Dear Jayhawks,

January was an important month at JHS. We hosted Course Information Night and the Community Service Fair in the beginning of the month. The event was a huge success and provided students in grades 8-11 with the opportunity to learn about all of the courses we offer. Students have been meeting with their school counselors to make their selections for the 24-25 school year.

This issue of the Jayhawk Blast is filled with a lot of important information including key dates, short videos highlighting our Winter Band Concert, a link to our latest Counseling Newsletter, congratulations to some members of the community, and much, much more.

Please take the time to read through the entire issue and follow the links to learn about all of the details.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend.

Our best to you and your families,

Mr. David Cohen & Dr. Joe Prisinzano, Co-Principals

JHS has two Assistant Principals. They are always available to our students and supporting their needs.

Mr. Brian Cummings has an office just outside of the cafeteria and can be reached at phone extension x3226.

Dr. Micheala Finlay has an office in the Social Studies across from room 244 and can be reached at phone extension x3224.

• 1/29- Joint PTA Open Council Meeting (HS Library) 9:30am

• 1/29- Jericho History Day (MS/HS Auditorium)

• 2/7- MS/HS POPS Concert (MS/HS Auditorium) 7:30pm

• 2/19-2/23- Schools Closed

We are excited to offer JHS students our full complement of clubs for the 2023-24 school year. Please follow the first link below for a list of clubs now being offered, the name of the advisor(s) and a description of each club. The second link below provides a schedule of when each of the clubs meet. Please email the advisor if you have any questions about the club. All of this information is also available on the JHS website.

Each of our teachers at the high school provides opportunities for students to receive extra help. Please use the link below to see the schedule.

Traffic on campus is typically very busy. As you plan for your child's travel to and from school this year, please know that one way to alleviate traffic issues is for students to utilize our bus service. Our buses are safe, fast and the easiest way for students to travel to and from school. If you will be dropping off or picking up your child from school, there are two access points; the HS attendance entrance via route 107 and the upper senior parking lot via route 106 (You may not use the front circle for drop-off).

Safety is our primary focus, particularly at dismissal. If you are picking up your child it is critical that you adhere to the following procedures:

• Car lanes are single file and drivers should never leave the line unless directed by a security agent
• When using the route 106 access, drivers must pull into available parking spaces in the upper lot and wait for their child
• Security agents are on site to assist drivers when pulling out of spaces and moving back into the single lane of cars. Please understand that the security agents are focused on ensuring a safe and efficient process so please be courteous and understanding of their role.

Please anticipate a potential wait when dropping off and picking up your child. We ask everyone to demonstrate patience and to provide extra time to account for traffic volume.

Thank you for your support.

On January 4th Jericho High School hosted our annual Course Information Night and Community Service Fair. This important event encourages all families and students grades 8-11 to find out about all of your choices for electives, dual enrollment, AP and core classes!! Students have been meeting with their school counselors throughout the month of January to select their courses for the 2024-25 school year.

On January 12th JHS hosted a LEAD Meeting where we brought students from different districts, cultures, and races together, allowing for them to connect, share and learn from each other. This day is always one of our highlights of the year.

Congratulations to JHS student Natasha Kulviwat for being named a top 40 finalist of the Regeneron Science Talent Search. This is a tremendous accomplishment and we wish Natasha the best of luck as she continues on this exciting journey.

On January 22nd we celebrated Jericho Boys Varsity Basketball Coach Wally Bachman's 500th win.

Congratulations Coach Bachman!!!

We are thrilled to announce the JHS level winners of the 2024 PTSA Reflections Art Contest. This years theme was "I Am Hopeful Because"

We would like to congratulate the following students (Click on their name to experience their winning piece):

Literature - Syra Farhat, Celine Cheung and Runner-Up Nancy Qi

Photography - Ian Kim and Tony Pan

Visual Art- Edeline Jung , Ellin Zhou and Runner-Up Claire Lu

Additionally we would like to congratulate Ian, Syra and Edeline as they move on to the New York State level.

On January 24th JHS hosted its annual Winter Band Concert that featured performances by the JHS Concert Band and the JHS Symphonic Band. Thank you to our Jericho Performance Arts Faculty for their leadership and guidance of our students who are once again able to perform and show off their incredible musical talents. Below are a few samples of these performances.

As you know, student wellness has been such an important focus for us at JHS. The NEST program, is aimed at supporting students and the stress many of them face. This is accomplished by creating safe spaces for students to engage in restorative circle discussions while increasing their connections with peers and adults in the school. The vision statement for the program is "The Nest Period is a safe and supportive space for students to feel a deep connection with the members of our community and share voices for making positive change. "

During the past month, students have engaged in NEST sessions in our English classes. The topic in January was "Setting Personal Goals" and students were asked to create sketches representing the things they want to do more of in the new year as well as the things they want less of. Students used their creativity to visualize these concepts and then set goals. Below are some samples that came out of the activity.

Making connections throughout the entire JHS community is one important step towards ensuring a healthy and supportive school community. We look forward to working with all of our students to make the NEST a place where each of their voices counts. Remember, every student has a home in the NEST

.

Dear Parents,

Welcome to the PTSA Connections Corner! Here you will find the latest PTSA news and information about upcoming events and happenings that the HS PTSA sponsors and/or supports. We are always available to answer any questions and look forward to a wonderful school year. We thank you in advance for your support.

Sincerely,

Your PTSA Co-Presidents

Marni Rubin

Sheree Weingarten

Membership

Please use the link below to become a member of the PTA this year.

SENIOR PARTY DONATIONS

Attention seniors and families. Please click here to view a flyer about donations to support this year's Senior Party to celebrate the Class of 2024 on June 5, 2024.

Information from SEPTA

SEPTA is an organization that supports all students in the District. Below is a link to some important flyers from SEPTA. Each flyer has English and Mandarin versions.

Please take a few minutes to read through the flyers. We encourage all families to become members of SEPTA.

Danielle Smith, High School Psychologist

Wendi Goldstein, High School Psychologist

Ray Velez, High School Social Worker

Every New Year there is often discussion about New Year's resolutions or setting an intention for the upcoming year. Sometimes, we may hear that writing your goals down can help in achieving them. However, many people find this single step is not sufficient for success. In the attached article, Dr. Oettingen and her team at NYU conducted research and identified these four steps, called WOOP, which better help people to achieve their goals. These four steps are:

W- Wish: Have the individual imagine their goal

O- Outcome: Ask them to identify one benefit with achieving this goal

O- Obstacle: What may get in the way of achieving this wish?

P- Plan: Come up with solutions should an obstacle get in the way of their wish.

Following these steps can prevent individuals from feeling defeated in their pursuit of achieving their goals.

Wish you all happy goal setting...

• The high school counseling center has been hard at work assisting seniors with their college applications. Students should continue to communicate with their counselors about their post-high school plans!
• Save the date- Virtual Grade 10 Students and Parents Meeting will be on Tuesday, January 9th at 7pm and Virtual Grade 9 Students and Parents Meeting will be on Tuesday, January 16th at 7pm. Counselors will go over important information for juniors, including starting the college application process, course selection for senior year, and more. Please be on the lookout for an email from your counselor with zoom information.

Dates to Remember

February 10th

ACT Exam 8:00am

February 14th

Senior Scholarship Applications Due

February 16th

Deadline to make changes to course requests

Online Newspaper

Visit Jericho High School’s award-winning online newspaper: The JerEcho!

For over 50 years, The JerEcho has reported on school, local, and national issues.

Currently, we report the news through a variety of articles, videos, and podcasts. We’re comprised of a dedicated coalition of editors, reporters, and photographers.

We hope you enjoy exploring our site.

-The JerEcho Team

The JerEcho is approaching it's 1,000 on-line media post!! They should hit this monumental accomplishment the first week of February. Congratulations to Ms. Valenza and all of our brilliant student journalists, both past and present, for contributing to Jericho High School's very own news program. You are a model of what quality news is all about.

Did you know that the Sports Journalism class recently toured Citifield, Home of the METS. Take a look at the video report from the JerEcho.

Visit the Jericho High School Website!

Follow us on Twitter @DaveCohenJHS
https://twitter.com/DaveCohenJHS