Connect with PHS
A weekly newsletter - April 1, 2020
No School Friday or Monday
Parents, please note that Friday, April 2, is a student/staff holiday, and Monday, April 5, is a student holiday/teacher planning and prep day.
Senior PROM!
Attention, Senior Parents! Please be aware that we have sent out an outdoor prom interest survey to our Senior students to gauge numbers for planning purposes. The tentative date is May 15th at a PfISD campus. Our goal is to have a fun and safe night for our Seniors while still adhering to PfISD COVID Safety protocols. Please stay tuned for more details as we continue to solidify plans for this event.
2021 Graduations Update
Our biggest and best event every year is beginning to come into view. Graduation dates have already been set and announced. They are provided again below as a refresher.
At this time, we are planning to allow six tickets per graduate. This is subject to change as we could possibly allow for more or fewer tickets depending on the local status with regard to COVID cases and protocols.
The graduation schedule is:
- Connally – Tuesday, June 1
- Weiss – Wednesday, June 2
- Hendrickson – Thursday, June 3
- Pflugerville – Friday, June 4
- Bad weather make-up date – Saturday, June 5
All graduations will be held at The Pfield and begin at 8:30 a.m. We know there are many questions as to what the ceremonies will look like, but many decisions will be based on guidance from local and state health officials depending on the situation at that time. At this time, we are anticipating providing 6 tickets per graduate; however, that could change as we get closer to the date depending on health guidance at the time. We will provide additional information as soon as decisions are made.
SURVIVOR T-shirts
Aloha,
This year has had lots of challenges, and we have all had to OUTWIT, OUTPLAY and OUTLAST this crazy year. We are almost to the end and we are all SURVIVORS. So of course I have shirts for this! Attached is the shirt order form. The shirts will all be short sleeve, and you have 6 colors to choose from. Shirts are $14 each (of course they are the super soft shirts). Shirts are available for all PHS staff and students. April 12th is the deadline to order your shirts. Students will need to pay on-line.
Shirt Order Form: https://forms.gle/iDgJSo7o951q6nT58
Sarah Cable
Counselor for student last names P-R
PHS Lead Counselor 512-594-0526
Adolescent Depression & Substance Misuse Webinar
An upcoming mental health webinar will be offered for parents and teachers. "Adolescent Depression & Substance Misuse" will be on Wednesday, April 7th at 7:00 PM. In this webinar, psychiatrist Dr. Karen Swartz, Director of Clinical Programs at the Johns Hopkins Mood Disorder Center, will address the relationship between depression and substance use and the factors leading to escalating use for some teens. She will also discuss the importance of comprehensive treatment addressing both issues. To register, please go to:
https://www.adapeducation.org/event/depression-teens/
Please feel free to share this information to anyone you think would be interested. All are welcome.
Ana Bowie, LMSW
Campus Social Worker
Samsung STEM Academy
Students are invited to attend Samsung's virtual presentation on Wednesday, April 7 at 4:30 pm. Check out the flyer below for more information.
For questions, send an email to: STEMAcademy@samsung.com
Recreation & Camps for Students and Adults with Special Needs
A guide for 2021 Recreation & Camps for Students and Adults with Special Needs is available.
Please click on this link the guide: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1w30VRhqfcDw2ZVRxMzAm1nhGfQTJj6pL/view?usp=sharing
Attention Senior Class of 2021
If you have not ordered your cap/gown, please be prepared to purchase your items on the 13th. Cash and/or credit card will be accepted.
In order to participate in the graduation ceremonies, you will need to wear the approved cap/gown.
PHS Dance
Interested in Dance at Pflugerville High School and want more information? Click on this link below to check out all the options we have to offer as a Fine Arts or PE credit.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1MlO8UUfEepf4Wx_dccbZsJrpXvd5pb_x4yJ_zL1H_UY/edit?usp=sharing
For additional questions please email Ms.Cortez & Ms.Sugden:
From Our Department Heads
ELA DEPARTMENT
Dear ELA Parents,
Welcome to the 4th (and final) nine weeks. I think we can all agree that this year has been full of challenges, but students, parents, teachers, and schools have done our very best to be successful. A big thank you to all for helping reach that success.
Events:
Continued from the last newsletter: AP Intervention: For English III (Language and Composition) and English IV (Literature and Composition) are now hosting AP Test Prep sessions as a way to prepare for May’s exams and earn extra credit. Please speak with your student about this great opportunity.
Summer Reading is posted on the PFISD website. 9-12 Summer Reading HS 2021.pdf
9th and 10th grade Advanced class titles remained the same for next year.
11th and 12 grade Advanced Placement course titles changed.
Students now have over 100 books available for them to choose from.
Both 11th and 12th grades have a small summer reading assignment based on the reading chosen.
Looking for an English challenge: Pairing Novels with Movies
Thematic pairings of novels/short stories with movies can help students access difficult texts and can lead to deeper comprehension and lively discussion. http://www.adlit.org/article/42153/
Some examples are:
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and Pleasantville (Ages 14-16)
Fahrenheit 451 is a novel about a dystopian future where firemen burn books, TV prevails over reading, and the government controls almost everything. The protagonist, fireman Guy Montag, goes on a journey to discover how to be happy. With the help of a few important people, he gains knowledge and transforms into a hero.
Pleasantville is a film with a very similar protagonist, David/Bud who also goes on a journey when he and his sister are sucked into a 1950’s T.V. show. Both characters discover that knowledge is the key to self-actualization and try to teach others the same concept.
discuss and analyze the similar symbols, plot events, and characters, especially David/Bud and Guy and Jennifer/Mary Sue and Clarisse
discuss different types of allusions in both texts
make text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world connections
use texts in cross-curricular activities with history, especially studying McCarthyism and the Civil Rights movement
2. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros and The Color Purple (Ages 14-16)
The House on Mango Street features Esperanza, a young girl with high hopes of breaking out of the traditional Hispanic woman’s mold and accomplishing her ambitious hopes and dreams. Despite a lack of strong female role models and experiencing traumatic events, Esperanza wants to persevere and not be sentenced to a life of staring out of a window. The film, The Color Purple, is about Celie, a black woman who has also experienced numerous traumatic events during her life in the South. Despite these trials, Celie emerges as a strong and independent woman.
Teachers can use this pairing to have students:
compare and contrast the writing styles of Cisneros and Walker
compare and contrast the main characters, Esperanza and Celie, and the plot events of the texts
discuss the roles of women in the texts
analyze the themes of racism, sexism, and relationships in the texts
discuss the different types of abuse and the effects it has on the characters in the texts
make text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world connections
use texts in cross-curricular activities with history, especially when studying Hispanic culture, the Great Depression and its effects on African Americans
REMINDER: For the ELA department, Zoom meetings are NOT optional and should be attended each class period unless otherwise communicated to the teacher. As we continue our hybrid model of teaching (some students virtual and some students in-person), students will have an asynchronous time in class and a synchronous time in class in the form of Zoom.
Together in Education,
Lisa Wernli
PHS English Department Chair
LOTE DEPARTMENT
We’ve returned from our much deserved Spring Break, some more rested than others, but excited to undertake the final part of our school year. Students within our Spanish and French classes have been ramping up their efforts for this final, but arguably most challenging 9 weeks, as all of the collective knowledge from the year finally comes together.
Our French students have displayed some impressive learning, and we are so proud of all they have been able to accomplish. If you follow this link, you can view one class’s video project, in which we discussed what kinds of activities we tend to gravitate towards on days when we need to boost our mood a bit.
Faculty and Staff have also taken this Friday as a day of remembrance for our beloved Pam Yantis. She was an integral part of our campus that will be sorely missed. She was family to a lot of us here at PHS, and we as a department want to take the time to acknowledge this.
We love you, Pam.
Wendy Faz
LOTE Dept Chair
Rapid COVID Testing
PHS Family-
We will start Rapid COVID Testing here on campus on Monday March 22nd, 2021. Testing will be held in C102 between 8:15a-9:00a Mondays March 22 – April 26. Please do not come to the nurse’s office mid-day for a test, testing will be done by appointment only. Sign up here for an appointment:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0C49ADAC2BA2FCC34-binaxnow
Also, please remember to pre-register at https://register.txrapidtest.org/ and bring your QR code to the testing site. You can use the same code you have previously created. Just bring it with you to the testing site.
Rapid tests will take 15 minutes and will be a nasal swab test. I will see a max of 2 people at a time and each test takes 15 mins each.
Rapid COVID Testing is available for PHS Staff and students only.
Student MUST have a signed permission form. Click here for more information and for the permission form.
**Please do not come to campus to be tested if you are quarantined or have Covid symptoms. You will need to see your regular doctor or local testing center for a PCR test. Coming to the campus for this would unnecessarily spread any potential virus to the campus students and staff.
Student Announcements
To read the Daily Student Announcements, check out the PHS website and click on the PHS Daily Announcements under the School News tab or click HERE to link to the page.
ACC Dual Credit - Upcoming Deadlines
Parents,
Dual Credit information for Summer and the upcoming school year is now available. Please be mindful of the deadlines indicated in the "What's Next" section. After viewing the information, please reach out to your student’s counselor for questions/concerns.
Please click on the option below that best describes you (your student):
Stay Connected to PHS With our App
Don't miss any important information from PHS. The School Info App for Pflugerville High School is a great way to stay connected and informed. Notifications are sent in real time for ever-changing situations. Be in the know—download the app today!
Click on this link: http://siap.ps/eaedd6, or search for Pflugerville High School in the app store. Be sure to allow notifications so you get all the notifications and news feeds to keep current with what’s happening at PHS.
PHS Weekly Newsletter
Did you miss previous PHS Weekly Newsletters? Click on the link below to view past issues.
Subscribe today!
We will be sending our parent newsletter regularly throughout the school year. Don't miss an issue! Click “Follow Ameka Hunt” at the top or bottom of this page to subscribe to the weekly newsletter.