Saturday, September 12, 2020

SWGHS Principal's weekly message for September 14

Good evening Southwest!

We are heading into week 5!  Grades and attendance are now being posted. As a parent you have the opportunity to monitor your students grades and attendance through the parent portal. Please click here if you need guidance in setting up an account. if you have any difficultly with this process, please e-mail Mrs. Kristy Cline at clinek2@gcsnc.com.  As it relates to NC Virtual, GTCC and APEX classes, you will need your student to show you how they are progressing through their accounts when taking classes on those platforms. 


Please know we are still finding that students are often logging in and then stepping away from the computer.... I have told my teachers to mark students absent if this occurs. Please help us out by having a conversation with your student assisting us with our expectations.  We do not want you blindsided by any calls, reports, etc,. Any questions related to your student being marked absent should be addressed with your student's individual teacher. Their e-mail address can be found on the school's website. Additionally, you can reach out to Mrs. O'Neal in attendance through her e-mail at onealw@gcsnc.com if you need additional guidance being pointed in the right direction. 


This past Tuesday, the Guilford County Board of Education was considering the best and safest way to bring students back into the classroom. At its meeting this week, board members heard a proposal from Superintendent Sharon L. Contreras that would allow pre-K2 students to attend school five days a week beginning on Oct. 20 and grades 3-5 beginning on Oct. 26.

 

Students in grades 6-8 would also return in October for two days of in-person instruction per week, and students in grades 9-12 would return for two days of in-person instruction per week beginning at the start of the second semester, on Jan. 20, 2021. Half of the 6-12 students would attend on Monday and Tuesday, and the other half would attend on Thursday and Friday. All 6-12 students would stay home for remote instruction on Wednesdays, allowing for deep cleaning of buildings.

 

Specific groups of middle and high school students, such as students who are homeless, students in foster care, some students with disabilities, students in the first years of language acquisition and students with multiple risk factors will be allowed to return to classrooms on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, beginning on Oct. 20, also pending positive health metrics. 

At its meeting on Sept. 24, the board will vote on the metrics it will use to reopen schools as well as the plan to return students to classrooms.

Please stay tuned.

As we continue through remote learning, our schedule continues to remain Monday through Thursday with a set time for instruction. 

MONDAY through THURSDAY

Time of Day

Duration

Activity

8:30am – 9:00am

30 Minutes

Breakfast

9:00am – 10:00am

1 hour LIVE instruction

Block 1

10:00am – 10:10am

10 minutes

Break

10:10am  - 11:10am

1 hour LIVE instruction

Block 2

11:10am – Noon

50 minutes

Lunch

Noon – 1:00pm

1 hour LIVE instruction

Block 3

1:00pm – 1:30pm

30 minutes

Physical Activity Break

1:30pm – 2:30pm

1 hour LIVE instruction

Block 4

2:30pm – 3:00pm

30 minutes

Advisory time, teacher “office hours”, check in on discussion boards (Students receiving Special Education and English Learner services should check teacher canvas pages)

 Advanced Placement (AP) classes will continue to use college Board resources such as AP Classroom and AP Video Lessons, as directed by their teachers. AP teachers will share these resources

FRIDAY

Staff and Students

Friday will remain the same with staff engaged in mandatory, content specific district-wide Professional Development. Staff will share specific Friday office hours for student and parent conferencing. Additionally, teachers will work with small groups, individuals, assessments, and more. Parents/students should take full advantage of Fridays to work with your student’s teachers. EC/EL teachers will meet with students on their caseloads.

All live instruction lessons will be recorded for reference at any time. In addition, there will be supplemental resources for students to access (i.e. pre-recorded instruction, discussion board posts, video links, etc.). Friday is an opportunity to get all items turned in for the week.

*We have an expectation that all communications will be responded to within 24 hours.

** Schedule subject to change

We continue to update our "how to" links to assist everyone during remote learning. Feel free to access this document ...  Remote Learning helpful links.docx

If a student says they can not do their work, I have guided teachers to use a flowchart that will allow every student to get their work during this time until all devices arrive... Feel free to review this flowchart.

If you are looking for any basic needs:  food, school supplies, housing, mental health resources or if you have any other need to assist your students, please contacts our School Social Worker, Emily Wright. She can be reached at 336-709-9537 or via e-mail at Wrighte2@gcsnc.com .  

If you have a student who has volunteered hours, gone above and beyond to address community needs arising from Covid-19 and the ensuring economic challenges? Feel free to submit your student at spirit.prudential.com or nassp.org/spirit. The application must be received by November 20. All information related to this can be found within the link on this blog.


A Canvas course for Service Learning has been created to keep you updated and answer any questions you may have regarding Service Learning at Southwest High School. From your canvas dashboard click on the commons icon on your left side tool bar.  Search for Southwest Guilford High Service Learning, then click on the title of the canvas course. Next click import/download and you will want to download the course to your canvas dashboard.





Seniors - you need to know what to do and what to expect for their senior year. Do not procrastinate! Here is a short video from the counselors made especially for our seniors. 

Virtual colleges: Elon University Admission Visit: September 25th @12pm. Register here:  https://elon.zoom.us/j/95327285959
  • Fayetteville State University's Fall Preview Live! on September 26, 2020 from 9 am - 12:30 pm. Fall Preview Live! will be completely virtual, giving your students the chance to explore campus, hear from professors, learn how to apply, and ask questions about financial aid... all from home! The website to register for Fall Preview Live! is www.uncfsu.edu/fallpreview
  • Nu Rho chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. on the campus of UNC-Greensboro would like to host a zoom call on September 16th, 2020 for Guilford County juniors and seniors to help them prepare for college and give them guidance on topics such as application processes, ACT/SAT preparation, college essays, and scholarships/financial aid. The link to RSVP for this event is: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1908-college-tips-tickets-118791306997The event’s RSVP will close September 15th, 2020 at 11:59pm.

Please visit the updated new counseling site for remind codes, scholarship information, etc. Counselors will begin individual senior meetings and freshman focus classroom sessions soon to discuss plans after high school and graduation checklist etc.

Counselors' caseloads are as followed: Ms.Graves A-D 10th-12th, Ms.Campbell E-L 10th - 12th, Ms. Graham M-R 10th - 12th, Mrs. Hudgens S-Z 10th - 12th, Ms.Compton 9th grade counselor
Remind Codes: Text 81010 with the messages
  
      Ms. Graves
10th grade Last Name: A-D @swghs2023
  • 11th grade Last name A-D @swghs2022

    12th grade Last Name A-D @swghs2021

    Ms. Campbell

    10th grade Last name E-L @cowgirl23

    11th grade Last Name E-L @cowgirl22

    12th grade Last Name E-L @cowgirl21

    Ms. Graham

    10th grade Last Name M-R @graham2023

    11th grade Last Name M-R @graham2022

    12th grade Last Name M-R @graham2021

    Mrs. Hudgens

    10th grade Last Name S-Z @hudgen23

    11th grade Last Name S-Z @hudgen22

    12th grade Last Name S-Z @hudgen21

    Ms. Compton 9th grade 

    Class of 2024 STUDENTS

    Rmd.at/g7g87g

    Class of 2024 PARENTS

    Rmd.at/4g3d7b

* Pre-Covid 19 picture - social distancing/masks were not required

Documents to peruse as we continue to navigate.....

Student Symptom Screening 

Hygiene and Cleaning Protocols 

Within this blog is a link regarding the required immunizations for Kindergarten, 7th and 12th graders, Please reach out to our school nurse, Jennifer Conrad conradj@gcsnc.com if you have any questions pertaining to these immunizations. 

Just a friendly reminder that Lifetouch is still accepting scheduling appointments for seniors to be photographed. The link is embedded.   Lifetouch Scheduling 


Any seniors who are interested in purchasing Senior shirts, you can visit the Spirit Store at www.cowboysports.org


As it relates to Athletics, Coach Christman, the Cowboys Athletic Director will keep us up to speed. In the meantime, you can look at the revised schedule from the NCHSAA in how sports will run this year.

Southwest, I am so proud of everyone's activity in remote learning. We continue to see engagement percentages increase, absences decrease, and grades climbing upward.  Thank you again for everything you all do to make this remote learning successful. If you have any concerns, never hesitate to reach out to your student's teachers, counselor, administration or any other support staff at Southwest. 

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

We are in it it together. We got this. We are... Southwest!



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