From the desk of Principal Deborah Finn
Issue 9, March 4,2021
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THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:
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We hope you will participate in the 5Essentials survey - read more about it in Academics.
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Read more about Graduation and Prom under Student Life.
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This coming Monday (3/8) is an institute day with no classes for students. See Happening Next Week for more information about next week’s schedule.
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Message from the Principal |
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We hope that everyone had a good first week in hybrid and that your second week is going well. Many people - students and staff alike - shared stories with me about interacting with each other in-person and remotely and feeling a new found energy and engagement in learning. Whether you ventured into school for your first days in-person or you remained learning from home, we know that transition is not easy. We are so proud of everyone for how they have weathered the changes and settled in at least for now to a new normal.
Also, we want to take this opportunity to remind you that students who have selected and are enrolled in Hybrid A or Hybrid B will be marked Tardy with a code (R) if/when they attend class remotely instead of in-person. The school is tracking this data to help with future planning. Please remember to call the attendance office for your student if they will not be attending school as scheduled.
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Monday, March 8 - Staff Institute Day, No Classes
Tuesday, March 9 - White Day Schedule
Wednesday, March 10 - Blue Day Schedule
Thursday, March 11 - White Day Schedule
Friday, March 12 - Blue Day Schedule
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Students and teachers across Illinois now have the opportunity to participate in the ninth annual statewide Illinois 5Essentials Survey. This survey is designed to generate a detailed picture of the inner workings of your child’s school. As a parent, you can share your thoughts on the important elements of school effectiveness in a survey about your child’s school. You can read more about this survey at this link: UChicago Impact
Additionally, our district has chosen to provide the optional Parent Supplement survey. If at least 20 percent of Highland Park High School parents complete this survey, a parent supplement report will also be generated. The parent data will not be reported on the State Report Card. Your identity and survey responses will be kept completely confidential and will never be connected to you or your child. The Illinois 5Essentials Survey for students and teachers will be conducted in March as well. The HPHS Parent Survey Supplement will be conducted from March 8, 2021 to April 2, 2021. To take the survey please click here and select the appropriate survey to begin.
For more information about the Illinois 5Essentials Survey, or to view previous years’ Reports, please click here. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact 5Essentials Client Services at via email (click here) or at 1-866-440-1874.
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INFORMATION FOR SENIORS AND THEIR FAMILIES
There are so many questions surrounding what the end of the year will look like but there are few things we can tell you now. The most important thing to know is we are going to do everything in our power to create meaningful experiences for our seniors. Of course, in creating these experiences, please know that we will continue to be bound by guidance and restrictions established by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), as well as the state, county, and local community. Currently, we are planning for scenarios in which we will be wearing masks, maintaining social distance, and keeping indoor gatherings to 50 or fewer individuals. With that being said, we want to share some of the details of two major events we typically host for our seniors.
Graduation will take place on Wednesday, May 26 (the specific time is TBD). Our goal is to host an in-person graduation, while also providing a live-streamed, remote option for students and families who are unable to attend. Unfortunately, Ravinia will not be available in time for our graduation. As such, our new graduation location will be at Highland Park High School - Wolters Field. We are looking at having a few graduation ceremonies based on Covid-19 mitigations. Additional logistical details such as the number of guests per graduate are still being determined based on the restrictions we face during this time.
Prom will occur on a yet-to-be-determined date and location. Our goal is to maximize the number of students that we will be able to have together at one time. The event will most likely be outdoors and on campus. Look for more information to come as we get closer to spring and restrictions become more clear. In the meantime, a survey is going out to the senior class on Friday, 3/5. We look forward to hearing from our senior students about their hopes for Prom this year.
Seniors, we know that this has not been the year you wanted or hoped for throughout your high school experience. While graduation and prom may still not be completely “normal,” we are hopeful that we can still provide a very special experience that allows you to be with your class, in some way, so that you can celebrate together. We are going to do our best to make this possible. We are so excited to celebrate the Class of 2021!
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ACTIVITIES
We are inviting students to join HPHS Girl Up in celebrating International Women's Day by participating in our annual Leadership Symposium featuring a distinguished panel of women innovators, creators, activists, and leaders. The IWD Symposium will take place Monday, March 8th from 11:30-12:30 via Zoom webinar, so that panelists can discuss with board members, and attendees can watch and/or ask questions electronically.
24|7|365 recognizes Black History Month - Celebrating the Black Family! Please take time to review stories and highlights of Black Families in our community and influencers in our world. CLICK HERE to see this fabulous story catalog.
ATHLETICS
Some spring sports offerings started this week with others starting in the next few weeks. CLICK HERE to see all athletic start dates for Spring and Summer seasons at HPHS. Our Athletic Website is a great resource for more information. Go GIANTS!
We recently shared the following information with families of athletes and those who are involved in activities regarding participation in Covid testing.
- If a student is participating in athletics, please know that they are still able to test after school. A student should speak with their coach/sponsor to make them aware of their scheduled testing time.
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Early morning testing times (7:00 - 7:30) are available and would lead to less conflict with after school activities. If a student prefers to test during this time, they should complete the google form again and indicate this request
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Just a reminder, this weekly newsletter will now include the latest version of the GIANT Life News (GLN), instead of sending separately to parents/guardians twice a week. Click here to access our website and the most recent GLN links. GIANT Life News contains specific details about student life at HPHS and will continue to be emailed to students twice a week as their main source of HPHS happenings.
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Our counseling office is a busy place! They are always focused on maintaining social distance in their reception area. If you arrive and there are too many people, please remember that you can make an appointment with your counselor by using the posted QR codes in the hallway just outside of the counseling office. This helps counselors better process all visitors and allows them to ensure that they can address students in crisis in a timely manner.
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Notifications for Missed SHIELD Testing Appointments |
Like attendance notifications, these notices are auto-generated based on the selection for Hybrid Learning for your student or your student's participation in on-campus activities or athletics. If your student did not undergo testing due to quarantine, active COVID-19 case or other absence and you have notified the school, you can disregard the message. These notices fall under the "General" category in Infinite Campus. If you wish to modify how you are notified for General notices, you are control our settings in the IC Portal.
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