THE PROUD PANTHER
Quakertown Community High School - December, 2020
Dear Parent/Guardian,
It is hard to believe that we have arrived at the Holiday Season! For me, this time provides a great opportunity to take a moment and reflect on the start of the year and project how we move forward, and I encourage our students to do the same. I know that many of you do this already, but I request you to take a moment to sit down with your child and reflect on this last marking period, speak about their successes and challenges, and create a plan for future success. It seems like a simple activity, but I personally find myself more successful when I develop a plan out of my reflections.
Below you will find some important information to review. Please reach out to the High School team should you have any questions. We stand ready to support your children in their achievements!
In Partnership,
Mattias van 't Hoenderdaal
Principal
Expanded Mask Order
Last week, Governor Wolf amended the face covering order. Though our Health and Safety Plan is mostly in agreement with this new order, we anticipate some additional changes will occur in mask breaks, athletics (where masks are now required when competing), and outdoors when 6ft distancing cannot be maintained.
Live Instruction For All Classes
Upon the closure of the marking period it is important that we keep reflecting on our practices. The secondary administrative team meets regularly to discuss instruction and reflect on feedback from teachers, students, and parents. This pursuit leads us to the next step in our instructional journey this year: live streaming. Many of our teachers are already doing this and have shared teacher and student benefits.
Effective December 9th, all teachers will be providing live streaming of their instruction. As always, students are strongly encouraged to attend the live sessions during the first two weeks. Upon return from our Winter Break, students are expected to attend the live Google Meets for each of their classes every day, following the usual bell schedule. If there is an extenuating circumstance that prevents your child from participating in the live Google Meets at their scheduled time, please contact their School Counselor to discuss the situation.
Keystone Exams
The administration of Keystone Exams takes place on December 1-8 at the high school. Students in grades 9 through 11, who completed the Keystone course(s) of Algebra 1, Biology, and/or (grade 10) Literature during the 2019-20 school year will be required to take the test during this window. In addition, any student in grades 10 and 11 who has not yet achieved proficiency on a Keystone exam(s) previously taken will also be required to retest during the December administration. These exams will be administered in the building using the student’s district issued Chromebook. Therefore, students must be prepared with their Chromebook fully charged on each testing day. Transportation for all test takers will be provided using a normal school day schedule. At the conclusion of testing, students will complete their school work asynchronously until regular dismissal time. Additional details regarding the test, schedule, and bussing information was sent to individuals who will be testing.
For your family’s planning purposes, the test modules will be administered as follows:
Dec. 1 & 2: Algebra 1
Dec. 3 & 4: Literature
Dec. 7 & 8: Biology
Please note each exam contains two modules which students are required to complete. One module is administered on each of the two days of the exam administration.
All students who are not required to test during this window will remain at home and complete their work virtually (asynchronously) on these days. They are reminded to SWIPE in each day for attendance to be counted. Upper Bucks County Technical School students who are NOT testing will be transported to UBCTS using the Wednesday tech bus schedule that they were previously assigned prior to beginning the five days of live instruction.
If you have any questions, please contact the main office at 215-529-2060.
Federal Programs Parent Meeting
On Tuesday, December 8th at 7:00, QCSD will hold a brief Federal Programs meeting to present an overview of our district federal programs and gather recommendations for how we may spend these funds in future years. Please join us for this overview and/or take a few minutes to complete our survey here.
Minding Your Mind
With one of our focuses being the overall mental well being of our students, we will be participating in a building wide seminar during an extended first period on December 14th. Our guest speaker is from the "Minding Your Mind" organization and will be sharing his own personal narrative regarding his particular struggles with depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation. This presentation will run from 7:20-8:20. Our counselors will be available immediately following the presentation to meet with students.
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Wednesday, Dec 2, 2020, 05:30 PM
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Quakertown Community High School
Email: hs@qcsd.org
Website: hs.qcsd.org
Location: 600 Park Avenue, Quakertown, PA, USA
Phone: (215) 529-2060
Facebook: facebook.com/OfficialQCHS
Twitter: @OfficialQCHS