From the desk of the Superintendent: NOVEMBER, 2014 1—VVB @ Bellevue 8:00 am 3—Volleyball Districts @ NA-J 5—Juniors/Seniors tour JC JHBB @ Waldron 5:30 VB Districts NAJ vs. Hillsdale Academy 5:00 7—JHBB @ Pittsford 5:30 VB Districts Championship Game @ 6:00 8—5th grade fundraiser pop bottle collection 9:00 am 10—JHBB @ Tekonsha 5:30 JV/VGB practice begins 12—JHBB vs. Camden-Frontier 5:30 13—Fall Sports Banquet 7:00 pm 17—JHBB @ Jackson Christian 5:30 JV/VBB practice begins board meeting 7:30 21—FTC Robotics 8:00 am Elementary Turkey Trot 12:00 pm 22—FTC Robotics 8:00 am 24—JHBB @ Hillsdale Academy 5:30 26—NO SCHOOL JHBB vs. Waldron 5:30 27—NO SCHOOL 28—NO SCHOOL Costumes are being exchanged at the end of October for hunter orange and the upcoming deer hunting season. At North Adams-Jerome, the first nine weeks just finished and the second nine weeks starts on November 3rd. It is hard to believe we are twenty five percent of the way through the year. We would like to welcome Heather Lowe to the NA-J staff. She is our new fifth grade teacher. This completes the elementary teaching group. We also added Beth Tobey, a special education teacher, since the last newsletter. She also works as a part time Title I teacher in the elementary. Welcome Beth. At the secondary level, the middle school continues to have a competition between classes. Students that miss assignments or have disciplinary actions cause their respective grade to suffer. The middle school is starting a reading lounge for students to sit and read during parts of the day. They are sending a letter out asking for donations of plants, chairs, and couches. All items need to be clean. They are working very hard on this reading lounge and ask for you to participate in getting this project off the ground. In the high school, we continue to work on keeping students on schedule to graduate. Make sure your children are in school to get the information they need to do well in the class. Too many students are missing school and don’t make up their work, or do well on tests when they miss the needed material. Woody Allen, a well known movie director, stated, “Eighty percent of success is showing up”. Many thanks go out to the parents who attended parent teacher conferences. Teachers expressed they were very happy with your turn out and your involvement. We will not have conferences in February as we have in the past. Continue to check Power School for grades, discipline, and attendance. Have a great Thanksgiving! Respectfully, Carl Christenson From the Counselor: ACT Retakes: The next ACT retake date will be Saturday, December 13th, with a registration deadline of November 7th. Jonesville High School will be a host site for this test. All registration is done online at www.actstudent.org. If you need assistance, please contact Mrs. Decker. College Application Week at NAJ: On Thursday, Nov. 6, NAJ will be a host site for the Michigan College Application Week. Special time will be set aside for seniors to apply for colleges and we will have other special activities. All students and staff are encouraged to wear clothing representing their favorite college on Nov. 6th. A field trip to Jackson College is also being planned for Wednesday, Nov. 5, for interested juniors and seniors. Financial Aid Night: Mark your calendars! Our annual Financial Aid Night for all seniors and their parents has been scheduled for Wednesday, January 17th at 6:00 pm. Amanda Janes from Jackson College will be our presenter. She will discuss the FAFSA and different types of financial aid including grants, scholarships and loans. This is a very informative evening you won’t want to miss! Maternity Leave: Mrs. Decker will be on maternity leave from November 21st until mid-January. Please email jdecker@ najps.org for non-urgent messages, as she will be checking her email. Also, messages can be left at the high school office with Mrs. Beach during this time. Thank you! The middle school students have been raising money for Jasmine Vaughn. They have been doing Clash of Coins all month, a hat day, a school wide slushie sale and a Halloween dance. They have raised over $500 so far. Nice job students! Thank you to all students, parents, grandparents, and staff who supported our book fair. We sold a total of $2202.66 of which we receive $550.67 to purchase books for our libraries. - Mrs. Wagler From the Elementary Principal We had over 95% success rate for our fall Parent/ Teacher Conferences. A great thank you to our parents/ guardians and staff to reach such a high level! An overnight trip to Historic Mackinaw City and Mackinaw Island is being planned for our Fifth grade on May 21st and May 22nd. The IPC initiated this trip and we have heard very positive results from the parents and our community. The plan is to totally have the trip funded by our various fund raising events and corporate, community and personal donations. The trip is close to $5000, but we have had a wonderful start with the North Adams-Jerome Alumni Association, our IPC, and the Walmart Foundation, having given commitments of just under half of our needed funding. We will be having three fundraising events from October 31st until our Holiday program on December 4th. On October 31st, we will have a combination of Crazy Feet Day (student chooses appropriate foot wear they want to wear for the day) and Apple Cider Slushie Day. Crazy Feet is $ .50 and the Apple Cider Slushie will cost $1.00. The cost of popcorn will be donated at no cost to our students. On Saturday, Nov. 8th, we will be having a pop can drive in front of the elementary office from 9:00-12:00. Any pop or energy drink ten cent deposit can will be accepted. We will also be selling 50/50 tickets for various gift item prizes. As of now, we have had the support from Glei’s Orchard, Jerome Country Market, and McAuliffe's Meats. We are anticipating other contributions from our community and corporate sponsors. The cost of the ticket will be $5.00 each or 5 for $20.00. The prizewinners will be announced at the end of our Holiday Program on December 4th. Please remember you need not be present to win. If we are fortunate enough to raise more than enough money, the extra money will be carried over for next year’s Fifth grade trip (for our present Fourth graders). We would like to welcome two new teachers to our elementary school team. Mrs. Tobey and Mrs. Lowe. Mrs. Tobey is replacing Mrs. Magda and will be teaching Special Education and Title 1. Mrs. Lowe will be teaching our Fifth grade class due to the retirement of Mrs. Paille. Any questions, suggestions or concerns please feel free to contact me at 287.4278. Sincerely, Tom George K-5 Principal Upcoming Elementary Events: Turkey Trot—November 21st Thanksgiving Vacation—November 26th, 27th and 28th Holiday Program—December 4th @ 6:00—Both preschool programs and K-5 classroom We want to remind all parents that the drive by the elementary is closed to all cars starting at 2:45 pm. Busses start pulling up to pick up students at 2:40. They also drop off students in the morning starting at 7:40 am. Please make sure you use the north door for both dropping off and picking up your student in the elementary. Thank you to everybody that have given positive comments about the new security doors. Our goal is to keep all children as safe as possible. “TOYS FOR TOTS” The annual toy drive will be held the last week of November and the first week of December. Please bring your new, unwrapped toys to either the elementary or the high school office. Thank you for helping out those boys and girls that are in need. SPORTS BANQUET FOR FALL SPORTS GRADES 9-12—NOVEMBER 13th @ 7:00 pm. VISION TESTING FOR 7th & 9th GRADERS ON NOVEMBER 21st @ 8:30 am. NO SCHOOL NOVEMBER 26th, 27th, and 28th. HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING.