Madisonville Junior High School

The Eagle Times December 2013

Newsletter presented by Madisonville Junior High PTA

From Mr. Kern Hello MJH Families,

I am very appreciative for all those whodonated blood and money to help one of ourown, Madi Adams, and her continuous fight againstleukemia. On November 7th, the Blood Mobile visitedour school where over 20 adults unselfishly gave blood.We look forward to having Madi back with us soon;please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

As we head towards the end of the first half of theschool year please continue to remind your child to staypositive and keep up their commitment to doing theirbest. Communication with your child’s teachers is veryimportant; please feel free to e-mail or call for your child’steachers with concerns or compliments.

We have our PTA sponsored Fun Run coming up onJanuary 25th (7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.); be on the lookoutfor more information coming out on that soon! Our PTAis the fundraising arm for MJH and assists us incontinuing to upgrade our technology and campusbeautification.

I wish all of our basketball and soccer teams a safeand successful season! Represent MJH with pride!

Lastly, try to make it to our MJH Band’s ChristmasConcert on December 10th. Mr. Messina and our bandstudents are looking forward to another outstandingperformance! On December 12th our incredible ShowChoir led by the talented Mrs. McLain will perform aswell.

As always, your commitment to your child’s educationis why we continue to be successful.

Dwayne J. Kern, M.Ed.PrincipalMadisonville Jr. High

Main Office AnnouncementsAll students late to school MUST

be signed in by a parent. They are not tobe dropped off without being signed in atthe office. Any student that will leave MJH at the

end of this year to attend a private school, or to move outof district or state, must fill out a Withdrawal Form prior tothe end of this school year. Any questions concerning thiscontact Mrs. Pam in the office. Thank you!

Golden StudentsNovember/December

2013 6th Grade

Mia A., Christian C., Mackenzie F., Nina F., Sydney G.,Ashley G., Cartavian M., Madison M., Grace O., Aubrey O.,

Lauren P., Elizabeth P., Shane R., Lauren S., Tanner S., JordanS., Landin V., Zachary W.

7th Grade Johun B., Bria B., Sophia B., Trey B., Madalyn B., Evan B.,Marlies C., Heaven C., Jonathan D., Robert F., Megan H.,

Nicholas H., Katie I., Anneliese M. Will M., Brittany M. Kylie M.,Logan P., Matthew R., Kayla R.

8th Grade Danielle B., Renae B., Alayna B., Shariel B., Giovanni D.,Cole D., Laura D., Morgan F., Katie G., Patrisha I., Hunter

L., Gabriella M., Emily O., Allen P., Chase P., Paige R.,Mackenzie S., Ryan S., Andrew T., Jonathan T.,

Gabriella W., Sarah W.

In This IssueSOARing Around MJH ….................................Page 2-3

School NewsPTA News..........................................................................Page 4MJH Athletics................................................................Page 5Teacher Spotlight......................................................Page 6

We Are Eagles who SOAR: Safe, Organized, Always kind, Respectful!

Dwayne Kern, Principal

Patricia Welch Nelson, Assistant Principal

School's Website: http://madisonvillejr.stpsb.org

D'Ann Hellbach, MJH PTA President

MJH PTA Email: mjh.ptapres@yahoo.com

Newsletter Email : eagle.times1@yahoo.com

December 2013 The Eagle Times Page 2

SOARing Around MJH

Book Fair Coming inDecember!

Christmas is coming and booksalways make wonderful gifts! MJHLibrary Book Fair is December 9-16and promises to have lots of books,

stocking stuffers, and posters for all ages.The book fair will be open Monday/Wednesday/Friday

from 7am-3pm and on Tuesday/Thursday from 10am-2pm. The students will preview the book fair on Mondayand will be allowed to return during the week duringassigned times or by teacher permission. Students willonly be allowed to shop if they have money in hand.

The theme of the book fair this year is Reading Oasis:A cool place to discover hot books!

Christmas Dance 2013PTA is hosting the annual Christmas

Dance on Friday, December 6 in the Gym.Admission is $10 and students with freedance passes on their Eagle AchieverCards must present them at the door.Photos will be available for $1.Chaperones are needed!New this year is a Tacky/Ugly Christmas

Sweater Contest! Students not participating in the contestshould come dressed in Christmas Casual attire and allshould follow the school's dress code.

Arrivals - 6th Grade arrives at 6pm and departs at 8pm.7th Grade arrives at 6:30 and departs at 8:30pm and 8 th

grade arrives at 7pm and departs at 9pm.

Christmas Concerts at MJHThe sounds of Christmas will fill the hallsof MJH this month! Come get into thespirit of the season by attending theseconcerts.

Vocal MusicShow Choir and Choir 1 will perform a Christmas

Concert for parents in the Choir Room on Thursday,December 12 at 6:30. Keyboard 1 & 2 students willperform a recital during their Mid-term exam time. Parentsare invited to attend. Information will be going homeconcerning the exact date and time.

MJH Intermediate and Jr. High BandBoth bands will perform at their holiday concert

December 10, at 7pm in the Gym.

MJH Garden Club SeeksPlants

MJH Teachers and Students havebeen working hard over the past year tocreate wonderful green spaces, flowerbeds and plantings throughout theschool. Mr. Costanza and the GardenClub are looking for clumping typeplants such as day lilies, amaryllis, cast irons, ginger oranything that people may be thinning out this fall. Theywould like to plant flowers and some plants that will below maintenance around the school. Work has begunaround the new wing of the school, but more areas needattention. Contact Mr. Costanza if you can help.(travis.costanza@stpsb.org)

Yearbooks! Yearbooks will be on sale soon. Any

questions should be directed to Miss Smithat laura.smith@stpsb.org.

Student Council News Student Council will hold a canned food

drive for the Covington Food Bank from Dec.2 - Dec. 18. Please bring canned goods toyour first hour teacher. The 1st hour class

with the most canned good donations wins a pizza party!Student Council will once again spread holiday

cheer by selling Christmas Candy Grams. They will besold from December 9 - 16 for 50 cents each. Studentscan see their class representatives to purchase.

Student Council members can get service hourson Saturday, Dec. 14 from 10 - 2 by volunteering at theToys for Tots at St. Anselm Church.

The next Student Council meeting is Wednesday,December 11th before school.

Club DaysClubs will not meet in December but will resume

January 22, February 19, March 19, April 16, and May 14.

December 2013 The Eagle Times Page 3

SOARing Around MJH (cont.)

Cafeteria ReminderJust a reminder to keep your accounts current.

All cafeteria fees must be paid for students to goon field trips. Breakfast – Paid $0.60/day, Reduced - $0.30/day

Lunch – Paid (6th) $1.00/day, (7th-8th) $1.25/day, Reduced$0.40/day.

Eagle DadsIn November, Eagle Dads were visited

by Bill Trepagnier, Facilities Director atCoquille Parks and Recreation. Mr.

Trepagnier let us know all about the history and the futureof the facility. We’re so lucky to have such a wonderfulrecreation facility in our area and Eagle Dads is gratefulto Mr. Trepagnier for sharing the evening with us!

Mr. Ron Kuerner spent a few minutes talking abouthimself and his math and social studies classes (he alsotold us about his affinity for Auburn University, but theLSU and University of Alabama fans in the audiencedecided to forgive him for that… just this once). Inaddition, we all enjoyed a terrific meal provided bySkooters Grill and Drive-In!

With the holidays upon us, there will be no EagleDads meeting in December, but we’ll be back in January!On behalf of all MJH Eagle Dads, we wish all our MJHstudents and their families Happy Holidays and a joyous,prosperous New Year!

And don’t forget about Eagle Dads Lunch Duty, anopportunity for dads to spend some time on campus andsee what’s REALLY happening! If you have anyquestions about Lunch Duty or anything Eagle Dadrelated, please call the school office at 845-3355, or emailShane Hodgson, our Eagle Dads Parent Representative(rshaneh@bellsouth.net).

Car Line Update!Parents, please be advised that our carline starts for 2:15pm. We ask for you tofollow this so it does hinder our buses fromsafely turning onto Cedar Street.

Good News FromMrs. Nelson's DeskI’d like to send congratulations to

our sixth grade students and teachers.In the first nine week period, our sixthgraders had the highest percentage

overall of positive behavior amongst grade levels. Theywere the nine week winners with 90% positive behavior. Irewarded the students at our Sadie Hawkins dance withfree ice cream, and our cheerleaders and dance teammade a huge banner we have on display to recognizethis accomplishment. Way-to-go sixth grade! Let’s see ifthe banner will remain with these students and teachersfor the second nine week period. I know my seventh andeighth grades are working hard to claim this title!

In October, I also recognized Mr. Darin LeBoeufand his bus riders for our monthly No Infractions/SafeRiding reward for buses. Mr. LeBoeuf and his riderswere rewarded with a Blue Bell Rainbow freeze pop. Iam very proud of these students for demonstratingpositive behavior while on the bus and at the bus stop.Congratulations to these students and Mr. LeBoeuf!!

Keep up the good work students…You areEagles who SOAR!

Did you miss the Veteran'sDay Program at MJH? You canstill view it! Look for the link onthe school's website.

Help our PBIS Program!Rouse's Market has a “Best Choice Save-

a-Label” Program that can help MJH raisefunds for our PBIS (Positive BehaviorIntervention Support) program!

The Save-a-Label program is anextremely successful program which helps

non-profit organizations raise money. Currently, there are11,000 non-profit groups participating in the program.These groups earn $.03 for each Best Choice UPCsymbol redeemed, with a minimum of 1,000 labelsrequired for redemption.

It's easy – just save the labels of Rouse's BestChoice products. Be sure to leave the UPC portion (proofof purchase). MJH will earn $30 for every 1,000 labels.

Labels may be turned into the main office at anytime.

December 2013 The Eagle Times Page 4

PTA NEWS

From Our PTA PresidentHappy Holidays to all of our MJH family! We hope this

holiday season is the best one and brings you many greatmemories. Our MJH PTA appreciates your continuedsupport for the students and faculty of our school.

The PTA will be hosting its annual Christmas Dance forour students on December 6th. For the first time, we willbe having a Tacky/Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest duringthe dance. Students not participating in the contest areencouraged to dress Christmas-Casual following theschool dress code policy. Students can take pictures for$1.00 each, cash only. Parents are invited to chaperone.Students will follow the school dance arrival/dismissalschedule as usual.

In the coming months ahead, please consider joiningour PTA board for next school year. Now is the time to joinus at our monthly meetings to get familiar with our PTA.Our meetings are held on the first Wednesday of themonth at 7:45a.m. The Nominating Committee will starttheir search for new candidates for the Executive Boardsoon. There are also several committees to join. If you areinterested, please contact mjh.ptapres@yahoo.com.

Wishing your a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!Sincerely, D'Ann Hellbach, PTA President

PTA General Membership MeetingJanuary 8, 2014 at 7:45am

There will not be a meeting in December!

Come Join Us! We meet in Room 32.

Box Tops Contest Winners!PTA is thrilled to announce the winners of the Box

Tops collection contest for the first nine weeks! Allwinning classes have decided on a pizza party tocelebrate.

First Place – Ms. Livingston's ClassSecond Place – Mrs. Bateman's Class

Third Place – Ms. Dufrene's Class Fourth Place – Mrs. Saltamachia's Class

The new contest has begun! Please continue to bringBox Tops (and don't forget those Community CoffeeLabels) to your 7th bell teachers.

MJH PTA is again sponsoring its Fun on theTchefuncte 5K and 1-Mile Fun Run, January 25, 2014, atthe Pine Street Ball Park in Madisonville. Festivities startat 7am, with awards for overall winners in the 1-mile and5K categories. Pre-registration cost is $10 (16 andunder) and $20 (17 and up) and includes race t-shirt.After January 17 and on race day, cost is $15\$25 or $20without a t-shirt.

We’re also planning some fun awards for costumes,class\club and teacher participation! There will be post-race refreshments and a prize basket raffle sponsored byour MJH clubs!

We’re also looking for co-sponsors of the Fun Run. Ifyou or your business would like to support MJH throughthis event, there are different sponsorship levelsavailable. For more information, please contactShane Hodgson at rshaneh@bellsouth.net or 504-813-8003. Registration and sponsorship forms can also befound on the MJH PTA webpage.

It’s a terrific opportunity to support Madisonville JrHigh and get started on those New Year resolutions!

December 2013 The Eagle Times Page 5

MJH Athletics

Soccer 2013The Girls' soccer season begins

December 4th with a match against St.Tammany at Coquille! Come out andsupport our team as they play the followingteams:

12/4 vs. St. Tammany (at Coquille)12/9 at Clearwood12/11 at Creekside

1/6 at Pitcher1/13 at St. Tammany

1/15 vs. Clearwood (at Coquille)1/22 vs. Creekside (at Coquille)

1/27 vs. Pitcher (at Coquille)

All games begin at 4 p.m.

Members of the Girls' team are Katie G. - Captain,Krista C. – Co-Captain, Makayla B., Morgan C., MadisonC., Caroline C., Abby H., Elise J., Kiki K., Faith K., GabbyK., Anneliese M., Gabby M., Grace M., Livie O., Kara P.,Paige R., and Juliette S. The coach for the girls is Ms.Damena McCoy.

The Boys' soccer season begins December 10 witha match against St. Tammany. The boys soccer scheduleis as follows:

12/10 vs. St Tammany (at Coquille)12/12 at Clearwood

1/10 at Pitcher1/16 at St Tammany = waiting confirmation

1/17 vs, Clearwood(at Coquille)1/21 vs.Creekside (at Coquille)

1/23 at Creekside1/24 vs. Pitcher (at Coquille)

All games begin at 4p.m.

Members of the Boys' team are Joshua B., ChrisC., Nathan C., Matthew C., Austin F., Briton G., ChanceH., Nicholas H., Landon L., Connor L., Crawford L., MasonM., Cade M., Alexander M., Chase P., Logan P., CameronS., Ethan W., Erik Y., and Jackson Y. The coach for theboys is Mrs. Belinda Breaux.

MJH Cheerleaders andEaglettes

The MJH cheerleaders and dance team willbe riding in the Merry Madisonville Christmas

Parade on December 7th. The parade willbegin at 4:00. Come out to the parade and

join in the Christmas spirit!

Basketball 2013 Congratulations to the 2013-2014 Girls

and Boys Basketball Teams!

Members of the Girls' team are AmberlynA., Renea B., Taylor D., Erin J., Courtney L., Heather M.,Kristen B., Layna H., Madeline L.,Savannah H., Brooke S., Kaitlyn W., and Hayley W.

The game schedule for the Girls is as follows:

12/ 3 vs. Pitcher @ MJH (Girls JV and V)12/5 vs. Monteleone @ Monteleone (Girls JV and V)

12/9 vs. St. Tammany @ MJH (Girls V)12/11 vs. Creekside @ Creekside (Girls V)

1/ 9 vs. Pitcher @ Pitcher (Girls V)1/14 vs. Monteleone @ MJH (Girls V)

1/16 vs.St. Tammany @ St. Tammany (Girls JV and V)Week of January 21st - Tournament TBA

Members of the Boys' team are Julian A.,Jeremiah D., Finley P., Ian G., Charlie F., Dakota W.,Jake J., Nelson G., Norris W. , Aaron O., David T.,Christopher W., Josh A., Roshad H., Clay T., Roland S.and Manager Brennan B.

Come out and support our Fighting Eagles as theyplay the following games:

12/3 vs. Pitcher @ MJH (8th Grade) 12/5 vs. Monteleone @ Monteleone (8th Grade) 12/9 vs. St. Tammany @ MJH (7th & 8th Grade)

12/11 vs. Creekside @Creekside (7th & 8th Grade)1/9 vs. Pitcher @ Pitcher (7th & 8th Grade)

1/14 vs. Monteleone @ MJH (7th & 8th Grade)1/16 vs. St. Tammany @ St. Tammany (8th Grade)

Week of January 21 – Tournament TBA

7th Grade games start at 5pm and 8th Grade plays at 7pm.

December 2013 The Eagle Times Page 6

Teacher Spotlight Each month The Eagle Times will profile two of our new teachers!

Paige Johnson - ELAMy name is Paige Johnson, and I am ecstatic to a part

of the teaching staff at Madisonville Junior High. This ismy first year teaching; however, I completed my studentteaching under Mrs. Wright the last half of the year. Icurrently teach sixth and seventh grade English, as wellas, one class of sixth grade Reading. Along with myclasses, I am also co-sponsor of the Eaglettes DanceTeam and sponsor of the mascot. I also teach dancing atApetrei Dancenter and Encore Dance Production, as wellas, various other teams and studios during my spare time.

I originally graduated from Southeastern LouisianaUniversity in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science in Familyand Consumer Sciences with a concentration in FashionMerchandising and minor in Marketing. I immediately wentinto retail management upon graduating. Through trainingmy employees and department managers, I realized I hada love for teaching, and retail was not what I wanted to dothe rest of my life.

It gives me great pleasure to finally be given theopportunity to do what I love. I have always had a strongpassion for teaching and am glad to be able to pursue acareer in it. I am very thankful to Madisonville Junior Highand its wonderful staff and administration for granting methis opportunity.

Jerrilyn Young – Social StudiesMy name is Ms. Jerrilyn S. Young. I have worked in

St. Tammany Parish as an itinerant ESL teacher for 10years. I have worked all over the parish as an ESLteacher from Fifth Ward, Sixth Ward, to Bayou LacombeMiddle and Mandeville Elementary (with every school inbetween). I have made great friends at all of theseschools and for the past 8 years I was based at AbitaSprings Elementary. This year I am teaching LouisianaHistory at Madisonville Jr. High School. I have beengreeted with so much support and friendship from thefaculty and staff here. I hope to make Louisiana History afun and interesting subject this year! We will covereverything about Louisiana from the Saints football teamto Huey P. Long and more!

I attended Texas Southern University, graduated fromSoutheastern Louisiana University with a B.A. in SocialStudies Education and completed my Master’s degree inTESOL and Reading and Curriculum Instruction fromGrand Canyon University.

I enjoy teaching as well as being a parent to 4 greatchildren. I look forward to a lasting relationship andfriendship here at Madisonville Jr. High School.

Thanks to our PTA CorporateSponsors for 2013-14!

Mitchell Contracting 545 Southdown LoopCovington, LA 70435

601-754-8328

Pennington HardwareAnd Screenprinting