Dear Valley Jr. High Students and Parents,

As the weather gets colder and darker, we wanted to remind you about some safety practices for making sure our students make it to and from school safely.

Safe Walking Reminders for students:

• Only cross the street at crosswalks, ideally where there’s a crossing guard stationed. Never jaywalk across the street or cross outside of a crosswalk.
• Walk in groups with other students, whenever possible.
• Be aware of cars. Before you cross the street, make eye contact with any and all nearby drivers.
• Wear bright colored clothing.
• Do not cross behind a bus or between parked cars, where a driver can’t see you.
• Walk, don’t run, as you approach and pass through any intersection.

Safe Driving Reminders for parents: 

• Slow down and leave extra space between cars.
• Clear all windows and mirrors of snow and frost before driving.
• Avoid sudden movements—brake and accelerate gently.
• Be aware of crosswalks and always yield to pedestrians.
• Stay off cell phones while driving – operating a moving vehicle while using a cell phone is never safe.  

Recently, we’ve had at least 3 instances of students being struck by cars on their way to school. These incidents serve as a reminder about the real risks that are associated with walking to school, and the importance of being extra cautious.

We need the support of our entire student body and community to ensure the safety of our students in school zones. Students, please remember the safety tips listed above while you’re walking to school. Parents, please remember the driving safety tips above, and please take the time to review this message with your students.

Thank you for your support as we work to keep our students safe.

Brian Murray

There has been several questions recently regarding bus schedules and routes. If you have additional questions please download our Here Comes the Bus App. More information about the app can be found on this page.

Good Morning,

Valley Jr. High has make-up picture day coming on November 15.  This will run from 8 to 10 AM.

If you would like re-takes your student will need to bring their pictures back and give that to the person taking their picture.

To order pictures being taken on the 15th, you can pay on-line atBellphoto.com this will show you the package options and you can pay online enter the webcode: valleyjr24fall.

The school does not have envelopes for cash or checks, but you can send that also, please use an envelop and write your

students name,

student ID

Math teacher

Package you would like.

This will be given to the person taking their picture at the time the picture is taken.

If you have any questions, please contact:

Valley Jr. High

Pam 385-646-5234

Thank you,

Pam Hopper

Principal Secretary

Hello Valley,

Picture day this year will be on Wednesday, October 9th.

Retakes will take place on Friday, November 15th.

Parent-teacher conferences are Tuesday, September 17th and Wednesday, September 18th from 4:00-7:00 PM. Conferences will be held in-person only in the individual teacher classrooms and no appointment is necessary. We ask that the duration of each conference not exceed five minutes. If you need additional time with a teacher or are not able to meet in person these days, please arrange to communicate via email or in person at a later date.

RISE Testing– The testing schedule is below. The RISE test is a measure of student learning and it also serves as a school accountability tool that we use to plan for the next school year. Students, please make sure that you are in class on time and ready to show what you have learned this year. Phones, earbuds, and smart watches are not allowed to be out at all during the test. Please make sure that all devices are turned off and stored properly during the tests.

Writing- March 25-29

English- April 15-19

Science- April 22-26

Math- April 30-May 3

Make-up Testing- May 7-14

Attendance– Parents, if you would like assistance in tracking your student’s attendance and grades, please go to https://www.graniteschools.org/infosystems/parent-portal-resources/. If you are getting phone calls about unexplained absences/tardies, checking the parent portal can help you see what is happening. We are concerned about the number of students with dozens of tardies and absences in a week. For students who make an effort to skip class or to be excessively late, we will be escalating consequences to correct this behavior. We would appreciate your added support in encouraging your students to attend on time 90% and to have passing grades, at minimum. This helps ensure that students are prepared for high school.

1^st Lunch– Parents, we have had repeated issues with soccer during 1^st lunch. Despite our efforts to reteach, including 2-week breaks from soccer, the negative behaviors have continued. For the time being, soccer will not be allowed during 1^st lunch. There are plenty of other activities that students can participate in, however.

Parent-teacher conferences are next Monday, February 5th and Tuesday, February 6th from 4:00-7:00 PM. Conferences will be held in-person only in the individual teacher classrooms and no appointment is necessary. We ask that the duration of each conference not exceed five minutes. If you need to discuss further with a teacher or are not able to meet in person these days, please arrange to communicate via email or in person at a later date.

Dear Valley Jr. High Students, Staff, Parents and Families,

We want to alert you to a situation that has come to our attention this morning. A former student, who no longer attends our school or lives in the area, posted content online that was initially reported as a threat. Granite School District Police and Administrators have been able to source the postings and it is clear that there is no actual threat being made to our students or school. Police are continuing to investigate but we have no reason to believe any of our students or staff are in danger.

To be clear, there is no threat and school is proceeding as normal today.

We are grateful for the students who reported this and the prompt assistance from Granite Police to investigate this matter. Please discuss with your student the importance of contacting trusted adults when they see unsafe behavior occurring. They can also report tips anonymously to the SafeUT app on any mobile device. It is also important to understand that making a joke about a threat is still a potential crime and will be aggressively investigated and prosecuted in addition to district safe school referral.

The best security system we have continues to be the eyes and ears of our students who contact trusted adults when they see unsafe behavior or situations. Please remind your students that we need their help to keep our campus and community a safe place. They can anonymously report unsafe behavior using the SafeUT app on a mobile device or web, or contact our police department at (801) 481-7122 to report issues. As always, they can reach out to a teacher or administrator for help with any concerns.

Student safety is always our primary concern and we will always address every tip very seriously and enact district safety protocols and involve police as appropriate.

Thank you for your patience and support while we work to keep kids safe.

Sincerely,

Brian Murray

Principal

Dear Valley Junior Parents and Families,

This afternoon after school ended, a distracted driver who appears to have been speeding caused a chain reaction auto accident after running into another vehicle that was stopped in front of our school crosswalk. This vehicle in turn was pushed into a large truck that was immediately in front of the crosswalk awaiting a student to cross the road. The driver of the vehicle that was initially struck had their vehicle totaled and was treated at the scene for non-life threatening injuries. 

No students were injured as a result of this accident. However, you can imagine our concern if this speeding vehicle had not been stopped by the other two vehicles and had run through the crosswalk with the student in it. 

Around 50 students were still on campus when this occurred and may have witnessed the accident. Please speak with your student to see if they did witness the accident and if they need any emotional support or just someone to speak with. Our counseling staff is available to assist. Please contact the school and we are happy to follow up with your student tomorrow. 

This is an unfortunate reminder to please put down phones or other distractions while driving and pay particular attention in school zones. We need the support of our entire community to ensure the safety of our students while they walk and travel back and forth from school. 

Thank you for your support as we work to keep our students safe. 

Mr. Murray

Principal

Valley Junior High

Hello Ligers,

We hope you had an enjoyable summer and are prepared for the 23-24 school year! We want to welcome you back and have a couple of items for you:

1- Hot Dog Hello- August 14th from 6:00-7:00 pm. We will have food for the whole family. We will also have FOCUS Parent Portal tech support in the media center and our Family Center will be open during this time. As you walk around, we ask that you also complete an anonymous survey which will provide feedback for how we can better serve the Valley school community.

2. August 16th is the first day of school. 7th graders will start school at 7:45 am and 8th graders start at 9:45. 7th graders will have a chance to get to know the school better during the first two hours by being in each class for 10 minutes. At 9:45, all students will start in 1st period and go to all remaining classes.

BUS INFORMATION on August 16th- If you ride the school bus and you’re in 7th grade, the bus schedule remains the same. If you ride the bus and you’re in 8th grade, your bus pick-up time is two hours after the normal pick-up time. For example, bus 399 will pick up 7th graders on Cochise Dr. at 7:08 am and will pick up 8th graders on Cochise Dr. at 9:08. If you have general transportation questions, you can contact GSD Transportation at 385-646-4280.

See you next week!

Mr. Murray