NOVEMBER is FAMILY LITERACY MONTH

November 4 - Teacher Workday

November 5- Teacher Workday

November 6- No Round-Up Schedule

Looking Forward:

November 11- School Holiday- Veterans Day

November 13- Round-Up Schedule

November 14- Report Cards home (email and 2nd block)

November 14-16- Theater Production

LEARNING HUB- Every Tuesday and Thursday- 4:30-6:30 (must register)

This week is the beginning of the second quarter. Please check in with your students to remind them to commit to getting to class on time, to participate and engage with the content each class period, and to keep up with schedules and assignments by using a digital or physical calendar.

• Seniors who are CTE Concentrators (those who have taken a second level CTE Course during their time at Southwest) will take the ACT WorkKeys exam 11/12 to 11/15. This is a mandatory exam and is used by employers to assess a candidates proficiency with workplace skills and can help your graduate to get a job in the future. Those who achieve a silver or higher score will be able to wear a special cord at graduation. Students required to take this exam were sent a direct Canvas message with a time and location for their testing session.

• More information about the ACT WorkKeys assessment can be found here: ACT Workkeys - Job & Career Assessments

• Make-up picture day will be Nov. 25th
• Deadline to buy a senior ad is December 15th. These can be purchased on yearbookforever.com

Students must leave the building after school unless they are attending a school sponsored activity under the supervision of school staff or coaches. Students may not re-enter or wait in the building for a practice or activity to begin.

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

We appreciate our Southwest community. Thank you to the parents and students who participated in the Superintendent's focus groups to add community voices in the process of finding a new principal for Southwest Guilford High School.

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.

Winter Sport Practices - Athletic Parent/Student Fair Play Informational Meeting

November 7th at 6:30 PM - Coggins Gym (This is for all winter sport athletes and parents)

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. Entry to the SW Stadium is on the home side of the field.

A few valuable things to know about GAP ( Who can apply):

• ​Juniors or Seniors in High School.
• Unweighted GPA of 2.8 or higher--If you have a 2.5 or higher, you can still apply under some circumstances.
• Good attendance.

Highlights of GAP:

• This is an overall scholarship of around $125,000.
• The average apprentice who finishes the program will make an average of $58,000 in their first year after graduating from the program
• Earn an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) from Guilford Technical Community College
• All tuition, books, and fees for the Associate degree program are covered, so students graduate debt free

Contact your CTE Teacher or Ms. Ford-Crosby to learn more: fordcrm@gcsnc.com

Mrs. Robinson is currently planning the 1st Quarter Freshman Academy Incentive Trip. Students need to meet the following criteria to be eligible to attend the trip: have Cs or better in each of their 4 classes, no disciplinary consequences of any nature assigned by an administrator, no unexcused absences, and finally, no more than 3 tardies total in all classes. More information will be coming soon!

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.*

Select twelfth grade students received information this past week about the CCRG program. This program bridges the gap between high school and community college. Details about the program can be found here: NC DPI CCRG Website

Mr. McLaughlin & Ms. Ford-Crosby will be reaching out to those students again in the upcoming weeks to provide more information about this self-paced opportunity.

Parents, we are looking to build our Staff Appreciation Committee. This committee LOVES to find creative ways to shower the staff and remind them how much they are cared for. Please consider joining. You can meet Tanya Stewart, the lead on Tuesday night or e-mail her at tanya@tstewart.com.

Any student parking at SWGHS must have a valid parking pass. Vehicles without a valid parking pass received an orange violation sticker. Vehicles receiving the violation sticker are subject to towing if they still do not possess a parking pass the next time the parking lot is checked. Also, students holding a valid parking pass must make sure that the pass is hung correctly. We must be able to see the parking pass unobstructed (year facing out without being covered). Otherwise, you will be subject to towing as well. Parking passes cost $50, applications are available outside of the Student Services Suite and can be purchased before or after school. You will not be able to purchase one after school has begun for the day. Please ask for Mrs. Karant in the Student Services Suite.

Students who have not yet taken the EOS Survey will have an opportunity to complete it during Round Up Time on Wednesday, October 23rd. A video explaining the importance of the survey and a link to the survey can be found on the school Canvas page. All students and staff members need to complete the survey. Learn more about EOS HERE.

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

Parents, if you could assist us in reminding your students about a couple of dress code policies that we are seeing take away from instructional time:

Dress Code: We are seeing a high volume of crop-top shirts and holes above the knees. While we know it is warm outside, with our new and improved HVAC work from the summer, the temperature in the building is just fine. If a student has on a crop top or holes above the knees, they need to have something under their garments. Please remind your student of this so that they are able to stay in class and not miss instruction to change.

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.

Tardy Sweeps - We began 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.

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

We are now a CEP School. All students eat breakfast and lunch at no cost!

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.

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.

Please feel free to reach out to our Transportation Call Center at (888) 511-4GCS (4427) or your child’s school for transportation assistance.