It's Parade Time

Hello, JROTC Families. We hope you are looking forward to Thursday's Veterans Day Parade as much as the rest of the battalion. Here are a few reminders:

• Who - All JROTC Cadets
• What - Arrive at Groves HS Cafeteria
• When - BEFORE 7AM on Thursday
• Uniform - Cadets wear the Class B uniform with black jacket (school uniform with jacket if you do not have a JROTC uniform)

What Else -

• Families must arrange transportation to and from the school. School buses will not be running on Thursday
• Parent pickup will be around 1:15 pm at the main entrance to the school
• EAT BREAKFAST on Thursday. We don't want anyone to pass out
• Drink plenty of water on Tuesday and Wednesday
• Parent drop off and pickup are at the front of the school.

This week, the cadets are celebrating our Groves faculty and staff that served in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, or Coast Guard. Cadets are leading the celebration each day this week:

11/8 - Announce during morning announcements all veterans on faculty or staff and thank them for their service

11/9 - Platoon leaders (cadets) brief their platoons about the branches of the military during their class period

11/10 - Veterans Cake Cutting with pieces of cake sent to each veteran in the building

11/11 - Veterans Day Parade

11/12 - Veterans Week Flag Raising and Flag Folding Ceremony (will have a flag folded for a deceased Korean War veteran at the request of his daughter)

11/14 - Veterans Appreciation Service Color Guard at Connors Temple Baptist Church, Savannah GA

Our prize party was this past Friday. Congratulations to everyone that went out and sold World's Finest Chocolate for JROTC. About 50 cadets participated in the fundraiser and sold more than $8,000 worth of chocolate to fund JROTC activities and our military ball (tentatively scheduled for Saturday, March 5th). Our top sellers were:

• Yoni Ordonez (11 boxes)
• Zackariah Perry (8 boxes)
• 6 boxes: Lashaud Doyle, Cari'yanah James, Dajah Plyler, Shariah Washington
• 5 boxes: Nia Hankerson, Samuel Vasquez, Adrianna Williams

Prizes ranged from cash awards, door prizes, shooting and/or jumping for money, one and five pound chocolate bars, and a grand prize of $500 cash for our top seller. Everyone that sold chocolate was invited to the pizza party.

Great job! Thank you cadets and families for selling AND buying World's Finest Chocolate. Sales and prizes will continue throughout the semester.

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.

• There's money out there for your college or trade school education. Fill out your FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) right away at THIS LINK
• Are you a junior that's graduating early or a senior graduating in December? Make sure you let LTC London know right away
• Check out the latest SENIOR NEWS from our Rebel Counselors: CLICK HERE

Believe it or not, we are already halfway through the 2nd quarter of this semester. Progress reports for all classes will be available on Friday. Let's work hard in all of our classes to turn in any missing work and get those grades as high as possible.

Families, if your cadet's grades on PowerSchool are not looking good, 9 times out of 10 they have not turned in their missing work.

Please note that the Veterans Day Parade is a summative assessment measuring proficiency in: stationary drill (attention, parade rest, facing movements, salute); marching; cadences; boxstep; battalion motto; teamwork; and wear of the Army uniform. Let's do a great job at the parade this Thursday.

Victory!