How exciting! Graduation season is upon us, bringing with it a wave of anticipation and celebration for parents, families, and our soon-to-be graduates. The atmosphere is charged with excitement, joy, and pride as we eagerly await this milestone moment.

Mark your calendars for June 11th, 5:00 PM, when the GHS graduation ceremony will take place at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland. It promises to be a memorable occasion, filled with proud families and enthusiastic graduates.

As we get closer to this event, it's crucial to remain vigilant against the onset of "senioritis." With the end of the school journey in sight, it's natural for seniors to be tempted to shift their focus elsewhere. However, maintaining a strong commitment to attendance and academic performance is paramount. Let's work together to ensure that every 12th-grade student finishes their journey on a high note!

Our dedicated School Counselors are diligently monitoring student progress towards graduation, but your involvement is invaluable. Stay informed by checking ParentVue, engage in conversations with your student about their academic standing, and keep the lines of communication open with their teachers. Together, we'll guide our students across the finish line and onto the stage at graduation.

Congratulations in advance to all families, students, and staff. Your hard work and dedication have brought us to this momentous occasion, and we couldn't be prouder. Here's to a bright future ahead!

Erika Beddoe Whitlock, Principal

May 6th: Senior Class Meeting during Advisory

May 6th - 17th: AP Exams, Students should contact their AP teacher for more information

Early May (TBD): Jostens will deliver Announcements, Graduation Caps & Gowns, In the Commons
April 27-May 17th: Pass/No Pass Window and Deadline (5/17, 3:00pm)
May 21st: GHS Career Day
Various Dates--5/9, 5/16, or 5/20: Counselors visit Senior Social Studies Classes to share Graduation Information
May 27th: Memorial Day (No School)
May 30th: Senior Check-out forms are available for pick up and must be returned to the bookkeeper by June 5. All Seniors must complete the checkout process to receive graduation tickets.

June 3rd: Evening of Excellence in the GHS Auditorium. (Generally for seniors who have received scholarships and/or awards and their parents/caregivers)

June 5th:

• Seniors’ Last Day! Senior Check-out procedures must be completed and forms turned in to the bookkeeper for final checkout. All fees must be paid by this date. Commencement tickets (10) will be distributed. Additional tickets are limited and there will be an opportunity to request up to 5 additional tickets. A form to do this will be sent out at a later date.
• All Senior Assignments/Coursework due by 3:15 pm
• Grad Walk and Senior Picnic, Schedule to be determined.

• Graduation Commencement ceremony Practice, Memorial Coliseum, 8:00 - 10:00 am (arrive by 7:45 am); All seniors participating in the graduation ceremony are REQUIRED to attend practice and must provide their own transportation to and from the Coliseum.
• Graduation Commencement Ceremony, Memorial Coliseum, 5:00 PM; All participating seniors must arrive by 4:30 PM
• Senior All-Night Party--buses will depart from the Memorial Coliseum. Please see the article later in this newsletter. (The Senior All-Night Party is not a school-sponsored function; it is planned and chaperoned by senior parents.)

All seniors must meet Gresham Barlow School District graduation requirements in order to participate in commencement. In order to see where your student is in regards to their graduation status you can go to your ParentVue account. By going to the Course History tab it will show your students status. If you have any indication that your student’s academic performance and grades may be placing him/her in jeopardy of not graduating, contact his/her counselor and teachers immediately. You may call (503-674-5500) and/or email. Email addresses are available on the GHS website.

If your student attends the Center for Advanced Learning, we encourage you to contact teachers at CAL or Director, Jessica Gallagher, at 503-667-4978. Twelve-week progress reports became available through your ParentVue account starting April 27th.

For some students, meeting graduation requirements is one of the first times in their lives that they have had to comply with an absolute requirement. Each year, a few seniors continue to believe that somehow an exception will be made for them at the last minute. Be assured, there are no exceptions made for students that do not meet State of Oregon and Gresham Barlow School District graduation requirements. One of the most difficult tasks that GHS counselors and administrators face is telling parents/caregivers that their student will not participate in graduation. Please stay apprised of your student’s progress toward graduation (see article entitled Monitoring Graduation Status in this newsletter)—we don’t want there to be any surprises during the last week of school for seniors.

Remember--- ONLY students who have completed ALL requirements for graduation (including credit requirements, career-related learning experiences and the extended essay) are allowed to receive a diploma and participate in commencement exercises. No exceptions will be made.

It is critical that all seniors track whether they have met the credit and personalized learning requirements for graduation. Parents and students can check the status of graduation requirements simply by following the steps below and referencing this guide.

1. Log in to StudentVue or ParentVue.
   
2. Click the “course history” button on the right side of the page
   
3. In order to see the details for each area of the graduation status you will need to click on the details button on the right hand side.

This screen will have information about credits earned and needed, state tests, and personalized learning requirements. Personalized learning requirements include the extended essay, and two career related learning experiences (CRLE). Opportunities to completed the extended essay and CRLEs have occurred during advisory. Great job to the many students who have already met the Personalized Learning Requirements! Students can check status outside of the Counseling Office or can direct questions to our testing coordinator Brenda Person via phone at (503) 674–5500 or email: person@gresham.k12.or.us

Inevitably, each year, students wait until the last minute to complete these assignments and jeopardize their participation in the graduation ceremony--let's get this done!

Seniors that currently need credit recovery in order to earn enough credit to participate in the graduation ceremony on June 11th must finish their Credit Recovery by June 5th. Summer school will be offered to all seniors that do not meet the requirements in time to walk at graduation. If a student can finish their requirements by the end of summer school, they will still be considered a 2024 graduate. If you have any questions please contact your counselor.

SENIOR CHECK OUT (whether you are graduating or not) will occur May 30th-June 5th. Senior check out forms will be available for pickup from the Bookkeeper's on May 30th. These must be completed, signed and returned to the bookkeeper by June 5th, 2024. Seniors will need to do the following during checkout days:

All outstanding fees must be paid prior to graduation. Students that still owe fees at the end of the year will not be permitted to participate in the graduation ceremony. Call our bookkeeper at 503-674-5518 to receive an update regarding fees that your student owes.

Gresham Barlow School District will honor the Senior Class of 2024 by turning the lights on in Stapleton Field (Gresham Football field) for 24 minutes on Friday nights.

Time: 8:24 PM - 8:48 (24 minutes)

Days: Each Friday in June until Graduation

Gresham-Barlow School District recognizes the following guidelines and expectations with regard to the graduation decorum / adornments / cords permitted during the ceremony:

GBSD honors policies and practices that recognize the diversity of students and families to promote cultural inclusivity and equity. We fully support policies and practices that promote cultural autonomy and give students the ability to wear items of cultural significance honoring their unique and diverse cultures. For example, some African Americans wear African kente cloths, some Mexican Americans wear a serape, and some Muslim women wear a hijab. When centering the graduation needs of American Indian students and their families, a cultural practice for many is the wearing of culturally significant items such as eagle feathers, beaded caps, tribal insignias, moccasins and stoles during ceremonies (see House Bill 2052 for proposed legislation to require this allowance).

Acceptable guidelines regarding “appropriate decorum and safety” at graduation are:

• Senior students are expected to wear appropriate dress attire.

• Senior students and members of the audience are asked to be respectful of those who are speaking and performing during the ceremony. Applauds are appropriate; catcalls and booing are not. Do not bring or use items that will distract from the ceremony such as air horns, beach balls, etc.

• Senior students are allowed to wear school-sanctioned, commercially purchased academic honor cords, sashes, or medals that have been earned by participating in qualifying activities. Decorative adornments to the graduation cap or gown are allowed as long as they are consistent with dress code. Qualifying activities are those which are academically related and under the umbrella of a national organization. The following school-based organizations qualify for honor cords/sashes/medals:

• Associated Student Body Officers

• AVID

• Center for Advanced Learning

• College Possible

• CTE Completers

• DECA

• Foreign Language National Honor Society

• Instrumental & Choral Music

• International Baccalaureate Full Diploma Candidates

• Scholars of Distinction Diploma Recipients

• MEChA

• MESA

• National Forensics League

• National Honor Society

• Renaissance Seniors

• School Newspaper editors

• Thespians

• TRiO

• Yearbook

School Administrators are responsible to carry out all School Board policies. Administrators have the authority to approve or disapprove graduation adornments in order to be consistent with GBSD dress code. Senior students and members of the audience are expected to comply with this policy. Action will be taken should this policy be violated during our graduation ceremony.

In accordance with Oregon Department of Education “Every Student Belongs” guidance the GBSD prohibits the use or display of any symbols of hate, including at a minimum the noose, symbols of neo-Nazi ideology and the battle flag of the Confederacy, on school grounds or in any program, service, school or activity where the program, service, school or activity is financed in whole or in part by moneys appropriated by the Legislative Assembly except where used in teaching curriculum that is aligned the Oregon State Standards.

Parents of Seniors,

If your student received any scholarship offers, please encourage them to share this information with our College Coordinator, Mr. White, by May 17th.

We are collecting this information for two reasons:

• Accepted scholarships will be entered into the GHS graduation program.
• Scholarship offers - even if students choose to not use them - will be added to the Class of 2024 scholarship total.

Students and parents/caregivers can email Mr. White (white106@gresham.k12.or.us) with the following information - full name of the scholarship, total amount offered, and whether the student will accept it or not.

In no way does Gresham High School, nor the Gresham Barlow School District, endorse or sponsor ANY kind of graduation trip. Please be very thorough in researching any package graduation trips before agreeing to let your son/daughter go. We do not allow announcements or posters to be posted, nor do we allow recruitment meetings to take place on our campus. Typically a company will promise a “free” trip to a senior as long as they can sign up ten of their friends (who pay) to go along. It is advised that you check out these companies very carefully before allowing your son/daughter to go. Experience tells us that there is too often a lack of the promised supervision on these kinds of trips. Inadequate supervision can lead to easy access to alcohol and drugs, inappropriate sexual activity and the potential for serious problems to develop miles away from parental support. If you decide to allow your student to attend a senior trip, whether it be local, national or international, we encourage you to know everything you can about where your student is going, who they are going with and what is going to happen once they arrive at their destination.