Southwest Guilford High School

Vision 2023-2024

We are Engaged Learners

We are Diverse and Inclusive

We are Ethical Community Members

We are Southwest...

Because This Is Where We Belong

Mission 2023-2024 (Updated)

In order to develop global citizens, Southwest Guilford High School will provide rigorous, culturally relevant, and equitable educational opportunities using specific evidence that will engage students in a safe, inclusive, student-centered, and collaborative community that will prepare students for post-secondary success.

It is time for us to reenergize and kick-off another great school year! The summer has given us great memories and it is time to make more on the ranch!

School hours are from 9:15-4:15 and students may enter beginning at 8:55. To maximize health and safety for our faculty, students, and all families, students will enter at 8:55. and move immediately to breakfast and their initial class. Please understand that our staff does not begin their duty until 8:55 which will allow them to safely support your student's movement to class each day. Students are not to enter the building until 8:55 and there is staff on duty to receive them.

Students will have homeroom for the first three days at the beginning of the day in which they will get quite a bit of information from their Homeroom teachers. Beginning Day 1, we will be working on our device deployment plan. Homerooms were shared with students at Open House. Schedules were sent out at 6pm this evening via e-mail. You will be able to access your courses and homeroom. To access your homerooms, please follow these steps:

To open up the email please:

• Open Outlook
• Refresh Outlook
• Open email
• Click on link in email
• Enter password (last 4 digits of student ID)
• Schedule should appear

Please ask your student to check their schedule and be ready to head to homeroom once they enter the building on Monday. Once in homeroom, all students will get a copy of an updated schedule. Some schedules may have been adjusted due to class balancing and changes in class times. Kudos to our counselors, Mrs. Cline and all that work to ensure the classes are set.

Homerooms will also be available for students by ID number, grade level and Alphabet

• Freshman in the Freshman gym
• Sophomores by the Auditorium doors
• Juniors near the elevator
• Seniors near the snack machine closest to the student parking lot.

As a reminder, our doors are locked during the school day as an additional safety measure for the school community. If you need to enter the campus to pick up your child, you will be required to buzz in, have identification ready and state your purpose for entering the building. All visitors must check in with our front desk Office Support and she will identify your need and assist you.

Check-outs will need to be done by 4pm. This will allow our staff to call your student out in a timely fashion and get them to you safely while understanding surrounding movement and traffic in the parking lot as we prepare for buses and dismissal. For pick up, please see our Front desk office support

Back parking lot drop-off prohibited - Student drop-off is only to be in the front of the school. We will continue to have buses dropping off in the back parking lot for our exceptional children. To keep the volume down and to support our student drivers, parent drop off will only be in the front parking lot.

We are grateful to you for following the guidelines and helping your student to follow guidelines as well. Thank you in advance for understanding that we have worked to ensure the health and safety of our school community through scheduling, school operations. We are #bettertogether because we #belong

Classroom Environment

• Communicated, posted, and agreed upon classroom norms to include technology and tardy policy

Academic Focus

• Clearly posted and visible standard and skill that is being addressed in the class session.

• Essential Question visible for that class session

• Evidence of student discourse and collaboration

• Evidence of rigorous task(s) aligned to the standard for the day

Guilford County Schools has updated its Student Code of Conduct. Two important district policy updates on technology from last school year are:

SWHS 2023-2024 Technology Policy

I-6 - Technology Violation: Students may not use any electronic device or personal entertainment device during instructional time unless authorized by the classroom teacher or other school personnel with supervision responsibilities during instructional time. With this, during the instructional time at Southwest, students will have technology put away while they are in class and engaged in instruction. In addition to other interventions we have in place, any device used in violation of this policy may be confiscated and only returned to the student's parents/caregiver.

I-9 - Technology Violation - Students are prohibited from taking photographs, videos, or other media of any other student or school personnel without permission. Students are further prohibited from posting any such media or images in public spaces including online or via social media platforms. This rule includes but is not limited to posting videos of fights or other disruptive conduct where permission is not granted for the posting of each person’s image, and posting pages including images designed to make fun of or negatively target a particular student or staff member without their permission.

Students may have technology during transitions and during lunch, however, the instructional time will be protected as your student's engagement in lessons and content is important to us as we know it is to you. If students do not follow the policy and it disrupts instructional time, their phone can be confiscated. We want to focus on instruction while our students are in front of us.

Our leadership team looked at the data from students and staff and made some adjustments for this school year. Our Enrichment Block, now noted at "The Round Up," will be extremely important as we support the needs of our students. Using the MTSS Model (Multi-Tiered System of Support), we are using our Enrichment block to create learning experiences and support for all students.

Changes

2023-2024 - Enrichment was embedded daily for approximately 30 minutes

New!! 2024-2025 - Enrichment will be once a week on Wednesdays for 45 minutes.

Tardy Sweeps - We will continue to conduct tardy sweeps for students that are not in class on time. We need students in class and ready to learn when the bell rings. If students are tardy, they are missing instruction.

We are prepared to welcome our students back in the building! Please remember that daily attendance is vital to success in school. We will be monitoring student attendance closely. Please make sure your student is at school before 9:15 to get to class on time and please send notes if your child must be late or absent from school.

Attendance Policy (Updated 2022-2023)

4:30: Halls should be clear of ALL students. By 4:30, all students should be under the supervision of a coach or a club sponsor being supervised. We do not want students unsupervised in the building as this present a safety concern for students.

No Outside Food Allowed

Food deliveries to SWGHS will be turned away. Students are not allowed to order food at school. There is no outside delivery from Door Dash, Uber Eats, or any other type of service. It remains a safety concern to have strangers come to our campus to drop off food and/or for your child to exit the building to go outside to pick up food. Additionally, students are not able to receive outside food, i.e. McDonalds, Chic-Fil-A, from parents, siblings, or family members. Students are welcome to bring their lunch to school, but their lunch should arrive when they arrive at school. Should your child need lunch, we are now a CEP school and all students can eat breakfast and lunch at no cost.

OneCard is the Guilford County School's student identification and access card. One Card provides many functions including school attendance, identification, media center checkout, public library access, and more. Students will need to have their OneCard to enter the building at any time of the day.

OneCard

• In addition to fostering a safe learning environment and enhancing school safety and security One Card creates a feeling of unity among students; boosts school identity and pride; and assists with building community partnerships.

• OneCard Distribution

  OneCards will be distributed within the first couple of weeks of school once we receive them. If a student is new to GCS or does not have a picture on file, we will ensure that the student's picture is taken in order to get a OneCard issued as soon as possible.

• All students who are car riders, bus riders and student drivers will be expected to enter the building through designated entrance areas using their One Card. It is expected for students to have their One Card visible throughout the school day and will need it to enter the building at anytime of the day.

• Students who lose their One Card will have to pay $5.00 for a replacement card.

Evolv Body Scanners

Students and staff have done a fantastic job adapting to our processes. Please continue to understand and share with your students the importance of these processes and procedures upon entry to the school.

• Every person, student & visitors, entering our building will travel through the body scanner.
• The body scanning system highlights and locates material that is deemed to be in question on our school grounds.
• If there is a ping from the body scanner, the administration will locate and identify the item in question.
• Body scanners are located at the main entrance of our building and near the student parking lot entrance.
• Students will walk through the body scanners and navigate to the OneCard machines prior to going to classes each morning as part of our daily safety protocols.

(Items to watch for a ping: magnetic closing eyeglass cases, large barrell spiral notebooks, or larger laptops with a metal barrell on the spine) If these items ping, we have a protocol to check for these items and students may pass these items through instead of having them in their bag as they walk through.)

WEAVER

Weaver students will begin attending Weaver on Day 2. AM Weaver students should report to homeroom followed by the media center, PM Weaver students should report to the media center during the time that they are to attend Weaver.

AM weaver students will be able to catch the middle school bus or can be dropped off at the transportation trailer at SW high, no later than 8:30. AM Weaver students will return around 12:30 and make their way to classes.

PM Weaver students will go to the front of the school in the atrium to wait to catch the bus for Weaver at 12:30pm to get to their afternoon classes. PM Students will be transported directly home from Weaver.

Any Weaver students on-campus day 1 are NOT allowed to roam the halls or hang out anywhere other than the Media Center. They should remain at SWHS in the media center on Day 1 for attendance purposes.

GTCC-CCP

GTCC-CCP students have begun classes and are well underway. Please remind students that upon entry they need to have their OneCard. They will be able to check in, go through the Evolv scanner protocol and then proceed to class. If they have any of the items that cause a "ping," they will be subject to search as we follow the same processes as early morning entry. Please speak with your counselor or GTCC contact if you have questions or concerns.

Counseling Info and Assignments

Mr. Schnaith-Ivan - All 9th Grade Students

Mrs. Bruce - Last names A - D, Grades 10-12

Mrs. Horton (Moore) - Last names E - L, Grades 10-12

Ms. Williamson - Last names M - R, Grades 10-12

Ms. Varner - Last names S - Z, Grades 10-12

Scheduling Information

As I shared in an e-mail prior to Open House, scheduling and the processes have been impacted by a change in our allotment. Public school funding and the number of positions allotted to the district are based on the number of students served. This has had an impact on the number of teaching positions allotted to each school. As a school, we have had to realign our course offerings to accommodate the loss of four teaching positions from our building. Our counselors have worked diligently to make those changes, however, with the change in allotment, our course selection has been impacted as well. We are working to make changes now, rather than after classes have started, and to prioritize requests to ensure that all students will be able to graduate with the classes they need. The additional impact is that some courses may not be available. Our goal will be to maximize our time by ensuring we follow a process to first meet immediate graduation requirements and only addressing requests that impact the larger matrix.

On Monday, students must attend their classes as scheduled. Only students who are missing a class from a period of their schedule should need to visit their counselor for a schedule. Students without a schedule will be served on Monday and Tuesday. There will be no schedule change forms completed on Monday or Tuesday.

Schedule Change Requests

Students may request a schedule change using a form beginning August 28 - August 30th. Due to our realignment, it will only be for the purpose of requesting to switch out one elective for another elective. Core class changes will not be made unless a student is registered for the wrong class. Please also be aware that the majority of elective course are already at capacity, so course requests are certainly not guaranteed. Students must continue to follow their current schedule until a counselor notifies the student of a schedule change. Students will not wait outside the main office for a schedule change. We have processes in place to assist students with remaining in class as we address scheduling needs.

• We want to remind our parents of an important requirement for students who are entering the seventh grade/12th grade next year.

12th-grade students are required to receive the booster dose of the Meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV).

• GCS is legally required to exclude students who do not have documentation showing they received the required vaccinations within 30 calendar days of the first day of school (Aug. 26, 2024, for schools on the traditional calendar), or their first date of enrollment.

• Appointment cards are not accepted as proof of documentation.

• Please remember this requirement when you are scheduling your child’s yearly check-up and make sure you get proper documentation. Summer vacation is a great time to schedule an appointment for the vaccines.

• We encourage you to get your child vaccinated now before the deadline.

• Tdap and MCV are available at your health care provider’s office or by appointment at the Guilford County Division of Public Health offices, located in Greensboro (1100 E. Wendover Ave.) and High Point (501 E. Green Dr.)

• To schedule an appointment for your child please call (336) 641-3245. Students may also receive vaccinations from their healthcare provider.

All students who park a vehicle on campus must purchase a student parking permit and pay online through K-12 payment center, located on our website and the GCS website. The cost is $50.00. Students and a parent/guardian must complete a permit application found in the literature rack by the door into the front office beginning on Tuesday. Students must bring their completed application, registration, receipt from the K-12 payment center, proof of valid NC Driver's license, and proof of insurance to Mr. Philpott or Mrs. Karant to receive their parking pass. The cost of a replacement parking permit is $50.00. Please listen to announcements to know when Mr. Philpott or Mrs. Karant will be available for verification.

Students are not allowed to go to their cars during the day without permission from an administrator. Students who leave campus without permission will lose the privilege of driving to school. Students who are chronically late to school will lose parking privileges.

Be aware, that the pass must be visible at all times!

CEP stands for Community Eligibility Provision. All students will be able to eat breakfast and lunch for free. We encourage all students to go through the breakfast and lunch line. We want to ensure that all students are able to eat. Due to our CEP status, parents will not need to complete an application.

To facilitate seamless communication and timely updates about your child's transportation, we encourage all parents and guardians to claim their PowerSchool Parent Portal account. The PowerSchool Parent Portal will serve as a valuable resource to access essential transportation information for your child. By activating your account, you will have access to bus route details and detailed information about your child's designated bus route, including pick-up and drop-off times, bus numbers and route stops.

To get started with the PowerSchool Parent Portal, please follow these simple steps:

1. Visit www.gcsnc.com/Page/17246

2. Click on the "PowerSchool Parent Portal" link.

3. Follow the instructions to create your account or log in if you already have one.

4. Access the "Transportation" section to view your child's bus details.

In addition to the PowerSchool Parent Portal, we highly recommend downloading the "Here Comes the Bus" app, available for both iOS and Android devices. This user-friendly app will provide you with real-time tracking, allowing you to monitor your child's bus location and estimated arrival time conveniently from your smartphone, and will be available for tracking on August 28.

To download the "Here Comes the Bus" app, please follow these steps:

1. Go to the App Store (iOS) or Google Play Store (Android).

2. Search for "Here Comes the Bus."

3. Install the app on your device.

4. Sign in using the same credentials as your PowerSchool Parent Portal account.

We are committed to ensuring the well-being and security of all our students during their daily commute. If you encounter any difficulties or have questions regarding the transportation process, please feel free to reach out to our Transportation Call Center at (888) 511-4GCS (4427) or your child’s school for assistance. Thank you for your partnership in making this school year a successful and enriching one for our students.

Please support our student-athletes throughout the seasons. We have an incredible athletic program with experienced coaches and skilled athletes! As a reminder, we want to ensure that we support students and coaches with positive words of encouragement during games and competitions. We want to continue to model the excellence that we expect out of our students.