Mark your calendars:

October 11: End of 1st Quarter

October 14: No school for students

October 19: Flight Fest

October 24 and 25: Parent-Teacher conferences (details coming soon)

BLACKBOARD

As part of an ongoing effort to help parents as they assist students in managing academic work, we wanted to remind you that parents have access to BlackBoard through Parent Portal. There you can view for each of your child's courses:

• Grades
• Syllabus and other course information
• Class announcements
• Daily homework assignments
• Long-term assignments
• Teacher contact information

FIRST QUARTER GRADING PERIOD ENDS

The first quarter grading period ends on Friday, October 11. Parents are encouraged to access grades through Parent Portal.

PTO MEMBERSHIP

Join the PTO! Being a member of the PTO doesn’t mean you have to volunteer and attend meetings, although everyone is welcome to do either/both! Joining the PTO shows your financial support for our programs that recognize students and teachers in our building. PTO membership is $10 ($11 online) and can be done online. Visit http://tinyurl.com/sycamorejhpto for more information!

Reminder:

All information about the PTO can be found by clicking on this link:

http://tinyurl.com/sycamorejhpto

Questions? Please email jhpto@sycamoreschools.org

Follow us on Facebook!

Mark your calendars for the 9th Annual Sycamore Junior High Aviator Flight Fest 2k/5k/10k Race on Saturday, October 19, 2019!

Please visit our website at www.aviatorflightfest.com to register for the race, sign up to volunteer or learn more about family sponsorships.

The first 100 people to register for the race will be entered in a raffle to win one of two fun gift cards!

ONLINE AUCTION IS LIVE!

The online auction is open! Be sure to check in weekly for new items as they are added. Items will continue to be added up to October 9th! The online auction closes on October 19th at 10am. The link to view the auction is below.

https://www.charityauctionstoday.com/auctions/aviator-flight-fest-2019-silent-auction-8624

Please contact Michelle Ciotola at avesflightfest@gmail.com to learn about business and family sponsorships, volunteer opportunities, or any questions regarding Aviator Flight Fest.

SCAVENGER HUNT STARTS SEPTEMBER 27th!

Review the Flight Plan that arrived this week, build your team and load the app for the SJH Scavenger Hunt! All the fun starts on September 27th and will close the week of Flight Fest. Winners will be announced at the Pep Rally on Friday, October 18th!

SCHOOL INFORMATION

We know you may have questions about the Junior High. Did you know that a great resource for school information is our website? It is accessible anytime! From the Sycamore Community Schools Homepage, click on "OUR SCHOOLS" and choose "SYCAMORE JUNIOR HIGH" from the drop-down menu. The green bar at the top lists various topics of interest (Our School, Activities, Students, Parents, Counseling, etc.) Of particular help may be the Student-Parent Handbook for answers to many questions.

We hope this provides a quick way to get the information you need. If not, we welcome your call to our school! We are here to help!

DAILY ANNOUNCEMENTS

Announcements are available for viewing every afternoon! Go to the JH Website and click at the top green bar on "Announcements". Click here to access the page now!

CLUBS & ACTIVITIES

Sycamore Junior High has many opportunities for students to get involved in extracurricular activities. The Clubs & Activities Guide may be found on the JH website under the "Activities" tab or accessed HERE.

LOST & FOUND

Thanks to our wonderful PTO, the Lost and Found is organized! If your child has lost an item of clothing, a backpack or lunch box or the like, have him or her check the lost and found in the cafeteria. It will be cleaned out and the items distributed about every two weeks or so. For items currently in L&F, click here. Items of significant value (eyeglasses, phones, etc) are kept in the office.

When will students take the AIR assessments?

Sycamore Junior High will administer the AIR assessments on April 15, 16, 22, 23 and 29.

How can you help?

Please mark these dates on your calendars and make every effort not to schedule your child for appointments or vacation days. Thank you for your cooperation!!

Thank you to all 7th grade families who have turned in immunization records. As we work to process those records received, please continue to be patient before you follow up. If there is a problem, you will be contacted via email by Amy Bonham. If you have not turned in your child's proof of immunizations from a doctor's office, please do so ASAP.

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.

Sycamore High School Variety Show With Special Guests Everlasting Monsoon and Education Breakdown!

*2 UNIQUE SHOWS: October 4 and 5!*

Both nights feature groups and soloists who are members of the student body including vocal and instrumental groups, cool human tricks, dance, a performance by choral program ensembles and more! Proceeds benefit the Sycamore Vocal Boosters.

Tickets: $10 available pre-sale at www.aveschoir.org / $12 at the door. Reserved seating.

Know! To Handle Mean Girls and Move On

If your child’s safety is at-risk at any point, her property gets damaged or stolen, or the situation simply becomes too much for her to handle directly, you (parents) will need to step in and contact the school, law enforcement, or other appropriate party, depending on the circumstances.

In the previous tip, Know! To Defend Against Mean Girls, we learned that the long-term consequences of mean-girl-type bullying include eating disorders, body image issues, substance abuse, PTSD, self-harming behaviors, depression and even thoughts of suicide. Clearly an issue to be addressed.

In fact, addressing the issue through open and positive communication is what experts say is the best defense in protecting our daughters.

In talking with her about a mean girl situation, experts encourage parents to:

Empathize and Validate: A surefire way to get your child to never tell you anything again is to blow off or minimize her experience. Instead, allow her to share how she is feeling. Listen attentively before you start asking questions or offering advice. Let her know you understand how she must feel betrayed, embarrassed or hurt, but that the problem lies within this other person, not her. Remind her of her beauty and strengths, and all the positives she radiates.

Encourage Confidence and Assertiveness: Mean girls generally target those they feel they can easily manipulate and control. Empower your daughter by teaching her stand tall, use a strong speaking voice and to make eye contact when addressing this person. The goal is for your daughter to confidently defend herself, while remaining respectful and not resorting to “mean girl” tactics in return. Remind your child that this other person is counting on her being passive, and she must see that she has barked up the wrong tree.

Help her Consider her Response: Remind your daughter that we cannot control other people’s mouths or actions, but we can control how we respond to them. Encourage her to keep her responses free of emotion, regardless of what this other girl says or does. And if it is too much, she should just ignore the girl and walk away. Encourage her to then come talk to you or another trusted adult on how to go from there.

Suggest she Seek Out New Friends: Oftentimes the mean girl is a person your child thought was her friend. And if this newfound “frenemy” has successfully recruited other girls in their circle to join her, your daughter may find herself on the outside. Talk with your child about how to spot fake friends, and what it means to be a real friend. Encourage her to branch out and think about other peers who might be fun to hang out with, and be willing to help her develop those new relationships.

Something additionally to keep in mind is that most children want us (mom and dad) to think they are popular and well-liked, because they believe that is what we want for them. They may hesitate to share these types of incidents with us so as not to “disappoint” us. Naturally we want our children to have friends and be well-liked, but we must be careful to put the emphasis on the quality of those friendships, not the quantity.

Our children must know they are worthy and deserving of kindness and real friends, and they must carefully choose the people they allow in. They must also be comfortable in coming to us if problems arise, and do so long before things spiral out of control.

Sources: Laurel-Ann Dooley, Woman’s Day: 8 Ways to Help Your Daughter Deal with Mean Girls. Mar 29, 2017. Sherri Gordon, Very Well Family: 9 Things You Need to Tell Your Daughter About Mean Girls. Jul 28,2019. Maria Lally. The Telegraph: Mean Girls - How to talk to your daughter about toxic friendships. Apr 8, 2016. Peggy Moss, JD, EmpoweringParents.com: Girl Bullying: What to Do When Your Daughter Is the Victim of “Mean Girls.”