| A Note From Headmaster
Hello Parents,
I hope your week has gone well. Earlier this week, I came to my computer at home and was looking for a Zoom recording of a teaching demonstration from a candidate. I clicked on the file, but accidentally came across some old home videos. My children love to watch old videos that are saved on the computer, and so things get moved around. I watched the same video five times. Wyatt, who is almost eight years old, was maybe two years old, and was holding up a sword and saying, “I am King under the mountain!” Then Henry and Luke started play fighting. It was good for me to escape the hustle and bustle of the daily work routine. This time is unique; I am with my family more, but do not feel I can step away to just be with them. If I am with them, I have my phone ready “at the hip” to answer a call, text, or email. This is a problem more in me than in my circumstance. So much of life can be about looking ahead to what needs to get done, what is on my plate; I find myself working tirelessly, hoping for a well-deserved breather. I encourage you to stop and just “be together”; this is certainly something I am hoping becomes part of my routine.
Sincerely,
Mr. Navarrette
Remote Learning Updates
It is important that students receive feedback from their teachers as much as possible, given our new platform. When students see their teachers every day and engage with them for nearly an hour, students have a general sense of how they are doing in class. That is no longer the case given remote learning. Our teachers are working to provide that feedback in many ways, particularly by commenting on specific assignments and then returning them. Some students may not take the time to look back at previously submitted assignments or may not even know how to do that. Students should reach out to their teacher to ask about how to find the comments so that they can build on strengths and improve any areas of needed improvement. Our teachers will be working to note in the stream of their Google Classroom when assignments have been returned that should be reviewed by students. You can refer to this document for assistance.
This coming Tuesday, April 21st, will be our first round of deficiency notices that will alert you regarding your son or daughter’s progress for the last two weeks of work on Google Classroom. Because we are on a Pass/Fail grading scale for Quarter 4, students who receive a deficiency notice are at risk of failing the course if the current trend continues for the remaining weeks left in the quarter. Secondly, the deficiency notice is indicating that the student has not completed at least 60% of the work/assignments for the first two weeks; in previous quarters on a letter grade scale, we send deficiency notices home if a student was in the D or F range. Failing a course is not completing at least 60% of the work. The notice is to inform you to talk with your son or daughter so that the student understands the requirement to complete the daily work for each class. Our teachers understand the need to extend grace while also making sure that students are completing the work necessary for passing the course. Please know that if your son or daughter receives a deficiency notice, there is still time to improve in the coming weeks. I encourage you to reach out to teachers if you have any questions or concerns.
2019-2020 Yearbooks
Order your yearbook online before they sell out! You can secure your student’s yearbook on the payment portal today. Yearbooks will be distributed when families return their textbooks. Check future Weekly Blasts for details.
If you are unsure if you placed your order, you can log into your payment portal account and click the tab “Account,” “Orders,” and “Order History”.
Refunds and Reimbursements
Great Hearts will issue refunds and reimbursements by May 15th, for programs and activities such as Homework Club, 7th Grade Field Trip, Spring Sports, ECNAs, and other items. If you would like to contribute your refund to the school, please submit here before May 1st. The funds that are retained will help us to cover our costs during this time. Thank you for your support.
Senior Thesis Panels
The Senior Thesis and its defense are an important part of the Glendale Prep tradition. After careful review, we have decided to support our students using the Zoom platform. The Zoom “Host” will send invitations to the presenting senior’s parents, all faculty members, and the senior class. In this way parents, faculty members, and senior classmates will be able to attend the panels.
All panels will consist of two main parts: 1) The Thesis Presentation: a brief presentation (of about 10 minutes) in which the student will highlight the essential ideas of the paper; and 2) The Thesis Panel Discussion: a panel of three faculty readers will be convened to conduct a discussion with the student about his or her Thesis, and finally the audience will submit questions for the student via the “chat” function of Zoom. If you have any questions, please reach out to Mrs. LeTrent at kletrent@glendaleprep.org.
Next week’s Senior Panelists
- Cade Cannon: Monday, April 20th at 1:00 p.m.
- Greer Hanson: Monday, April 20th at 2:30 p.m.
- Brady Martin: Tuesday, April 21st at 1:00 p.m.
- Jennifer Rendon: Tuesday, April 21st at 2:30 p.m.
- Lauren Gheorghe: Wednesday, April 22nd at 1:00 p.m.
- Kirby Lorton: Wednesday, April 22nd at 2:30 p.m.
- Kiley Selman: Thursday, April 23rd at 1:00 p.m.
- Katrina Lee: Thursday, April 23rd at 2:30 p.m.
- Audrey Beermann: Friday, April 24th at 1:00 p.m.
- Eric Peapenburg: Friday, April 24th at 2:30 p.m.
Re-Enrollment
To keep our community safe, Great Hearts has implemented an online e-signature for all Re-Enrollments. Thank you to all the families that have completed the online process! If you have not completed your online re-enrollment, please check your email and complete the process; Monday, April 20th is the deadline. If you did not receive the email, please check your junk/spam folder. Thank you for your partnership.
GP Athletics
- A huge thank you to our spring sports participants. We enjoyed seeing your smiling faces at the uniform drop off, and we miss you dearly. Refunds will be processed by May 15th. Again, thank you for choosing Glendale Prep Athletics.
- Tune in daily for new updates and or fitness challenges on social media! It’s always a great day to #BeAGrif!
College Counseling
- Senior Matriculation Day: Senior parents, check your email next week with details for this event!
- College Board SAT Testing Update: Due to concerns for public safety, both the originally scheduled May and June SAT tests have been canceled. The College Board recognizes the difficulty this creates for the class of 2021. Therefore, provided it is safe for people to gather in larger numbers, they will offer weekend SAT testing every month through the end of the calendar year, beginning in August. Registration for these tests will begin in May on the College Board website. The College Board will communicate directly with students when an exact date is available. Early access to registration will be given to those already registered for the June 6th test and those in the Class of 2021 who do not yet have an SAT score.
- Pre-college summer programs: A list of programs can be found by visiting the College Counseling webpage HERE.
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