7-12 Back to School Information (Lots of It!)

Good afternoon! I am going to relay a lot of information in this newsletter, please read it thoroughly so that we all have the best day possible tomorrow and Monday.

Picking Up Chromebooks on Friday, August 21st:

  • Please park in the student parking lot or visitor parking and enter through the main entrance. There will be hand sanitizer available and Mrs. Carpenter or myself will be able to direct you to where your Chromebook is located (either in the office or in your advisor's classroom). Travel directly to the location retrieve your Chromebook and planner and head back out of the building. Please don't wander the building, everyone will be escorted to their classes from their large study halls so no one will get lost. :) If someone is in the classroom already when you arrive to retrieve your supplies, please wait patiently outside the door. If you would like to drop off Chlorox wipes, Kleenex, or gloves at the front office, you are welcome to do so. Make sure you take your Chromebook home and plug it in, most have drained batteries and will need to be refreshed so they are ready for Monday morning.

Pause for Changes in Learning Option:

  • Starting at 4:00 pm this afternoon, we will no longer accept changes to learning options until August 31st UNLESS you are switching to all virtual. We spent the day today getting our large study halls ready for students and can't accept any changes to in person or blended at this time.

Back to School Forms:

  • All of our back to school forms are available digitally through MyPaymentsPlus. Please complete these forms no later than August 31st. If you need to create an account, you will need your student's ID number (for each student if you have multiple children). This information can be found in the eSchool Home Access Center. MyPaymentsPlus is also the website through which you can load your child's cafeteria account, pay any fees, or purchase event tickets. THE ONLY FORMS NOT LOCATED ON MYPAYMENTS PLUS ARE: the health forms that the nurse sent out earlier this summer and the free and reduced lunch form. (En Espanol)

Who do I Contact for this Question:

  • In an effort to get your questions answered more efficiently, we have created a Question Directory. Please refer to this directory when trying to decide who you should contact first. If you haven't heard back in a few days, feel free to copy me on a follow up. You can bookmark the link to save time as well. ;)

Staffing Changes:

  • We've had several staffing changes this summer. Below is the list of everyone who is new to our campus and what they teach.
  • Gloria Spalter -- English 12 and Creative Writing
  • Rebecca Funderburg -- World History and Civics
  • Elizabeth Hampton -- Co-taught Special Education
  • Lori Gladden -- Resource Special Education and Dyslexia Services
  • Adrian Leffingwell -- Ceramics and Middle School Art
  • Andrea Kehr -- English 7 and Aspire
  • Marissa Culbreath -- World Geography and Arkansas History for Grade 7
  • Allison Hanna -- Science 7 and Physical Science
  • Jordan Haynes -- Theatre
  • Brendan Curington -- 7-12 Administrative Assistant
  • We have a few staff members who will be teaching entirely virtually at the beginning of the year. They have very good plans for engaging your students and the department members who are on campus will be helping to support students on campus. If you have specific questions about their plans, please reach out to them via email.
  • Jesus Martinez -- Spanish
  • Schumann Robert -- Piano
  • Mallory Burgin -- Math 7, Pre-algebra

Schedule Changes:

  • Schedule changes can be sent to Mrs. Wright via email. Please put your student's full name and "Schedule Change Request" in the subject line. Then list any classes you wish to drop and any classes you wish to add. The master schedule and course catalog can be found HERE. No schedule changes will be made after September 4th, 2020.

Orientations and Supply Lists:

  • If you missed our orientations for any grade level you can look through the presentations HERE or watch the recordings on YouTube on Mrs. Wright's Channel. The supply list for the 2020-2021 school year can be found HERE.

First Day of School:

  • Student can be dropped off beginning at 7:30 am. Please do not drop your students off earlier than that. We will be checking temperatures before students exit their parents vehicles. Parents, please do not park your vehicle and attempt to walk your student in. You will be stopped at the door and will add to the congestion in our car line and parking lot. Parking is tight around our school and every space (other than those marked visitor) is reserved for a student or a staff member. Below is a map of how our car line works both in the morning and in the afternoon.

7-12 Campus Map

  • Car line usually starts to form around 3:20 pm. Please pull forward and form two lanes. Have your cardstock with your student's name (or a piece of paper with their name clearly written) on the dash of your vehicle. Students will be called from their study halls in the order cars are lined up. If a student doesn't exit quickly, parents will be asked to circle around and rejoin the line. Please do not load your students in the street. Please do not drive straight down Poplar and bypass the car line. Mrs. Carpenter and myself will be on hand for the first week to help things run smoothly. Remember to have patience, the first days are always rough but they smooth out pretty quickly. You can also park downtown and have your student walk to you. We would also like to know how your student is getting home this year. Please complete THIS FORM to let us know what method your student will use to leave at the end of the day. This will affect their dismissal.

National ACT Testing Site:

  • We are proud to announce that we are now a NATIONAL ACT TESTING SITE. This means that your student can choose to take the ACT at our school instead of having to travel to other schools on National Testing days. We hope this helps our students feel more comfortable taking the exam and leads to improved scores for everyone! Our school code is 042-169.

We are excited to see you all soon! Remember your masks and your water bottles!

Heather Wright