December 2019

It has been a busy December here at Gilbert High School! Our students are busy preparing for final exams and working on putting finishing touches to projects and their classwork. As the evenings have gotten a nice chill in the air we are all looking forward to a well-deserved Winter Break.

This season always brings some pleasant traditions to GHS. We are now in the holiday concert season, with our Orchestra, Band and Choir showcasing their amazing talents under the expert direction of faculty. On Friday, December 13, 2019, we held our annual holiday assembly for the students, faculty and staff. During this assembly our musicians entertained all of us with their performances!

This past week, our faculty came together for a holiday luncheon that was provided by our wonderful families and PTRO. Thank you to everyone who volunteers to help PTRO with this event, we appreciate you so very much!

In addition, we inducted our newest members of the National Honor Society into our chapter. The NHS officers did a great job running the program and we were all fortunate to hear the keynote from the Chief of the Gilbert Fire Department, Chief Jim Jobusch.

School will be letting out at 11:20 am today, Friday, December 20, 2019.

Please also help ensure your student gets a good night rest each day next week and eats a balanced breakfast, as well. Rest and nutrition make for a healthy mind ready to tackle those finals!

From our Tiger family to yours, I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday season filled with love, warmth, family and friends. Take care everyone and we will see you in 2020!

Go Tigers!

Sincerely,

Christopher Stroud

Principal

As part of your preparation for college/university or career, it is critical that you complete your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Completing the FAFSA creates the opportunity for you to receive financial support for one of the most important investments you will make: your degree. Financial support may be awarded in the form of scholarships, grants, work-study funding, or loans.

The attachments below will give you an overview of its importance, some important information regarding deadlines and other pertinent facts. Tigers, don't delay in completing your FAFSA!

Wednesday, March 4th

Senior Cap and Gown Deliveries - The Hub

10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - Early Release Day

Friday, May 1st

Senior Cap and Gown Deliveries - The Hub

Last day to purchase cap and gowns

10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Our SWEEP room has moved into the GHS Library Classroom. Please note that any student who arrives to school after the 1st hour bell without a parent to sign him or her in will be directed to SWEEP. For first hour only, notes or phone calls will not be accepted.

Parents and Guardians, please emphasize the importance of being on time as this is an extremely important and critical life skill. Let’s start the new year with new goals. Be on time, Tigers!!!

Due to interruptions to our front office staff, and in an effort to limit unknown people on our campus during the day, beginning Monday, February 3rd, students will no longer be allowed to receive food or drinks from food delivery services such as Door Dash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, etc. during the school day. This new procedure is consistent with most GPS high schools.

We encourage our students to utilize the cafeteria. School menus can be found here: https://gilbertschools.nutrislice.com/menu/

Lunch money can be loaded onto a student's account here: https://www.myschoolbucks.com/ver2/login/getmain?requestAction=home

Thank you for your continued support of Gilbert High School, and the safety of our students.

Gilbert FFA participated in the winter CDE (Career Development Event) competition on Friday December 6th. While at ASU we had students participate in Veterinary Science, Wildlife, Meats, Food Science and Ag Mechanics. Food Science placed 1st in district and Gabe Neff placed 8th, Jersey Jobe placed 5th and Mateo De Le Torre placed 1st. In Vet Science Izzy Taft placed 8th and their team placed 3rd in district. Delanie Christensen placed 4th, Sophia Kolb placed 5th and Hunter Lopez placed 8th in Meats. Their team placed 4th overall. In Ag Mechanics Riley Weeks placed 8th individually. And finally Wildlife placed 5th and Brandon placed 7th individually.

Gilbert Tiger Baseball recently participated in their annual Feed My Starving Children and "Work on the Field" volunteer events. In December, over 60 members of the Gilbert Tiger Baseball family packed food being delivered to starving children in Mexico at the South Mesa location. These members also spent 5 hours completing various landscape, install and repair projects on both baseball fields in preparation for the upcoming 2020 season. Thank you to all baseball families that donated their time and efforts to help with these community service projects!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

• Please notify the Health Office when your student has a health related issue. Recent hospitalizations, surgeries, or injuries requiring limited activity are some examples of these issues. A physician clearance to return to school is needed after surgeries, hospitalizations, or lengthy illnesses.

• The flu season is here and I wanted to review some of the policies regarding ill students and attending school. When your child has experienced any of the following symptoms within the past 24 hours, s/he should stay home from school:

-Fever of 101 degrees or higher

-Vomiting

-Diarrhea

Students exhibiting the above symptoms are considered contagious and should not be in school. Once these symptoms have subsided for 24 hours without the use of medication (Tylenol, Imodium), they may return to school.

• Does your student need to use crutches at school? If so, District Policy requires a doctor’s note be supplied to the Health Office. This also applies to the use of wheelchairs, canes, and knee walkers. All equipment must be supplied by the parent/guardian.

• Screenings for Vision and Hearing are ongoing. If you have received a letter regarding your student’s hearing or vision, please let the Health Office know when it is resolved. We can then remove them from the “follow-up” list.

• All medications need to be brought to the Health Office by a parent or responsible adult and signed in with the nurse. The medication needs to be in the original container or current prescription bottle. Narcotic pain medication will not be accepted or administered in the school setting. Students are not allowed to take narcotic pain medication and come to school. If this type of pain medication is needed, the student should stay at home. Inhalers and Epi-Pens can be carried by the student, but the parent will need to sign a consent form annually.

In Good Health,

Twila Gottlieb, RN

Debra Wedmore, HA

Mindfulness is a skill that can help a student feel more in control of emotions and increase focus. Students can practice Mindfulness the first 30 minutes of 4th and 5th lunch hour every Tuesday in the Counseling Department.

Hello! My name is Debra Moeller, and I work in Attendance.

The best thing about my job is getting to know the students and parents, and having fascinating conversations with them on a daily basis. My first impression of the Tiger community goes back as far as 2002. I have never felt more at home at work. I love Gilbert High School, and I am a true blue Tiger! A fun fact about me is that I once went skydiving. The view was amazing at 15,000 feet - What a rush!

My name is Karl Scholes, and I teach English to Freshmen. My job is to make sure that the 167 Freshmen in my daily care learn how to use the following skills: 1) critical thinking, 2) communication, and 3) connection. The best part about being an educator is the ability to impact a life for the better. When I started at Gilbert High, the most common thing that I heard is that everybody gets along here. I have found that to be true. I rarely see meanness or (even more rarely) hate on campus. More often I see kids existing together and getting along. Teaching is a second career for me. I spent 10 years as a lawyer, and I practiced family law. I've now seen the light, and I look forward to teaching for the foreseeable future.

My name is Jonathan Johnson III. I teach Functional SCILLS. The best part of my job is being in my classroom with paraprofessionals and students. Team chemistry and student achievement are gratifying. The Tiger campus community is quite affable and welcoming. It is a pleasure to work here. A fun fact about me is that I am nuts about nature. I like all animal life, especially venomous reptiles.

In this section, I will provide interesting parent articles to help our teens navigate our 21st Century world. As I come across articles that I think can help my family, I will be sure to post them here for yours, as well. -Mr. Stroud

Please stress to your student the importance of dressing for success and to be dressed appropriate for school. The weather of course is still very warm and will be for some time, but we need to make sure we are not dressing for the summer while here on campus. Please refer to the District Student Handbook for guidance, and reach out to the GHS Administration Team if you have any further questions.

Mrs. Gonzales, 480.497.0177, ext. 6515

12th grade, 9th grade H-N

Mr. Haasch, 480.497.0177, ext. 6534

11th grade, 9th grade A-G

Mr. Yanez, 480.497.0177, ext. 6517

10th grade, 9th grade O-Z

Parents, please remember to use the parent drop-off loop in the morning and after school. Please do not drop off or pick up in the faculty lot on the west side of campus as this is used by students who walk and for bus transportation purposes. For everyone’s safety, please use the loop between campus and Elliot Road just north of the building.

As a note of caution to all of our campus community, please know that Gilbert Police will at some point do a traffic enforcement sweep on Elliot Road. We ask everyone to always drive safe and practice patience.

We appreciate everyone’s commitment to the safety of our students!

Remember to opt-in for SMS messages in the event of an emergency on campus. Please note that GHS will only use the SMS feature to communicate with you in the event of an emergency. Thank you for your assistance in this matter!

Student handbooks are available from the district website at http://bit.ly/2lAMLae. (Please note that these haven't been updated as of June - watch this space and we'll let you know once the new ones are live).

This handbook outlines our procedures, activities, rules, etc. Please be sure you and your student take time to review these important guidelines to ensure your student’s success at Gilbert High School. Please take the time to review the attached student dress code policy; it is important for our students and parents to understand the expectations of the dress code before they start purchasing new clothes for the new school year.

In order to try out for an athletic team at Gilbert High School, students must have completed the online athletic registration at www.RegisterMyAthlete.com. The requirements include completion of the 2019-2020 Annual Pre-participation Physical Evaluation packet (which needs to be cleared and signed by a doctor); the Brain Book Concussion Course (for first-time high school sport enrollment); and online documents, e-signed by parent/guardian and student. Additionally, an athletic fee of $100.00 is required for each sport (due after try outs and before regular competition season starts). There may be additional fees required per sport. Ask the coach for further details.

Due to many year-round sports, we encourage parents to plan on the completion of the online registration and AIA physical forms before the school year starts, or as soon as possible. We also request this so there is no added delay in an athlete being able to participate in our interscholastic athletic programs. Please log on to www.RegisterMyAthlete.com to register your child. For any questions concerning Athletics, please contact our office at (480) 497-0177, ext. 6534.

FALL SPORTS

Football

Girls' Volleyball

Badminton

Boys' Golf

Girls' Golf

Swim & Dive

Cross Country

Cheer

Chess

WINTER SPORTS

Boys' Basketball

Girls' Basketball

Boys' Soccer

Girls' Soccer

Wrestling

Cheer

SPRING SPORTS

Boys' Volleyball

Girls Beach Volleyball

Track & Field

Boys' Tennis

Girls' Tennis

Baseball

Softball