GMHS Family Update
October 9, 2020
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Principal Report & Announcements |
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Dear GMHS Students and Families,
This week's update highlights the changes to our bell schedule for next week due to assessments and the Fall Break. In addition, there have been some changes to the Quarantine Process that are also communicated below.
- Check out the video above for the video Principal Report this week!
- Check out your student's 1st 6-week grades that were posted today on Infinite Campus.
Thank you for your continued support!
Go Rams!
Colleen Owens
Principal
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Wednesday, October 14 - Future Day -
- No classes as teachers will be proctoring the following assessments.
- Seniors taking SAT in person - more information below
- Only for students that requested to take.
- Students will be at GMHS from 7:45 AM until 12:00 PM.
- Students with extended time will be released at 1:30pm
- Juniors taking PSAT/NMSQT in person - more information below
- Only for students that requested to take.
- Students will be at GMHS from 7:45 AM until 11:30 AM.
- Students with extended time will be released at 1pm
- Sophomores and Freshmen - more information below
- Remote opportunity for all Freshmen and Sophomores.
- Students will be taking this test from 8 AM until 11:30 AM.
- Seniors who have not done their handprint can do it from 11:30-12:30pm after testing.
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Thursday, October 15 - District-wide Teacher Professional Development Day
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Friday, October 16 - District-wide Fall Break
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Friday, October 23 - Senior Photos Due
- GMHS Virtual Homecoming Week is October 26-30
- Spirit Days - The Event Planning Committee (EPC) students are working on the details.
- Powder Puff - Jersey's have been ordered and will be here the week of Oct. 19th.
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Thurs. November 12 - Virtual Student/Parent/Guardian/ Teacher Conferences. More details coming soon.
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Updated Quarantine Process
In collaboration with Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH) and observing Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) updated guidelines, we are revising our quarantine process effective immediately. This will continue to ensure a comprehensive health and safety process while also potentially reducing the number of quarantined students and staff. The revisions modify the identification process for middle and high school students and staff enabling a more precise targeted identification process.
Updates include:
- Elementary schools will have minimal changes.
- Middle and High Schools will use Targeted Contact Identification which can be used in classrooms under the following conditions:
- when there is a documented seating chart,
- documented identified small group participants every day,
- desks separated and at least 6 feet apart,
- desks facing the same direction,
- and students are seated long enough to make seating charts applicable.
Schools will be implementing classroom modifications to ensure targeted contact identification.
Rapid COVID-19 Tests
Due to the most current guidance from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), we will now accept Rapid COVID tests. A Rapid COVID test, known as an antigen test, can quickly detect fragments of proteins found on or within the virus that causes COVID-19. You can learn more information about Rapid COVID tests here.
Jeffco Public Schools will accept Rapid COVID tests under these conditions:
- Accepted if positive and asymptomatic
- Accepted if positive and symptomatic
- Accepted if negative and asymptomatic
- When rapid is negative and symptomatic, we will ask for PCR (nasal swab)
Nicole Collins RN, BSN is assigned
Jeffco Public District Registered Nurse
Cell #: (720)618-8490
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Counseling & Future Center |
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Emotional and Mental Health
A Message to Parent/Guardians:
As the COVID-19 virus continues to rage in all our lives, our kids are also feeling the impact. Children feed off the stress in their families. If parents are stressed, they will inadvertently pass this stress onto their children. No one wants to do this, yet this is a situation that is unavoidable.
I am giving parents some homework.
- Give yourself a half an hour every day to take time for yourself to breathe, go on a walk, call a friend, watch stand-up comedy, eat your favorite food, or drink a cup of your favorite coffee.
- The goal of this homework is to help you de-stress. The more you can manage your own stress the more your children will benefit.
- It may be challenging to make time for this, but your children will reap the rewards.
- If your life is too hectic to spare a half an hour of self-care, no need to worry, an alternative way to meet this assignment is to call another family and meet for a potluck in a park one night for dinner.
- The wonderful weather for this is coming to a close so don't waste October. Having dinner in the park will lower your stress.
- Walking will lower your stress as long as you walk without your phone. Walking while still being connected to the global madness will not be relaxing.
- Your self care will roll directly to your student. It is strange how this happens, yet it always happens this way.
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Need some ideas? Go to the following link! 40 Ways to Relax in Less than 5 minutes.
A Message to Students:
Robbies Hope is a local agency working to cut teen suicide statistics by 50% by 2028. They have started support groups for kids to talk about ANYTHING. The closest one is in Golden. Robbie's Hope Teen Group. Check out their RESOURCES Page.
Robbies Hope is sponsoring an Art Contest in all mediums. Our youth have the power to start healing the divides in our country, and as in most cases, healing can begin with the arts.
Julie Federico is our new Mental Health School Counselor working full time with GMHS students and families. Contact her through this link to schedule an appointment: Simply Book Appt. or via email at jfederic@jeffco.k12.co.us
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Colorado Free Application Day
October 13, 2020
Check out the information on how to apply, and what colleges are participating at this link:
Students can submit their applications to colleges in Colorado to receive application fee waivers only on October 13, 2020. Out of state colleges are not included in this Colorado Free Application Day. Get your materials ready now!
The applications must include all required essays, and other information completed by the students on that date. Student transcripts, teacher and community letters of recommendation, and all high school required documentation are not required to be submitted on October 13, 2020, but must be submitted by the published deadlines of each individual institution. Be sure to let Mrs. Griffin know when you've applied and to make sure you have requested transcripts and letters of recommendation on Naviance.
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College Fairs
There are numerous virtual college fairs coming up! These are open to all students, but particularly Juniors. Please keep your eye on GM social media for more info and/or the Counseling and Future Center pages on the GM website. Feel free to contact your student's counselor for more details as well.
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CHECK OUT THESE
Register/Apply by October 31
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WELCOME! YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN THE FOLLOWING WEBINAR
For many families, the high cost of higher education is a daunting proposition. Parents lie awake at night trying to figure out how to afford sending their children to college and still have enough of their hard earned money to be able to retire one day. Some families have children attending college next year and others have 12 years to plan; but the fears of tackling these monumental and rising costs are the same. The College Funding Coach® is here to help families figure out HOW to pay for it! Through our educational workshop, Little-Known Secrets of Paying for College you will learn: How to avoid jeopardizing your retirement nest egg! Effective ways to simultaneously save AND pay for college Strategies to pay for multiple children attending college at the same time How to recapture out of pocket college costs And much, much more! Click flyer below for larger image.
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Virtual Future Center Appointments
Services provided through the Future Center include:
*Official Transcripts submitted to colleges or for scholarships
*Unofficial transcripts for student personal use
*Letters of recommendation request forms
Information/postings regarding: ACT or SAT testing;
- college financial aid; scholarship opportunities;
- college summer study opportunities;
- student leadership or volunteer opportunities;
- local employment opportunities
And More..."
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HELP WANTED 📌
UPS, Target, Amazon and many other companies are hiring seasonal workers, starting at $15/hour + benefits — OVER 200,00 jobs available!
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Jefferson County Workforce Center
Services open to all youth include:
- Access to job listings and national job search Internet sites
- Career assessment and counseling
- Extensive library of financial aid, education and job search-related resources
- Job referrals and job development assistance
- Job search and job success skills training workshops
- Referrals to schools, agencies and other youth resources
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Highly Recommended Opportunity for Parent/Guardians! |
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It’s never too late to register for the workshop series, Parenting with a Coaching Mindset! Each workshop session stands on its own, so you can pop in and out of the series, and still get a lot of value. Session 2 is next Tuesday, October 6, at 12pm, via Zoom. This workshop series is sponsored by Green Mountain High School, and it's free to parents in Jefferson County Schools. The same session 2 will also be held on Wednesday, October 14, from 7-8pm, via Zoom. If you can't make them, you can attend the FB Live session on Thursday, October 15, from 8 to 8:30am. You are free to attend all 3 of these sessions, if you like. To register for this workshop series, first, email me your first and last name. Then, send me a Friend Request via FB, and I will invite you to the group, Coaching Your Kids, where the FB Live sessions happen. The FB Live video of Session 1 is saved on this page, and I highly recommend that you watch it, and do the homework. This page contains other content that is supportive to parents. You are free to post your challenges with parenting, get support, coaching tips, etc.. It's a totally safe space!
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RTD Transportation for Students
Do you need help getting your student to and from school?
RTD's Flex ride is available to pick up students in the morning and drop them off at school, and do a return trip after school.
RTD would like to know how many families would use this service in case they need to plan for an extra Flex ride bus. Please go to this FLEX Ride Form and let us know that you would use this service for your students. We in turn will alert RTD of the number of potential riders.
Green Mountain Flex Ride
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SAT (12th) and PSAT/NMSQT (11th)
On Wednesday, October 14th students in the 11th and 12th grade that signed up via the survey or email will be in person at GMHS taking the official SAT and PSAT/NMSQT tests. You and your student will receive a confirmation email today, October 2nd, if they are signed up to take one of these assessments. If you and/or your student does not receive a confirmation email then they are not signed up for the test and should not show up to school on October 14th. If you have any questions or concerns please reach out to Tommy Craig at 303-982-9528 or Tommy.Craig@jeffcoschools.us.
Please review the following letter for more information about these assessments and the required data entry fields for testing as well as the optional portions of the student questionnaire.
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Practice PSAT Opportunity for Freshmen and Sophomores
College Drive is now making students register via http://www.collegedrive.com/psatday/. You must register by Tuesday, October 13th. There is no cost to you to register for this test.
On Wednesday, October 14th students in the 11th and 12th grade will be in person at GMHS taking the official SAT and PSAT/NMSQT tests. On this day all students in the 9th and 10th grade will have the opportunity to take a practice PSAT remotely. There is no in person or remote learning on October 14th, so I hope that every student in the 9th and 10th grade take advantage of this practice PSAT to help them perform better when they take the official PSAT in the spring and eventually the SAT their junior year.
Please refer to the flyer and read the test instructions that will be emailed from College Drive the day before testing. If your student does not have access to a printer at home, they may pick up a hard copy of the PSAT Answer Sheet at the front security desk between October 5th and 8th. Otherwise click on the link for the PSAT Answer Sheet to print your own.
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DATE CHANGE: Due to unforeseen circumstances, we have had to change the date of our Virtual Senior Graduation Meeting. The link to the video presentation will be sent to all seniors and their contacts in Jeffco Connect by 5pm on November 9. There are too many people for us to have a "live" virtual meeting with virtual conferencing restrictions.
- Please watch the video to learn about how to order your cap & gown (they are changing this year), graduation announcements and/or senior gear if you wish.
- We will also go over the senior year expectations and graduation day logistics and expectations.
- Senior Pictures are due to gmhsramsyearbook@gmail.com by October 23.
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Student Support & Technology Update |
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Securly Home App
Jeffco is now providing families with the ability to monitor and control their student’s internet and app activity on district devices at home using the free SecurlyHome app. (Learn more about how to control behavior on your student's Jeffco device on the SecurlyHome App Custom Control page.)
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TECH TROUBLESHOOTING: If your student is having tech issues, please try a couple of common troubleshooting tricks before calling the district's family/student IT department (303) 982-3438.
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Logins:
- Use a Chrome browser and make sure you re logged-in with your School Google account (not a personal account)
- Use the log-in "Sign in with Google" button whenever it is presented
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For other district applications (like www.Jeffco.Schoology.com), use your school ID only (not full email) and school password
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Restart: Shutdown your computer; wait 10 seconds before restarting
- Please restart Chromebooks and computers at least two or more times a week,
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Update: make sure your Chrome browser is updated
- Update the Operating System on a Chromebook
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History: Clear your cache/history to "All time"
- Clear Browsing Data & Chrome Cache
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Extensions: Clear out your extensions
- There are a lot of extensions and games students add that mess with features on your device. So, we need you to clear out anything that isn't school-used.
- Clearing Cache, Extensions and Apps on a Chrome Device
After doing that, if you are still experiencing wonky issues, then call the district's family/student IT line at (303) 982-3438. If it is determined that you need to send it in for repair (district/school devices only, not personal), then we will issue you a loaner device at GMHS. Let me Ms. Vezzetti know how it goes!
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Thousands of eBooks now available!
GMHS is now connected with the eBooks and audiobooks from Jefferson County Public Libraries (JCPL). These titles are blended into our GMHS online library catalog, Destiny Discover. Please see the attached slide-videos to learn how to login, search, and use reading tools all online from your Chromebooks!
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Yes, you can still checkout hard-copy physical books
If students like reading hard-copy physical books, they can still check them out through placing "holds". We'll pull them off the shelves and have them available for students to pick up at the circulation desk.
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The GMHS PTA is accepting membership enrollment for the 2020-2021 school year!
PTA's role is vital now more than ever in connecting parents, teachers, and administrators, and supporting critical school needs. We want as many families to join PTA as possible, because we can do more together than apart!
Click here GMHS PTA to sign up for the 2020/2021 school year. Once you hit SUBMIT, you will be taken to a page with a "BUY NOW" button where you can pay your $20 membership dues.
Next Virtual Meeting: Monday, October 12 @ 6:20 p.m.
Reach out to Lisa Lord, PTA President to receive the meeting link. (jonlord@comcast.net).
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State Golf: Congratulations to ...
- OLIVER GIBBONS placed 11th in State
- JACK POLICARO placed 28th in State
Regional Cross Country: Congratulations to ...
- GRAHM TUOHY-GAYDOS - 4A Regional Individual Champion!
- Girls XCountry placed 2nd!
- Boys XCountry placed 5th!
Football: Won against North Ridge this week in their home opener!
Stadium Capacity/Football Game Attendance
During this time of COVID-19, we are restricted to a certain capacity at our venues. Our District Athletic Director has been working closely with Jefferson County Public Health on variances to expand the current allowance of 175 total people at a venue. The numbers discussed have not been officially approved yet from JCPH, but when they are, we will get that information out. That being said, we will be issuing coupons to enter stadiums to the players to distribute. The coupons will provide the ability to purchase a ticket. Anyone showing up without a coupon will not be able to attend.
Those of you unable to attend the varsity games in person will have the opportunity to watch it through the NFHS Network, which is a live stream. YOU CAN HOST A WATCH PARTY! You can purchase a monthly pass for $10.99 or a yearly pass for $69.99. Please visit the site for more information.
Lower Level Football Games
Lower level games are limited to one parent per player. Others will not be admitted. Unfortunately, we do not have the ability to stream these games.
*Please understand that if we do not follow these guidelines, Jefferson County Public Health can shut us down at any moment, leaving our kids unable to play the game they love.
- ATHLETIC ELIGIBILITY
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Athletic Eligibility will be run by pulling the “in progress” grades every Wednesday by noon for all in season athletes. Those reports are sent to coaches so they can communicate with their athletes if they are listed as ineligible. It will be the athlete’s responsibility to email their teachers if they believe there is an error with the grade listed. They should request that the teacher email both Ms. Sereno and Mrs. Koontz by 3 pm on Friday in order for them to regain their eligibility for the following week. When emailing, teachers will state the name of the class and what the correct grade is, and cc the student so they know the email was sent. Students are responsible for taking care of this by the deadline.
- Come out and support, but make sure you wear a mask!
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Find schedules, seasons, and other info here: https://greenmountainhs.rschoolteams.com/
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Communication with GMHS
- Main Office: 303-982-9500
Technology Questions:
- Wendee Vezzetti, Digital Teacher Librarian
- wwalter@jeffcoschools.us
Counselor Contact Information
- Laura Oliver - 9th grade for 20-21
- loliver@jeffcoschools.us
- Alicia Kuehn - 10th grade for 20-21
- akuehn@jeffcoschools.us
- Erin Slaughter - 11th grade for 20-21
- eslaught@jeffcoschools.us
- Kim Angcay - 12th grade for 20-21
- kaangcay@jeffcoschools.us
- Dr. Lisa Langerman - School Psychologist
- lschrade@jeffcoschools.us
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