NOVEMBER 2022 PROPEL SCHOOLS UPDATE
IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND GOOD NEWS FROM DR. TINA CHEKAN
Propel Schools Families,
Excitement for Fall family conferences is building! Remember that our in-person family conferences are scheduled for:
- Monday, November 21, 2022 - No school for scholars
- Tuesday, November 22, 2022- No school for scholars
Your Propel School will reach out to you regarding how to schedule a time to speak with your scholar's educator. Family conferences are a perfect time to share information about your scholar with our school teams as well as gather information about scholar growth and achievement.
Please remember that Wednesday, November 23, 2022, is a Propel Wellness Day and all buildings will be closed. Our schools will be closed for Fall Break on Thursday, November 24, and Friday, November 25. We will see scholars back in our buildings on Monday, November 28.
This season encourages us to reflect upon giving thanks and showing gratitude. Please know that I am very thankful that you have selected us as your partner in education. Each day at Propel Schools, we take every opportunity to collaborate and innovate. As school communities, we strive to create a culture of respect and belonging, where every voice is valued. I thank each of you for allowing us to be a part of your scholar's educational journey.
Dr. Tina Chekan
CEO/Superintendent
SCHOLAR ATTENDANCE MATTERS!
- At Propel, excellent scholar attendance is the expectation! To support our families, we have partnered with EveryDay Labs, a company that specializes in communicating with families to reduce scholar absenteeism. To learn more about how EveryDay Labs may communicate with you, please click HERE for information about text alerts, mailed communication and other ways that they can support your scholar's attendance.
- Propel's Attendance Specialists also provide support to families and scholars in attendance-related matters. Using a variety of recognitions, incentives and home visits, our Attendance Specialists are moving the needle and increasing awareness of the importance of regular, on-time school attendance!
SUBMIT YOUR SCHOLAR'S ABSENCE EXCUSE THROUGH SKYWARD!
1. Log into Skyward (Not sure how to log in? Please see these INSTRUCTIONS.)
2. Search the left navigation column for ATTENDANCE
3. On the right side, click "Absence Requests"
4. Then click "Add Request"
The absence excuse is then routed directly to your school's Attendance Specialist. If you have questions, about this or any other attendance-related item, please reach out to your school's Attendance Specialist!
WEATHER-RELATED SCHOOL CLOSINGS/DELAYS
If your scholar is transported by school bus, you will follow the transportation schedule of the school district that transports your scholar. If your transporting district calls for a 2-hour delay, your scholar should be at the bus stop 2 hours later than usual. If your transporting district cancels classes, transportation is also canceled.
PLEASE NOTE:
- Propel Schools generally DO NOT have two-hour delays, unless there is a rare instance in which all sending districts for your scholar's Propel School call 2-hour delays.
- School closing/delay/change in school schedule information WILL NOT be posted to social media platforms.
- Propel Schools will use two official platforms to share information about school closings and delays. The first is our Connect 5 platform which will send telephone calls/email messages about changes to school schedule. Please reach out to your school to update your information if your telephone number or email address has recently changed. You will also find official Propel Schools closing/delay information on local news channels and their corresponding websites.
APPLICATIONS FOR PROPEL SCHOOLS 2023-2024 ENROLLMENT LOTTERY NOW OPEN
If you have a child who will be entering school in Fall 2023 OR know of a family who wants their child to begin their academic journey with Propel Schools, we are excited to announce that applications for our enrollment lottery for the 2023-2024 school year are now open! Current scholars do not need to reapply, with these exceptions:
Current 8th-grade scholars — These scholars should meet with their school counselors and apply to their desired Propel High School via SchoolMint.
Current Propel Montour Elementary 5th-grade scholars — Scholars who will be moving from Propel Montour Elementary School to Propel Montour Middle School should also complete the online application.
Applications received after December 31 will automatically be placed on a waitlist, so apply now! Please visit SchoolMint here: https://propel.schoolmint.net/welcome
SCHOLAR PROGRESS REPORTS & REPORT CARDS
Instructions for viewing this information (in both Skyward and Jumprope) are below! As always, our goal is to have 100% participation in family conferences. Our school teams will be as flexible as possible in scheduling conferences during mutually convenient times. If you foresee a challenge in scheduling a conference, please reach out to your school's principal as soon as possible to explore all options.
ACCESSING SKYWARD - Propel Montour High School, Propel Hazelwood & Propel McKeesport
ACCESSING JUMPROPE
All other schools utilize Standards-Based Grading (SBG.) Scholar progress reports will be available on Jumprope. There, you will see a real-time progress report for your scholar. These grades are current and represent detailed information on scholar learning. They are a snapshot of where each scholar is in their learning process. Scholars will continue to have additional opportunities to learn and grow on each learning target
For directions about accessing scholar information on Jumprope, please click HERE.
2022 -2023 ARTS PARTNERSHIPS
We are #PropelProud of our Arts partnerships! Our fully-valued arts programs bring our scholars engaging, compelling ways to showcase their talent and use their authentic voices!
Our arts partners who have returned for 2022-2023 include:
- Stage Right, Inc.
- Steeltown Entertainment Group/WQED
- Pittsburgh Musical Theater
- K-Theatre Dance Complex
For a peek into how scholars all across our network are 'Falling Into The Arts" click HERE!
PA ACT 158
Important Information For High School Families!
Our high school teams have been working with our scholars to ensure that they have a clearly defined path to graduation. To learn more about the updated pathways to graduation and how Propel is supporting scholars on their journey to successful futures, please click HERE.
PROPEL AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM - FALL UPDATE!
Propel Afterschool scholars will be leading a youth panel at the EMPOWER
Conference in Lancaster. Six Propel scholars will discuss issues affecting youth in their
communities.
Afterschool will present “Dinner with a Chef”, a family involvement event that
takes place across Propel Afterschool sites. Family Cooking events will take place in November at BHHS and BHMS and at Homestead and McKeesport in December. Many thanks to our partner Comunity Kitchen for this wonderful programming.
Flight School and Blacksmithing are just two of the high school events taking place in
November. Flight School through the Urban League of Pittsburgh will teach scholars how to fly and land a plane. In blacksmithing class (through Rivers of Steel Art) scholars worked to forge objects beginning with hooks.
Our scholars love Afterschool Spanish! Research shows that second language learning is best taught at an early age!
A partnership with Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy features classwork and field trips to the Conservatory where they learn about the environment and nature
Propel Afterschool is also: gardening, cooking, playing chess, building robots, painting, reading, coding, taking judo classes, working on homework and so much more!
ATHLETICS UPDATE
HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS
- Practices started on 11/18. All participants must be registered on Family ID and have a valid athletic physical.
- A new program this year is varsity bowling at Propel Montour High School.
MIDDLE SCHOOL ATHLETICS
Free Propel middle school-issued physicals have already started and upcoming dates include:
Friday, 12/2, 9:30 AM, Dr. Sims, Propel Northside
Thursday, 12/8 - Dr. Francis, 9:30 AM, Propel Hazelwood
Thursday, 12/15, -Dr. Francis, 9:30 AM, Propel Pitcairn
The date for Propel Homestead has yet to be scheduled and families will be notified when a date has been set.
Families are also required to complete a "Health History Form" for each scholar-athlete. The form can be found HERE. The form can be returned to the following individuals at each school:
- Mike Shannan - Montour MS
- Danielle Pickard - Braddock Hills MS
- Lynde Rozier - East
- Ken DiBucci - McKeesport
- Justin Peeks - Hazelwood
- Tanisha Fitzpatrick - Pitcairn
- Dalashay Whitehead - Homestead
- Chrystal Martin - Northside, Administrative Assistant
Please see the Propel Schools Athletics page for additional information.
SCHOLAR OPPORTUNITIES UPDATE
Manufacturing Day
The Scholar Opportunities Team was invited to Catalyst Connection’s "Manufacturing Day" on October 6, 2022. Scholars from Propel BHHS & Propel ASHS enjoyed a day of robotic, engineering and mechanical exploration. The scholars were given an opportunity to learn about the future of manufacturing careers in Western Pennsylvania and participated in hands-on creation, using robotic equipment in the Mill 19 building (located in Hazelwood.)
G4g Day
Covestro and Chatham University collaborated to create a STEM exploration workshop for local middle school girls. Seven scholars from Propel Montour Middle School traveled to Chatham University’s Eden Hall Campus to explore STEM programming in the "Greenlight 4 Girls" initiative. G4g encourages girls to take a deeper dive into science, technology, engineering and math. Propel scholars received lab coats and certificates for their participation, as they examined Mechatronics, Water purification, Bee Keeping and other environmentally friendly activities.
HBCU TOUR 2022
Due to the restrictions of COVID, tours of Historic Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) were temporarily halted. Now that most restrictions have been lifted, the Scholar Opportunities team and Career Counselor Daina Gray swung into action! They began brainstorming ways to provide our scholars with the opportunity to experience traditional HBCU life.
From October 19 - October 22, 36 scholars from PMHS, BHHS & ASHS embarked on an HBCU travel itinerary that spanned 4 States and 7 schools! Scholars were chaperoned by Propel team members.
Propel scholars visited Cheyney University & Lincoln University outside of Philadelphia. During their visit, scholars learned about the history and necessity of an HBCU, while eating lunch in the Cafe. Scholars engaged with college students and inquisitively asked questions about the path to achieving a college degree.
The group of Propel scholars also visited the Delaware State and Coppin State campuses. While attending the Delaware State tour, Propel scholar Janai Green was approached by admissions officers for an acceptance with a scholarship!
Scholars were impressed by all of the schools they visited and are excited about continuing to investigate all of their post-secondary options!
PROPEL PARTNERS IN WELLNESS
We are excited to announce that we have received a grant to create 2 additional "mini pantries " at Propel Schools. Andrew Street High School and Braddock Hills High School both received funding that will provide food and personal care resources to scholars and their families.
Established "mini pantries" at Propel Homestead and Propel Montour MS/HS and Propel Northside are all going strong!
Propel Homestead
Homestead's Pantry is open and available to Propel Homestead and Andrew Street students & families. Please reach out to Jasmine Anderson for more information.
Propel Montour MS/HS
Montour's Pantry is open and available to Propel Montour students & families.
Please reach out to Erin Strader for more information.
The Propel Northside Community Wellness Center Freestore will be open on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of each month at 10 AM for food distribution (including fresh produce, bread and personal care items. You can also 'shop' the Freestore's clothing closet! Clothing for children and adults is available as well as shoes and accessories. Shopping at the clothing closet is by appointment OR without an appointment during our food distribution times. Questions? Please reach out to the Site Coordinator, Nicole Brown at 412-325-7305 Ext. 4000
SPOTLIGHT ON SCIENCE
K-8 Science Partnerships
Our scholars in grades 5, 6 and 7 are enjoying a partnership with the Carnegie Science Center to help expand their understanding of science topics. Scholars will participate by:
Virtual Event=Virtual Event streamed live to classes
Hands-On Minds-On = Carnegie Science Center will visit classrooms
Capstone Event= Scholars will visit the Carnegie Science Center
Scholars in grade 4 have engaged in virtual experiences with the Pittsburgh Zoo and visited the Zoo! We are excited and proud of their engagement in science!
REMINDER! PROPEL SCHOOLS WELLNESS POLICY AND CLASSROOM PARTY FOODS
This is an excerpt from our Wellness Policy that addresses classroom celebrations. Please note that all snacks/foods shared by families to celebrate special scholar days must align with this list. Please note that all shared foods must be prepackaged. No homemade foods are to be shared, as food allergies can be common and, in some cases, lead to severe reactions.