Let’s Have Some Fun!

Date with the Devil

It’s time to rally the GP South Community and have some fun! Trish Moritz and her committee have a fabulous night planned for you on Friday, November 17 ^th at 7 p.m. at Bert’s Marketplace in Eastern Market. Enjoy camaraderie, food, drinks and music. Purchase your tickets on our website:  www.mothersclubgps.com

 

Holiday Walk & Market

This much anticipated event is Sunday, December 3 ^rd from noon – 4 p.m. Shop the Holiday Market and our collection of over 30 uniquely designed miniature Christmas trees at GP South High School and then tour five beautifully decorated Grosse Pointe homes. 

What’s Happened in October in our Parents’ Group

*Thank you to Pam and Allyn MacKay for their work in assembling our school directory and to all the volunteers who delivered the directories to the Mothers’ Club Members’ homes. Cyndi Schutter and Rebecca Fannon met with many local businesses to secure our community partnerships and solicit ads for the directory. We encourage you to show your appreciation to our community partners by supporting their businesses.

*Trish Cozad and her committee planted the beautiful mums in the outdoor planters and maintained all the garden beds on our school campus.

*Elizabeth Cleland and Colleen Jogan have been compiling our Mothers’ Club Membership list. Julie Schuetze is spearheading our alumni recruitment efforts and keeping them updated regarding our events and achievements.

*We are thankful to Phil Pitters Concrete & Masonry for again storing our Homecoming float trailers and to Terri Burton for all her help with the maintenance of the trailers. Brad Byarski will be helping us coordinate the inspection of the trailers to ensure their safety.

*Helen Srebernak, Joanie Bellamy and Sharon Kuchta cooked a wonderful meal which was enjoyed by our teachers and staff during the first night of Teacher Conferences.

*Thank you to Kristin Mallegg and Kim Clexton for all their work in assembling our monthly High Pointes and to Melissa Smith for making sure we get information through our weekly Mothers’ Club eblasts and facebook posts. Michelle Brecht continues to update our Mothers’ Club website making sure we are informed of all future events.

*Sue Martin, VP, Preservation, is overseeing the final stages of the Cleminson Hall/Window project. The Mothers’ Club contributed $110,000 to this restoration project.

*Our teachers/staff received an enrichment request form to complete from Paige George, VP, Enrichment. We will be approving requests at our November General Membership Meeting. 

Plan to attend our next get together on Wednesday, November 8 ^th at 7:00 p.m. in the Student Commons. Lisa Khoury, School Psychologist, and Beth Walsh-Sahutske, Counselor, will begin our meeting with a brief presentation on methods for anxiety coping techniques for our students.  Our monthly meetings are the best way to keep up to date on what is happening at GP South!

We want to hear from you! In order to continue our tradition of excellence with an eye on the future, the Mothers’ Club is seeking ways to be more inclusive, welcoming and effective. During the month of November, we will be emailing all parents a brief survey so we can hear your ideas on how we can better serve you, our school, and our community.

Looking forward to seeing you at our events,

MaryJo Harris

2017 - 2018 Mothers' Club President

I love the adage: It’s not happy people who are thankful, it’s thankful people who are happy. It not only feels right, but science backs it up neurologically! One way to build happiness in your life is by keeping a gratitude journal. Studies show that you will sleep better, wake up more refreshed and connected in our world. Check out the Ted Talk on Gratitude from Br. David Steindl-Rast, a monk and interfaith scholar. He advises us to Stop, Look, Go. That is: slow down the crazy rush of life, look for the opportunities life presents us to have gratitude and serve others, and then go do it! What a great recipe for the holidays in particular.

The quarter ends November 3 ^rd. Report cards will be finalized and available for review on Parent Portal on November 13. Report Cards will not be mailed home so it is important that you log in and look at your student’s grades. This is the time to evaluate grades and review class selections. If students are struggling in an honors or AP level class, please contact the teacher to discuss if a student should consider moving to the curricular alternative. The school policy always encourages students to challenge themselves to the extent possible with the curriculum, while insuring that they are not overwhelmed and out-paced. Students have until November 27 to make a level change without the previous grade penalizing them. Call the counselor if you have any questions about this policy.

If you have a question or concern about a class or grade in a particular class, we encourage you to contact the teacher directly via their email or their direct phone number. Both of these can be found on the school’s website. Any problem that may not be resolved via the direct teacher contact can certainly be referred to us, but the conversation with the teacher should take place first.   

This year the Family Center will again offer a presentation in their College Transitions programming: “The College Selection Process for Parents and Students” on Thursday November 9 at 6:30pm in the auditorium at Brownell. This year presenters have divided up one presentation for 9 ^th & 10 ^th grades and another for 11 ^th & 12 ^th grades. There will be a session on college planning process and another on using online resources so you may want to bring a device to access the internet. This is a wonderful way to develop a roadmap for the college planning process for the next year or three! Presenters are Beth Walsh-Sahutske from South counseling and Milissa Pierce from North Counseling.

Senior Parents:

Transcripts will not be sent to colleges until students complete the Application Notification form in the CRC. This is critical and if it is not completed will delay your application review at the university. Students can find this form on the counseling website, in the counseling center, or in the CRC office.

Our November 1 early action date for some colleges has passed, but it’s not too late to apply to U of M and hundreds of other great schools! Don’t delay – apply today. 

We are anxious to talk with seniors who are still undecided about college or other post-graduation choices. Please encourage your student to make an appointment to see their counselor if they are in this situation. It is definitely not too late to start the planning process if they have been undecided up to this time. 

Financial Aid Alert!

The FAFSA is a gateway to college scholarships and student loans. File now at www.fafsa.ed.gov The window opened October 1. Would you like help submitting this? We are happy to offer a FAFSA filing workshop in the school library Monday, November 27 @7:00pm. This HANDS-ON workshop is not a presentation, but an opportunity to get free professional help completing and submitting your FAFSA. Please RSVP here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fafsa-workshop-tickets-39045677673 IMPORTANT: read the directions on the sign up so that you can come prepared and make the best use of your time.

Some colleges, universities, and scholarship programs use the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE, as part of their financial aid process for some or all of their financial aid applicants. Here is a current list of institutions that use this process: Check with the Financial Aid office at the colleges where your child is applying. If the financial Aid office requires the PROFILE then check the deadline for applying. You can apply here: https://student.collegeboard.org/css-financial-aid-profile

Junior Parents:

Just like last year, the state of Michigan exams (M-STEP) will take place at South in April and include a free SAT. However, that doesn’t mean that the ACT is off-limits for our students. The ACT is still accepted everywhere and typically the students find themselves well prepared to take this test. Students can still sign up to take the test at North by going to www.actstudent.org. We encourage students to sign up and take an additional ACT or SAT before the end of their junior year at Grosse Pointe North. Macomb Community College and U of D High School are good alternatives as the second choice test center.  If he or she has not already signed up to take an additional test, please have your junior student register online. The South school code that they will need to register is: 231-802. We recommend either April or June test dates.   

Students wishing to take the SAT (and SAT Subject Tests, if required by a college they intend to pursue) should make sure to register soon for their preferred testing dates so they will be assigned to the test center of their choice. As with the ACT, students can sign up for multiple test dates now. They do not need to wait until they have taken the test once before registering for a second test. Go to www.collegeboard.org or to the Counseling Center for more information. Please remember that students cannot take the SAT and the SAT Subject Tests on the same day. Again, the South school code for the SAT is the same as for the ACT: 231-802.   

Freshman, Sophomore and Junior Parents:

We anticipate that the PSAT scores will be available online by the December holiday break. Paper copies of the results will not be sent to schools until sometime in January.

Community Events of Interest

·        PFLAG Meeting: Support to family, friends, allies, and individuals who are navigating the challenges of accepting their own or a loved one's LGBTQ identity or who desire to meet with a community of people who share that identity and experience. Nov 5 @1:30 GP Unitarian Church

·        The Silent Epidemic: A Conference on Suicide. The Inn at St. John's. Plymouth, MI Nov 9-11. For more info and to register visit: https://kevinssong.org/

·        Survivor of Suicide Loss Day. One day a year when people affected by suicide loss gather around the world at events in their local communities to find comfort and gain understanding as they share stories of healing and hope. Sat, Nov. 18, 2017 9:30 am Visit: http://www.familycenterweb.org to register

·        Digital Distractions: How to Find a Balanced Relationship with Technology. Nov 15 7pm at Christ Church Grosse Pointe. More info at http://www.familycenterweb.org

SENIOR ALL NIGHT GRADUATION PARTY!

The All-Night Graduation Party will be held at South on June 7, 2018, from 10:30 p.m. until 6 a.m. the next morning. The party is a chaperoned, alcohol-free and drug-free event intended to provide graduates a safe, fun environment to celebrate with their classmates. More than 300 kids have already registered in advance. Don’t be left out! Our goal is 100 percent participation. Tickets are $65 until Dec. 31 (then $70) and are still available on the school registration site, or by sending a check to South, c/o Mothers Club.

What we need:

·       Baby photos (scan in .jpg format and email it to [email protected],

or drop it off at 443 Saint Clair Ave., GP. BE SURE TO IDENTIFY YOUR CHILD!)

·       Donations: cash, gift cards, raffle prizes

·       Volunteers to work a few hours overnight serving food, providing security, dealing blackjack, etc.

For more information, email [email protected]

The Freshmen Class is looking forward to a great year and their new class council!

Class Council meetings are held every Wednesday at 7:20 am

in room 180 of the S Building (Ms. Karalis’s room). 



All students are welcomed even if they are not an elected officer.