Dear Chieftain and Warrior Families,

It is an honor to be your Principal and I welcome you all back to a wonderful 2022-2023 school year.  SIerra is an amazing place, known for its supportive community, dedicated Alumni, excellent students, rigorous co-curricular activities and deep historical roots.  We have served our community for over 100 years and will continue to do so. We know the past few years have been a challenge, but it is our mission to make this year fun and enjoyable. Not only will we focus on academics, but we will also be supporting students with their social emotional wellbeing. We have added a third counselor, Ms. Mendoza to our family and we are eager to meet with all of you.  It is our goal to provide each student with a rich learning environment in order to foster independent thinkers, and to promote a culture of safety and respect.  It is my hope that each student feels safe, respected, loved and supported by all of the staff at SJSHS. 

With a new year comes many new faces. This year we have added a few new teachers to our beloved campus and of course, we welcome the class of 2027-2028. Mrs. Alkire is our new Agriculture/Science teacher, Mr. Pugliese will be supporting all online courses (Apex and Dual Enrollment), Mrs. Felix is our new SPED teacher, Mr. Mahowald will be teaching 11th grade US History, AP History and Careers & Finance and Mrs. Priest is our 11th grade English/ Drama teacher.  Please join me in welcoming them all.  Like last year, all students will be given a Chromebook.  We believe technology is extremely important and is used daily in and outside of class.  It is important that students arrive each day with the Chromebook fully charged and ready for the new day. These are tools that are designed to enrich the students’ learning environment and to make learning fun. Technology is not only a device for the classroom, but an extremely important tool needed in the 21st century. Having students use their Chromebooks and other forms of technology in the classroom, we are preparing our students to be career and college ready. 

Student success is not only based on the classroom, but by the support of our parents, community and Alumni Association.  Now more than ever, we need your support in healing from the past few years of  trauma. Our community, like many others, has faced a multitude of obstacles that have tried to push us down.  However, this community would not stand for it.  We are true Warriors and Chieftains and we will stand tall and overcome. It takes a village to raise a child and that is what the spirit of Sierra does. We come out in droves to support our students and staff.  Sierra is a family, a family that digs deep when times are tough and we celebrate our successes. We continue to build upon our  traditions, while honoring those before us, and when we graduate, we wear that badge of honor with pride. We are PROUD to be Warriors and Chieftains and we are PROUD to be from this amazing community!

On behalf of the Sierra Junior Senior High School Family, I want to welcome you all to a new year and thank you for trusting us to be your school. Here’s to an exciting 2022-2023 school year!

Natalie Cozby
Sierra Junior Senior High School Principal