Golden Bear News: September 1, 2023

• Sep 3 ~ Golden Bear Bash, 6pm-10pm at Amelita Mirolo Barn
  
• Sep 4 ~ Labor Day - No School (students & staff)
• Sep 12 ~ UAHS PTO Meeting, 8:30am-9:30am in the Foundation Room
• Sep 13 ~ Senior College Planning Meeting, 7pm-9pm in the UAHS Performing Arts Center
• Sep 15 ~ Student Activity Fair, Period 4 & 5 on Golden Bear Boulevard
• Sep 18 ~ MIT Central Ohio Night, 7pm-9:30pm in the UAHS Performing Arts Center
• Sep 20 ~ Early Dismissal at 1:30pm
• Sep 23 ~ Homecoming Dance, 8pm-11:00pm at UAHS
• Sep 29 ~ Make-up Picture Day, 8am-1pm in the Field House
• Sep 30 ~ Summer Community Service Due for Grades 10-12

Start With Hello Week is an annual celebration dedicated to making new social connections by engaging in conversation with one another to create a sense of belonging among young people. Start With Hello gives us an opportunity to celebrate the importance of inclusive connections.

This year, as part of the September Start With Hello week celebrations, Upper Arlington Schools will create a digital gallery of student work celebrating the themes of Start With Hello and honoring their commitment to a sense of belonging. Items featured in the gallery might include a piece of fine art, a structural design, a performance, etc., to lift up the themes of Start With Hello.

For more information about the gallery, including how to email your submissions, click here!

We have received reports of thefts committed by our students at Giant Eagle. Please know that UAHS and Giant Eagle take thefts very seriously. The UAPD will be contacted whether the theft was a candy bar or something of greater value. Additionally, this would fall under the Citizenship Code of Conduct in our Student Life Handbook, resulting in an athletic consequence. Think before you act.

The Stand Project is committed to providing the UA community with resources, education, information and inspiration related to the prevention of substance abuse.

If you missed the Can You See Me Now? exhibit on GBB during the UAHS Open House, you have another opportunity on Wednesday, September 20 at the Hilliard Darby High School Performing Arts Center - free dinner is 5-6pm and the community presentation is 6-8pm. An awareness initiative by Hilliard HART (Healthy Awareness & Recovery Together), this free event allows community members aged 21+ to explore this simulated teen bedroom to identify potential warning signs of drug and alcohol use and risky behavior. It is worth the trip across the river!

This fall, The Stand Project will also offer programming for the community including Street Smart on October 26, Community Naloxone Training on November 9 and Book Club in a Bag. You can see this flyer for more details.

All 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students are required to complete six hours of community service to have been excused from school on August 16. As a friendly reminder, it is essential to record your service in x2VOL. Instructions on how to record your hours can be found on the community service page of the high school website. To ensure timely completion, please enter your hours online by Saturday, September 30. Failure to do so will result in the retroactive marking of an unexcused absence for Wednesday, August 16, and a potential Saturday School.

Juniors and Seniors in good standing who will be at least 17 years old by Election Day have the opportunity to work the polls on Tuesday, November 7 through Franklin County’s Youth at the Booth Program. Participating students must commit to working all day and to attending training. Pay is $193 (or $223 with an additional optional training). Interested students can find the details on the Class of 2024 and Class of 2025 Canvas Pages. They can also reach out to Mr. Soccorsi (rsoccorsi@uaschools.org) with any questions. The deadline to apply is Friday, September 22.

Consider joining us on September 13 at 4:30 p.m. for our first webinar. We will be discussing the academic supports we have to offer at UAHS as well as how to interpret the Ohio State Test results.

• September 13 - Link to join

Sometimes families do not know where to turn for specific grade and assignment information. PowerSchool is the district Student Information System (SIS). In PowerSchool the official BOE approved GPA calculations, grades, attendance, contact information, and forms are stored, made visible to families and sent to the state. Canvas is our Learning Management System (LMS) for grades 4-12. Assignments, details about assignments, discussions, expectations, class rules, schedules, curriculum materials, standards, etc. are found here. Students engage in the course through the LMS both in class and from home. Observers’ access is limited information about just their student.

Families can access PowerSchool for official grade and attendance data. Families can create an observer account in Canvas to review pertinent class or course information. Support for families on these two tools can be found here.

The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) recently adopted girls wrestling as a sanctioned sport. We would like to gauge the level of interest among female students in participating in some type of wrestling program.

Depending on the interest level both here at UAHS and at other schools in our league, this could lead to one of several different options.

• The creation of an exclusively girls wrestling team that wrestles other girl wrestling teams

• The addition of girls to our current wrestling team who would practice and compete in matches against other girls ONLY

• The addition of girls to our current wrestling team who wrestle against both boys and girls (current state)

If interested, please take a moment and fill out this survey before Tuesday, September 5th.

Last Friday, the PTO sponsored a New Student Lunch for all UAHS students new to the district (and they could bring a friend).

• UAHS counselors requested some current students to attend to be mentors/a friendly face to the new students.
• There were approximately 18 new students who attended and approximately 12 existing students, split over the two lunch periods.
• We provided pizza, chips, cookies, candy & bottled water.

The current students were amazing and engaging with the new students, they sat at a large table and tried to get everyone involved in conversations. We hope it provided a connection for the new students.

Special thank you to Julie Millisor and Colleen Burky for coordinating this fabulous event on behalf of the UAHS PTO!

Once again PTO will be assembling snack baskets. These snacks will be distributed throughout the school to various work room and meeting spaces for UAHS teachers and staff to enjoy. If you are interested in donating items, please use this link to sign up.

Visit http://www.uahspto.org to learn more about how the PTO supports our staff and students throughout the year, and click here to donate to the UAHS PTO!

Dr. Kathy Moore will be presenting to all seniors during the Gold Period on Wedensday, September 6. She will be going over lots of important information regarding the application process, requesting transcripts, letters of recommendation, Common Application and more!

Dr. Moore is scheduling meetings with seniors now. If you would like to meet to discuss your college list, applications, financial aid/scholarships or anything else, please email her or the College & Career Center Secretary, Linda Sexton, at lsexton@uaschools.org

UAHS will have close to 200 college representatives visiting between September and December and more throughout the year. Over 60 colleges/universities have already signed up! This is a great opportunity for you to meet with a rep from a particular college or university and ask questions to learn more about the school. These meetings are open to juniors and seniors and usually last one period. Most visits will be in person, but some will still be virtual this year.

Process to visit with a College Representative (New this Year):

1) View the full list of Scheduled College Visits and register in Naviance for the visits you are going to attend

Naviance--> Colleges Tab--> College Visits --> Click Register to sign up

2) If you have a class during that period, ask your teacher for permission to attend the college visit.

3) An e-Hall pass will be created and sent to you prior to the scheduled visit from the College Center (Linda Sexton)

Attendance is a critical component to learning. Students need to show up in order to take full advantage of the education programs we offer. When a student has an unexcused absence from class, both student and parents/guardians will be notified the next day and a consequence (detention) will be assigned for each unexcused absence. Be sure to check your attendance each day to ensure it is accurate.

Please submit your medical notes to uahsattendance@uaschools.org. In order for attendance hours to not accumulate towards habitual absence triggers, medical documentation is needed.

Information from Jostens was sent to each of you earlier this month. A representative from Jostens was at the high school today, September 1, during both lunch periods taking in-school orders. Please see this link for more information regarding available packages. If you were unable to place an order today, please order your student’s cap and gown at www.jostens.com as soon as possible. Cap and gown orders will be distributed on Thursday, April 18, during lunches to ensure these items are not misplaced prior to the commencement ceremony. All other items will be delivered promptly after an order is placed. All graduating seniors who intend to participate in the graduation ceremony on Sunday, May 26, are required to wear a cap and gown.

September 13: Senior College Planning Meeting

November 15: Senior Financial Aid Meeting

February 1: Information Due for Commencement Program (Info will be sent in December)

March 25-29: Spring Break

April 5: Cum Laude Induction Banquet

April 18: Jostens Cap and Gown In-School Distribution Day

April 27: Junior and Senior Prom

May 2: Senior Honors Assembly

May 16-17: Senior Exams

May 20: Senior Breakfast, Senior Celebration, Graduation Rehearsal

May 26: Graduation at the Jerome Schottenstein Center at 9:30 a.m.

Announcements for the current week are available on the high school website.

The website for school portraits, club photos, senior class photo

How to Get Help at the high school and familytechhelp@uaschools.org for families with tech support questions or situations