Author: Mr. Jenson

Winter Fundraisers and Spirit Days

PTSA Spirit Night @ Raising Cane’s TONIGHT

Visit the Raising Cane’s at 3788 W 11400 S in South Jordan TODAY, December 9th, between 5 and 9 pm and mention the fundraiser. 15% of net sales go to SoJo’s PTSA, which supports school-wide celebrations like our recent Halloween Party, and a host of other things our PTSA does for our staff and students. You can also use the code RCFUND96 if you order online or through the app. 

Join us tonight and you could also enter to win a $100 gift basket!

Primary Children’s Fundraiser and Spirit Days

Our school-wide fundraiser supports Primary Children’s Hospital this year, and odds are good you or someone you know has benefitted from the excellent care children receive there. If you have a chance and can give, it goes to a great cause!

Here’s our schedule for the fundraiser and associated spirit days:

12/10 (Wed) – Kickoff Assembly

12/11 (Thurs) – Crazy Christmas Socks

12/12 (Fri) – Christmas PJ’s, Blanket

12/15 (Mon) – Let It Snow! – Wear White

12/16 (Tue) – Ugly Christmas Sweater

12/17 (Wed) – Santa Hat Day

Students will get more information about how to give during our kickoff assembly tomorrow.

NJHS Fundraisers

SoJo NJHS is collecting plastic grocery/shopping bags to make sleeping mats for unhoused citizens. Please take all bag donations to the library. We need lots and lots of bags! If you have any questions please email Stephanie Rich.

NJHS is also collecting aluminum pull tabs off of drink and food cans. These will be used to support a local fundraiser for Shriners Children’s Hospital. Tabs can be turned in in room 603 or to the drop box in the cafe. Thank you so much for your help!

Memory Book Purchases

Hey! Remember to buy your yearbook before Friday! There are QR codes in the hall and by the front office! Send them to your parents. You’ll be entered into a drawing for gift cards and candy at lunch!

Beauty and the Beast Jr Performances This Week

This is the week! SOJO Middle School presents Beauty and the Beast Jr this weekend. There are shows Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, December 4, 5, and 6 at 7:00 PM and Saturday, December 6 at 2:00 PM. Tickets are $5 for adults and $4 for children, students, and seniors (65+). To buy tickets, click HERE or click the link on the school website. Online ticket sales end at 5:00 PM the day of each show, but any available tickets will still be for sale at the door. Concessions will be available before the show. The show lasts about 75 minutes. Come support your neighbors and friends!

9th Grade Baby, Marching Band & Team Sports Photos Needed

We’re gathering photos for the memory book and would love your help. We still have room for 10 more baby photos!  Send us your marching band, fall (and winter) sports photos!

Important guidelines:

• Photos must be from Bingham or another high-school–sanctioned team/band.
• No rec, club, or comp team photos.
• Avoid photos of students who do not attend our school, unless they are incidental in an action shot.
• Accepting – Action shots, candids, team hangouts, and anything that captures the season.

 Questions? Email sojoyearbook@gmail.com

Vision Screening

On Monday, December 8th, we will have free vision screenings for ALL 7th and 9th graders, any new-to-the-district 8th graders, and any students with an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Screenings will start at 8am. Please have your students on time to school.  

Mental Health Resources for December

Take a look a few  free mental health resources available this month:

• A calendar for December’s Mental Health Series sessions is linked below. Sessions are offered in both English and Spanish. Previously recorded seminars can be accessed through a comprehensive library of sessions and resources for each topic. You can access the library of recorded sessions at any time by visiting this site: https://parentguidance.org/mhsindex. 
• Ask a Therapist live virtual event. This is an anonymous opportunity to ask questions from a licensed family therapist about your child’s mental health. It is a live event on December 9th at 6 pm with access to the recording afterwards. Some common parent questions can also be viewed on the Parent Guidance website: https://parentguidance.org/ask-a-therapist/
  • Registration Link: https://cookcenter.info/ATLDec9

Tickets Available for Beauty and the Beast Jr. Dec 4-6

Tickets are now available for all performances of Beauty and the Beast Jr. There are four performances. December 4, 5, and 6 at 7:00 PM and also a 2:00 matinee performance on December 6 at 2:00 PM. Click HERE to order your tickets. Unless you are cast or crew, just click the green Enter button at the bottom of the landing page to begin shopping. Tickets are $5 for adults and $4 for students (0-17)  and seniors (65+). If the link doesn’t work, copy and paste this: https://sojomiddle.seatyourself.biz

Mental Health Resources for Families

Jordan District has partnered with the Cook Center for Human Connection to provide ongoing mental health education for parents and caregivers. This collaboration offers FREE access to live, virtual educational sessions covering various topics. 

Here is a calendar for resources available this month: English/Spanish

• Ask a Therapist live virtual event. This is an anonymous opportunity to ask questions from a licensed family therapist about your child’s mental health. It is a live event on November 11th at 6 pm with access to the recording afterwards. Registration Link: https://cookcenter.info/ATLNov11
• Included in the mental health series is a “Watch Together Series” to highlight for families. While the Mental Health Series is designed for parents, these “Watch Together” events are for the whole family, especially teens and young adults. In this series, each month, you’ll meet a new animated character facing real challenges that teens and young adults experience. Together, you and your family can watch their story and learn how to start meaningful conversations at home.
  • November Event: Together teens and parents will watch the animated story about Kyle. Kyle is a teen masking the pain of bullying, withdrawal, and alcohol use. His story helps families understand the hidden emotional impact of bullying and the importance of asking direct, compassionate questions like, “Have you thought about taking your life?”  In this interactive session parents and teens will learn about warning signs of emotional distress and how to create space for honest conversation and connection.
  • Wednesday, November 12th | 6pm MT  REGISTER NOW

Welcome back from Fall Break! We’re starting 2nd quarter with a fully-functioning cafeteria and a Friday Halloween. Here’s a reminder of our Halloween dress guidelines:

Halloween Guidelines

Halloween is a great chance to see the personality and creativity of our students. We want the day to be fun, and we also want to be able to have a productive day in class. With that in mind, what follows is a list of guidelines to help us do both:

• The School Dress Code and the Student Code of Conduct still apply
• Students should come to school already dressed with any makeup or hair color already applied
• Students should avoid costumes that degrade any other group of people
• We must be able to easily see who you are
• Avoid masks worn on the face
• Makeup or other costume additions must still allow us to identify you
• We must be able to move in the halls and function in class, including avoiding disruptions to teachers and other students
• Costumes must be safe, and make others feel safe
• No weapons or facsimiles of weapons
• Footwear must be worn all day

Above all, if you aren’t sure you should wear it, just don’t. We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Halloween Party

Our PTSA is sponsoring an all-school Halloween party this Friday during the last hour of the school day. We’ll have the following activities:

• KIVA: Blookit and Trivia w/Prizes
• Hallway Between Gym & KIVA: Photo Booth
• Cafe: Ice Cream, DJ and Just Dance, Costume Contest
• Gym: Yard Games

Students will be able to move between those four locations freely.

If a student does not want to be in those activities, they can also go to the Library for quiet games and puzzles. For supervision reasons, this option must be where they go at the start of the activity and they won’t be allowed to move from the main activity area to the library or vice versa.

Because of the nature of the activity, it will be nearly impossible to locate students for check-out. If you need your student, please check them out prior to the activity’s start at 1:55 pm. To speed up the process, we are allowing a pre-checkout form to be completed so that students can simply have the signed permission slip from a parent or guardian and drop it off in the attendance office without the parent having to come in and sign them out. If you plan to use this option, print and sign this form and send it with your student. The form will only work between 1:55 and 2:00 pm on Halloween.

9th Grade College and Career Day Tomorrow!

We’re very excited for the opportunity to learn more about Colleges and Careers with our 9th graders on October 28th. Here is more information about what to expect for our 9th grade students that day:

Oct 28th Schedule Outline

• 1st period – Go to normal 1st period class. Students will log into YouScience before preparing to go on the field trip.
• 8:30am – Students will meet in the KIVA
• 9:15am – Buses leave
• 10am-11am – Tour time
• 11:50am – All buses have returned. Students go to their 5th period classes (starting at noon)
• 5th period – YouScience Brain Games
• 6th period – YouScience Brain Games
• 7th period – YouScience Brain Games

Students can read a book or work on other classwork quietly if they finish early.

Picture Retakes

Picture retakes will be this Wednesday, October 8. Please remember that attire must be within the school dress code. Not sure you need a retake? Log in to BellPhoto using the link below to preview your child’s yearbook photo. We recommend that you take a look before Wednesday, just so you aren’t surprised when it’s too late to make a change.

To preview the photo for free, see package options and prepay online, CLICK HERE (Prepay Code: sjordanmsfall25).

SoJo Counseling

This year at South Jordan Middle School, we are offering a Divorce Group to students who have experienced divorce in their family. The goal of this group is to offer support through other students and counselors, and to help students gain healthy coping strategies.

The group will run 4-6 weeks and will be during PROWL, this will not interfere with class time. If you are interested in your student being part of this group, please fill out the google form.  

NJHS Induction Ceremony

If your student is a member of NJHS, our induction ceremony will be October 17th at 9:00 in the KIVA. Please come and support your student in this endeavor. We are so proud of our student leaders and can’t wait to celebrate them. 

Kendamas

If you don’t know what a kendama is yet, you probably haven’t been to a middle school lately. This is what they look like:

They’re super fun, and also – lately – super disruptive. We love the game, but we’re seeing more and more students using them at times when they should be learning, and also using them in ways that hit other students – on accident, but it’s happening. We’re not officially banning them, but we are asking you to help us keep them home if at all possible. If your student is using it when they shouldn’t or in a way that they shouldn’t, we’ll likely snag it and have them collect it at the end of the day or have you come and pick it up. It’s not a bad toy in and of itself, but it is creating something of a disruption. Thank you for your help!

9th Grade College and Career Day

This year our 9th graders get to participate in a college and career day on Tuesday, October 28th. This will involve a field trip to tour a college in the morning and participation in YouScience Brain Games in the afternoon. YouScience is a platform that assesses students’ aptitudes and career interests. Both of these activities require parent permission. On October 7th the counseling team will visit students’ Geography classes where we will survey students’ college tour preference and send home permission slips. Please be on the lookout for those; they are due October 14th. If your student does not take Geography at SOJO, they can pick up permission slips and fill out a survey in the Counseling Center. 

You will be able to mark interest in chaperoning on the permission slip. We are looking for 18 chaperones. If you are available and have already had your background checked through the district, please volunteer to be a chaperone! We need your help to be able to make this field trip a reality! On the day of the field trip, buses will leave at 9am and return by 12pm depending on the destination. All students and chaperones will return before lunch.

More detailed information about both College Tour and YouScience will be available next week.

You can reach out to Melanie Pew (melanie.pew@jordandistrict.org) with any questions.

9th Grade Baby Pictures

The PTSA is including free baby photos of all 9th grade students in the Memory Book!

Send us a baby picture of your 9th grader today—just be sure to follow the guidelines on the flyer. The deadline is September 30. Photos submitted after this date are not guaranteed placement.

PTSA Reflections Contest

It’s time to work on Reflections! Prizes will be awarded to the entries that most effectively embody the theme “I Belong”. For more information and to submit an entry, go to https://www.utahpta.org/ref

Free Parent Resources

October is Bullying Prevention Month. Check out this month’s offerings provided by Parent Guidance. A calendar for October’s Mental Health Series sessions is attached, including an Ask a Therapist Live event and a Watch Together Series. Sessions are offered in both English and Spanish. Previously recorded seminars can be accessed through a comprehensive library of sessions and resources for each topic. You can access the library of recorded sessions at any time by visiting this site: https://parentguidance.org/mhsindex. 

Parent Teacher Conferences – Wed Sept 24 & Thurs Sept 25

It’s time for parent-teacher conferences, and we can’t wait to see all of you. Our schedule is as follows:

• In-Person, Wednesday, September 24 – 4:00-7:30 in the SoJo Gym/Cafe
• Virtual, Thursday, September 25 – 4:00-7:30
• No School, Friday, September 26

For in-person conferences on Wednesday, you can simply come to the gym/cafe and find the teachers seated alphabetically by last name. Try to watch for teachers with open spots, and remember that if you don’t get a chance to talk to a teacher you need, we have access to teachers all year long via email, appointment, phone call or Parent Square. It’s never been easier to access a teacher, so please use any and all forms of communication to get whatever information you need.

**If you need more than 5 minutes with a teacher, please contact the teacher to make an appointment at another time before or after school.

NOTE: If you need translation services for conferences, please let us know ASAP by contacting the main office.

Virtual Conference Appointments are now available in Skyward. Simply log in to Skyward and choose Parent Conferences from the side menu.

If you choose to attend a virtual conference, you can find the Zoom links on this Google Sheet.

Construction Updates!

We’re finally getting some good news when it comes to construction. Two of the most anticipated milestones of the construction project are now finished:

Individual Student Restrooms

We have three new individual student restrooms near the cafeteria that are now open as of today, which means students won’t have to go clear across the school during lunch to use the restroom. This is in addition to the new handwashing stations and drinking fountains already up and running in the cafeteria.

Weight Room

The weights classes are excited to finally be able to actually lift weights. We still have a small amount of equipment that’s on backorder, but it will be up and running if you want to take a peek during parent teacher conferences this week.

SoJo Counseling

This year at South Jordan Middle School, we are offering a Divorce Group to students who have experienced divorce in their family. The goal of this group is to offer support through other students and counselors, and to help students gain healthy coping strategies.

The group will run 4-6 weeks and will be during PROWL, this will not interfere with class time. If you are interested in your student being part of this group, please fill out the google form.  

Parent Teacher Conferences – Wed Sept 24 & Thurs Sept 25

It’s time for parent-teacher conferences, and we can’t wait to see all of you. Our schedule is as follows:

• In-Person, Wednesday, September 24 – 4:00-7:30 in the SoJo Gym/Cafe
• Virtual, Thursday, September 25 – 4:00-7:30
• No School, Friday, September 26

For in-person conferences on Wednesday, you can simply come to the gym/cafe and find the teachers seated alphabetically by last name. Try to watch for teachers with open spots, and remember that if you don’t get a chance to talk to a teacher you need, we have access to teachers all year long via email, appointment, phone call or Parent Square. It’s never been easier to access a teacher, so please use any and all forms of communication to get whatever information you need.

NOTE: If you need translation services for conferences, please let us know ASAP by contacting the main office.

Virtual Conference Appointments and Instructions will be available Monday.

SCC Elections and First Meeting Agenda

We will be holding our first school community council meeting of the year on Monday, September 29th at 4pm in the main office conference room. 

We also need to hold elections. This year, two of our four parent spots are open for elections, and we have had two applicants for those spots. Those applicants are Lindsey Branca (a returning member) and Lindy Christensen. We’ll have a ballot box set up during our in-person parent conference if you would like to cast a vote for either or both of them. Yes, the process calls for us to hold an election even though there are two applicants and two positions open. The other two members are returning from last year and being a member is a two-year term, unless they no longer have a student at the school.

Our first meeting’s agenda is as follows: 

• Introductions
• Election of SCC Chair, Vice Chair, and Other Positions as Desired
• Review and Ratify Rules of Order and Bylaws
• Review of Land Trust Plan for Current Year
• Review Plan for Digital Citizenship
• Counseling Center Updates