CHS Family Bulletin
January 20, 2020
In The Know
Churchill Families,
I trust this message finds you well. I wanted to take a few moments to share some information about services we are providing at the school. One of the things we consistently hear in conversations with community members is about the need for more mental health services for students. We wanted to let you know we have established a partnership with CAHOOTS and will be able to provide a greater level of crisis intervention and mental health assistance at our district high schools. CAHOOTS is a community-based agency that has provided crisis assistance within the Eugene community for many years. Throughout the remainder of this year there will be a mental health specialist and a medical professional on campus from 8:00 - 12:00 at least once per week to help intervene in the event of a mental health crisis. Students and families can rely on CAHOOTS professionals being at our campus each Monday. They will be located in the nurses office adjacent to the Student College and Career Center. I realize that while this is an increase in mental health services available for students, it is not in and of itself wholly adequate. Please know that while CAHOOTS staff are only scheduled to be here one day per week, they are available to respond on other days of the week in the event their services are needed. Looking forward towards next year, we anticipate an arrangement that ensures CAHOOTS professionals are on campus at least three days a week throughout the school year.
Our goals in providing mental health crisis assistance is to help students experiencing duress get to a place where they are more able to attend school and connect them with community organizations capable of providing ongoing mental health assistance when required/desired. We want to assure everyone that the current level of counseling staff will remain in place at each of our high schools. Moving forward, we will continue to seek ways to increase our level of service to students and families. I encourage anyone with questions or a desire for more information to reach out to me for a conversation. I am committed to ensuring you are kept abreast of changes here at school. On behalf of the faculty, staff and administration I say without hesitation we look forward to seeing you on campus.
Attendance - I think we need to share some information regarding attendance here at CHS. I have recently seen an influx of requests to excuse student absences for extended periods of time after vacations or breaks. Please know that if you are going to need to take your student out of school you must fill out a pre-arranged absence form. This allows the staff appropriate amounts of time to prepare opportunities for your student to male up their missing work. Without this form your absences will not be excused. Additionally, it is helpful if you are able to make appointments with doctors and the like after 3:30pm whenever possible. As a father myself, I know that it is difficult to make these appointments in general, but if you can avoid the school day it is well advised and appreciated. Thank you for your understanding.
Senior Graduation Event - As of now we do not have any active planning from parents on behalf of the senior grad night event. If this is of interest to senior parents we wanted to send a friendly reminder that now is the time to get the organization started. Finding a venue will become progressively harder as the weeks tick by. This has traditionally been extremely successful and well attended. It is a great way to keep our students safe and sober on their graduation night.
Unfortunately, we as a school entity are not allowed to plan, facilitate, and supervise this event in any capacity. The rationale being that the students have graduated and are no longer our liability and that this event is not a 4J function. While we recognize the tremendous benefit that this evening offers, we unfortunately can't be a part of it. We do recognize that this type of event requires a substantial amount of planning and coordination. We are are hopeful that there is an interest within our community to pick up the reigns and provide a safe and sober graduation night to all of our well deserving senior students.
Churchill High School Attendance Policy (Student Handbook)
Churchill Attendance Policy: Regular attendance shall be required of all students in accordance with the regulations of this district and those specified in ORS 339.010 to 339.090.
Family and Student Requirements: Students and parents are responsible for school attendance. Oregon Revised Statute 339.020 states: “...every person having control of any child between the ages of 7 and 18 years who has not completed the 12th grade is required to send such child to and maintain such child in regular attendance at a public full-time school during the entire school term.”
Absences may adversely affect a student’s ability to make educational progress, receive credit for coursework, or participate in sports. Subsequently, excessive absences may result in lowered grades, loss of credit, removal from class, and even removal from school. Teachers are not required to provide additional make up work in the event of an unexcused absence.
Parents or guardians may request a Prearranged Absence form in advance (see prearranged absence section). Students are responsible to communicate with their teachers and will be required to complete any work as prescribed by the teacher during their absence.
Students are responsible for clearing absences in one of two methods:
When students are absent, parents or guardians are asked to call the Attendance Office at 541-790-5102, email chs_attendance@4j.lane.edu or write a note to the attendance clerk. Prearranged Absence forms are available at the front desk and at chs.4j.lane.edu/forms for absences that are not school-related, are expected to be longer than 2 days, or are for a series of absences over time such as recurring medical appointments.
If the attendance office receives a request to excuse an absence more than 48 hours after the start of the absence, the request will be forwarded to an administrator for approval. The school principal (or designee) has the final authority to determine if an absence meets the above criteria for an excused absence.
Parents/guardians may not excuse absences for students who are at school and not in class. The school may request a parent meeting along with appropriate methods of support in effort to correct attendance problems. Students are strongly encouraged to attend classes as scheduled in order to maximize learning and to comply with school, district and state attendance law statutes.
Looking Forward
Tuesday 1/21
Erin's Law Advisory
Curriculum Council 3:45pm Library
Wednesday 1/22
Operations 3:45-5pm Conference Room
Thursday 1/23
Friday 1/24
PLC's 2:45-4pm
One Act Festival 7pm Auditorium
Saturday 1/25
One Act Festival 7pm Auditorium
Upcoming event sponsored by the College and Career Center - Tuesday, January 21st - FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) Completion Workshop. The FAFSA is how students apply for Federal and State financial aid, is required for the Oregon Promise and is used by many colleges and universities to help determine eligibility for their aid. Most applications will require student and parent information. Drop in anytime between 4:00pm-7:00pm in room F36. This is a great time to get help filing out the form. We will provide computers.
Athletics - Churchill Golf will hold an informational meeting on Tuesday at lunch in the conference room for students interested in playing. Parents can come to the parent meeting on Thursday at 6:00 in the library. For more information, contact Coach Todd Young at 541-915-1477 or todd@ymscorp.com.
Kudos
From Parent Amanda Deeden - I’d like to take this opportunity to send out a very heartfelt thank you to all the staff! Your enthusiasm is contagious! What a pleasure it is to take the opportunity to “show off” Churchill every January! You open your doors and give us a glimpse of your knowledge, your commitment and remind us all, how fortunate we are, to have such an AMAZING staff!!! For that, we’re truly blessed! “Lancer Pride” is alive and well!!! Thank you for another successful year of “Churchill Tours”!
Kevin Summerfield and Guy Okili Da Graca - What an amazing MLK assembly. You sure protected the surprise of having Guy start the assembly off with a Stevie Wonder tune. Talk about engaging and building community with students. It was a powerfully designed and well thought out program. Our students are fortunate to have you both caring for them and helping them develop as adults. Your ability to create a positive climate and culture is at the heart of the work we do at Churchill. Congratulations on a superb job.
Churchill High School
Website: https://chs.4j.lane.edu/
Location: 1850 Bailey Hill Road, Eugene, OR, USA
Phone: 541-790-5100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChurchillHighSchool
Twitter: @CHSLancers