News You can Use

Welcome back, JROTC Families. We hope your cadets are enjoyed a well-deserved break from the school year. Great job at the November 11th Veterans Day Parade (will talk more about that below). We have another parade on Saturday, December 4th--the Richmond Hill Christmas Parade. If you missed the Vets Parade, this is an opportunity to make up that grade and pass JROTC for the semester. As always, there's plenty going on, so let's get into it.

Congratulations on a successful Veterans Day Parade! We were not perfect. We were often out of step. And we didn’t always call our cadences correctly. But you were motivated, you executed the box step, motto, and Happy Veterans Day Greeting in excellent fashion, and you represented the school well in our first full Veterans Day Parade in 2 years. Now let's take all we learned this semester and take 1st place in the January 17th Martin Luther King parade. Hooah! All cadets that attended the parade earned the Parade Ribbon and are authorized to wear that ribbon as soon as they receive it in their hand.

Permission slips were distributed before Thanksgiving Break (and are available now) for the December 4th Richmond Hill Christmas Parade. This is an optional parade and can allow you to make up your grade if you missed the Veterans Day Parade. Turn in your permission slips on Monday and Tuesday, November 29th and 30th. Be at room 605 before 7:00 am on Saturday, December 4th. We will stop for lunch on the way back to the school, so bring money so you can eat. Parent pickup will be next to the outdoor basketball courts at about 2:30 pm.

Members of the after school Drill Team must register for the district's weekly COVID testing program. Testing is free and takes place at the school. Contact any instructor for more information. STEM Team does not need to enroll in this program. CLICK HERE for more information.

Seniors, if you have plans to attend college after graduating from Groves HS, then you need to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, also known as the FAFSA. You cannot get free money for college or take out loans for college without completing that form. It basically asks how much money your parents/ guardians make along with other important information. Talk to your counselor, advisement teacher, or JROTC instructor for more information. Use the link or QR code below to start the free application.

There are 3 weeks left in the semester, and at least one of those weeks will be end of course testing for selected core classes such as math, language arts, history, and sciences. Cadets that did not attend a JROTC parade (either the Veterans Day Parade or the Christmas Parade) will most likely fail JROTC for the semester. Cadets, ensure you are completing all of your past due JROTC assignments and assessments to ensure you don't fail JROTC due to lack of work submitted. The vast majority of you are on track with JROTCs CORE ABILITIES and objectives and will likely earn a high grade in JROTC. Upon successful completion of this semester's JROTC course you will each earn the JROTC LET Service Ribbon for wear on your JROTC uniform next semester.

We are excited to announce that Military Ball is back. After skipping it for a year, our 2022 Rebel JROTC Military Ball is scheduled for Saturday, March 5th at 6:00 pm right here in the Groves HS cafeteria. This is the highlight event of each JROTC year and is an opportunity for cadets to experience military traditions, celebrate our seniors, honor our military, have a delicious meal, and get your dance on! The district's award-winning culinary arts program is lined up to provide a delicious gourmet meal. We need parents to help decorate, fundraise, help our young ladies get dresses/ gowns, and make this the best Military Ball ever. Contact LTC London if you'd like to volunteer.

Fundraising continues! Our World's Finest Chocolate sales helped obtain important supplies and equipment for our program in the fall. We're slated to continue that fundraiser for 2nd Semester along with a Pecan Candy fundraiser in January and another ongoing fundraiser. Our success depends on our cadets and our families. Please step up to the challenge.

There are too many other things going on to tell you about in detail, but I'll quickly mention that:

1. All cadets will take the Cadet Challenge physical fitness assessment during 2nd semester
2. Our first Drill season competition is on Saturday, January 29th at Ware County High School. We practice on Wednesdays and Thursdays after school. Come on out and join the fun.
3. Our JROTC Leadership and Academic Bowl teams will compete in round one when we return from Thanksgiving Break. Let's do our best to earn our way to round two
4. We are currently holding interviews for the Squad Leader position. If you have what it takes to motivate your peers, learn to master drill, make on the spot corrections, and lead our program to excellence, then let your instructor know

Know that everything we have your sons and daughters do in JROTC is aimed at building their self-confidence, communication, conflict resolution, study skills, discipline, fitness, and "after high school" career focus. Please support us as we support the success of your cadets.

Thanks for all you do--Hooah! -- LTC London