GJH Parent Portal

What a great school year this has been! Thank you for sharing your children with us for these months. The next few weeks will be a busy time of wrapping up assignments, taking exams, celebrating achievements. We are wishing everyone a fantastic summer. Good luck to our 8th graders as they move on to high school, and we'll look forward to seeing our 7th graders in August as new 8th graders! Please watch Parent Square for announcements and important information over the summer as we prepare for another school year.

Congratulations to the 330 students who qualified for our year-end reward field trips by demonstrating positive behavior, consistent attendance, and prioritizing getting to class on time!

If your child received a letter stating that s/he qualified year-end reward trip, this is a reminder that the deadline for turning in permission slips and money is quickly approaching. We will not be able to accept these items after the deadline.

Deep River Trip for qualifying 7th graders: Money and permission slips must be turned in by Thursday, May 23rd.

Cedar Point Trip for qualifying 8th graders: Money and permission slips must be turned in by Tuesday, May 14th.

Students had to meet the following criteria in order to be eligible for these trips. All students were given a fresh start after hearing about the criteria. For 7th graders, the "count" starts on Monday, September 25. For 8th graders, the "count" starts on Monday, October 2nd. If you think your child qualified but s/he did not receive a letter, please check the criteria and contact Mrs. Herschberger at lherschberger@goshenschools.org if you have questions.

1. Six or fewer absences (excused and unexcused absences count)
2. Thirty or fewer tardies to class
3. One or less referral (excluding major referrals)

We have five staff members retiring from GJH this year. We wish them the best and are very grateful for the impact they have had during their years of service to students!

Mr. Beck - School Nurse (retired in December)

Mrs. Dalton - School Secretary (retired in December)

Mrs. Desmarais-Morse - School Counselor

Mrs. Holbrook English Language Collaborator

Mrs. Reyburn - Media Center Assistant

Now is a great time to get your IHSAA Sports Physicals scheduled and completed! Just a reminder, a new sports physical is required by the State for every school year in order to be eligible to participate in any sport at the Jr. High and High School level. It must be dated after April 1st, 2024 to be good for the 24-25 school year.

Start dates for our Fall sports will be available soon. Sports include Football, Cheer, Volleyball, Soccer, and Cross Country.

Goshen High School offers some summer school opportunities for students.

• Summer P.E. (Physical Education) for 8th graders that will be in 9th grade next school year. Summer P.E. is different from P.E. during the school year. It includes several fun field trips, and it allows students to earn one of the two required P.E. credits before the school year starts!
• Students who are English Language Learners in 7th and 8th grade can also sign up for an English Language course that will help boost their English skills.

If your child meets the criteria listed, please use the form at this link to register for summer school if you are interested. https://forms.gle/1yeLMRnjtYFBX2139

Here are some important things to know about summer school this year:

1. You cannot miss more than 2 days of summer school for any reason. On your 3rd absence, you will be removed from the summer school roster. Please do not sign up for summer school if you have a family vacation or other trip planned that would lead to you missing more than 2 days.

2. Summer school sign-ups will end at 3:05 PM on Friday, May 24th, 2024. You must sign up before this time or you will not be enrolled in summer school.

3. Transportation (busing) is available! Summer school students requiring transportation must sign up for a bus using our bus registration website (https://routing.app-garden.com/goshenin). The link to the transportation registration is also provided in the sign-up form. All students needing transportation must be registered for the bus by 3:05 PM on Friday, May 24th, 2024 or they may not be provided transportation.

4. Summer school starts at 8 AM on Wednesday, June 5th, 2024.

5. Summer school ends on Thursday, June 27th, 2024.

6. Summer school sessions run from 8 AM to noon and will be held at Goshen High School.

7. Breakfast and lunch will not be provided.

Congratulations to the 57% of GJH students who have achieved an attendance rate of 94% or higher this school year! Thank you for making school attendance a priority! Keep up those good habits as you prepare for next school year. We want to help every student meet our district goal of missing less than 10 days of school each year. If you have concerns about your child's attendance, please contact Mr. Sheets.

All 8th grade English and Social Studies classes are busy preparing for their debates, which will begin May 15 and end with final debates in the GJHS Auditorium on May 29. Students are working with their teams in History and English classes to complete all the research and writing. Each speech will introduce the team's president, give background information, and highlight some of his greatest accomplishments and their impact on the country. In addition, students will research their opponent's negative actions to use in the debates. These debates are a great way for students to apply the research and writing skills we worked on this year, as well as prepare them for future public speaking opportunities.

The 6th-8th grade Choir students will perform a Spring concert on May 16 at 7:00 p.m. in our GJH auditorium. Tickets are $3. We hope to see you there!

Goshen Public Library's Teen Summer Reading Program is open to students in grades 7-12. Track your reading digitally and earn badges for each 7 days or 7 hours of reading. You'll be able to select a prize of your choice for each reading badge you earn. Head to https://goshenpl.beanstack.org/ to register & start tracking your reading on June 1! Program ends on July 31. For full details, head to https://bit.ly/teenSRE.

If you have a student in Theatre class, please mark your calendar with these important dates for the 2023-2024 school year:

Nov. 1st, 2024, Advanced Theatre @GJHS auditorium, 7pm (Beginning Theatre students required to attend)

Feb. 7th, 2025, Advanced Theatre @ Goshen Theater, February first Fridays, 6pm

Feb. 14th, 2025, Beginning Theatre @GJHS auditorium, 7pm

April 25th, 2025, Beginning Theatre @GJHS auditorium, 7pm

May 2nd, 2025, Advanced Theatre @GJHS auditorium, 7pm

If your child attends after school activities or athletic events, s/he should go home and be brought back to school for the event. Students are not allowed to stay after school waiting for the event, as supervision is not available.

Also, please make sure you have a plan for your child to be picked up within10 minutes of the end of the event. Students should be aware of ride arrangements prior to attending events.

Staff members running these events have other responsibilities and families waiting at home for them, and we appreciate your help with this. Students who are consistently picked up late from events may be asked not to attend these events anymore.

Goshen Community Schools Dress Code can be found in the online student handbook at https://gjhs.goshenschools.org/about/ . Please keep the dress code in mind over the summer if you are shopping for school clothes.

Our goal is to help students understand and evaluate appropriate settings for formal vs. informal attire, which is a skill they will use in the world beyond school. Students will see this addressed starting on the first day of school.

We appreciate parents working with us on this. If you have questions or concerns, don't hesitate to contact an administrator.

May 14th - Deadline for qualifying 8th graders to turn in money and permission slips for Cedar Point

May 23rd - Deadline for qualifying 7th graders to turn in money and permission slips for Deep River

May 27 - Memorial Day, No School

May 31 - Last Day of School for Students

June 11 - Cedar Point Trip for qualifying 8th graders

June 13 - Deep River Trip for qualifying 7th graders

For the safety of students, car traffic is not allowed in the front parking lot during our arrival (8:45-9:30) and dismissal (3:30-4:30). At any time when there are buses in the front lot, parents must drop off or pick up students in the North or South lot. Please communicate with your child ahead of time so s/he will know where to find you after school.

GCS provides many valuable online resources for parents and students. Skyward, Canvas, Parent Square . . . and the list goes on!

Detailed instructions and support for using these resources can be found here: https://goshenschools.instructure.com/courses/9841

Click this link to access student handbooks in English and Spanish:

https://gjhs.goshenschools.org/about/

Do you know of a GJH staff member who has "gone the extra mile" to make a difference in the life of a child? Take a moment to recognize and thank someone who has shown the Heart of a Redhawk! Click on the link below to fill out a nomination form. This is a simple, meaningful way to thank someone for a job well done.

www.goshenschools.org/heartofaRedHawk

Email: lherschberger@goshenschools.org
Website: https://gjhs.goshenschools.org/
Location: 1216 S. Indiana Avenue, Goshen, IN 46526
Phone: (574)533-0391
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goshenjrhigh/
Twitter: @GoshenJrHigh