GMHS Family Update
September 21, 2020
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Dear GMHS Students and Families,
Just want to reach out due to the quarantining that we had to do last night. First, we have learned a lot in the last 24 hours! Second, we have found many pieces to all of this that are impossible to plan for until you live it. Third, we once again celebrate that our staff and our community are still with us, supporting us, and for the most part understanding that we are navigating in new waters that are difficult to navigate.
Recap:
- Yesterday, I received a phone call at 6:30 p.m. from the District RN letting me know that we needed to quarantine specific classes due to a positive test result.
- By 7:30 p.m., our Admin team contacted the teachers impacted, had lists of students in spreadsheets, edited the district letters, and sent an auto-dialer to the impacted students and staff and a community-wide letter. I want to thank our team for putting aside their Sunday evening to help get everything prepared and communicated.
Some common questions we received today:
- Families with more than one student attending GMHS - Confusion on which student is to quarantine. There is no good way to communicate this to families without sending lists of student names which is a violation of FERPA. We will need these families to contact us to verify which family member the quarantine applies to until a better solution is found.
- Families who did not receive our email communication last night. See below.
- Some families received two communications (one that their student is to quarantine and one that went to the whole community stating you do not need to quarantine). We apologize for the mixed message. We were trying to get information as quickly as possible given that the evening was coming to an end and run the risk of the communication arriving too late for families to read the communications. We will find a better way to sort the distribution lists. We also apologize to families of remote only students who may have received a letter to quarantine inadvertently.
- If required to quarantine, can the student or staff member get a test and if negative can they return to school or club/activities sooner. Unfortunately, students and staff who are quarantined must be out the full length of time communicated.
- Some overall frustration about the situation we are in. Please know we feel your pain. We want school to be open and things to go back to having students attend fully again. There are many things out of our control, we are doing the best we can just like all of you. We wish we could fix this global pandemic and are hopeful that we will continue to support each other.
Today, we created a GMHS Quarantine Process Checklist that lists the things that need happen to quarantine students and staff:
- Completing the Illness Reporting Form for ongoing tracking.
- Communicating with the District RN.
- Run Reports: class rosters by cohort, excluding remote students; students who are also at Warren Tech, students who are in athletics or activities.
- Class Coverage Spreadsheet to make sure classes are covered.
- District letters are now on our Google Drive for easy access from home when needed.
- Email and voicemail auto-dialer blurbs have been created so we have consistent communication with staff and families.
- How to manage attendance tracking.
- Communicating with secretaries, campus supervisors, counselors, coach/sponsors, etc.
- Staff Emergency Contact list has been updated.
- Working with staff to take home items needed to teach remotely in the event they are quarantined.
We also found that many families and several staff do not have the proper boxes checked on our auto-dialer system to receive communications from Infinite Campus.
- We have been using the Constant Contact service for several years now and we realized that this is probably a better tool than using Campus.
- We used the Campus auto-dialer last night because we wanted to make sure we captured any new enrollments.
- In the future we will use our Constant Contact (the service that this email is being delivered on) and my secretary will update the distribution list nightly.
- We would still like to maintain up to date communication information on Infinite Campus as this is where we pull distribution information for Constant Contact.
Updating Your Contact Information
- If you did not receive our email last night, it is likely because there is a setting in Infinite Campus that needs to be updated. We can help with this.
- In this Friday's Family Update we will provide a form for families to request assistance to update your communication settings.
Confidentiality
- Due to FERPA and HIPPA, employees are not allowed to share the name(s) of any employees or students who have tested positive, negative, are ill, etc.
- We want to protect student and staff confidentiality as much as possible. Even when it is difficult and we know that more information would be helpful to our families, we just cannot run the risk of violating confidentiality.
Testing
- We learned of resources for testing sites for staff, students and families
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Here is a document that has more information. (Some free options)
- Rapid tests are not acceptable results (low rate of accuracy).
- Most testing sites prefer the person has at least one symptom before testing.
If you have questions or concerns, please let us know. We are still learning and growing through this experience and appreciate your feedback. We received numerous emails today. We are working on responding to as many emails as we can but it may take us some time. Thank you for your patience.
Thank you for your continued support!
Go Rams!
Colleen Owens
Principal
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Below is from last week's Family Update |
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Student IDs & Yearbook Photos |
Students in Cohort B received their student IDs & an envelope the contains the code for families to order photos from LifeTouch in social studies classes this week.
Cohort A will receive theirs on 9/21 & 9/22 in their Social Studies class.
Remote only students can come by the New Main Entrance/Attendance Office on Friday 9/25 from 8am-2pm to pick up theirs.
Students who still need to take their photo or who wish to re-take their photo can also come by school on 9/25 from 8am-2pm to get their picture taken in the library. Please enter through the new Main Entrance.
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- September 25th - ID and Yearbook Picture make-up.
- 8:00-2:00 p.m. in the LMC. Another date will be scheduled in January
Week of October 12-16 - Adjusted Schedule
- Monday, October 12 - Odd synchronous Hybrid Bell Schedule- all students remote
- Tuesday, October 13 - Even synchronous Hybrid Bell Schedule- all students remote
- Wednesday, October 14 - Future Day - No classes as teachers will be proctoring the following assessments.
- Seniors taking SAT in person
- Juniors taking PSAT/NMSQT in person
- Mr. Craig has surveyed students and contacted them about who is requesting to take the test and who is not.
- Sophomores and Freshmen - Time to work on assignments
- Thursday, October 15 - District-wide Teacher Professional Development Day
- Friday, October 16 - District-wide Fall Break
Tentative - Week of October 19 - Virtual Student/Parent/Guardian/ Teacher Conferences. More details coming soon.
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Saturday, October 3, 2020
Location: Participate from any location!
Cost: We have reduced and simplified pricing this year!
Description: Participate virtually in SWF's 19th Annual Virtual Walk/Run Presented by Chris' Garage Doors!
Register by September 20th and receive a free 2020 Walk/Run shirt by October 3rd!
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Senior Handprint Wall Update |
We will be doing the Senior Handprint Wall on Friday October 9, 2020 from 11am-1pm. This will be the only time seniors can get their handprint on the wall as part of the senior tradition. |
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Parent Notifications on Google Classroom and Schoology
Here is a short video tutorial on how parents/guardians can receive Google Classroom and Schoology notifications. This is also posted on the 20/21 Student/Family Resources website too.
Please contact Wendee Vezzetti, Digital Teacher Librarian for assistance at
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Grab n' Go Breakfast and Lunch is being served at GMHS.
Remote Learners
- Breakfast and lunch are available for remotes students as follows:
- Tuesdays 1:30-2:00 - Students will be provided two breakfast and lunch meals
- Thursdays 1:30-2:00 - Students will be provided three breakfast and lunch meals
- These meals are to be prepped at home and instructions are included.
Hybrid Learners
- Breakfast and lunch are provided while students are in person AND
- Group A: Tuesdays students may pick up three meals (breakfast and lunch) that are to be prepped at home.
- Group B: Thursdays students may pick up three meals (breakfast and lunch) that are to be prepped at home.
All school breakfast and lunches are FREE through December (or as long as the federal funding lasts).
To ensure that we have enough meals for your student, please complete this form to let us know you will participate in this service. If you completed this form last week, you do not need to complete the form again.
Remember breakfast and lunch is provided FREE to ALL students this semester. Some a la carte items may be available for a charge.
We ask families to complete the free/reduced lunch form as this information is used for funding of our school and additional funds do come to the school for students who qualify.
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2020-2021
Yearbooks are on Sale!
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Make sure you order your 2020-2021 Yearbook through your Jeffco Connect Account! They are $70 or $76 with a nameplate.
The book will be white this year with the theme of The One where they are R.A.M.N.A.T.I.O.N! You don't want to miss out on the most unique book in RamNation history!
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PTA FUNDRAISER for safety-related items:
Please help us protect our GMHS staff/teachers by making a donation of any size. If you know of a business who might donate, please feel free to share this link! Thank you for your support!
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PTA NEWS
The GMHS PTA is accepting membership enrollment for the 2020-2021 school year!
PTA's role is vital now more than ever in connecting parents, teachers, and administrators, and supporting critical school needs. We want as many families to join PTA as possible, because we can do more together than apart!
Click here GMHS PTA to sign up for the 2020/2021 school year. Once you hit SUBMIT, you will be taken to a page with a "BUY NOW" button where you can pay your $20 membership dues.
Next Virtual Meeting: Monday, October 12 @ 6:20 p.m.
Reach out to Lisa Lord, PTA President to receive the meeting link. ([email protected]).
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PTA sponsors the GMHS Reflections
Look for more information coming soon!
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Highly Recommended Opportunity for Parent/Guardians!
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It’s never too late to register for the workshop series, Parenting with a Coaching Mindset! Each workshop session stands on its own, so you can pop in and out of the series, and still get a lot of value. This workshop series is sponsored by Green Mountain High School, and it's free to parents in Jefferson County Schools. The 2nd session of the series is Tuesday, October 6, from 12 to 1pm. The same session will also be held on Wednesday, October 14, from 7-8pm. These 2 sessions are via Zoom, and if you can't make them, you can attend the FB Live session on Thursday, October 15, from 8 to 8:30am. You are free to attend all 3 of these sessions, if you like. To register for this workshop series, first, email me your first and last name. Then, send me a Friend Request via FB, and I will invite you to the group, Coaching Your Kids, where the FB Live sessions happen. The FB Live video of Session 1 is saved on this page, and I highly recommend that you watch it, and do the homework. This page contains other content that is supportive to parents. You are free to post your challenges with parenting, get support, coaching tips, etc.. It's a totally safe space! Please, let me know if you have questions: [email protected].
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GMHS Registered Nurse Update |
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Dear RAM Families,
We need your help. In order for our health staff to recognize infectious outbreaks in schools, we ask you to be specific when calling in students as absent to school.
Instead of “sick” please give us specific symptoms or diagnosis, for example: diarrhea, vomiting, fever, sore throat, cold symptoms, strep throat, flu… and any diagnosed illness in your absence messages. This is not a requirement, just a request that will help nurses monitor the numbers of condition outbreaks at schools.
We want to keep all of our students safe and healthy. We appreciate your help with this!
Thank you for your help!
REMOTE STUDENTS WITH HEALTH CONDITIONS:
Even if your student has a remote learning schedule, the district nurse requires an updated health plan for your student, signed by your physician prior to OCT. 1 so the sooner the better! This will help us support them in remote learning and when life allows them to return in person. This is a good opportunity for you to discuss the impact of remote learning/in person learning on your student to include how to maintain their mental health! Being isolated is hard on teenagers, even if it is the best option for their safety.
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ATHLETICS
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NEW: Football, Spirit, and Field Hockey (FH is offered at Dakota Ridge) is now beginning on 9/24. Contact Coach German for football questions as they are having a virtual meeting on Saturday and he can provide you more information ([email protected]). Contact Coach Beary for Spirit information ([email protected]).
- ATHLETICS ELIGIBILITY
- Athletic Eligibility will be run by pulling the “in progress” grades every Thursday by noon, starting September 10th, for all in season athletes. Those reports are sent to coaches so they can communicate with their athletes if they are listed as ineligible. It will be the athlete’s responsibility to email their teachers if they believe there is an error with the grade listed. They should request that the teacher email both Ms. Sereno and Mrs. Koontz by 3 pm on Friday in order for them to regain their eligibility for the following week. When emailing, teachers will state the name of the class and what the correct grade is, and cc the student so they know the email was sent. Students are responsible for taking care of this by the deadline.
- Athletic programs that are happening now: Cross Country, Boys' Golf, Softball, Boys' Tennis.
- Come out and support, but make sure you wear a mask!
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Find schedules, seasons, and other info here: https://greenmountainhs.rschoolteams.com/
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Communication with GMHS
- Main Office: 303-982-9500
Technology Questions:
Counselor Contact Information
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