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The Wolverine Word

Monthly Community Newsletter -- vol. 1, ed. 4

The Wolverine Word Monthly Community Newsletter -- vol. 1, ed. 4

A Note from Dr. Archambeau

Good afternoon, Wolverine Families!


Happy 2025! I hope everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable break!


January marks registration season at West Forsyth High School. Please review the section below for detailed information on course registration. We encourage all families to explore our Course Registration Website and engage in open discussions with your student(s) about their course choices. Be sure to thoughtfully consider their individual interests, skill levels, extracurricular commitments, goals, and overall balance and well-being.


We’re excited for a fantastic second half of the school year!


Gulo Gulo!


Dr. Aaron Archambeau


Follow us to keep up-to-date with all things West Forsyth!

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West Forsyth Community Schools Facebook

2025 - 2026 Course Registration Timeline

The registration season for the 2025-2026 school year is here! Please see the “registration timeline” at the link below for all important dates related to course registration.


Teachers will complete course recommendations January 10-17th. This is based on your student's current progress in their course and/or any other factors that must be considered for recommendations. These recommendations will be available for you to view in Parent Portal on January 23rd. When you log in on January 23rd to view recommendations, you and your student will also need to select the electives they plan on taking in the 2025-2026 school year.


If you’d like to preview the courses that are available to your student by grade level, please see the Registration Website (below) and navigate based on the grade your student will be in for the 2025-2026 school year. If you or your student have questions about the courses they’ve been recommended for, they can speak with their current teacher. If they need guidance on elective selection, counselors will be available during lunch, in the main hallway on January 23-30th, AND will be offering Wolverine Time sessions on Wednesday, January 29th.


All forms will open and close on the dates indicated on the timeline.


WFHS Counseling Website


Registration Timeline


Registration Website

Updates to Self-Pay Course Credits

Attention parents of current freshmen and all following graduation cohorts (Class of 2028 and younger)!


There are new changes to self-pay course credits that will affect current freshmen and all future FCS high school students, starting in the summer of 2025. Please review this document for more information or this FAQ document for frequently asked questions.

3rd Quarter Grading Window - Due Date for Late/Missing Work

While it's still early in the Spring Semester, please be aware that if your student has any missing or make-up work for a course during the third nine weeks, it must be turned in by Wednesday, March 5th. Missing or make-up work that is not turned in by March 5th will be marked as a zero in the gradebook. This late or make-up work will not be accepted after Wednesday, March 5th.


Students who have late or missing work for a course need to utilize Wolverine Time to get caught up! What is Wolverine Time?? See below!

What are Wolverine Time & Wellness?

Wolverine Time

Wolverine Time (WT) is an academic period built in to the daily schedule that is designed for students to complete missing work, receive assistance from teachers, make up tests, or engage in activities such as study halls or subject-specific remediation. WT sessions are held every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, with Thursdays reserved for WT Homebase, during which no sessions are offered. Each session can accommodate up to 30 students, and teachers are required to plan and schedule their weekly sessions by Wednesday afternoon, covering the period from the following day (Thursday) to the next Wednesday. Students must sign up for sessions each Thursday during WT Homebase through Student Support Time (found on MyFCS), and those who fail to sign up are auto-assigned into a session with one of their current teachers. During this auto-assigned session, students are asked to register for WT sessions for the remainder of the week.


The following expectations for Wolverine Time were shared with students throughout the first seven days of school:


  • All students who are on campus during WT will be expected to attend a session.

  • All students will use the Student Support Time program to sign up for sessions.

  • If a teacher assigns you to their session, you must attend that session.

  • If a teacher hasn’t assigned you to a session, you get to choose which session you want to attend.

  • Students will only be able to attend one WT session per day.

  • Students must go where they are listed in Student Support Time.

  • Not attending an assigned Wolverine Time session is considered skipping.


Wellness Wednesday

Wellness occurs for 45 minutes on Wednesday after our two Wolverine Time sessions. Wellness is a non-academic period of time designed for students to “unplug” and get involved with a variety of activities. Every teacher offers a session that provides an opportunity for students to attend. From “Taylor Swift Karaoke” to "Cross Stitching" to “Walk and talk”, there are a wide variety of sessions for students to attend.


Students must sign up for a Wellness session each Thursday during WT Homebase through Student Support Time (found on MyFCS), and those who fail to sign up are auto-assigned into a session with one of their current teachers. During this auto-assigned session, students are asked to register for the next week's Wellness session.


What is Student Support Time?

Student Support Time (SST) is the system we utilize at West to schedule students for Wolverine Time and Wellness Sessions. SST is located in MyFCS Classlink and is accessible on any device. SST allows students, teachers and administrators to easily schedule and track which sessions students are signing up for and attending during WT and Wellness.

ICON Teacher and Support Staff of the Month Winners - November

Congratulations to Katherine Johnson and Rachel Hughes for winning the ICON Teacher and Support Staff awards for the month of November!


ICON Teacher of the Month - Katherine Johnson

  • She is a great teacher, she helps me out if I have any issues, and is a very sweet person (submitted by a student)
  • She is the best teacher ever! She encourages me to work hard and she supports all her kids on good days and bad days. (submitted by a student)
  • Ms. Johnson (the British one) is an amazing soul. I'm so very grateful to have her as a teacher. Ever since day 1 Ms. Johnson has taken care of me and my needs. She has constantly made sure i am doing ok in her class and outside of it. She is caring, loving, and kind. I cant ask for better. :) (submitted by a student)
  • I am very fortunate to work alongside Mrs. Johnson! She is supportive and caring and always does what is best for our students!
  • Mrs. Johnson consistently demonstrates unwavering support for both students and fellow teachers. She creates an environment where everyone feels safe and valued.
  • Her genuine care for everyone else is evident as she ensures you have a good day, offering help and encouragement when times are tough.
  • Mrs. Johnson is deeply loved and appreciated, not only as a teacher but also as a genuinely caring individual!


ICON Support Staff of the Month - Rachel Hughes

  • Rachel always goes above and beyond to assure that all students have what they need in the cafeteria.
  • Rachel constantly goes above and beyond to ensure every student feels valued and welcomed, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere in the café.
  • Ms. Rachel builds genuine connections with our students - it blows me away that she knows so much about each student's life and what each student likes and doesn't like!
  • Ms. Rachel handles even the craziest busy days with energy and a smile, keeping everything running smoothly!
  • She spreads kindness, positivity, and good vibes, inspiring everyone around to do the same!
  • Ms. Rachel makes everyone feel welcome and cared for, creating a positive and happy vibe in the café!

ICON Teacher and Support Staff of the Month Nominations

Do you or your student notice someone doing a great job this month? Take a moment to nominate them for January Teacher ICON of the Month and Support Staff ICON of the month! As a reminder, Support Staff includes secretaries, counselors, paraprofessionals, custodians, café workers, administrators, Instructional Coach, ETC, Media Specialist, Graduation Coach, Student Support Coordinator, and Athletic Director.


Winners of our Teacher of the Month for this school year will be in the running to become our 2025-2026 Teacher of the year.


Teacher of the Month Nomination Form


Support Staff of the Month Nomination Form


Thank you!

Counseling and Student Support

Long-Term Substitute - Kathy Bain

While Caroline Smith is out, her caseload will be handled by Kathy Bain. Kathy has been a counselor in Forsyth County for many years and we look forward to working with her. Her caseload is last names Pe-Sr and she can be reached at f19058@forsyth.k12.ga.us or extension 331057.


Course Registration Questions

Counselors will be in the main hallway during lunch to help students with registration questions while the elective portal and course waiver are open (Jan. 23rd- 30th). We will also offer Wolverine Time sessions Jan. 27th-29th for students that need additional help with course registration. There will be a sign-up on Student Support Time, first-come-first-served basis.

Dual Enrollment Information Night

Attention Current 10th and 11th grade families:


Forsyth County Schools is excited to host a Dual Enrollment Informational Night on Tuesday, January 28, 2025 at the FoCAL Center (1150 Dahlonega Hwy. Cumming). Any student planning to participate in Dual Enrollment during the 2025-26 school year should plan to attend ONE session of the DE Informational Night. The first session will begin at 5:00 P.M. and the second session will begin at 7:00 P.M.


Each session will include the following topics:


  • Program Overview and Eligibility Requirements
  • Earning Credit for Both High School and College Courses
  • Dual Enrollment Funding Guidelines
  • Enrollment and Registration Process
  • Important Dual Enrollment Deadlines for the 2025-2026 School Year
  • Learn From Current Dual Enrollment students
  • Students will also be able to connect with local college and university representatives regarding Dual Enrollment opportunities from 6:00-7:00 PM.

Cell Phones in the Classroom

Please be aware of the cell phone policy that is being implemented this school year. In order to limit distractions during instruction and ensure students are engaged in their learning, cell phones and headphones/AirPods should be put away during instructional time unless directed by the teacher.


While we understand this will be an adjustment for our students, we appreciate your support in ensuring our students are adhering to this policy!

Attendance Matters!

While we understand absences are occasionally necessary for students, we implore our West families to make class attendance a priority. There are numerous reasons for this:


  1. School attendance is vital to academic success. The research behind academic achievement and school attendance is undisputable. Our state and district leaders put laws and policies in place to support this correlation.
  2. Our attendance rates impact our CCRPI scores. This means that we are evaluated, as a public school in Georgia, based on our attendance rates. West is a premiere school, and we want to maintain that standing.
  3. Our district publishes school calendars well in advance for families to make travel plans, and we have many long breaks throughout the year, in addition to a long summer, for extended trips.
  4. Student attendance is a spotlighted data point at the top of student transcripts for colleges to consider in the application review process. Colleges want students with healthy attendance practices.


Before asking the WFHS Attendance Office to excuse an absence, please consult the list of approved reasons, determined by state law and FCS Board Policy, HERE.

Tardies to School and Classes

Speaking of attendance.....we have a large number of students who are accumulating tardies, both to school and to classes within their school day. All students at West are expected to be in school and/or classes on time. This means that students are expected to be in the classroom before the tardy bell rings. Students who accumulate excessive tardies will receive disciplinary consequences. Below we have outlined more specific information about the progression of disciplinary consequences students will receive.


Consequences for Unexcused Tardy to Class (*cumulative total of tardies, not per class):

  • 5th - 6th Offense: Warning / parent phone call made by tardy team.

  • 8th – Offense: 1 day of Lunch detention assigned by tardy team

  • 10th - Offense: 2 days of Lunch detention assigned by tardy team

  • 12th Offense: referral to administrator – Friday Night School and parking warning for student drivers.

  • 15th Offense: referral to administrator - In School Suspension or possible one week suspension for student drivers.


After the 15th offense:

  • the consequence issued to a student will be at the discretion of administrator

  • Possible suspension of parking privilege for student drivers.


Please speak with your student(s) about the importance of getting to school and class on time. As the graph above shows, students who miss even a few minutes of class could be missing important instruction occurring in the class.


Thank you for your attention to this important matter!

Transportation

Bus Information

Our transportation department works very hard to ensure all of our students have transportation and arrive to school/home safely. Just know that routes for both morning pick-up and afternoon drop-off will run late every now and then. This is no fault of our transportation department but more a result of being short drivers and transporting tens of thousands of students each day.


Your student's bus information, including pick-up and drop-off times, can be accessed in Parent Portal. Please be patient for the first few weeks of school as drivers solidify their routes. If you have questions about bus transportation, please contact our District Supervisor -- Mrs. Kelly Kurisko (770-667-2580 ext. 230508).


Car Rider Line

I would like to continue to stress the importance of not utilizing other parking lots to drop-off or pick-up your student(s). We have found parents/guardians parking in student parking spaces while waiting for their student(s) to be dismissed from school. As we have outlined below, drop-off or pick-up should only occur in the main lot off Drew Road. Thank you!


Mandatory Car Rider Line Rules:

  • There will be no student drop-off or pick-up in the following areas: gym lot, bus lot, stadium lot, or in the back by the tennis courts. All vehicles must enter through the main lot off Drew Road.
  • Students must remain in cars until they reach the appropriate drop-off spot.There will be no drop-off in the middle of the line (even if your child is running late).
  • Drivers must be fully attentive to traffic directors at all points of the car rider line. If using your phone, drivers must be hands-free.


Below is a link to a first-person look at how our car rider line operates.


Car Rider Line - First Person Video


Additionally, please see the map below to help navigate student drop-off and pick-up.

New Meal Payment System

FCS Food & Nutrition website is the best source of information regarding school breakfast and lunch. To access, click here.


FCS has switched to MYSCHOOLBUCKS for student lunch accounts. Please click HERE for more information and to set up your account. We are happy to announce that meal prices will remain the same for three years in a row!


The application for Free and Reduced meals is available HERE.


Should you need any assistance, please reach out to our Assistant Cafeteria Manager, Susan Garmon at f40654@forsyth.k12.ga.us.

School Announcements

Students can find our school announcements within Canvas in their student information course. They can also be accessed by clicking here. Check them out so you can stay in the know!

Media Center Updates

Beanstack is now available via Classlink and the app store for WFHS students to log their reading! Incentives for students are forthcoming. Stop by and see Ms. Teixeira & Ms. Hee in the media center!

Class of 2025 Yard Signs

For information regarding Senior Yard signs, please contact West Ink at west.ink.printing@gmail.com.

Yearbook Information

Yearbooks on Sale Now!

You can purchase your student’s yearbook at JostensYearbooks.com or WestForsythYearbook.com. Order early to save!


Reminder!!

Share student life pictures with the yearbook staff at westforsythyearbook.com or scan the QR code below.

Campus Not Open for General Use

While we love having visitors on campus for planned events, please be aware that our track, fields, and other areas of campus are NOT open for general public use. Our county has many public parks and greenways for recreational use, but our schools and the space and equipment that make up our campus and support our extracurriculars are for our students, under the direct supervision of trained staff. In order to keep students safe and maintain our grounds and facilities, we ask that our community works together to support these rules.

Important Dates to Know for the 2024-2025 School Year

Here a list of important dates for you to know throughout the 2024-2025 school year. It's never too early to add these to your calendar!


As the year progresses, we will keep these dates in the newsletter and will add any additional ones.


Spring Semester Dates


Monday, January 20th

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - No School for Students and Staff


Friday, February 14th - Monday, February 17th

Student and Staff Holidays


Tuesday, February 18th

No School for Students - Professional Development for Staff


Friday, March 14th

No School for Students


Monday, March 31st - Friday, April 4th

Spring Break - No School for Students and Staff


Saturday, April 12th

Junior/Senior Prom at The Ramsey Conference Center (7:30 PM - 10:00 PM)


Monday, April 28th - Friday, May 9th

EOC Testing


Monday, May 5th - Friday, May 9th

Senior Final Exams


Monday, May 5th - Friday, May 16th

Advanced Placement Testing


Wednesday, May 7th

9th - 11th Grade Underclass Awards Ceremony


Tuesday, May 13th

Senior Awards Night in the WFHS Auditorium


Sunday, May 18th

Graduation at Gas South Arena (7:30 PM)


Monday, May 19th - Thursday, May 22nd

Underclass Final Exams - Early Release Days


Thursday, May 22nd

Last Day of School

Aaron Archambeau
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