Welcome to the first edition of the Cruiser Chronicle for the 2021-2022 school year! The Cruiser Chronicle is the Groveport Madison High School Newsletter that we will be sending out as an administrative staff 5 times total during the 2021-2022 school year (Beginning of the school year, End of 1st Grading Period, End of 2nd Grading Period, End of 3rd Grading Period & End of the school year). This first edition will focus on items to help establish back to school routines and make families familiar with policies and procedures that will be implemented in our facility.

As an administrative team, we want to make sure via this newsletter that we are effectively communicating to our students, families and stakeholders in the Groveport Madison community. Our focus is to create, establish and foster a positive school culture that is enriched by the educators who serve our students and families. Thank you in advance for taking the time to read the Cruiser Chronicle.

Groveport Madison High School

4475 S. Hamilton Road

Groveport, OH 43125

(phone) 614-836-4964 | (fax) 614-836-4998

www.gocruisers.org

Statement Regarding Mask Mandate

The State of Ohio is reporting COVID-19 incidents at their highest rate since February 2021. In slightly more than a month, more than 13,000 Ohioans have contracted COVID. Hospitals are reaching capacity, and most concerning of all, the percentage of children getting COVID vastly surpasses what we saw over the past year.

Recognizing the increased risk that the COVID-19 Delta variant represents to children, particularly to those 12 and under who are too young to be vaccinated, Groveport Madison Schools is mandating all students and staff wear masks, if not only to protect themselves but to protect others around them. The District-wide (K-12) mask mandate will begin on Monday, August 23rd. We hope this mandate is temporary and will continue to work with medical experts to determine how long this mandate will be in place.

Masks must be worn at all times when indoors and when on a school bus. If an individual cannot wear a mask due to medical issues, a physician’s note explaining why they cannot wear it will exempt them from this mandate. At present, we are not mandating masks be worn outdoors.We know there will be some families and students who disagree with this position. The health and safety of our students and staff is our top priority, and for that, we will not apologize. We value all of our Cruisers and have to do what is best to keep them safe while the Delta variant is passing through Ohio.

Should you have questions, don't hesitate to get in touch with our Communications Office at 614-492-2520 or email us at gm.communications@gocruisers.org.

GMHS MASK MANDATE MESSAGE

Principals & Support Staff

Principal Duties

Counselor Contacts

Regular Day Bell Schedules Based on A Student´s Assigned Lunch Period

2 Hour GMHS Early Release Bell Schedule

2 Hour GMHS Delay Bell Schedule

3 Hour Delay (State Testing Bell Schedule)

THANK YOU Mrs. Barnhouse for leading this initiative for GMHS. A lot of hours, hard work and commitment went into developing a universal handbook that will help everyone at GMHS now and in the future! Teachers have begun hanging up PBIS Posters throughout our facility to encourage positive student behavior and expectations. In addition, mini PBIS lessons have been created for all teachers to incorporate into their instruction during the school day. We are passionate about taking care of ALL needs of the adolescents we serve. This PBIS program will help us tremendously in this endeavor!

Take a detailed look over the two new programs that GMHS teachers are learning to implement based on their research over the summer (voluntarily in terms of grading practices for the 2021-2022 school year). As professionals, we are always trying to find ways to improve our academic instruction and reflection. In addition, as educators we also are striving to motivate student learning and engagement. Examining our current grading practices and looking at what we can do better to serve our students in the future is always a priority. We thank the teachers on these committees that gave up valuable time during the summer to better our students and families for the 2021-2022 school year and beyond. We also thank our Vice Principal Mrs. Stromberg for building such a great rapport with our summer staff from day one and piloting these programs for all of GMHS.

Common Grading Practices Document

Summer Work Committees Google Slides Summary

Thank you Mr. Altman and Mr. Gamertsfelder for leading this initiative for our students, families and stakeholders in the community! Students and families obtained their school schedules, chromebook devices and got to take a tour of our facility. In addition, club advisors recruited students into their programs and local stakeholders hired many of our students for part time work. Coaches in our building also benefited with recruiting their programs and connecting with families in our community. GREAT JOB TO EVERYONE INVOLVED WHO VOLUNTEERED!!!

In our 1st week back at GMHS, we had a summer school graduate stop by to thank two individuals that really made an impact on him. He was able to earn his GMHS high school diploma by completing summer school coursework to obtain the credits needed to complete graduation requirements. The best part of this success story, is that he is now enlisted in the United States Army and will be serving our country in the near future! He wanted to thank Mr. Cowan & Mrs. Stromberg for their positive guidance and help along the way!

EVERY STUDENT, EVERY LESSON, EVERY DAY

Keeping up with your child’s assignments, grades and test results isn’t always easy, but using ProgressBook can make it easier than ever before! ProgressBook is a secure, online portal that tracks a student’s classroom assignments, grades, attendance, and assessment results, providing parents with a very good picture of their child’s overall academic performance.

We suggest you check student's progress weekly to help you stay informed. Our teachers update grades regularly, so if your student is missing multiple assignments and say that they are completed, ask to see the completed work. Directions for logging into Progressbook can be found here, or by watching the video below.

How to Create a New Account

If you have never created a ProgressBook account, you will need to do so. Please email your request for a registration key for each child to Steve.Lenhart@GoCruisers.org. For each child be sure to include:

• Child’s Name
• Date of Birth
• School Student is Currently Attending

FINALFORMS

Your Online Portal For Completing Almost All School-Related Forms

Groveport Madison Schools has partnered with FinalForms, an online forms and data management service that is replacing nearly all paper forms needed by our schools and the school district.

FinalForms allows parents to complete and sign enrollment, back-to-school, field trips, and athletic participation forms for your child. The most exciting news is that FinalForms saves the information you submitted from season-to-season and year-to-year, meaning that you should almost never need to enter the same information twice! FinalForms also pre-populates information wherever possible for each of your students, saving you valued time.

Sign into your account now, at
https://groveport-oh.finalforms.com/

CREATING A FINALFORMS ACCOUNT

To create a FinalForms Account:

1. Go to: https://groveport-oh.finalforms.com/
2. Locate the parent icon and click NEW ACCOUNT below.
3. Type your YOUR NAME, DATE OF BIRTH, and EMAIL. Next, click REGISTER.
4. Check your email for an ACCOUNT CONFIRMATION EMAIL from the FinalForms Mailman.

NOTE: You will receive an email within two minutes prompting you to confirm and complete your registration. If you do not receive an email, then check your spam folder. If you still can not locate the FinalForms email, then email support@finalforms.com informing our team of the issue.

5. Once received and opened, click CONFIRM YOUR ACCOUNT in the email text.
6. Create your new FinalForms password. Next, click CONFIRM ACCOUNT.
7. Click REGISTER STUDENT for your first child.

Download and Print Instructions

SIGNING INTO YOUR FINALFORMS ACCOUNT

To sign into an existing FinalForms Account, simply:

1. Go to: https://groveport-oh.finalforms.com/
2. Select the appropriate icon for "Parent," "Student," or "Staff"
3. Type in the email address used when creating your account.
4. Type in the password used when creating your account.

• Thank you to all those who volunteered for our "Welcome Back Night" last Tuesday!! There were so many smiles from students and families in the community. It took everyone to help make this event a success. Thank you all for your service to our families in this community!

• Special shoutout to our GMHS PD building presenters last Thursday (8/12)! This building PD was 100% led by our GMHS teachers! You all did an outstanding job and as an administrative team we thank you for being leaders! We learned from you all that day and enjoyed it!

• Rule 3 fun! Thank you to our Head Principal Paul Smathers for allocating some PD time last week to create a staff building activity such as "Rule 3". It was great to eat pizza, bowl and just laugh with you all! We are in this together! Therefore, we have to make time to build rapport with one another as much as we do our students. It is nice to have a building leader that also shares this mentality. Thank you all for coming and enjoying in the fun.

• Finally, thank you for all of the Door Decorations. Our Groveport Madison High School Facebook Page has pictures of almost every door that has been completed thus far! AWESOME JOB!!!

We believe ALL Cruisers are valuable. We unconditionally meet all social, physical, emotional and academic needs. As a result, Cruisers will positively impact the world.