CJHS "Chargers Connection"

It has been wonderful to welcome our staff and students back to school! Thank you to all our families for making sure your student(s) is on time for school, ready to learn! Reminder that students are welcome to enter the building beginning at 8:20 a.m. and must report either to the cafeteria or gym. At 8:35 a.m., students may head to their locker or drop off instruments/sports equipment and be in first period class by 8:45 a.m.

~Ms. Nicasio, Principal

nicasim@unit5.org

~Mr. Tripp, Associate Principal

trippd@unit5.org

~Ms. Oxarart, Assistant Principal

oxararta@unit5.org

Did you have a wonderful experience with a CJHS Staff member and would like to shout them out? Students and families are invited to spread joy among our staff! Please fill out this form and we will share your message with them in our future Chargers Newsletters!!

Graduate Students from ISUs String Project program came in to perform for 8th and 6th grade Orchestra students, and talked about being a string musician!

Team ACES is off to a wonderful start! We have spent time getting to know each other and learning what great teamwork looks like! We have been busy in our classes, including designing our new team logo, finding good books to read, doing math at our thinking stations, and enjoying our first science labs! We are excited for a school year filled with lots of learning, new friends, and fun!

Calling all Chiddix Chargers!!

Do you have ideas or suggestions to improve our school? Would you like to meet with Ms. Nicasio on a quarterly basis to discuss student issues or concerns? Would you like to help work toward solutions to any issues or concerns that students may have? If you answered yes to any of this questions, your voice is important and I am interested in connecting directly with students to listen to your thoughts.

Students would meet with Ms. Nicasio during lunch twice a quarter and eat lunch together with her. Click on the button below to complete the Google form to indicate your interest and more information will be sent to your email.

Show your CJHS school spirit every Friday by purchasing items and helping us raise funds for various programs for our school!!

Last day to order is Monday, September 16th!

Our arrival and dismissal times are the busiest of our school day! Our buses drop and pick up our students in the front of the school. Please help us keep our students and community safe by ensuring we are keeping the front of our school free of vehicles. We ask that you NOT park along Walnut Street to drop off or pickup students.

We also ask that you help us in following the procedures for drop off at the North Door before school! Please make an entire lap around the parking lot (green arrow) and drop off your students when you get to the grass area closest to the school. All of this should be done in one line. This will ensure a safe and speedy drop off for everyone in line!

Please do NOT use the red arrow directions where:
#1) we wrap around the entrance/exit of the parking lot
#2) cutting through the parking lot to get in a second line to drop off and
#3) passing parked vehicles that are letting children out

These steps will ensure that the morning drop off will be both smooth, quick, and most importantly, safe. Thank you for your help in ensuring our CHARGERS stay safe!

You hear that music playing at 3:50 p.m.? That means the BUSES ARE LEAVING!! Everyone needs to make sure we are packing up and heading out the doors during dismissal quickly.

Make sure you check the white board for the number of your bus to determine the location or whether it is not here yet.

If it is not here, all students should report to the cafeteria and we will alert you when it is here.

This week, our CJHS staff reviewed our PBIS expectations in all areas of our school. Students learned expectations for arrival/dismissal, hallway/locker, classroom, laptops, locker rooms, bathroom, bus, cafeteria, assemblies, and field trips. Students have the opportunity to earn Charger Cash for following expectations!

Next week, teachers will continue to review, model, and reteach expectations to students, however, cautions will be issued for failure to follow these expectations including our dress code.

We invite our families to ask their student(s) what they learned and determine areas to focus on together! Click here for our CJHS PBIS Matrix of expectations.

ALL students must have an ID to ride the bus and to use for lunch throughout the school year!

• ALL students must use their student ID when boarding and exiting buses. This includes all field trips and athletic events.
• To expedite lunch lines, ALL students must have a student ID or they will be sent to the guidance office to issue a new one.

Students will be issued new IDs on the first day of school. Please come to the guidance office immediately if you lose your ID. First lost ID is free, thereafter they are $3 and will be charged to IC accounts.

If students do not have their ID for lunch, they will be sent to the guidance office for a replacement.

Reminder to our families and students that from 8:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. cell phones should SILENT AND AWAY during the school day.

• This means that the ringer is on silent and cell phone is out of sight.
• It should never be in the student's hands during the school day.

Students may carry their cell phones in their pocket or pencil pouch, but must refrain from taking the cell phone out during the school day.

Please note this includes the use of Smart Watches - talking into it or manually texting. Thank you for helping our students following our schoolwide expectations.

Reminder that...

• Clothing that fails to adequately cover the body, or which is torn or altered in an explicit or

  suggestive manner, will not be permitted. Shirts, blouses and tops which are not tucked in must be long enough to cover the midsection when the student is in a standing or sitting position. Pants or shorts must be worn at the waist.

• Appropriate foot wear must be worn at all times. Slippers and shoes with wheels are prohibited.

At the beginning of each school year, we introduce students to the various emergency action plans and conduct safety drills at different points over the course of the year. We want to ensure our CJHS families understand the importance of preparedness as well as understand each type of drill.

The students and CJHS staff will be practicing various emergency drills each year. We want each student to understand and be aware of the importance of these drills. By practicing, they will know what to do and how to do it in a timely and efficient manner should an emergency situation occur.

Our Emergency Action Plans are explained below...

Hold: This is initiated when an incident is occurring inside the school such as a medical situation where hallways need to be kept clear. Students and staff stay within their classrooms and ignore bells until given the all clear that they may move about the building as normal.

Secure: This is initiated when there is a hazard such as an unsafe condition in the immediate neighborhood. All exterior doors remain locked and closed. No one is permitted to enter or leave the building during this time. Students/staff move around as usual inside the school.

Code Red Lockdown: This is initiated when there is an active threat inside the building requiring students to be in a secure location within the school.

Evacuate: This is initiated when a fire or other unsafe situation is suspected within the building and it is necessary for students, staff, and any volunteers to evacuate the building.

Shelter: The purpose of this drill is to be prepared to move to a safe location within the building in case of severe weather or tornados.

In addition, students practice a bus evacuation drill and are taught how to evacuate a school bus safely from all exits.

The staff at our school will spend time discussing the importance and reviewing the procedures prior to running these drills with our students. We also take time after the drills to talk about the drill in an effort to determine if we can improve our practice.

Should we need to put any of the lockdown procedures above in place, we ask that you do not contact your child’s cell phone, as it is imperative that we have quiet to move through our procedures efficiently. As well, please do not contact the school office, as the lines need to be kept open for emergency response. Know that parents will receive information from me or the district providing information regarding next steps in the event of an emergency situation.

All of our drills were developed with the assistance of local police and fire officials as well as the Regional Office of Education with recommendation from the U.S. Dept. of Education. Each time we practice, we continue to evaluate our emergency preparedness plans to ensure appropriate procedures are in place so students and staff know how to respond to different situations that may occur.

Be advised that our Practice Code Red Lockdown and Building Evacuation to Eastview will take place on Tuesday, September 10th. If you would like to opt your student from this drill, please contact Ms. Oxarart at oxararta@unit5.org. Thank you!

Reminder that ALL students should have two locks - one for PE locker and the other for hallway locker.

Locks are sold in the office - $18 for the pair or $9 for a single lock. Payment is accepted in the form of cash or check.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Our annual "unraiser" is the only fundraiser where 100% of your donation goes toward PTO budget and it DOES NOT involve selling products or spending your valuable time.

Please consider a donation of any amount to help support our school community!! Click on the link below for more information.

High school football games are great events for junior high and elementary students to attend to start seeing what high school life is like. Junior high and elementary students coming to a football game at either NCHS or West must be accompanied by an adult (18 or older). Junior high or elementary students without an adult will not be allowed to purchase a ticket to enter the stadium. We also ask that students not bring bags, sports balls, or other toys to the game.

• Angie Codron, Principal of Normal West
• Adam Zbrozek, Principal of Normal Community

All visitors, including parents and siblings, are required to enter through the front door of the building and proceed immediately to the main office. When ringing the bell to our school, visitors should identify themselves and inform office personnel of their reason for being at school.

All visitors to school property are required to check into the Main Office and receive permission to remain on school property. All visitors' log, identifying their name, the date and time of arrival, and the classroom or location they are visiting, show identification, and wear a visitor's badge.

Mariana Nicasio, Principal

Dan Tripp, Associate Principal

Aimee Oxarart, Assistant Principal

Phone Numbers:

• General Information: (309) 557-4405
• Guidance Office: (309) 557-4850
• Attendance Line: (309) 557-4454
• School Nurse: (309) 557-4687
• Transportation: (309) 557-4287

Email: nicasim@unit5.org
Website: https://www.unit5.org/Domain/25
Location: 300 South Walnut Street, Normal, IL, USA
Phone: 309-557-4405