Author: Mr. Jenson

Current 7th Grade Registration for 8th Grade

Today in Science class, students were taught how to request courses for next school year. Instructions on course selections are on the SoJo website under counseling. If you are currently in 7th grade, you are registering for 8th grade, so please click on the 8th Grade link. Requests are due by Thursday. February 1. Parents, please work with your student on creating requests for next school year. Schedules will not be available until August.

If you are a current 6th grader, your course selection will happen on February 6 in the evening.

If you are a current 9th grader, registration happens later in the spring.

Parent Teacher Conferences

Save the date! Our 2nd semester Parent-Teacher Conferences are coming up on February 13 & 15, 2024. Tuesday the 13th is virtual and Thursday the 15th is in person. Sign-Ups for Virtual Appointments (Feb 13) will be available next week.  

Don’t forget that Friday, February 9th is Health & Wellness Day!

Together with your family and/or friends, we invite you to participate in JSDs Wellness Day. There are activities for students of all ages to focus on our own health and wellness. This year, we are excited to announce a chance to win prizes for participating in the wellness activities. To enter, please complete an activity (or a few) then complete this Google Form to enter the drawing to receive a prize. We are all winners on Wellness Day!

Remember that the building will be closed to students on Friday so that we can work on our wellness at home while the adults of our building do the same at the school. We can’t wait to hear what you all get up to!

Memory Book Goal – Get Every Student in the Book 2 times!

Our Memory Book Staff is working hard to make sure your student is on the portrait page AND at least one additional page. We need parents and students to help to reach our goal! Send in photos of SJMS students at school ASAP. They can be taken in the halls, lunchroom, classroom with teacher permission, field trips, on the bus, etc. We will do our best to use them all! (Priority is given to photos of students who are not already on other pages.)

We are still accepting action photos of students who play freshman sports at Bingham or other high schools for our sports collage page. 
Email photos to sojoyearbook@gmail.com.

Mental Wellness Screening & Workshops

Jordan School District’s Health and Wellness Department is offering Mental Health Screenings and Mental Health Workshops on January 30. This flyer includes information about workshop times and a link to sign up for screenings.

Current 8th Grade Registration for 9th Grade

Today in Science class, students were taught how to request courses for next school year. Instructions on course selections are on the SoJo website under counseling. Requests are due by Thursday. Please work with your student on creating requests for next school year. Schedules will not be available until August.

If you are a current 7th grader, your course selection will happen from January 28t to February 2nd.

If you are a current 6th grader, your course selection will happen on February 6 in the evening.

If you are a current 9th grader, registration happens later in the spring.

No DoorDash/No Meeting Students in Parking Lot

It’s a brave new world when it comes to food delivery, but please know that we don’t accept DoorDash for students (either on their own or ordered by parents). Not only does it cause a significant disruption to kids trying to time coming to get it while in class, but it’s actually also against the terms and conditions of DoorDash and other similar services to deliver to anyone under the age of 18.

SoJo is a closed campus. That means students also cannot meet you in the parking lot to pick up food or other items you want to drop off. We also understand there are times when you need to bring something to your student. For those times, please come into the Attendance Office so we can call your student down. 

JSD Job FairAre you looking for a job with Jordan School District? Do you know someone who is looking for a great place to work? Please come to the JSD Job Fair on Wednesday, January 24, from 6:00-8:00 PM at Copper Mountain Middle School. We will be actively interviewing for hard-to-fill teaching positions and several Educational Support positions like classroom aide, campus monitor, and office support. All schools in JSD will be represented.

Just a quick reminder that we will be holding a Lockdown Drill during Prowl (9:50 to 10:20 am) on Thursday, January 18. The drill will include practice inside the classroom and will also include an evacuation outside. Students will be going outside and should dress appropriately for potentially snowy conditions.

End of 2nd Quarter and Holiday Next Week

2nd Quarter ends on Friday, January 12. We will observe MLK day on Monday, January 15 and there will be no school for students on Tuesday, January 16. 3rd Quarter begins Wednesday, January 17.

Lockdown Drill Thursday January 18

We will be holding a Lockdown Drill on Thursday, January 18. The drill will include practice inside the classroom and will also include an evacuation. Students will be going outside and should dress appropriately for potentially snowy conditions. Students will be learning about the drill on Wednesday, January 17.

2nd Semester Schedule Changes

We have done our very best to get you as much of what you requested in the spring as possible. Due to the logistics of balancing the schedules of 1200+ students, we do not make changes to student schedules unless a mistake has been made. If you have questions or feel there is a mistake, please contact your counselor.

Also, please be sure to recheck your schedule before the first day of semester. We’ll remind you, but there are rare instances where staffing changes require minor schedule adjustments and it’s always a good idea to check in again on Skyward the day before we start to make sure there are no surprises. 

Upcoming 2024-25 Course Selection Information

It’s that time of year again where we give everyone a chance to help us plan what to offer next year. Students will be able to request courses for the following year on the following schedule:

• Current 8th Graders – Jan 22 – 26
• Current 7th Graders – Jan 28 – Feb 2
• Current 6th Graders – Feb 6 (more info to come)

All course selection happens in Skyward, and our counselors will be providing more information to students during school in the coming weeks. Current 9th graders heading to Bingham will complete registration in March or later. With all types of registration, these are just the dates to plan for, but we’ll be sending more information out as the dates get closer.

Questions About Snow Days/Virtual Learning

We’ve received some questions about what the process looks like when we have a virtual day due to inclimate weather. This is a last-resort option, and you will be notified via Skylert and on district websites by 6 am should that become necessary. In the event of a virtual learning day, students will have work on their Canvas course pages by 10 am, and can get help from teachers via Zoom from 10 am – 12 pm. We’ll send out links and more information should a virtual day become necessary at any point. Again, we hope it’s not. 

Heroes Among Us Rescheduled

Heroes Among Us Rescheduled: Due to anticipated weather conditions forecasted for Wednesday, January 10, the ‘Heroes Among Us’ event is postponed to April 2024. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Performing Arts & Sports Photos of Your Students Needed for Memory Book ASAP!

If your student performed was in SJMS’s choir, band, dance or orchestra holiday concerts, is in a high school marching band or drum line, or plays a freshman high school sport, we need your action and candid photos for memory book collage pages! Some of the best memory book photos come directly from parents. Concert photos are due ASAP. All others are requested by January 30th. Upload photos using the link below to be considered for publishing. Email questions to sojoyearbook@gmail.com 

https://images.jostens.com/0Dtqrefryv3dR0VBuRip1Ug

User ID: 0Dtqrefryv3dR0VBuRip1Ug

It’s time to vote for our 9th grade ‘Most Likely to…’ for the memory book. Anyone at the school can nominate a 9th grader, but the person you nominate must BE a 9th grader. Also, only one nomination per category or your nominations won’t be counted.

December Fundraiser for Primary Children’s Hospital (THIS WEEK ONLY)

Our annual fundraiser will be for Primary Children’s Hospital this year. Our SBO’s are setting a goal of raising $5,000, and have a wide variety of activities planned over this week. If you have a chance and the means to give, it’s a great cause and one that benefits many of our own students. All proceeds will go directly to Primary Children’s Hospital.
Students can bring cash and coin to school and compete in Money Wars, and parents wishing to contribute can do so by visiting this link and donating to Primary Children’s directly. The link ties donations to our school so that we can still add it to our total. Some of the rewards for meeting goals including getting pied in the face (Mr. Jenson), Ice Bucketed (Mr. Ricks & SBO’s), and students shaving their heads (SBO’s). There are some raffle prizes and other fun lunchtime activities along the way. It’s safe to say that if you’ve lived in Utah for very long, you know someone personally who has benefitted from the excellent care at Primary Children’s, and we’re excited to do our part to help their cause.

December Fundraiser for Primary Children’s Hospital

Our annual fundraiser will be for Primary Children’s Hospital this year. Our SBO’s are setting a goal of raising $5,000, and have a wide variety of activities planned over the coming week. If you have a chance and the means to give, it’s a great cause and one that benefits many of our own students. All proceeds will go directly to Primary Children’s Hospital.

Christmas for Kids Event

Each December, the Jordan Education Foundation partners with local community organizations to sponsor the Christmas for Kids Event. Each school nominates deserving students, and we celebrate them with a shopping experience at Walmart. You can be part of this amazing event by providing your time or financial support. Each student is given a gift card and they shop with an adult volunteer from the community. Go to the JEF site to register to Shop with a Student on Saturday, December 9. Chaperones are needed for approximately one hour between 8:00 and 10:00 AM. You can also donate by going to the JEF site.  

Parking Lot Reminders and Updates

Our parking lot can be…confusing. In fact, we’ve had two accidents on 2700 W in the past several weeks. Please, please take a moment to review the maps found here. Specifically, we’ve been asked by South Jordan Police Department to remind parents that:

• Traffic Signs Must Be Followed (e.g. if the sign says right turn only, please only turn right)
• Parking on 2700 W for Pickup is Strongly Discouraged
  • Both accidents involved 2700 W – one as someone was turning onto 2700 W, and one with someone pulling out from parking on 2700 W

We are very aware of the difficulties our parking lot setup and size creates, and we are in the process of officially exploring options for improvement and expansion. We hope to have more official news on that front soon, but please know that we are aware and are working on permanent solutions to make it safer and more user-friendly to parents. We have seen great support on all fronts in seeking and supporting improvements, and we are excited to bring you updates and specifics once we have them.