1/6- Students Return to School

1/7- 10th Graders Complete YouScience Opportunity

1/14- 1/24- Semester 1 Exams

Please see the schedules below to reference in the event of a weather delay:

Important Assignment for all 10th Grade Students

YouScience is an innovative aptitude & career discovery tool combined with industry-recognized certifications for student pathways. GCS uses YouScience® to help students discover their natural aptitudes and make the connection to what they’re learning with career and educational aspirations of tomorrow.

This activity is mandated by the state and by our district, and therefore every student must ensure they finish their YouScience assessment. This activity is important to complete, not just because it is required, but because of the individual benefits it provides in helping guide students on a path toward a bright future.

Tuesday, January 7th, those 10th graders who have completed YouScience will receive a special treat. All other 10th graders will be completing the assessment that day.

Finish your assessment by going to https://signin.youscience.com/

Based on our posted SWGHS Student and Family Handbook:

"Students may exempt a teacher made final exam if they have an 80 or above in the course. They may NOT exempt a final exam in a class that has an EOC, GCSFE, or CTE Final Exam" (pg. 11).

This policy is being reviewed for second semester to include attendance criteria.

Please take a minute to join our SWGHS PSTSA. Your contribution will fund teacher appreciation events, projects and materials to support students, and additional school improvement initiatives. For just $8.00, you can make a difference. CLICK HERE TO JOIN.

Come out and support them this week.

* Photo Credits- Caroline Christman *

Contact our amazing School Counselors if you still need help or have questions about the new FAFSA.

Make sure you have a Dragon Fly account with uploaded physical, health forms, and your NCHSAA Gfeller/Waller Concussion Form. All forms must be signed by your parents. Go to www.dragonflymax.com to set up your account.

Tickets- $8 cash or pre-sold online at www.gofan.co

Debit/Credit Card/Apple/Google at the gate

Parking for Events

Spectator Parking is in the Barrow Rd. lot behind the school for all HOME events. This is the student lot behind the school.

Freshmen- be on the lookout for details about our next incentive trip! We have something exciting in the works. To qualify for the incentive you must have the following:

* No discipline referrals

* No more than 2 tardies

* No unexcused absences

* No grades lower than a B

Is your student in need of additional academic support? Contact Mrs. Curvelo-Valez (curveln@gcsnc.com ) for more information about our SWGHS Learning Hub:

Days: Every Tuesday and Thursday

Time: 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM

Location: Southwest Guilford High School, D Building

*Transportation will be provided if needed.*

The date for Prom has changed. Prom will be April 26.

Seniors and Parents: If you missed the in person order dates to order your cap and gown, you can still order it at the website highschool.herffjones.com. You will need to place the order by Dec 15 to avoid price increases. A cap and gown is REQUIRED to participate in the June 12 Graduation ceremony.

25+ Private College/Universities in NC are participating in a new Direct Admission program for students who have a weighted GPA of 2.8 or higher. The application is intended to take less than 5 minutes to complete, there is NO application fee, and students are conditionally accepted just by submitting the form! Click here for more information: https://ncicu.org/direct-admission/Links to an external site.

• Students and parents must first set up FSA IDsLinks to an external site. to apply. You can do this NOW at studentaid.govLinks to an external site..
  (Allow 2-3 days between FSA creation and FAFSA access)
• The FAFSA opened December 2024 for the 2025-2026 tuition cycle. There have been changes to make the process less complex and easier to navigate.
• Everyone must click the permission box to allow their financial info to be transferred - including those who do not file taxes. This information will not be made visible on any portion of the FAFSA - it will only be housed within the FAFSA system and seen by the institution(s) to which the student is applying. This will cut down significantly on the amount of information that has to be entered manually.
• FSA ID Links to an external site
• Financial Aid FAQ-Links to an external site.

Documents to Have On-Hand:

Shift_Ed Scholarships for Guilford County Residents

Registration is open from October 1 through June 1 for Guilford County Schools’ (GCS) seniors and graduates. Shift_ed Scholarships provide last-dollar tuition assistance to qualifying GCS graduates.

Guilford County Schools (GCS) is seeking feedback on proposed traditional academic calendars for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years.

With input from the district’s calendar committee, three calendars have been developed for each school year. Each of the options includes 180 calendar days of school and 1,080 hours of instruction. Each calendar also includes districtwide teacher workdays planned to coincide with the end of each grading period and optional workdays on dates of significant community events, including Yom Kippur and election day in even-numbered years.

2026-27 Traditional Academic Calendar Option A

2026-27 Traditional Academic Calendar Option B

2026-27 Traditional Academic Calendar Option C

2027-28 Traditional Academic Calendar Option A

2027-28 Traditional Academic Calendar Option B

2027-28 Traditional Academic Calendar Option C

The public may offer feedback for a 30-day period, through Jan. 9, 2025. Click this link to share feedback via Let’s Talk. The public can also mail comments to Calendar Comments, ATTN: Office of the Superintendent, 712 N. Eugene Street, Greensboro, NC 27401.

Guilford Parent Academy will host a virtual information session about the calendars from noon to 1 p.m. and 6 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 8. Click here to register.

Our school environment promotes positive, respectful interactions, which means avoiding the use of profanity. We have seen a rise in student use of profanity. Please remind your student to use school-appropriate language with friends and adults in the building. See below for our Code of Conduct expectations regarding profanity:

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

Cell Phones: We have a no-cell phones policy in class so that instruction is happening for the duration of the class. If a teacher uses it for instruction then it is upon their discretion. Otherwise, phones need to be put away. They are able to use them during transition and during lunch. Please assist us with ensuring that instruction is the most important part of your child's day. Our teachers don't want to stop their delivery of instruction to ask your child to put their phones away. Please see this Cell Phone Policy below in this blog.

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.

Ryan Schnaith-Ivan – 9th Grade (*Counseling Department Chair)

Brenadette Bruce – 10th-12th Grades A-D

Denesha Horton – 10th-12th Grades E-L

Syreeta Williamson – 10th-12th Grades M-R

Nakesha Varner – 10th-12th Grades S-Z

Dragonfly (Athletics)

GCS Family Technology Toolkit

GCS School Calendar

K12 Payment Center

PowerSchool Parent Portal

School Mint

Transportation Information

Darrick Bracy will become the next principal at Southwest High. Bracy has been the principal at Dean B. Pruette SCALE Academy in High Point since March 2022. In that time, the school’s accountability status has moved from Needs Improvement to Excellent Progress. Bracy launched a student ambassador program, increased community partnerships and streamlined the enrollment and transition process for students.

Bracy has been an assistant principal at Southeast High and Page High and a human resources manager in the district’s central office. He holds a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education, a master’s degree in school administration from North Carolina A&T State University, and a doctoral degree in educational leadership from High Point University.