The Navigator Newsletter
Sycamore Junior High's Parent Communication
May 21- 24
COMING UP at the JH!
May 22 - Choir Concert
May 23 - 8th-grade Day
May 24 - Last day of school for students - Enjoy your summer!
Mark your calendar:
August 8: Schedule Pickup 1pm - 5pm
August 9: Schedule Pickup 8am-1pm
Withdrawals
Dear Parents/Guardians,
We wish you a safe and wonderful summer. If you are planning on moving out of the district or transferring your child to a different school, please fill out the attached student withdrawal form. Also, your child’s Chromebook and charger must be turned in to the Media Center before the last day of school. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Theresa Manning (manningt@sycamoreschools.org) in the Counseling Office or call 513-686-1764.
P.T.O.
8th Grade Day!
May 23, 9:45am-2pm. The PTO and the SJHS administration team up on this day to offer a big celebration for our 8th graders! The PTO is in charge of the volunteers and the special activities, and we already have a team working on the plans. Questions? contact Heather Chapman, maidenmeadows@hotmail.com. Can you help? Check out volunteer opportunities here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090f49abae28a4f58-8thgrade.
Get Involved Next Year!
Rising 8th-grade parents: Get involved with the JH PTO! Click on the link below to find out ways to lead (Chair positions) or ways to help (volunteer jobs) next year at the JH. Thanks!
https://www.cognitoforms.com/SycamoreJuniorHighPTO/JHPTO20182019VolunteerOpportunities
Junior High Students: Donate School Supplies
This quarter's charity focus at SJH is Operation Give Back. Please consider encouraging your child to donate his or her gently used school supplies to Operation Give Back. During locker clean out on May 23 and 24th, students will be pushing collection bins in each locker hallway. Acceptable items include:
- binders with sharpie writing can be cleaned with dry erase cleaner
- gently used writing supplies
- folders with small or no rips or tears
- notebooks with only a few pages used
- working earbuds
- gently used crayons, colored pencils and markers
Information on the OGB School Supply Giveaway can be found below and about OGB in general on their website: https://www.ogiveback.com/
Class T-Shirts
CLASS OF 2023 PARENTS: In the fall, we are implementing the statewide mandate of a Positive Behavioral Intervention Support (PBIS). The goal of PBIS is to develop common language around behavioral expectations in the building, as well as, to teach those expectations. PBIS will also feature acknowledgment of students who regularly meet our expectations. In an effort to build excitement and community around PBIS, we are selling class tee shirts. These shirts serve BOTH as spirit wear and to promote our expectations. Your child will not want to be without one! You can order your tee shirt online (and your child will be able to pick their shirt up in August at the schedule pick-up day)! If you have any questions, please contact Linsey Farroh: farrohl@sycamoreschools.org
Please click on the following link to order your shirt:
Class of 2023 (forest green shirt with gold print)
Class of 2024 (gold tee shirt with forest green print)Volunteers Needed: Winton Hills Field Day
Sycamore Junior High will be hosting the 18th annual Field Day for Winton Hills Academy (WHA), our Sister School, on Thursday May 24th. The event is held on Winton Hills Academy grounds, and some of our own SJH students run the games and interact with the WHA students. We need adult volunteers to supervise games and transport equipment. Field Day set-up starts at 7:30am, and tear-down ends by 1:30pm, but volunteers can participate for a portion of the day. If you are interested in helping, please contact Nermine Banke (knbanke@gmail.com).
Winton Hills Academy is a Cincinnati Public School located in the largest low-income housing neighborhood of Cincinnati. The school is a welcoming and safe environment for 400+ students grades pre-K thru 6th. Sycamore Junior High has partnered with WHA as a Sister School since 1999.
Sycamore Junior High Summer Reading
Help prevent summer reading loss by reading a great book! Studies have shown that reading proficiency levels can decrease over the summer. To help lessen the loss of reading skills, students at Sycamore Junior High are encouraged to keep reading all summer. All of the language arts classes at the junior high have summer reading expectations. Assignments and instructions are located in Google Classrooms that students access using their Sycamore student accounts. See below for the Google Classroom codes. All summer reading assignments are due on the first day of school. Honors Language Arts 7 Students enrolling in Honors Language Arts 7 for the 2018-2019 school year need to use the Google Classroom code q5ayxvm to access the summer reading assignment and instructions. Students must use their Sycamore provided student account to join the Google Classroom. Honors Language Arts 8 Students enrolling in Honors Language Arts 8 for the 2018-2019 school year need to use the Google Classroom code nb9tv3i to access the summer reading assignment and instructions. Students must use their Sycamore provided student account to join the Google Classroom. Language Arts and Interdisciplinary Language Arts 7 or 8 Students enrolling in Language Arts 7/8 OR Interdisciplinary Language Arts 7/8 for the 2018-2019 school year need to use the Google Classroom code ruvf8v to access the recommended summer reading. Students must use their Sycamore provided student account to join the Google Classroom.
Thanks,
Sara
Sara Sheldt
Language Arts and Reading Teacher
Language Arts Department Supervisor
Sycamore Junior High School
8th Grade Day
Dear parents of 8th grade students,
Our 8th-grade day activity will take place on Wednesday, May 23, 2018, at the Blue Ash Recreation Center. Students will travel by bus and enjoy activities with staff and their classmates. We will leave the building around 9:45 am and return around 2:00 pm. If you need to access your 8th-grade student during this time, please coordinate with Mrs. Knue prior to that day via email at knuet@sycamoreschools.org or via phone 686-1760.
When the students arrive back to school, the 8th-grade panoramic picture will be taken. Total cost for this 10" x 30" photo is $26.99. The order ID is JC047810T0. You may order online at my.lifetouch.com. Order forms will go home with your child on May 11th and need to be returned to the photographer on picture day. Extra order forms will be available in the front lobby of the Junior High. When ordering, please include mailing address as photos will be shipped to the home address.
Students should bring:
Towel and swimwear if they wish to swim
Sunscreen
Students are permitted to bring:
Hat
Sporting equipment
Cards
Small bag or backpack to carry their belongings
A sack lunch/snacks
Lunch, snacks, and plenty of water will be available to students thanks to our generous PTO.
Students will not be permitted to return to their lockers when we arrive back at school. Therefore, it is our recommendation that students do not bring valuables to school on this day. We will not be able to respond to stolen or lost valuables, including cell phones. Additionally, students are not permitted to use their phones at this event.
In order to have the privilege of attending this event, students must be in good academic and behavioral standing. At the 8th-grade class meeting, these expectations were reviewed.
Maintain passing grades in your classes. Students with multiple failures for 4th quarter will not be permitted to attend.
Attend school. Students with excessive absences/tardies to school 4th quarter will not be permitted to attend.
Follow direction from adults. Students that are chronically noncompliant will not be permitted to attend.
Demonstrate respect for others. A student who is rude or disrespectful towards others or property will not be permitted to attend.
Be a leader. Model excellence. Students that continue to violate the code of conduct or demonstrate behaviors that are not outstanding examples of what an SJH student exemplifies will not be permitted to attend.
Students should be in good standing with the media center, having returned all books and paid overdue fines.
Please remind your student of these expectations. Additional expectations related to the day may be found HERE.
Students with current class failures will not be permitted to attend. These students will be addressed individually by Mrs. Zelvy on Tuesday, May 22nd. They will be able to remain at school to complete coursework in an attempt to raise those failing grades.
This will be a fantastic day of celebration for our students. If you have any further questions or concerns, please contact Mrs. Zelvy at zelvyl@sycamoreschools.org or 686-1760.
Summer MAP Testing
Sycamore Schools is offering an optional summer MAP administration for grades 2-8. Please click on the link for more details and to register your child for this opportunity. If you have any questions, please email Mindy Zellner, District Gifted Coordinator, at zellnerm@sycamoreschools.org.
Know! Fitness #4Mind4Body
May is Mental Health Month; a time to raise awareness about the connection between physical and mental health, through the theme Fitness #4Mind4Body - sponsored by Mental Health America (MHA).
Two key messages MHA wants to share through this year’s educational campaign are that (1) Mental health is essential to everyone’s overall health and well-being, and (2) Mental illnesses are common and treatable.
A healthy lifestyle can help to prevent the onset or worsening of mental health conditions like depression and anxiety, as well as heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and other chronic health problems. It can also play a big role in helping people recover from these conditions. Taking good care of your body is part of a smart approach to mental health.
In this Know! Tip, we focus on youth and exercise, and how the appropriate amount of it not only aids in controlling weight, but assists in improving mental health, helping our children live longer, healthier lives. Plus, youth who are regularly active are more likely to grow into adults who are regularly active – giving them a better chance of a healthy adulthood.
Here are some facts to keep in mind:
- Physical activity is related to lower mood levels less anxiety, and fewer substance use disorders.
- Those who make regular physical activity part of their routines are less likely to have depression, panic disorders, and phobias.
- One study even found that for people with anxiety, exercise had similar effects to cognitive behavioral therapy in reducing symptoms.
- Exercise also increases a variety of substances that play an important role in brain function including endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine.
When it comes to our children, how much and what types of exercise are considered appropriate?
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 years should have 60 minutes or more of physical activity each day.
Aerobic:
- Aerobic exercise is rhythmic movements of large muscles, like jogging, running, bicycling, or swimming laps.
- Most of the 60 or more minutes a day should be either moderate- or vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity and should include vigorous-intensity physical activity at least 3 days a week.
Muscle-strengthening:
- Muscle-strengthening activities make muscles do more work than usual during activities of daily life. Muscle-strengthening activities may be unstructured and part of play, like playing on the monkey bars at the park, climbing trees, or engaging in a game of tug-of-war. Or these activities can be structured, such as lifting weights, using strength-training machines or using one’s own body weight to perform exercises that target major muscle groups.
- As part of their 60 or more minutes of daily physical activity, children and teens should include muscle-strengthening physical activity on at least 3 days of the week.
Bone-strengthening:
- Bone-strengthening activities produce a force on the bones that promotes bone growth and strength, and is commonly achieved by impact with the ground. Running, jumping rope, basketball, tennis, and hopscotch are all examples of bone-strengthening activities. As these examples illustrate, bone-strengthening activities can also be aerobic and muscle-strengthening.
- As part of their 60 or more minutes of daily physical activity, children and adolescents should include bone-strengthening physical activity on at least 3 days of the week.
It is important to encourage young people to participate in physical activities that are age-appropriate, enjoyable, and that offer variety, to keep them wanting more.
To access the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans in its entirety, visit https://health.gov/paguidelines/pdf/paguide.pdf.
For more information regarding Fitness #4Mind4Body, visit www.mentalhealthamerica.net/may.
In the next Know! Tip, we will continue to focus on mental health by taking a look at how diet and nutrition also impacts our children’s overall physical and mental well-being.
Sources: Mental Health America: May is Mental Health Month 2018. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: US Department of Health and Human Services: Physical Education and Physical Activity - Youth Physical Activity Guidelines Toolkit, 2008.
Community Information & Programs
Sycamore Junior High School
Email: jhadmin@sycamoreschools.org
Website: www.sycamoreschools.org/sycamorejh
Location: 5757 Cooper Road, Cincinnati, OH, United States
Phone: 5136861760
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SycamoreJuniorHighPTO/
Twitter: @sycamorejrhigh