Jay County Jr-Sr High School

Students in Mr. McFarland’s EMT class took advantage of the PSAT testing day release time for seniors last Wednesday to learn about emergency resources in the community. They were able to get up close and personal with Lutheran Air 1 at the Portland airport. They also discussed the newly emerging partnership between the ambulance service and the health department to work on prevention strategies to help keep patients out of the Emergency Department. After an awesome lunch served by the Portland Fire Department, the students toured the facility and then finished their day at the Jay County Security Center where Sheriff Newton discussed safety and mapping their future wisely. The students walked away with a new-found respect for the overwhelming amount of available emergency resources, including emergency management and 911 dispatch.

Jay County Jr.-Sr. High School's German Club held its annual Oktoberfest on Tuesday evening, October 8, 2024. For the last 25+ years, the German Club has been serving German specialties such as Fisher Brats with sauerkraut, German potato salad, Spätzle noodles, Black Forest cake, cheesecake, and apple strudel. This year's Oktoberfest had a nice turnout of students and guests alike.

Attention: parents and guardians of seniors -- This information was shared at today's senior class meeting and was also sent to all seniors in an email. Each student also received an order packet. If you have any questions, please contact a senior class sponsor--Melanie Stockton (mstockton@jayschools.k12.in.us) or Amber Brandon (abrandon@jayschools.k12.in.us). Please read this follow-up information regarding today's cap and gown meeting. Take your packet home and communicate with your parents! If you missed the meeting, you may pick up a packet in my classroom (603) or in the front office. 1. Herff Jones will be here to accept in-person orders on Monday, Oct. 21, during lunch mods and in the afternoon from 3-5. This is the Monday immediately following fall break. Parents are welcome to come in to assist you after school. You can also try on a gown at that time.  2. If you place an online order of clothing, jewelry, etc. before Oct. 21 (probably by at least a few days), the sales rep will have those items to give to you on Oct. 21. 3. Packages require a $100.00 deposit. Any remaining balance is due by February 15.  4. If you do not place your order in person on Oct. 21, you must mail in your order or place your order online. Do not bring it to school to be submitted for you. 5. Orders for caps and gowns should be submitted by Dec. 1. After Dec. 1, the price of the unit will double! 6. Caps and gowns are not delivered to individual homes. They are all delivered to the school. This will be sometime in April. The exact date will be announced later in the school year.  7.  You only have to have a cap, gown, and tassel to participate in the graduation ceremony. All of the other items in the packet are optional! Look for "cap, gown, and tassel unit" on the order form. It includes all three pieces. The price is $39.50.  8. You are welcome to borrow from a previous Jay Co. graduate of the same gender and similar height. Make sure the cap is usable! You will probably want a 2025 tassel. You can buy these individually. DO NOT PLACE AN ORDER FOR A TASSEL BY ITSELF! You will pay more in shipping than the actual cost of the tassel. You can buy a tassel with cash when the rep is here, or you can buy one from Mrs. Brandon in the front office.  9. If you are choosing to borrow a cap and gown, you must email me for my records. Please do so as soon as you know you are borrowing. 10. If you are thinking you may not want to participate in the graduation ceremony, you need to discuss this with your parent/guardian. We absolutely believe every eligible student should participate as it is such an important milestone; however, if the decision is made not to participate, you must let both your guidance counselor and me know. 

Mr. Slavik's 8th-grade Intro to Construction students are eager to show off their hard work! They have been busy building dog houses and a workbench. Great job, Mr. Slavik and students!

Attention: Families and friends of JC seniors. More information will follow both here and via student email after Friday. Please encourage your student/s to check their school email frequently for many senior year announcements and reminders.

JC Jr.-Sr. High will be administering the PSAT tomorrow morning (Wednesday, Oct. 9) to students in grades 9-11. We kindly request your assistance with ensuring that students come to school tomorrow with their Chromebooks fully charged. Your help is greatly appreciated. If you have questions about the PSAT, information can be located here: https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/parents-guide-digital-psat-nmsqt.pdf

Check out this cool learning activity that took place a couple weeks ago. Students had a great time learning while also participating in a fun competition. Eighth-grade history students in Mrs. Allred's class participated in a French and Indian War Escape Room activity. Students embarked on a secret mission around the classroom to learn interesting facts about the French and Indian War, George Washington, William Pitt, Fort Necessity, and Fort Duquesne. To successfully "break out," students used the information they obtained to break codes, including ciphers, Morse Code, and cryptograms. These codes required critical thinking skills to determine what each letter or symbol represented. Students remained engaged while "cracking the codes" and competing to be the first students to "break out."

Jay Schools are on a 2 hour delay, Thursday, September 26, 2024

Dedication--We see a lot of that around here whether it be to academics, athletics, or participation in clubs and other organizations. Sergeant First Class Moore, one of our JROTC instructors, shared these photos that exhibit dedication from a recent, early morning Patriot Battalion Raider team practice. The team practices twice a week before school and three days after school. They will be traveling to their next competition at Concordia on the 28th. Please join us in encouraging these students to continue working hard and wishing them well during the competition season.

Here's another opportunity to check out an engaging classroom lesson at JC Jr.-Sr. High. Recently in Miss Fugiett's 8th Grade Pre-Algebra class, students completed a review activity before an exponent quiz. The activity involved solving 20 distinct clues placed around the room to help students ultimately identify the Mystery Food Thief. This interactive exercise not only reinforced students' problem-solving skills but also provided a dynamic review of key concepts as they prepared for their quiz. We sure hope they caught the food bandit! Great job, Miss Fugiett and kids!

While we often report on the "extra" and "special" activities that occur at JC Jr.-Sr. High, we also love to offer a peek under the hood. We are proud of the daily efforts of our students and teachers. The lessons that take place in the classroom day in and day out take priority over anything else, and it's important to recognize them. Here, students in Mrs. Dillon's 7th-grade advanced math classes are working in groups to solve operations with rational numbers. The groups competed to make as many "connect fours" as possible by solving problems correctly. Great job, Mrs. Dillon and kids!

It's Constitution Day! Each year on September 17th, schools across the country incorporate additional lessons during the school day to teach students about the importance and function of the U.S. Constitution. Mr. Millspaugh of the social studies department has facilitated this day at Jay County Jr.-Sr. High for several years. At the end of the day, 25 junior high and 35 high school students will receive candy bars as a reward for their knowledge of the Constitution. Similarly, last week several teachers devoted time in their classrooms to remember the events of 9/11/2001--now known as Patriot Day. Mrs. Dues shared the following: "Today students in Mrs. Dues's Culinary Arts class took a day off from studying for their Servsafe Certification to honor 9/11. Students were watching a documentary when Mr.Griffin (JC Jr.-Sr. Athletic Director) stopped by and shared his story from his time overseas, stationed in Germany, during the 9/11 attacks. He shared about what he was doing the moment it happened, the aftermath of Americans uniting, and the patriotism that formed from that historic day. Thank you, Mr. Griffin, for your service and sharing your story with our students!" And thank you to all of our area veterans for your service.

Our students are excited to show off this banner which was recently gifted to us by Ivy Tech Marion Campus, our higher ed. partner school. The banner is now located in the Early College area of the library, a dedicated space for students taking online college classes. These juniors and seniors have a comfortable, inviting place to work, and our librarian Mrs. Fugiett does an outstanding job supporting and supervising them along the way. JC Jr.-Sr. High students have many opportunities to earn college credits, both online and in the classroom, and our Ivy Tech College Connections Coach works in conjunction with our guidance counselors to advise students through the process of earning college credits. As a result, many of these students will complete the Indiana College Core. To learn more about the ICC and how it can save college students both time and money, visit https://transferin.net/ways-to-earn-credit/statewide-transfer-general-education-core-stgec/.

Yesterday, Jay County Jr.-Sr. High School hosted a career fair during the school day. The event was organized by Jay County Extension Youth Educator Allison Keen and her team in partnership with school staff, including Mr. Kyle Love and Mr. Brad Milleman. The goal of the event, according to the extension office, was to "educate students, primarily 8th graders, about future career opportunities, especially ones that are available locally." Many local employers were on hand to speak to students about the various job opportunities and career possibilities in the Jay County area. JC Jr.-Sr. High wishes to express our gratitude to everyone who helped to create this opportunity for our students. It takes a village!

Last week several students attended the Legacy Leadership Summit event in Fort Wayne on the PFW campus. The event, which was attended by approximately 175 area high school students, was hosted by Herff Jones. Our own National Honor Society officers and JROTC students represented JC Jr.-Sr. High. They listened to a guest speaker, participated in some leadership/team-building activities, and attended both a student and a teacher workshop to increase student involvement and engagement.

Students in Mr. Fritze's Tech 8 classes have been doing some awesome work! Check it out! "They are coding Artificial Intelligence Zumi cars to navigate 'ZumiTown' wirelessly without a remote control. Students are using block coding to learn the basics of coding and navigation. Students are also tasked with utilizing proper turn/brake/head/tail lights while driving around ZumiTown."

Please help us welcome Jenna Winger to Jay County Jr.-Sr. High! Hi, All! I am Jenna Winger, and this is my first year teaching JH Business and Preparing for College and Careers. I am excited to use my years of experience in higher education along with my bachelor’s in business administration. I also have my masters in educational leadership focusing on career advising. Before joining Jay County Schools, I worked at Edison State Community College with College Credit Plus and undergraduate students as an advisor as well as Ivy Tech Community College as an academic advisor/ student services professional. My experience in the education field began while studying for my bachelor’s at Wilmington College in the residence and housing office. I have experience in financial aid and admissions as well. I am excited to begin my teaching journey as a Patriot!

Parents of JC freshmen -- Here is the class of 2028 homecoming t-shirt design. Orders will be taken during lunch all this week. The price is $15.00. All students who wish to play powderpuff or volleyball must purchase a shirt to be permitted to participate. Please see Mrs. Fugiett in the IMC or one of the freshman class officers with questions.

We love practical learning activities! Mr. Keller's algebra classes recently completed a lesson during which students used nutrition labels and ratios to discover how many sugar packets are present in various food items. FYI--One can of Dr. Pepper has the equivalent of 12 sugar packets!

Please help us give a warm welcome to another new staff member! Meet Lauren Day: "I’m Lauren Day, and I’m one of the new Business Teachers at the Jr-Sr High School. I’m from Fort Recovery, and I have a Bachelor's Degree in Business Education from Ball State. I have spent the last ten years teaching business at Randolph Southern Jr-Sr High School, and I’m excited to be closer to home. In my spare time, I like going to antique malls, watching and playing sports, and hanging out with my little nephew. A fun fact about me is that I actually did my student teaching at Jay County, so I came back to where my teaching experience all started."