JHS Auditorium, along with a sensory-friendly show at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 22. Purchase tickets starting March 6 and meet the cast by watching this video.