The Navigator Newsletter

Thank you to those who responded to our survey last week about the content and delivery of the weekly newsletter. The majority of respondents want to receive information about both classrooms. We will be presenting a single newsletter divided into two sections - one section for VIRTUAL and one section for F2F. You will have the ability to read only the section that pertains to your child's situation or read everything. Thank you for helping us stay connected to you!

Mark your calendar:

• September 7: Labor Day

• September 8: First Day VIRTUAL Students

• September 22: Open House 6:00-7:25pm (held virtually this year; more details to come)

Remember, the first day for our virtual classrooms is September 8. "See" you then!

Molly Bernosky, our Assistant Principal, is the liaison here in the Junior High building for all virtual families. If you have questions about the JH Virtual Classroom, please email her at bernoskym@sycamoreschools.org

In the coming weeks, Mrs. Bernosky will be forming a Virtual Connection Task Force to develop and manage ways for our virtual students and families to stay connected to the Junior High. More details to come.

Please make sure your student has a printed schedule with them on the first few days of school.

STUDENT SCHEDULE ACCESS:

1. The student should log on to his/her Blackboard account at https://bb.sycamoreschools.org/

2. Navigate to and click on the my eBackpack tab

3. There you will find the schedule PDF.
4. Open and print and/or download to your device.

We recommend your student take a picture or screenshot of the schedule for quick and easy future reference

As we celebrate students' first day of school on Tuesday, Sept 8th, we'd love to highlight our F2F and virtual students taking on this momentous occasion. If interested, please share a first day photo with BernoskyM@Sycamoreschools.org so that we may highlight it on our social media!

Attendance is required for all Virtual Classroom learners and will be taken by the teacher by 8:30am. If your child is absent, please call the attendance line at 686-1762 as early as possible. Parents will receive an automated attendance phone call if your child is marked as unexcused.

As we work through coordinating our virtual and F2F systems and processes, we ask for your patience. If you receive this call, especially in the first few days of school, please call the office, and we will work with you to document the absence or correct the error. Thank you.

If you have not already done so, please have your student log in to his or her Sycamore account on his/her district Chromebook as soon as possible. If there are any challenges logging in or you forgot your password, please email Traci Knue at knuet@sycamoreschools.org

We want to keep all students connected to the JH this year. However, in order to maximize academic time during the altered school day schedule, announcements will not be broadcast during school time.

Look for future instructions on how your student should access school announcements.

JOINING CLASS:

1. Students should have a copy of their class schedule and bell schedule available and be prepared to be in class by the start of 1st bell at 8:02 am. Attendance will be taken.
2. Students should log into their Chromebook and into Blackboard (see photo below) https://bb.sycamoreschools.org/ .
3. Find the first bell teacher name/course. There you will see the Weekly Learning Guide (see below). This weekly learning guide will allow students to plan for the upcoming week.

ACCESSING LESSONS AND CONNECTING WITH THE TEACHER

1. All access to documents, lessons, etc. will be on the left of the teachers' Blackboard home screen.
2. To connect virtually with your teacher, click on the “Blackboard Collaborate” button. This button may be within the "Weekly Learning Guide” or might be on the teacher “home” page

Some of our courses will be Live Streamed between Virtual and F2F classrooms. In order to foster collaboration and an inclusive environment, students in streamed classes will be interacting with others through online platforms.

As a reminder, students will need the items from our GENERAL SUPPLY LIST every day.

In addition, select subjects/teachers require additional items. Please consult the TEACHER SPECIFIC SUPPLY LIST for these items.

All Virtual Classroom Students will eat LUNCH A. The remaining 60 minutes will include 45 minutes of instruction and, at teachers' discretion, the extra 15 minutes may be used for either extend lunch, screen break, movement time, an extension of the lesson or Q&A.

You should have received a message from our District regarding Chromebooks. Students in VC will need a Sycamore Schools issued Chromebook for testing purposes. If you did not receive your Chromebook, please email HELPDESK@sycamoreschools.org

Sycamore Junior High PBIS Committee is proud to offer Class T-shirts again this year.

To order your child a t-shirt, please visit https://www.companycasuals.com/sycamoreclasstees/start.jsp

Click on "tshirts" on the left to start the ordering process and choose the correct color for your student's grade. Green is class of 2025 (8th grade) and gold is class of 2026 (7th grade)

We are still in the ordering process. After the ordering window closes on September 30, and the shirts are produced, arrangements will be made to distribute t-shirts to our virtual classroom students.

Welcome to the 2020-21 school year, SJH Families!

Despite the many uncertainties surrounding the upcoming school year, the SJH PTO is still active in supporting our families and staff!!

The PTO has chosen to provide membership at NO cost this year. Your FREE PTO membership gives your family access to the Sycamore Junior High Student Directory, which is published through an app called Directory Spot. In order to have access to Directory Spot this year you MUST fill out the membership form.

• On a desktop: Go to https://www.sycamoreschools.org/Page/3021 and click on Membership on the left column.
• On a mobile device: Go to https://www.sycamoreschools.org/Page/3021, scroll down to click on the + sign on the right of the word 'PTO.' Click on the heading that says 'Membership.’

This year, the PTO is faced with the challenge of fundraising during a global pandemic. Because our annual fundraising events are currently on hold, this could greatly impact our ability to give back to our students and staff throughout the year. The PTO Board has chosen to offer a "Hassle-Free" fundraising event in hopes that we will be able to maintain our level of financial support to the Junior High. Hassle-Free donations can be made on the website listed above. We appreciate your support!

Questions?? Email Kim Hueil at jhptowaysmeans@sycamoreschools.org.

• General Supply List
  
• Teacher-Specific Supply List
• Bell Schedule
  
• Healthy Back to School Family FAQ
  
• Special Education, Gifted, ESOL FAQ
  
• Final Forms
• Parent Portal

Mark your calendar:

• September 7: Labor Day - No School

• September 8: First Day ALL Students

• September 14: F2F Picture Day

• September 22: Open House 6:00-7:25pm (held virtually this year; more details to come)

Your student should bring a FULLY CHARGED Chromebook to school every day.

As all materials are shared digitally, a dead battery puts him/her at a significant disadvantage in the academic day. PLEASE have a routine in place with your student to make sure your child charges his/her Chromebook every night. Thank you!

Please make sure your student has a printed schedule with him/her on the first few days of school.

STUDENT ACCESS:

1. The student should log on to his/her Blackboard account at https://bb.sycamoreschools.org/

2. Navigate to and click on the my eBackpack tab

3. There you will find the schedule PDF.
4. Open and print and/or download to your device.

We can not permit any schedule changes after September 8th. Please understand that due to physical distancing in the classroom and requirements by the health department to perform contact tracing, we must firm up seating charts in all classrooms. Thank you for your cooperation.

As we celebrate students' first day of school on Tuesday, Sept 8th, we'd love to highlight our F2F and virtual students taking on this momentous occasion. If interested, please share a first day photo with BernoskyM@Sycamoreschools.org so that we may highlight it on our social media!

Attendance is required for all students and will be taken by the teacher by 8:30am. If your child is absent, please call the attendance line at 686-1762 as early as possible. Parents will receive an automated attendance phone call if your child is marked as unexcused.

As we work through coordinating our virtual and F2F systems and processes, we ask for your patience. If you receive this call, especially in the first few days of school, please call the office, and we will work with you to document the absence or correct the error. Thank you.

The following procedure is only in the event a student must be quarantined due to COVID-19. All other illnesses and absences will be handled according to our normal absence/makeup policy. Please reference page 26 of the Student/Parent Handbook.

What Happens in F2F Daily Instruction?

All F2F lessons are digitized through blackboard. Students will use the blackboard platform that includes all parts of the lesson, assessments, and supplemental materials on a daily basis. While in F2F status, the lesson, including the direct instruction portion of the lessons will be F2F. Video portions of the lesson will only be used if a child needs to access the lessons from home. Video recording will not be used daily in F2F status for direct instruction.

What Happens if a Student is Quarantined at Home?

If a child needs to be quarantined at home, he/she can access the lesson and all materials complete with a video of the direct instruction portion of lessons. It will take one school day to access the video portion of the direct instruction. The video may or may not be the child’s teacher. The lesson, however, will be the same, as teachers are conducting lessons in unison. A child can work at his/her own pace throughout quarantine and when he/she feels well enough. While in quarantine, a student does not access Blackboard collaborate for lessons. As always, if a student needs assistance, he/she should reach out to the teacher via email to schedule a time to collaborate.

What Happens to the Classroom?

If one or more classes need to leave a classroom to have it sanitized, the class will move to Remote Status in the physically distanced auditorium. Through the use of earbuds, the teacher will teach the class remotely in the auditorium until the classroom can be used again.

Last week, Governor Mike DeWine put a new health order in place that requires schools to have a system in place for reporting COVID-19 cases. If your child is diagnosed with COVID-19, please contact our school nurse, Amy Bonham directly at 513-686-1763. Amy will then take all of the needed information from you as she is then required to contact our local health department. Amy is in the building Monday - Friday. Your child may not return to school until he/she is cleared by a doctor or the health department.

In addition, schools will be required to report the number of positive cases when they occur. Per the Governor’s health order, this information will be posted on our website and parents will be notified by email.

If your child arrives at school and displays symptoms, our nurse will follow district protocol for isolating and reviewing symptoms.

As always, the health and safety of our students and staff are a top priority. Thank you for your continued support.

A MESSAGE FROM CHILD NUTRITION

If you have questions, please visit the Child Nutrition homepage on the Sycamore website or contact Kelsey Warren warrenk@sycamoreschools.org

Note: Grades 7-12 do NOT pre-order.

Breakfast

Breakfast will be provided in the concession stand area from 7:30-8:00 am. Breakfast will be grab-and-go and options will be limited compared to past years in order to speed up the lines and allow for more physical distancing. Physical distancing of 6 feet in line is REQUIRED. There will be stickers on the floor where students will stand while in line.

Lunch

Lunch and a la carte items will be served in the kitchen. We will also have a separate area set up within the cafeteria to sell snacks and drinks to those that are not purchasing a meal from the cafeteria.

Students will pick up their entree and sides (all will be pre-wrapped) and make their way to a register. Snacks and drinks will also be for sale as usual, but a limited variety will be offered in order to speed up decision making. Physical distancing of 6 feet in line is REQUIRED. There will be stickers on the floor where students will stand while in line.

There will be ONE “cash only” register. Students who have cash will only be able to go through this line.

Some of our courses will be Live Streamed between Virtual and F2F classrooms. In order to foster collaboration and an inclusive environment, students in streamed classes will be interacting with others through online platforms.

Josten's is our new School Photo vendor. Students will have pictures takes - no paperwork or order forms are required. After picture day, please visit www.jostenspix.com with the event code FE0620 to view and place an order, if desired.

Sept 14: Face to Face Classroom Students

October 6: Retake Day

Sycamore Junior High PBIS Committee is proud to offer Class T-shirts again this year.

To order your child a t-shirt, please visit https://www.companycasuals.com/sycamoreclasstees/start.jsp

Click on "tshirts" on the left to start the ordering process and choose the correct color for your student's grade. Green is class of 2025 (8th grade) and gold is class of 2026 (7th grade).

We are still in the ordering process. After the ordering window closes on September 30, and the shirts are produced, arrangements will be made to distribute the t-shirts at school.

As a reminder, students will be carrying backpacks during the school day with all their items inside. Because there may be occasions when a student will need to temporarily leave his/her backpack unattended, we are changing for this year only, the policy about having phones on their person. Students may have their phones on their person but the phone MUST remain OFF until the end of the school day.

We also want to discourage students from bringing valuable items to school, including iPods or other expensive Bluetooth earbuds. While every student will need headphones or earbuds for class we ask that you only send basic ones for your student to use during the school day.

Welcome to the 2020-21 school year, SJH Families!

Despite the many uncertainties surrounding the upcoming school year, the SJH PTO is still active in supporting our families and staff!!

The PTO has chosen to provide membership at NO cost this year. Your FREE PTO membership gives your family access to the Sycamore Junior High Student Directory, which is published through an app called Directory Spot. In order to have access to Directory Spot this year you MUST fill out the membership form.

• On a desktop: Go to https://www.sycamoreschools.org/Page/3021 and click on Membership on the left column.
• On a mobile device: Go to https://www.sycamoreschools.org/Page/3021, scroll down to click on the + sign on the right of the word 'PTO.' Click on the heading that says 'Membership.’

This year, the PTO is faced with the challenge of fundraising during a global pandemic. Because our annual fundraising events are currently on hold, this could greatly impact our ability to give back to our students and staff throughout the year. The PTO Board has chosen to offer a "Hassle-Free" fundraising event in hopes that we will be able to maintain our level of financial support to the Junior High. Hassle-Free donations can be made on the website listed above. We appreciate your support!

Questions?? Email Kim Hueil at jhptowaysmeans@sycamoreschools.org.

• General Supply List
  
• Teacher-Specific Supply List
• Bell Schedule
  
• Healthy Back to School Family FAQ
  
• Special Education, Gifted, ESOL FAQ
  
• Final Forms
• Parent Portal

Email: jhadmin@sycamoreschools.org
Website: www.sycamoreschools.org/sycamorejh
Location: 5757 Cooper Road, Cincinnati, OH, United States
Phone: 5136861760
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SycamoreJuniorHighPTO/
Twitter: @sycamorejrhigh