Notes from Dr. Irvin
Your WGHS Weekly eNews for April 16
Hello WGHS Families,
Good afternoon,
We will be sending out a survey to gather feedback on our shared work this term to both families and students. I realize that I, and ultimately we as an institution, will inevitably discover areas where we can be better. We (parents, students, and our staff) have worked sincerely to learn and to adapt quickly when new information presents itself. At WGHS, we connect every morning with almost 20 staff members in a leadership meeting and weekly town hall meetings with our entire building in the attempt to best know how our efforts are landing. We hope this will give us even greater insight.
I wanted to share some reminders on our grading practices around distance learning below.
The grades from the second semester will be on student’s transcripts and included in the calculation of the cumulative GPA. We know that there is value in continued participation in distance learning, including:
capability to demonstrate proficiency in the course
mitigates learning gaps in future courses
growth of post-secondary skills in critical thinking, communication, and reflective learners
Teachers and staff are working with students to maintain their previous level of achievement through support and instruction. The work that occurs during distance learning should ONLY help students, not hurt them as they are participating/engaging in the essential learning. Please let us know if your student needs additional support around their well-being or distance learning.
Check out our E-learning page for information on the remainder of the school year:
https://www.webster.k12.mo.us/Page/23157
Best,
Matt Irvin
Statesmen Service Awards
Welcome, Ms. Raimondo!
Webster Groves High School welcomes Maddy Raimondo, Class of 2004, after being approved as an Assistant Principal for the 2020-2021 school year.
She taught and coached at Kirkwood High School from 2009- 2018 and was named the Kirkwood High School Teacher of the Year in 2016. Ms. Raimondo most recently worked as an Assistant Principal at Lindbergh High School and has completed her course work to become a National Conference for Community and Justice Certified Facilitrainer in 2019.
She is replacing Dr. Angela Thompson, who was recently appointed as Principal of Maplewood Richmond Heights Elementary School.
A Peek at the Week Ahead
- April 17: Top Hat Awards, Online Presentation
- April 20: Band Awards, Online Presentation
April Distance Learning Updates
https://www.webster.k12.mo.us/Page/23157
Tech help
Tech Hotline: 314-455-7080, 8AM-8PM
Weekly Schedule
In the effort to be mindful of the work around e-learning, we will begin taking each Friday to focus on supporting student engagement and refining our work around distance learning. Each teacher will have their established office hours and no additional instructional material/lessons in the effort to promote mastery of the essential work assigned for engagement. Students can also use those days to contact counselors, prepare for AP test(s), or engage in other pursuits that promote wellness.
Some guiding principles of student support days:
Teachers and staff will work to support students and their learning through communication they have already accessed with students and families.
Teachers will collaborate with colleagues on best practices for distance learning with district-based support and PLC teams within their respective departments.
This will allow students that did not have needed access the chance to have more support and time to finish assignments.
Grading
Please communicate to your teacher how the work is going relative to workload and stress. It is important to allow us to adjust on the feedback we hear as we do this work.
Our staff is focusing on how students can be successful with engagement during this period and providing feedback around the intended learning. We do want to support students in continued acquisition of skills that will support future ready citizens: critical thinking, communication, and collaboration.
Distance learning period will be a separate grading category/assignment type in Tyler SIS where all grades will be placed while school is conducting distance learning. It will have different weight, with the period prior to distance learning being ⅔ of semester grade and the distance learning period being ⅓, including the final. Students should work with their individual teacher to raise their grade for the semester in addition to the work they are doing during distance learning.
This determination was made after consulting DESE guidance and with the awareness that distance learning is impacted by many variables for students: consistent access to digital devices or the internet at home, changes in student support in distance learning, and additional demands on students.
Teachers and staff are working with students to maintain their previous level of achievement through a myriad of supports and assessment design. Administrators and teachers are in communication when students are not able to engage and will work to excuse or reduce work missed due to lack of access. Under our current circumstances, we are working to monitor and adjust as needed for students to be successful for the remainder of the distance learning period.
*In the case that there is an undue hardship (i.e., health-related issues, persistent access issues, etc.), administrators will have the latitude to work on behalf of students to make determinations to ensure students are successful.
Finals
We do plan on each course conducting a comprehensive demonstration of their semester's work. The form will be determined by their teacher in conjunction with their colleagues and will be calculated as part of the Distance Learning category.
Seniors Finals/Last Day
We currently plan to have students follow the original end-of-the-year calendar:
Seniors: Begin check out on May 6 - 8
Underclassmen: Finals are the week of May 18-21
Check-out Process
We will share details on how we plan safely to have students check out. We will work to have students confirm they have met all academic requirements, returned all school materials, and paid all fines. More information will be shared as we get closer to the end of the year.
Prom
We are working to have prom and are looking at options and how we might adjust settings and potential dates. We have tentatively rescheduled Prom for June 20, 8-11 p.m., location TBA.
April/May Calendar Events
In accordance with the Stay-at-home orders, we will need to either cancel or postpone our upcoming high school events. Please see the status of our events below for the month of April/early May:
April 2-4 Spring Play, Canceled
April 10 Statesmen Service Awards, Online
April 14 School Service Day, Canceled
April 17 Top Hat, Online Presentation
April 18 Prom, New date: June 20
April 20 Band Awards, Online Presentation
April 21 NHS Induction Ceremony, Canceled
April 22 Jazz Concert, Canceled
April 25 Schoemehl Run, Virtual
April 28 Band Concert, Canceled
April 29 One Acts, Canceled
April 30 Senior Awards, Online Presentation, May 3
May 6 STUCO Banquet, Online
May 6 Choir Concert, Canceled
May 7 Statesmen Sports Awards, Online Presentation
May 8 WG A Cappella Extravaganza, Postponed
May 12 Graduation, postponed/TBD (see below)
May 12 Orchestra Concert, Canceled
Graduation Ceremony
We will adjust our original reservation at Chaifetz Arena on May 12. We now have June 26 at 7 PM as a potential reschedule option and July 24 at 7 PM as a back-up. We will share more as we get closer to potential dates.
AP testing
There will not be any face-to-face AP exams this year.
Students will take AP exams at home.
Exams will be 45 minutes.
Exams will NOT contain multiple-choice questions.
Students with accommodations will be able to use their accommodations.
Exams will be administered online between May 11th - 22nd. Make-up test dates will be available for each subject from June 1 through June 5.
Exams will be assessing a reduced scope of content, content that would “typically” have been covered before March. Please contact your AP instructor for details regarding your specific course.
From College Board, "We're confident that the vast majority of higher ed institutions will award college credit as they have in the past. We've spoken with hundreds of institutions across the country that support our solution for this year's AP Exams."
Students have the option of canceling their exam(s), and CB will waive the $40.00/exam late fee they would have charged the school. To cancel, please log into the Total Registration webpage here: https://user.totalregistration.net/AP/263573 and request to cancel your exam.Select "Coronavirus Crisis" as your reason to avoid the $40/exam late fee. Refunds will be processed in batches on a weekly basis.
For more information visit the College Board: https://apcoronavirusupdates.collegeboard.org/students
Summer School
We are still waiting on information on summer school support that will be offered by DESE. We plan to offer some courses and versions of traditional summer school courses online. We will share courses and other information as we are able to finalize.
Athletics
With the decision to keep the schools closed and continue with distance learning for the rest of the semester, that unfortunately means the remainder of the spring sports season has been cancelled as well. Coaches will continue to be in touch with their teams for the rest of the spring. We will discuss how we can continue to recognize our athletes, in particular the seniors who won’t get to play their final season. Information on returning any school issued uniforms and equipment will be provided at a later date.
Looking ahead to the summer, at this time our coaches are still planning on conducting summer contact days and camps like they have in the past. Please contact the head coach of a particular sport if your son or daughter is interested in participating in those activities.
Jim Schoemehl Run is Now Virtual!
Due to COVID-19, senior marketing students are no longer able to hold the annual Jim Schoemehl Run as they have in years past. This year the run will be held virtually. While this will be a new and different experience we hope to make it a positive time for all those involved. You can sign up to run through our website or make a donation! You DO NOT have to live in the St. Louis area to participate or donate. Money will go to both a St. Louis family affected by ALS and to the ALS association. Please sign up to run or make a small donation, anything helps.
Website Link: http://jims5k.org
Students: Are You Overwhelmed With Too Many Google Classroom Emails/Notifications?
Follow these steps to turn off your notifications in Google Classroom:
- Log in as student using wgcloud.org account.
- Go to Google Classroom (search for it in the address bar or click the small grid in the upper right corner and Click the Classroom icon).
- Click the 3 bars in the upper left-hand corner of the Google Classroom home page.
- Click “Settings.”
- Click the toggle button to turn off specific notifications of your choosing
- find these under Comments and Classes You're Enrolled In
- grey is OFF, blue is ON
Video walkthrough to Change Email Notifications: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TYEYrmUtIc-NSTt2yG1Zm9b3HOzmyDnk/view
Change Frequency of Guardian Email Summaries as a Parent
The default is for summaries to come once a week. You can change the frequency of the summaries for all classes at once.
- Start in the email account where you receive email guardian summaries
- At the bottom of any class email summary click "Settings"
- You will be asked to sign in to your Google/gmail account if you aren't already
- You will see a heading labelled "Frequency," below that click "Daily" or "Weekly"
- You do not need to click Save or similar, it will just change for all Classroom classes
- Daily summaries are sent Monday - Friday afternoon, no weekend emails.
- Weekly summary is sent on Friday afternoon
**Also, please note, if a teacher doesn't add anything new, that class will NOT be listed in the summary.
Video walkthrough to Change Frequency of Guardian Email Summaries: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kG5VADsrVfZQDQ7R3zgZwCG_dLEKTANW/view
Need more Google Classroom tips? Visit our website's E-Learning page!
Office Hours by School Subject/Department
Visit our website for the most up-to-date E-Learning resources and information.
- General information on the importance of E-Learning, expectations, length of assignments and workload, and what to expect while school is closed
- Resources for support, including counselor contact information
- Tech hotline
- Office Hours by department
- Resources for time management and a custom WGHS Weekly Planner
Visit us HERE or click below for more information!
Face Mask Strap Activity for 3D Printers
If you have a 3D printer at home, here is an excellent idea!
A Message from Our Counselors
While conducting school virtually, WGHS school counselors and social workers will continue to support the academic, social and emotional, and post-secondary planning needs of our students. Our office hours are from 8:30-9:30am daily (for immediate attention) but we are available by phone or email throughout regular school hours. Please see our contact information below and reach out with any questions or needs you may have. Students can also request assistance by completing this form and their counselor will follow up with them.
Additionally, there are a number of outside agencies and organizations available to provide support to young people and their families during this difficult time. Below is a list of resources available to you and your family.
Virtual Counseling: Parents or guardians should call the numbers below to set up services.
CHADS Coalition: 314-952-8274
Preferred Family Health: 314-729-7050
St. Louis Counseling: 314-544-3800
Online Resources:
Unicef: How Teenagers Can Protect Their Mental Health During Coronavirus (COVID-19)
18percent Coronavirus Mental Health Resources
St. Louis County Resources (including help with food, utilities, rent, and mental health)
Special School District’s Family Resource Page
If you need support and cannot wait, please use one of the crisis numbers below:
Youth Connection Helpline: Call (314) 819-8802 or text BHEARD to 31658
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255
Child Abuse and Neglect: 800-392-3738
For emergencies, please call 911
As always, please reach out with any questions or concerns. We look forward to seeing you all soon!
Sincerely,
Alex King
Counselor (A-E)
314-666-0220 king.alexandra@wgmail.orgKen Winingham
Counselor (F-K)
314-252-8194 winingham.ken@wgmail.orgJoe Hepfinger
Counselor (L-R)
314-918-4133 hepfinger.joe@wgmail.orgSimone Cunningham
Counselor (S-Z)
314-918-4134 cunningham.simone@wgmail.orgKaren Verstraete
College & Career (A-K)
314-301-9921 verstraete.karen@wgmail.org
Jennedy Lombard
College and Career (L-Z)
314-384-9658 lombard.jennedy@wgmail.orgAnne Gibbs
Social Worker
314-527-4753 gibbs.anne@wgmail.orgSuzanne Goldstein
SSD Social Worker
314-918-4281 goldstein.suzanne@wgmail.orgAnn Marie Guntli
SSD Social Worker
314-384-9723 guntli.ann@wgmail.orgBarb Smith
Office Assistant
Transcripts and Summer School
314-918-4138 smith.barbara@wgmail.orgBrittany Hill
Office Assistant
Scholarships
314-527-0533 hill.brittany@wgmail.orgCounseling Department Updates
AP Testing Changes
- Traditional face-to-face exam administrations will not take place. Students will take a 45-minute online free-response exam at home.
- Some students may want to take the exam sooner rather than later, while the content is still fresh. Other students may want more time to practice. For each AP subject, there will be 2 different testing dates.
- The full exam schedule, specific free-response question types that will be on each AP Exam, and additional testing details will be available by April 3.
- We will share information as it becomes available to us. Questions? Contact our AP Coordinator, Jennedy Lombard, at lombard.jennedy@wgmail.org
SLU and UMSL Reopen Registration for Dual Credit
In light of changes with AP testing, UMSL and SLU have decided to reopen registration for dual credit. SLU has already opened their website for registration (Adv. Forensic Science and Oceanography) with a deadline of April 5, 2020. More information from UMSL will be shared as we receive it.
Summer School 2020
The summer school planning for summer 2020 has been placed on hold in light of our current educational situation. Students will not lose classes in which they have been assigned. Once we receive more direction from DESE we will be able to provide additional information regarding our summer school programming for summer 2020.
Thank you for your patience with programming!
Webster Groves High School
Email: erb.mickey@wgmail.org
Website: hs.webster.k12.mo.us
Location: 100 Selma Avenue, Webster Groves, MO, USA
Phone: (314) 963-6400
Facebook: facebook.com/WGAlumni
Twitter: @WebsterGrovesHS
A Peek at the Week Ahead
- April 17: Top Hat Awards, Online Presentation
- April 20: Band Awards, Online Presentation