Dear PJHS Parents/Guardians,

During the winter months the 7th/8th grade students have been very busy participating in music concerts, the school musical, athletics, spelling bee, geography bee, running club, chess club, mock trial, youth-to-youth, student council and many other activities. It is great to see how many of our students are involved in so many activities both inside and outside of school.

It is already time to begin planning for the next year as your child continues to progress to their next grade level for the 2019-20 school year. Over the next couple of months there will be many events scheduled to help prepare our 8th grade students transitioning to high school and getting the 7th grade students’ class schedules prepared for next year. I encourage you to attend as many of these events as possible so that you are informed of the many academic options available.

Thank you for the continued support of your child, our teachers and school.

Respectfully,

Mr. Don Christie, Principaldchristie@perrysburgschools.net419-874-9193 ext. 4006

BUZZThe

at PJHS

LeTTer from THe PrinciPaL

™

AdministrAtion

issUE 19FEBrUArY 2019

Don Christie,Principal

Scott Buker,Assistant Principal

Marjoe Cooper,Assistant Principal

Perrysburg Junior HigH scHool

550 E. South BoundaryPerrysburg OH 43551

419-874-9193

coUnSeLorS cornerIn October, the counselors sent out a personal survey to each student using Google Forms. In the survey, there was an option for students to sign up for small group counseling. Mrs. Monheim finished up her Self-Confidence, Study Skills and Grief Groups just before break. Self-Confidence and Study Skills met once a week for 5 weeks and the Grief group met once a week for 7 weeks. The Grief Group finished by making Memory Boxes. A special thanks goes to Mr. Wallace, the Industrial Technology teacher, for helping the group make and design their boxes.

Mrs. Monheim’s winter groups will start the week of January 14. These groups include Stress Management, Friendship and Families group.

Food Bags from the Islamic Food Bank!!We are happy to announce a partnership with the Islamic Food Bank of Northwest Ohio. They are offering to provide bags of non-perishable food items, such as mac and cheese, cereal and even cookies to families in need. Interested families may contact their school counselor, Mrs. Andrea Monheim, 7th grade (amonheim@perrysburgschools.net, 419-874-9193 ext. 4008) or Mr. Tom Przybyski, 8th grade (tprzybyski@perrysburgschools.net, 419-874-9193 ext. 4012), through email or a phone call. This information will be kept confidential. Once contacted, the counselor will make sure food bags are placed by the visitor’s desk. Family members may come from 8:00 AM-2:30 PM to pick up 1-2 bags, as needed. You can also contact the Islamic Food Bank at 419-874-3509 to ask about the program. The Islamic Food Bank will continue to provide as many bags as needed throughout the school year.

9th Grade Registration8th Graders should have filled out a Google Form for each of their core subjects (and Foreign Language, if they are currently taking one) on or around January 16, and entered a request for what core classes they plan on taking next year. Elective classes will be discussed at the Perrysburg High School Curriculum Fair on Wednesday, February 6.

8th Grade RegistrationThere will be a meeting in the evening on March 5 for incoming 8th graders and parents/guardians to discuss registration for next year. Please stay tuned for more information.

WHaT’S nexT WiTH THe YearBookBy the end of January, the yearbook staff will have completed about half of the yearbook's 80 pages. Our photographers are continuing to document both the big and small moments that make up life in junior high school. Some of our page editors are adding their final touches to the fall sports and club pages, while others are in the planning process for a few fun spreads with topics such as "Then and Now," "PJHS Family" and the always entertaining "What's In Your Bag?" Yearbook staff members will soon create their second advertising campaign to promote book sales, which end on February 28th. To order your student's yearbook, visit www.Jostens.com.

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PJHS JackeT WaY UPdaTeOn Thursday, December 20 the PJHS Jacket Way Program concluded the first semester with a “Price is Right” assembly to reward the student body for demonstrating the Jacket Way. Students who were rewarded Jacket Way tickets throughout the first semester were randomly selected to participate in the assembly in which the students had to make accurate estimates on the prices of various items. The student with the closest estimate had the opportunity to play Plinko to earn various amount of money for a giftcard of their choice. Altogether, there were nine student winners who won gift cards from the range of $10 to $50 to locations such as Amazon, Panera, Target, XBox and Starbucks.

January’s Class Meeting targeted behavior for students focused on perseverance. Students were taught a lesson focusing on how and when to show perseverance and grit and in what ways that could look like in their lives.

On January 22, the PJHS Jacket Way Team participated in Tiered Fidelity Inventory, measuring the success of the Jacket Way Program. This inventory was conducted by district Jacket Way team members who have been trained in completing the inventory. PJHS is proud have received high grades during this process!

As part of the Jacket Way Program, the Jacket Way Team analyzes various components of data. The data being reviewed is centered on discipline data. PJHS is proud to have seen a decrease in office discipline referrals between the months of November and December by 60%, indicating more students are following the Jacket Way expectations.

THank-YoU, JHPo!Over winter break the Junior High Parents’ Organization continued their beautification projects around PJHS. New to the building are vinyl decorations in the main entrance and in the cafeteria.

3The Buzz At PJHSFebruary 2019 • Issue 19Perrysburg Junior High School550 E. South BoundaryPerrysburg OH 43551

PJHS STUdenTS QUaLifY for regionaL SPeLLing Bee!On Monday, January 14 the Perrysburg Junior High Spelling Bee was held that featured twenty-three students who qualified to participate. Congratulations to the following winners: Srivatsav Vuppala, Katie Osten, Shea Vaquera, Nikhil Methi, Sharon Deng, John Majerus and alternates Aiden Bielefeld and Avary Zeisloft.

These students will represent PJHS at the 2019 ESC of Lake Erie West Spelling Bee at the Maumee Indoor Theatre on Thursday, February 19 beginning at 7:00 p.m.

Srivatsav Vuppala, Katie Osten, Shea Vaquera, Nikhil Methi, Sharon Deng and John Majerus.

mock TriaL BeginS PracTiceThe PJHS Mock Trial teams began practicing in December and have been hard at work analyzing witness statements and learning basic trial-practice skills. This year’s case, which is prepared by the Ohio Center for Law Related Education, is based on the Newberry Medal winning novel, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor. The accused, a thirteen year-old T.J. Avery, faces an aggravated-murder charge for an incident occurring in Spokane County, Mississippi in 1933. Each Mock Trial Team comprises student attorneys, witnesses and bailiffs/timekeepers. The attorneys ask direct examination questions of their own witnesses, cross-examine the other side’s witnesses and raise objections to the opponent’s case. Each attorney also presents either an opening statement or a closing argument. Witnesses memorize their roles and work with the attorneys to develop their testimony. Mock trial students learn the invaluable skills of organizing materials into coherent and persuasive arguments, questioning witnesses to elicit favorable testimony and “thinking on their feet.”

In May, the teams will travel to Columbus to compete in the Middle School Mock Trial Showcase at the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center. Local judges and attorneys preside over the trials. Each team competes twice at the showcase, once as the prosecution side of the case and once as the defense. At each trial, the judges award a “Best Attorney” award and a “Best Witness” award.

Judge Dwight Osterud and attorneys Mary Sue Barone, Ted Kurt and Jackie (Kirian) Shultz advise the PJHS Mock Trial Team. Judge Osterud started the PJHS Mock Trial Program eight years ago and the coaches continue to be impressed with the student’s hard work and progress throughout the year.

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STem cLaSS deSignS cUSTom PLaQUeS for neW fire HeadQUarTerSOne of Miss Derr’s 7th grade STEM classes received a request to help with the Perrysburg Fire Headquarters. The students were given the challenge of designing plaques to commemorate the opening of the new Perrysburg Fire Headquarters in January. A large plaque was designed and laser engraved using equipment in the STEM lab. This plaque will be on display at the headquarters. The students also laser engraved miniature version of the plaques that were passed out to distinguished guests at the opening ceremony on January 19, 2019. This project allowed the students to brainstorm for ideas, design, evaluate and modify their ideas until the final product was achieved. According to Miss Derr, PJHS STEM teacher: “It was a total group effort in designing these plaques. Each student drew up an idea, then all ideas were evaluated until the students agreed on their final design. It was fun watching them modify the design until it was just perfect in their eyes.” Special thanks to Mr. Wallace, Industrial Tech teacher, for providing assistance with this project. Olivia Harwell and Miss Derr had the honor to attend the opening ceremony to pass out the plaques.

Presenting customized plaque to the Perrysburg Fire Headquarters. Deputy Fire Chief Tom Granata, Miss Jackie Derr, Olivia Harwell and Fire Marshal Aaron Harwell.

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neWS fromTHe cLinicWhy are clean hands important to good health?

Dr. Will Sawyer, Infection Prevention Specialist, created four principles of Hand Awareness.

1. Wash your hands when they are dirty And before eating.

2. Do not cough into your hands.

3. Do not sneeze into your hands.

4. Above all, do not put fingers into your eyes, nose or mouth. DO NOT TOUCH THE T-ZONE!

The T-zone is the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and mouth. It is the onLY portal of entry for all respiratory and gastro-intestinal (stomach) diseases.

If we have germs on our hands, we can put these germs into our bodies when we touch our eyes, nose and mouth “unconsciously.”

Imagine since this is how the majority of disease enters our bodies for respiratory and gastro-intestinal diseases, we may never be sick again!

Keeping our hands and fingers away from the T-zone will stop the spread of germs in our bodies.

firST drone racing TeamThe first-ever PJHS drone racing team, the Black and Gold Angels, competed in their first event held at Penta Career Center on December 15. The team raced against five other schools, of which four of those were high school level. Our Black and Gold Angels ended the day with a 4-1 record, with the only loss coming against a high school team. Congrats to the PJHS drone racing team!

Christian Kim, Coach Jackie Derr (STEM teacher), Lucas Gavin, Trevor Pollock and Allison Ludwig.

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OrchestraThe Perrysburg Junior High Orchestra Program is very pleased to announce that 27 students were selected to participate in this year’s OMEA District 1 Junior High Honors Orchestra, which is based on the student’s submitted auditions. This year’s participants were the highest number of students accepted from any one school in northwest Ohio. We are very proud of our school Orchestra students for representing PJHS in such an impressive way!

The following students qualified for the OMEA District 1 Junior High Honors Orchestra:

• Violin 1: Allison Ludwig, Reina Wang, Karen Chen, Niranjan Bhagwat, Jessica Bateman and Kathryn Amend

• Violin 2: Mariah Stierman, Jessica Liao, Adriana Persiani, Raquel Burden, Teresa Clark-Phelps, Mairead Dalton, Carson Rogers and Lauren Manges

• Viola: Evan Boyers and Meagan Hilleary

• Cello: Sharon Deng, Julia Xi, Allison Hoffman, Matthew Stewart, Patrick Martz, Hannah Muck and Jarrett Lin

• Bass: Simon Williams, Leo Crawford and Claire Schroeder

• Harp: Lydia Williams

BandThe PJHS Bands finished 2018 with a wonderful performance by the Jacket Band, Gold Band and Commodore Band at their Holiday Concert. We're already off and running in 2019! Here is a rundown of our first month back:

We're extremely proud to announce that 34 PJHS Band students were selected for the 2019 Ohio Music Education Association Middle School Honor Band! This audition-based

ensemble is comprised of the top 7th and 8th grade students from northwest Ohio. PJHS Bands not only set a record for the most students selected from one school, but we also had more than triple the number of students accepted than the next highest school! These students will give a performance at the Stranahan Theater on February 17th.

Congratulations to:Kiana Allan, Jackson Blakely, Lucas Cash, Andy Chung, Hana El Nemr, Morgan Evans, Brock Falkenstein, Mikele Flynn, Kayla Hahl, Lindsay Hubaker, Hannah Jordan, Ava Kaufman, Allison Kulmatycki, Kara Lintner, Drew Mack, John Majerus, Ryan Matthews, Jazmine McKinney, Nikhil Methi, Cassidy Milligan, Yamato Okai, Ryan Oesterle, Joey Rice, Matthew Rutherford, Grace Smith, Jacob Stierman, Emma Thomford, Ahan Trivedi, Nate Ulrich, Tommy Van Camp, Johni Weidner, Aralyn Wise, Helen Yan and Sam Zachel.

The PJHS Pep Band is rocking the PJHS basketball games and will continue supporting our school through February! The PJHS Pep Band also gave a terrific performance at the groundbreaking of the St. Jude's Dream Home in Perrysburg. 65 students braved freezing temperatures and wind on the morning of Friday, January 11 to have the privilege of playing at the event and live on a local news broadcast.

Thank you for all you have done to support our PJHS Bands and we can't wait to make 2019 our best year ever!

ChoirThe PJHS Choirs are proud to announce their upcoming fundraiser, an Evening of Love, which will be held on February 13 at Hill Prairie Intermediate School. The event will

UPdaTe from THe mUSic deParTmenT

The PJHS Pep Band plays at the St. Jude’s Dream Home ground breaking on Friday, January 11.

feature students in grades 5 through 8 and will have two different shows beginning at 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Tickets cost $10 and will include a dessert, coffee/water and admission into the show. Patron ticket sales will be on February 5 from 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. outside the PJHS auditorium with general public sales occurring immediately after until 8:30 p.m. and then again on February 12 from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. at Hull Prairie Intermediate School.

Any questions may be directed to Mr. Hamilton at jhamilton@perrysburgschools.net or Mrs. Kuhlman at kkuhlman@perrysburgschools.net.

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2nd annUaL PJHS dodgeBaLL ToUrnamenT SeT!WHAt: Dodgeball Tournament Sponsored

by H.I.P.P.

WHEn: Friday, March 1, 2019

Cost: $15.00 per player (includes tournament T-shirt)

WHo CAn PLAY: Any PJHS student or staff member

rEGistrAtion: Each team will need a team captain. The team captain will pick up a registration packet from Derr’s room (230) or Mr. Ferguson’s room (103).

QUEstions: See Miss Derr (room 230).

Registration packets and money MUST be turned in as a team (no individual registrations) by February 12. Please turn forms/money in to Miss Derr (230).

are YoU a grandParenT raiSing a grandcHiLd?Do you know a grandparent raising a grandchild?

The school district is working with our local ESC to provide a Grandparent Group. This group would allow you to meet other grandparents raising their grandchildren, bounce ideas around and receive support and tips from community organizations. The group would meet monthly to address topics of interest and provide the supports you need. To help us with the development of this group, please contact Sara Stockwell at sstockwell@perrysburgschools.net or 419-874-9131 ext. 2155 if you are interested in participating.

Perrysburg Public scHools140 E. Indiana AvenuePerrysburg OH 43551

Current Resident or:

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Non-Profit OrganizationU.S. Postage Paid

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