Dear Cougar Families,

Happy November! We are blessed to have you be a part of our Gross Catholic family. In an attempt to communicate and work with families in a more efficient fashion, we are sharing some important news.



The 2025-2026 Grant & Aid application opened November 1st. If you plan to receive financial aid, you must complete this application by no later than February 1, 2025. We are moving up our financial aid review timeline and we encourage you to complete the application at your earliest convenience. There is no need to wait on your 2024 tax return as we can use your 2023 return. If you anticipate a significant change from 2023 to 2024, please provide details in the notes section on the application. You can go back later and add the 2024 return if necessary. 

We understand that Catholic education is a sacrifice and we thank you for entrusting us with your children. Your timely completion of the Grant & Aid application will allow the Tuition Assistance Committee to award financial aid by early spring. This will in turn help your family with planning for the 2025-2026 school year. 

Click here to sign into your account and get started.

With Blessings,

Stephen P. Eubanks

Head of School

Campus Ministry

Sophomore Retreat. Sophomores have been assigned a retreat date (Nov. 12, 13, or 14). This year's retreat theme is Come Hungry. Students may wear jeans or sweats with an appropriate top. A cereal buffet will be served for breakfast, and lunch will be beef nachos. If this menu does not work for your student, please bring a sack lunch (microwaves will NOT be available). Students should bring a refillable water bottle and should plan to participate in retreat from 7:40-3 PM.

Parent Accreditation Survey. As part of our Cognia accreditation process, we ask that our parents answer two surveys per year to measure the effectiveness of transmitting our Catholic mission, implementing best educational practices, and engaging students and their families. 

The following information may be helpful in answering the survey:

1. The school's mission statement - Gross Catholic High School is a faith and family based community committed to developing Christian leaders through educational excellence in the Marianist tradition.

2. Once a month, when students have the day off, our faculty and staff gather for two hours of faith formation followed by six hours of professional development and strategic planning to ensure that we continue to provide top notch education for our students.

3. Our school board and administration oversee all decisions, from financial to what activities and classes we offer. Their goal is to adequately provide opportunities for diverse learners in a changing world.

Please follow the link below to complete the parent survey. This survey will remain open until Monday, November 11. 

Upon completion of the survey, you will be redirected to a page which will ask you to print or screenshot the screen for a casual clothes day for your student.

Counselor's Corner

Senior Parents - EducationQuest is offering a FREE Live Webinar on November 20th. The topic of the webinar is Preparing for the FAFSA. They have other webinar offerings. See all the options and sign up HERE

Senior Parents - Hopefully you saw the FAFSA newsletter that was emailed to all senior parents!! This newsletter was also posted in the class of 2025 google classroom. Your senior has access to this and can share it with you! Please take some time to read the newsletter. Seniors and Parents/guardians should be working on getting their FSA ID before December 1.  Check out the newsletter for helpful information regarding the FAFSA and the FSA ID.

Junior Parents - Mrs. McNamara just concluded 3 lessons with the junior class related to college and future planning. Please ask your junior to show you the google classroom for the Class of 2026. They should be able to talk to you about career interest tests and personalities, college visits, finding a college, the ACT and upcoming changes, scholarship searches, planning for their future, and building a strong resume. We spent 3 class periods exploring these topics and doing small projects to reinforce ideas. Juniors completed assignments each week that will be graded and added to their overall English grade! These are the first steps in planning their next steps after graduation!

You can support GC students attending the Steubenville Catholic Conference* and surprise your favorite GC scholar at semester exam time!

Show your support of your student's academic perseverance by purchasing a SEMESTER EXAM CARE PACKAGE. Care packages will be delivered to students during Homeroom on December 9th. 

Order your Care Packages and learn more about Steubenville Conference HERE.

ALUMNI GIVING CHALLENGE

November 8th through November 14th

The race to Give Back to the Future of Gross Catholic High School is on!

Which class will make the biggest impact and take the lead?

Text THEFUTURE to 44834 or visit www.cougar.family/thefuture

Free Gift for donations of $75 or more from November 8-15

The National Honor Society induction ceremony is on November 13th at 6:30pm in the Gross High Gym. New members will be officially sworn in to our NHS chapter and current members will renew their pledge as well. All family and friends are welcome! A letter was sent home about the night's dress code a few weeks ago - if you or your student has any questions about it or anything else NHS related, please contact Mrs. Erin Novotny at emnovotny@gcgmail.org