Johnston City High School

It's a busy schedule for our student-athletes today! Our Girls Varsity Track team is away again, this time for a meet against the Herrin Tigers! Both Girls Varsity Softball and Boys Varsity Baseball are on the road for games at Trico High School!

A friendly reminder our Greenhouse Production class is holding a plant sale this Friday and Saturday. The selection will include: 🌸 Four different varieties of petunias - including a red and black mix basket for our school colors 🌸 Two varieties of Morning Glories 🌸 Sweet peas 🌸 Snap dragons 🌸 A couple different types of herbs 🌸 Cucumbers 🌸 6-packs of tomatoes and sweet peppers 🌸 A few additional flower types 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.

Last week, a group of our JCHS Ag students visited the Agronomy Innovation Center at Rend Lake College. Our students learned about their program and classes they are offer, in addition to all the community outreach opportunities they participate in and host! Students were able to see new technology advancements in agriculture through many different activities and visual aids during our personal visit. The students had a blast running the sprayer on the side-by-side and driving the self-steering tractor! This group had a great time and can't wait to go back next year!

Today is all about our Lady Indians! We have Girls Varsity Track hitting the road for a meet at Christopher. Our Girls Varsity Softball team has a home game against the Carbondale Terriers. Let's go, ladies!!

It's hard to believe the 2024-2025 school year is coming to a close, and our last month together before summer break will be a busy one! Here are some important dates and times to keep in mind.

LETS GO, MATH TEAM! Our math team is away today taking part in the Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics (ICTM) High School State Math Competition being held at the University of Illinois in Normal. These students have put in countless hours practicing and preparing for this day. Our JCHS math team has a long-standing reputation for being one of the best in the state, and our current members are continuing that tradition of excellence.

We're so proud of our JCHS students who are pursuing a career in healthcare. This hardworking and dedicated group of students were recognized during special ceremonies at the high school today. The large group photo highlights our students who received a speciality pin for their Emergency Medical Responder certification. Meanwhile, individual photos showcase our students who received a certification as a pharmacy technician, phlebotomist, or direct support professional. Our students are gaining valuable, hands-on training before graduating high school, so they be prepared for a future career in healthcare.

Our Girls Varsity Track team is traveling for a meet at Webber High School with events starting at 4 p.m. Boys Varsity Baseball has a home game against the Waltonville Spartans. The first pitch goes out at 4:30 p.m. Come on out and show your support.

Another day FULL of JCHS Athletics! Our Girls Varsity Track team is hitting the road for a meet at Carmi-White County High School with events starting at 4 p.m. Boys Varsity Baseball and Girls Varsity Softball both have games today. Our Boys are traveling to Gallatin County, while are Girls are home going against the Salem Wildcats! Games start at 4:30 p.m.

JCHS alumnus Cade Cockburn is recognized as a 2025 SIU System Distinguished Service Award recipients. On April 17th, the SIU Board of Trustees and the Student Advisory Council for the SIU System (SACSS) honored outstanding students in the SIU System. They selected Cockburn as Carbondale's graduate student recipient. Cade graduated from JCHS in 2021, as one of four Valedictorians. Additionally while at JCHS, he served as the Student Body President, President of the George R. Kee Chapter of the National Honor Society, and FFA President. Since graduating from JCHS, Cade has been a student at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He was a recipient of the university’s most prestigious undergraduate award, the Chancellor’s Scholarship, which was valued at more than $103,000. As an undergraduate, Cade was a Saluki Ambassador, Agbassador, and a member of the Student Alumni Council. He held student employee positions in both SIU Undergraduate Admissions and the SIU Alumni Association. He graduated in May of 2024 with a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Systems and Education & Agribusiness Economics. Cade is now a graduate student at SIU pursuing a Master of Science in Business Analytics, which he is set to graduate with in August 2025. He currently works for SIU Undergraduate Admissions as the department’s Graduate Assistant. Cade's mother, Channa Cockburn, works as a Special Education teacher at Johnston City High School. Her hope is to show our current students that with hard work and grit, they can achieve anything they set their minds to! You can read more here: https://news.siu.edu/2025/04/042125-three-siu-carbondale-students-receive-2025-siu-system-distinguished-student-service-awards.php

🚍 School Bus Driver Appreciation Day 🚍 Today, we're recognizing all of our school bus drivers for taking care of our precious cargo during the school year. Whether they're transporting our kids to school, home, activities, or to sporting events, school bus drivers deserve recognition for the job they do. Thank you for your dedication to our students and their families: ▪️Victoria Followell ▪️Chasidy Gibbs ▪️ Teresa Gibson ▪️ Renee Grisham ▪️ Rick Hammontree ▪️ Judy Martin ▪️Patricia Mueller ▪️Tonnie Nordmeyer ▪️ Tracey Seebeck ▪️ Becky Vancil ▪️Carleton Vincelette ▪️ Gayle Vincelette

JCHS students continue to volunteer for the food distribution at the First United Methodist Church. This is the third month in a row that students have volunteered to unload the truck from the St. Louis Area Food Bank, hand out perishable and non-perishable items, and help carry food to cars.

We're rounding out the week with Track, Softball, and Baseball ALL on the road. Boys Varsity Track is headed to the Christopher Invite, and our Varsity Softball and Baseball teams are away competing against the Vienna Eagles. Let's finish out the week STRONG!

The Shawnee Region - Illinois Principals Association hosted its annual Student Recognition Dinner at SIU last night. Each principal can nominate two students from exiting grades based on scholarship, character, leadership, or other traits deemed important to their school. Students left to right: Alexandria Carpenter (8th grade), Patrick Sims (8th grade), Haedyn Lewis (4th grade), Britlynn Williams (4th grade), Kylie Dugger (12th grade), Chase McReynolds (12th grade). Lincoln Elementary Principal Michelle Smiley, "They are both outstanding 4th grade students who are hardworking, polite and they never give up and they are both great assets to our building!" Washington Middle School Principal Kristina Armes, "They are both amazing 8th graders that are driven by heart and purpose. They give service and provide leadership, they don’t just make a difference; they make our school a better place for everyone.” Johnston City High School Principal Kristi Schell, "Kylie and Chase excel in academics and are also involved in extracurricular activities, community service, and serve as leaders at JCHS. We are very proud of all their accomplishments. "

Last week, FFA members attended SIU's Livestock Judging competition. There were approximately 300 students from across Southern Illinois in attendance! While all of our FFA members in attendance did great, we had a couple students that stood out in our group. Gracie Barker placed 40th in Varsity and Sophia Altier placed 31st in Junior Varsity.

It's a busy Wednesday for JCHS Athletics! Boys Varsity Track is traveling to Herrin for a meet today, and our Varsity Softball and Varsity Baseball teams will have home games for a third time this week. We wish all of our athletes luck today as they compete! You've got this 🙌

Parents/Guardians, A friendly reminder our schools will have early dismissal tomorrow, Thursday, April 17th. The elementary schools and middle school will dismiss at 1:50 p.m. Johnston City High School will dismiss at 2 p.m. There is no school Friday, April 18th, and there is no school Monday, April 21st. Enjoy your break and we will see back in the classroom Tuesday, April 22nd!

Our Girls Varsity Track team is getting in on the action today hitting the road for a meet at West Frankfort. Our Varsity Softball and Baseball teams have another round of home games today. This time, they're both taking on the Vienna Eagles. The first pitch goes out at 4:30 p.m.

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.