Olympus Junior High School - Back to School Information 2022

Back to School Information 2022

2022-2023 School Year

To our Spartan Family:

On behalf of the entire Olympus Junior High School staff, we want to welcome you to the Spartan Family! It is with great excitement and anticipation that we get ready for the 2022-2023 school year. We are a little more than 3 weeks away from getting back to the collaborative, student-centered culture we are known for at Olympus. Our teachers and staff have worked throughout the summer to prepare for our students returning to school. We wanted to share some of the important details that will help all of you (students and parents alike) prepare for the start of the school year. Here is what you need to know to get off to a great start.

Now, more than ever, parent involvement and support are critical to the success of our school. Parent volunteers will be needed at the start - and throughout - the school year. Our Parent Orientation on August 10 is one of the first opportunities to get involved. Look for the Sign-Up Genius links below to let us know you would like to help!

We look forward to working with you and welcome you to Olympus Junior High School. HAIL SPARTANS!

Sean Healy, Principal

Amber Sutton, Assistant Principal

Please visit our website for the most up-to-date information: olympus.eurekausd.org . You can also subscribe to our Olympus Events Calendar by clicking this link.

Office Opens	Wednesday, August 3, 7:45 am – 3:45 pm
First Day of School	Thursday, August 11 - The first bell rings at 8:20 am!
2022-23 School Calendar	The latest Board-Approved calendar for 2022-23 is found here
New Start Time for Grades 7-8	Due to the passage of Senate Bill 328 - which requires the school day for middle schools to begin no earlier than 8:00 a.m. - the first bell at Olympus will ring at 8:20 am with instruction starting at 8:25 am. Students are expected to be in classrooms by 8:25 am. Entrance gates will be locked at that time and all late arrivals must check in at the office front desk.
Annual Student Information Update	The Annual Student Information Update online form is now available to you within your PowerSchool Parent Portal. This process ensures we have the most up-to-date information for your student - including emergency contacts and updated medical information. Completion of this form is required every year and is mandatory. Your student(s) 2022/23 schedules or teacher assignments may be withheld if not submitted. If you haven’t done so already, please complete it as soon as possible!
Immunizations	All students will only be allowed to start school in August if they have provided the appropriate documentation for Tdap, Varicella (chicken pox), and/or any additional required school immunizations. This is in compliance with California state law. Please refer to ShotsforSchool’s website for additional information: https://www.shotsforschool.org/ The office will be open beginning August 3rd, and the office staff will be prepared to receive your child’s paperwork.
Orientation Events	We're looking forward to seeing everyone for our Orientation events. We have different programs for our Parents, 7th-grade students, and new 8th-grade students.
7th Grade Student WEB Orientation Wednesday, August 10, 8 am – 12 pm.	Orientation for all 7th Graders (students only!) will take place on Wednesday, August 10th in the Gym from 8:00 am – 12:00 pm. The orientation is a way to help make the transition from elementary school to junior high school a positive one. A select group of 8th graders - our WEB Leaders - will be serving as mentors to the 7th graders. Large and small group activities are designed to address students’ needs and concerns in a fun, engaging way. Students should wear comfortable clothes and leave backpacks and/or purses at home... Travel Light! You can expect a phone call from a WEB Leader a few days before Orientation reminding you about this awesome event.
New 8th Grade Student Orientation Wednesday, August 10, 12 pm	While our WEB Orientation is geared to incoming 7th-grade students, we recognize there will be many new 8th-grade students joining our family this year! We welcome all new 8th grade students to meet our WEB Leaders on the outdoor stage on Wednesday, August 10 at 12 pm so we can help you feel at home on campus. Plan to be at Olympus at noon on August 10 with your schedule so we can help welcome you to the Spartan Family!
Parent Orientation Wednesday, August 10, 8 am - 12 pm	All Parents, you are welcome to stop by the Multi-Purpose Room on Wednesday, August 10 to handle the “business stuff” to get ready for the school year. PE clothes, planners, spirit shirts, and our PTC Pledge Drive can be taken care of at this event. You can come in anytime between 8 am - 12 pm. This is where you can pick up everything you will need to start the year and get class schedules. This event relies heavily on parent volunteers to welcome parents to the Spartan Family. Please consider volunteering to help when we reach out over the summer! Here is our Sign-Up Genius Link!
Olympus PTC Pledge Drive- Donate NOW!	Our PTC provides both financial and volunteer support to help provide enriching activities and events to our students: W.E.B., Academic Awards, Student of the Week/Month, Rallies, and Graduation Celebrations. Our PTC is starting its biggest fundraiser of the year - The Pledge Drive! It is both the financial support and volunteer efforts of our families that help ensure we can do all of the “extras” that we have come to expect from Olympus. Our PTC is committed to ensuring that every dollar donated is used to support students this school year! Use the link to go directly to the Olympus PTC Square site to donate today. Any families that donate at least $100 will receive a free ticket for their student to attend the NEON Dance - our first dance of the school year! If your company participates in any matching donation program, be sure to let them know you’ve donated to the Olympus PTC. A list of known company matching programs can be found on the Olympus PTC Website. A simple way to donate to Olympus PTC with your everyday shopping on smile.Amazon.com. Just add the Olympus Junior High Parent Teacher Club as you log in and it will stay in your profile automatically donating 0.5% of all eligible purchases back to our PTC. It's THAT easy! Shop NOW
Possible Costs for Orientation	The following are some of the costs for items at Orientation: PE Clothes - $25 Spirit Shirt - $10 Student Planner (optional) - $5 PTC Pledge Drive - $75 or more Being a Spartan – PRICELESS!
P.E. Clothes	P.E. clothes will be for sale at Orientation. Shirts and shorts are $12.50 each or both for $25.00. If you cannot attend Orientation, PE clothes can be purchased in the office after school starts. If you wish to provide your own PE clothes, the uniform MUST BE a grey shirt with green shorts (no pockets please!). We do have some clothes with older designs that can be sold for a discounted price.
Schedules	During orientation, student schedules will be distributed. Parents and students must go through the orientation stations before picking up a schedule. If you are unable to attend orientation, schedules will be available on PowerSchool after 4 PM on Wednesday, August 10, and hard copies in the MP room starting at 8:00 a.m. on the first day of school. The schedules will have the room numbers along with the Google Classroom codes.
Bell Schedules	Bell Schedules for the 2022-23 School Year are posted to the Olympus Website
School Supplies	We know that shopping for school supplies can be an exciting time to prepare for the school year. We are not expecting our students to have all of their supplies by the first day of school. Since students in Jr. High will have different schedules with different classes and teachers, there is no “standard” grade-level supply list. We recommend you wait until after the first few days of school to know specifically what your teachers require for their classes. You can have some of the basics (pencils, pens, and paper) for the first day of school.
Lockers	One skill that ALL of our students will need to master is the use of a combination lock. Students will have 3 lockers assigned to them - a book locker, a small PE locker, and a large PE locker - all with different combinations! We want to encourage you to find and practice opening a combination lock over the summer. Book locker combinations will be assigned on printed schedules handed out at Orientation and the first day of school. PE locker assignments will be made during PE classes before students start dressing for PE.
District-Issued Chromebooks	All students that attended a EUSD school last year should still be in possession of a district-owned Chromebook and charger for their use at school and at home for academic work. New students will have a Chromebook checked out to them in the first few days of school. More information about EUSD’s Chromebook program can be found here.
Back to School Night, Tuesday, August 16	Back to School Night for Jr. High is scheduled for Tuesday, August 16. Presentation by Mr. Healy 5:30 – 6:25 PM – in the Multi-Purpose Room Class Rotations 6:30 – 8:00 PM
Events/ Information	Every week our office will send out a weekly message called The Olympus Update!. This will provide school information such as athletic events, special activities, minimum days, holidays, and meetings, as well as provide critical information about what is happening at school. These are brief, but packed with information and serve in lieu of paper copies of information being sent home! We encourage parents to go to our new website olympus.eurekausd.org click on “Olympus Updates” under the Parents tab. You can also subscribe to our Olympus Events Calendar by clicking this link.
Fall Sports Tryouts	Tryouts and practice for Flag Football, Cross Country, and Girl’s Volleyball will be held at the start of the school year. Please visit the “Sports Zone” section of the Olympus website for more detailed information: http://olympus.eurekausd.org/Sports-Zone/ A completed Athletic Packet must be completed before a student may attend practice or tryouts. Please know that we request a Voluntary Athletic Contribution of $150 for each sport.
Policies
Attendance	ATTENDANCE HOTLINE: 786-6006 or http://olympus.eurekausd.org/About/Attendance/ If your child is ill, please call and leave a message. PLEASE STATE YOUR STUDENT’S NAME, REASON FOR ABSENCE, DATE, YOUR NAME, AND YOUR PHONE NUMBER. The attendance secretary will listen to the messages each day. The District is only paid for students in their seats. We encourage parents to plan their trips and vacations around school hours. We do provide Independent Study Contracts for vacations (5 days or more from school) – please obtain these from the main office a minimum of 5 days in advance to leaving.
Dress Code	Olympus JHS’s Dress Code supports the school as a place of educational business and is intended to provide equitable educational access for all students. It has been thoughtfully written in a manner that does not reinforce stereotypes and does not reinforce or increase marginalization or oppression of any group. The student dress code supports our goal of inspiring students to learn while leaving primary decisions around student clothing and style to students and their parent(s)/guardian(s). Olympus’s expectation is that parents and guardians are responsible for ensuring student compliance with the school’s dress code, and students are responsible for knowing the student dress code and for complying during school hours and school activities. To ensure effective and equitable enforcement of this dress code, school staff shall enforce the dress code consistently and in a manner that does not reinforce or increase marginalization or oppression of any group. Staff (teachers and administration) used student feedback as well as researched options to support an updated Dress Code policy.
Cell Phones on Campus	Our policy is “away for the day”. During instructional time (8:20 am - 2:55 pm) no student is allowed to use their phone on campus. Phones should be turned off and put away until the end of the school day. If a student needs to contact home during the school day, they may make the call to their family from the office. Teachers require students to leave their turned off cell phone on the teacher’s desk as their “hall pass” to use the restroom during the school day. This ensures a safe environment where cameras are not allowed in the restrooms.
Homework	Homework assignments will be posted to Google Classroom sites by the teacher. Students will subscribe to the calendars in the first few days of school. Students can always check assignments by logging in to their school Google account and checking their calendar.
PowerSchool	Parents and students may check grades online through PowerSchool: https://eureka.powerschool.com/public/ We encourage parents to set up weekly automated emails to continuously monitor their student’s progress. We recommend you check the boxes for “Summary of Current Grades and Attendance” and “Detail Report Showing Assignment Scores for Each Class”. Teachers usually update scores weekly, so we recommend you set the emails to arrive either “weekly” or “every 2 weeks”.
Dropping Off Items for Students	Mornings can be hectic and it is not uncommon for students to forget items. To help our students learn responsibility, we must offer them opportunities to be responsible and learn from their choices, decisions, and actions. If you have to bring an item to school that your student forgot at home, please place the item on the table near the front office with their name on it. We make every effort to limit the number or classroom disruptions - we will not send call slips to students for items that have been forgotten. Please remind your student to check the front table near the office for items that you drop off for them.
Medication at School	By State Law, no child is allowed to take medication, including over the counter, at school without a form signed by the doctor and the parent. Please do not send any medication with your child in his/her backpack. This law is to protect all students and your cooperation is appreciated. Want to avoid some “first day of school” stress? The school nurses will be available to meet with you in person before school starts to receive your child’s medication andmedication paperwork for the 2022-23 school year. Medication drop-off times for all Eureka USD schools: Date: Monday August 8, 2022 10am-2pm Location: Eureka USD District Office 5455 Eureka Rd., Granite Bay Download and complete the Medication Authorization Form This will be a great opportunity for you to review the medication orders and possible care plan for your child with your school’s credentialed school RN. (Please do not bring medications to the district office outside of this time- this is the only time the RN’s will be there to receive them.) If you are unable to bring in medications at this time, you may bring them to your child’s school office instead.
Check Out Procedures	If students must leave school at any time for any reason, the parent or guardian must come into the office and request to have the student released from class. It is recommended that the parent or guardian arrive a little early to allow time for the student to finish any tests or assignments they are working on. When it is time to leave school, parents must complete the sign-out sheet in the office. We cannot call a student out of class until the parent is in the office. Upon return, the parent and student must sign in at the office. PLEASE TRY TO SCHEDULE APPOINTMENTS AFTER 2:55 P.M. If someone other than the parent is picking up the student, we must hear from the parent either by phone or by note.
Transportation	As a reminder, the Board has placed priority on providing the safest form of transportation for our students. If you would like to take advantage of district bus transportation, you must submit your completed application and payment to the Transportation Department. You may find all application information on our website at. https://www.eurekausd.org/Departments/Transportation/index.html If you have questions concerning bus passes or routes, please call 916-774-1231.