SHS Weekly Update

Happy New Year!!

I hope that everyone had a great break and the time spent with family.

As we enter the 2nd semester we would like to do a reset of some of the expectations for the building. Please watch the video below as I review some of the items that we need to work on as a building.

Highlights include:

Attendance and Tardy issues: It has become common to see 100 or more students in the hallways after the bell rings to start classes. We regularly have students roaming around the building at 7:30 in no particular hurry to go to class. Many of them clearly stopped at Starbucks or Dunkin realizing they would be late. It has created a first period classroom situation in which instruction is consistently interrupted by students coming into class. We also have a several students who arrive at 6:50 am on the bus but then leave class at 7:30 to get breakfast in spite of being in the cafeteria for a solid 20 minutes with the cafe open. Moving forward I am telling teachers that they should not be letting students leave to go to the cafe once class starts.

Cell phone policy: As a reminder students are not to take phones when they go the the restroom. 100% of every vandalism event in the high school is related to students recording the damage with their phones. Additionally 93% of vaping suspensions are related to students texting to meet their friends during class. I am instructing all teachers to require students to put the cell phones in the bins on teacher's desks. There are no reasons to have cell phones out in class unless it is part of the teacher's lessons.

Principals will be in the hallways and students with cell phones will receive consequences per our code of conduct.

Student disrespect: The current freshman class makes up 70% of all referrals for disrespect involving student to student referrals. This continues a trend that I have seen get worse since the end of the pandemic. Our freshman class receives over 50% of suspensions for behavior and make up over 80% of referrals for disrespectful behavior towards staff. Our freshman, now a semester into high school, are expected to behave in an appropriate manner when in class.

These referrals often include the use of snapchat and instagram, outside of school hours, which is being used by students to say and do inappropriate things to other students. These posts often spill over into the school and have become a serious issue. Freshman are by far the worse group for this type of behavior. Please take a look at the SnapChat article below. I read it over the break and as a father of 3 daughters found it disturbing and scary. In my time as a Principal I have sadly seen multiple bad situations involving students and inappropriate use of Snapchat.

We want SHS to be a great school where students can be part of an elite learning environment and this can't happen without having an environment in which rules are fairly enforced to support students who are in school to learn and excel.

As always I am open to discussing and talking about the why and how we have these rules.

Bill Wingler

Principal: SHS

440-572-7127

bwingler@scsmustangs.org

The article below outlines how the state of New Mexico created a fake Snapchat account that showed how dangerous predators use Snapchat to talk to minors. As a principal, I have been involved, with many cases where snapchat was used by students to share very inappropriate content. Many of theses cases involved local police and had negative outcomes for students.

This article is both shocking and scary for parents and highlights how difficult it is to be on top of your child's snapchat account. The article shows how New Mexico created an account for a fake 14 year old girl that was inundated with inquiries by predators. I think it is worth reading for parents of minors.

The SHS Theatre Department is collaborating with Playhouse Square to sell a block of tickets for the upcoming tour of & Juliet on Sunday March 9, 2025 at 6:30pm. The jukebox musical stars SHS alum, Corey Mach, as Shakespeare. This fundraiser will go toward some of the expenses for SHS's spring musical. Purchasing tickets for the show at Playhouse Square is currently live and will remain open until 12/13/24. SHS FUNdraiser prices range from $32.50 - $107.50 and the SHS Theatre Department will receive $10 for every ticket sold. Please visit https://tickets.playhousesquare.org/g08 and follow the instructions on how to purchase tickets. You must enter the promo code SHSMUSICAL in the purple box on the top left. That will open up the ticket purchase below when the web page refreshes. Thank you for your support of the SHS Theatre Department!

Strongsville City Schools encourages students, teachers, staff, parents, and other members of our community to report any instances of potential violence, bullying, self-harm or any other issue where students may be at risk. Click HERE for additional Stay Safe. Speak Up! Information on the District’s website. Reporting incidents can be made anonymously online or through a toll free number (​1-866-listen2me / 1-866-547-8362).