Minidoka Jr. High Parent Newsletter

January 6: Semester 2 Begins

We are looking forward to a new year, new semester and new students! We finished the first semester stronger than ever in our history! We had 21 students who earned credits and completed course work before the end of the semester! Two of our 8th grade students promoted to high school; we have a 6th grader who is super close to moving to 7th grade, and five 7th graders moved up to 8th grade! That is impressive work!

Students are strongly encouraged to work on missed credits, and teachers provide that extra support in our self-directed block of the day. We are thrilled to see our students tap into that resource and opportunity.

As parents, you can help us by making sure that your child is getting adequate sleep in order to be alert and productive at school. Data reinforces what we see: students that arrive on time and attendance is in the 90% or higher, and are awake the entire day find significantly higher success rates in academics, behavior and lifetime skills.

Thank you for your partnership in the education of your child.

Dyann Blood

Principal, MJH

This month's student spotlight is on all students who managed to get all their credits and finish up the semester strong! Congratulations to Aisen, Brendyn, Kristopher, and Horaciojose in sixth grade, Madison, Aron, Levi, Melonii, Hallie, Edward, Geraldo, Kimberly, Xander, and Gabrielle in seventh grade, and Cristian, Nataly, Brayden, Ronan, Jesus, Vanessa, and Nayelli in eighth! Way to go, everyone! That's what happens when you're working safely, kindly, and responsibly!

For every grade, students have spent the last two weeks finishing up any missing work to make sure that they earned their credit in History, and so many students were able to finish up and leave early for a well earned Christmas break! Students stayed determined, and most all were able to see their work through and earn their credit!

Over 2/3 of students received their Science Credit for the 1st Semester which is the best percentage we have had at Minidoka Jr. High in the last 9 years!

Hello, parents! Welcome to a new semester at Minidoka Jr. High! We are excited to report unprecedented numbers of students finishing last semester on a high note! We had 9 students who were able to move from one grade to the next this semester, including two students who were promoted to Mt Harrison High School, and we had 18 students who finished their work for the semester early and were able to enjoy a longer Christmas break! We are looking forward to even more success stories this semester, and we welcome all of our new students!

In English class, most students had a strong finish to their first semester. Mrs. Bruns is still looking for good books to read aloud so, if you have any suggestions, please SHARE them!

Students worth CELEBRATING this month are: Melonii for completing this semester's work and earning her credit in the short time she has been here, to Brendyn for asking good questions and doing what is asked of him, and to Ramiro for writing the most entertaining narrative of the semester! EVERY SINGLE SEVENTH GRADER earned a credit for English class first semester!

We have had an amazing first semester in English class! I can't wait to see what learning takes place in 2025!

2024-25 Empowering Parents program grant applications are open. Applications will close when funding is exhausted, so we’re hoping families apply right away! As a reminder, parents of Idaho students ages 5-18 who filed a 2023 Idaho tax return are eligible. Families with adjusted gross incomes (AGI) of under 60k receive priority. Grants are $1,000 per student and up to $3,000 per family. The grant funds can be used for a huge range of items to support student learning – including laptops or technology, extracurricular classes, camps, and school athletic fees, driver’s education, tutoring or speech therapy – and more! The application guide is available in English and Spanish and phone customer service agents are also bilingual. Application:

https://empoweringparents.idaho.gov/

Eligible Products and Services: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6312777d5f200238b4f4eafe/t/66faf9a3f92f41117d9e52a9/1727723939639/Eligible+Products+%26+Services.2024.pdf

We are excited to ​s​hare the new Minidoka Schools App. You can download the app by visiting your mobile device's app store. The app is a quick, easy way to access information about our schools. Watch this short video tutorial with a quick overview of the app.

Health Care Services

Dyann Blood

Please review the consent below. If you have any questions, contact 208-436-4727.

Parent Consent for Basic Health Services - English

Parent Consent for Basic Health Services - Spanish

• Parents/Guardians have the right to request professional qualifications of teachers and paraprofessionals.
• Parent/Patron Advisory Committee meets monthly at 12:30 here at our building. Lunch is provided, and parents/guardians have the opportunity to be part of the decision making process for our schools. We would love to have you participate as you can.