Home of the Fighting Eagles

jc.txed.net

Johnson City Independent School District

P.O. Box 498—Johnson City, TX 78636

J C I S D N E W S L E T T E R Campus Highlights

Elementary School We want students to feel safe taking their learning to new levels at

their highest potential. One way we have encouraged this is

through project-based learning. In First Grade, students did a pro-

ject in which they learned about economics through the making,

advertising, and selling of 'reindeer food.' In Third Grade, students

read Molly's Pilgrim and completed several projects that corre-

sponded to the book. In the Third Grading Period, we also found ways to make connec-

tions to our reading. Students wore pajamas to school and drank

hot cocoa in the gym in order to 'step into the characters' shoes as

we listened to a read aloud of The Polar Express. We had another Muffins with Mom, and Donuts with Dad event

during the 3rd Grading Period. Thank you for supporting our ef-

forts to increase parent involvement. Amanda Haley Middle School Seven Middle School students participated in the No Place For Hate

Youth Summit hosted by the University of Texas designed to em-

power students to build campuses of respect and handle conflict in

a positive and proactive way. Congratulations are in order for 8th Grade Band members Millie

Pletcher, Nick Wiggins, Cove Thompson, and David Gravel for

earning a spot in the ATSSB Region Band! 7th Grade participated in a day of learning by visiting the Institute of

Texas Culture Museum in San Antonio. Middle School students participated in benchmark assessments at

the close of the semester. The information will be utilized to sup-

port student learning prior to taking STAAR. Many Middle School students participated in the Blanco County

Youth Stock Show. Russell Maedgen High School LBJ High School Art students have been working since August cre-

ating works for the San Antonio Rodeo Art Show, National Scho-

lastic Art Competition, Austin Rodeo Art Show and the Visual Arts

Scholastic Event (VASE). Students participating in the San Antonio

Rodeo Art Show in December won one Top 50 award, 5 sec-

ond and 3 third place awards. Several students submitted artwork

to be judged by the National Scholastics Committee in mid-

December and will get the results in March. Fifteen students will be

traveling to Austin on January 21st to compete in the Austin Rodeo

Art Show. The LBJ VASE entries will be judged by a sixty-

judge panel in San Marcos on February 25th. Students will be enter-

ing drawings, paintings, sculptures, jewelry, photos and computer

graphics. Art students not in competitions have been painting self

portraits using monochromatic colors and will begin clay hand building projects - throwing clay on a potter’s wheel and clay casting

- during the 4th Grading Period. LBJMS, LBJHS and Johnson City Junior FFA members had seventy-

three entries place in the top 80% at the Blanco County Youth

Livestock Show. A complete list of results will be available soon on

the LBJHS FFA webpage. Next up for these students - Hill Country

District Junior Livestock Show in Kerrville and major shows across

the state. Student entries will include shop projects, animal projects

and participations in Career Development Events (CDEs) and Lead-

ership Development Events (LDEs). JC FFA Advisors are Jerry Lee

Lewis and Steven Meier. Julie Storer

The District website address is: jc.txed.net

Follow us on Twitter @JohnsonCityISD

A Message from the Superintendent This Letter from the Superintendent is a little longer than usual due to the

start of a new legislative session in Austin and several pending educa-

tion issues facing Texas Public Schools. The 85th Legislative Session

opened on January 10th and will last 140 days. Before it started there

was already much controversy over several school items includ-

ing: transgender bathroom use, school choice, Special Education,

school funding and the proposed A-F grading system for school ac-

countability. These are just a few of the issues facing our lawmakers; I

didn’t even mention the other non-education legislation the Senate and

House have to deal with. I hope for the best as our State leaders strug-gle with these issues and will continue to be a voice speaking to our

Legislators on behalf of our students - all students. I would like to briefly address the A-F grading system for districts

that is scheduled to take effect starting the 2017-18 schoolyear. Ac-

cording to the Executive Summary: 2015-16 A-F Ratings: A

Report to the 85th Texas Legislature prepared by the Texas Edu-

cation Association (TEA): “Development of the new accountability

system will continue – with additional input from stakeholders – until

spring 2018, when the final rules are expected to be adopted.” The

proposed system is based on five domains which each count a different

percentage toward calculation of the final letter grade. Three of the

five domains will be based on State of Texas Assessment of Academic

Readiness (STAAR) scores, so I wouldn’t count on high stakes testing

going away. A complete explanation of the current version of the A-F

system can be found on the TEA website at http://tea.texas.gov/. You

will notice on the website that the State makes it clear that the system

is a “work in progress”. Many of my colleagues think that the legisla-

tion driving this system will be repealed; however, no matter what

system the State uses Johnson City ISD will continue to focus on the

needs of individual students. We already know that we need to improve on student perfor-

mance in English and Math – we have been reviewing data, modifying

curriculum and instruction, and providing interventions from the start

of the school year. A possible problem with the A-F system is that it

easy to discount the hard work of teaching professionals based on one

letter grade. I want to make perfectly clear that our teachers are awe-

some and do a great job! There are often many reasons when a stu-

dent does not perform as expected on a standardized test. Our District philosophy is one of continual improvement. You

name it - we look at the data related to it in order to improve. Our

focus has been and will remain on doing what is best for each individual

student. David Shanley

Kaitlyn Arvesen Selected for All-State Band Senior Kaitlyn Arvesen was selected 1st Chair Clarinet in the Area Band

auditions, qualifying her for All-State Band for the 4th consecutive year. She

will attend the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Conference

February 8th-10th and perform with the Association of Texas Small School

Bands (ATSSB) All-State Concert Band. The performance is scheduled for

Saturday, February 11th at 9:00am in the Lila Cockrell Theatre in San An-

tonio. Band Directors Bryan Anders and Chelsea Hoffman will attend the

clinic which is the largest of its kind in the nation. Kaitlyn will be honored

as a four-year All-State selection in a scholarship presentation following the

concert. She has earned numerous honors in music, including Division 1

ratings in UIL Solo & Ensemble Contest as a

Freshman, Sophomore and Junior; her Sopho-

more year she was named Outstanding Per-

former in Clarinet which is the UIL Music

equivalent to a State Championship. She is also

a three-year member of the Texas Youth

Wind Symphony which performs at the Butler

School of Music– Austin on Sunday, March

5th—4pm.

JCISD Newsletter

Shannon Helmke, Publisher

Julie Storer, Editor

Volume 13, Number 3

January 2017 The JCISD Newsletter is

published each six weeks by

JCISD Schools.

Character Counts at Johnson City Schools!

Trustworthiness Respect Responsibility Fairness Caring Citizenship

JCISD Calendar of Events—subject to change