JCS Staff Newsletter (October)

This newsletter will be distributed on the Wednesday following the monthly Board of Education meeting. This newsletter contains important information from district departments and other helpful tips. If you have suggestions for content in this newsletter, please send them to Collin Brooks at BrooksB@jcschools.org.

As we continue to navigate these challenging times, I am constantly reminded of the strength, resilience, and compassion that define our Northeast Tennessee community. We have been in contact with all of the First Region school districts on an ongoing basis since last Friday. We are actively working with them to help meet their needs. As additional needs arise, we will share them with our community to ensure that support continues as long as needed. Thank you for your unwavering dedication and for always being there for one another. If there is anything we can do to support you, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Below you will find a memo that shares needs and donation/distribution sites for our neighboring school districts.

As we continue the ongoing recovery efforts from the devastating storms as flooding we want to make sure that we are meeting the needs of any staff that might need assistance. Please fill out the JCS Staff Needs Survey, and someone will be in contact with you to offer support.

We also have a JCS Family Needs Survey if you know any students or families who need assistance, please share this link with them.

October Celebration Days 2024

• School Custodian Appreciation Day - October 2
• National Taco Day - October 4
• Manufacturing Day - October 4
• National Coaches Appreciation Day (Also Instructional Coaches) - October 6
• Fire Prevention Week - October 6 -12
• Columbus Day - October 14
• National Boss' Day - October 16
• Digital Citizenship Week - October 14 - 18
• National School Bus Safety Week - October 21 - 25
• National Red Ribbon Week - October 23 - 31
• National First Responders Day - October 28
• National Principal Month
• National Book Month
• Down Syndrome Awareness Month

Upcoming Performance Dates & other events

October 17 – Orchestra Halloween Concert at 7 PM

October 18 – Drama Improv in Studio 535 at 7 PM

October 26 - Science Hill Trick or Treat

October 28 - Nov. 1 - Attendance Matters Spirit Week

Calendars

• Printable Calendars for 2024-2025
• Staff Holiday Schedule for 2024-2025
  

The school with the highest attendance average for the week of October 28th will win THE CUP! The winning school will be announced on November 4, 2024. Last year, Towne Acres took home first place. Will they win again!? We will see. We look forward to this week of fun! Download the flyer below.

Please be advised that the Department of Education approved a professional development for Friday, September 27, 2024.

The Johnson City Public Schools Foundation has opened their TEACHER GRANTS for the 2024-2025 school year.

Teacher Grant Application

Grant Writing Tips for Teachers

Due to the ongoing relief efforts, the Washington County Health Department has postponed the influenza vaccines. As soon as we know the new dates, we will share them with our staff and families.

Wild to Mild Information Sheet from Health Department

Consent Form

Classroom library lists in PDF format need to be submitted to your communication coordinator. If you have updated your library, then those books must be scanned and included. It is very important to have these to your communications coordinator before fall break.If you have any questions, please see your media center specialist.

Here is a video on how to export your list into a PDF from BookSource

This video gives an overview of CrisisAlert, how to use the badge, some frequently asked questions, and badge best practices. Centegix Crisis Alert Badge Training Video

All ParentSquare questions should go to Collin Brooks at BrooksB@jcschools.org.

DID YOU KNOW:

You can now send direct messages to an entire group in ParentSquare Now, you can choose which groups to message instead of manually selecting individual recipients for your DMs—perfect for classes, teams, and clubs.

This enhancement is rolling out to customers over the next few days, starting right now! Learn more at https://parentsquare.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/30568720086157-Send-a-Direct-Message-to-a-Group-or-Class](https://parentsquare.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/30568720086157-Send-a-Direct-Message-to-a-Group-or-Class)

Training Resources

For users who already have a registered ParentSquare account, modules and webinars to learn more about the platform and its features can be found here.

• Self-Paced Teacher Training Modules
• Teacher Training Video (Preparation Handout)
• Live Teacher Training Webinar Registration
• Training Calendar

Each district's TISA accountability report is required to be presented to the public for review and comment before the report is submitted to the department. The report must be submitted annually to the department by November 1st.

Submit feedback on our TISA Feedback for Johnson City Schools form, or visit our TISA Accountability web page at your convenience.

• Visit our updated Human Resources web page to find assistance with your employee benefits and questions about the hiring process.
  
• Johnson City Schools is hiring Educare assistants, custodians, and instructional assistants. View our current job postings and apply today!

• Johnson City Transit is in need of bus drivers. Please view the Johnson City job posting for more information about open driving positions.

Annual open enrollment for health insurance will begin on October 1st through October 31st. This is the only time during the year that changes can be made to your health insurance coverage without a qualifying life event. Changes to coverage will be effective January 1, 2025. You will be receiving emails from PARTNERS FOR HEALTH and Edison regarding open enrollment. If you do not wish to make any changes to your health insurance coverage, you do not need to do anything. Open enrollment is only if you wish to make changes.

For more information, please visit our Open Enrollment web page for forms, instructions, and video assistance. We are happy to answer any and all questions! Please contact Sharron Livingston, HR Department Assistant, (423) 434-5207 after reviewing the information provided.

Welcome to your JCS Finance department!

• Please visit our updated web page at Finance | Retirement.
• Please know that Sharron Livingston in Human Resources now manages most benefits for our system. Christy Fair in Finance manages the Hartford Life Insurance only.
• Our Employee Forms page will assist you with finding commonly requested forms and the contact person for each one.

Presenters, please open your Learning Stream instructor accounts, and look over all of your sessions that have taken place this quarter. All sessions should have attendance marked before fall break. Please send me the sign-in sheets, or mark your participants attended if needed. If sessions were moved or cancelled, please notify me this week to remove them from our registration records.

We are accepting Q2 district and school-based sessions. We pay for district-wide sessions, $20 per instructional hour, for sessions starting at 4 p.m. to allow all district participants to be able to arrive on time. Once an administrator or coach has approved your session, please follow the steps below to make your session visible in Learning Stream.

1. Submit all session details using the 2024-2025 New Training Request Form on our Professional Learning |TLC web page.

2. Receive an email notifying you that your session is open with instructor account information included.

3. Participants sign-in (print name, sign name, school & email), then send your sign-in sheets to TLC or take attendance in your instructor account.

Contact: Tracey Coffey (423) 434-5218

The next Johnson City Board of Education meeting will be held on Monday, November 4 starting at 6 p.m. inside the Board Room at Central Office (100 E. Maple Street). Board meetings can be viewed on the Johnson City Schools' YouTube channel.

Congratulations to the following students who were named National Merit Semifinalist. They include

• Shreeyan Papireddy
• Caleb Spurling
• Samantha Wilder
• Ryan Zheng

Congratulations to the following students for having Academic Honors by the College Board National Recognition Program. The students include

• Joshua Aninyei, National African American Recognition Program
• Gianna Becerra, National First-Generation Recognition Program
• Christian Lehman, National Hispanic Recognition Program
• Christian Zarate, National First-Generation Recognition and National Hispanic Recognition programs

The Johnson City Schools' Communication Department is looking for suggestions for features stories to share with our community. This could be anything you think parents, students or the public want or need to know about can be good features. We're talking student achievements, teachers doing cool things in their classrooms, school programs or offerings that could benefit from a little awareness, clubs... Anything. If there's a visual component – something or someone I could photograph to go along with it – it will be even more engaging. I'd love to hear your ideas!

Please reach out to Nathan Baker or Collin Brooks with your suggestions.