Author: Mr. Jenson

Welcome back from Spring Break, and to the start of our fourth and final quarter of the year. We have a variety of exciting things that happen over the next few months, and our regular end-of-year testing for all students that will happen in late April. AP students will also be having their AP tests this month. For those AP students, please know that students are NOT excused for the entire day of the test – only for the periods during the test.

9th Grade Industry Tour, April 10th

9th grade parents, we are very excited for our upcoming Industry Tour on Monday, April 10th. We had an overwhelming response for parents willing to chaperone. Those parents that indicated they were willing to chaperone will be receiving a phone call from the Counseling Center as to whether or not we need you. So please check your voicemails. And thanks for your willingness to help!

Jordan Education Foundation Challenge Run

Saturday, May 13, 2023
Start Time: 9:00 AM
Veteran’s Memorial Park
(8030 South 1825 West in West Jordan)

Cost per person is $20

​THE JEF CHALLENGE OBSTACLE RUN is a family-friendly fundraising obstacle course run open to all ages and created to make a difference in Jordan District Classrooms.  Sponsored by local businesses and Jordan Education Foundation, 100% of proceeds go directly toward Classroom Grants benefiting students & teachers in Jordan District. 

The Challenge Race is open to the community and fun for all ages with teachers, students and family members from all 68 schools participating.  We couldn’t have more fun helping such a great cause!

The Challenge begins at 9 am, Saturday, May 13th and ends with a fun family festival with lots of free giveaways.  You can participate in any one of the events (Obstacle Run, Festival, Fundraising) or in all three!

​For more details and to register online, visit: www.jefchallenge.org OR
https://runsignup.com/Race/UT/WestJordan/TheChallengeObstacleRace

We are closing in on the end of 3rd quarter (March 24th), so make sure you take a moment to check Skyward and avoid any last-minute surprises. We are also thrilled to be celebrating inclusion week, where we go out of our way to celebrate the inclusion of those with special needs in our school. Today was Jersey Day, and here’s the schedule for the rest of the week if you’d like to participate:

• Monday: Jersey Day
• Tuesday: Superhero/Disney Day
• Wednesday: Wacky Wednesday (wear mismatched or wacky clothes)
• Thursday: Luau Day
• Friday: St. Patrick’s Day (wear green)

Memory Pictures for Spring Sports

Pictures for spring sports will be taken during PROWL this Thursday. There are no retakes. If you miss that day and want to be in the sports collage, you can email your candid pictures to sojoyearbook@gmail.com by the 17th of March.

9th Grade Industry Tour Permission Forms Due March 17th

9th graders, remember that your permission form for the Industry Tour is due to your Geography teacher by Friday, March 17th. If your 9th grader was absent from Geography class on Monday, March 13th and needs the information about the Industry Tour, please have them go to their Snow Leopard 9 on Canvas to learn about the different locations and fill out the Google Form. Extra copies of the permission form are available in the Counseling Center.
Student Sweeper jobs are available at South Jordan Middle School. You must be at least  14 years old. Apply here!

It’s going to be a busy week for our 8th and 9th grade students, so make sure you’re aware and prepared for BHS registration and the 8th grade job shadow.

Bingham High School Registration on Wednesday

If you’re a 9th grader headed to Bingham next year, the BHS counselors will be visiting your science classes on Wednesday to help you register. If you have any questions beforehand, please reach out to the counseling center at Bingham High School.

8th Grade Job Shadow on Thursday

If you’re an 8th grade student, don’t forget that our job shadow takes place on Thursday. Students will spend the day out shadowing someone and should have this already all arranged. The job shadow will take the place of all 7 classes on that day, so no other work will be assigned or missed. Have a great time, and we can’t wait to hear how it goes!

9th Grade Industry Tour in April

The Industry Tour is an opportunity for our 9th graders to visit one of our various locations to tour the business, listen to a presentation, and learn more about that industry. 9th graders will earn the privilege of attending the Industry Tour by getting final grades of all Honors (H) and / or Satisfactory (S) in Citizenship for 2nd and 3rd quarter.

Reminder: BHS Sophomore Orientation is COMING UP! 

Bingham High School’s Sophomore Orientation is Thursday, March 2nd at 6:00 PM in the BHS Auditorium – you don’t want to miss it!

Below is some additional information…

• There are two parts to Sophomore Orientation. The first part is from 6:00 – 7:00 PM in the auditorium and will include a presentation mixed with performances by some of Bingham’s elite performing groups. The second part will be the Activities Fair in the cafeteria, which gives incoming students the chance to learn more about various classes, sports, and clubs that Bingham offers. The Activities Fair will begin at 7:00 and go until 8:00 in the cafeteria 
• Topics covered in the presentation include registration and scheduling information, graduate requirements, and BHS administration & counselor introductions!

For those students and parents unable to make Sophomore Orientation, the information presented will be on the Bingham Counseling website following the orientation. 

If you have any questions, please call the Bingham Counseling Center at 801-256-5120. 

Current 9th graders will be completing Course Requests for 10th grade on Wednesday, March 8th, in the students’ science classes. If you want to view what is being presented, check out the slideshow below.

NOTE: You must be logged into a jordandistrict.org email address to view the slideshow, so have your student pull it up on their Chromebook.

Wednesday, February 22nd will be a virtual day for students due to severe weather conditions. Please stay home and stay safe. The official email from the district will answer the majority of questions. For SoJo specifically, here’s what you need to know:

• Your teachers will be communicating expectations for what to do, but it will largely be continuing current work or enrichment activities, and not necessarily new work.
• Teachers will be available to answer questions via Zoom using these Zoom links from 10 am until 12 pm. They will also be monitoring email during that time.
• No school lunch will be served, and the building will be closed to the public. If you have questions, email is the go-to, as staff won’t be able to get to the building to answer phones.
• Decisions on evening activities will be made by 1 pm tomorrow. We’ll send out an additional Skylert once that has been determined.

That’s it for now. We’ll send out any additional information as needed. We’ll see everyone back in-person on Thursday.

Our parent-teacher conferences are this Wednesday (In-Person) and Thursday (Virtual) from 4- 7:30 pm both nights. You do not need an appointment for the in-person night on Wednesday. To schedule an appointment for Thursday, log into Skyward.

If you select an appointment for Thursday, you can access the Zoom links here. All Zoom links will be updated by Thursday before the conferences begin.

Please remember that while parent conferences offer a great chance to meet with multiple teachers in a single night, teachers and staff are available year-round via email, phone, or in-person appointment. If there is ever anything you wonder about or would like to address, please don’t feel you have to wait for the conference to bring it up.

In addition, if a line is long or you don’t get the appointment slot you need, just reach out to the teacher and pick another day and time to talk. We love working with your wonderful children, and good two-way communication makes a huge difference for everyone.

We’re in the middle of course selection for next school year, and are already coming up on the middle of the quarter this week. Please remember that there will be no school for students on February 10th for the District Wellness Day. A variety of wellness activities and resources will be available, and will be sent out by the district prior to that day.

PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES

Parent conferences will be held on February 15th (In-Person) and 16th (Virtual). You do not need an appointment for the in-person night, but line length can vary. For the virtual night, you can schedule appointments in Skyward starting now. There will be no school on Friday, February 17th as a compensatory day for teachers due to the late nights of parent conferences. There will also be no school on Monday, February 20th (Presidents Day).

Most importantly with parent conferences, we hope you know that teachers are available at any time of year, and not just during parent conferences. If you can’t make it, just reach out to the teacher and make an appointment, send them an email, or give them a call after school. Parent conferences are a great way to do it, but are definitely not the only way.

COURSE SELECTION FOR NEXT YEAR

6th Graders Going Into 7th Grade: Course Selection will happen on February 7th at the school. There will be a session starting at 5 pm, 5:45 pm and 6 pm. Teachers and counselors will be on hand to answer questions and help students complete registration before leaving that evening. If you are unable to attend, you can register at home.

If your current 6th grade student is interested in student government, you can check out the application process here. Requests for interviews are due by April 12th, and applications are due April 14th.

7th Graders Going Into 8th Grade:  You should already have your courses selected. If you have any questions, contact your counselor. 

8th Graders Going Into 9th Grade: You should already have your courses selected. If you have any questions, contact your counselor. 

9th Graders Going Into 10th Grade: Course Selection will happen later in the Spring. We’ll send something out as it gets closer.