West Side Story 2.0
Monday, April 20, 2020
Assuring learning excellence and readiness for a changing world.
Distance Learning - Day 13
I understand that this is hard. I miss my Scarlets! Thank you for practicing social distancing. National data suggests that Minnesotans are leading the way, so please continue to and encourage others to follow the public health guidelines. Be Strong, Be Safe, Be Kind is a video from Mayo Clinic Health System's. I see some Scarlets in this video ~ thank you!
I continue to be amazed by our teachers and students. They continue to make the best of a difficult situation and learn together. We are moving learning forward in new and different ways. We are all in this together! #ScarletPride
Important Reminders
If you have trouble with technology, including your chromebook, please contact our District Family Tech Support:
Website: bit.ly/MAPSfamtech
Email: familytechhelp@isd77.org
Our Scarlet Support Team is here to help! Please visit this site to connect with our counselors, school social worker, chemical health counselor, and our school psychologist.
Prom
As you may know, Prom was scheduled for this Saturday, April 25th, and has been postponed. If we are allowed to have larger gatherings, such as Prom, in May or June, we will have a "Prom." It may need to look a little different, but we will have something, so don't send those dresses back just yet!
AP Testing
AP Exams:
- All exams will be administered online May 11 to May 22, with make-up exams administered June 1 to June 5. The CB designed the 2020ACT Testing: postponed, possibly a May date or a September date. Class of 2021 stay tuned! AP Exam Schedule to remove almost all conflicts between AP exams so all students should be able to test during the first two weeks.
- All students worldwide will take exams simultaneously, so it is critical students understand when they will test, based on their school’s time zone. Students in the Eastern Hemisphere will be taking exams in the middle of the night (early morning).
- The College Board states, "We won’t charge anything for an exam that isn’t taken, including the base exam fee, as well as any additional fees such as the late order fee and canceled/unused exam fee. Refund policies and procedures are determined by individual schools and test centers”, read it here.
- Here is another helpful site for students.
Beacon of Hope
Each Friday, we turn on the lights on Todnem Field at 8:20pm (20:20) for 77 minutes to honor our seniors and to let all of our students know, "we miss you and we care about you, Scarlets." Please do not come to the field, but show your support by turning on your outdoor light at home to show we are all in this together.
I hope you will join in and turn your porch light on Friday nights at 8:20pm. #BeTheLightMN
If you would like to help get the message out, like senior Taryn Sellner, take a picture of your student by your "porch light" and email it to me. I would love to see some Scarlets and would like to post more pictures on Twitter to show support for our Scarlets. sblasi1@isd77.org
Graduation Info
Graduation is still scheduled for June 4 at MSU. If we are not able to do graduation on this date, we will do some type of ceremony for our seniors. Possibilities include having the ceremony at a later date, possibly on the football field at West, doing a drive-through ceremony, or a virtual ceremony online. Stay tuned! We are not going to let our seniors leave us without some sort of celebration.
Auditions for Commencement speakers will be in mid-May. Here is where you will find the speech guidelines. Seniors interested in speaking should email me at sblasi1@isd77.org. More information about auditions will be coming soon.
It has been a challenging spring for our seniors who have missed out on significant milestones. We would like to acknowledge and support our seniors to let them know #weareallinthistogether.
EVERY Senior Family in Mankato will receive a yard sign which has been created at a discounted price of $10 by M&M Signs of Mankato and SportsPix. We are not asking any family to pay, but will need to secure donations to cover the cost of the signs.
If you would like to donate, you can make checks out to Mankato West Grad Party and send them, or cash, to West - 1351 S Riverfront Dr. Mankato MN 56001.
If you prefer electronic payment, you may use Venmo and send to >kherme1< as Kim Hermer, West teacher, is organizing.
Senior Families - we are working with Mankato and North Mankato Public Safety on an efficient and safe distribution process to get you your signs! You will receive an email with instructions when that is set.
Making Masks
Mark Zenk, a Tech Ed teacher, has been using our 3D printer to make masks for local health care workers. Five teachers from MAPS are donating their time, as each mask takes about three hours to make. MAPS has partnered with Mankato Clinic with a goal of delivering 500 masks.
Thank you, Mr. Zenk!