To:       UJHS Parents and Families

From:   Laura Fitzgerald, Principal

Re:       UJHS October updates

Date:    October 9, 2020

October is a busy month! Here are few updates that parents will want to keep in mind as we move into the second quarter of school.

Unity Junior High School will conduct our Law Enforcement and Evacuation Drill next week. Due to the constraints of COVID-19 protocols, our presentation is slightly different from past years. Presentations will be made to sixth graders by Deputy Franzen and Mrs. Fitzgerald on October 15 during PE classes. Seventh and eighth graders will be provided presentations on October 16 during social studies. All students will walk to the UJHS reunification point in Tolono on October 16 during PE classes.

The first quarter ends on Friday, October 16. Report cards will go home on Wednesday, October 21, 2020.

Wednesday, October 21 is Unity Day, a nation-wide day dedicated to uniting for kindness, acceptance, and inclusion. UJHS School Climate Team has been working on activities and challenges for the week. Please encourage your student to participate and look for more information in the daily announcements.

Parent-Teacher Conference Night is October 22, 2020. Conferences will not be held in-person. Please see the letter from Mrs. Fitzgerald regarding details for arranging a conference. The school day ends for UJHS students at 12:30pm on October 22. There is no afternoon Remote Instruction on this day.

Picture retakes are October 22. Please see school announcements for details.

During a typical school year, UJHS teaches Social/Emotional Learning Standards (SEL) through health, Quest and Journeys classes, and monthly grade level counseling opportunities. As we work with a compressed school day this year, we continue to look for ways to incorporate elements of these important standards into our school day. Ms. Freehill, Title I social worker, is providing a word of the week in our daily announcements to support this effort. The words chosen include concepts involving perspective taking, emotions, decision making, values, and goal setting. The definitions provided are from Second Step curriculum resources. Mrs. Grussing, school counselor, will be also be using elements of Second Step curriculum during monthly grade level counseling opportunities.  

Please continue to ask your student about NetSmartz. This curriculum is presented each Friday during seventh hour. More information about NetSmartz can be found on our website under Parent Resources.

UJHS yearbook is on sale now. Parents can place an order online on the school website under the Parent Resources link.

Looking ahead, the State of Illinois has designated Election Day, November 3, as a school holiday. There is no school for students on this day.

A friendly reminder when life gets challenging, we at UJHS appreciate all our families do to aid in the education of our students. We see the many ways that you support the work of administration, faculty and staff. Thank you!