Bobcat Virtual Update

Congratulations to all of our Bobcat Virtual seniors who are finishing out their K-12 school career this week! We could not be more proud of you and know you will do amazing things in the future. This year has taught you to be flexible, hard-working, and resilient! Those will be qualities that will serve you for a lifetime!

For all families - please take some time to complete the Semester 2 Family Check-In. Your very valuable feedback will help us to plan for the future of Bobcat Virtual.

Don't forget - common work submission deadlines for the second semester of Bobcat Virtual are as follows:

• Elementary classes and middle school classes that do not give an exam and are not tied to high school credit: Wednesday, June 9, 2021, at 11:59pm
• High school classes and middle school classes that have an exam and are tied to high school credit: Friday, June 4, 2021, at 11:59pm; Exams will be given/collected during the week of June 7-11
• Senior Deadlines: Since seniors are done on May 21, 2021, the work submission deadlines for seniors in high school classes will be May 14, 2021, at 11:59pm. Exams will be given/collected during the following week.

Please reach out to us with any questions!

Jeff Neall

Bobcat Virtual Director

jneall@gbcs.org

810-591-6375

Allyson Walroth

Secondary Curriculum Director

awalroth@gbcs.org

810-591-6649

The following students have been selected by our teachers as our Students of the Month for May. Each student will receive a certificate in the mail. Congratulations on all of your hard work!

The past few meetings haven't been very busy, so we are going to combine elementary and secondary into one meeting. Here are the dates for the meetings through the end of the school year:

• Wednesday, May 19, at 6:30pm
• Wednesday, June 2, at 6:30pm

A link to the Zoom address will be sent out in a separate email.

Before the school year ends, make sure that you complete the Grand Blanc Online Registration process. This information must be updated every year before students can start school in the fall.

When you first access the registration, it will say that your student is a Bobcat Virtual student for next year. If you told us your student will be returning to the building next year, you will be able to choose the appropriate building on the last page of the registration process.

We know that it may be difficult for you to make a final decision about next school year right now, but we are being told that the goal will be for next year to open as a normal, non-pandemic year. We are asking that you make the best decision that you can at this moment in time, but we are allowing you to change your mind through July 31. If you decide to change, you can do so through your online registration or by emailing Allyson Walroth at awalroth@gbcs.org.

We are well on our way into planning for the 2021-2022 school year and have completed the course selection process. The courses you or your student have selected are now available to see by logging into Parent Vue and clicking on the tab on the left that says “Course Requests.” Make sure that you have set Bobcat Virtual Learning as the focus building.

As a reminder, this is a list of requests. It is NOT a schedule. Please review your student’s choices and contact the appropriate counselor listed below with any questions or concerns. Also, it is important to recognize that this is a tentative list and final class selection will be based on the availability of classes and the flexibility of the schedule. Teacher recommendations were used for placement in some courses. ParentView access will be turned off again at the end of the day on Friday, May 21 so that we can begin to build the master schedule.

If your student plans to attend BVL next year but has no course requests or is missing courses, please see the information below about how to complete the course request form.

Mr. Hentes - BVL/CSS Counselor, jhentes@gbcs.org

Mrs. Newman - Special Education Counselor, mnewman@gbcs.org

If you have indicated to us that your student plans to attend Bobcat Virtual for grades 6-12 next year, but they have not complete their course request, they need to do so now. We still have about 98 students who need to tell us what classes they would like to take next year.

All students should have received the appropriate survey in their email; however, if your student did not receive an email but does plan to attend BVL next year, you can access the course selection forms here:

• Incoming 6th grade student
• Incoming 7th grade student
• Incoming 8th grade student
• Incoming 9th grade student
• Incoming 10th grade student
• Incoming 11th grade student
• Incoming 12th grade student

If you originally told us that you planned to send your student back to the building next year but have changed your mind, please have your student complete this course request and then indicate in the space provided to leave comments for the counselor that your student is switching to Bobcat Virtual Learning for the 21-22 school year.

Students must be logged in to their student Google account in order to access this survey. Parents will not be able to complete it for them using their own Google accounts.

Each elementary building is celebrating their 5th grade students and sending them off to the middle schools in different ways. If you would like to know how your student can participate in their home building celebration, please reach out to your home buildings for the specific information related to your school.

In the future, Bobcat Virtual Learning will host our own 5th Grade Celebration for our students, but we know that many families still consider themselves as part of their home buildings this year.

The middle schools are unable to include the 8th grade students in their individual buildings due to space and COVID protocols, but we will be replicating the exact same celebration for our 8th grade BVL students.

There will be no building-wide 8th grade celebrations; however, all 8th grade students are invited to attend a Bobcat Virtual 8th grade farewell event on Friday, June 11th.This event will take place at West Middle School, 1515 Reid Rd., regardless of which building your student attended in the past.

Parents/Guardians can sign up for a time slot between the hours of 4:00pm-6:00pm using this link. There will be room for five students to sign up at a time, and each student is invited to bring up to four guests.

Students and guests will enter through the main entrance to check in before being directed to the cafeteria. Once in place, your student will be ushered onto the stage where they will receive their recognition certificate and then exit the opposite side of the stage. Photos can be taken throughout the process, and we will also have some stations set up for additional picture opportunities.

The "event" will last approximately 10 minutes from the time your family enters the parking lot, comes into the building for the award, and exits the building. Masks must be worn at all times, and guests will be asked to follow social distancing protocols.

Any 8th grader who does not attend this event will receive their certificate in the mail.

If you have a senior, it is very important that you keep an eye out for emails from Grand Blanc High School regarding important events.

• Here is an email they sent out on May 18 regarding Textbook/Chromebook Turn-In, Senior Check-Out, Graduation, the Senior Tailgate, and an opportunity to Sign the Rock.
• Here is an email they sent out on April 14 regarding all of the information you need to know for your senior, including information about Honors Night, Graduation, and the Senior Tailgate Cookout.

Grand Blanc High School and the Post Grad Committee are proud to host the Senior Tailgate at the Frank on May 21st from 12:00-4:00pm. We are looking for volunteers to help us celebrate GBHS's 100th graduating class of 2021 at our beloved Frank Thomas Stadium! If you did not pre-order a tshirt with the graduating class's names on the back, there will be extras available for purchase at the gate for $20. If you have any questions, please contact Lisette Riggle at lriggle@gbcs.org or via text at (810) 625-1603. Sign up to volunteer here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0D4BAFAE2BA3F85-senior. If you are unable to volunteer but would like to make a donation, please contact Trina Balow at tbalow@comcast.net.

If you have any books that your student has checked out this year, please return them to the book bins outside both high schools and both middle schools. You can return to whichever book bin is most convenient, and we will make sure they are checked in.

Seniors should return all materials during the Senior Check-Out. (See the above communication from the High School for more details.) Seniors who are finished with their Chromebooks can turn them in prior to Senior Check-Out if they would like. They can come to the Perry Innovation Center this Friday May 21 or next Friday May 28 from 8am-4pm to the Gym Doors #19. Don’t forget to bring the charger with the Chromebook!

If you have any questions about Chromebooks, please contact Technology at 810-591-1699.

AP testing will begin in early May. All exams will be offered at the school, however, some may have an online option. Keep an eye out for communication from the counseling office with information on the location and format of specific exams.

Pre-order your 2021 Echo Yearbook before the price increases.

• Cost is $85 until May 30. Visit gbyearbook.com or scan the code to order and pay online. Installment options are available.

• We are working hard to bring you the stories of this historic year.

• All new this year - choose if you’d like your yearbook delivered to your home address for the cost of shipping, or pay nothing extra and pick up at our delivery event in July.

• There are some donated yearbooks available. Please email abutzu@gbcs.org to inquire about donating or receiving a donated book.

Please accept your invitation to the classroom TODAY!

In the first semester GBHS introduced the Grade Specific Google Classrooms. These classrooms contain announcements, messages from counseling and

graduation requirement assignments. We want to share with you, specifically what we are including in the classrooms.

Each class has a Stream. The Stream contains: Counseling messages, event announcements and notifications, student activity announcements, information relative to grade.

Classwork: Each class has assignments that are either state mandated, district required or both. These assignments are graduation requirements and are tracked outside of the typical classroom.

Here is the link to the current assignments for each grade level and their due dates. Included is a summary of the mandatory assignments/content within each classroom. The structure of each classroom is the same, it is the content that changes and is grade specific. :

https://docs.google.com/document/d/14DdDzRSOYN4DBRraIfzq73oI6PXk54gspxUHDoQhKfc/edit?usp=sharing

Bobcat Virtual students in grades 6-12 who need help in their classes are invited to attend the NHS Virtual Tutoring Lab, located on Google Meet every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, from 2:25-3:25pm. See the flier below for more information!

As a reminder, all of the novels that students will need to access will be available in digital format for Semester 2. Novels can be found in the Online Textbook Collection, or teachers will share a direct link. In order to view novels in the online collection, students will need to be logged in to their GBSTU accounts to obtain access. Here are directions for accessing online PDFs.

Grand Blanc Community Schools

HS Assistant Principal & Secondary Curriculum

Email: awalroth@gbcs.org
Website: gbcs.org
Location: 1 Jewett Trail, Grand Blanc, MI, USA
Phone: 810-591-6649
Twitter: @allysonwalroth