TJHS Fall 2014 Update

As I type this Fall Update, it seems much more like Winter.  The overnight blast of snow combined with the forecast for unseasonably cold temps tonight does not make for Fall weather!  During this early season snow day I wanted to take time to update our families and community on the many great things happening at TJHS.

Once again, we had a high number of students participate in fall sports.  Three of our fall teams finished in FIRST place in the GWOC North conference.  Both our 7th Grade Football and 8th Grade Football teams won the GWOC North!  The Girls Cross Country team finished the season in first place in the GWOC North!  Our Boys Cross Country team finished in second place in the GWOC North!  Both the 7th and 8th Grade Volleyball teams made it to the semi-final games in the GWOC tournament!  What a successful fall season for our student-athletes...Congratulations!!

Our 1st Quarter Academic Awards recognized students for Perfect Attendance, Honor Roll (3.5-3.74 GPA), and Principal's List (3.75-4.0 GPA).  We handed out 548 total awards!  This is a direct result of dedicated teachers and staff, hard-working students, and supportive families.  Sounds like a winning combination!

Our Trophy Nut fundraiser was once again a success this year.  This will help us to upgrade the IMC computers.  The top 20 students were transported to lunch at Al's Pizza by our business partner, Erwin Chrysler Jeep Dodge.  A Dodge Viper and brand new Dodge Challengers were used to transport the students.  Erwin even picked up the tab for lunch.  Thank you to Erwin Chrysler Jeep Dodge for being such a great business partner, and thank you to all of our families for participating again this year in the fundraiser!  

Student council is again collecting canned goods and holding a "penny war"  to raise money toward helping local families during the upcoming Thanksgiving season.  More than 1500 total canned good items are needed in order for TJHS to reach its goal this year.  The donations combined with the money from the "penny war" is planned to provide 30 local families with a Thanksgiving meal and more.  Please send in canned good items with your student in order to help TJHS reach its goal and reach out once again to give back to those in need in our community this Thanksgiving.

I hope this Fall Update finds you and your family well as we head into the upcoming Holidays.  Thank you for your continued support of TJHS.  This building is a great place to work and learn because of our excellent staff and supportive families.

Go Trojans!

Dave Dilbone
Principal

TJHS Summer 2014 Update

The new Adams Street access drive

It's hard to believe that July is nearly behind us!  Summer projects at TJHS are in full swing.  The custodians have done an excellent job, as usual, in cleaning the building and waxing the floors.  The second story roof at TJHS is in the process of being replaced.  Also, construction is under way for the new access drive from Adams Street.  This should greatly improve the flow of traffic in the morning and afternoon, as well as increase the number of parking spaces in front of the building.

Look at the fresh wax shine

New second story roof

Another change this year is the move to a 7 period day as opposed to the 6 period day that we have had in recent years.  This change is occurring so that we can offer an additional period for our Language Arts classes.  As a building we believe that this will provide us a greater opportunity to meet the needs of our students in both reading and writing.  The daily schedule, as well as the 2 hour delay and 1 hour early release schedules are posted on the TJHS website.  You can locate them by hovering over School Info on the right side of the page, and then clicking on Bell Schedules.  You will notice that the regular student day will now be 7:40am to 2:40pm.

This year we will not have a 7th grade orientation in the summer.  Instead, we will be providing a schedule pick-up day for both 7th and 8th grades prior to our open house.  We will incorporate 7th grade orientation into the first day of school.  Below you will find some important upcoming dates and info as we head into August:

Athletics - Fall sports schedules are posted to the TJHS website under Forms and Resources on the right side of the page.  Volleyball will hold try-outs Aug. 4-6 from 10am-Noon at TJHS.  CC practice starts Aug. 4 at 8am at the levy.  Football practice starts Aug. 4 from 9-11:30am.

First week of August - Team Letters, Math Letters (8th Grade Only), Emergency Med. Forms, Fee Envelopes all mailed home.

8^th Grade Schedule Pick-Up - 
Aug. 13
10am-2pm

7^th Grade Schedule Pick-Up - 
Aug. 15
10am-2pm, 3-6pm
7^th Grade orientation will be incorporated into the 1^st Day of School


Open House - 
Aug. 18
8th Grade - 5:30-6:30
7th Grade - 6:30-7:30

First Day of School - 
Aug. 20

Labor Day - (NO SCHOOL)
Sept. 1

Academic Awards - 
Nov. 11, 7:45-9:30am
Jan. 27, 7:45-9:30am
Apr. 2, 7:45-9:30am

Conferences -                               
Oct. 2, 3-7pm
Nov. 6, 3-7pm
Jan. 22, 3-6:30pm
Feb. 19, 3-6pm

Enjoy the remaining days of this beautiful Ohio summer.

Go Trojans!

Dave Dilbone
Principal

TJHS Spring 2014 Update - Keep Climbing

This school year has been a year of changes and challenges.  We are transitioning to the Common Core State Standards, the new State Tests (PARCC) are on the horizon, the new Ohio Teacher Evaluation System (OTES) is being implemented, and nine school days were missed due to weather with one of the snowiest winters on record.  What makes these challenges so great is the fact that pending legislation on these changes finds us in a state of limbo as we prepare for the future.  As if the gray skies in Ohio from November to February aren't enough!  With education in a current state of flux, I believe that we are in one of the more challenging educational periods in recent history.

All that to say that TJHS is ready to meet the challenge head-on.  This staff of dedicated, passionate, diligent, and caring professionals work tirelessly to overcome the obstacles that we face in education.  They search for the next foothold or handhold, always looking up, never looking down...much like rock climbing!  What I can't say definitively is where the outcome of these changes will take us.  What I can say is that education will always need excellent rock climbers, I mean teachers like those at TJHS.  However, we can't do it alone. Our families have long provided a partnership that places our students in a position to be ready to learn.  I encourage you to stay involved in your student's education.  If you have questions about any of the changes, please ask.  We will provide answers to the best of our abilities.  

Due to the high number of snow days this winter, the state has provided an extension of the OAA(Ohio Achievement Assessments) window.  TJHS will begin testing the week of April 28 - May 2.  Our 8th grade students will participate in Reading on Monday(28th), Math on Wednesday(30th), and Science on Friday(2nd).  Our 7th grade students will participate in the Reading on Tuesday(29th) and Math on Thursday(1st).  Testing will occur in the morning on each of the previously mentioned days.  Please make sure your student has a good night's sleep, arrives to school on time, and eats a healthy breakfast each morning.

May 5-9 is teacher appreciation week.  Please be sure to show your appreciation to the faculty and staff of TJHS during this week.  Thank you for all of your support and KEEP CLIMBING!

Go Trojans!

Dave Dilbone
Principal

TJHS Winter 2013-2014 Update

I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays with family and friends.  The new year has found us off to a very cold start, with temps dipping down to -35 degrees with the wind chill!  I would like to remind all of our families of the plan to make-up school days if we would exceed five calamity days during this school year.  The make-up days are (in this order) May 30, June 2, 3, 4, 5.  Beginning with the 2014-2015 school year, we will transition to student hours of instruction instead of days.  Students in grades 7-12 will need to complete 1001 hours of instruction.  Based on the current formula, TJHS exceeds this number and is poised to be well prepared to meet the change from days to hours.  As we start a new year, I'd like to share some upcoming important dates with our school community:

Jan. 10 - End of 2nd Quarter
Jan. 13 - Start of 3rd Quarter
Jan. 17 - 1 Hour Early Release
Jan. 20 - NO SCHOOL - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Jan. 21 - Grade Cards Go Home
Jan. 23 - Conferences - 3:00-6:30PM
Jan. 28 - 2nd Quarter Academic Awards Assembly
Feb. 14 - NO SCHOOL - Teacher In-service Day
Feb. 17 - NO SCHOOL - President's Day
Feb. 20 - Conferences - 3:00-6:00PM

Happy New Year and Go Trojans!

Dave Dilbone
Principal