Wildcat Press Newsletter
Jan 24 2021 Vol. 25
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Principal's Message
Hello Wildcat Pride,
So far so good on the return. As you know the upcoming week is our last week of Hybrid instruction, starting February 1st we will return to full on campus instruction. The district will then start to make decisions about delivery method on a school by school basis, with the discussion of changing the method being triggered by a 1% positivity rate by the district dashboard. That dashboard can be found on the district website and is update by the district health department each morning Tue-Fri.
I was encouraged this last week by something that happened after last weeks AFC playoff games. I don't know how many of you will have seen this, but it really helped remind of the kind of community and citizens I hope we are building here at Mesquite. Lamar Jackson is the quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens. In the third quarter of the game he was removed from from contest due to concussion protocol (this also happened to Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs in their game). I was so glad to see the teams and the league putting people over winning and profit in both of these instances. That was just the beginning. The Ravens were playing the Buffalo Bills, who's fans are affectionately known as the "Bills Mafia." The Bills Mafia Twitter site sent out a tweet after the concussion saying something along the lines of "Let's win this game, but we all know football is better with LJackson8 in the game. All mafia members donate $8 (his jersey number is 8) to Blessings in a Backpack his favorite charity." The Bills went on to win the game, but more importantly Blessings in a Backpack (this organization is a national charity that provides backpacks of food to kids on Fridays who otherwise would go hungry) received over $450,000 in donations. This was not the first time they had done this, earlier this season after Josh Allen, their own quarterback's grandmother has passed they donated over a million dollars in $17 (jersey 17) installments to a children's hospital in her name. A year ago after booing Andy Dalton when the Bills played the Bengals, they made $14 (jersey 14) donations to his favorite charity when he led the Bengals to a fourth quarter comeback in a game that had no meaning for the Bengals and would be his last in Cincinnati. This win put the Bill's into the playoff's for the first time in over 20 years. The mafia raised more than half a million dollars for his charity. I think what I love most about this is that it seems to be organic, and that for under $40 dollars people got to help three really great charities and be a part of something bigger than one person and raise over 2 million dollars. If we all treated each other in this way, what an incredible community this would be.
This week we have one odd day on Wednesday it is early release, but we created schedule that allows us to do a virtual pep-assembly with NO Place for Hate during the day.
The other big thing is registration for next year is going on as we speak, please be touching base with your underclass students to be sure they have completed their enrollment and you have signed off on it. All students will be meeting with their counselors in the next week or two to finalize.
Have a great week and thanks for your partnership!
Rod Huston
Principal
Mesquite High School
@MHSAZ_Principal
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MHS Administrative Team!
Mrs. Marguerite Brown
Assistant Principal
Activities and Clubs
Grade Level: Freshman
Juniors Last Name O-Z
@MHSWildcat_News
Mr. Rudy Alvarado
Assistant Principal
Athletic Director
Grade Level: Sophomores
Juniors Last Name E-N
@MesquiteAthDept
Mrs. Mitzi Escobar
Assistant Principal
Registration & Academics
Grade Level: Seniors
Juniors Last Name A-D
@Mhsescobar
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January Calendar
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Wildcat Counseling
REGISTRATION
Registration Information for the 21/22 School Year
Registration for your student(s) 2021-2022 school year is underway. Please help make sure that your student has entered their classes in their Course Plan in Infinite Campus as well as returning their paper copy to their English teacher. Please take a moment to look at their sheet and sign it before they return it to their teacher.
Each student will meet with their counselor individually to go over their choices over the next few weeks.
Course Registration Information
2021-2022 Course Registration is Underway
Please review the following information:
1. If your completed course registration form has not been handed in to your English teacher, please bring your completed registration form (with parent signature) to the Counseling Office as soon as possible.
2. MHS students who do not have an IN-PERSON English class or have been absent need to follow these instructions:
- Go to https://www.gilbertschools.net/Page/2341.
- Watch the MHS Registration Video.
- Complete the Registration Form for next year's grade level and email the completed form (with parent signature) to your counselor.
- Submit a Counselor Appointment Request Form to schedule a time to meet with your counselor to finalize your course requests
3. FULL-TIME ONLINE Global Academy students need to follow the instructions here to complete MHS course registration.
4. Counselors will be meeting individually with all students through their English class over the next few weeks. If students have questions about registration, they should wait until that time to meet with their counselor. Students may also talk to their current teachers about the best course recommendations for their subject area. **If a student does not have an in-person English class, they need to submit a Counselor Appointment Request Form to schedule their registration meeting.**
5. All course registration information and forms can be found on the MHS Counseling website here: https://www.gilbertschools.net/Page/2341.
Online Classes
If your student is taking an asynchronous online course through Global Academy, they need to be sure to log in to the course EVERY school day. If they do not log in every school day, Global Academy will drop the course, which can result in having to start a course over from the beginning and/or being put on a waitlist because the class is now full.
ACT TEST - JUNIORS
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Academic Support
Peer Tutoring
Maybe you didn't do so hot in some of your classes last semester? Don't wait until it's too late this semester! Get extra help now!! During the hybrid learning schedule, PEER TUTORING is available in the MHS Career Center during both lunches on THURSDAYS and FRIDAYS (10:30-11:00 and 11:55-12:25). Don't be shy, come on in!!
Assignment Tracker
Click here for an Assignment Tracker to list your missing assignments/quizzes/tests and catch up in your classes (you will need to make a copy of the Assignment Tracker in order to enter your information, or you can print a copy).
Parent testimonial: This semester we started using your infamous Assignment Tracker for my youngest son who has ADD. I am AMAZED at how much this has helped him keep track of his work and whether or not he has completed it/turned it in. His teacher is over the moon with it as well (I shared it with the teacher to help add due dates/assignments that may have been missed by my son). Everyone is able to see just what is happening and what is going on. I LOVE that I can be here and he's at home yet I can keep track of what he is accomplishing with his work. So, the long and short of it is, you have been a HUGE help to my family and have helped to reduce the stress, anxiety, and frustration for one little boy, 2 grateful parents, and 1 relieved teacher.
Counselor Appointments
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No Place for Hate
Wednesday January 27th 3rd period we will be having a No Place For Hate Virtual High School Tour Kick Off Assembly. This assembly will start promptly at 9am and will last around 35-40 minutes. Students will need to log into their Chromebooks in order to participate in this virtual assembly which is interactive. The link to this event with additional instructions will be sent out to staff and students the day of the assembly. Refer to the flyer below for information on this year's celebrity participants.
We will be following the No Place For Hate Staggered Bell Schedule:
PERIOD CLASS TIMES
A 6:30 - 7:25
1 7:30 - 8:07
2 8:14 - 8:51
3A 8:58 - 9:47 No Place for Hate Virtual Tour Assembly
3B 9:47 -10:24
4 10:31 - 11:08
5 11:15 - 11:52
6 11:59 - 12:36
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Virtual College Fair for GPS
Please sign up here!
There will be two times during that day that seniors can go online and talk to representatives from the colleges.
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Scholarship Highlight of the Week - Neely Foundation Scholarship
The Neely Foundation awards scholarships to students who aspire to obtain a bachelor’s degree at an approved college or university in Arizona. Seniors at selected high schools are eligible for a $3,000 scholarship each academic year. The scholarship is for four consecutive years or until a bachelor’s degree is completed, whichever is sooner, providing the student continues to meet the required qualifications. Click here to review the qualifications.
To apply for a scholarship, please see your MHS counselor.
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Message from our Athletic Director
Winter Sports
We are heading into Week 2 of Winter sports. See the schedule below for game info.
With crowds limited to 2 parents/guardians per athlete (at home games only) you can stream basketball by clicking HERE or catch all our soccer games by clicking HERE.
I would also like to invite students out to Open Gym/Court as we prepare for Spring sports that will start on March 1st. These events are open to EVERY student on campus regardless of skill level to come out and try a sport they may be interested in. All are welcome.
Tennis - Tuesdays through Fridays from 3 - 4:30. Meet at the tennis courts.
Boy's Volleyball - Tuesdays and Thursdays in the mini gym from 4-6 pm.
Track and Field
Track and Field season is approaching rapidly! To start off the season, we will be having information meetings on:
Feb 2nd
Before school - 7:00am
4th & 5th hour lunches
After school - 2:30pm
Feb 3rd
Before school - 7:00am
4th & 5th hour lunches
Also - 11:30am
The meetings will be located in A102. Stop by when you can, and see what the season is going to look like and learn more about the open fields we have coming up! Everyone is welcome, even if you have never participated in track before! We want a HUGE team this year so please don't hesitate to participate! Look for the flyers around the school for more information or contact Coach McKendrick in G109. Go Cats!
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Wildcat Activities Announcement
Valentine’s Day Grams
Valentine’s Day Grams are on sale now at the Spirit Store during both lunches. Get your special someone a Valentine’s Gram and a candy bar for $1. Come fill out your gram today! There is no option for delivery this year but they can be picked up on February 12th during both lunch hours.
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Health Office Hotspot
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Wildcat Wellness
Conversations about Resilience & Parenting in the COVID Era
Here’s a great resource for parents happening next week Wednesday 1/27 at 6:00 PM. Our parenting experts will be taking a deep dive on all things impacting families as we navigate the pandemic, distance learning, and social unrest. Attendees will hear practical tips on how to maintain structure; foster an environment of well-being and security; creative ways to change up the routine; and re-shape how we navigate this new normal. We will also introduce notMYkid’s new online community of caring created for parent, by parents.
Prepared Parenting
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MHS Book Nook
If you are unable to get into BUZZ or Rapid Identity, please try to update your Chromebook, restart and then attempt to log in. You MUST log in through Rapid Identity to BUZZ.
DO NOT GOOGLE Rapid Identity! You will not get to where you are supposed to be.
Updating the Chrome OS on the student and teacher Chromebooks is CRUCIAL to everything working. Here are some simple steps.
Login to your Chromebook
Click on your icon/picture (lower right hand corner)
Choose Settings
Find "About Chrome OS" at the top of the page and click on it.
Click on Check for and apply settings and allow it to go from 0% to 100% and then the Restart button appears.
Restart ChromeBook and everything should be updated.
Restart your Chromebook often to allow AUTOMATIC updates to take effect.
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About MHS
Email: mhsinfo@gilbertschools.net
Website: https://www.gilbertschools.net/mesquitehigh
Location: 500 South McQueen Gilbert, AZ 85233
Phone: 480-632-4750
Twitter: @MHSWildcat_News