Principal's Blog MJHS

New iPhone

2011-10-04T14:05:00.001-05:00

Looking forward to the new iPhone 4S!

Meet the Teacher Night

2011-08-30T16:10:00.001-05:00

Tonight is the night 6-8. Please meet in the gym. You can pick up schedules and ISAT results. Looking forward to seeing everyone tonight.

WELCOME BACK!

2011-08-15T21:13:00.000-05:00

First Day of school is tomorrow! 8-11.

Mr. Carter

2011-05-06T13:19:00.001-05:00

IPA Assistant Principal of the Year!!

Construction Update

2011-04-08T14:25:00.000-05:00

The following is an update for the Jackson St. (US 150) Project for next week (4/11 thru 4/15):

Traffic will be switched this afternoon after temporary striping is completed. Eastbound traffic will be switched to the existing bi-directional turn lane and Westbound traffic will remain the same. This is being done so that removal work can begin along the south side of the road.

On Mon., Apr. 11, the Contractor will begin removing pavement along the south side of Jackson St. beginning at First Ave. and working to the East. 2nd Street (only on the south side of Jackson St.) will be closed by noon on Monday. The Contractor plans to begin pouring concrete back starting Wed., Apr. 13th.

The following side streets will only be closed one at a time: 2nd Street, 3rd Street, Illinois Ave., Missouri Ave., and Nebraska Ave.

The work to be done along the High School entrances and Bus Lot entrance is still scheduled to be worked on sometime between Apr. 20 and Apr. 23 in order to be open after Spring Break.

Road Construction

2011-03-30T14:04:00.000-05:00

Road construction on U.S. Route 150 (Jackson Street) is scheduled to begin again on April 4. Please watch for construction updates on the MJHS webpage. We will keep you apprised concerning street closings around Morton Junior High over the next few weeks as we receive that information. Mr. Carter will be sending out information through Google group mail. Drive cautiously in order that our students may arrive at school safely. Thank you for your cooperation!

Cancellation

2011-03-17T16:12:00.000-05:00

PTO meeting cancelled for tonight.

Boys Basketball

2011-03-15T15:41:00.001-05:00

Good luck to the Boys Basketball team tonight. If we when we will play in Peoria on Friday!

Important Week

2011-02-15T10:11:00.002-06:00

This week the JH will be hosting a board meeting on Tuesday night. Start time for the meeting is 7:00. All are welcome.

On Thursday night, the JH will be hosting our monthly Red-n-White parent meeting. The emphasis of this meeting will be on the district referendum. School Board members and members of the communications committee will be available for discussion and question answering. Please come and join us!

Winter Storms

2011-02-02T12:26:00.001-06:00

Wow! It has been nasty the last two days. It does look like we will be able to return to school on Thursday, Feb. 3rd. Good luck digging out.

Report Cards

2011-01-11T09:11:00.001-06:00

Report Cards will be sent home today!

Fundraiser Pickup

2010-12-01T13:40:00.001-06:00

Fannie May candy will be delivered to MJHS this Friday, Dec. 3. If you sold over a substantial amount (20+), please make arrangements to be picked up from school. Students with large boxes of candy will not be allowed on the bus. If you can’t pick up the candy on Friday, make arrangements for Monday. All money is to be collected and returned to the MJHS office by Monday, Dec. 13.

School Wide Fundraiser

2010-11-10T16:05:00.001-06:00

Our Fannie May fundraiser was kicked off last week. Students are encouraged to take orders over the next two weekends. The sale ends November 16th. Money is collected at time of delivery which will be in early December -- in time for the holidays! They are great gifts for anyone! Last year MJHS profited over $11,000 and we were able to buy several SmartBoards. This year, we are looking at technology again…microscopes, wireless infrastructure, and laptops/tablet devices. There are many prizes that students can earn: cash, Hummer limo ride to lunch, Amazing Race points for your team, more cash!

MAP information

2010-10-22T08:24:00.002-05:00

This is a great resource for parents when it comes to understanding MAP testing:

http://www.nwea.org/sites/www.nwea.org/files/resources/Parent Toolkit_0.pdf

Report Cards/MAP progress reports

2010-10-20T14:53:00.000-05:00

Both of these are being sent home today with the students!

P/T Conferences

2010-10-20T08:09:00.004-05:00

Just a reminder that P/T conferences are this coming Thursday(21st)and Friday (22nd). Conferences at the JH are different than the Grade Schools. You are not required to come. We set up conferences on an individual basis. Please call the JH office at 266-6522 to set up your 15 minute appointment. We will be here from 8a.m. till 7:00p.m. on Thursday, and 8:00a.m.till noon on Friday. We would love to see as many parents as possible!

Friday, October 8th @ 10:00a.m.

2010-10-07T07:15:00.002-05:00

Please join us Friday morning for a bullying assembly put on by national speaker Ron Bachman. Students will be sitting on the floor and our bleachers will be open to anyone who would like to hear his message. The assembly will be form 10-11.

Construction Update!

2010-09-21T08:16:00.000-05:00

The Third Street (east) side of Morton Junior High School will be completely shut down for the next two days (9/21 & 9/22). Buses ONLY! All other students should exit through the west end doors. Parents, PLEASE drop off and pick your students up on the Second Street side of MJHS.

PTO Meeting

2010-09-15T16:12:00.002-05:00

We have a Red-n-White PTO meeting tomorrow from 1:00-2:00p.m. The meeting will be in the LMC. Dr. Kilpatrick and School Board President Tom Neely will be presenting information on the progess of the District facility study/plan. Everyone is welcome and we would love to see you on Thursday!

Meet The Teacher

2010-09-12T09:48:00.001-05:00

Morton Junior High will host “Meet the Teacher” night on Tuesday, September 14th from 6-8p.m. All Parents are to meet in the gymnasium and pick up a schedule before they sit down. There will be tables set up in alphabetical order on the gym floor. Mr. Crider will welcome everyone at 6:00 and give directions on how the night will proceed. Once parents have a schedule, and Mr. Crider welcomes everyone, you will be dismissed to 1st hour class! Parents will follow the schedule that their child does every day. Classes will be 8 minutes apiece. During study hall hours and after the night is over, refreshments will be available in the cafeteria.
We look forward to seeing everyone Tuesday night!

Phone Lines 9/07/10

2010-09-07T09:24:00.001-05:00

We are experiencing phone problems this morning. Check our website for the correct number to call the school.

MAP Testing

2010-08-29T09:04:00.002-05:00

Parents,

We will be entering our 2nd week of MAP testing. The math portion will be done this week. Please do not hesitate to post questions or send me questions on what MAP testing is and how we use it at MJHS. Looking forward to a great week!

Road construction coming

2010-08-19T09:08:00.001-05:00

Parents,

Beginning Monday, August 23rd, the Illinois Department of Transportation will begin resurfacing Jackson Street. Over the next several weeks the street will be resurfaced and a there will be a significant amount of construction along the entry and exits to the high school parking lot, the intersection at Illinois Street, and along the front of the junior high. Please use extra caution as the construction proceeds and allow for extra time since there will be periods of one lane traffic in either direction.

Hopefully, the work will progress quickly and the inconveniences will be as small as possible. With the cooperation and support of our schools and community the work can proceed safely and the end result can be of benefit for all.

Thank you for your cooperation, understanding, and patience regarding this construction project.

Sincerely,

Greg Crider, Principal
Morton Junior High School

Welcome Back

2010-08-05T10:29:00.002-05:00

Here we go again! Busy day today at the Junior High. Today is Registration day across the district. Hopefully everything goes well...Please post any suggestions that you may have on how we can make it better!

Last Day

2010-06-25T08:43:00.002-05:00

Today will be the last official work day of the 2009/2010 school year. It went by very quickly. The month of July will see a lot of continued work at the JH. We have ongoing maintenance projects, cleaning, and still need to put together a few labs. I will also be in and out of the office in July. We still have some hiring to do, and I will be working on my Internship with Dr. Kilpatrick.

Enjoy the rest of your summer everyone!

Last Day

2010-05-26T10:28:00.000-05:00

Enjoy your summer! What a great year here at MJHS!

End of year dates

2010-05-15T10:36:00.001-05:00

With the school year winding down we have several activities scheduled. Here is a list of everything going on this month:

Band Awards Concert - Monday, May 17, 7:00 P.M. in the gymnasium

Step-Up Days - Thursday and Friday, May 20 and 21; the 8th grade visits the high school (Red Team - Thursday and Gray Team - Friday)

Talent Show - Thursday, May 20, 1:15 P.M. at Bertha Frank Performing Arts Auditorium

Red and White Meeting - The originally scheduled meeting for May 20 at 7:00 P.M. has been cancelled.

Adventure Club activity at Kartville - Friday, May 21, 6:00 P.M.

8th Grade Party - "Masked Ball" - Saturday, May 22 at 7:00 in the gymnasium. Tickets ($10) can still be purchased in the office. Please do so soon. Students have until Tuesday, May18!

Hoops 4 Haiti check presentation to Habitat for Humanity - Monday, May 24, 7:50 A.M. in the gymnasium

8th Grade Class Trip - Monday, May 24 to Knights Action Park in Springfield

Semester Team Awards - Tuesday, May 25; 1:00 P.M. - 8th grade and 2:00 - 7th Grade

Awards Night - Tuesday, May 25 at 6:00 P.M. (This was previously scheduled for May 18). Invitations to all families who have a student being recognized will be mailed early next week.

Last Day of School - Wednesday, May 26, 9:00 dismissal - Students will stay in the gym and have opportunity to sign each other's yearbook t-shirts... yearbooks can be picked up in the junior high cafeteria during registration on Thursday, August 5.

Glimpse of the week ahead

2010-05-10T13:24:00.000-05:00

News and Notes
• I hope you all enjoyed Teacher Appreciation Week! Thank-you for everything you do! Special thanks to the Student Council and Red-n-White for helping make it a great week.
• MAP Testing continues this week.
• http://bit.ly/b8fHcP - Mobile Classroom technology
• http://bit.ly/cEySEl - Maryland Professional Growth System
• 90% of Illinois school Superintendents are slashing their budget for next year.

Monday
Intramural Golf
Track @ Metamora

Tuesday
Intramural Basketball @ 7:30
Art Club
Homework Club
Orchestra Awards Concert @ 7:00

Wednesday
Intramural Golf

Thursday
Intramural basketball @ 7:30
Principals’ mtg. 8-10
Homework Club
French Club
End of Year mentor/mentee mingle
Chorus awards concert @ 7:00

Friday
All School Cookout
Jazz Band playing @ Eli’s 5:00

Saturday
Sectional Track Meet

Grandparents' Day

2010-04-28T22:04:00.002-05:00

On Friday, April 30th, MJHS will host Grandparents' Day. Students will have the chance to take their grandparents' to their 3rd and 4th hour classes. Lunch will start around 12:00 with performances by the Jazz band, Choir, and the Orchestra.

There will be cookies and coffee available for all Grandparents in the cafeteria starting around 9:00a.m. If Grandparents do not want to go up and down stairs they can stay in the cafeteria.

We look forward to this day every year. Normally we have a full house in the gym of about 400 people. Thanks to those people who help make this happen: mainly my secretary Holli Pfeifer, Sodexo, Parent Volunteers headed by Peggy Smock, student council,and the maintenance crew!

Red-n-White meeting

2010-04-15T09:32:00.001-05:00

Our meeting tonight is from 7-8 in the LMC. Hope to see you tonight!

School Update

2010-03-27T13:19:00.005-05:00

Going into our last week before Spring Break, I wanted to update everyone on a few topics. The first is school finance. You cannot pick up a paper these days and not see the words, "reduce" or "cut". The plan for MJHS is the following:

1.) We have reduced the Art program. Students currently receive a semseter of Art. With the reduction, students will now receive only a quarter of Art.

2.) FCS and CIT will no longer split a quarter. Students will receive one quarter of FCS and a semester of CIT/Technology over a two year period.

Our reductions/changes all occured within the Units courses and Special Education Department. If you have any questions about our reductions, please do not hesitate to respond to this blog or call me at the school.

*Report Cards were sent home on Friday!

*We have started the 4th quarter!

Big Friday

2010-03-18T21:58:00.003-05:00

Looking forward to school tomorrow. We conclude our fundraiser tomorrow - Team Tess for Dax! We will have a faculty vs. student basketball game, and Mr. Carter will be taking a pie to the face! I will annouce our grand total later on Friday!

State wrestling

2010-03-12T16:34:00.001-06:00

We have 6 individuals that qualified for the state tournament. The boys will compete today and tomorrow on the campus of NIU in Dekalb. Good luck to all the wrestlers and bring home some hardware!

ISAT Testing

2010-03-01T11:32:00.002-06:00

It is a big week at MJHS. Tomorrow we will begin ISAT Testing. Teachers and students have been prepping for a long time to get ready for these exams. Students go through 2 testing periods a day...roughly 8:00-10:15a.m. There are breaks worked into the schedule.

After testing we run a shortened schedule the rest of the day. Each period is 33 minutes long. Teachers try to keep up with their curriculum during the week, but the shortened schedule makes it tough. Homework is also lighter during the week.

I encourage all parents to make sure students get to bed on time and eat well in the morning. Thanks for all your help and support.

IGSMA

2010-02-26T16:00:00.002-06:00

All weekend long the junior high will be hosting the IGSMA contest. Musical performances will take place in the JH gym and Bertha Frank. The schedule on Saturday will look like this:
6TH Grade Band – 9:25am
7th Grade Band – 10:15am
8th Grade Band – 1:00pm
Jazz Band – 2:40pm

Good luck to all groups who are performing!

Volleyball

2010-02-23T17:22:00.003-06:00

Good luck to the Volleyball Teams tonight! It is 8th grade night, so I look forward to seeing all of the parents before the game. Regionals start next week.

3rd quarter mid-terms

2010-02-18T09:26:00.002-06:00

On Friday, February 19th we will have reached the 3rd quarter mid-term. We will mail all D/F slips home Friday afternoon.

Just a reminder that you do not have to wait for mid-terms. You can always check grades online through PowerSchool. If you need your username and password we have them in the office. Just call and we can give it to you.

Big Week!

2010-02-09T07:41:00.002-06:00

Several things to pay attention to this week:

Wednesday night: 8th grade boys basketbal sectional. The game will be played at Chiddix Junior High at 6:00. We are organizing a fan bus that will leave at 5:00. Students can sign up in the office.

Friday night: Student Council dance from 7-9.

Saturday: We are hosting the 8th grade state tournament. This event requires a lot of volunteer hours. Please contact Mr. Carter in the office if you would like to help out in any way. Games will be going on all day Saturday.

Spelling Bee

2010-02-03T13:16:00.000-06:00

Tonight at 3:15 - location is Bertha Frank

8th Grade Regional Week

2010-02-02T09:13:00.003-06:00

Great job to the 8th grade boys last night who advanced to Thursday nights regional championship game. The game will be at 5:30 and Morton is the host school.

Jazz Band All State

2010-01-28T16:49:00.003-06:00

Congrats to the jazz band today on a great performance at all state. The group was lead by Mrs. Fitzpatrick. There are very few junior highs across the state that can match the talent in our music department. Today was just simply great.

Jazz Band

2010-01-27T14:51:00.003-06:00

Did you know that we have an incredible Jazz Band? The group performed for the school yesterday at an assembly in the morning. Very Impressive. They have a big day tomorrow. The Jazz Band will be performing at the All-State Music Conference! The event is held at the Peoria Civic Center. We are playing at 2:15. I am looking forward to watching our kids and the wonderful music they produce.

Championship night

2010-01-27T14:49:00.000-06:00

Good luck to the 7th grade basketball team tonight! They are playing Pekin Edison for the regional championship. Please come support your Junior Potters at home tonight. Game time is 5:30.

Correction

2010-01-23T09:57:00.001-06:00

The next Red-and-White meeting will not be on Feburaury 18th. The next meeting will be Feburaury 11th at 7:00 in the LMC.

Red-and-White Update

2010-01-22T08:47:00.002-06:00

Last night the R-n-W met for two hours. Here is an update on what was discussed/passed:

1.) The first hour was dedicated to the 8th Grade State Basketball Tournament. We are hosting this tournament. Mr. Carter is leading the massive task of organizing the event…pass gate, hospitality room, concessions, etc. If you would like to help out in any way please do not hesitate to send myself or Mr. Carter an email. The State Tournament will be held on Feb. 13th and 18th.

2.) Finances – The club is in great shape. Since we last met in November, the club has collected over $11,000 from the Fannie May Fundraiser and a little over $6,000 from miscellaneous events such as the Spaghetti Supper.

3.) The club voted to OK the purchase of 7 more SmartBoards. Hooray! The #1 purpose of fundraisers this year is to purchase SmartBoards for the JH.

4.) The Cheerleaders will be performing at the HS game this coming Saturday, January 23rd.

5.) Next meeting will be February 18th at 1:00 due to hosting the 8th grade state tournament.

Teacher In-Service 1/20/09

2010-01-20T08:41:00.005-06:00

You may be wondering what happens at a Teacher In-Service? Here is a rundown of everything we accomplished yesterday:

1.) Teacher Presentations - We were able to listen to what teachers have gone out and seen at conferences they have attended. Many ideas were given to help teachers with new strategies.

2.) Flip Videos - We purchased 2 of these devices through a special educators discount. The staff was presented different ways to use the camera both in class and as an individual teacher.

3.) Dr Kilpatrick updated the staff on the current financial situation that our District is facing.

4.) 7-12 Department Meetings. This is a great opportunity for high school and junior high to work together. They can talk about skill sets that are needed in their departments.

5.) Smart Board Training. We are currently adding as many Smart Boards as we can. Teachers need to be trained to use the seemingly unlimited uses of a Smart Board.

Hopefully that gives you and idea of what we do at In-Service days. They are extremely valuable.

Tough Week

2010-01-16T10:36:00.002-06:00

I can't believe what I missed! I was home sick on Thursday and Friday. I missed out on 8th grade night and 1st semester awards. Congrats to all award winners. I look forward to seeing everyone when we come back on Wednesday.

Busy Week

2010-01-12T21:23:00.002-06:00

It's been a busy week at MJHS. Volleyball started their season Monday and boys basketball played at home tonight. Great school board meeting tonight as well. Looking forward to 8th grade night this coming Thursday 1/14/10.

Weather 1/07/10

2010-01-07T09:23:00.001-06:00

There will be no night activities at MJHS. We are monitoring the weather and will decide on after school practices by 2:00p.m.

Weather

2010-01-06T20:03:00.002-06:00

I will post any news on the weather in my blog as soon as I hear anything. Hopefully we have school.

First day back

2010-01-04T20:55:00.002-06:00

It was great to see everyone back at school today. Many projects were finished over the break. It is impressive how clean the janitors can get the building in 2 weeks. The maintenance crew was also able to finish the new faculty restroom. They are also close to completing the transformation of our team room. New cabinets along with a sink are being installed.

Great job to the boys basketball team tonight for winning both games over Canton. Hopefully everyone went to bed early on this first day back!

Happy New Year

2009-12-31T10:20:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all enjoy a fun and safe evening. Looking forward to the start of school on Monday!

Christmas Break

2009-12-18T15:14:00.002-06:00

What a great last day! It was filled with busy stuff: we started the day with Christmas music provided by the music department and handed out our prizes for the Red and White fundraiser. We finished the day with a volleyball tournament...Congrats to the Red Team. In-between the day was my annual trivia contest...Congrats to Miss Hasler's homeroom for taking the title. Awesome day!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Boys Basketball

2009-12-15T20:38:00.002-06:00

Both boys teams posted wins tonight over Pekin. Keep up the good work.

Great Concert

2009-12-15T08:29:00.002-06:00

Wondereful job last night students! The music sounded great and put us all in the christmas spirit. Great job music staff for having everyone prepared. Another big thank-you to the clean up crew!

Christmas Concert

2009-12-14T15:45:00.000-06:00

Looking forward to the Christmas Concert tonight! The 5th and 6th grade performance runs from 5:30-7:30, while the 7th and 8th grade performance runs from 7:30-9:30. Please come and enjoy the performance.

Getting started

2009-12-11T15:43:00.000-06:00