Dear Parents of High School Students:
Fall is finally here! We quickly changed climates, but I’m not complaining…
We’re six weeks into the new school year, and clubs and activities are up and running. The Screamin’ Chinchillas Bowling Team just had its second meeting yesterday, a day after the first outing of the Tennis Club. Both have had fantastic participation and a lot of fun. Please note that there will be no bowling on Thursday, October 14th, as we have a 12:15pm dismissal to prepare for conferences.
Balfour made two visits to school in the past two weeks to take orders for class rings. Everyone who turned in their orders on Thursday can expect to have their rings before winter break! The orders I reviewed with the Balfour staff looked great on paper; I can’t wait to see how they look in person.
We’re finalizing our trip plans for the Key Largo trip! Airline and charter reservations have been made, and we’re looking forward to November 8th through 10th. We will be flying out early Monday morning on Airtran, and we will return Wednesday evening. Paperwork will be coming home next week outlining specifics, but I have one request that I’d like to get a head start on, if possible. Flight procedures would be much easier if our students have some form of photo I.D. Driver’s license and learner’s permits will suffice, but if students have not yet acquired either of these, a government-issued photo identification card can still be obtained. This will facilitate moving our large group through airline procedures, so any effort you can make in this area would be greatly appreciated.
Our tenth graders will be taking the PSAT on Wednesday, October 13th. They have already been registered for the test, and materials have been ordered. Testing will take place here on campus, starting promptly at 9:00am. Students will return to class upon its completion.
Please remember that our school hours are from 8:30am until 3:25pm Monday through Thursday and 2:25pm on Fridays. Prior to 8:30am and after 3:25pm, teachers are in meetings and planning for your child’s educational program. There is no additional staff available to provide supervision outside of these hours. Please respect the teachers’ time by arranging drop-off and pick-up accordingly, thanks.
On a serious note, our language arts teacher, Dana Schmidt has been experiencing health issues for the past few weeks. She has given permission to share with our families that she was diagnosed with cancer in her kidneys, and she has already been through surgery to have one removed. Additional tests and treatments are ongoing, and our days have been brightened by her arrival on the days that she feels strong enough to come in for a few hours. She has been working closely with our outstanding substitute, Lisa Scaun, to make certain that the programming and curriculum continue as planned, even in her absence. Please keep Dana in your thoughts, as she is constantly in ours. We look forward to her return to our hallways and classrooms.
Six-week progress reports are being completed today, and barring any technical difficulties, they will be uploaded to the parent portal overnight for your review. Please remember that our Help Session hour at the end of the day is optional (but still encouraged) for students whose grades in each class are above a 75 average. Students with any ‘Incompletes’ are required to attend Help Session until satisfactorily caught up, and students with any grades below 75 must attend Help Session daily, Monday through Thursday, for the next 3-week period.
Please listen out for my call next week as I begin to set up our fall conferences. Also, look for new lunch program order forms to be completed and returned next week!
Thanks for all of your support, and as always, stay in touch~
Glen Hauenstein
High School Director
