Jackson Junior High School

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Jackson Junior High School
Established: 1959
Type: Public coeducational
Principal: Richard Summers
Location: Vienna, WV, USA
Colors: Green and White
Mascot: The Jackson Generals

Jackson Junior High School is a coeducational public school serving grades 7-9 in Vienna, West Virginia. It is the only Jr. High School in Wood County that has received the National Blue Ribbon Award. Jackson is also a West Virginia School of Excellence. Its feeder schools are Greenmont, Vienna, and Neale. Its partner in education is Kraton Polymers and previously Subway.

Contents

[edit] Athletics

  • Jackson's boys' and girls' tennis team have a long tradition of winning . Boys have won the Wood County Tennis Championship 15 out of the last 16 years, and the girls have won the Championship 13 years in a row.
  • The volleyball team at Jackson has won the county championships two years in a row (2006 and 2007).
  • In the 2006-2007 school year, a few of Jackson's freshment wrestled with the renowned PHS Wrestling program, where they aided it in winning another AAA State Wrestling title. Three freshmen from Jackson also won individual state titles in their own respective weight classes.
  • Jackson's other interscholastic offerings include Golf, Basketball, Track, Cross Country, Cheerleading, and Football.
  • All of Jackson athletics have a history of excellence and in the 07-08 school year won the Wood County All Sports Trophy.

[edit] Academics

  • Jackson's academic program and curriculum are noted for being very challenging.
  • Jackson has attained high WESTest scores.
  • Jackson's academic teams are also known to fare well in their respective programs.
  • The 2006-2007 Quiz Bowl team were the West Virginia State champions. The team won every tournament they attended, in addition to losing only one match throughout their whole season. Jackson's Quiz Bowl team also attended the National Academic Championship for high school teams, where they placed 37th out of the 90 teams who attended. They were the first junior high team to make the playoffs at the tournament. During 2008, the Quiz Bowl Team has continued their winning traditions, winning every match thus far at both Jr. High and even high school JV tournaments.
  • The Robotics team is also known to do well in the West Virginia State FIRST Lego League tournament. Each year, Jackson brings two to three teams to the state tournament, and at least one of the teams usually bring home a first place trophy in one of the major categories of the tournament. In 2007, one team placed first in the Robotics Design category, while another received first place in the Research Category. In 2005, one of the teams were the overall champions, and attended the International festival, where they received the Judge's Award for Research.
  • Jackson's Math Field Day Team is known for having winners at the county, regional, and even state levels in each grade. In 2007, each grade's top winner at the Wood County competition was from Jackson. Jackson's MathCounts team is also successful. In 2006, they placed 5th in the state, and in 2007, they placed 4th.

[edit] Music

Jackson's choir is known state-wide as one of the most talented choral groups in West Virginia. Formerly led by Beth Buskirk, now led by Janet Blessing, they were invited on numerous occasions to perform at the State Honor Recital for the state congress, in addition to winning numerous awards at prestigious competitions.

For many years now, Jackson's Choir has received a "I", or superior rating, at the Wood County Music Festival. Many of its individual members also participate in the Solo and Ensemble competition, and many proceed to be state honorees.

Jackson's choir is comprised of the following groups; 7th Grade Choir, 8th and 9th Grade Choir, Boys' Ensemble, Girls' Ensemble, and Chorale. Usually, Jackson will send two to three groups (usually the 7th Grade Choir, Chorale, and Boys' Ensemble) to choral competitions held at either Cedar Point or Kings' Island for the Music Showcase Festival. In the 2006-2007 year, Mrs. Blessing's last year, the Boys' Ensemble was awarded first place overall. Due to their success there, they also moved on to compete in the renowned Williamsburg competition where they competed against AA schools. Here, they also garnered first place recognition.

Jackson's Band consistently receives "II', or outstanding ratings, at the Wood County Music Festival. The Jazz Ensemble has more success in recent years, winning the "Best Jazz Ensemble" award at the Music Showcase Festival, in addition to numerous solo awards.

Jackson's Band consists of the following groups: 7th Grade Band, Concert Band, and Jazz Ensemble.

[edit] Clubs

  • Quiz Bowl Club
  • History Club
  • Junior Civitan
  • Builders' Club
  • Yearbook
  • Newspaper
  • Game Club
  • MathCounts
  • Math Field Day
  • Robotics
  • National Junior Honors Society (invitation only; will end as of the 2007-2008 school year)
  • Joy Club
  • Computer Club

[edit] Mascot

The Jackson General(s) is the official mascot of Jackson Junior High School. The logo is an equestrian soldier. The equestrian soldier logo eclipsed an armed servicemen emerging form a tank due to fears of politically correctness. The mascot is in honor of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson who was a native of West Virginia.

[edit] Facts

  • The syndicated news broadcast, Channel One, is played every morning during homeroom.
  • The Jackson Junior High Olympics are held on the last two days of school.
  • Next year Jackson Junior High School will be Jackson Middle School, with grades 6-8.