Bobcat Virtual Update
February 24, 2021
Dear Bobcat Virtual Families,
We hope your second semester is getting off to a great start! By this time, your students should be settling into a nice groove, and any scheduling issues should be resolved. If your student is still facing any struggles, please reach out to their teacher. They are here to support your student and are happy to help!
If you tuned in to last night's Board Meeting, you know that the buildings are continuing to increase student in-person learning. As a Bobcat Virtual family, your student will not be required to return to the building this year. As you begin to consider your options for next year, please know that it is our District's plan to begin the year in the Fall on a normal schedule for all face-to-face buildings. All families will still have the option to choose Bobcat Virtual as their building of choice. We are taking what we have learned this year, along with the feedback from parents, students, and teachers, to improve our program and class content for the 2021-2022 school year.
In this newsletter, you will find important information about conferences, spring testing, and scheduling for next year. Please take the time to familiarize yourself with important dates and content.
As always, please contact us if you have any questions or concerns.
Jeff Neall
Bobcat Virtual Director
Allyson Walroth
Secondary Curriculum Director
810-591-6649
Celebrations
Student of the Month - January
Important Information
End of Semester Work Submission Deadlines
By this time, you should have heard from your student's teacher about the end of the semester dates. While deadlines are flexible throughout the semester, the end of the year deadlines are not. Given the nature of online classes and the heavy workload that tends to come in at the end of the semester, teachers need to set end of the year deadlines earlier than the rest of the district.
Here are the common end of the work submission deadlines for the second semester of Bobcat Virtual:
- Elementary classes and middle school classes that do not give an exam and are not tied to high school credit: Wednesday, June 9, 2021, at 11:59pm
- High school classes and middle school classes that have an exam and are tied to high school credit: Friday, June 4, 2021, at 11:59pm; Exams will be given/collected during the week of June 7-11
Senior Deadlines: Since seniors are done on May 21, 2021, the work submission deadlines for seniors in high school classes will be May 14, 2021, at 11:59pm. Exams will be given/collected during the following week.
Scheduling for 2021-2022
Attention parents of 8th grade students: If you plan to send your student to the high school next year for face-to-face learning, the high school would like to invite you and your student to attend a virtual scheduling meeting for the 2021-2022 school year. This meeting will take place on Monday, March 1, at 6:00pm on Zoom: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/8072191939?pwd=M3JGT3JHQzNpNG8waWdvY25ydjN4dz09 (Meeting ID: 807 219 1939, Passcode: 385980).
Attention parents of 5th grade students: If you plan to send your student to the middle school next year for face-to-face learning, the middle schools would like to invite you and your students to attend a virtual scheduling meeting for the 2021-2022 school year. This meeting will take place on Thursday, March 4, at 5:30pm on Zoom: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/8072191939?pwd=M3JGT3JHQzNpNG8waWdvY25ydjN4dz09 (Meeting ID: 807 219 1939, Passcode: 385980).
If you and your student are unable to attend either of these meetings, we will make sure that you still receive the scheduling information.
Students in all other grades, including those who plan to attend Bobcat Virtual in the fall, will hear from us soon about scheduling for next year.
Parent-Teacher Conferences
- Tuesday, March 2 - 3:30pm-6:30pm
- Wednesday, March 3 - 12:30pm-3:30pm
- Thursday, March 4 - 3:30pm-6:30pm
Similarly to first semester, you will receive an email with a link to sign up to speak to your student's teacher(s). Almost all of the Bobcat Virtual teachers will be available for conferences sometime during this window. Teachers who are split between buildings may have fewer time slots to account for their other classes. In the event that you have a teacher who is not participating in the Bobcat Virtual conferences and you would like to speak to them, please reach out to them individually to schedule a meeting.
Spring Testing
We are currently in the planning stages for exactly when and where the elementary and middle school testing will take place.
High school students should plan to take the SAT/PSAT and M-STEP sometime during the week of April 12-16. These tests will take place at the High School East with the rest of the high school students.
Please keep an eye out for further, more detailed communication on spring testing in future newsletters.
If you have questions or concerns about this testing process, please contact Mrs. Walroth at awalroth@gbcs.org.
Curriculum Updates
4th Grade Human Growth and Development
The Grand Blanc Board of Education provides a program of instruction in human growth and development. As a component of the Human Growth and Development program, concepts relating to the onset of puberty and reproductive health will be taught to 4th grade students in a synchronous lesson offered after Spring Break, followed by a few asynchronous assignments.
By law you have the right to excuse your child from the class, if you choose. Please visit the GBCS Human Growth & Development website to see sample resources and explore the topics covered during this program.
Please take time to review the information on the website. If you do not want your child to participate you need to complete the Opt-Out Form found at the top of the website or linked here. If you have not opted out by Friday, March 12, your child will be included in the sex education unit.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions at 591-6649.
Sincerely,
Allyson Walroth
Secondary Curriculum Director
5th Grade Human Growth and Development
The Grand Blanc Board of Education provides a program of instruction in human growth and development. As a component of the Human Growth and Development program, reproductive health will be taught to 5th grade students in a synchronous lesson offered after Spring Break, followed by a few asynchronous assignments.
By law you have the right to excuse your child from the class, if you choose. Please visit the GBCS Human Growth & Development website to see sample resources and explore the topics covered during this program.
Please take time to review the information on the website. If you do not want your child to participate you need to complete the Opt-Out Form found at the top of the website or linked here. If you have not opted out by Friday, March 12, your child will be included in the sex education unit.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions at 591-6649.
Sincerely,
Allyson Walroth
Secondary Curriculum Director
MS Human Growth and Development
The Grand Blanc Board of Education provides a program of instruction in Human Growth and Development. As a component of the Human Growth and Development program, HIV/AIDS and other serious communicable disease prevention as well as sex education will be taught.
Due to COVID-19 and the adjustments made to school in the spring last year (19-20) the Human Growth and Development courses were not provided. We are making the following adjustments for this school year (20-21):
- 6th graders will receive the 5th grade program
- 8th graders will receive the 7th grade program
- 7th graders will also be receiving the 7th grade program this year
By law, you have the right to excuse your child from the program if you choose. Please visit the GBCS Human Growth & Development website to see sample resources and explore the topics covered during this program.
In Bobcat Virtual, students will be added to a Google Classroom or a Canvas course that is pre-loaded with the Human Growth & Development content appropriate for their grade. They will work through this content at their own pace and with your support.
Please take time to review the information on the website. If you do not want your child to participate you need to complete the Opt-Out Form found at the top of the website or linked here. If you have not opted your student out of this unit by , he/she will be automatically loaded into this course.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions at 591-6649.
Sincerely,
Allyson Walroth
Secondary Curriculum Director
Semester 2 Novels
Allyson Walroth
Grand Blanc Community Schools
HS Assistant Principal & Secondary CurriculumEmail: awalroth@gbcs.org
Website: gbcs.org
Location: 1 Jewett Trail, Grand Blanc, MI, USA
Phone: 810-591-6649
Twitter: @allysonwalroth