FPHS Parent and Student Memo
April 13, 2020
Franklin Pierce High School
Weekly Thought
Dear Parents and Students,
I hope that you and your loved ones found ways to enjoy your Spring Break. As you've heard, the announcement has been made by Gov. Inslee and Supt. Reykdal to keep school buildings closed through the remainder of the year. Please, know that while school buildings are closed, we are still committed to continuing to serve our students and families during this school shut down. It will be critically important for high school students to keep up with their school work in order to earn their required credits toward graduation.
Our primary mode of communication is via email. Students, please make sure you're checking your emails daily. You should have received several items from your teachers to support your school work during this shut down. Your teachers are all available to provide assistance and resources. Please, reach out to them. In addition, our Academic Support Team is available daily from 11am to 12pm to provide tutoring and support. See the Zoom link in the Resources section below.
Parents, you have received several items of communication as well. If you need to update your email and/or phone number in Skyward, please do so through Skyward Family Access. If you're unable to do this, please notify our registrar directly at sfintak@fpschools.org. For those families we haven't been able to get in touch with, our teachers are calling via their personal cell phones but are using the *67 feature to hide their personal numbers. If you happen to received a call from an unknown number, that might be an FPHS staff member trying to get in touch with you.
It's very important for us to stay connected during this time and understand that this is not a "break" or a "vacation." Students have an opportunity to get caught up and continue their learning via Canvas and should be doing so each day. Teachers are uploading lessons, materials, and resources daily. It is critical that every student is passing every class. At some point, we're going to have to generate a grade for your classes for your report card and high school transcript. We'll need to have the evidence on hand (your current grades) in order to issue credits, so please make sure you're turning in all missing assignments and keeping up with new assignments.
We wish you all the very best. Stay safe and be well! We're all in this together!
For this week (April 13 - 17):
- Check your school email daily. Be sure to respond immediately to the email from your Advisory Teacher.
- Check Teacher Ease for missing assignments. Remember, eventually, we'll have to assign you a grade for each course. We will depend on the evidence you've submitted as recorded in Teacher Ease.
- Make up any missing or late assignments for classes or Advisory (portfolios).
- Submit assignments to your teacher via Canvas or email (as directed by your teacher).
- Email your teachers with questions.
- Check Canvas for class materials and resources.
- Work on the enrichment activities provided by your teachers in Canvas.
Priorities for Parents:
- Check your email daily. You should have received emails from your child's teachers regarding assignments.
- Monitor your child's grade and progress via Teacher Ease.
- Designate specific blocks of time each day for your child to work on missing work and enrichment activities.
- Email teachers or staff with questions.
- Your child should spend time reading for at least 30 minutes daily.
- Your child is receiving new enrichment activities from teachers via Canvas. He or she should spend some time each day working on these assignments.
- Your child should be getting some exercise and physical activity each day.
- Your child's "screen time" should be limited each day. The American Heart Association recommends a maximum of 2 hours per day.
- Your child should still be getting about 9 hours of sleep per night in order to perform at his or her best.
- Your child should be learning new things each day: new cooking recipes, chess, backgammon, how to balance a checkbook, follow the stock market, listen to a podcast on real estate investment, learn how to change the oil in a car, learn the history of [fill in the blank], take a virtual museum tour, write a letter to a local legislator, research your family tree, plan a vacation, etc. The list is only limited by your imagination and your child's interests.
Resources
School Resources:
- District Website: https://www.fpschools.org/
- IT Help Desk for Students and Parents: 253-298-4647, 7:30AM to 4PM
- TED Talks: a great place to learn from some of the world's brightest minds on a variety of subjects: https://www.ted.com/talks. Listen to a new one every day!
- Free library card with access to audiobooks: https://www.piercecountylibrary.org/services/library-card/library-card.htm
- FPS Breakfast and Lunch Program: www.fpschools.org/meals
- FPS Education Resources: https://www.fpschools.org/exended-closure-resources-and-information/closure-educational-resources
- FPHS Homework Center: Mon - Fri, 11am to 12pm. Connect with our Academic Support Team for assistance in any class. Join Here: HW CENTER. Password = cardinals
- AP Testing, SAT, ACT info HERE.
COVID- 19 Resources:
- District Website: https://www.fpschools.org/
- Gov. Inslee's COVID-19 updates web page: https://www.governor.wa.gov/tags/covid-19-coronavirus
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
Community Resources:
- District resources and partners: https://www.fpschools.org/departments/family-engagement-office/community-resources
- Check with your phone and internet provider: many providers are offering free and/or unlimited data, internet etc. during the Stay Home, Stay Healthy order.
- Financial Resources: https://dfi.wa.gov/coronavirus/financial-resources
Seniors--Class of 2020 Resources:
We are committed to supporting you through one of the most significant disruptions in the history of public education in America. We recognize that in the midst of a global health crisis, you will miss out on opportunities to fully experience your senior year of high school. The questions found at www.fpschools.org/classof2020 represent some of the questions that we have heard over the past two weeks. While the responses represent our current thinking, it is likely that some of the answers will change in the weeks and months ahead. Please know that we will do our best to keep you updated of these changes so that you can plan accordingly.
Cardinal Culture
The Hard Rule
Dear Students,
Next week, work on having more grit by intentionally picking something hard that you are going to work on learning or improving.
Write down this Hard Goal and share it with someone important to you. During the week, chip away at your goal, and be sure to put in a place you will see it regularly as a reminder to do hard things. We don't learn and grow by doing easy things. It's the hard challenges that help us become our best selves.
Even though we're apart, we can still set the tone for ourselves and our school culture.