Chancellor Charger Weekly Update
News You Can Use for the Week Beginning September 14, 2020
From the Principal
Greeting Chancellor Chargers,
I hope you had the chance to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weekend. We are halfway through the first quarter and I continue to be impressed and encouraged by the teaching and learning occurring in our Charger distance learning classrooms. Attendance remains high and our students continue to be in good spirits as they interact and navigate in the distance learning classroom. Many of you have asked the reason why students have to check in with their A1 teachers on Wednesdays. This is a great question. Even though we are in the distance learning environment, attendance is still an accreditation requirement for all schools. We are required to report our attendance to the Virginia Department of Education, even on Wednesdays.
Thank you again for all of your support and for ensuring that your students are ready and available to learn. We appreciate your assistance in this new environment. Don't hesitate to contact your student's counselor or administrator if you have any questions or concerns. Have a Charged up week!
Leading the Charge!
Cassandra Crawford, Principal
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
Senior Class Info
1. All college visits have gone virtual this year! Current 11th and 12th graders can sign up for these visits through Naviance. https://student.naviance.com/chancellorhigh
2. Senior meetings. If you haven't scheduled your meeting with your counselors, please contact your counselor ASAP. Counselors have emailed all seniors invitations, so please check your email. In these meetings, we will discuss your post-secondary goals, examine your transcript, and address any questions or concerns you may have.
3.Senior Pictures. Senior Pictures are scheduled for September 20-23. See the attached flyer for more information.https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_lhDoVyH_TMgXDGWwX-w_08v8x_1CiF4r0NbaVb8qtk/edit?usp=sharing
Important Advanced Placement (AP) Information
Attention parents of students enrolled in an AP class, AP exams will cost $95.00 each this year.
Families can choose to pay the entire cost of an AP exam in one payment or via installments. A $40
deposit must be paid for each exam by 10/23/20. Please refer to the 20-21 ChHS AP Financial Sheet for more information.
Due to COVID-19, it is recommended that you pay through our webstore. Webstore Payment Directions can be found here. If you choose to pay via cash or check, payments can be submitted to Mrs. Marsh in the Counseling Center.
All students that plan to take an AP exam must also complete The Exam Order Sheet found here.
Extracurricular Update
Congratulations to our 2020-2021 Class Officers!
Freshman Class Officer:
President: Allison Berkes
Sophomore Class Officers:
President: Dalen Ainsworth
Vice-President: Abby Arvan
Secretary: Mia De Jesus
Reporter/Historian: Victoria Owusu
Junior Class Officers:
President- Rachel Margelos
Vice President- Kimora Bryant
Historian- M'laya Ainsworth
Secretary- Marcus Muntean
Senior Class Officers:
President: Amirah Ahmed
Vice President: Aston Jazvic
Reporter/Historian: Emma Leighton
FBLA - Future Business Leaders of America is a club open to students who are currently enrolled in a Business and Information Technology class (they must have Mrs. Green, Ms. O'Leary (Klingensmith), Mrs. Slater or Mrs. Millar (Millar - EPF only). Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda, Inc. (FBLA-PBL) is the largest career student business organization in the world. Each year, FBLA-PBL helps over 230,000 members prepare for careers in business. Dues are $20.
Medical Career Club is looking for members and officers. For more information, contact Mrs. Berkes. Current members interested in running for an officer position can go to https://classroom.google.com/c/Nzk2NDA3ODY2NFpa?cjc=vibq3t6.
SCA (Student Council Association)
All students are eligible to be an active part of the SCA - Student Council Association. This student-led organization exists to foster school spirit through fun activities, community involvement, and leadership opportunities. SCA is responsible for Homecoming, pep rallies, spirit weeks, school dances, and more. Consider joining SCA as a representative and help Chancellor stay amazing! For more information, contact the SCA sponsor, Ms. Spears, at mspears@spotsylvania.k12.va.us.
Virtual College Visits This Week
9/15/2020 Fairmont State at 12:00 pm to 12:30 pm
9/17/2020 Hampden-Sydney College at 12:30 pm to 1:00 pm
9/18/2020 Richard Bland College at 12:00 pm to 12:30 pm
9/18/2020 Randolph College at 12:30 pm to 1:00 pm
9/18/2020 Virginia Military Institute at 1:30 pm to 2:00 pm
Sign up through Naviance- https://student.naviance.com/chancellorhigh
WEEKLY MESSAGE FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT
I hope that having these division messages integrated with school communications is helpful to all of our students and families.
Division Updates
On Monday, leadership will share with the school board updates and highlights of our school year to date. The presentation will include how we are navigating distance learning for our students, staff, and families as well as reviewing the progress on the hybrid in-person learning model outlined in our Return to Learn Plan. With the transition to hybrid at the end of the 1st quarter, the question of how we will evaluate and inform decisions relative to school/local and regional health data will also be shared at the meeting.
As of today, we are still waiting for the over 200 hotspots that were shipped last week. We appreciate your patience and share in the frustration regarding the timely delivery of much needed support to our students and families. Please know that this isn’t within our control, but we will act with urgency to begin issuing them as soon as they have arrived.
Though this was a shortened week, we continue to approach each day and week with a focus on continuous improvement. Current feedback reflects various degrees of success. Below are just a few updates from the system perspective.
Parent Advisory Feedback On Thursday, parent representatives across our 31 schools and sites met virtually with our staff to share feedback on the success and challenges of distance learning. Personal experiences as well as experiences from other families’ perspectives were shared by each representative. The meeting yielded strong, useful feedback.
Some successes shared regarding our distance learning program included:
Use of brain breaks and wiggle activities.
Guided teacher practice on how to navigate the online resources and learning model.
There is more student buy-in.
Instruction provided by teachers is more engaging.
Appreciate Wednesdays and afternoons which provides opportunities to touch base with the teacher and students time to catch up on work. Structure allows for self-pacing for students.
It is evident that teachers are working extremely hard to support students. Instructions/directions have been clear and easy for students to follow.
Communication has been great K-12; parents feel the communication has enhanced from traditional school settings and are more connected to the children’s teachers.
Kudos for the open house-first week to connect with students!
Special Education folks are working hard and you can tell.
Love the videos that teachers are using.
Some of the primary challenges and needs that were identified included the following:
Streamline and organize resources for parents - consider one place to look for child’s assignments.
Concerns about health side effects of ongoing online instruction and isolation from peers.
Different platforms (Canvas v. Google Meet) is a challenge.
No phone number to dial in when a parent’s internet goes down.
Too much homework.
Some of the ideas/recommendations moving forward included:
Support with interpretation services for families that speak languages other than English.
Sound quality on laptop devices when the teacher moves away from the device.
A way for canvas information to show up in ParentVUE.
Allow teachers to co-teach, particularly, since their skills differ in navigating distance learning environments.
Provide training/overview for families/parents on the virtual platforms so that they can support their children better.
Consider distance learning beyond the pandemic because student attendance has improved at the high school level.
Record the lesson for students to watch at a later date.
I share this wealth of feedback because it is being reflected upon and utilized as we continue to navigate uncharted waters. We need each other right now, more than ever...as our mission statement indicates, “Together we prepare our students for their future.” Thank you to our families and staff who also share positive and constructive feedback.
Have a wonderful week!
Dr. Scott Baker