Sandwich High School News
March 2021
Greetings, SHS Community.
We are entering the month of March with hopefully some better weather heading into spring. As we dive into the last three months of the school year, we have already started looking into the end-of-the-year senior events. No, we have not forgotten that there are a lot of activities still in front of us.
We are still in Phase 4, so there will definitely be changes from the traditional way things have been done. The biggest constraints we have are the 50-person max and social distancing. These guidelines will be used when determining if an event will happen and in what manner it will occur. Please be assured that I have been in contact with many other districts and the health department trying to best figure out what routes are available to us.
For seniors, my goal is to find a way to host an in-person graduation. This will involve compromises including the possibility of several smaller ceremonies, parts of the ceremony live and parts recorded, reduced guest tickets, etc. My team will continue to work through the logistics to develop a plan. As soon as I have more information I will share, but please understand that a decision made now will be affected by how the next few months unfold and what updated guidance we will be receiving.
FULL REMOTE LEARNING
I had a good question about spring break. I was asked by a student, "Do we need to work over spring break?" Just like weekends, you do not need to work over break, but you can if you want. Edgenuity is set up so that if you keep up with the target you will be done at the end of the year. For those who get ahead of the target, you will finish the class early. So if a student works on weekends and over break, they can get 100% complete even earlier than the end of the semester. When you are done, you are done. We do not "add" curriculum. Last semester I had students complete their classes at the end of November!
If you have questions or need help, email Mr. Sodaro.
2021-2022 Registration is open
Registration for the 2021-2022 school year is open in the Tyler Parent Portal. If you have forgotten your username or password to the portal, do not hesitate to call the office at 815-786-2157, ext. 2.
Please take about 35 minutes and complete your student’s registration before March 2.
When all forms have been successfully submitted to the school, you will receive a confirmation email.
Note that course selection and class placement for the 2021-2022 school year will not be secure until student registration has been uploaded through the parent portal in Tyler.
If you have any questions, call the office at 815-786-2157, ext. 2.
COUNSELOR CORNER
Contact the Counselors
Email or call us with your questions and concerns!
815-786-2157
Mrs. Norton, A-K – anorton@sandwich430.org
Mrs. Docherty, L-Z – jdocherty@sandwich430.org
Course Selection for 2021-22:
Mrs. Norton and Mrs. Docherty are meeting with all students regarding course selection for the 2021-22 school year. We hope to complete the majority of these meetings prior to spring break. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about your student’s classes.
FAFSA Completion Graduation Requirement: Just a friendly reminder that the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is a requirement for seniors planning to graduate this spring. There are two options for fulfilling this requirement:
1. Fill out the FAFSA at www.fafsa.gov.
2. Ask your counselor for the FAFSA Opt-Out Form and complete and return it to the Counseling Office.
If you need assistance with this process, our ISAC (Illinois Student Assistance Commission) representative, Lauren Waitt, is available to help. Contact her at Lauren.Waitt@illinois.gov or book an appointment during her office hours: calendly.com/lauren-waitt.
Scholarships: Seniors, please remember to check the Counselors’ 2021 Information Google Classroom for additions to the local scholarship page. Apply for any scholarships you’re eligible for -- free money is always good!
Parchment: If you need to send your transcript to a college/university, please request it through your Parchment account. If you have forgotten your username or password, you can recover/reset on the Parchment website. See your counselor if you have any questions.
College Board: To view your official PSAT, SAT and/or AP scores, you need a College Board account. We will be working with juniors to make sure they have access to College Board.
If you have already created an account, you can log in to access your test scores. If you have forgotten your username or password, you can recover/reset on the College Board website. Unfortunately, counselors do not have access to your login information.
Practice SAT: Juniors had the opportunity to take a Practice SAT on Feb. 19. Students can use the scores they received on this test to help them practice any skills they struggled with before the official SAT on April 13. Please stay tuned for any future practice opportunities.
Khan Academy: Khan Academy contains free SAT practice. You can create an account and practice questions or take full-length practice tests. You can also link your Khan Academy account to your College Board account to get more personalized practice plans.
IVVC Registration: We had a good number of students sign up for IVVC for next year! Thanks to all the students for completing the registration process in a timely manner.
Selective Service: Under federal law, all men must register with Selective Service within 30 days of their 18th birthday. Registration can be completed starting at age 17 at www.sss.gov.
S.L.I.P.
WHAT'S NEW FROM THE LIBRARY
READ Club update:
READ Club will be helping with the One School, One Book program that the Sandwich elementary schools are doing with Somonauk and Plano elementary schools in March. READ Club will host a virtual reading of the book "Flight of the Dodo" by Peter Brown.
Seniors:
You should have an invitation to join the 2021 Senior Celebration Video Google Classroom where you will make your senior slide and submit photos/videos for the Celebration video. The deadline for slides and submissions for the video is April 30, so please join the Classroom and look at the materials as soon as possible. If you don't have the invitation, send Mrs. Kurtz an email: akurtz@sandwich430.org.
FROM THE NURSE
Attention all 9th-grade parents:
May 15 is the deadline for turning in a dental exam or waiver form for your student. If an exam or waiver form is not submitted on or before this deadline, the final report card will be held. Any exam done between February 15, 2020, and May 15, 2021, will be accepted. If financial difficulties are preventing you from getting the exam, please complete the waiver section on the dental examination form and return it to school. Please contact Kim Gonzalez, school nurse, at 815-786-2138 or kgonzalez@sandwich430.org should you have any questions or require further information.
IMPORTANT MARCH DATES
March 1---Girls' Basketball Senior Night
March 3---Boys' Basketball Senior Night
March 5---Cheerleading Senior Night
March 16---School Board Meeting
March 29-April 4---Spring Break
April 5---All A-Day Students Return
April 6---All B-Day Students Return
Please Note: The newly adopted calendar has April 5 as an attendance day.
Breakfast and Lunch
Until the end of the school year, free food is available through the USDA's "Free Meals for Kids" program.
Each morning that your student is in attendance, he/she will be offered a “Grab and Go” bagged breakfast. Each day your student will also be able to order a bagged lunch “Grab and Go” which will be consumed in the cafeteria. If you would like your student to receive school breakfast/lunch on their remote learning day, it will need to be ordered while in person. For example, if your student attends school on an "A" day and you would like them to receive a breakfast/lunch for the next day while they are learning remotely, they will need to order the remote day food while at school the day prior. Your student would then be sent home from school with bagged breakfast and lunch. If your student's last day of in-person learning for the week is Wednesday, they will be able to take home Grab and Go breakfast/lunch for Thursday and Friday. If the last day is Thursday, they can take home breakfast/lunch for Friday and Monday.
If your student is a full remote learner, meals also will be available for weekly pickup. Meals will be distributed on Monday and Thursday between the hours of 8:30 am until 10:00 am. Meals should be picked up in the back of the Middle School, kitchen door #27. Monday you will receive three breakfast and lunch meals; Thursday you will receive two breakfast and lunch meals. All meals will need to be pre-ordered Thursdays by noon for Monday meal pickup and Wednesdays by noon for Thursday meal pickup. To pre-order, call 815-786-8881 or email sandwichschoollunch@gmail.com. Please enter the back of the Middle School through the main parking lot and head north.
If you have any questions regarding the food service program, please contact Linda Alvarez, Food Service Director, at lalvarez@sandwich430.org or by phone at 815-786-8881.
We are looking forward to serving your student!
Linda Alvarez
Arbor Management, Inc
Food Service Director
Sandwich School District #430
Phone: 815-786-8881 Fax: 815-786-6606