Wildcat Weekly: Home Edition!
May 5, 2020
Happy Birthday this Week!
MADDOX, DANIEL 3-May
ROBERTSON, RICK 3-May
CHARLTON, MARTINA 7-May
SPEARS, SAMANTHA 8-May
Teacher Appreciation
In the spirit of these times, enjoy a few virtual thank you's!
A Special Thank You!!!
In these unprecedented times, the PTSA wants our TEACHERS and STAFF to know how much they are APPRECIATED.
Your efforts to make this “new reality” / “new way to teach” the best possible experience will always be remembered.
Your work and dedication for the education and well-being of our students is a precious gift that we have the pleasure to receive.
Time will have passed, situations will be lived, experiences will be gained: YOUR imprint on our students will always be with them. Memories that you helped shape will always be part of our Wildcat community, …… Tests, lectures, visits to front office, grades, mischiefs (those happen too), games, pep rallies, and more.
Shout out to our wonderful TEACHERS AND STAFF!!!
❤ No gesture is big enough to recognize you all❤
Love,
Your PTSA!!!
Wildcat Family
- we are learning how important community and connectedness are.
- forcing us to be apart reminds us of how important it is to be together.
- we are finding ways to connect with even the quietest kid in the class that had never happened before.
- we are always #BetterTogether
- You haven't just created classes. You've created families.
- These kids miss their families.
Below from theatre is a powerful example of the kind of family you've created.
A Little Music for You!
Enjoy!
A Morning of Gratitude and Joy
https://drive.google.com/open?id=16ZrTlN8lDOFxyMj8SGqxrMRKKThkeXou
Another Perspective
Here's what his mother said about the day:
WOW! That surprise Senior Celebration at the Class of 2020 sign pickup was a much-needed injection of pure sunshine! . . .
As Anthony’s junior year began, we met with his teachers and were pleased to find that yet again, our son had a team that was sincerely invested in his success as a student. In his 2 years at PSHS, Anthony has been lucky to have exceptional teachers that not only worked tirelessly to provide him with a great educational experience… They have also been the very best cheerleaders, encouraging him to be the very best version of himself. We appreciate the support that our family has felt as we constantly found ways to creatively allow Anthony to be involved in the extracurricular activities that he loved. . . . The phrase “living your best life” has become popular across social media – Anthony has truly been living his BEST life at PSHS!
We feel very lucky that our PISD journey included the last 2 years at PSHS. We could not have asked for a better journey for our son – that baby boy whose doctor once told us he may never walk or talk… and just look at him now. Once a Wildcat, Always a Wildcat!!!!
Jennifer Lampasona Tatum
FINAL STEPS BEFORE AP EXAMS
Please share this info with your AP students as you see fit.
AP® Exams begin on Monday, May 11. College Board has outlined steps you should take to ensure you are prepared to test.
Now
• READ the 2020 AP Testing Guide (.pdf/10.37 MB) and watch the overview video. The comprehensive guide will walk you through exam preparation, and the video gives a high-level overview of this year's exams.
• Practice with the exam demo. You now have access to an exam demo. You should use the demo to practice the different ways to submit exam responses. World language students will be able to practice with the AP World Languages Exam App beginning the week of May 11.
• Here is the required and recommended resource list. Make sure you know what resources you can use during your exams and how you can access them.
Two Days Before Each Exam
• Locate your e-ticket. Two days before each exam, you will receive an email with your unique exam e-ticket that includes your AP ID. On exam day, you will use your e-ticket to access the exam. If a you haven’t received your exam e-ticket by email, you can access it through your student account on My AP. E-tickets are nontransferable and shouldn't be shared with anyone. If you haven't been receiving College Board emails you still have time to confirm your contact information in your student account on My AP. Also confirm you have the correct school code in your account. The school code for Plano Senior High School is 445565.
• Complete the AP Exam Day Checklist (.pdf/513.39 KB) for each exam you are taking. You should complete this checklist and keep a printed or handwritten copy with you for reference during testing. Completing the checklist will help you feel confident you are set up for success.
On Exam Day
• Remember to click your e-ticket to check in 30 minutes before the exam start time. You should allot 80 minutes for each exam—30 minutes to enter your AP ID, name, and other information, and 50 minutes to draft and submit your responses. Make sure you know the local testing time, since each subject's exam will be taken simultaneously worldwide.
• Ensure you know what to do if something goes wrong. If you accidentally closes the browser, your device crashes, or you temporarily lose internet access, you can quickly click your exam e-ticket again to return to the exam. You should continue the exam, and if you feel at the end of the exam that the temporary disruption negatively impacted your performance, you can request approval to take the makeup exam at cb.org/requestmakeup. You can also request a makeup exam if you've lost too much time due to a technical problem, can't connect to your exam, or experienced some other serious disruption.
Additional Information
This week, Online AP Classes and Review Sessions will focus on the exam day experience and review new sample questions for all nonportfolio courses. These sample questions are available on each subject's course page.
Inservice in the Fall
Below is information regarding our Back-to-School Professional Learning week. Our entire campus staff will begin on Wednesday, August 5.
- Wednesday, August 5 - Campus Day*
- Thursday, August 6 - District/Curriculum Day
- Friday, August 7 - Campus Day*
- Monday, August 10 - Campus Day*/Work Day
- Tuesday, August 11 - Campus Day*/Work Day
- Wednesday, August 12 - First Day of School
Upcoming Events -- TENTATIVE
July 29 -- Graduation Rehearsal and Senior Celebration on Campus
Aug 1 -- Graduation at Frisco Star
Message Sent Yesterday to Families re: Graduation
Dear Senior Class of 2020,
As Plano ISD continues to make graduation plans, we want our seniors to know that providing them and their families with a memorable graduation experience is at the forefront of all of our graduation conversations. Our graduates deserve an experience that honors their 13-year academic journey and we plan to do everything in our power to deliver something meaningful and special.
We know that you are anxiously awaiting details of what that special celebration may look like. Knowing that Governor Abbott convened a Graduation Task Force, we await further guidance on the parameters for hosting graduation ceremonies before sharing final plans. We anticipate that we will receive graduation guidance this week, and once we ensure our plans meet the Governor’s guidance for graduation ceremonies, we will share those plans with students and families.
We have used this time to develop several alternatives for graduation that would fall under Option 2 of the graduation plans that were previously shared. Our goal is to provide our students and families with a ceremony that includes as many customary graduation traditions as possible while observing the required orders related to social distancing and public health. One alternative is to host a hybrid celebration in June, which features some in-person elements, providing students and families with tangible moments to accompany a virtual ceremony, which will be captured and available online as a keepsake for families.
At the same time, should it become evident that we will be able to safely host large gatherings later in the summer, even in some modified fashion, we are considering an alternative that provides graduating seniors the opportunity to experience a more traditional Plano ISD graduation ceremony. We have reserved our existing graduation venues for later dates: July 21 for Academy High School and August 1 for the senior high schools.
Our ultimate goal is to ensure that students and families can celebrate this very important milestone in a truly special way.
Sincerely,
Sara Bonser,
Superintendent of Schools