Bobcat Virtual Update

Congratulations - we've almost made it to the finish line! We know that you and your students have probably worked harder this year than ever in the past, and we are grateful for your partnership with us as we navigated it together. When we were designing Bobcat Virtual Learning, we never expected that our first year would be in the middle of a pandemic with over 2,000 students, but we couldn't have asked for a more empathetic and understanding group of parents and teachers. We hope that when you look back on this year, you can see how it made you and your students a little bit stronger, a little bit smarter, and a whole lot more resilient! We are grateful for all of you!

We know that many of you are returning to your home buildings for next year, and we just want to take a moment to thank you for entrusting your students with us this year. We know it wasn't always easy, but we are happy to have been able to provide this safe alternative for you during the pandemic. For those of you who are staying with us in Bobcat Virtual Learning next year, we are grateful and excited to spend the 21-22 school year with you!

With that, we want to take a moment to announce that Mr. Neall will be retiring at the end of this school year. He has a true love for Grand Blanc schools and all of our students! When he came into this role as BVL Director, he had no idea it would happen during a national crisis that nearly quadrupled the expected enrollment, but he was able to take on the challenge with dedication and enthusiasm. We know that his retirement will be a loss for us, but we are extremely happy for him and his future after school!

Next year, Mrs. Walroth will take on the role of BVL Director, along with her Secondary Curriculum Director position. In addition, she will be supported by our new BVL Coordinator, Mr. Kevin Keilitz. Mr. Keilitz has been both an elementary teacher and a high school administrator with Grand Blanc schools, and he is excited for the opportunity to join us next year!

Please reach out to us with any questions, but this will be our final newsletter of the 20-21 school year!

Jeff Neall

Bobcat Virtual Director

jneall@gbcs.org

810-591-6375

Allyson Walroth

Secondary Curriculum Director

awalroth@gbcs.org

810-591-6649

Don't forget - common work submission deadlines for the second semester of Bobcat Virtual are as follows:

• Elementary classes and middle school classes that do not give an exam and are not tied to high school credit: Wednesday, June 9, 2021, at 11:59pm
• High school classes and middle school classes that have an exam and are tied to high school credit: Friday, June 4, 2021, at 11:59pm; Exams will be given/collected during the week of June 7-11

These are the same deadlines that have been advertised all semester.

We've taken your feedback and have made a lot of exciting changes for next year. If you are interested in hearing about them, Mrs. Walroth and Mr. Keilitz will be presenting at the Board Meeting on Monday, June 7th, at 7:00pm. The meeting will take place at East Middle School and will be broadcast on Zoom. Public comments will only be allowed to in-person attendees. We'd love to have you in attendance to hear what we have learned this year and plan to change for next year.

If you haven't already done so, please take some time to complete the Semester 2 Family Check-In. Your very valuable feedback will help us to plan for the future of Bobcat Virtual.

Report Cards will be completely virtual this year. At the end of the semester, when grades are done, we will send out an email with instructions to access your report cards.

Currently, senior grades can be checked by logging in to Jupiter and changing the focus to Semester 2.

If you have any books that your student has checked out this year, please return them to the book bins outside both high schools and both middle schools. You can return to whichever book bin is most convenient, and we will make sure they are checked in.

If you have any questions about Chromebooks, please contact Technology at 810-591-1699.

If you bring a screenshot/copy of the voucher below to the information tent at the Family Fun Fest next weekend on the grounds of the High School, they will trade it for a physical free ride ticket. You must have a copy of the voucher, and it is limited to one (1) ticket per K-5 child.

Each elementary building is celebrating their 5th grade students and sending them off to the middle schools in different ways. If you would like to know how your student can participate in their home building celebration, please reach out to your home buildings for the specific information related to your school.

In the future, Bobcat Virtual Learning will host our own 5th Grade Celebration for our students, but we know that many families still consider themselves as part of their home buildings this year.

The middle schools are unable to include the 8th grade students in their individual buildings due to space and COVID protocols, but we will be replicating the exact same celebration for our 8th grade BVL students.

There will be no building-wide 8th grade celebrations; however, all 8th grade students are invited to attend a Bobcat Virtual 8th grade farewell event on Friday, June 11th.This event will take place at West Middle School, 1515 Reid Rd., regardless of which building your student attended in the past.

Parents/Guardians can sign up for a time slot between the hours of 4:00pm-6:00pm using this link. There will be room for five students to sign up at a time, and each student is invited to bring up to four guests.

Students and guests will enter through the main entrance to check in before being directed to the cafeteria. Once in place, your student will be ushered onto the stage where they will receive their recognition certificate and then exit the opposite side of the stage. Photos can be taken throughout the process, and we will also have some stations set up for additional picture opportunities.

The "event" will last approximately 10 minutes from the time your family enters the parking lot, comes into the building for the award, and exits the building. Masks must be worn at all times, and guests will be asked to follow social distancing protocols.

Any 8th grader who does not attend this event will receive their certificate in the mail.

Before the school year ends, make sure that you complete the Grand Blanc Online Registration process. This information must be updated every year before students can start school in the fall.

When you first access the registration, it will say that your student is a Bobcat Virtual student for next year. If you told us your student will be returning to the building next year, you will be able to choose the appropriate building on the last page of the registration process.

We know that it may be difficult for you to make a final decision about next school year right now, but we are being told that the goal will be for next year to open as a normal, non-pandemic year. We are asking that you make the best decision that you can at this moment in time, but we are allowing you to change your mind through July 31. If you decide to change, you can do so through your online registration or by emailing Allyson Walroth at awalroth@gbcs.org.

If you have indicated to us that your student plans to attend Bobcat Virtual for grades 6-12 next year, but they have not complete their course request, they need to do so now. We still have about 50 students who need to tell us what classes they would like to take next year.

All students should have received the appropriate survey in their email; however, if your student did not receive an email but does plan to attend BVL next year, you can access the course selection forms here:

• Incoming 6th grade student
• Incoming 7th grade student
• Incoming 8th grade student
• Incoming 9th grade student
• Incoming 10th grade student
• Incoming 11th grade student
• Incoming 12th grade student

If you originally told us that you planned to send your student back to the building next year but have changed your mind, please have your student complete this course request and then indicate in the space provided to leave comments for the counselor that your student is switching to Bobcat Virtual Learning for the 21-22 school year.

Students must be logged in to their student Google account in order to access this survey. Parents will not be able to complete it for them using their own Google accounts.

If your student has questions about graduation requirements or course selections, please contact the appropriate counselor below:

Mr. Hentes - BVL/CSS Counselor, jhentes@gbcs.org

Mrs. Newman - Special Education Counselor, mnewman@gbcs.org

Grand Blanc Community Schools

HS Assistant Principal & Secondary Curriculum

Email: awalroth@gbcs.org
Website: gbcs.org
Location: 1 Jewett Trail, Grand Blanc, MI, USA
Phone: 810-591-6649
Twitter: @allysonwalroth