Wildcat Press Newsletter
Feb 07, 2021 Vol. 27
============================
Principal's Message
Hello Wildcat Pride,
First full week with all students back in the building and went pretty well. We did see an uptick in kids struggling to follow some of the rules. Please remind your students that they need to follow all school rules when they are on campus. In particular they need to be careful with language and vaping. Vaping is not only against school district policy, it is also illegal on campus no matter your age.
Please check in with your student to be sure they have completed their enrollment for next year.
Senior parents we will be hosting graduation on campus in the stadium this year. It is Thursday, May 27 at 7 PM. We are not sure about guests at the ceremony, so I would hold off on having family members make travel plans. This is also the time we begin to see senior-itis setting in, and these kids have been through the ringer already. Please, Please, Please check up on their grades and attendance regularly to be sure they are not faltering. If you have any concerns please contact their teachers or counselors.
Have a great week and we love your kids, thanks for sharing them with us!
Rod Huston
Principal
Mesquite High School
@MHSAZ_Principal
============================
MHS Administrative Team!
Mrs. Marguerite Brown
Assistant Principal
Activities and Clubs
Grade Level: Freshman
Juniors Last Name O-Z
@MHSWildcat_News
Mr. Rudy Alvarado
Assistant Principal
Athletic Director
Grade Level: Sophomores
Juniors Last Name E-N
@MesquiteAthDept
Mrs. Mitzi Escobar
Assistant Principal
Registration & Academics
Grade Level: Seniors
Juniors Last Name A-D
@Mhsescobar
============================
February Calendar
============================
Graduation Information
Class of 2021
============================
GRADES FOR SECOND SEMESTER
============================
PAWS-ATIVELY AWESOME
Spirit Week this Week
Tuesday - Pajama Day
Wednesday - stoplight day (red, yellow or green)
Thursday - Rock your Royal (blue out)
Friday - Valentines day (red or pink)
============================
Wildcat Counseling
Online Classes
If your student is taking an asynchronous online course through Global Academy, they need to be sure to log in to the course EVERY school day and spend at least 30 minutes logged in and working on the course. This is a state requirement for attendance. If they do not log in every school day, Global Academy will drop the course, which can result in having to start a course over from the beginning and/or being put on a waitlist because the class is now full.
REGISTRATION
Registration Information for the 21/22 School Year
Registration for your student(s) 2021-2022 school year is underway. Please help make sure that your student has entered their classes in their Course Plan in Infinite Campus as well as returning their paper copy to their English teacher. Please take a moment to look at their sheet and sign it before they return it to their teacher.
Each student will meet with their counselor individually to go over their choices over the next few weeks.
AP Exam Registration for Spring Semester Classes
For students who are interested in taking AP exams for AP Government and/or AP Economics spring semester classes, the deadline to register for the AP exams is Friday, February 26th. The cost of the AP exam is $99.00. Click here for instructions to register for the AP exam(s).
Students may still register for any other AP exam until February 26th, but there is an additional $40 late fee per exam for first semester and year-long classes.
Taking the Advanced Placement exams is an important part of all AP courses. Mesquite High School desires that all students take AP exams for the AP classes that they have taken. Scoring well on an AP exam can often earn students college credit for their high school class, saving a significant amount on tuition.
ACT TEST - JUNIORS
==========
Academic Support
Peer Tutoring
Now that we have returned to full-time in person learning, PEER TUTORING has resumed during both lunches on TUESDAYS AND THURSDAYS (10:30-11:00 and 11:55-12:25) in the MHS Career Center.
Education and Career Action Plan (ECAP) Activity of the Week: Resume Creator
Attention Seniors!
AdviseAZ Virtual
ASU/NAU/UA -Admissions Support
ASU
Connect with our school's admission team at: https://admission.asu.edu/findmyrep. You can set up 1:1 appointments to get personalized guidance on completing the application for admission, FAFSA submission and next steps, and enrollment next steps. ASU has also developed this next steps website for admitted students to walk through the entire process: https://admission.asu.edu/first-year/admitted.
NAU
Please visit https://nau.edu/admission/admissions-officers/ to find your regional representative.
UA
- To find the Admission rep working with MHS - Who is my Recruiter?
- To schedule a 1:1 meeting with an Admission Counselor, on demand, Monday – Friday, 8am – 5pm - Virtual Admissions Office Hour Meetings
- You can always reach out to Dan Kellish – Associate Director, Arizona Recruitment – dkellish@arizona.edu
Assignment Tracker
Click here for an Assignment Tracker to list your missing assignments/quizzes/tests and catch up in your classes (you will need to make a copy of the Assignment Tracker in order to enter your information, or you can print a copy).
Counselor Appointments
==========
Scholarship Highlight of the Week - Wood Foundation Scholarship
The Homa and Irene Wood Foundation was established to assist deserving students with funding to obtain college degrees in disciplines of the students’ choosing. The Foundation focuses on students who may not otherwise obtain adequate funding to initiate and complete his or her college education and students who within their families may have the potential to be first generation college graduates. This is a needs based scholarship.
Click the links below for eligibility requirements and the scholarship application.
ARIZONA COLLEGE CONSORTIUM VIRTUAL COLLEGE FAIR
Thursday, February 18, 2021
8:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Check out this college fair!! Go online and register. There are over 30 different colleges.
Achieving a College Education
Earning College Credit in High School
============================
Message from our Athletic Director
Change in AIA Rules for Attending Away Games
Spring Sports
Softball
Questions- see Coach Hernandez.
============================
Wildcat Activities Announcement
Valentine’s Day Grams
Valentine’s Day Grams are on sale now at the Spirit Store during both lunches. Get your special someone a Valentine’s Gram and a candy bar for $1. Come fill out your gram today! There is no option for delivery this year but they can be picked up on February 12th during both lunch hours.
============================
Black History Month
Bessie Coleman (1892 -1926)
============================
Health Office Hotspot
It is only February and already we have had a couple of days where it has been 80 degrees. As much as I don't want to admit it, summer is just around the corner - or at least the warmer weather is. With the warmer weather comes the shorter shorts, skimpier tops, and everything in between - and I am NOT just talking about girls. Boys too! For a refresher course on what the GPS dress code policy click the link. Suffice it to say that if there is a thought that enters one mind of "I probably shouldn't wear this to school" or "You're wearing that to school?!", kindly ask your student to change their clothing. Please have your student save that particular outfit or shirt for a time when he/she is off campus and can wear the clothing items without any worry.
Boys: leave the sleeveless or extra large arm hole shirts, baggy pants and shorts that have underwear hanging out the bottom at home.
Girls: leave the spaghetti strap, tube tops, super crop tops, and shorty shorts at home.
It will save us all a lot of frustration in the long haul. It's not worth taking the chance.
============================
SAFETY AND SECURITY
============================
WILDCAT WELLNESS
Self Care for Students
myOptions provides a handful of micro articles to help students self monitor and self care. These articles are freely accessible to all, even without a myOptions student account:
Free Parent Workshop!
GPS Food Pantry Information
Resilient AZ Crisis Counseling Program
Assists individuals recovering from the psychological effects of the coronavirus pandemic, through outreach, emotional support, and educational services. All services are free and confidential. For individual/family services, 480.736.4978 or email CCReferrals@lafrontera-empact.org, and for group services contact 480.694.4436 or email Krylyn.Peters@lafrontera-empact.org
The program is federally funded through FEMA and SAMHSA, with the goal of providing emotional support, education, and outreach to Arizonans dealing with the psychological impact of the pandemic.
As part of that goal they are offering monthly workshops and groups through the end of May 2021. We also provide individual services. Of particular interest to the people you work with, we have the following scheduled:
- Parenting Skills Group (4-week group in February)
- Tips to Handle Pandemic Stress Workshops (English version 2/25/21 and Spanish version 2/16/21)
============================
MHS Book Nook
If you are unable to get into BUZZ or Rapid Identity, please try to update your Chromebook, restart and then attempt to log in. You MUST log in through Rapid Identity to BUZZ.
DO NOT GOOGLE Rapid Identity! You will not get to where you are supposed to be.
Updating the Chrome OS on the student and teacher Chromebooks is CRUCIAL to everything working. Here are some simple steps.
Login to your Chromebook
Click on your icon/picture (lower right hand corner)
Choose Settings
Find "About Chrome OS" at the top of the page and click on it.
Click on Check for and apply settings and allow it to go from 0% to 100% and then the Restart button appears.
Restart ChromeBook and everything should be updated.
Restart your Chromebook often to allow AUTOMATIC updates to take effect.
============================
About MHS
Email: mhsinfo@gilbertschools.net
Website: https://www.gilbertschools.net/mesquitehigh
Location: 500 South McQueen Gilbert, AZ 85233
Phone: 480-632-4750
Twitter: @MHSWildcat_News