SWHS Principal's weekly updates for March 5th

Good evening, this is Mike Hettenbach, Principal of Southwest Guilford High School with your weekly updates and reminders...

This coming week is Social Worker appreciation week. Our very own, Michelle Phillips is one of the best and we are privileged to have her. The amount of tasks she handles unbeknownst by many is extraordinary and should not be overlooked. Please help me in thanking Mrs. Phillips for what she brings to Southwest. 

This Tuesday, March 6th, is our Rising Freshmen visit for students only during the school day followed by the parents of Rising Freshmen Curriculum Night promptly at 5:30 - 7:00 starting in the auditorium and ending in the freshmen gym. Please share this event with all of your friends who have rising freshmen coming to SWHS next year. The Middle School/High Chorus School performance will follow immediately thereafter and there will be a Food Truck on site, Food Freaks Stuffed Hamburger truck for dinner if you are interested. 

This coming Thursday is the 2nd interim report for the 3rd quarter. Please make sure your child brings home a report from every one of their teachers.

This coming Friday is PTSA Chic Fila day for SWHS. Whether it is breakfast, lunch or dinner, please visit them for a meal or remind your driving teenager to stop by  place an order and simply mention SWHS so a portion of the proceeds come right back to the SWHS PTSA. 

The past couple of weeks, I am sure most of us have had a very similar topic on our mind, and that is safety in our school. I have spoken to and met with a handful of you and I am happy to know you are on board with us as a school to do whatever it takes to make sure we are as safe as possible at Southwest Guilford High School. We have a donor who is willing to make a large donation matching dollar for dollar for every donation made by the community. We will share more about that in the coming weeks. While we must keep the routines of our everyday instructional practice as normal as possible, please know we are focusing additional efforts on safety at SW. 

This past Thursday, I have recently met with district wide principals, reviewing safety practices and procedures, lock down protocols and threat awareness. While I have asked our staff to review these procedures with our students these past couple of weeks, there will be additional hands-on training for school staff in the coming months.

The district is also partnering with representatives of Sandy Hook Promise, an organization that teaches gun violence prevention. This will teach us ways to recognize the signs of a potential threat, especially on social media, and how to build a community of inclusiveness that prevents young people from becoming isolated from their peers.

So while we need secure buildings, and we at SW have some items in motion to increase the security at SW, as well as having an SRO on campus, we also need to recognize the signs of children in crisis and find outlets for help. Additionally, we must report legitimate threats and not perpetuate panic by blindly sharing unsubstantiated posts on social media.

I hope you are on board and understand as I say we will not solve this problem today. I am working with a team of parents in the coming weeks as we will be looking to acquire projects from the county as well as solicit funds from the community to increase the level of security that is already coming our way. I will keep you updated with our plans for increasing safety and security at SWHS. 

As I am on the topic of safety, we are seeing an increase have too may cars dropping off students on the main roads. Please drive into our campus to drop off your child. Dropping your child off on the main roads, or picking them up, not only impedes the flow of traffic but is an extremely unsafe practice for yourself and for others.  

Seniors, Herff Jones will be back on SWHS’s campus on Monday, March 5 during lunches to work with seniors who either:

1. Failed to pick up their cap and gown.
2. Are having problems with their cap and gown.
3. Anything dealing with supplies for graduation. 

As it relates to the weekly athletics, please feel free to navigate to the www.cowboysports.org website for detailed information. 

Upcoming Athletic schedule, extracurricular events, and important activities:

Monday, March 5
4:00 - 6:00 PM Sophomore Ring Orders - Front Foyer
6:30 PM - Winter Sports Awards - Auditorium
3:30 PM Mens Varsity Golf R J Reynolds High School Home 
4:30 PM Mens Varsity Tennis Grimsley High School Home 
5:30 PM Womens Junior Varsity Soccer West Forsyth High School Home 
6:00 PM Womens Varsity Soccer Triad Women's Challenge @ Bryan Park Away 

Tuesday, March 6

8:50 - 11:30 AM - Rising Freshmen Visit
5:30 - 7:00 PM - Rising Freshmen Parent Night
7:00 - 8:30 PM - MS/HS Chorus Performance
10:30 AM Instructional Meeting - Mrs. Barnum's office
3:30 PM Mens Varsity Golf Tri Match vs. NWGHS/Ragsdale Home 
4:30 PM Mens Varsity Tennis R J Reynolds High School Away 
5:00 PM Mens Varsity Baseball Ben L. Smith High School Home 
5:00 PM Womens Junior Varsity Softball Southeast Guilford High School Home 
5:30 PM Womens Varsity Lacrosse High Point Central High School Home 
7:00 PM Womens Varsity Softball Ben L. Smith High School Home 
7:15 PM Mens Varsity Lacrosse High Point Central High School Home

Wednesday, March 7

8:00 AM Faculty Meeting -Media Center
3:30 PM Mens Varsity Golf High Point Central High School Away 
4:30 PM Coed Varsity Track Conference Meet vs. Dudley/N. Forsyth Home 
5:00 PM Mens Varsity Baseball High Point Central High School Home 
5:00 PM Mens Junior Varsity Baseball High Point Central High School Away 
5:00 PM Womens Junior Varsity Softball Cancelled- Glenn Home 
5:30 PM Womens Junior Varsity Soccer Ledford Senior High School Away 
6:00 PM Womens Varsity Soccer Triad Women's Challenge @ Bryan Park Away 
6:00 PM Womens Varsity Softball Glenn Home 
7:00 PM Mens Junior Varsity Lacrosse West Forsyth High School Away 

Thursday, March 8

2nd Interim Reports for 3rd quarter 
6:30 - 8:00 PM NHSDA Benefit for Life Concert - Auditorium
DECA State competition
4:30 PM Mens Varsity Tennis High Point Central High School Away 
5:00 PM Womens Junior Varsity Softball Ledford Senior High School Home 
5:30 PM Womens Varsity Lacrosse Ragsdale High School Home 
7:15 PM Mens Varsity Lacrosse Ragsdale High School Home

Friday, March 9

ALL DAY - PTSA Chic Fila day - Mention SWHS
8:30 - 10:00 AM - Breakfast of Champions - Trailer 5
DECA State competition
4:30 PM Mens Junior Varsity Baseball Dudley Senior High School Away 
5:15 PM Womens Junior Varsity Soccer Northwest Senior High School Home 
5:30 PM Mens Junior Varsity Lacrosse Ronald Reagan High School Away 
6:00 PM Womens Varsity Soccer Triad Women's Challenge @ Bryan Park Away 
6:00 PM Womens Varsity Softball Dudley Senior High School Away 
7:00 PM Mens Varsity Baseball Dudley Senior High School Away 
7:00 PM Womens Varsity Lacrosse Western Guilford High School Home 
7:30 PM Mens Varsity Lacrosse Ronald Reagan High School Away

Remember, you are always able to access this message on our school website under School News and titled Principal's Weekly Updates or on Facebook and Twitter. Please follow Southwest High School at SouthwestGHS for both Twitter and Facebook. This is a great way for us to communicate and stay connected. 

We are... Southwest!