❤️ It's Day two for Jefferson Elementary's Heart week! 🖤
Students are continuing to dress up to spread more awareness about the American Heart Association's Kids Heart Challenge. Recently, our students learned Hands-Only CPR and the warning signs of a stroke.
Today students celebrated their new skills by wearing their favorite superhero gear, including 1st graders in Ms. Smith's class and Kindergartners in Mrs. Cheers' class who are showing off their SUPER-sized muscles! 💪
At Lincoln Jefferson, Mrs. Cheers uses several classroom management strategies to ensure students are ready for learning.
Every day, her class starts with meditation by doing some vagus nerve stimulation, which is known to reduce stress and improve mood. Then, it's circle time with a Native American talking stick where students take turns sharing and responding to a question of the day!
Mrs. Cheers also uses natural lighting, alternative seating, and sign language and allows students to wear slippers for comfort!
IMPORTANT UPDATE: The Lions Club Vision and Hearing Screening scheduled for this Saturday, April 19th, at the Johnston City Ballfields is now postponed due to mechanical issues with the mobile unit.
Once a new date is set, we'll make a new announcement regarding the time and location.
Jefferson Heart Week kicked off today ❤️🖤 Our students have been raising money for the American Heart Association while learning what it takes to have a healthy heart!
To celebrate and promote more awareness, the school is holding themed-days this week. Today, some of our students wore their favorite hat to school.
✏️ April is Mathematics Awareness month ✏️
Today we're highlighting Lincoln Elementary School where our 4th graders were given a hands-on math/science lesson by our Student Teacher Ms. Weber.
Students had to create a toothpick tower strong enough to support the weight of an egg. These 4th graders worked collaboratively to design and implement their ideas!
Our high school's top six seniors in academics attended the Southern Illinois Society for High School Academic (SISHSA) banquet last night at SIU.
▪️Ty Clark - Excellence in Academics
▪️ Cassidy Hermetz - Excellence in Academics
▪️ Emma Kirby - Excellence in Academics
▪️ Chase McReynolds - Excellence in Academics
▪️Peyton Smith - Excellence in Academics
▪️ Katelynn Turner - Excellence in Academics
We're so proud of the hard work and dedication these students put into their studies, and can't wait to see the positive impact they make in future!
🧮 Real-World Math in Action!🧐
Washington Students in Mrs. Dobraski’s class recently put their math skills to the test by calculating their GPA and setting goals for the rest of the school year! This hands-on activity gave students the chance to apply real-life math while also focusing on their academic growth.
By crunching the numbers and reflecting on their progress, they learned how math isn’t just about solving equations—it’s about setting goals, making plans, and striving for success.
Way to go, students! Keep aiming high and working hard! #MathMeetsMotivation
Way to go!! Four Johnston City High School FFA members competed in different areas of the Crab Orchard Public Speaking competition (with moral support of our FFA President).
▪️ Brayden Hayes competed in Extemporaneous.
▪️ Sophia Altier competed in Prepared Speaking.
▪️ Jetlin Kellermeier competed in Creed Speaking.
▪️ Blake Clarida also competed in Creed Speaking, placing 3rd!!!
Parents/guardians,
Here are some important days to keep in mind as the school year comes to a wrap, and many of you make plans for summer vacation!
Tuesday, May 27th will be an early dismissal day with Jefferson Elementary, Lincoln Elementary and Washington Middle School dismissing at 1:50 p.m. Johnston City High School will dismiss at 2:00 p.m.
▪️ Wednesday, May 7th: Seniors last day of classes
▪️ Thursday, May 8th: Senior Exams
▪️ Friday, May 9th Senior Exams
▪️ Tuesday, May 27th: Last day of classes for students
▪️ Monday, June 2nd: First day of summer school
▪️ Friday, June 27th: Last day of summer school
▪️Tuesday, August 12th: First day of classes 2025-2026 school year
April is Mathematics Awareness Month.
At Lincoln Elementary, Mrs. Fort's 4th grade class collected data as students flipped plastic bottles including how many times the bottle fell versus how many times it landed upright. Her class collected data with the bottle full, half full, and one-fourth full.
Then, students used that data to make a bar graph and pictograph, and analyzed the data to determine the highest probability of the bottle landing upright.
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.
