Walking the halls
By KEVIN MCCUGH Principal of Jasper High School

The faculty and staff of Jasper High School continue to work tirelessly in the mission of providing all students with a quality education. We have completed the first semester of school and are currently in the initial stages of the spring semester.

Our current enrollment by classes are as follows: ninth grade - 221, tenth grade - 214, eleventh grade - 173, and twelfth grade - 171; total enrollment - 779.

We have numerous school activities that will be taking place on our campus involving students and parents from grades PK - 12. Monday, Jan. 28, we will host a night designated by the district as a "Celebrate Learning Conference."

Dinner will be served from 5 - 6 p.m. in the cafeteria and will include gumbo, boudain, salad, and cake. Conference sessions in classrooms will be from 6 - 7:45 p.m., with a variety of topics addressed by experts in those areas. Please participate in this evening for the benefit of your kids in present and future school activities.

Our senior students and parents are involved with several activities for Project Graduation. Activities include the Bulldog Bark Pageant, which will take place Saturday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium. Tickets to the pageant are $5.

Another promotion is the Bulldog Discount Card, which can be used at many of the local businesses. Cost of the card is $5 and can be purchased from a senior student.

Another Project Graduation activity is a raffle for a lifetime Texas Hunting/Fishing License. The value of the license is approximately $1,000 and tickets for the raffle are $2 each. Project Graduation volunteers meet on the first Tuesday of each month in the high school library, and all persons interested are encouraged to attend.

Jasper High School is involved in the initial stages of completing requirements for qualification in the District Awards for Teacher Excellence (DATE) grant program. This is an opportunity provided by the Texas Education Agency. The grant is designed to provide financial incentives for teachers and staff who assist students in improving TAKS scores and other measurable student achievement goals, retain highly qualified teachers, and recruit highly qualified teachers into the district.

Documentation processes for the grant will continue this spring. If approved, the implementation of the grant will begin in the fall of 2008 with financial incentives first available for teachers and staff in the summer of 2009.

The spring semester has many of our students participating in UIL academic and athletic activities, dual credit courses at Angelina College, work programs, service clubs and organizations, and other school - related events. We encourage students not to limit their educational experiences to their daily academic requirements, but to find areas of interest that are available for all students at JHS.

Please feel free to contact any staff member or me as we work diligently with all members of the community to provide a positive learning climate at Jasper High School.