VAJH Panther Press Newsletter

We hope that you had the opportunity to get some rest and spend quality time with your friends and family this summer. We are excited about the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year! We look forward to seeing our students on Monday, August 19th with smiles, hugs, and fist bumps! It's a GREAT year to be a Panther!

• Tuesday, July 23 - Advanced Math Class Information Meeting 6:00 - 7:00 in VAJH Cafeteria

• Tuesday, July 30 - New Family Information Night at 6:00 in the VAJH Cafeteria

• Thursday, August 8 - Student Schedule Pickup from 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM & 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM - Students MUST have registration paperwork complete (through Parent Portal) to receive their schedule. Incoming 7th grade students must have up-to-date shot records.
  

• Thursday, August 8 - VAJH Meet the Teacher 5:30-7:00 (more information below) - ****7th & 8th Grade athletes - Parent Athletics meeting begins at 6:30 to receive athletics information. Coaches will be there to collect physicals, answer information about workout gear, and provide any additional athletic information. Boys will meet in the cafeteria & Girls will meet in the gym.
• Monday, August 19 - First Day of School
• Monday, September 2 - Labor Day Holiday - No School
• Tuesday, September 3 - First Pep Rally @ 3:00 in the main gym - Parents and community members are welcome to attend! Parents and guests can enter through the west gym doors.
• Friday, August 23 - Back to School Dance - 7th/8th Grades 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
• Tuesday, September 10 - Fundraiser Kickoff (students will bring home fundraiser information)
• Tuesday, September 24 - Fundraisers Due

Other Important Dates:

• Pep Rally Dates - Sept. 3 @ 3:00 PM, Sept. 24 @ 3:00 PM, Oct. 8 @ 3:00 PM, Oct. 22 @ 3:00 PM
• Student Dance/Activity Dates - Aug. 23, Dec. 6, Feb. 7, May 2
• Student Dance/Activities Times - 7th & 8th Grade dances/activity nights are 6:00 - 8:00 PM. Only VAJH students are allowed at dances.
• Thursday, May 15 - 8th Grade Promotional Ceremony 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM ( VAJH Gym)
• Thursday, May 15 - 7th Grade Awards Ceremony - 1:30 - 2:30 PM (VAJH Gym)
• Thursday, May 15 - 8th Grade Farewell Dance from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM. This dance is for 8th grade VAJH students only.

Returning VAISD students must re-register each school year. Please go to Parent Portal to find all of the forms to register your child. To register your child through Parent Portal, go to www.vanalstyneisd.org, under the Parents & Students tab click "Parent Portal Link".

If you are having trouble with Parent Portal, please email Loretta Broadway at lbroadway@vanalstyneisd.org.

Please know that registration paperwork must be complete and incoming 7th graders must have their shots up-to-date before school starts.

Join us for a Parent Meeting for student athletes during the last 30 minutes of Meet the Teacher on Thursday, August 8th starting at 6:30. Boys will meet in the cafeteria, while Girls will gather in the main gym.

• Our computer lab will be open to help parents who need to register their child
  
• ALL incoming 7th graders must have updated shot records on file
  
• Students can bring school supplies on Meet the Teacher Night or the first day of school. If your child brings supplies on Meet the Teacher night, then have your child check with one of their grade level teachers to find out where to leave their school supplies.

ATHLETES

• ALL athletes - Swing by the main gym between 5:30-7:00 to receive athletics information. Coaches will be there to answer questions about workout gear and provide any additional athletic information.
• Please know that all incoming 7th grade and 8th grade athletes must have a physical on file and Rank One paperwork completed prior to participation.

If you have questions please contact:

• Patrick Moore, Junior High Athletic Coordinator - pmoore@vanalstyneisd.org

If you need to communicate any attendance questions or issues, please email the following email address vajhoffice@vanalstyneisd.org.

VAJH PARENT/STUDENT INFORMATION:

• If a schedule change is needed, there will be QR codes posted around the school at Meet the Teacher Night to access a schedule change request form. After Meet the Teacher, schedule change request forms will be located in the front office. Any schedule change request made once the school year starts must be requested by the parent within the first 5 days of school and approved by the principal. After that time, schedule changes will be made sparingly unless there is an extenuating circumstance. **Please know the schedule change request form is used only to drop one elective course and add another, not to change class periods.
  

• FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL – Monday, August 19
• SCHOOL HOURS: 8:00 AM – 3:40 PM (first bell rings at 8:00 to dismiss students to class)
• Breakfast is served from 7:25 AM – 7:55 AM
• Students can be dropped off by parents starting at 7:25 AM.
  
• Prior to school starting, 7th graders will be in the main gym on the visitor side, and 8th grade students will be in the cafeteria. Students who need to eat breakfast go to the cafeteria to eat. If your child does not have their schedule on the first day of school, there will be a staff member at the entrance doors to pass out schedules.

• If your child is participating in 7th or 8th grade athletics, please know that workouts begin the FIRST day of school! Please make sure your child has proper workout clothes to change into and tennis shoes.

• The VAISD Student Code of Conduct, VAJH Student Handbook, student dress code, and school supply lists are on the school website, www.vanalstyneisd.org. Hard copies for each of those documents will also be available upon request in the middle school office. Please be familiar with the student dress code to help us proactively head off any issues before they arise.
• A few things to be aware of regarding the dress code are:
• Jewelry for face/body/tongue piercing may not be worn at school except pierced earrings for females. No spacers.
  
• Hair must be a natural color. No Mohawks, faux-hawks, or designs in hair.
• Holes in jeans are allowed in jeans, but skin cannot show through the hole above the fingertip. Oftentimes, students will wear leggings under their jeans or have patches behind the hole.
• Skirt/short needs to be fingertip length
• And guidelines for wearing tight-fitting clothing, such as yoga pants and leggings (must have something over them that meets the school dress code, fingertip length).

• Parents, please stay connected to Parent Portal so you can accurately track your child’s progress. An added perk of the program is that you can set alerts to let you know if and when your child scores below whatever standard you set. The link to sign in is under the “Parents” tab on our school website. If you need login information, you can contact our receptionist, Twila Whitaker, at twhitaker@vanalstyneisd.org or by calling 903-482-8803.
• Parents can deposit money into their child’s lunch account online through www.myschoolbucks.com. **In accordance with state law, parents are not allowed to provide food for any child other than their own. This includes dropped-off lunches, sharing of pizza, cupcakes for their friends, etc.

• If parents are interested in serving on the Campus Improvement Team or being a school volunteer, please contact the office or your child’s teachers at 903-482-8803.
  

• If you were receiving our weekly email newsletters last year and your email has not changed, you do not need to re-register to continue to receive them. If your email has changed or your child is new to our school, please go to our campus webpage and sign up to receive our weekly newsletters to help keep you informed. Go to www.vanalstyneisd.org, click Van Alstyne Junior High, click Newsletter Signup under the Parents tab.

• Following our Van Alstyne Junior High 7-8 Facebook page is also a great way to keep informed, as well as signing up for the grade level Remind accounts.

Feel free to stop by our office or call us at 903-482-8803 any time you have questions or concerns. Thank you for your support.

Free and Reduced Applications are now open for the 2024-2025 school year. Complete only one application for all the students in the household if you feel that you are eligible.

• Students can be dropped off by parents starting at 7:25 AM. **Students WILL NOT be supervised prior to 7:25 AM. For their safety, please do not drop them off before that time.
• Carpool, walkers, and bike riders will enter through the doors at the west end of our building near cafeteria/gym).
• Buses drop off at the front of our building. (The front of our building will be closed for carpool drop-off between 7:25 AM - 7:45 AM to allow for bus drop-off. After 7:45 AM, parents can drop students off at the front entry.)
• When students arrive in the morning, 7th graders will go to the main gym and sit on the visitor side & 8th graders will go to the cafeteria.
• Students who need to eat breakfast will go to the cafeteria to eat.
• If your child does not have their schedule on the first day of school, there will be a staff member at the entrance doors to pass out schedules.

The front entrance will be closed to all traffic except for buses. Parents picking up their children in the afternoon will all use the south entrance to our school. Once in the parking lot, we have a limited amount of space for curbside pick-up. It helps alleviate traffic back-up on Highway 5 if the cars that won’t fit in the curb-side pick-up line park in the parking lot (*see pick up parking areas on the map). Once the curbside pickup line is backed up to Highway 5, the next cars in line can follow the red arrow below to find a parking spot. We will have carpool monitors to assist students safely across the parking lot and out to their car as quickly as possible.

The first couple of days of student pick-up will be a little hectic because many people will want to pick their child up on those days. Please be patient and follow the directions of our staff members who will be directing traffic. By the end of the week, it should be running fairly smoothly.

Tip: To shorten your wait time and allow some of the traffic to dissipate those first couple of days, it helps if some parents come about 3:50 to pick up their child. By the second week, you will be able to come at the normal 3:40 time. **Also, starting the second week of school, students will be unsupervised outside after 3:50, so please be sure to pick your child up prior to that time.

We love our parent volunteers! Our parent volunteers help organize student events, host teacher appreciation luncheons, and support our school. If you are interested in volunteering, please email Jamie Blackerby at Blackerby2030@gmail.com or check the VAJH Panther Parents Facebook Page.

Promoting community service is a goal of VAJH! In order to promote and foster serving our community and others, students can earn a community service award at the end of the year awards assemblies to recognize students who give their time, talents, and hearts.

Find opportunities throughout the school year for your child to work on their community service hours. Make sure your child is documenting their community service time on their hour log.

VAMS Community Service Hour Logs are due on Thursday, May 1st.

Click on the link below "VAJH Community Service FAQ Flyer" for more information.

It is important for us to provide avenues for parents to stay informed. Here are the communication tools we use at VAJH to ensure you know what is happening throughout the school year.

Junior High School Website: Click HERE to access the VAJHS webpage.

Social Media: Want to see what goes on at VAJH during the week? Want to see pictures of students doing awesome things? Want to see what learning looks like on our campus? Be sure to like us on Facebook, Van Alstyne Junior High 7-8.

Digital Newsletter: We email parents a digital campus newsletter every Friday. If you are not currently signed up to receive our weekly newsletter, click HERE.

Grade-level Remind Accounts: Please sign up for the appropriate Remind accounts below to help keep you informed. We also recommend having your child sign up as well. Teachers use Remind to communicate important dates and information.

Our clinics must have a Medication Parent Consent Form on file for students requiring medication administered during school hours. This form must be signed by parent/legal guardian. Medication must be kept in the ORIGINAL bottle. (see links below)

Children who have the following symptoms should stay home and not come to school until these symptoms have been gone for at least 24 hours without the help of medication.

• Fever (100 degrees or higher)
• Sore Throat (with fever or swollen neck)
• Persistent Vomiting or Diarrhea
• Rash (with fever and itching)
• Conjunctivitis/Pink Eye (your child can attend school 24 hours after starting medical treatment)

A child with a typical cold, but no fever or green drainage, may come to school.

If a student becomes ill during the school day, he or she must receive permission from the teacher before reporting to the school nurse. If the nurse determines that the child should go home, the nurse will contact the parent.

Please know that all incoming 7th graders and new 8th grade students must have a physical on file and Rank One paperwork completed prior to participation. If you have questions please contact:

Coach Moore, Junior High Athletic Coordinator - pmoore@vanalstyneisd.org

All volunteers, including parents, have to fill out a Volunteer Approval Form to have a background check before volunteering (ex: attend field trips, volunteer on campus, help with testing, etc.). This form must be filled out EVERY school year. The entire process, from submitting the form to receiving approval, can take as long as two weeks. This process must be completed before being approved to volunteer. If you have students at multiple schools, only one application is required.

Click the button below to access the Volunteer Approval Form. We appreciate our volunteers!

Website: https://jhs.vanalstyneisd.org/
Location: 1722 N. Waco Van Alstyne, TX
Phone: 903-482-8803

Facebook: facebook.com/pages/VanAlstyneJuniorHigh7-8
Twitter: @vamiddleschool