The Roar
Gilbert High School's Newsletter - October 2019
Principal's Message
September 2019
Dear GHS families,
It's hard to believe that we are just over three weeks from the end of the First Quarter and Fall Break! Our students, faculty and staff have been working hard and it's been awesome to see the strides our freshmen are making already!
Our Student Council has been hard at work, and as I write this piece they have been busy with our final Homecoming preparations. HoCo has come early this year, and the Stranger Things theme has been a big hit on campus (and with me, as a child/fan of all things 80's!).
Fall sports have started in earnest, and I have been fortunate to get to football and volleyball matches. I am looking forward to seeing Boys and Girls Golf, Cross Country and Badminton compete, as well!
Today, over 300 seniors took the ASVAB exam. This exam is traditionally used to determine possible jobs in the US military, but it does a great job for all students in identifying potential aptitudes and career pathways for a young person. Oftentimes these careers can go overlooked, so it is a good tool to demonstrate the many options before a young person. I am interested in keeping as many doors open to a young person's future, so hence why we encourage our seniors to take the exam regardless of where they see themselves in five years!
September marks Suicide Awareness Month across the nation, and I am proud of the work by a committee of GHS faculty and staff in having a variety of activities to raise community awareness of this pressing and tragic issue. We know that teenage suicide is at a crisis level in the East Valley, and we must be a campus that cares for our students' well being and mental health. I am proud of the work of our staff in this regard.
We are also the first high school in Gilbert Public Schools to partner with Southwest Behavioral Services to start offering mental health services to be delivered directly here on campus (they keep office hours in our counseling office on Mondays). We hope to expand soon to more days per week; see your student's counselor with any questions and/or inquiries!
Thank you everyone! Have a great month and Go Tigers!
Sincerely,
Christopher Stroud
Principal
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Save the Date(s) for School Council!
School Council meetings will be held once a month in the GHS HUB (formerly known as the Career Center) with Mr. Stroud. The meetings are always held on a Monday evening from 5 pm to 6 pm. Our membership includes two student positions, three “official” parent positions, three faculty members, one staff position and one member of the business community. Our schedule for the 19-20 school year is:
October 28, 2019
November 18, 2019
January 13, 2020,
February 24, 2020
March 23, 2020
April 20, 2020
All are welcome to come and participate. Join us as we discuss and tackle pertinent and timely issues of interest to students, parents, faculty and staff. The Hub is located inside the counseling office. We always have awesome treats made by our wonderful Culinary students under the direction of Mrs. Hinton! Coffee will be served as well!
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Senior Night
Attention GHS Seniors:
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Award of Excellence
GHS Advanced Interior Design students entered and won the 2019 AzASLA PARKing Day Competition for the high school level. Brett Anderson, the President-Elect for Arizona ASLA presented Mrs. Lazar's students with a certificate and a check for $200. PARKing Day is an event put on by Arizona American Society of Landscape Architects (AzASLA). The purpose of the event is to redesign a parking spot with the intention to make it an interactive and eco-friendly place. For one day, people make the spots places where friends can be social and have fun. High schools and colleges enter this competition and if selected, present their design at the state capital in April of 2020. Mattie designed a photo booth which the class then constructed. The design consisted of three fabric backdrops held up by PVC pipe stands. Participants were given props so they could take their pictures in front of the backdrops. All participants received donut holes.
Mattie Diedrick (Student Designer)
Saadia Salim
Maliyah Ross
Brett Anderson, President-Elect AZ ASLA
Paityn Medure
Aubrey Lines
Theatre News
If it looks this good now, just wait till it's done!!
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Danceworks Company
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Orchestra News
Swings for Symphony
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FFA News
Leadership Summit
Lamb and Goat Auction
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Mindfulness Group
----- School News -----
Staff Spotlight
Morgan Zebe
Taylor Bird
Hello! My name is Taylor Bird and I am teaching Agricultural Engineering and Fabrication 1 and Lab Biology this year!
The best thing about being an educator is working with the students! I really have so much fun helping students learn!
I am absolutely amazed with my first impression of the Tiger campus community! All of the faculty, staff and students are outstanding here. I couldn't think of a better place to be!
I always have a hard time thinking about a fun fact about myself... I can say my alphabet backwards! That's fun!
Health Office News
September is the month the Health Office will be conducting Vision and Hearing Screenings on all of our 9th grade students. Our district actively participates with the Hearing Conservation Program of Arizona to identify students who may be at risk or experiencing a hearing loss. Our goal is to ensure our students are healthy and are not hindered by a hearing loss in the classroom.
With the cold and flu season underway, here are some important tips to know on deciding whether or not to send your ill child to school. When your child has experienced any of these symptoms within the last 24 hours, s/he should be kept home from school:
-Fever 100 degrees or above
-Vomiting
-Diarrhea
-Symptoms of Pink Eye (redness, itching, discharge)
-Skin rashes (open blisters, discharge)
Students exhibiting the above symptoms are considered contagious and, in general, are not feeling well enough to be in school. Once these symptoms have subsided for 24 hours without the use of medication (Tylenol, Imodium), they may return to school. Students who do not have any of the above symptoms, but may have some mild cold symptoms such as nasal congestion, cough or headache may attend school.
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Parent Corner
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Link for the GHS Parent Calendar
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Dress Code Reminders
Please stress to your student the importance of dressing for success and to be dressed appropriate for school. The weather of course is still very warm and will be for some time, but we need to make sure we are not dressing for the summer while here on campus. Please refer to the District Student Handbook for guidance, and reach out to the GHS Administration Team if you have any further questions.
Mrs. Gonzales, 480.497.0177, x184
12th grade, 9th grade H-N
Mr. Haasch, 480.497.0177, x169
11th grade, 9th grade A-G
Mr. Yanez, 480.497.0177, x156
10th grade, 9th grade O-Z
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Parking Lot Procedures
Parents, please remember to use the parent drop-off loop in the morning and after school. Please do not drop off or pick up in the faculty lot on the west side of campus as this is used by students who walk and for bus transportation purposes. For everyone’s safety, please use the loop between campus and Elliot Road just north of the building.
As a note of caution to all of our campus community, please know that Gilbert Police will at some point do a traffic enforcement sweep on Elliot Road. We ask everyone to always drive safe and practice patience.
We appreciate everyone’s commitment to the safety of our students!
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Reminder for "Opt In" for Emergency Communication
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Student Handbooks
Student handbooks are available from the district website at http://bit.ly/2lAMLae. (Please note that these haven't been updated as of June - watch this space and we'll let you know once the new ones are live).
This handbook outlines our procedures, activities, rules, etc. Please be sure you and your student take time to review these important guidelines to ensure your student’s success at Gilbert High School. Please take the time to review the attached student dress code policy; it is important for our students and parents to understand the expectations of the dress code before they start purchasing new clothes for the new school year.
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Athletics Information
In order to try out for an athletic team at Gilbert High School, students must have completed the online athletic registration at www.RegisterMyAthlete.com. The requirements include completion of the 2019-2020 Annual Pre-participation Physical Evaluation packet (which needs to be cleared and signed by a doctor); the Brain Book Concussion Course (for first-time high school sport enrollment); and online documents, e-signed by parent/guardian and student. Additionally, an athletic fee of $100.00 is required for each sport (due after try outs and before regular competition season starts). There may be additional fees required per sport. Ask the coach for further details.
Due to many year-round sports, we encourage parents to plan on the completion of the online registration and AIA physical forms before the school year starts, or as soon as possible. We also request this so there is no added delay in an athlete being able to participate in our interscholastic athletic programs. Please log on to www.RegisterMyAthlete.com to register your child. For any questions concerning Athletics, please contact our office at (480) 497-0177, ext. 6534.
FALL SPORTS
Football
Girls' Volleyball
Badminton
Boys' Golf
Girls' Golf
Swim & Dive
Cross Country
Cheer
Chess
WINTER SPORTS
Boys' Basketball
Girls' Basketball
Boys' Soccer
Girls' Soccer
Wrestling
Cheer
SPRING SPORTS
Boys' Volleyball
Girls Beach Volleyball
Track & Field
Boys' Tennis
Girls' Tennis
Baseball
Softball
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Follow GHS on Twitter!
Follow GHS on Instagram!
Follow GHS on Facebook!
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Gilbert High School
Website: http://gilberthigh.ss11.sharpschool.com/
Location: 1101 East Elliot Road, Gilbert, AZ, USA
Phone: 480-497-0177
Twitter: @GilbertHSTigers