HUSKY NATION NEWS
April 2022
Message from Mr. Melendrez

Husky Nation,

Welcome to April!! We can’t tell you how excited we are to see great weather and opportunities open up for our students at Florence Jr./Sr High School. We are full swing for spring athletics, planning for activities in May and working hard on state testing. We want to give a shout out to the community for supporting teachers as they also work with your students over the next few months on their academics and general growth. 

Reminder that we are doing our 2nd round of Friday academic student support which started on March 4th. We will continue on April 15th and May 6th- from 9:00am to 12:00pm on these scheduled Fridays. This process is to provide 3 hours of extra time for students to work on classwork and get extended support from teachers for students who are struggling in current classes. Teachers are already reaching out to families and students, but if you are interested please reach out to them. 
Graduation Update
Graduation is slated for Friday, May 20th at 6:00pm in the gym at Florence Jr./Sr. High. We are excited to celebrate the class of 2022. (Details to follow as we get closer to May) 

PSAT/SAT/CMAS Testing Day and Remote Learning Day

As you may know, state testing has already begun. Our junior high students have completed the ELA and will start the Math portions of the Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) assessments, and our senior high students are gearing up for the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT), and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). In addition, our 8th grade students are required to complete the Science portion of CMAS. All 9th and 10th graders will take the PSAT and 11th graders will take the SAT. In order to efficiently and effectively test students, FJSHS will be holding a half-day assessment day for all 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th graders on Wednesday, April 13, 2022.

Buses will run as normal in the morning and bring students to school. Students will be served breakfast before testing begins, snacks for breaks between testing sessions, and lunch before being released at 1:00 pm. Transportation will be provided.
 
Students who are in 7th and 12th grade, will not come to school on Wednesday, April 13th, instead they will have a remote learning day from 7:15am-1:00pm. Those students who will be remote learning will access their assignments in Google Classroom, and will need to check in with their 4th hour teacher for attendance. Teachers will be available to provide support in the afternoon once they are done proctoring testing sessions. Teachers will also communicate and give guidance on assignments before the remote learning day and provide any clarification students may need, as well as how best to access support while remote learning.

Sports Practices/games will be at the regularly scheduled times 
 
Principal Melendrez-GO Huskies!!!

If you would like to donate to the school, we could use white copy paper. Thank you!
Summer School-2022
Reminder that summer school and credit recovery opportunities for 7th-12th grade levels will be available to students during the summer of 2022. Summer school has been scheduled for 8 weeks with Colorado Digital Learning Solutions (CDLS) from June 6th-July 29th. Specific interventions assist students with closing achievement gaps by allowing for annual growth and/or catch-up growth. These interventions target credit recovery, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension math and writing deficiencies. A strategic summer program and online curriculum will help overall achievement and grade recovery moving forward. Students who need credit recovery will need to pay the CDLS rate of $50/class for classes that need to be retaken.

From the Office
The last day of the CDLS Spring semester is Friday, May 6th for Seniors and Wednesday, May 18th for everyone else. Please be sure students are spending at least an hour a day in each of their classes, or more if they are behind. Please contact Mr. Grimes if you have any questions. pgrimes@re-2.org or (719) 784-6414 ext. 2579
Student Hours: 7:15am-3:25pm
Please have all after school messages to the Main Office by 2pm. This allows us to get messages to students in a timely manner with fewer interruptions. We have had several after school messages called in after 3pm and cannot guarantee those messages will get to your student in time. 

Parents:If you currently live out of district or moved out of district over the summer, a Boundary Waiver is required. Families can print it off the district website, under the forms tab and return them to Mrs. Stage at mstage@re-2.org

Doors open - 7:00am 
First bell - 7:11am
School Day – 7:15am - 3:25pm

Boundary Waivers are Due for students residing outside of school boundaries- stop in and grab yours to turn in!
Closed Campus
Florence Jr/Sr High School is a closed campus. Students are not allowed to leave for lunch, to run errands, or be off campus without a parent physically coming into the FJSHS and checking out their child. Please do not attempt to call your child out of school. If your child needs to leave due to a doctor appointment or court appointment that can be verified by official paperwork, either an email or handwritten note, with parent signature, should be sent to the front office secretary. A student will be treated as truant if he or she leaves campus without following proper procedure.
Athletics and Activities
Hey there Husky Nation We are now at the start of our Spring Sports season. As the season grows warmer and the fields start to green up. Please remember if you did not play a Winter Sport you need to have your physical form, sports registration, emergency blue card and a copy of your insurance turned in before you can attend practice.
 
Grades and Eligibility
There is an early warning grade pull eligibility sent out to all coaches on Tuesday for coaches to alert what student athletes are failing a class or are close to failing. On Thursday there is the final eligibility pull before 1:00 PM that is sent out to coaches. Coaches and athletes have until 7 PM to reconcile grade disputes with their classroom teachers. Classroom teachers/coachers must contact Mr. Addington Thursday BEFORE 7 PM in order to get an eligibility overturned. Students should be checking their grades on a daily basis in IC to monitor grades. Parents should not call into the admin office to dispute grades without having first talked to their student and classroom teacher.
CMAS TESTING
Our students are taking state assessments (Colorado Measures of Academic Success or CMAS) starting March 29th. 7th and 8th grade students will assess over ELA and Math during first period over the first two weeks of testing. This will be followed by 8th and 11th grade students testing over Science.

Let's show the state what we can do!
PSAT/ SAT Testing
April 13th for all 9th, 10th and 11th graders. Please encourage your student to work through the Student Guide that will go home on Monday April 04. Also please note on your calendar the test date and encourage your students to attend. Makeup testing for these tests will happen April 26th.

SCIENCE AP BOOT CAMP
AP Boot Camps have started . Dates and times are posted in Google Classroom. Please encourage students to attend as this will dramatically increase their chances of passing the AP exam in May. Food will be provided. Additionally details will be shared on Google Classroom and via email. Please reach out to Ms. Shapiro at kshapiro@re-2.org if you have any questions.
Knowledge Bowl
All students 9-12 are welcome to participate. We will begin again next fall in the new school year.
Summer School-2022
Reminder that summer school and credit recovery opportunities for 7th-12th grade levels will be available to students during the summer of 2022. Summer school has been tentatively scheduled for 8 weeks with Colorado Digital Learning Solutions (CDLS) from June 6th-July 29th. Specific interventions assist students with closing achievement gaps by allowing for annual growth and/or catch-up growth. These interventions target credit recovery, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension math and writing deficiencies. A strategic summer program and online curriculum will help overall achievement and grade recovery moving forward. Students who need credit recovery will need to pay the CDLS rate for classes that need to be retaken. 

LUNCH MENU
PROM 2002 “Prom on the Bayou”
The Junior/Senior Prom is Saturday April 23rd at the Pathfinder Event Center from 8:00pm to 11:00pm. Prom tickets will go on sale Monday April 18th in the main office. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Tickets will NOT be sold at the door. Tickets prices are $40 for a couple and $30 for a single. Prom is open to all juniors and seniors and their dates. Students bringing a date from another school must fill out the permission slip in the main office. Out of the building guests must show ID at the door.
Math
Tutoring available after school from 3:30 - 4:30. Students should report to the math department immediately after school. 
Jr./Sr High STUCO

April Jr./Sr. High Student Council Events 

April 4, 2022 - March Madness Championship Spirit Day: Students will wear the two Championship teams colors or sports wear. We will be announcing the winning March Madness Sports Brackets.

April 4th - 7th We will be sending out a google forms survey to students to see what April Event our students would like us to put on. The Choices are a dance, outdoor movie night or a carnival. We will keep you updated on which event the Students choose.

The Student Council will be creating a Kindness Board to put in the front office  
Stuco: Spring activities and events such as “Mess Fest” and Teacher Appreciation activities are in the works. Details to follow…
AG and Art
The FFA will be holding our Annual Awards Banquet on Friday April 29th at 6PM. The event will take place at the new Pathfinder Park Events Center. We will be recognized our chapter sponsors, star students, program completers and announcing our 2022-2023 Chapter Officer Team! We will also be holding both a silent and live auction to raise funds for the completion of our Greenhouse Project! All members, families and community members are welcome to join in the celebration of another successful year of the Florence FFA. Questions? Contact Mrs. Fall at cfall@re-2.org
Are you going to be traveling this month? If you are going through the Colorado Springs Airport, you may get the opportunity to see artwork from three of our students featured there! Congratulations to Baylee Smith, Makayla Shigekawa, and Orion Escobedo for being featured in the Congressional District show, "From Pikes Peak to Space and Beyond".
We have an exciting month ahead of us! Our band program is excited to be performing in music festivals across the state. A special thank you to Mr. Mark Emery, Mr. Kirk Voguel, Ms. Krista Millard, Mr. Dave Wood, and Mr. Jack Yonce for coming out to work with our students this year! All current 8-11th grade choir members interested in going on our Disney Trip need to turn in the first payment to Ms. Benker ASAP or email Mr. Woods/ Nelson your plan to pay at a later date. Below are our student’s events, bolded and underlined dates are required attendance for the listed group. If your student has not been given an itinerary for these events, please contact Mr. Woods or Mr. Nelson. 

4/2 Winter Guard Competition @ Denver University
4/14 7th and 8th Bands CHSAA Large Group Festival
4/15 High School Band CBA Small School Festival
4/21 Intermediate and Advanced Jazz Greely Festival
4/22 Intermediate and Advanced Jazz Greely Festival

SENIOR Graduation Checklist!
  1. Follow up with scholarships
  2. Double checking with Mrs STage on your Jostens order or cap and gown receipt
  3.  Volunteer hours checked with Mrs. Henker?
  4. Eligibility and passing all of your required courses
  5. College acceptance, housing deposits for dorms, and orientation dates
  6. Practice interviews, Accuplacer testing, and Awards night

Academic Awards Night!-   
May 03, 2022-5:30- 7:30 p.m.
This is an evening that celebrates our seniors by the community as they receive the scholarships awarded to them. Please come celebrate with us the many accomplishments our senior Class has achieved! Light refreshments served.

Grade Changes and Corrections to transcripts- 
8th Grade Career Exploration- Semester 1: please note there has been some alterations or corrections to exact percentages/grades earned due to an error identified in Infinite campus that did not calculate the combined quarter grades correctly for this class. We thank our IT department for the identification of the problem and corrections made in the process. If you have questions or concerns please contact the counseling office. 

Friday School Grade changes: We thank parents and students for their patience as we will complete the Friday School intervention to make up for failed courses from the first semester. The grade changes will be calculated and uploaded after the April Friday School dates and will post before the end of the school year.  

2022- 2023 School Schedules
Schedule selection is currently in process so please have those conversations with your students. Because the Counseling department is currently short staffed, please do not set up any appointments until after the PSAT/SAT April 13th to allow the one and only counselor time to prepare for required state testing. Juniors are being met on an individual basis to evaluate their credits, and graduation requirements to ensure they are on track or alternative solutions are being explored. All other grades have filled out request forms that have been/currently being collected.  

Students with Failed Courses: 
CDLS/ Credit recovery courses will no longer be available/provided for by the district. Students will need to proceed at their own cost and time. Students will need to enroll in the summer courses listed above to maintain their graduation eligibility.

New CDIP Pilot Program Courses coming Fall 2022!
Florence Junior Senior High School is now offering independent study classes to help our students graduate with both a high school diploma and a FREE industry credential of their
choice. Graduating with both will jumpstart your career or college success. You could gain a credential in career pathways such as IT, financial services, business operations and creative fields like graphic design. These courses will be housed within each program, talk to a counselor or Mr. Gifford today to learn more!

Scholarships! Scholarships!
Parents of seniors and juniors- come in and check out the scholarship boards for both local and national scholarships available for students. Lots of money is available not just for college but for many other post secondary programs after graduation. Please help your students out with their applications! Allow two weeks for letters of recommendation and mark your calendar accordingly!
Class Selections for upcoming 2022/2023 school year to begin no later than the End of March.  

New Graduation Requirements- 
Community Service- grades 9-12
All grade levels of students are being asked to complete, within the year, 10 hours of community service or work-based learning. Newly updated forms will be emailed to students or can be picked up in the counseling office. Please see Mrs. Henker for opportunities to serve in the community to complete the required hours as a list will be posted.

Demonstration of Competency- 12th grade
Many parents and students have questions regarding this new requirement. Many seniors have already met their competency as it will be reflected in their transcript report listed as Dem of Comp- Math and Dem of Comp- Eng and the student receiving .5 credit for each added to their credits. The counseling department has been making phone calls home and meeting with seniors/parents to create an option plan of how to achieve this new requirement if it has still not been met. Please see the district website, handbook or the counseling page for full descriptions and options to meet this requirement. If you have further questions please feel free to call the counseling office 

ACT Work Keys test- Offered to all Juniors and Seniors
ACT WorkKeys is an assessment that tests students' job skills in applied reading, writing, mathematics and Essential Skills. Scores are based on job profiles that help employers select, hire, train, develop and retain a high-performance workforce. This test will also help seniors and juniors meet new graduation requirements with qualifying scores. Please check the district Calendar for the Future date in late January or Early February.  

https://fhs.re-2.org/en-US/counseling-fbc65c4f
PaICE
All sophomore students worked on Resumes and completed PaICE applications through their science classes. Mrs. Henker will be visiting with students one-on-one to make a plan of what business would be a good fit and which semester. Juniors will also have the opportunity to participate in an internship next year as well. We will be taking 9 sophomores to the Employer Fair in partnership with Canon City High School in April. Students will have the opportunity to interview with three local businesses to get interview experience as well as see what businesses they could intern with.

CHOIR

All current 8-11th grade choir members interested in going on our Disney Trip need to turn in the first payment to Ms. Benker ASAP or email Mrs. Farus your plan to pay at a later date.

NEWSPAPER

A student-led, FJSHS-centered Newspaper committee has formed, and it can be read now at https://sites.google.com/re2students.org/husky-herald/newspaper ! This news committee strives to provide another access point into the world of Husky life, and it does so through cooperation of the current outlets such as Husky Nation and the Yearbook Program. Please enjoy its stream of updates that the FJSHS student-body works to provide!

Additionally, the committee is now in the process of creating and distributing QR codes all across the school that link directly to the newspaper website. Be on the lookout for this quick and easy point of access when in the building!

Yearbooks
Yearbooks are officially on sale! To purchase, go to the Florence Junior Senior High School Website, fhs.re-2.org, and order using the yearbook link! The price is $35 until March 1st! 


Parents of seniors, you may purchase a section of the yearbook for your student for the following prices:

$25 for ¼ page
$50 for ½ page
$100 for 1 whole page.

If you purchase a page, please leave your money at the front with Mrs. Benker and email Ms. Salazar pictures of your senior you would like included in their section as well as a letter to your senior.

PARENT PORTAL

If parents or guardians need to update their phone number and email address you can log into their parent portal and make those changes. For any other household information change, please contact the school and we will have you fill out the Household Information Update Form. Parents will need to sign this form.