Gopher Senior Newsletter

Transcription

1 Graduation Message Graduation is a wonderful time for parents, families, and seniors. The excitement, joy, and pride that everyone feels at this event is electric and I look forward to it each year. Graduation is on June 14 at the Memorial Coliseum (more details are in this newsletter) and I look forward to seeing the thousands of family members that will be present. A Century of Excellence Unfortunately, we are nearing that time when senioritis can set in. After Spring Break each year seniors begin to see a light at the end of the tunnel and sometimes focus less on school than they should. This is the worst time to lose focus. Seniors are advised to make every effort to finish strong for many reasons. Graduation is at stake. Each year several students relax too much and fail a required class. These students do not appear on the graduation stage. It is that simple. Many college admissions are contingent upon 8th semester transcripts Many scholarships are still available and it is important that students be able to show that they are still challenging themselves. A high school diploma is your ticket to choices that make your adult life better. Do not allow your life to be limited because you slacked in the spring of your senior year. While it can be inviting to let down and relax, it is generally not in a senior student s best interest to do so. More than ever parents should monitor and encourage their senior student to do his/her very best right up until the end of the semester! Congratulations to everyone for making it this far. Parents, staff, and students have worked very hard to get us to this point and we all deserve a share of the credit for each student s success. Sincerely, An International Baccalaureate World School John Koch, Principal Our Mission: Every student prepared for a lifetime of learning, career opportunities, and productive contributions to the community. GHS Guiding Principles: REAL: Respect Excellence Accountability Leadership makes you a success now and in the future. Inside: Senior Calendar of Events Grades and Grad Requirements Parents Monitoring Grades Senior Check Out Procedures Senior Class Meeting Student and Guest Behavior at Commencement Recognition Senior All Night Party etc. Grad Trips and Photos GHS: Preparing every student for success. Page 1

2 April 4 & 5 Every 15 Minutes Program; Assembly after lunch on Thursday, April 23, Gym April 9 Jr./Sr. PROM, Providence Park from 8-11 pm. Photos at GHS 4:00 6:30 pm April 29 No School, End of 12-week Grading Period; Progress reports will be mailed during week of May 3 May 3-19 IB Exams, Contact IB Coordinator, Ms. Kathy Childress for more information May 3 Required Senior Class Meeting & Photo, 7 th period, Main Gym (CAL and ACE students will be released to attend) May Jostens Cap and Gown Distribution at lunchtime in the Main Gym; if you haven t ordered your cap and gown yet, call Jostens Representative, Brian Coushay ( ) May 19 Pass/No Pass Deadline; 3:00pm May 21 AVID Grade 12 Celebration May 30 Memorial Day, (No School) May 26 Senior Check-out forms distributed and must be returned to bookkeeper by June 3. May 31 Senior Banquet, 6:30 PM, GHS cafeteria June 7 Senior Recognition/Scholarship Night, 6:30 PM, Cafeteria, (generally for seniors who have received scholarships and/or awards and their parents/guardians) June 8 Seniors Last Day! All class work must be completed and turned in by 3:00 pm. Senior Check-out procedures must be completed and forms turned in to the bookkeeper for final checkout. All fees must be paid by this date. Commencement tickets (10) will be distributed. Extra tickets, up to five (5) and by request only, are available after check out is completed. June 14 Graduation Practice, Memorial Coliseum, 8:00 am 10:00 am (arrive by 7:30 am); All seniors are REQUIRED to attend and must provide their own transportation to and from practice. June 14 Commencement Ceremony, Memorial Coliseum, 5:00 PM; All seniors must arrive by 4:15 pm. June 14 Senior All-Night Party, buses will depart from Gresham High School at approximately 9:00 pm. (The Senior All-Night Party is not a school-sponsored function; it is planned and chaperoned by senior parents.) Page 2

3 Grades and Graduation Requirements All seniors must meet Gresham Barlow School District graduation requirements in order to participate in commencement. If you have any indication that your student s academic performance and grades may be placing him/her in jeopardy of not graduating, contact his/her counselor and teachers immediately. You may call ( ) and/or . addresses are available on the GHS website. If your student attends the Center for Advanced Learning or the Academy for Architecture, Construction and Engineering, I encourage you to contact teachers at those schools and CAL Director, Carol Egan, at or ACE Director, Mark Clifford, at Twelve- week progress reports will be mailed home the week of May 1 st, For some students, meeting graduation requirements is one of the first times in their lives that they have had to comply with an absolute requirement. A few seniors continue to believe that somehow an exception will be made for them at the last minute. I assure you, there are no exceptions made for students that do not meet state and District graduation requirements. One of the most difficult tasks that GHS counselors and administrators face is telling parents that their son/daughter will not participate in graduation. Please stay apprised of your student s progress toward graduation (see article entitled Parents Should Monitor Grades in this newsletter) we don t want there to be any surprises during the last week of May. Remember- - - ONLY students who have completed ALL requirements for graduation (including credit requirements, career- related learning standards, career- related learning experiences and an academic portfolio containing all work samples) are allowed to receive a diploma and participate in commencement exercises. No exceptions will be made. Essential Skill Requirement and Graduation The graduating Class of 2016 is required to meet the essential skill requirements in reading, writing and math in order to graduate. Most Seniors will have met this requirement by passing the Smarter Balance Assessment (SBA), however those that did not, need to meet through Gresham High Schools Local Performance Assessments (LPA). Opportunities exist across the curriculum, in multiple classes for a student to take an LPA. As we enter our last 10 weeks of school, it will be imperative that your student to check their graduation status with their counselor and through Student and ParentVue (see next article). Questions can also be directed to our testing coordinator Barbara Cooke. Ms. Cooke can be reached via phone at (503) or cooke2@gresham.k12.or.us Page 3

4 Over the next several weeks the auto dialer will be calling all students missing graduation requirements. Many students still have not completed portfolio pieces, career related learning activities (2 required), or have not met the essential skills of reading or writing. If you have a question about these requirement please or call your student s counselor, assistant principal, or Barb Cooke. Parents Should Monitor Grades The second semester is here and there are less than 80 school days left until graduation. It is critical that all seniors track whether they have met the essential skills of writing, reading and math as well as personalized learning requirements. Parents and students can check the status of graduation requirements simply by following the steps below. 1. Log in to Student or ParentVue. 2. Click the course history button on the right side of the page 3. Look for the link entitled graduation status in the top right corner of the screen. This screen will have information about credits earned and needed, state tests, and personalized learning requirements. A list of personalized learning requirements can be found in the student handbook but includes a career plan, an extended essay, and two, career related learning experiences (CRLE). Seniors that had health first semester should have this assignment completed. Those that have health in the second semester will complete this assignment this spring. CRLE s are sometimes completed in class but many times are worked on independently. Inevitably, each year, students wait until the last minute to complete these assignments and jeopardize their participation in the graduation ceremony. Parents and guardians should pay close attention to these details. Notice: As the spring season begins to unfold, we will begin auto- dialer calls to the parents or guardians of students that are missing requirements. Senior Check Out Procedures Senior check out forms will be distributed on June 6 th. Forms are available for pick up in the bookkeeper s offices. These must be completed, signed and returned to the bookkeeper by June 8, There is a tendency for students to wait until the last minute to locate lost books and pay fees. Parents are encouraged to remind their senior now to get ready for clearance by turning in books, cleaning out lockers and paying fees during the check- out period. With increasing costs, the school must make every effort to recover all books. All outstanding fees must be paid prior to graduation. Students that still owe fees at the end of the year will not be permitted to participate in the Page 4

5 graduation ceremony. regarding fees that your student owes Call our bookkeeper at to receive an update Senior Class Meeting All seniors (including those who attend CAL and ACE) are required to attend a class meeting on May 5 during 7 th period in the Main Gym. At this meeting students will be given important information about expectations for the remaining weeks of school and graduation, timelines and deadlines for various events related to graduation such as distribution of commencement tickets, procedures for requesting additional tickets, cap and gown pickup, etc. Senior All- Night Party information will also be available. A senior class photo for the yearbook will be taken at the end of the meeting. Students will be reminded that violations of school and district policies regarding the use alcohol, drugs or other disciplinary/behavior issues may result in not being able to participate in graduation activities, including commencement exercises. GHS does not sanction a senior skip day. Seniors who skip classes on a designated skip day and/or a senior prank will receive consequences consistent with school and district policy. Student and Guest Behavior at Commencement Exercises Gresham Barlow School District policy requires that administrators take steps to help ensure that appropriate decorum and safety are maintained during the commencement ceremony. Appropriate guidelines regarding appropriate decorum and safety at graduation are: Students are expected to wear appropriate attire. For men that means long pants (not jeans), a shirt with a collar, and lace- up or slip- on dress shoes. Women should wear a dress, skirt/blouse, or dress slacks and appropriate dress shoes or sandals). Students are allowed to wear school- sanctioned honor cords, sashes or medals that they have earned. Other decorative adornments to the graduation cap or gown (flower leis, taped messages, ribbons, medals) are not allowed. Students and members of the audience are asked to be respectful of those who are speaking and performing during the ceremony. Applause is appropriate; catcalls and booing are not. Items that will distract from the ceremony such as air horns, beach balls, etc. are not allowed and will not be tolerated. School administrators are responsible to carry out out all School Board policies. Students and guests are expected to comply with this policy. Action will be taken should this policy be violated during our graduation ceremony. Page 5

6 Be Recognized! All seniors who are recipients of college scholarships, are asked to notify Kendra Maddox in the College & Career Center. This is important for commencement and Senior Recognition/Scholarship Night - we want to make sure you are recognized for your achievements! Senior All- Night Party, Dinner, and Auction The Senior All- Night Party is a drug/alcohol- free, parent- sponsored event where seniors can be together after graduation for a night of celebration with their friends. The $40.00 advanced purchase ticket cost per student includes transportation to the party location, great food, games, activities and prizes for seniors to enjoy. Notice: Ticket prices will increase in the spring so buy them now! Graduates will be transported back to GHS by bus and arrive at approximately 6:00 AM on June 15. Tickets sales and other information can be found on the Gopher Spirit Club website at gopherspiritclub.com. Tickets can also be purchased every Thursday outside of the Athletics/Activities Office. Parents can also send checks to GHS ATTN: SANP. Checks should be made out to SANP and have the student s name written in the memo line. If you would like to make a donation for this event or have further questions please contact Nancy Anderson at nancyanntriplett@gmail.com. If you require financial assistance to purchase a ticket contact a GHS counselor. (The Senior All- Night Party is not a school- sponsored function; it is planned and chaperoned by senior parents) DINNER AND SILENT AUCTION: Join parents and friends of the Class of 2016 for an evening of great food, entertainment and fun! The dinner and auction is an annual event that benefits the senior all- night party. This year the event will occur on Saturday, March 5, at St. Henry s Church at 346 NW 1st St, Gresham, OR Doors will open at 5:00 pm for the silent auction. Dinner will be served at 6:00 pm followed by the live auction. Remember, your generosity supports fundraising efforts and helps to create a drug/alcohol- free party for the CLASS OF 2016! Donations for the auction are still being accepted. (The Senior All- Night Party is not a school- sponsored function; it is planned and chaperoned by senior parents.) GRADUATION TRIPS We are approaching the time of year when seniors are actively planning for graduation events. One of the most common proposals is the alleged annual graduation trip to Mexico or other locations that everyone else gets to go on. Please be very thorough in researching any package graduation trips before agreeing to let your son/daughter go. In no way does Gresham High School, nor the Gresham Barlow School District, endorse or sponsor ANY kind of graduation trip. We do not allow announcements or posters to be posted, nor do we allow recruitment meetings to take place on our campus. Typically a company will promise a free trip to a senior as long as they can sign up ten of their friends (who pay) to go along. I advise checking out these companies very carefully before allowing your son/daughter to go. Experience tells us that there is too often a lack of the promised supervision on these kinds of trips. Page 6

7 Inadequate supervision can lead to easy access to alcohol and drugs, inappropriate sexual activity and the potential for serious problems to develop miles away from parental support. If you decide to allow your student to attend a senior trip, whether it be local, national or international, I encourage you to know everything you can about where your student is going, who they are going with and what is going to happen once they arrive at their destination. Page 7