Students and parents grades 6-11 are welcome to attend this come-and-go event on Wednesday, January 15 and Wednesday, February 5 to learn more about our career and college pathways. Enter through the Panther Courtyard and see what we have to offer to prepare your student for their future!

Showcase is hosted by both teachers and students in Career and Technical Education (CTE) classes and AP and Honors classes. They will demonstrate and explain the classes we offer and what you can expect if you take those classes. Many of the booths have hands-on activities showcasing the learning. You can also learn more about the Community Service Learning credit required for all freshmen, sophomores, and juniors next year.

We offer many resources to help you and your student make choices that align with their future goals and aspirations.

• SSHS Showcase January 15 and February 5, 3:45 - 5 pm (see above for more details) highlights our CTE pathways as well as our AP/Honors course offerings and Community Service Learning credit. Please choose one of these dates and join us for this come-and-go event!
• Our Course catalog (descriptions of what classes are about and other important information -- also found on our website) explains our requirements and courses in detail. Please take a look!
• We have a new resource this year: Graduation requirements and elective pathways which provides you with flow charts to give a visual of our graduation requirements and pathways. Please utilize this to determine which classes your student should take to fit their future needs.

Timeline:

Students will meet with their counselor one-on-one January 21 - February 11 to discuss their schedule for next year.

Students will sign up for their Career and Academic Planning conference (CAP) during Advisory on February 24. You and your student will select a time for you both to attend. Every student and parent/guardian is required to attend a CAP conference.

Career and Academic Planning (CAP) conferences will be March 18, 20, and 21 (more details to come). After conferences, students will be locked into their choices unless the change request is listed here: Course request correction reasons (It matters that students choose thoughtfully now and during Career and Academic Planning conferences because they won’t always be able to change classes). Our SSHS goal is to give students the courses they request, so they need to begin thinking about their future NOW!

SSHS began using a digital hall pass system called SmartPass on Wednesday, January 8. We chose to implement the system to maximize instructional time and improve student academic outcomes. We are focused on learning and helping our students to be successful now so they can be successful when they leave our building and move on to their next step in life. In addition, the system helps us to keep our students and staff safe!

SmartPass electronically monitors where students are in the building when they leave the classroom. It also minimizes the amount of time students are out of the classroom and missing instruction.

Students are still permitted to use restrooms and travel to other locations in the building; they must simply use the SmartPass system rather than a paper-pencil system.

Guidelines students were given regarding the system (please know that we take into consideration unique student circumstances):

• Students must still ask their teacher for permission to leave the classroom for any reason.
• Once given permission, students can access SmartPass through their grade-level Google Classroom.
• Students are allotted 1 pass per class period per day (that is a total of 5 passes per day including Advisory/ROARR).
• Students are allowed approximately 7 minutes per pass (that is a total of 35 minutes out of class and instructional time if a student uses all 5 passes in one day).
• Students requesting a restroom pass must use the restroom closest to their current location (to minimize loss of instructional time).

In addition, the Middle School and Intermediate School also use SmartPass, so this is something we are doing in multiple Siloam Springs schools.

If you have questions or concerns about our implementation of SmartPass or would like more information regarding your student's use of SmartPass, please contact Dr. Karin Miller, principal, at millerk@gosiloam.com or call our high school office.

Shout Out to Coach Michael Smith for organizing Operation Panther Strike Baseball Bootcamp at Fort Chaffee to give our student-athletes an opportunity to experience a blend of athletic training and leadership development in ways that will influence both their athletic and personal growth. Smith coordinated the opportunity alongside Sergeant Marshall and the Arkansas Army National Guard so students could learn lessons in discipline and responsibility. Students left Fort Chaffee stronger, more disciplined, and better prepared to face future challenges.