Minidoka Jr. High Parent Newsletter

December 11: Christmas Parent Event: 7:30-8:30 a.m. Cozy Coffee and Donuts

December 12: Century Cinemas: 8:30-11:30

December 16: Early Christmas Break Release for Qualifying Students

December 20-January 5: Christmas Break

January 6: Semester 2 Begins

Congratulations to Cristian Chavarria Cruz!

Cristian has been meeting academic expectations, working to get the help he needs, and showing great resilience and curiosity in his classwork. He's always friendly and kind to others. The team at MJH are super proud of him!

In 6th grade, Students are learning about the first civilizations of Mesopotamia: Sumeria, Assyria, and Babylon. Students are learning about all of the "firsts" that these cultures invented, and what the pros and cons of each one might be!

In 7th grade, students learned about the geography of East Asia, and we moved on to talking about the culture of The Shang and Zhou dynasties of ancient China. Now, we examine the politics of China: Confucianism, Legalism, and Daoism, and students decide which one they would prefer to live in if they lived in that time and place!

In 8th grade, students are working on heavily evidence-based paragraphs that connect the impact of Westward Expansion in the US to issues that we see happening in our nation today!

8th grade are experimenting with Exothermic Reactions (reactions that feel warm). In order to design their own Flameless Heater to replace traditional MRE food heaters.

In English class, students are wrapping up their first semester of the school year. As a reminder - students are required to pass ALL eight of the Power Focus Areas for the semester in order to receive English credit. Students who have earned a passing percentage, but not passed all PFAs will earn course credit when all PFAs have been passed. As of today, all remaining assignments for the semester have been posted and all missing or incomplete work has been given a score of '0' to reflect the very lowest percentage each student will earn for the semester. Grades will improve as work is completed through December.

Sixth graders continue reading The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks, seventh graders just finished reading Ghost by Jason Reynolds, and eighth graders are still reading Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen. If anyone has read aloud suggestions, please SHARE them with Mrs. Bruns!

Students worth CELEBRATING this month are: Jesus and Aron for completing this semester's PFAs and starting on next semester's PFAs, Ronan, Geraldo, and Aisen for showing that they really know what RESILIENCE is by bouncing back when things have been tough, Brealyn for asking great questions, and our awesome new addition, Gabby, for getting off to an amazing start by completing work in a hurry!

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.