12/9- Round-Up Time Schedule for Freshman Assembly

12/10- MS and HS Orchestra Performance- 7PM

12/11- NO Round-Up Time Schedule

12/12- Band Performance- 7PM

12/13- Rodeo at the Ranch- Regional Band Showcase (Coggins Gym)

12/15- Deadline to Purchase A Senior Page for Yearbook

Looking Forward:

12/17- PTSA-Odeh's Spirit Night Dinner

12/17- FAFSA Night

12/19- Interim Reports

12/23-1/3- Winter Break for Students

1/14- 1/24- Semester 1 Exams

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

Freshmen will engage in an anti-bullying assembly focused on resilience, community, and defining success. To accommodate our special guests and protect class time, we will have Round-Up Time schedule for Monday instead of Wednesday this week.

Southwest will be hosting a FAFSA event on December 17, 2024, from 4:30pm-7pm in the Media Center. Financial Aid Staff from GTCC will be here to assist families with completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form. Students and parents interested in attending should obtain their FSA IDs prior to the event. Staff will be available if you need assistance with obtaining your FSA ID; however, you may not be able to complete your FAFSA application that night without obtaining it prior to the session.

If you would like to attend or if you have any additional questions, please reach out to Mrs. Williamson at 336-819-2973 or email at willias16@gcsnc.com.

We have one more Interim Report to come out before the end of the semester. Please ask your student about what they need to be successful and stay on track for the remainder of the semester. Now is the time to check in with teachers and to encourage your student to complete any missing work and get tutoring or assistance if needed.

12/19- Interim Reports

1/14-1/24- Final Exams (See tentative schedule below)

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

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

GCS will host a EL Family Representative Meeting at Allen Jay Elementary on Thursday, December 12 8:30-10:00 AM. ALL EL families are welcome! These sessions are offered to ensure our parents have a welcoming space to hear important information, ask questions and provide feedback on what they would like to learn more about.

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.

Out of the Garden Project hosts a monthly FREE Fresh Mobile Market at Mary Perry Ragsdale Family YMCA in Jamestown (Address: 900 Bonner Dr, Jamestown, NC 27282) on the 2nd Wednesday of every month at 10:00 am. The next Fresh Mobile Market at Ragsdale YMCA is on Wednesday, December 11 at 10:00 am.

District Registration: Transition to High School

(For Rising 9th grade families)

6:00 - 7:00 PM

Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Connect to PowerSchool Now

12:00 - 1:00 PM or 6:00 - 7:00 PM

Thursday, December 19, 2024

Students are not allowed to stay after school unless they are under the direct supervision of an adult. Students may not wait in the building or on campus for sports events that take place later in the evening.

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