With approximately 1,400 students in our building, it is not unusual for us to receive several telephone calls on a daily basis for requests to deliver messages. We try to do this as efficiently as possible, but sometimes it can become an overwhelming task. We are asking for help from parents in these areas. First, in order to decrease classroom interruptions, please limit requests for message deliveries to emergencies only. Please give reminders at home regarding being picked up after school or appointment times. When you call the Junior High, it will be more efficient if you contact the appropriate office for your specific needs (see below). If you get the automated attendant when you call the Junior High (217-222-3073), you can immediately press the desired office extensions.
MAIN OFFICE
Hours: 6:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. / Phone: 217-222-3073, press 4
Brenda Fleer, Principal
Andy Hoskins, Asst. Principal for School Management
CALL THE MAIN OFFICE:
- to leave an emergency message for your child
- if you need information regarding book fees
- general questions
SCHOOL RELATED DELIVERIES: If it is necessary for you to bring in items such as class projects, forgotten lunch money, musical instruments, or gym clothes, please leave these items with Security. Please remember that any non-student entering the building must be prepared to go through the metal detector and show a valid photo ID.
ATTENDANCE OFFICE
Hours: 6:45 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. / Phone: 217-228-7130 or 217-222-3073, press 1
Brett Ufkes, Asst. Principal for Student Services
Deans: Andrea Heiden (6th Grade), Brian Walker (7th Grade), and Julie Marshall (8th Grade)
CALL THE ATTENDANCE OFFICE:
- for information or inquiries about student absences, discipline, and bus information.
- for information regarding sports.
SCHOOL ATTENDANCE AND REPORT OF ABSENCE: Regular attendance is an important part of success in school. When your child is absent, please call the Attendance Office before 9:00 a.m. If we have not received a phone call from you by 9:00 a.m., we will contact you.
REQUESTS TO LEAVE BUILDING: Requests to leave the building, while school is in session, should be cleared through the Attendance Office and require a note or phone call from the parent of the student making the request. Students are to use the 14th Street entrance at all times during the school day and must be cleared to leave by Security personnel.
BUS PASSES: Students may not ride the bus home with another student without a written request from the parent of the visiting student and permission from the Attendance Office. A bus pass will be issued if the request is approved.
TELEPHONE USAGE: Students may use the telephone in the Attendance Office before or after school or if they have a pass from a classroom teacher. Students are not allowed to use their cell phones to call or text during the school day.
GUIDANCE OFFICE
Counselors’ Hours: 7:25 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Office is open 7:00 a.m.– 3:30 p.m./ Phone: 217-222-4334 or 217-222-3073, press 2
Caitlin Munguia, Asst. Principal for Teaching & Learning
Counselors: Greta Heck (6th grade), Jackie Martin (7th grade), and Ashley Wilson (8th grade)
CALL THE GUIDANCE OFFICE:
- for information about grades, homework, and/or to talk to a counselor about academics, schedules, or social emotional concerns.
*Students are encouraged to see their counselor for assistance with personal or school issues. Students must have a pass from their classroom teacher to see their grade-level counselor.
NURSE’S OFFICE
Hours: 7:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. / Phone: 217-228-7132 or 217-222-3073, press 3
CALL THE NURSE’S OFFICE REGARDING:
- medication to be taken at school
- gym class excuses
- physicals
- immunization records
Nurses: Kendra Harbin, Keyonee Jackson, and Melissa Niesen
Phone: 217-222-3073 and press 9
QJHS Drop-Off and Pick-Up
DROP OFF
EARLY BIRD BREAKFAST will be available to all students from 7:15 a.m. until 7:30 a.m. Students who come for Early Bird breakfast must enter through the main entrance on 14th street, go through OPENGATE, and then go directly to the cafeteria. Students may not leave the cafeteria before being dismissed by the dean or the supervisor between 7:25 a.m. or 7:30 a.m. At this time, students should go to their lockers and prepare for their first hour class.
REGULAR BREAKFAST will be available to all other students entering the building from buses and car drop-off beginning at 7:25 a.m. Regular breakfast will run from 7:25 a.m. to 7:40 a.m. Students must finish eating by 7:40 a.m. and are expected to be at their first hour class on time. If students continue to be tardy, staff will help to problem-solve the issue. However, if tardiness continues, students may be asked to eat at home or arrive to school earlier.
*All lunchroom expectations apply at breakfast.
Students walking, riding a bike, scooter, or skateboard, or being dropped off by car, will enter the building in one of two areas:
- The northeast doors on Maine Street, or
- The southwest doors on Jersey Street
*When dropping your child off in the “car line”, please be sure that you pull up all the way and are ready to drop your child off immediately so that others can pull up as well.
Bus riders will enter the building through the main entrance doors on 14th Street.
Special Education busing and drop-off will be in the Morrison Parking Lot on the west side of the building.
Students arriving after 7:45 a.m. will need to enter the building through the main entrance doors on 14th Street.
If it is before 8:00 a.m., students will go directly to class, and the teacher will mark the student tardy. If it is after 8:00 a.m., the student will need to check in at the Attendance Office to get a pass from the tardy kiosk in order to enter class.
OPENGATE
SECURITY AND BAG SEARCHES
All students will go through our OPENGATE security system daily. Students should have their bags prepared daily before entering the building to make this process go quickly and smoothly. The following must be removed from backpacks and handed off to staff before passing through the system:
- 3-ring binders
- notebooks with metal rings
- Umbrellas
- eye lash curlers
- laptops & iPads
- metal eating utensils
- aluminum cans
- metal water bottles
- eyeglass cases
- any metal case
*All cell phones should be placed in the center of the student’s chest, and all backpacks should be placed in front of the student so all materials handed off can easily be placed back into the backpack, keeping the line moving forward.
**No drinks, other than water, are allowed into the school building. If a student brings a coffee, open soda, or any other beverage, it will be confiscated and thrown away. No open containers are allowed into the building. A student may bring a sealed soda (NO ENERGY DRINKS ARE ALLOWED) for lunch. If the seal is broken, the student will be asked to hand it over to staff.
PICK UP/DISMISSAL
Students may leave out of any of the doors (Maine St., 14th St. or Jersey St.). Parent pick up is designated to Maine Street, the Board Office Parking Lot (southside), or a designated area you and your child have chosen as bus pickup is on Maine Street and Jersey Street in the afternoon as well as Morrison Parking Lot.
