SWHS Principal's weekly updates for the week of October 1

Good evening Southwest!

What a great job on the ranch this past week with a focus on kindness, inclusion, teamwork and pledging to promote community and unity.  Thank you to the SAVE club, advisors Stephanie Powell and Dawn Davis, students, staff, parents and community members for participating and supporting this special event.

Southwest High School has now conducted it's first lock down and tornado drills along with the monthly fire drills. Have a conversation with your child to find out if they feel comfortable with the procedures provided by our staff. If not, please reach out to Assistant Principal, Dr. Monell, 

This coming Thursday is a College Countdown Senior Parent Night in the auditorium from 5:30-6:30. Learn about FAFSA, RDS, and Admissions. This is a no miss event especially if you are in the process of searching and applying for college.

Powder Puff is back in action in the SWHS stadium. Ticket sales start this week, $2 per person. Tickets will be on sale during all lunches this week, Monday to Thursday. You must have a ticket to enter the game. There will be concessions available, a halftime show and a PE pass incentive game.

Please take notice, Wednesday, October 10 is PSAT day for all Sophomores and Juniors. All of these students will take the PSAT right after the day begins. If any of our students have classes at GTCC, they should notify their professors that they will miss their class due to this test. 

NC Governor's School is a summer residential program for gifted and talented high school students. Students eligible to attend are sophomores who are gifted in the performing arts and juniors who are gifted in the performing arts and core academics such as English, mathematics, natural science, social science, and world languages.If interested, please contact Ms. Graves. Applications are due back to Ms. Graves by October 15th. 

Due to the day offs from Hurricane Florence, we will now be in school on November 1st and January 18th. Please mark your calendars.

Seniors in English the first semester at SWHS will give speeches during the evening of November 8th. We need adult volunteers from the community and the "ranch" to judge. If you are interested, we would need you from 5:30-8:30 during the evening of November 8th. A meal is provided and we train you using a rubric to give feedback to the students. e-mail Mrs. Davis if you are interested at davisd9@gcsnc.com. 

As it relates to athletic schedules, please visit the SWHS Athletics page at www.cowboysports.org.

Monday, October 1

2:00 PM Womens Varsity Golf 18 hole PT Final Match @ Jamestown Park Home 
4:30 PM Womens Varsity Tennis Western Guilford High School Away 
5:00 PM Womens Junior Varsity Volleyball North Forsyth High School Home 
5:30 PM Mens Junior Varsity Soccer Cancelled- Grimsley High School Away 
5:30 PM Mens Junior Varsity Soccer North Forsyth High School Home 
6:30 PM Womens Varsity Volleyball North Forsyth High School Home 
7:00 PM Mens Varsity Soccer North Forsyth High School Home 
7:30 PM Mens Varsity Soccer Cancelled- Grimsley High School Away 

Tuesday, October 2

8:45 AM - 11:30 AM - ASVAB test - Cafeteria
5:00 PM Womens Junior Varsity Volleyball Western Guilford High School Home 
5:30 PM Mens Junior Varsity Soccer Western Guilford High School Home 
6:30 PM Womens Varsity Volleyball Western Guilford High School Home 
7:00 PM Mens Varsity Soccer Western Guilford High School Home 

Wednesday, October 3

4:30 PM Womens Varsity Tennis Asheboro High School Away 
5:00 PM Womens Junior Varsity Volleyball Trinity High School Home 
5:00 PM Coed Varsity Cross Country Conference Match @ N. Forsyth HS Away 
5:30 PM Mens Junior Varsity Soccer Cancelled- High Point Central High School Away 
5:30 PM Mens Middle School Football Northwest Middle School Home 
6:30 PM Womens Varsity Volleyball Trinity High School Home 
7:00 PM Mens Varsity Soccer Cancelled- High Point Central High School Away Thursday, 

Thursday, October 4

5:30 PM - 6:30PM - Countdown to College Senior Parent Night - Auditorium
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM - Powder Puff Game - Stadium
4:30 PM Womens Varsity Tennis Southeast Guilford High School Home

Friday, October 5

No athletics

Coming Up...

Tuesday, October 9
5:30 PM - 7:00 PM - Governor's School presentation - auditorium

Wednesday, October 10
8:30 - 1:30 - PSAT - Sophomores and Juniors
2nd block - Senior meeting - auditorium - no early release

Thursday, October 11
Interim reports

Friday, October 12
Homecoming
PTSA Chic Fila Day - proceeds go back to SWHS when you mention our school


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, Twitter and Instagram. Please follow Southwest High School at SouthwestGHS for Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram! This is a great way for us to communicate and stay connected. 

We are... Southwest!

SWHS Principal's weekly updates for the week of September 24th

Good evening Southwest!

I hope each of you had an opportunity to review the interim reports that were delivered to your child by each of their teachers this past Thursday. Please remember to call or e-mail their teachers with any questions or concerns, or to simply to seek out resources that will help your child grow academically in their class. 

One way to monitor your child's grades throughout the year as well as their attendance is to have an account on the Parent Assist program. If you do not have an account, please go to the SWHS website and look under the parents tab for further assistance.

The first PTSA meeting is tomorrow, Monday, at 6:00 PM in room C132. Please come out and be a part of this great group of parents who are assisting us in making SW great. 

Seniors have their first during the day senior meeting on Tuesday at 8:50. Meetings are not optional. If they have a GTCC class, please have them reach out to me to let me know, otherwise I expect to see every senior in the auditorium at 8:50 Tuesday morning. 

This coming Friday is a jean day for students only if they have purchased a PTSA bracelet. If your child is interested in wearing jeans this Friday as well as any upcoming jean day dates, they can wear their bracelet or purchase one this Thursday during any of the lunches for only $5. 

This coming week is the Start with Hello Sandy Hook Promise week. Each day, our SAVE club students have a theme for the day. Please assist us in supporting this special week. The details can be found on the bottom of this blog. 

"We are Southwest" apparel is now on sale until September 27th. Feel free to navigate to the www.NCscreenPrintingAndEmbroidery.com website and click on the SWHS logo to place your order. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Coach Black. 

As it relates to athletic schedules, please visit the SWHS Athletics page at www.cowboysports.org.

Monday, September 24

6:00 PM PTSA Meeting C132
4:00 PM Womens Varsity Golf Conference Meet @ Jamestown Golf Course hosted by SW Guilford Home 

4:30 PM Womens Varsity Tennis Mount Tabor High School Home 

4:45 PM Mens Middle School Soccer Southeast Guilford Middle School Home

Tuesday, September 25

8:50 to 10:00 - Senior meeting - No early release for seniors
4:00 PM Womens Varsity Golf Tri-Meet with Page/Ragsdale @ Bryan Park Away 

4:30 PM Womens Varsity Tennis Ben L. Smith High School Home 

5:00 PM Womens Junior Varsity Volleyball Mount Tabor High School Home 

5:30 PM Mens Junior Varsity Soccer Mount Tabor High School Home 

6:30 PM Womens Varsity Volleyball Mount Tabor High School Home 

7:00 PM Mens Varsity Soccer Mount Tabor High School Home 

Wednesday, September 26

4:00 PM Womens Varsity Golf Tri-meet with Page/Ragsdale @ Jamestown Park Home 

5:00 PM Coed Varsity Cross Country Conference Match vs. WG and Mt. Tabor Home 

5:00 PM Womens Junior Varsity Volleyball High Point Central High School Home 

6:30 PM Womens Varsity Volleyball High Point Central High School Home 

Thursday, September 27

4:30 PM Womens Varsity Tennis Trinity High School Away 

5:00 PM Womens Junior Varsity Volleyball Cancelled- Dudley Senior High School Away 5:30 PM Mens Junior Varsity Soccer Dudley Senior High School Away 

6:00 PM Mens Varsity Soccer Dudley Senior High School Away 

6:00 PM Womens Varsity Volleyball Dudley Senior High School Away 

7:00 PM Mens Junior Varsity Football Dudley Senior High School Home 

7:00 PM Womens Junior Varsity Cheerleading Dudley Senior High School Home

Friday, September 28

PTSA Jean Day - Must wear a band - bands on sale during Thursday lunches - $5
7:30 PM Mens Varsity Football Dudley Senior High School Away 

7:30 PM Womens Varsity Cheerleading Dudley Senior High School Away

Start with Hello Sandy Hook Promise Week

Monday, September 24^th: Sidewalk Chalk/Name Tags

            -Students will be greeted as they enter the school building with ‘Hello’ and other positive messages on the sidewalk. This will be done on both the front entrance of the school, and the sidewalk going to the student parking lot. Then students will be given a name tag so that during the day, students can greet each other by their names, and create a more positive community of unity.

Tuesday, September 25^th: Green Day!, Lunch Table Notes

            -Students will be asked to wear all green to support the main color of the Sandy Hook Promise. No mask, or face paint will be allowed. During lunches, students will find hello messages on their lunch tables. Students can pass positive messages on to others or keep it for themselves.

Wednesday, September 26^th: Showcase Day, Freshman Focus Classes

            -SAVE members will be visiting the Freshman Focus classes to teach a lesson on the Start with Hello Week. The lesson will encourage students to talk to students about anti-isolation and community building here at SW.

            -Students will have the opportunity to showcase their talents at the “Start with Hello” centered talent afterschool at our “Start with Hello Showcase.” Students can create artwork, poems, perform songs, skits, and etc.

Thursday, September 27^th: Cup Stacking Contest during Lunch

            -Students during lunches will approach the SAVE table and participate in a “Cup Stacking Contest” with a teams of students created with people they just met during their lunch. Winning teams will get prizes.

Friday, September 28^th: Elementary School Hello Parade, “Start With a Hello and a Smile”

            -Students will welcome elementary students at Southwest Elementary School.  During lunch that day, students will sign a pledge to agree to promote community and unity by trying to continue to say hello and include everyone in our community. 

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, Twitter and Instagram. Please follow Southwest High School at SouthwestGHS for Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram! This is a great way for us to communicate and stay connected. 

We are... Southwest!

SWHS Principal's weekly updates and reminders for September 17

Good evening Southwest!

I hope each and every one of you, including your friends and relatives, are safe from this weekend's storm. I am hoping this event can remind us about how important it is to be prepared for crisis events. Please reinforce to your child about the importance of listening to all procedures provided on our campus regarding crisis planning and response. Thank you. 

This Thursday, Guilford County Schools is celebrating excellence from this past school year. Southwest High School is being recognized for multiple reasons. Please help me in celebrating:

Angela Hagler – Building level teacher of the year

Shannon Taylor - ACT – Lateral Entry Teacher of the Year

Guy Shavers - North Carolina Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year

90-99 Percent Graduation Rates – SWHS (95.7)

Schools Exceeding Expected Growth – SWHS (4 years in a row!)

Hubert B. Humphrey Jr. Award – SWHS

Thank you to everyone who continues to be part of making SWHS great!

Parents and guardians, while a couple of you have reached out to me, and we hopefully have made some connections, I am still looking for more individuals to assist us with the PTSA this year. Please e-mail me if you think you can assist. 

Parent assist attendance and grade monitoring is now up.

To register for an account go to Powerschool under the Parent tab on SWHS website site.

If you had an account, try your old password first,  if it doesn’t work click on “forgot my password”. If all fails and you need assistance, email clinek2@gcsnc.com.

This Thursday, interim reports are being distributed to each and every student from every teacher. If you do not see your child's report or have questions or concerns, please reach out to your child's teachers immediately. 

"We are Southwest" apparel is now on sale until September 27th. Feel free to navigate to the www.NCscreenPrintingAndEmbroidery.com website and click on the SWHS logo to place your order. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Coach Black. 

As it relates to athletic schedules, please visit the SWHS Athletics page at www.cowboysports.org.

Monday, September 17
4:00 PM Womens Varsity Golf Conference Meet @ Maple Chase Away
4:30 PM Womens Varsity Tennis Ben L. Smith High School Away
4:45 PM Mens Middle School Soccer Mendenhall Middle School Home
5:00 PM Womens Junior Varsity Volleyball Wheatmore High School Away
5:30 PM Mens Junior Varsity Soccer North Forsyth High School Home
6:30 PM Womens Varsity Volleyball Wheatmore High School Away
7:00 PM Mens Varsity Soccer North Forsyth High School Home
7:00 PM Mens Junior Varsity Football Northwest Senior High School Away
7:00 PM Womens Junior Varsity Cheerleading Northwest Senior High School Away 

Tuesday, September 18
4:30 PM Womens Varsity Tennis Grimsley High School Away
5:00 PM Womens Junior Varsity Volleyball Cancelled- Ben L. Smith High School Away
5:30 PM Mens Junior Varsity Soccer Ben L. Smith High School Away
5:45 PM Mens Middle School Football OPEN DATE Home
6:00 PM Womens Varsity Volleyball Ben L. Smith High School Away
7:00 PM Mens Varsity Soccer Ben L. Smith High School Away

Wednesday, September 19
Workday for teachers - no school for students 
1:00 PM Womens Varsity Golf Guilford County Invitational @ Bryan Park Away
5:00 PM Coed Varsity Cross Country Conference Match @ SWGHS Home

Thursday, September 20
Interim reports distributed to all students
4:30 PM Womens Varsity Tennis Wheatmore High School Home
5:00 PM Womens Junior Varsity Volleyball Parkland High School Home
5:30 PM Mens Junior Varsity Soccer Parkland High School Home
6:30 PM Womens Varsity Volleyball Parkland High School Home
7:00 PM Mens Varsity Soccer Parkland High School Home
7:00 PM Mens Junior Varsity Football Parkland High School Away
7:00 PM Womens Junior Varsity Cheerleading Parkland High School Away

Friday, September 21
7:30 PM Mens Varsity Football Parkland High School Home
7:30 PM Womens Varsity Cheerleading Parkland High School Home

COMING UP...
Start with Hello Sandy Hook Promise Week

Monday, September 24^th: Sidewalk Chalk/Name Tags

            -Students will be greeted as they enter the school building with ‘Hello’ and other positive messages on the sidewalk. This will be done on both the front entrance of the school, and the sidewalk going to the student parking lot. Then students will be given a name tag so that during the day, students can greet each other by their names, and create a more positive community of unity.

Tuesday, September 25^th: Green Day!, Lunch Table Notes

            -Students will be asked to wear all green to support the main color of the Sandy Hook Promise. No mask, or face paint will be allowed. During lunches, students will find hello messages on their lunch tables. Students can pass positive messages on to others or keep it for themselves.

Wednesday, September 26^th: Showcase Day, Freshman Focus Classes

            -SAVE members will be visiting the Freshman Focus classes to teach a lesson on the Start with Hello Week. The lesson will encourage students to talk to students about anti-isolation and community building here at SW.

            -Students will have the opportunity to showcase their talents at the “Start with Hello” centered talent afterschool at our “Start with Hello Showcase.” Students can create artwork, poems, perform songs, skits, and etc.

Thursday, September 27^th: Cup Stacking Contest during Lunch

            -Students during lunches will approach the SAVE table and participate in a “Cup Stacking Contest” with a teams of students created with people they just met during their lunch. Winning teams will get prizes.

Friday, September 28^th: Elementary School Hello Parade, “Start With a Hello and a Smile”

            -Students will welcome elementary students at Southwest Elementary School.  During lunch that day, students will sign a pledge to agree to promote community and unity by trying to continue to say hello and include everyone in our community. 

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, Twitter and Instagram. Please follow Southwest High School at SouthwestGHS for Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram! This is a great way for us to communicate and stay connected. 

We are... Southwest!

. 

SWHS Principal's Weekly updates for September 10

Another amazing week!  This past week, accountability results were released form the state on all public schools. Schools across the state can be designated as not having met expected growth, meeting expected growth, and exceeding expected growth. For the 4th year in a row, SWHS has EXCEEDED expected growth. We also increased in the areas of Graduation rate, ACT proficiency, Work keys proficiency and other areas. Please help me in cheering on this amazing staff. They work very hard for your children, more than most people will ever understand. I am a lucky individual to be able to lead this staff, this student body, the parents, guardians and amazing community.  Thank you. 

Parents and guardians, while a couple of you have reached out to me, I am still looking for more individuals to assist us with the PTSA this year. Please e-mail me if you think you can assist. 

Parent assist attendance and grade monitoring will be up and running on 9/11 the 11^th day of school. The reason for this delay, is to ensure we have all schedule changes in the system.Please reach out to your child's teachers if you have any inquiries about their grades.

To register for an account go to Powerschool under the Parent tab on SWHS website site.

If you had an account, try your old password first,  if it doesn’t work click on “forgot my password”. If all fails and you need assistance, email clinek2@gcsnc.com

I am unsure if you have seen the news, but we were spotlighted for the upcoming implementation of the OneCard student identification system. More information in details to this additional layer of safety and security will be communicated to you shortly. 

As it relates to athletic schedules, please visit the SWHS Athletics page at www.cowboysports.org.

Monday, September 10
Underclassmen Picture Day
4:00 PM Womens Varsity Golf Conference Meet @ Gillespie Park Away 
5:00 PM Womens Junior Varsity Volleyball Eastern Guilford High School Home 
6:30 PM Womens Varsity Volleyball Eastern Guilford High School Home

Tuesday, September 11
4:30 PM Womens Varsity Tennis Wheatmore High School Away 
4:45 PM Mens Middle School Soccer Northwest Middle School Home 
5:00 PM Womens Junior Varsity Volleyball High Point Central High School Away 
5:30 PM Mens Junior Varsity Soccer High Point Central High School Away 
6:30 PM Womens Varsity Volleyball High Point Central High School Away 
7:00 PM Mens Varsity Soccer High Point Central High School Away 

Wednesday, September 12
7:45-8:30 Leadership team Meeting - Media Center
4:00 PM Womens Varsity Golf Tri-Meet with Glenn/Ragsdale Away 
4:30 PM Womens Junior Varsity Tennis Mount Tabor High School Away 
5:00 PM Coed Varsity Cross Country Pre Conference Meet @ Ivy Redmond Home 

Thursday, September 13
4:30 PM Womens Varsity Tennis East Forsyth High School Home 
5:00 PM Womens Junior Varsity Volleyball North Forsyth High School Home 
5:30 PM Mens Junior Varsity Soccer North Forsyth High School Home 
6:30 PM Womens Varsity Volleyball North Forsyth High School Home 
7:00 PM Mens Varsity Soccer North Forsyth High School Home 
7:00 PM Mens Junior Varsity Football Northwest Senior High School Away 
7:00 PM Womens Junior Varsity Cheerleading Northwest Senior High School Away

Friday, September 14
ALL DAY PTSA Chic Fil A day - just mention SWHS so a portion of the proceeds goes back to the school
7:30 PM Mens Varsity Football Northwest Senior High School Home 
7:30 PM Womens Varsity Cheerleading Northwest Senior High School Home

COMING UP...

Tuesday, September 18
Interim reports distributed to ALL students

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 and soon, Instagram. Please follow Southwest High School at SouthwestGHS for Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram! This is a great way for us to communicate and stay connected. 

We are... Southwest!

SWHS Principal's weekly updates for September 3rd

Welcome back!  

What a great first week!  I am one happy Principal! Our students were amazing, the staff were in full gear taking care of students, and parents were so patient with the first week of the magnetic door system. On top of that, finding out that the efforts of our staff, students, and community were recognized at the State of the Community for Greensboro as the Hubert Humphrey Improvement Funds Award winner for the first time ever is something we all should be proud of. Multiple links can be found embedded in this blog for your viewing pleasure. 

WFMY News video and article
GCS Press Release
YouTube

A reminder that tomorrow, Monday, is Labor Day. No School for staff and students.

Parents and guardians, I need your assistance on two specific items.

First, we are in dire need of a couple PTSA board members. I can assure you the work is minimal but very much needed. Please reach out to me if you have any interest or know you of anyone that can help out. The second item I need help with is for each parent to have a conversation with their children in regards to visiting other school campuses and defacing school property. Most recently, we had students from another school visit our campus and deface our school property. Myself nor that visiting school's principal condones this behavior. I am seeking assistance from our parents to communicate with our our students that it is not wise to take a chance for any reason by visiting any opposing school property for these purposes, even if it is meant to be harmless. Additionally, if we are ever vandalized by another school moving forward, I ask our community and our students to refrain from any form of retaliation, whether it be through social media, verbally, physically, etc.I appreciate ahead of time the conversations you can have with your children in order to keep them from dealing with unnecessary consequences. 

Dress code is now in full effect starting tomorrow. Please take a moment to review the expectations for dress attire.

As a reminder, student pick up and drop off should always be in the front of the school. For safety reasons, the back lot by the gym should be kept to teacher and student movement and parking during the day. Please understand that our students are still considered novice drivers and we need to provide a safer parking lot for our students to drive in and out of. Athlete pick up and drop off can resume in the athletics parking lot. 

Parent assist attendance and grade monitoring will be up and running on 9/11 the 11^th day of school. The reason for this delay, is to ensure we have all schedule changes in the system.Please reach out to your child's teachers if you have any inquiries about their grades.

To register for an account go to Powerschool under the Parent tab on SWHS website site.

If you had an account, try your old password first,  if it doesn’t work click on “forgot my password”. If all fails and you need assistance, email clinek2@gcsnc.com

To add to our great start, the students have been wonderful by respecting our needs for increasing safety protocols at SWHS.  As a reminder, any students arriving before 8:10 should either report to the freshmen gym if they are 9th graders or wait in the front atrium if they are upperclassmen. Obviously there are exceptions to this such as being in Jazz Band zero block, meeting with teachers for tutorials, clubs, etc. Please understand that our staff do not start their day until 8:15. 

In regards to Safety and security, we are waiting on our 2nd magentic door lock to be installed. I am anticipating this install to occur soon.  We are also expecting the pilot program for the student identification card system, a visitor monitoring system as well as a student locator on buses system coming our way. We will keep everyone updated with the progress of these programs. Thank you for working with these changes and understanding that these measures are being put in place to increase the level of safety and security at SWHS.

As it relates to athletic schedules, please visit the SWHS Athletics page at www.cowboysports.org.

Monday, September 3
NO SCHOOL - LABOR DAY

Tuesday, September 4
4:00 PM Womens Varsity Golf Cancelled- Conference Meet @ Maple Chase Away 
5:00 PM Womens Junior Varsity Volleyball Dudley Senior High School Home 
5:30 PM Mens Junior Varsity Soccer Northern Guilford High School Home 
6:30 PM Womens Varsity Volleyball Dudley Senior High School Home 
7:00 PM Mens Varsity Soccer Northern Guilford High School Home 

Wednesday, September 5
4:30 PM Womens Varsity Tennis Ragsdale High School Away 
5:00 PM Womens Junior Varsity Volleyball Ragsdale High School Home 
5:30 PM Mens Junior Varsity Soccer Northwest Senior High School Home 
6:30 PM Womens Varsity Volleyball Ragsdale High School Home 
7:00 PM Mens Varsity Soccer Northwest Senior High School Home

Thursday, September 6 
4:00 PM Womens Varsity Golf East Forsyth High School Away 
4:30 PM Womens Varsity Tennis Western Guilford High School Home 
5:00 PM Womens Junior Varsity Volleyball Western Guilford High School Away 
6:30 PM Womens Varsity Volleyball Western Guilford High School Away 
7:00 PM Mens Junior Varsity Football Ragsdale High School Home 
7:00 PM Womens Junior Varsity Cheerleading Ragsdale High School Home 

Friday, September 7 
7:00 PM Coed Varsity Cross Country Friday Night Lights XC Festival @ Ivey Redmon Park Home 
7:30 PM Mens Varsity Football Ragsdale High School Away 
7:30 PM Womens Varsity Cheerleading Ragsdale High School Away

Saturday, September 8
11:00 AM High School Theater Dramatic Reading - High Point Public Library 901 N Main Street

COMING UP...

Monday, September 11
Time TBD Underclassmen Picture Day

Wednesday, September 13
7:45-8:30 Leadership team Meeting -Media Center

Friday, September 15
ALL DAY PTSA Chic Fil A day - just mention SWHS so a portion of the proceeds goes back to the school

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 and soon, Instagram. Please follow Southwest High School at SouthwestGHS for Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram! This is a great way for us to communicate and stay connected. 

We are... Southwest!