THE

BLUE JAY NATION

“Proud Past, Bright Future” VOLUME 2

ISSUE 2

SCHOOL YEAR 2013-2014

December 2013

Veteran’s Day 2013

Blue Jay Adventures

Cory climbs the alpine tower with no fear! (Left) Christian enjoys the view zip lining. (Right) On a crisp, fall morning 30 students and their teachers loaded on the school bus to attend a field trip they would never forget. They were headed to Sunnyhill, a camp with a variety of adventure activities. The morning started with teambuilding activities that included all staff and students as well as several of their parents. This really got the kids excited for their next adventure….zip lining! Several students ran up to be first in line along with administrators and a few brave teachers. Others stood back taking it all in and trying to decide if they were brave enough for this new adventure. James Schanz shook his head telling us there was no way he was going to do this. He did change his mind after seeing the excitement on everyone else’s face. Once zip lining was completed, the next adventure was climbing the alpine tower. Many of the students had no fear and climbed the tower in seconds. The students loved seeing their teachers attempt the tower. The afternoon concluded with more team building activities. Everyone did an excellent job working together.

Jefferson County R-VII School District produced another awe-inspiring tribute to their district’s veterans! Every student throughout the district, from the 3’ tall all the way up to the 6’+, could be seen in attendance at one or both of the programs honoring the veterans. This annual tribute by the children and staff of Jefferson R-VII has become known as “one not to miss” and this year’s event was another one for the “books”. From the Honor Guard (Boy Scout Troup 406), the PowerPoint presentation, the voices of the children as they sang out boldly about their pride in honoring our veterans, to the special speakers, it all combined together to make a memorable program. As if that was not enough to make your heart swell with pride, the Jefferson R-VII Band put the “beat” in your heart as they played “Gettysburg: The Third Day”! With each crescendo you could feel yourself sitting up straighter, your body tensing with goose bumps, and your mind conjuring up visions of what it might sound like standing in the middle of a great battle. Our students show us everyday reasons to be proud of them, but Veterans Day 2013 they also showed the Jefferson R-VII Veterans and Community.

SUPERINTENDENT’S MESSAGE

Moving Forward as a School District

Over the course of the last four months, the Jefferson R-VII School District has experienced the highs and lows of what life is like as a K-12 school district. During this time, I have observed one constant...our students continue to perform every day in the classroom. Too many times we as adults find ourselves questioning what should be taking place within the school district only to forget that our focus should be and always is about the kids. With that in mind, I say thank you to our students for all that you have done during the current and past years to bring pride and honor to Jefferson R-VII School District. While there will always be conflict and personal indifference within the world and community, you provide hope. You offer ideas and energy to fix problems rather than focusing on the status quo. You look at life based on a very famous quote from Robert Kennedy “There are those who look at things the way they are and ask why...I dream of things that never were and ask why not?” I am proud to announce that Jefferson R-VII School District was recognized for ten consecutive years of “Distinction in Performance.” Because of this honor, we were visited by Governor Jay Nixon who presented our award for continued academic success. During the Governor’s visit, students and staff were able to conduct conversations and ask questions in various settings to better understand the magnitude of this accomplishment. Job well done to all students, staff and parents as it really takes everyone working together to reach this level of performance. The District’s technology 1:1 initiative continues to grow and expand with students and staff accessing knowledge that once was beyond the walls of the school allowing every student to maximize his or her potential. Various school districts about the area and region have visited Jefferson to view our program as a model for their schools. Our students and staff share their successes in Kindergarten through 12th grade in an effort to help other schools improve their curriculum for other Missouri students across the State. The Jefferson College Tuition Sharing Program is in full swing with 47 students taking or scheduled to take dual-credit college courses for free or reduced cost. The expansion of this program will continue for the spring semester and future school years offering every Jefferson student the chance to experience an eight semester high school degree that will prepare them for post-secondary opportunities. Whether is is Danby or Jefferson High School, band or softball, volleyball or cross country, football or Student Council, choir or the arts, Plattin St. Jude Running Club or Telegraph’s food drives you find example after example of students doing more for themselves and others because of the character of our District. Moving forward as a school district we will have differing opinions expressed but we should never allow these events to overshadow all that is right about the school that we are part of. I dare you to dream and never fear failure while enjoying the journey along the way. “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” Robert Kennedy

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The Blue Jay Nation

2013 Fall Sports Summaries Cross Country

Varsity Softball

Coaches Andy Graf and Mollie Bowman

Coaches Robert Kuehnle and Ross Koenig

The 2013 Cross Country season was a successful one. We fielded a varsity boys’ team for the first time in school’s history and finished fourth in our district. Three runners advanced to state competition: Blaise Torrence, Garrett Kassen, and Kristen Keeney-who earned a spot for the third year in a row. Individuals earned sixteen medals during competitions throughout the year. In general we competed in meets against larger schools to help make us better. While injuries were a burden again this year, athletes improved their race times as the year progressed. Team spirit was high all year. Athletes continually encouraged each other during practice and at meets. Our goal for next year is to recruit more athletes and decrease times. The most popular question from athletes at the end of the season was, “When will we start our practices for next year?” This is a question coaches enjoy hearing.

District Champs Again!!! The Jefferson softball team finished the season after losing a heartbreaker (2-1) in the Sectional game closing out their season with a 10-11 record. The regular season was filled with competitive games against solid teams. Highlights of the season include winning the championship in the Potosi tournament and having 6 players named to the all-district team. Junior short stop Morgan Rushing broke the single season batting average record from setting the new school record at 544. Freshman pitcher Sarah Handrahan broke the strikeout record by striking out 168 batters. The future looks bright for the Jefferson High School girls softball team with many returning players for the 2014 season.

Varsity Football

Varsity Volleyball

Head Coach Derek Scroggins

The Jefferson High School football program took a large step forward in the second season of the program competing on the Varsity level. The Blue Jays finished the year with a 6-4 record and placed 3rd in Conference. The offense, led by Austin Graves, Conor Bourisaw and Luke Dawson, who were each in the top 50 St. Louis area rushing leaders, averaged over 450 yards and 41 points per game. The defense was led in tackles by Linebackers Steven English and Dawson. The progress of the team from the first game, against John F. Kennedy Catholic, to the last game of the regular season, against St. Vincent, was incredible and the Blue Jays look to continue to improve in 2014. While the football team returns 32 players, the eight seniors, Brock Boeckstiegel, Conor Bourisaw, Logan Carney, John Duerr, Dalton Messmer, Lee Murphy-Wolff, Tristen Walsh and Andrew Wood, will all be missed. With the second year of varsity football behind them, the Blue Jays are hungry to see how high they can fly in year three.

Coaches Ashleigh Nagel and Tara Fish

This season, Varsity Volleyball went 27-6. Having lost 4 games to Class 3 schools and then twice to St. Pius; other than playing post season, we couldn’t have asked for anything more of this team. We had a lot of positive moments in our season. We made it to semifinals of gold bracket (out of 48 teams) of the Dig for Life tournament in Cape, took 1st in the Cuba tournament, and countless victories over strong winning-tradition school including Class 3 state contender, Lutheran South. We had set a goal to beat St. Pius and fell short in both matches. Seniors were huge contributors to our program this year. They were the epitome of leadership. All of them stepped up at some level of the game. They have laid a foundation for this program to continue to build. This past summer, and in the beginning of the season, JHS would go out and shine and people would say, “Now who are you guys?” or “Where is Jefferson?” We are on the map now!

December 2013

Page 3

Basketball Preview Boys’ Basketball

Girls’ Basketball

Coaches Nic Zenker and Gene DeSalme

Coaches Brad Conway and Holley Fox

We are very excited about the upcoming season. We feel we have a very good group of guys this season who have bought in to what we are trying to do with our program moving forward. We return 7 Varsity letterman from last years team, which will help with continuity early on in practice. We feel like if we defend and take care of the basketball, we can improve on last years record. Again, we will need to Play Hard, Smart and Together, and if we are consistent in doing those things we think we can take another step in the right direction with the basketball program here at Jefferson.

Another season is upon us and I like the effort that I have seen so far in practice. The players are working hard to get in basketball shape and getting better to make our team better and ready to compete. A lot of work is being done to improve so we can meet the challenges that are ahead. We have a solid group of seniors who are showing great leadership and I am pleased so far with how well the girls are paying attention to details and working together. The first part of the schedule will be a challenge in that all of our games will be on the road before Christmas. In conference it looks like St. Pius will be a big challenge in order to repeat as conference champions, fortunately we will have them at home in January. Our goal is to improve each day and to be playing our best basketball come district time. We hope to have great support from the student body and community, especially for our home games this coming season.

2013 - 2014 Winter Sports Schedule Girls Basketball

Boys Basketball

Sat

Nov 23



Dec 2 - Dec 6

Pre Season Scrimmage

V

H

3:00

Crystal City Tournament

V

A

TBA

Thu Dec 12 Kingston V/JV H 6:00 Fri Dec 13 Arcadia Valley V/JV H 6:00 Tue Dec 17 Windsor V/JV A 5:30

Fri

Dec 20

Park Hills Central



Dec 27 - Dec 30 Valle Catholic Tournament

V/JV H

6:00

V

TBA

A

Tue Jan 7 St. Vincent V/JV A 6:00 Fri Jan 10 Kelly V/JV A 6:00

Tue

Jan 14

West County

V/JV A

6:00



Wed Jan 15

Saxony Lutheran

V/JV H

6:00

Fri Jan 17 Bourbon V/JV H 5:30

Jan 20 - Jan 25

Old Settlement JV

JV

A

TBA

Tue Jan 21 Herculaneum V/JV A 6:00 Wed Jan 22 Fredericktown V/JV A 6:00

Wed Jan 29

Valle Catholic

V/JV H

6:00

Tue Feb 4 Grandview V/JV H 6:00

Fri



Feb 7

Crystal City

V/JV A

6:00

Wed Feb 12

Barat Academy

V/JV H

5:30

Fri

St. Pius

V/JV H

6:00

Feb 14

Mon Feb 17 Potosi V/JV H 6:00

Tue

Feb 18

Marquand-Zion

V/JV A



Feb 22 - Feb 28 District Tourney at Clearwater

6:00



Sat



Nov 23

Pre Season Scrimmage

V

H

1:00

Nov 25 - Nov 26 Jefferson JV Tourney

JV

H

TBA

Dec 2 - Dec 7

V

A

TBA

Valley Caledonia Tourney

Mon Dec 9 Perryville V/JV A 6:00 Thu Dec 12 Arcadia Valley V/JV A 6:00 Fri Dec 13 Festus V/JV A 6:00 Thu Dec 19 Potosi V/JV A 6:00

Dec 18 - Dec 21 St. Vincent JV Tourney



Dec 26 - Dec 30 St. Paul/Farmington Tourney V



Wed Jan 8

Cape Central

JV

A

TBA

A

TBA

V/JV H

6:00

Mon Jan 13 Herculaneum V/JV H 6:00 Tue Jan 14 DeSoto V/JV H 6:00

Thu

Jan 16

St. Pius

V/JV H

6:00

Mon Jan 20 Jackson V/JV A 6:00 Mon Jan 27 Fredericktown V/JV H 6:00 Tue Jan 28 Kingston V/JV H 6:00 Thu Jan 30 St. Vincent V/JV A 6:00 Mon Feb 3 Grandview V/JV H 6:00 Thu Feb 6 Bismarck V/JV H 6:00 Mon Feb 10 Hillsboro V/JV H 6:00 Tue Feb 11 Windsor V/JV A 5:30

Mon Feb 17

Crystal City

V/JV A

6:00



Wed Feb 19

Valle Catholic

V/JV H

6:00



Feb 22 - Feb 28 District Tourney at Clearwater

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The Blue Jay Nation

2013 Football Homecoming - “Welcome to the Jungle”

Jefferson High School celebrated Homecoming on Friday, September 27, 2013. Homecoming week featured the theme “Welcome to the Jungle” and the week culminated with the Blue Jays defeating Crystal City 54-27. Other highlights from the week were the crowning of Carlotta Pietrucci and Brock Boeckstiegel as the Homecoming Queen and King, and Mr. Ruark coming back and serving as the Grand Marshall of the Homecoming Parade. The Senior class won the float competition, the Seniors also won the spirit points throughout the week! A kick-off of the week’s events began a week ahead when the Cheerleaders and some JHS fall athletes led pep rallies at each of the K-8 buildings. These young adults showed their spirit and encouraged participation to all students in the Plattin, Telegraph, and Danby buildings. Homecoming got off to a hot start Sunday night as STUCO hosted a Bonfire. All the fall sports participated and were represented as each talked about their season. District-wide dress up days for all K-12 students decorated the classrooms all week and the STUCO Chili Supper before the game was another fan favorite. There was a lot of excitement at the High School the day of the Homecoming Game. There was a pep rally followed by the Homecoming Parade. Students from Plattin, Telegraph, Danby, the High School and also community members watched the festivities as the parade was full of students from Pre K-12th grade. Then to finish off the day, the football team had a dominant win over Crystal City 54-27. By all accounts, it was a successful week. Preparations began in the early spring by JHS STUCO. They wanted to ensure that all students (K-12) would be a part of the Homecoming experience. Along with their efforts and many other individuals, Homecoming was a success and a great representation of our students, school, and community.



Dual Credit Partnership with Jefferson College Jefferson High School Dual Credit Partnership with Jefferson College has proven to be a huge success. At the conclusion of the first semester of the discounted tuition program, 14 students have successfully completed Composition I and 13 students have endured a semester of U.S. and Missouri Constitution. The Constitution course was taught by a Jefferson College professor on the JHS campus and the students enjoyed having a college professor come to the JHS campus and teach the course. Composition I was the first experience our students had with an online course. A total of 81 college credit hours were earned on our campus during the first semester. Dual credit math courses are taught year-long on the high school level but offered as a semester course on the college level. 39 students will sign up for college level math classes for the second semester. The dual credit math offerings are: Calculus, Pre-Calculus and College Algebra. Dual Credit Chemistry is offered through Southeast Missouri State University and is offered to juniors and seniors. 10 students are participating in this class taking advantage of the science lab class Mr. Graf teaches. These students will be awarded credit at the completion of the course in May and will take the Advanced Placement (AP) test to possibly increase the number of college credit hours earned. Second semester dual credit through Jefferson College includes Composition I for honors Juniors, Composition II along with United States History I. At the conclusion of second semester, 31% of the students in grades 11 and 12 are participating in a dual credit course during the 2013-2014 school-year. 39% of seniors are taking one or more dual credit course and 22.6% of juniors are participating in dual credit. The future is bright for these students who elect to take college credit courses in high school. For more information about the dual credit opportunities for JHS students contact Suzanne Richardson, JHS counselor and dual credit coordinator.

December 2013

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Running for a Cause

Faculty and students at Plattin Primary have been running since September for a very important cause. They are running to spread awareness and raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Principal, Tina Basler, along with teachers Stacy Glass and Amanda Bley, and students Mallory Wilkey and Anna Rawe along with their parents will be running the Memphis Marathon Event on December 7th as Team Plattin Primary. Training started back in September when Mrs. Basler and her staff organized an after-school running club. Participation on the September 17th start date began with 39 students and quickly grew to 61 students within a few weeks. Surprisingly the numbers did not dwindle. Students enjoyed running the track after school on Tuesdays and many times requested a few more laps even when time was up. Students were helping to train with the Memphis runners but were also in training themselves for the upcoming Plattin Primary Pledge Run. On November 1, Plattin Primary transported all students and staff over to the Jefferson Track to participate in a pledge run for St. Jude. Students had been collecting pledges and flat donations for two weeks prior to the event. Parents, friends and relatives could pledge a dollar amount per lap ran by the participant or could choose to make a flat donation in honor of the runner. On the day of the event students were given a St. Jude bracelet used to tally their laps while they ran for their allotted 20 minutes. High school Cross Country Runners were there to tally laps on bracelets and encourage the students. Parents, siblings and relatives also showed up to offer support and run with our PreK-2nd grade runners. After the run, students were treated to a staff 4x100 meter relay. In recognition of their participation, students received engraved silver medals commemorating the event and a certificate of participation noting their individual lap accomplishment. Students, teachers and volunteers then enjoyed and celebrated with lunch on the football field. Back in the classrooms, students reflected on the event and how their participation would make an impact on St. Jude. Patient postcards were delivered from St. Jude allowing students to write letters to patients and learn about their patients and the types of treatment that patients receive at St. Jude. After the run, students made graphs to chart the laps that were ran in each classroom. They also converted their laps ran into miles. It was discovered that the students of Plattin Primary ran 244 miles that day! And it just so happens that the distance from Plattin Primary to St. Jude Hospital in Memphis, TN is 246 miles! As a result of the Pledge Run, the students made a donation of $6,789.70 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital! Mrs. Basler never expected the donations to reach that level. During the kick-off assembly the students wanted to set a goal of $5000, but Mrs. Basler conservatively set the goal at $3000. They smashed that goal! Almost all students ran over a mile during the pledge run with some students completing nearly 2 miles that day. Many students were sore the next morning and some were too sore to come out to the Family Fun Run on Saturday, November 2. 144 runners showed up that morning to participate in the 1.5 mile fun run for St. Jude. All pre-paid participants received a T-shirt and first place prizes were awarded for the top male and female categories in each of the 4 divisions (ages 8-under, 9-12, 13-19 and 20-up). As a result of the Family Fun Run another $600 was donated to St. Jude. Both events were a huge success for the R-7 community, students, staff and parents of Plattin Primary along with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. In addition, community businesses helped to sponsor both events to ensure that all donations went directly to St. Jude. Sponsorship donations covered the cost of St. Jude bracelets, student medals, snacks and drinks for both events, first place prizes for the fun run as well as free T-shirts for Running Club kids and staff members. A special thank you goes out to our business sponsors: Go Daddy Graphics, Prudential Alliance Realtors, Total Body Fitness, Gansner Excavating and Grading, Ameren Rush Island, Buchheit’s, Toni’s Medical Aesthetics, Amazing Walls and Waterfalls, Holcim, Goodwin Brothers Construction, Sapaugh, Redfield Collision Center, Scentsy Independent Consultant Jen Bradshaw, IESI/Progressive Waste Solutions, JCP Lawncare, Jane E. Breeze DMD, Mary’s Market and PV Printers.

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The Blue Jay Nation

Update from Jefferson High School What do you want for Christmas? “Programmer for my truck” - Katie C (Senior) “Fire helmet” - Tyler P (Senior) “Rough Country lift for my Jeep” - Sam H (Senior)

Seasons Greetings! As we conclude our 1st semester, it is a great time to be at JHS and see the student leadership organizing service projects to help those in need. Whether it is a blood drive, sponsored by National Honor Society, that accumulated 78 units of blood (an amazing amount for a small high school) or the canned food drive, sponsored by Student Council, that more than doubled their goal. Our students exemplify what service means to a community. Our transition to 1 to 1 has gone exceptionally well. One benefit to the Chromebook has been the ability of our staff to get real time information and provide immediate, accurate student feedback. Similar to taking your car to a mechanic who plugs it into a computer to diagnose it within minutes, teachers now have the ability to give a quiz and provide the class with immediate feedback. This advantage allows teachers and students to recognize strengths and weaknesses early into the learning process. Finally, our Counselor, Suzanne Richardson, has completed the post-graduate survey, 93% of our graduates are in college, technical or trade school, military or have a job. 100% of the 1st graduating class responded and it is great to see our graduates, who developed goal plans in the 8th grade, leave JHS and are on the path to success! David Haug, Principal

“Shoes, shoes, shoes”

Update from Plattin Primary

- Bailey W (Junior) “Gas Gift Card” - Logan C (Senior) “I would love a day to just sit and knit and crochet anything I desire while watching Lifetime movies!” -Mrs. Hollenberg “I would like a tea infuser so I can try the clove tea recipe I have!” -Mrs. Harness

It’s not surprising to think that this first semester has flown by…they always do! The students are well into their learning. It’s always so exciting when the first kindergarten students come up to share their first written books with me or read their first book to me all on their own. I hope this love of learning sticks with them for years to come. We’ve had lots of exciting things going on this semester. We’ve welcomed parents, grandparents and visitors into our building for numerous occasions. We had over 450 grandparents attend on Grandparent’s Day, over 97% of our parents participated in Parent/ Teacher Conferences and we’ve had families visit for Fall parties and Thanksgiving Feasts. Much of our focus this semester has been on our service learning project – running for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Please check out the article in this edition to read about the wonderful accomplishments of our students. One other thing that you will find many of our classrooms participating in is goal setting. We are focusing this year on being leaders and setting personal goals. Students are setting goals in their classrooms and then charting their progress within their leadership binders. It’s great to see so many students taking responsibility for their goals and working hard to reach their goals. In closing, I’d like to thank our parents for partnering with us in the education of their child. It’s rewarding to see so many parents at our school for events, for lunch, to volunteer or meet with teachers. Together we can accomplish so much for these kids! Thank you and I wish all of you a wonderful holiday season. Tina Basler, Principal

“All I want for Christmas is to spend some time with my two gorgeous nieces...oh and sparkles!”

Inclement Weather Advisories

-Ms. Peterein “I would love for my son to be home. He will be returning as a United States Marine.” -Mrs. Williams

In the event of school closing or early dismissal due to ice or snow we will contact the following radio stations:

*KJFF AM 1400

*KMOX AM 1120

We will also contact the local TV stations: Channels 2, 4, and 5. *Stations the school alerts first.

*KTJJ FM 98.5

December 2013

Page 7

Update from Telegraph Intermediate Well, well, well…can you believe we are already midway through the year? It seems like just last week we were gearing up for Open House, buying school supplies, and it was 70-degrees outside (I suppose with our Midwest weather, it’s possible that it really was 70-degrees last week). School success requires hard work, collaboration, and fun. The Telegraph Team has been working hard during this first part of the year as we have spent time revising our STEPSS program. What began in January, and initially focused on students struggling behaviorally, has expanded to include students who may be struggling academically as well. The team is about supporting students, and with the growth we’ve seen from students within the program, I can assure you that we have been successful. We have been collaborating, sharing ideas, and providing input as we revise our recess procedures. In order to ensure the safety for all students, we’ve increased our supervision, developed “Telegraph Rules” for organized sports, and also taught students how to use “Rock, Paper, Scissors,” as a conflict mediation tool if an issue arises. Since implementation, we are seeing students interact in a more safe, positive, and appropriate manner. Moving forward, we will be looking at ways to continually improve your child’s academic experience. The fun comes with building positive relationships with each one of you and your children. My commitment to you is to continually work to provide your child with an educational environment where they are safe, comfortable, and set-up for success. As Rita Pierson once said, “Every child needs a champion,” and I want the staff at Telegraph to be that for your child. Everything we do will be done to provide your child with that champion on a daily basis. Best wishes during this season, and thank you for being a supportive member of the Blue Jay Nation! Gabriel R. Cervantes, Principal

Update from Danby-Rush Tower Middle School At Danby-Rush Tower Middle School, our primary focus has always been on academics; however, if you were able to take a close look at what goes on inside of the classrooms you would see that our school does much more than pass along knowledge to the students. The teachers also influence the way the students look upon themselves and others. They affect the way learning is valued and sought after and lay the foundations of lifelong habits of thought and action through Character Education. One way our teachers impart Character Education is through service learning projects. Service learning is not about accumulating hours for an application but a commitment to helping others which in turn builds character, citizenship, and teaches responsibility. This year our students have been a part of many service learning projects which include: canned food drive, building fundraisers for playground equipment for special needs students, donations for scholarship funds, as well as making pillows and collecting blankets for a local animal shelter. All of our students have taken on an active role in helping others. Another project that our students have taken on recently is our annual Christmas Drive. There are many families within our district who are struggling to provide Christmas gifts for their children. Many families are suffering financial hardships due to layoffs, unemployment, foreclosures, and simply the high cost of living. We have 10 R-7 Families who could use our help this Christmas. Any cash donations you would like to contribute will go towards purchasing clothing, gifts, and special requests for these struggling families. We will run this Christmas Care Drive until Friday, December 13th. Anything your family can do to help would be greatly appreciated. Also, if a member of your family works for a corporation or belongs to a church that would like to sponsor a family, please let us know. To reward our students’ involvement in this good cause, we will have a “fun day” December 20th, with challenges in the gym, a dance, as well as other activities within the classroom. Last year, we received enough donations to cover the families we helped; thank you for your involvement in making that happen! Cindy Holdinghausen, Ed. S.

What do you want for Christmas? “New shoes, stuffed animal owl” -Paige S (3rd Grade) “Beanie boos, a puppy, swimming pool, furby boom” -Brynn W (3rd Grade) “Beanie boos, furby boom, new shoes” -Ava W (3rd Grade) “Football, Nike shorts, Madden 25, tornado necklace” -Colton R (4th Grade) “Clothes, boots, easel, Karaoke machine, shoes, teacher items” - Gracey M (4th Grade) “Nail polish, Jenga, earrings, boots, jewelry” - Kami C (4th Grade) “Red and black Jordan shoes, black skull candy headphones, playstation 4” -Felix T (8th Grade) “Playstation 4, ipod 5th generation, studio beats by Dre” -Dustin B (8th Grade) “iPhone 5, dirtbike” -Dylan N (8th Grade)

The Jefferson R-VII Board of Education Meetings are the Third Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the Library in the High School. Visitors are Welcome!

“Basketball goal, iphone, shoes” -Hannah B (8th Grade) “Basketball goal, clothes, new phone” -JIll A (8th Grade)

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The Blue Jay Nation

Faculty Wellness Event On November 13th, 2013, Jefferson R-VII School District offered their annual Wellness Event. Although it was not mandatory all staff were encouraged to attend. The staff who chose to attend had to commit two and a half hours of their time to be eligible for the Wellness stipend. This year the event was quite a bit different than the Wellness Event held last year. This year included a vendor fair and local health and medical professionals along with fitness instructors to speak to our staff about a variety of health related avenues. A few of the vendors included, Dr. Paul Urling, DDS, representatives from Regional Dermatology, Andrea Ellis from the YMCA and Zynergy Zumba. The fitness instructors offered 30 minute fitness classes for staff. Along with the vendors and the fitness classes, each building had the opportunity to sign up eight staff members for an hour of team building relay activities organized by Kristin Wilkey, STUCO Sponsor, and a few JHS STUCO members. The winner of the relay won a set of Blues Hockey Tickets, donated by Twin City Toyota. Henry Vaughn, Pharmacist from Walgreens, was also available to administer flu shots to any employee wishing to receive one, which was covered by the district insurace plan at 100%. At the completion of the event, staff reported to an assembly where a raffle was held to give away donations that were donated by local businesses. Overall, it was a huge success. We had a total of 146 participants which is an increase from last year. Jefferson R-VII looks forward to a healthier future by introducing options the staff can pursue that will lead to a healthier lifestyle.

Team Telegraph

“This year’s wellness event was very refreshing after what started as a stressful day. I was able to walk around and speak with all kinds of different vendors related to my health and wellness, get a bunch of great samples, a massage, participate in a variety of exercise programs, get my flu shot, and to top it all off I won a one month membership to zumba at Zynergy in Festus!! It doesn’t get much better than that!! Overall, I was very impressed with the fair this year and am already looking forward to our Biggest Loser contest and fair next year.” - Nichole Barton, 6th & 7th grade teacher

Team Plattin

Team Jefferson

Nic Zenker, HS History Teacher and Head Boy’s Basketball Coach, breaking it down at the final competition of the Relay for a chance to win Blues Hockey Tickets. “I felt like the Wellness Fair was outstanding this year. It was great to see teacher/faculty/staff all hanging out for a good cause. The relay event was fantastic seeing everyone work together to get the job done, although it was a toughie :) The environment was very upbeat and motivating for all who attended. I also enjoyed the opportunity to visit the health fair booths. It was very cool to see the different teachers/ faculty/staff members anticipation for the calling out of the ticket numbers for the donated prizes! Thanks so much for all of the hard work by everyone who helped make this night a huge BLUE JAY SUCCESS!!! (Looking forward to next year)” - Nicole Johnson, 4th grade teacher

Team Danby

Jefferson School District Receives “Distinction in Performance” The Jefferson School District was notified by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) that it had achieved academic “Distinction in Performance” for the 2013-2014 school year. This notification completes a ten year period from 2003 to 2013 in which the school district has received this recognition for performance. Academic changes made this year by DESE as a part of the Missouri School Improvement Plan (MSIP) has elevated the performance expectations for schools to qualify for this award. Jefferson continues to excel with these changing standards and has designed and implemented educational opportunities to ensure that every student is prepared for their future. Congratulations to the students, staff, administration and Board of Education for a decade of academic excellence.

December 2013

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Missouri History and Facts Brought To Life On October 18th, the fourth graders at Telegraph experienced learning Missouri history and facts in a whole new way! People and organizations from all over the community came to Telegraph to participate in Missouri Day. The Mastodon State Historic Site brought in replicas of Missouri’s Ice Age animals and artifacts of inhabitants during that time period. The students learned what life was like through the experience of seeing the hunting tools used and learning about the hunting techniques. The students were amazed by the size and importance of the Mastodon animals. The Missouri Conservation Department brought in animal furs to teach about Missouri mammals. Doe Run also sent an exploration geologist to teach the kids all about Missouri rocks. Ms. Webb shared an extensive rock and mineral collection gathered throughout her career in the minerals industry. In addition, the kids were treated to a cupcake creation that allowed them to literally conduct their own mineral exploration. Both activities highlighted Missouri’s wealth of mineral resources. John Nenninger, from the Missouri State Beekeeper Association, gave the students a chance to learn about the art of beekeeping. The students learned about beehives and the roles of various bees. Students role-played the job of a queen bee, worker bee, and emergent bee. They dressed up in protective gear to examine an educational bee hive, used a smoker and hive tool to open the hive, and searched for the queen. As a reward for finding the queen, the students were able to do a honey taste test! The National Great Rivers Museum from Alton, IL did a presentation on birds native to Missouri. They also introduced Bonkers For Birds, a research and art contest that all 4th grade students will participate in through science class. We had a fun-filled day of real life education!

Mr. Devlin from Mastodon shares with our 4th grade students a Mammoth skull and speaking to them about prehistoric mammals.

Doe Run Exploration Geologist Anna Kutkiewicz and her team speaks to our students about local rocks and minerals.

Popeye (Mrs. Batt’s father) shows our 4th grade students old MO traps and furs.

Drive One 4 Your School makes $1960 for the Jefferson R-VII School District

Pillowcases for ConKerr Cancer Patients

Doug Reuther Jr. of Reuther Ford presents a check for $1960 to the Jefferson R-VII Junior High Student Council. Money will be used to purchase Promethean Board technology across the school district.

Pictured above is the 6th hour FACS students who produced over 20 pillowcases for the ConKerr Cancer Patients. This is a project taken on by all of the 7th Grade FACS classes this year. We will present these pillowcases to the local representative at the end of the year. The students worked very hard on making sure these pillowcases were just right for the kids who are struggling with cancer and other life fighting diseases.

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Reflections on Technology in Jefferson R-VII School District Schools (After 3 1/2 months) By Wayne Donjon, Director of Technology We are nearing completion of our first semester as a one-to-one school district. Just to clarify, being one-to-one at Jefferson R-VII means that every student, in Kindergarten and grades 5 - 12 have a laptop or tablet. Like any project on this scale, we knew that we would have our share of both successes and challenges. We are light years ahead of where we expected to be just 3 months into the school year. I’m proud of the work that the staff and students are doing. I’m also very happy with the level that our staff has integrated technology into their curriculum. We talk to a lot of other school districts; and trust me, our district is exceptional... and the credit goes to both our staff and students. I’m also proud of our plan. We’ve been planning the one-to-one project for nearly 3 years. On August 1, 2013, it became a reality when we issued the first Chromebooks to our Jefferson High School students. Recently, there have been some within the community who have been critical of the technology decisions that the District has made leading up to (and including) this school year. I hope to give some insight to the reasons for those decisions. Whether you agree or disagree, I hope that you come away from this with the feeling that every District employee’s goal is to provide EVERY STUDENT with the best education possible. In my opinion, that is the best return on our investment for today, tomorrow and for generations to come. I’m going to do my best to give you the how, what and the whys that should shed light on the methods to our madness. What is Google Apps for Education and Who Uses It? Google Apps for Education is a free service from Google providing customizable versions of several Google products under an organization’s domain name. It has web applications with similar functionality to traditional office suites similar to Microsoft Office, including but not limited to: Gmail, Google Groups, Google Calendar, Hangouts, Drive, and Sites. It was the vision of Rajen Sheth, a Google employee who later developed Chromebooks. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Free for K-12 schools, colleges, and universities with up to 30,000 users No ads for faculty, staff, or students Storage space 30 GB per account, allocated for use across all products There are between 20 - 30 million Google Apps for Education users worldwide and it is growing by 5 million users per year There are over 5 million Google Apps for Business users worldwide 400+ universities are posting lectures and/or full courses online using YouTube EDU Over 500 schools and districts started the school year with Chromebooks this fall Seven of the eight Ivy League universities and 72 of this year’s top 100 U.S. universities (as determined by 2013 U.S. News and World Report’s ranking) have gone Google with Google Apps for Education The US Army is now using Google Apps as of October 2013 Jefferson R-VII School District staff and students (over 1300 users) use Google Apps for Education

Are Google Chromebooks a Proven Technology? Yes. A Chromebook is a computer running the Chrome operating system. The devices are designed to be used while connected to the Internet and support applications on the Web; however, there are many applications available offline. All the data is stored in the “cloud” and accessed by a connection to the internet. ● According to the National Survey on Mobile Technology for K-12 Education, 31 percent had adopted or planned to adopt a Chromebook, up from 14 percent in 2012 ● 28 percent of businesses have some interest in Chromebooks ● Windows PC setup requires a considerable amount of time and effort. Chromebooks require very little imaging; any given device can be configured for a new user in under 15 minutes. ● Chromebooks boot in 8 seconds and shut down in 5 seconds ● Synergies between Chromebooks and Google Apps. For companies that move to Gmail – over 5 million globally – Chromebooks offer a technically optimized experience, according to Google ● Chromebooks give an organization the opportunity to capture the benefits of cloud computing. Chromebooks promote a cloud-oriented architecture that offers numerous benefits to enterprises. Glenn Weinstein, CIO of Appirio, cites the time-saving benefit of Google’s single-sign-in feature, which allows multiple applications to be accessed from any device via Chrome browser with credentials entered just once. Are Students Really Using the Technology? The level in which the staff and students are using the Chromebooks and Google Apps is astounding. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

110,039 Emails have been sent or received since August 14, 2013 An average of 340 emails are sent or received daily Documents as of November 24, 2013 Documents created - 21,820 Spreadsheets created - 1,949 Drawings created - 324 Presentations created - 2,322 Forms created - 121 Cloud Connect documents created - 830 Uploaded files to Google Drive - 23,350

Just to name a few, other uses include credit recovery, dual-credit courses, streaming video courses, etc. What is the District Doing to Protect Students? Simply put, everything we can. The District uses several tools to filter, scan and block content that students should not see both at and away from school. We are constantly making improvements to better protect our students. Sources 1. Google (http://www.google.com) 2. Forrister Research (http://blogs.forrister.com) 3. Bettercloud (http://blog.bettercloud.com) 4. Tech Crunch (http://www.techcrunch.com)

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Grandparents’ Day 2013 Telegraph had a great turn out for Grandparents’ Day! We celebrated this day with 275 Grandparents in our building. They were able to spend 45 minutes in the classrooms with activities, PowerPoint presentations, and interviews. We also had a special treat in our cafeteria for everyone of cookies and juice. We are always honored to host this special day and look forward to Grandparents’ Day 2014!

Jefferson R-VII Food Drive The holiday season is a great time of year for people to find ways to give back to their community. Jefferson High School Student Council recently conducted its fifth annual canned food drive and doubled the goal set by the school, collecting roughly 3,000 items. The canned food and boxed dry goods were donated to the local Elk’s Lodge for their annual holiday basket program. The Elk’s continues to offer support to local families during the holiday season by providing food baskets for the Christmas season. The Jefferson R-VII community is dedicated to helping those in need and Student Council continues to work hard to find meaningful leadership and community service projects to impact families in this school district. In addition, Telegraph collected 1,665 canned food items in only 2 weeks! Our Fourth Grade was the top winner with bringing in over 700 of those items. They will be provided a PJ/movie party in the near future. We want to thank everyone for the generous donations.

Teacher Recognition On November 20, 2013, Kristin Wilkey was honored with several teachers in the St. Louis Area for the Emerson Excellence in Teaching Awards presented annually to the areas top teachers. Kristin was specifically honored for her commitment to the 1 to 1 initiative, her leadership in Student Council and FBLA along with the strong coursework she teaches which emphasizes technology. Claire Kellett of Channel 4 served as moderator and Patrick Sly, Executive Vice President from Emerson gave the introduction and welcome.

Transportation Department Makes the Grade The Jefferson R-VII Transportation Department was joined by the Missouri State Highway Patrol on Wednesday, September 18, 2013 for a surprise inspection of the bus fleet. Upon completion of the review, 100% of the District’s buses passed the inspection. This accomplishment was one of an ongoing trend of perfect inspections over the last two years. Jim Almany, Transportation Director, and his staff continue to work to provide the safest bus fleet possible for all drivers to transport our students. Thank you to Jim, Lynetta, Vince, Cecil, Ralph, and all the drivers for your continued commitment to the District.

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ave S n ‘ p i Cl 2013-2014 SCHOOL CALENDAR (BOE Policy File: IC)

2013-2014 SCHOOL CALENDAR (BOE Policy File: IC)

1st Semester August 30 Workday – No School September 2 No School – Labor Day October 10 Midterm October 11 Workday – No School October 24 No School – Parent/Teacher Conf. October 25 No School November 27 Early Out November 28-29 No School – Thanksgiving Break December 2 Workday – No School December 20 End of Sem. 1 December 23 - 31 No School - Christmas Break

2nd Semester January 1-2 No School - New Year’s January 3 No School - Work Day January 6 School Resumes January 20 No School - MLK Day February 3 Workday - No School February 17 No School - Pres. Day March 6 Midterm March 7 Workday - No School March 27 Early Out- Conferences Mary 28 No School April 18 & 21 No School May 9 Early Out - End of Sem. 2

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF OUR FALL ATHLETES WHO EARNED POST SEASON HONORS VOLLEYBALL FOOTBALL SOFTBALL All Conference All Conference All Conference Bailee Settle - 1st Team Stefan Clenin - 1st Team Offense Sarah Handrahan - 1st Team Pitcher Bailee Settle - JCAA (Conference) MVP Conor Bourisaw - 2nd Team Offense Morgan Rushing - 2nd Team Infielder Mackenzie Null - 2nd Team Cole Alford - 2nd Team Offense All District Caitlyn Wehner - 2nd Team Luke Dawson - 2nd Team Offense Sarah Handrahan - Pitcher Claire Welker - 2nd Team Luke Dawson - Honorable Mention (HM) Defense Morgan Rushing - Infielder All District Austin Graves - HM Offense Sam White - Infielder Bailee Settle - 1st Team Ethan Donahoo - HM Offense Lauren Rundel - Outfielder Caitlyn Wehner - 1st Team Shane Clenin - HM Offense Emily Ray - Infielder Mackenzie Null - 1st Team John Duerr - HM Offense Ciara Horn - Infielder Kristen Keeney - 2nd Team Jacob Ellenberger - 2nd Team Defense Taylor Finley - Outfielder All Region Logan Carney - 2nd Team Defense Bailee Settle - 1st Team Steven English - HM Defense CONCERT BAND Tristen Walsh - HM Defense Ashley Bardol - Clarinet Mackenzie Null - 1st Team Molly Hill - 2nd Team Dalton Messmer - HM Defense Cameron Kleine - Trombone Caitlyn Wehner - Honorable Mention All District Megan Perry - Percussion Stefan Clenin - 1st Team Guard Grace Fraser - Baritone (Alternate) Coach Ashleigh Nagel - JCAA Coach of Year Austin Graves - 1st Team QB Cole Alford - 2nd Team Tackle JAZZ BAND CROSS COUNTRY Conor Bourisaw - 2nd Team RB Morgan Shelledy - Alto Sax (2) All District/State Finalists Dream Team Jordan Yglesia - Alto Sax (Alternate) Kristen Keeney Stefan Clenin Cameron Kleine - Trombone Brendan Reese - Bass (Alternate) Garrett Kassen Blaise Torrence Tyler Prater - Drums (Alternate)

Jefferson R-VII School District 1250 Dooling Hollow Road • Festus, MO 63028 • Administrative Offices (636) 937-7940 Mr. Clint D. Johnston, Superintendent Karen Kappel, Special Ed Coordinator BOARD OF EDUCATION Drew Null – President Kelly Becherer – Vice President BOARD MEMBERS Jason Dowd • Jon Eisenbeis • James “Pete” McPeters • Stephen M. Floyd • David Welker Peggy Krenzke - Secretary

Lori Wolk - Treasurer

The Jefferson R-VII Board of Education meetings are the third Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the library in the High School. Visitors are welcome! High School

7 Blue Jay Way David Haug, Principal - 933-6900 Jason Dreyer, Athletic Director Suzanne Richardson, Counselor Jamie Naucke, Nurse

Middle School

1250 Dooling Hollow Road Cindy Holdinghausen, Principal - 937-9188 Kim Tessaro, Counselor Kim Sanders, Nurse

Intermediate

1265 Dooling Hollow Gabe Cervantes, Principal - 937-6530 Jared Marshall, Counselor Patti Govero, Nurse

Primary

2400 R-7 School Road Tina Basler, Principal - 937-7170 Jared Marshall, Counselor Jennifer Becker, Nurse