The Navigator Newsletter
Sycamore Junior High's Parent Communication
April 8-13
Building Goals
*Cultivate a Positive Climate
*Implement Formative Instructional Practices
Coming Up at the JH
April 10: PTO Meeting 10:30am
Sycamore Junior High Teacher Pete Tanaka Named Celebrate Excellence Educator of the Year
Congratulations to our very own Pete Tanaka! Click HERE to read all about this wonderful honor.
PTO News
PTO Meeting: April 10th @ 10:30am. Come to hear about the Sycamore Bridges Program from our Superintendent. This program is about crowdsourcing kindness and providing opportunities for families in need.
Current Volunteer opportunities:
The Sandwich Project
The Junior High is always in need of additional volunteers to assist with our character education project called "The Sandwich Project." We've been making 250 sandwiches a week for St. Francis Seraph Ministries in OTR since 1997!
3-4 volunteers are needed weekly on Thursdays to set-up and assist. Mr. Stern and Mr. Dejoy will be there when the students arrive. Your assistance would be needed from 10:50-11:45. The commitment is under an hour! If you are available and interested for any Thursday during the remainder of the year, please contact: Christy Banke at pray4peace@gmail.com. Thank you.
Small commitment. Big impact.
Cultural Diversity Days
Date: Tuesday, 5/7, 11:30-1:30
Activity: Asian booth (Games, Language/Music, or Art)
Number of Volunteers: 3 or more*
Date: Wednesday, 5/8 11:30-1:30
Activity: Europe booth (Games, Language/Music, or Art) (except for Spain)
Volunteers: 3 or more*
Date: Thursday, 5/9, 11:30-1:30
Activity: Latin/South America / Spanish speaking booths
(Games, Language/Music, or Art)
Number of Volunteers: 3 or more*
*Parents do not have to be from the focus region of the day. Parents may volunteer for multiple days (thank you). Please know that the SJH staff has suggestions for activities, but feel free to come up with your own if it is a cultural that is well known to you and you would have something to share with the students. Be advised that no food will be allowed to be distributed for allergy concerns.
If you have questions or concerns, please contact Mrs. Mika Wolfford at wolffordm@sycamoreschools.org and/or Mr. Daniel Rodriguez at rodriguezd@sycamoreschools.org. Signup Genius to be coming soon!
Your feedback is needed
The administration is seeking input as it considers the resources required to print and distribute hard copies of report cards each quarter.
Click HERE to take the anonymous one-question survey.
AIR Testing
Parents & Guardians
We are so proud of the progress that our students have made this school year. We know that a large part of their success comes from your support and guidance. With that said, it is that time of the year when our students get an opportunity to show everyone else what they’ve learned this school year and gain some valuable experience for high school end of course exams. The students will take the English Language Arts AIR assessments on April 11th and 12th, Math on April 24th and 25th, and 8th graders will take Science on the 26th. We will run an adjusted schedule on testing days.
In preparation for testing, we wanted to send a few reminders and recommendations:
Students should get a good nights’ sleep the day prior to testing
Everyone should eat a good breakfast or arrive early enough to purchase one
Make every effort to arrive at school on time
Please arrive with your Chromebook charged
Bring your school issued device on testing days, if you normally bring your own device
Please leave all electronic devices in your locker or at home. You cannot have a cell phone or smartwatch on your body during testing.
Bring a pair of earbuds on the math and science test days. Students will have the option of listening to questions and text read aloud.
Do your personal best!
Lost and Found
If your child has lost an item at school (sweatshirt, coat, lunchbox, etc) please encourage him or her to check the lost & found. Items can be found in the back of the cafeteria and are donated, recycled or disposed of every two to three weeks. If you have any questions, please contact the office.
For photos of items recently in L&F click HERE.
3rd quarter honor roll
Junior High T-Shirt Project: A Long-Standing Tradition
In collaboration with the U.C. Economics center, each year, teams of students design and present their ideas for a t-shirt to be sold and the associated profits donated to a charity of their choice.
TShirt: 7th Grade
This year's 7th grade winner was a team called CAYZE. All profits from the sale of the t-shirt will be donated to Brave Choices which helps people recover from addiction and abuse. If you would like to order this year's winning t-shirt, please fill out the google form below.
GOOGLE FORM ( to order T-Shirts):
https://goo.gl/forms/3Z6aPGENFkiuf6wX2
GOOGLE WEBSITE ( details about the product, cause & charity):
https://sites.google.com/s/12bD3R2kzxMBEbTh5pqDbvMP9h0xbv/p/1Pv2r5IPRHOLb9KSOzb8RUe5eD-pblAyz/edit
Please turn in money (cash or check) to the JH Office in an envelope marked with your name and the words, "CAYZE T-Shirt Project" no later than April 18th. Shirt pickup/delivery will be the week of May 1st . Please be advised that this is just an approximate, as in the printing company may need more time, please look for an email for updates.
If you have any question, please feel free to email the team at CAYZEincorporated@gmail.com
T-Shirt: 8th Grade
Is your child interested in football?
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In case you missed it
Safer Schools Ohio
1-844-SAFEROH
A multi-agency effort created to assist schools in continuously improving the safety of our students. By calling or texting the statewide anonymous hotline parents, students or community members can report anything that is suspicious or endangering you, your friends or your school.
Immunizations for 7th graders
If you have not turned in your child's proof of immunizations from a doctor's office, please do so ASAP. The cutoff date was September 5th.
Reunification
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Around Sycamore
Aves hangar Bookstore Volunteers needed for 2019-2020 School Year
The Aves Hangar Bookstore and Spirit Shop is looking for volunteers to fill open shifts for the 2019-2020 school year. The bookstore is open twice a day: before school 6:50 am -7:20 am and during lunch 11:30 am-12:40 pm. Both morning and lunchtime shifts are currently available. Volunteers must commit to working every other week and come in for training this spring. If you are interested in learning more please email us at sycamorebookstore@gmail.com with the word "volunteer" in the title.
Volunteers Needed
Sycamore Community Schools is seeking Adult Volunteers for April 22nd - Professional Development Day
The certified staff of Sycamore Community Schools will be participating in a professional learning activity called “Cost of Poverty Experience (COPE)” led by facilitators from Think Tank Inc. on April 22nd. The purpose of the activity is to engage our staff in authentic, empathy-building experiences to better understand the daily struggles some of our families may experience as a result of economic fatigue.
Each session will include 120 staff participants. We are in need of 20 volunteers (COPE Resource Leaders) for each session to “role play” various community and business members. As a COPE Resource Leader, you will be given your role by the COPE facilitator during training. Training will be provided in the first hour of the volunteer shift. The time commitment will be approximately 3-1/2 hours. Unfortunately, we will not be able to provide babysitting services on this day, therefore volunteers are asked not to bring their children along.
Volunteer Times and Locations
Morning Session: 7:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m., Junior High Gym and High School Gym
Afternoon Session: 11:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., Greene Gym and Maple Dale Gym
Sign-up on Eventbrite
For the morning session at Sycamore High School, click here.
For the morning session at the Sycamore Junior High School, click here.
For the afternoon session at Maple Dale Elementary, click here.
For the afternoon session at Greene Elementary, click here.
Additional Information
Contact Chris Beech, Associate to Assistant Superintendent
e-mail address: beechc@sycamoreschools.org,
phone number: 513.686.1700, ext.#5003
Sycamore High School Theatre Presents, Fiddler on the Roof - the perfect musical that promises to delight and educate an audiance of all ages. Bring your children, parents, grandparents and ENJOY!
For the best assigned seats, purchase your tickets online for $10 @ www.avestheatre.org. They will also be sold at the door for $12. Show starts at 7:30pm!
Summer School
Summer School registration is open! For more information on Summer School options, please see the catalog 7/8 Summer School Catalog or vist goav.es/summerschool
In The Community
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