Summer Letter from JCS U.S. Principal 2018

Dear Upper School Parents,

It's hard to believe that the school year is over! Thank you for an incredible year. We, as a faculty and staff, have enjoyed working with your child or possibly children this year. The end of the year is a mixture of emotions. We are always sad to see students leave our halls, but also blessed to see them grow. At JCS, we endeavor to see our students mature in Christ and for them to see how unique and special they have been created.

"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is a great accomplishment"
Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will" Romans 12:2

Our prayer is that all students would follow His calling on their lives rather than the world's. Emerson recognized that Paul's encouragement to the Romans was and is true. The world and Christ have two very different measuring devices to gauge success. Our young women and men are on this journey of discovery, and we are blessed to have the opportunity to speak into them during their time at JCS.

Report cards will be emailed out by the end of next week. For us in school leadership, we are planning and preparing for August 15th when the school doors will be flung open for students to once again flood the hallways. By that point, we recognize that you too will be glad that school will be resuming once again. In that spirit, I would like to offer the following thoughts that should serve you well as we head into the summer months.

Important dates:

Upper School New Student Orientation (& Rising 7th Grade Orientation): August 9 at 5:00 p.m.
Upper School Orientation: August 9 at 6:30 p.m.
Upper School Locker and Supply Drop Off: August 14 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
First Day of School: August 15 at 8:30 a.m. (late start Wednesday / 7:50 a.m. all other days)
U.S. Open House for Parents: August 28 at 6:30 p.m.

The official JCS 2018-2019 School Calendar is available on the JCS website and can be easily accessed by clicking on the Parents tab. Please note that the calendar is updated often throughout the school year.

Uniforms: Our sole uniform provider is Harris Uniforms located at 4152 West Blue Heron Blvd., Suite 118, Riviera Beach, FL. Their telephone number is 561-881-8689. Please do not wait until August to purchase uniforms as this is their busiest time of year. Sneakers are required for all P.E. classes. All skorts and shorts must be the appropriate length as stated in the Parent Student Handbook, which should be reviewed by all families and can also be accessed by clicking on the Parents tab. The handbook will be updated over the summer, so please do check back in August for updates. No other exceptions to uniforms will be made.

Summer Reading & School Supplies: Summer reading information & school supply lists may be accessed through the Parents tab. You will note that there is both recommended and required reading for grades 7 – 12. Please review this information carefully. Additionally, Dual Enrollment students will find their required reading at the end of the recommended reading list.

PlusPortals: The Portals is your main source of communication between school and home. In addition to accessing PlusPortals on your desktop, PlusPortals also has a mobile app to easily access your student's information on any mobile device. Below are links to download the mobile app for parent and student portals. Once you have downloaded the app and open it the first time, the app will prompt you to input your school. Type "jupiterchristian" (all lower case, no spaces). Then it will prompt you to enter your username and password. This is the same login credentials that you first logged in. I believe you and your children will find this app to be most useful in tracking your child's homework, grades, discipline and attendance records. I would encourage you to download the parent app and have your child download the student app as is applicable. To have the assigned homework for the week at one's fingertips is most beneficial.

New families ~ please note that instructions and first-time access codes for parents to sign on to PlusPortals will be emailed to you by mid-July by the Admissions Office once our system is rolled over to the new school year.

Please direct all PlusPortals questions to Stephanie Katterheinrich.

ACT Aspire: ACT Aspire testing concluded in April for upper school, and we expect to have results mid-July. More details will be forwarded to you at this time.

Student Schedules: We are in the process of finalizing our master schedule, as well as student's individual class schedules for the 2018-2019 school year. Please look for more information to follow from Mrs. Aliza Beaulieu, Director of Guidance, by the end of July.

New to the Upper School: For those that are new families to JCS or rising 7th grade families new to the upper school, I strongly encourage you to mark your calendars for our Upper School New Student Orientation (& Rising 7th Grade Orientation): August 9 at 5:00 p.m. I believe this session will benefit you the most.

Capstone for seniors: Capstone is replacing the end-of-year 2nd semester exams for all seniors. We communicate often to make sure students know what is due and to allow each student time to prepare, adjust or work with us to be a solution-based partner should there be an issue. Please check your email often throughout the summer.

Finally, let me conclude by saying that as upper school principal, it has been a sincere privilege to serve alongside you as parents. JCS truly is a unique place that has felt like an extension of our family. I look forward to the wonderful plans our Lord and Savior has in store for JCS and all of our families.

Should you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email my assistant, Patty Sherrard.

In His Service,

Joe Zambrano
Upper School Principal