JCS Staff Newsletter

We will distribute this newsletter on the Wednesday following the monthly Board of Education meeting. This newsletter will have information from District Departments and other helpful tips. If you have suggestions for content in this newsletter, please send them to Collin Brooks at BrooksB@jcschools.org.

Dear JCS Employee,

As the Superintendent of Johnson City Schools, I take pride in our collective efforts to enhance the well-being of our community. Each day, everyone in our district works within our schools to make a difference. Annually, we unite for a significant cause—our involvement in the United Way campaign. The United Way of East Tennessee Highlands serves as a support system for our community, ensuring that the funds raised directly benefit and uplift our local area.

During last year’s campaign, Johnson City Schools raised more than $26,000, continuing our tradition of being one of the top contributors to our United Way’s campaign. These contributions played a role in supporting crucial services in Washington County. Among the beneficiaries were various essential organizations, such as Adult Day Services: Transportation, American Red Cross of Northeast Tennessee, Appalachian Service Project, The Arc of Washington County, Coalition for Kids, Boys and Girls Club, and many others. Furthermore, these funds significantly aided our Johnson City Schools’ Homeless Education Program, particularly by sustaining our Shoe Shelf initiative, which has been instrumental in providing shoes to students in need.

Our upcoming campaign is scheduled to run from Monday, November 6 to Friday, November 17. Building upon the success of our "5 for 5" incentive in previous years, we're once again offering this opportunity to all employees. By committing $5 per paycheck through payroll deduction to the United Way, you'll receive five jeans coupons for the year 2023. This 24-payment payroll donation of $120.00 spans from January 2023 to December 2023.

I strongly encourage you to consider participating in this meaningful initiative, supporting essential services that impact our community. Reach out to your school’s United Way representative to obtain the payroll deduction form or contact Collin Brooks (BrooksB@jcschools.org) for any inquiries. Let's continue our tradition of making a tangible difference in the lives of those who depend on our support.

Respectfully,

Steve Barnett

Superintendent of Johnson City Schools

November 2023

• National Career Development Month
• Native American Heritage Month
• National STEM/STEAM Day - November 8
• National School Psychology Week - November 13 - 17
• Veteran's Day - November 11 (Falls on a Saturday)
• America Recycles Day - November 15
• Substitute Educators Day - November 17
• Thanksgiving - November 23 (School is out Wednesday, November 22 - Friday, November 24)
  

Science Hill Fine Arts Calendar

BAND:

December 14 – Liberty Bell Band Winter Concert 7 pm

December 15 - SH Band Winter Concert 7 pm

CHOIR:

December 3 – Choir Holiday Concert 2:30 pm

December 8 - Liberty Bell Chorus concert at Science Hill 7 pm

ORCHESTRA

December 4: Liberty Bell Middle School Orchestra Concert 7 pm

December 5: Science Hill High School Orchestra Concert 7 pm

• Click here to view Printable Calendars 2023-2024 & 2024-2025
  

The Science Hill High School Showstoppers are proud to present Fred Carmichael’s classic murderous comedy, Done To Death. Tickets are $10 and shows will be

November 10 (7 pm), November 11 (7 pm) and November 12 (3 pm Matinee). Read more - https://www.jcschools.org/view-all-news/district-default-post-page/~board/johnson-city-schools-news/post/the-science-hill-high-school-showstoppers-present-done-to-death

Johnson City Schools is hiring Educare assistants, custodians, and instructional assistants. Current job postings can be viewed at www.jcschools.org/jobs.

Johnson City Transit is in need of bus drivers. Please visit this page for more information about open Bus Driver positions.

We will be turning on two-factor authentication (2FA) on Monday, November 20, 2023.

Once it is active, you will be required to enter an additional factor to log into the SSO portal. You were required to enter an SMS number when you logged into the new portal for the first time. This will be the number you will receive a text with a code to enter at the log in screen. You should be familiar with this process if you have an online bank account or an online retail shopping account. Your SMS number can be updated at any time. If you have issues logging in, you can select “Try Another Method” until you get to an option you can use. Your school based tech assistants will be available to assist. Other options will be available to set up as well, such as an authenticator app or Fido key. This will be a major change for all of our users, but is necessary to meet requirements for cyber insurance and to enhance our security. Thank you for your patience as we take the next step in ensuring our data and systems are as safe as possible.

Johnson City Schools has recommended that no external instructional materials or groups be engaged as part of the required Family Life Curriculum in Lifetime Wellness at Science Hill High School for 9th grade students. Administrators and Lifetime Wellness teachers will continue to modify our own internal curriculum to include new requirements (Human Trafficking and Online Safety) and bring it back to the Board of Education in the spring for consideration, review, and approval. This will coincide with a new two-person team-based concept that we plan to implement next year to deliver the instruction in a more efficient and consistent manner.

The Johnson City Board of Education received their plaque for being named a TSBA Board of Distinction.

TCAT-Elizabethton recognized Johnson City Schools’ CTE Department as their Fall 2023 Bronze Level Partner Award. This banner identifies Johnson City Schools as being the 3rd largest partner school system in the region for Dual Enrollment.

We recognized these students for outstanding performance in the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education STEM Competition. These students competed against grade level peers applying Stem skills and finished in the top 3 in their respective grade bands. Alice Keaton and Evelyn Keaton from Towne Acres Elementary School.

In the 3-5 Grade Band

Claire Arnold- Towne Acres Elementary

Olivia Earley- Lake Ridge Elementary (Third time winning this award)

Two Science Hill students recently achieved a perfect score on their ACT exam. This brings our total to six students who have achieved this rare accomplishment in the past year. These students are:

Leighton “Buddy” Hart and Ryan Zheng.

The Johnson City Middle Schools Tennis Team earned a State Runner-Up finish recently. This team was made up of students from both Indian Trail and Liberty Bell Middle Schools. As I call your name please come forward:

From Indian Trail Middle School: Maren Jordan, Reagan Trice and Kevin Zheng

From Liberty Bell Middle School: Jackson Baker, Mujtaba Malik, Rohan Papireddy, William Tran, Brendan Wang and Jason Wang.

The Johnson City Board of Education welcomed two "new members" during their November meeting. The board will now have a student representative from Science Hill. The senior who was selected is Sophia Stone (right). The junior selected is Kate Carter (left). These students will not be voting members, but will help provide student perspective to the board.

Congratulations to the following teachers who had their tenure approved during the JC Board of Education meeting in November. This group will be honored during the December meeting. The teachers who received tenure are:

Gabriel Bilicki-Roy

Richard Hutson

Matthew Brickey

Ann Ferenbach

Rachel Miller Jones

Kathy Baker

Allecia Frizzell

LaDawn Hudgins

Heather Miller Souders

Erika Patterson

Hannah Wilson

Hannah Barnett

Kristi Presley (Waddle)

Glenna Russell

Jordan Collins

Robert Grunder

Amy Rigsby

Stephanie Elliot

Jennifer Galloway

Elvin Iglesias

Kurt Dauksch

Elizabeth Davenport

Holly English

Hunter Graybeal

Mark Pickering

Elizabeth Still

Anne Timbs

The next Johnson City Board of Education meeting will be held on Monday, December 4 starting at 6 p.m. inside the Board Room at Central Office (100 E. Maple Street). Board meetings can be viewed on the Johnson City Schools' YouTube channel.

We had a wonderful time celebrating these six Science Hill student-athletes today on Signing Day. A big thank you to these athletes and their families for their time as Hilltoppers. #TopperForLife

Morgan Mahoney - Kennesaw State ⚽️

Cayden Norris - University of Tennessee ⚽️

Autumn Holmes - University of North Alabama 🏐

Jackson Berry - East Tennessee State University ⚾️

Josh Marmo - Lincoln Memorial University ⚾️

Landon Smelser - Tennessee Tech University ⚾️

At the beginning of the month, Lake Ridge Elementary held a Ribbon Cutting to celebrate the completion of the eight additional classrooms that were added.

More pictures - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19hpzP8GyVs4tAoLgkBch4_1kP0Ct66bk?usp=sharing

A brief ceremony was held by the South Side PTA to dedicate the Quilted Owl statue that was placed in front of South Side. The Quilted Owl was created by local artist Angelique Fraley with symbols and patterns inspired by family quilts. South Side Elementary is the “Home of the Owls,” and David Isaacs of Isaacs Pools and Spas bought and donated the sculpture to the school.

Read more - https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/south-side-elementary-celebrates-new-quilted-owl-sculpture/

Johnson City Schools loves celebrating the accomplishments of our students, staff, and community. If you know of any events, awards, programs, or other compelling stories involving the Johnson City Schools' community, please fill out this form or reach out to Collin Brooks at BrooksB@jcschools.org