TJHS--Under Water Robotics Program Info/Update--Taylorville Junior High students recently competed in a regional SeaPerch competition in Bloomington. SeaPerch is an innovative underwater robotics program that equips students, educators, and parents with the resources they need to build an underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) in an in- or out-of-school setting. Starting in early December, TJHS students started engineering and building their robots for competition. The process is challenging. Students spent time working on building their mother boards, wiring and water proofing motors, and checking electrical output into the motors. The greatest task was making the ROVs buoyant and balanced in the water. Once the ROVS were ready the students started collecting data on how well the ROVs completed the tasks. Testing the ROVs and working on buoyancy was made possible with the help of Taylorville Feed and the YMCA. Taylorville Feed let us borrow a livestock tank big deep enough to run some trials in the classroom. At the YMCA pool, our students were able to fine tune the ROVs for the competition. 23 schools competed. TJHS was the only junior high school, the other schools were high schools from all over the state. flSome of the high schools included Glenwood, Seneca, Minooka, Normal Community, Collinsville, Evanston, and IVC out of Peoria. In the morning rounds one of our teams advanced to the brackets. The top two teams were vying for a chance to compete at the national competition at the Naval Academy in Maryland. The Tornado Torpedos team ended up with 5th place, just missing the championship round. The eventual champion ended up being IVC. IVC beat our team 7-6. The match with IVC was an exciting battle. The two teams that went to the competition: Sponsor: Pamela DeWerff Lucky Ducks: Elsie Williamson, Molly Smith, Kavya Patel, and Cole Franklin. Tornado Torpedoes: Deacon Shanks, Luke Short, Griffin Craggs, and Grayson Craggs Goofy Goobers: Weighong Len Chen, Jameson Jones, Ian Stromberg, and Isaac Orr

Today is School Librarian Appreciation Day. We celebrate those that serve this role in our district. Thank you for all that you do for the staff and students of TCUSD3! Kim Porter & Suzanne Childers, THS Suzanne Southworth, TJHS Karen Mahan, Memorial Christy Rahar, North

The TJHS track team wore orange ribbons in honor of Sam Hackler this evening. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Our cafeteria is hiring!

Today is a regularly scheduled school day. Today's weather update from EMA: 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm minor storm activity, after 5:00 pm and through the night there is a greater possiblity of stronger storm activity. If conditions change, we will adapt and alert.

Two groups representing TCUSD3 attended the Rochester STEM Fair last evening. Suzanne Specha took 3 students from North Elementary School and shared augmented reality projects and iPad apps. TommyTV students, Neil Hohenstein, and Adam Vocks demonstrated livestreaming and showcased the Best of TommyTV. A HUGE THANK YOU to both of these groups for proudly representing our school at the STEM Fair!

Taylorville Youth Cheerleading Grades K-8

Mr. Dan Nieves and Mr. Parker Dobson (8) are showing off the sharp threads on "Dress Like Your Favorite Teacher Day" at TJHS. Great to see the smiles in the 8th grade hallway each and every day!

Attention Parents: Preschool screening is open for the 23-24 school year. Call Central School at (217) 824-5050 to sign up.

Taylorville Junior High Booster Club Fundraiser 2023--Tornado apparel my be ordered through Sunday, April 9. https://taylorvillejhbooster2023.itemorder.com/shop/category/246769/

From Mrs. Ninmer: I’m so proud of the talented (and goofy) TJHS students that I get to work with every day! These Choir and Band students rocked it at the IESA State Solo and Ensemble Contest on March 25. They ALL received Superior ratings, and we brought home 41 First place medals! These kids represent the future of the performing arts in our Taylorville community!

TJHS Builder's Club Taylorville Pantry Food Drive Info--The Builder's Club is conducting a food drive all week. Our last drive before Christmas netted over 1000 items and our goal this week is 1500 items to the food pantry. We accept donations in the morning and the end of the day Advisory that contributes the most items will receive a PIZZA PARTY on Friday, April 14. Thank you in advance for your assistance to our local community!

Thank you to the Taylorville Public Schools Foundation for supporting STEM at TJHS! Mrs. Wagner's grant request for eight SwiftSW380T Research grade compound microscopes has been approved and our students are the beneficiaries!! We are grateful for the partnerships that move the needle in our ability to procure the best possible equipment for our future community of leaders in the sciences field.

Mrs. Foil’s 7th grade Geography class is studying North America. Students worked with a partner on a Venn Diagram to study the history of The United States and Canada.

Congratulations to Clayton Stoner who plays goalie for the Blue Note Cup Champions, the Springfield Kings 12U--Peewees. Clayton is a successful student/athlete at TJHS and represents Tornado Nation well.

Public Service Announcement--Taylorville JH conducted a drug sweep today with K-9s on campus as part of our mission to provide a Safe Learning Community. Thank you for your continued support and if you have questions or concerns please feel free to contact the office at 824-4924. Macoupin, Litchfield, Montgomery, and Christian County PD all participated--thank you for your assistance.

TJHS is currently at 17% and we must hit 20% for reporting purposes. Please take 5 minutes to complete this brief "Parent/Guardian" Survey. You can login to the survey at: http://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/. Thank you in advance!--Eric Bruder, principal

Big THANKS to Taylorville McDonalds for donating breakfast to our Thursday morning Breakfast Club!!

TJHS--February Students of the Month Front Row: L-R (Tommy Reed, Adelyn Durbin, Greyson Mullins, Kinley Dempsey, Adler Seaton, Keagan Nolen) Back Row: L-R (Olivia Emery, Chevy Beaston, Rogan Reindl, Micah Gallagher, Kash Groves, Landon Windell)

Mr. Jason Wolters is the February Teacher of the Month at TJHS. Mr. Wolters has reinvigorated the Art program and students are responding in kind. He teaches because the kids are fun and open to new things. He likes interacting with them and enjoys hearing positive feedback from students who tell him they want to be an Art teacher too. Ms. Kaileigh Rash is the February support staff member of the month. Ms. Rash loves working with students and thinks that teachers have such a large impact on the lives of their students. She had some amazing teachers and just wants to have the same impact. Her fondest memory so far is interacting with all the wonderful staff and watching the kids grow and succeed.