GOPHER PARENT NEWSLETTER
GRESHAM HIGH SCHOOL, May 22nd, 2022
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Dear Gopher Community,
We are coming to a close of the ‘21-’22 school year. We appreciate all the hard work and sacrifices the community has made this school year. From social distancing to wearing masks, our community has proven to be safe, adhere to state and local guidelines, while still maintaining an environment of education.
I want to thank the parents and guardians of this community for listening and coming alongside this community of educators to support your students.
Please make sure to pay attention to calendar updates and messaging coming from GHS/GBSD in the coming weeks. We will provide Senior Information and end of the year calendar updates, so both our outgoing and incoming classes know what to expect.
GO GOPHERS!
Principal Drake Shelton
2ND SEMESTER FINAL EXAM SCHEDULE
UPCOMING EVENTS
Please be sure to mark your calendars:
GHS Musical- Little Women (5/19-5/22)
Latino Family Night- In Person- 6:15-7:45pm (5/24)
AVID Celebration- In Person- 6:30-8pm (5/25)
National Honor Society (NHS) Celebration- 6:00-8pm (5/26)
Memorial Day- No School (5/30)
IB Celebration- In Person- 6:00-7pm (6/1)
Spring Band Concert- GHS Auditorium (6/2)
SpringFest- School-Wide (GHS Students Only)- 12:00-2:30pm (6/3)
Evening of Excellence- Department Awards Night & Scholarship announcements- GHS Auditorium- 6:30-8pm (6/6)
Commencement Ceremony, Memorial Coliseum, June 14th, 5:00 pm
Finals Week, June 13-16th, schedule in article above
Last day of School for 9 - 11th grade, June 16th
COMMENCEMENT EVENT INFORMATION
The Commencement ceremony will take place at the Memorial Coliseum. The information is as follows:
Date: June 14th
Students should arrive by 4:15 pm. Doors for spectators will open by 4:15 pm. Handicap access is through Gate 10. One person is allowed to sit with family members who may be in the wheelchair accessible seating areas. Interpretation will be available for Spanish, and Russian speakers. Please stop at Guest Services to pick up headsets.
The Memorial Coliseum will be doing a physical bag search. The following items will not be allowed in by Coliseum rules: balloons, outside food or drink or any wrapped presents, bull horns, beach balls or noise makers.
Time: 5pm
Tickets will be required at the door for all spectators. Graduates will receive 10 tickets and can request up to 5 more. Extra tickets are not guaranteed. It will depend on how many additional tickets are requested and whether we can accommodate. On Monday, May 23, 2022 an email will be sent to all Senior students in their school email with the link to an additional Ticket Request form to record their request. Students will have until the end of the day Friday, May 27th to request additional tickets. Students will be notified if their request will be fulfilled.
Rehearsal:
We will have a MANDATORY graduation rehearsal the morning of graduation. The information is as follows for the rehearsal
*Practice is from 8:00 am - 10:00 am.
*Doors open at 7:30 am.
*Students will enter through the Pine Court entrance which is located down the stairs by the main entrance of the Coliseum.
Transportation:
Transportation to and from the rehearsal is up to the family but we do have trimet tickets available. Students should see Kate Poland in the Counseling Office, if they need one.
Commencement Photography Information:
In the flyer below is indicates that you need to take a selfie as part of enrollment. That selfie needs to be of the GRADUATE not of the person who is filling the information out if it is someone other then the graduate.
END OF YEAR COMPUTER RETURN
Most 9th - 11th grade students will retain their Chromebooks over the summer and continue to use them next year. There is a small percentage of students who will be notified in their school email in the next few weeks that they need to bring their older model Chromebook to the BookRoom to have it swapped out for a newer machine. Every year we will obsolete a certain percent of the stock. Remind your student to check their email frequently over the next few weeks to see if they need to swap out their Chromebook.
All hotspots will need to be returned for the summer. If your student will be enrolled in summer school arrangements will be made at that time if a hotspot is needed.
Viewing Report Cards and Graduation Progress in ParentVue/StudentVue
GHS does not automatically mail paper copies of report cards but can do this by request. Most students and families find it more convenient to check report cards in ParentVue/StudentVue. Please click the linked instructions below on how to view digital report cards and graduation progress.
LINK: Viewing Report Card and Grad Status in ParentVue
On Friday, April 22, there will be no school for students while teachers submit 12-week progress reports. Progress reports are not final grades, however, students with a D or NG on the progress report should connect with their teacher regarding areas to improve.
At the end of the semester, June 17th (June 9th for Seniors), grades are final and students earn graduation credit for classes they pass with an A, B, C, D, or P. If your student ended the semester with an NG or NP grade, they may need to make-up the class in credit recovery or summer session. Stay tuned for more information from the GHS counseling team regarding credit recovery timelines and options.
*Due to the global pandemic’s impact on schools, GBSD is not using F grades in the ‘21-’22 school year. If a student does not pass a class, they will receive an NG for no grade.
iHealth COVID 19 Home Tests
COUNSELING UPDATE
Greetings from the GHS Counseling Center!
As we draw closer to summer vacation, and some much needed rest and rejuvenation, we ask that you be on the lookout for a letter from your School Counselor. We will be doing a review of your student’s academic history and making recommendations if credit recovery is needed and also to let you know if your student is on track for graduation. This letter should come during the first week of July.
If you are worried about your student not graduating or your student being off-track for their graduation, please contact us. We can help create a plan to get you across the graduation finish line and back on track!
Attention Parents of Juniors:
- As a reminder to Parents of Juniors, your student's School Counselor will be hosting a Junior Meeting next week! These meetings will be held in small groups of students and we will discuss their graduation progress, how to read their transcripts, plans for senior year, credit recovery if needed, and starting to create plans for after graduation. The information that we are reviewing will also be posted on the Junior/Senior meeting page Counseling Website.
- We have emailed students with their specific meeting time. Listed below is the day we will schedule their meetings, based upon your students last name. If you could remind them of their day next week, we would appreciate it.
- Monday, May 23rd- Ms. Sayer's students Legal Last Names Mat - R & A - Al
- Tuesday, May 24th- Mrs. Blaser's students, Legal Last Names S - Z & B - Be
- Thursday, May 26th- Ms. Parra's students, Legal Last Names Br - Go & Bi - Bo
- Wednesday May 25th- Mr. Adair's students, Legal Last Names Gr - Mas & Am - Az
Attention Parents of Seniors:
- If your student missed the information shared this Monday (5/16/22) in their Social Studies class on Graduation/Commencement information, please check out the graduation info page on the counseling website for information! All Students must complete a senior form, the link is on this webpage.
- If you missed Mr. Shelton's Senior Meeting on May 5th, you can see the presentation posted on the senior webpage. You can also find the link to the senior webpage on the counseling website.
- If your student needs transportation to the Memorial Coliseum for graduation practice on June 14th, please have them come see their School Counselor. We have TriMet passes for students!
- Does your student still need to order their cap and gown? You can still do this through Jostens. You can order by phone 503.255.7120 or online at jostens.com
Please reach out to your School Counselor if you have any questions!
Thank you!
GHS Counseling Team
ATHLETICS UPDATE
State Tournaments:
It's been a great spring for Gopher athletics so far and we've got a number of kids and teams heading to the state championships. Read on for the latest:
Boys Tennis:
Isaac Walker qualified for the state tournament singles bracket. He's our first qualifier in boys tennis since 2017. He ran up against a very tough player in the first round and dropped his match but will continue in the consolation bracket today out at the Tualatin Hills Tennis Center in Beaverton. His bracket is here. Isaac is also one of our leads in the musical, "Little Women" taking place this weekend at GHS.
Track and Field:
Oliver Reis qualified for the state championships in the triple jump by winning the league title. Oliver's 44' 7" mark in the triple jump is the state's best in the 6A classification. He will jump on Saturday with a scheduled start of 2:45pm. You can find all state track results live as they happen on live.tf And if you want to go, tickets are available online here.
Baseball:
Our baseball squad had a strong spring, finishing 15-12 overall and 10-6 in league (including a win over top ranked Clackamas), which is good enough for a third place tie in the Mt. Hood Conference. This was their best season since 2018. They'll head to Sherwood for a first round playoff game at 5pm on Monday. You can see the rest of the bracket here. Tickets will be available here soon.
Softball:
Softball also had a great spring, finishing tied for second in the Mt. Hood Conference with a 9-5 record (18-8 overall) and including a walkoff win over Barlow earlier this week that was their first win over the Bruins since 2017. Monday, they'll be at South Salem for a first round playoff game at 5pm. You can catch their bracket here. Tickets will be available here soon.
Summer Workouts:
Keep your eyes peeled for more information on summer workouts coming soon from the athletic department. Information should be coming in the next couple of weeks.
SCHEDULE FOR NEXT YEAR - ONE LUNCH PERIOD
For the upcoming ‘22-’23 School Year Gresham High School will be going to one lunch. The final bell schedule will be shared in our August Parent Newsletter. We will continue to have an open campus. Going to one lunch will create longer lines at our local restaurants due to the capacity of students.
We are making this necessary change to support the following:
Students having a consistent bell schedule
Improve our Attendance the period after lunch
Clubs & Activities having a time during the school day to meet (2 lunches - did not allow for full group meetings)
VOLUNTEER INFORMATION
Volunteers are being allowed back in our schools. If you are interested in volunteering please be sure to complete the Volunteer Application at this link. GBSD VOLUNTEER APPLICATION Volunteers must go through a background check every two years. Volunteers will need to be fully vaccinated to work in our buildings and with our students. You will be asked to bring your vaccination information to the main office in order for it to be recorded that you are vaccinated. The approval process for volunteering can take up to 2 weeks for final approval to be given.
ONE PAGE BELL SCHEDULE
WHO IS MY COUNSELOR/ADMINISTRATOR?
COUNSELORS:
A-Bo & ACTIVE ELL - Julie Conroy, Counselor conroy@gresham.k12.or.us
Br-Go - Andrea Parra, Counselor parra14@gresham.k12.or.us
Gr-Mas - Donnell Adair, Counselor adair4@gresham.k12.or.us
Mat-R - Kathryn Sayer, Counselor sayer@gresham.k12.or.us
S-Z - Laura Blaser, Counselor blaser@gresham.k12.or.us
Kate Poland, Social Worker: poland2@gresham.k12.or.us
ADMINISTRATOR:
- A-Go - Tori Maehara maehara@gresham.k12.or.u
- Gr-O - Cheeri Schacht schacht2@gresham.k12.or.us
- P-Z - Erika Beddoe-Whitlock beddoe@gresham.k12.or.us
SCHOOL CALENDAR
To access our school calendar please click on the Gresham High School like below this article. This will take you to our home page on our website. Our calendar is located on the left hand side of the page.