HUSKY NATION NEWS
December 2021
Message from Mr. Melendrez


Husky Nation,

Welcome to December!!! We are very proud of all the great things our students are doing in their academics, athletics and activities. Please take a look at all current updates and exciting things happening below in this addition of Husky Nation News. 

Also a quick shout out to all the local businesses that continue to support FJSHS!

Principal Melendrez-GO Huskies!!!


Enrollment for the Spring 2022 CDLS Semester begins December 6th and the semester will start on January 6th. Current AND new students should communicate with their school counselor to formulate a class schedule that ensures they are earning the credit they need and then see Mr. Grimes to get enrolled. The current semester will end on December 17, 2021. Please contact Mr. Grimes with any questions. [email protected]  or (719) 784-6414 ext. 2579
From the Office
Student Hours: 7:15am-3:25pm
As we continue to combat COVID and quarantines, please remember to wear, wash and social distance. Students will have access to their work on Google classroom and if you have questions you can contact the teacher directly via email or phone.

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 [email protected]

Reminder-Please drop students off at the appropriate times, especially as the weather gets colder. 
Doors open at 7:00am 
First bell - 7:11
School Day – 7:15-3:25
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

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.

Knowledge Bowl
Come join our knowledge bowl team! All students grades 9-12 are welcome to participate. We now have two teams competing and doing really well! Our next meet is November 18.
See Mrs. Wasmuth to join.
LUNCH MENU
Math
Tutoring available after school from 3:30 - 4:30. Students should report to the math department immediately after school. 
Jr./Sr High STUCO

Thank you to all students and staff that brought in canned goods for our annual food drive. Mrs. Hadley’s 1st hour class was the winner with over 1000 cans brought in. Great job leading from the front. We will start our 2nd annual giving tree on December 1st. If you are able to purchase a small gift for students from K-8th grade and deliver it to the front office, it would be greatly appreciated. Our student council members will do all of the wrapping and deliver to our students in our community to ensure all have a happy holiday. 
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We have a busy month this month!

Some of our students will be preparing to submit their work to the Scholastics Art and Writing contest to compete at state and then, if they are chosen, their work will be in a national competition. If there are any students interested in participating, please let Mrs. Szemaraj know ASAP.
Also, we will be having a Jr High/Sr High combined art show on December 14th. Please feel free to come by and help to judge both of the shows!

It is a sprint for us as we finish out the semester. All current 8-11th grade band members interested in going on our Disney Trip need to turn in the first payment to Ms. Benker ASAP or email Mr. Nelson and Woods plan to pay at a later date. Below are rehearsal and performance dates for the month. Pep Band, Winter Percussion, and Winter Guard are all optional activities for students. Performances are required. All performances are bolded and underlined.

12/1 High School Marching Band Banquet 6:00 P.M. (Held at the school)
12/1 Percussion Practice
12/4 Parade of Lights in Canon City (High School Band)
12/7 Pep Band Practice until 5:00 p.m.
12/8 Percussion Practice
12/9 High School Band and Choir Concert 7:00 P.M.
12/10 Winter Guard Practice
12/10 Christmas Carol in Florence (Oil City Coffee 9:30 AM- 11:30 AM)
12/11 Craft Fair/ Christmas Carol in Florence (Big Ds 9:30- 11:30 AM)
12/12 Craft Fair/ Christmas Carol in Florence
12/13 Jazz Bands Concert 7:00 P.M.
12/14 Junior High Band Concert 7:00 P.M.
12/14 Pep Band Practice until 5:00 p.m.
12/15 Percussion Practice
12/17 Winter Guard Practice
SENIOR Graduation Checklist!
Schedule College Interviews and visitations 
Finish FAFSA Applications
Schedule your academic review with the Counselor
Continue Scholarship searches and applications
Plan for cap/gown, senior pictures, and graduation announcements Order

Dec 13- ASVAB Scores Explained 10:30- 11:30 in the Library for all juniors and seniors who took the test back on Nov. 04. Military recruiters will be explaining the many aspects of career exploration available to juniors and seniors and how their test scores and their category breakdown scores can help students discover strengths and career pathways best suited for them for college degree or CTR pathways.  

Dec 10th- PCC Friday Courses will be complete for this Semester
Please check with your student that they have prepared for their Final exams in these courses and check in the counseling office if they wish to sign up for additional PCC Friday Courses to begin in January. 

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. 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
Home Grown Talent Initiative
Home Grown Talent Update
On December 9, we will be hosting other schools from throughout the state of Colorado to show them how we are embracing our homegrown talent in our little piece of Colorado. They will see our new makerspace at Penrose elementary school, get to tour some of our CTE programs at the JR/SR high school, and have the opportunity to talk to a panel of students and staff. The goal of this visit is to also gather feedback to see areas of strength and areas of improvement to make sure our students are getting the best opportunities to prepare them for life after high school.
PaICE
First semester placement students are getting settled into their internships. Students meet with Mrs. Henker weekly to check-in and reflect on what they learned that week. We are also meeting with students wanting a second semester placement to add business partnerships if needed. Interested students should contact the College and Career Coordinator, Mrs. Henker, in the FJSHS Counseling Office.  

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.

12/9 High School Concert with Band 7:00 P.M.
12/15 Middle School Choir Concert 7:00 P.M.




NEWSPAPER

A student-led, FJSHS-centered Newspaper committee has formed, and its first issue can be read now at https://sites.google.com/re2students.org/huskyherald/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!
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.