Skip the big-box stores, and support our local high school! Our Greenhouse Production class is holding a plant sale as a fundraiser. Students have been planting, transplanting, and caring for more than 30 different varieties of plants throughout the semester. This fundraiser will help with the cost of plants and materials the class will use to learn basic plant care. It's taking place Friday, May 2nd, from 8:00 to 4:00 and Saturday, May 3rd, from 8:00 to 12:00. Or until sold out.

It's National Assistant Principals Week, so we're taking time to recognize and appreciate the crucial role our assistant principals play in supporting students, teachers, and the overall success of schools. We want to highlight Lindsey Bush the Assistant Principal at Johnston City High School, and Blake Dobraski the Assistant Principal at Washington Middle School. Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication to our schools!

📰 EXTRA, EXTRA! Read all about it 📰 Exciting things are happening in the Media/Library Center at Washington Middle School! Mrs. Harris is guiding students through the ins and outs of navigating a newspaper. From headlines to bylines, comics to current events, our students are learning valuable skills to better understand the world around them. A big shoutout to Mrs. Harris for making media literacy fun and engaging!

Lincoln Elementary recently celebrated AG in the Classroom with an excellent presentation from Mrs. Farris. Students were able to learn all about gardening from planting seeds to watching them grow into nutritious fruits and vegetables that provide our bodies with the vitamins and minerals we need to be healthy and thrive!

It's a new week and that means state testing is complete! ✅ Students at Washington Middle School wrapped up state testing Friday, and we couldn’t be prouder of their hard work and determination! For two weeks, our students put in the effort to show what they’ve learned this school year, tackling each test with focus and perseverance. Great job, students! Now it’s time to finish the school year strong!

Students in Mrs. Patrick's Drama Class recently created masks in honor of Greek Theater. These pair perfectly with the theme for Prom this year -- Ancient Greece. The masks will be on display at the district-wide art show hosted by the high school Art Club. The "Welcome to the Jungle" art show is taking place this Friday, April 11th, at the high school. Parents/guardians and the public is invited to attend from 4 to 6 p.m.

Students and staff at Washington Middle School joined together to wear blue in support of Child Abuse Prevention Month. By wearing blue, we are helping to spread awareness, spark important conversations, and send a powerful message that we stand for the protection and well-being of children in our community and beyond. Students were also able to enjoy blue treats during lunch today!

Every year, National School Librarian Day is celebrated on April 4th to recognize the vital contributions of school librarians who foster a love of reading, teach essential research skills, and ensure students have access to the resources they need. Today, we're highlighting our school librarians: Amanda Harris (Washington Middle School) and Jayne Stallings (Johnston City High School). 📖 Thank you for all the hard work you put not just today but all school year! 📖

We're now learning the results from the Southern Illinois Future Teachers Competition. Nearly 30 of our JCHS Educators Rising students participated in the event Wednesday at John A. Logan College. There were more than 16 challenges , and here are the categories where our school placed in the top 3: ▪️No Technology English: 1st place ▪️No Technology Math: 1st place ▪️Mixed Media Visual Arts: 2nd place ▪️Marketing and Communications: 3rd place Our students were also knowledged for having the most stable structure during a STEM challenge building a tower out plastic straws and tape!

Information Processing students visited Castle Park in Carbondale to sharpen their photography skills 📸 During their recent outing, students had some nice weather to have some fun in the sun and learn more about camera settings like shutter speed, white balance, and aperture/f-stop.

A friendly reminder that you can eat a delicious Fish Fry, and support our JCHS students!! The Johnston City Lions Club is sponsoring a Fish Fry where proceeds will go toward scholarships for our JCHS students! There will also be free eye exams for children ages 6 months to 6 years old (no purchase necessary). This event is this Saturday, April 5th, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (or until they run out) at the Masonic Lodge, 501 Washington, Johnston City. The meal is $12.00 per plate, dine-in or carry-out. Tickets are available from Lions Club members, Johnston City High School Office, and the Johnston City District Office.

April is Mathematics Awareness Month, and we had an exciting day in Mrs. McCluskie's 7th-grade class at Washington Middle School 📚 Students put their math skills to the test by completing task cards scattered around the classroom. This kinesthetic activity allowed them to move, collaborate, and learn together! With hands-on feedback from Mrs. McCluskie, they discovered that math can be both fun and active! 🏃‍♂️💡

Parents and Guardians, The Lions of Illinois Foundation and the Johnston City Lions Club are hosting a FREE vision and hearing screening. Remember, all students going into Kindergarten need an eye exam. Where: Johnston City Ball Field When: April 19th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information contact Robert Miller at (618) 663-8368

All students participating in a WMS or JCHS sport for the 2025-26 school year MUST have a yearly sports physical. This is a great opportunity to cross that off your back-to-school checklist, and help support several of our school groups. Here's a link to the IHSA Physical form: https://bit.ly/3XIrjTd You can find print copies in the office at Lincoln Elementary, Washington Middle School, and Johnston City High School.

We're taking time to recognize our JCHS students Sophie Walker, Max Saavedra, Logan Smith, and Olivia Giron, who won the regional Brain Games Competition!! On March 28th, high school students from across Franklin, Johnson, Massac and Williamson counties competed in this Regional Office of Education #21 competition. During part of the event, participants honed their creativity by designing and modeling Transformers entirely made from cardboard. It was a great day to put on our thinking caps for some friendly competition!

Our 4th graders participated in the Quest for a Million Pennies, raising a $692.28 donation for the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. This project is part of the classes Reading and Language Arts curriculum, teaching how to contribute to the community and world by works of charity. Students teamed up to create an ad for a talk show style presentation in front of the third grade classes. Overall, the teams had nine charities to present on like the World Wildlife Foundation, Salvation Army, and Make a Wish Foundation. Ultimately, 4th graders decided to select St. Jude as their fundraiser recipient.

Due to the possibility of severe weather and for the safety of our students and staff, all schools will have early dismissal today, April 2nd. Jefferson Elementary, Lincoln Elementary and Washington Middle School will dismiss at 1:50 p.m. Johnston City High School will dismiss at 2:00 p.m. All after-school programs, activities, extracurriculars and Latchkey are canceled.

It's April Fools, so Mrs. Monchino at Jefferson Elementary had to get in on the action! She played a small prank on her 1st grade class, convincing students that marshmallows grow on bushes. Her kiddos watched a video discussing the marshmallow life cycle and a news report of a local farm’s harvest this season. Then, they tried some marshmallows from Mrs. Monchino's "marshmallow" bush at home. She told them April Fools as they took a bite of the sweat treat!

🏀 March Madness might be associated with basketball, but at Jefferson Elementary it's all about READING! 📚 Mrs. Fietsam's 1st grade class had a March Madness Book Battle, adding a little extra excitement to learning. The championship books from the bracket were donated, so each student took home a winning book! As you can see, students were all smiles with their educational prizes!

🧠💡Brain Games with our WMS 8th grade team 🧠💡 Some of our middle school students traveled back to the 70s and 80s with brain games that challenged our students in the most fun ways! From reciting 80s lyrics 🎤 and performing popular duets in TikTok style, to tackling minute-to-win-it challenges and interpreting slang from decades past, it was packed with excitement! 🚀 They even built a Mars rover with moving parts and showcased their historical knowledge in trivia!