Weekly Roundup March 14

ASSESSMENT – SAT, PSAT 9 and PSAT 10/SAVE THE DATE
This April, all freshmen, sophomores and juniors will participate in Colorado School Day accountability testing. These assessments are critical to understanding student growth and school-level trends. The Colorado Department of Education requires at least 95% of our students take these assessments. Please be sure your student is in school and on time for the following assessments:

• Wednesday, April 12 – All juniors take the SAT
  • There will be no school for freshmen, sophomores, or seniors
• Thursday, April 13 – All freshmen take the PSAT 9
  • There will be no school for sophomores, juniors or seniors
• Friday, April 14 – All sophomores take the PSAT 10
  • There will be no school for freshmen, juniors or seniors

Important attendance requirement: Juniors attending Prom must participate in (1) CMAS Science on April 5, and (2) SAT School Day on April 12. Sophomores who are invited by an upperclassman to attend Prom must participate in PSAT 10 on April 14. Starting February 1, all juniors, seniors and invited sophomores attending Prom must have no more than four (4) unexcused absences this semester, which includes participation in our assessment days. Please note, as set forth in our Student and Family Handbook (also linked on our website under the “Students & Families” tab), absences must be excused within two (2) days of a student’s return to school.

If you have questions about exempting your student from these assessments, please email Dr. Davis. Include your student’s name and grade level in your email. Students who have been exempted from these assessments must have no more than three (3) unexcused absences this semester to attend Prom.

ASSESSMENT – SAT AND PSAT 10 STUDENT DATA CONSENT FORM
As part of the administration of the SAT (grade 11 students) and PSAT 10 (grade 10 students), the College Board provides an optional questionnaire to support students and their families in accessing key opportunities. A primary benefit of completing the optional questionnaire is to opt-in to Student Search Service, which connects students to college and scholarship opportunities that reflect their interests. Before testing, students will be required to complete a Student Data Consent Form to indicate whether they wish to participate in the optional questionnaire. The Student Data Consent Form is linked here for review in ENGLISH and SPANISH. Students may also opt-in to Student Search Service and complete (or make changes to) the optional questionnaire online at College Board’s Big Future site using their personal College Board account.  

ASSESSMENT – AP AND IB EXAMS AND ATTENDANCE
After a student in grade 11 or 12 takes an AP or IB exam, they are no longer required to attend class for that course. For example, a grade 11 student who takes the AP English Language exam on Tuesday, May 9 will not attend their AP English Language class starting Wednesday, May 10 or thereafter. This policy only applies for grade 11 and 12 students who actually test on their exam date.

Grade 11 and 12 students who do not test will be required to continue to attend their AP or IB course until the end of the year and take a course final exam, as will students in grades 9 and 10 regardless of whether they test. Earning honors-weight credit is contingent on completion of a final exam.

Grade 11 and 12 students will attend elective courses until the end of the year.

As in previous years, all students will be cleared from their classes for the full day on any day they are taking an AP and/or IB exam. Students who are not testing will be expected to attend all classes that day. Lists of all students who are scheduled to test will be circulated later this year for your reference.

IB VISUAL ARTS EXHIBITION
Our IB Visual Arts program is hosting a pop-up exhibition at Stanley Marketplace on Wednesday, March 22. Our open house reception will be from 5:00 to 7:00pm. Everyone is invited to come view the works of these talented artists! We do need some parent and adult volunteers to assist with transportation, set up and break down the exhibition. If you are interested in helping, please sign up HERE. Questions? Contact Ms. Miller in Room 229.

JUNIOR NIGHT
The DSF Future Center will be hosting a Junior Night for rising seniors (current juniors) and their parents to learn more about the college application process. The event will take place on Thursday, March 23 from 6:00 to 7:00pm in the Community Room here at GWHS. An invitation and signup link will be emailed to all juniors and their parents. Two concurrent presentations, one in English and one in Spanish, will be offered for families to choose from.

HELP MAKE OUR ASSESSMENT DAYS FUN!
To encourage our students for our P/SAT (April 12, 13 and 14) and CMAS (April 5) administration days, we need your help! We have plans to celebrate our students’ hard work through breakfast, testing room prizes and snacks, and some major giveaways (think a PlayStation5 and a set of AirPods Max per grade level). If you would like to donate to the fun, there are two ways: you can sign up HERE to bring in snacks or gift cards, or donate through MySchoolBucks HERE (select “Proceed as Guest” if you haven’t yet created a MySchoolBucks account). Submit your donations by Monday, March 20, and we’ll get them in the hands of our amazing students! Questions? Contact Dr. Bolz or Ms. Hunter.  

PROCTOR AN AP OR IB EXAM
GWHS has over 500 students taking AP and IB exams from Friday, April 28 through Friday, May 19, and we need your help with proctoring! Sign up HERE to proctor an AP or IB exam. You may select any exam your student is NOT taking. Proctor training is easy, and your support is deeply appreciated!

SUPPORT OUR NEW BOYS VOLLEYBALL TEAM
Please consider donating to our brand new boys volleyball program. GWHS Volleyball is very excited to start a new boys volleyball program this spring. The most immediate and costly expenditures will be new uniforms and a statistics program called Hudl. We also anticipate needing new equipment, including volleyballs. Scan the QR code or click HERE to donate.

GWHS FOOD PANTRY
GWHS is proud to announce its Food Pantry is now open for the 2022-2023 school year! All students and staff are eligible to participate. Each Wednesday, food will be distributed at the Food Pantry (located in room 3 in the sub-basement) from 2:45 to 3:30pm. Family-sized bags for weekend meals are available by signing up in advance, and special distributions will be make for holidays, winter break, etc. Interested in participating, or in volunteering or making a donation? Click HERE for more information.

GWHS LANDSCAPING COMMITTEE UPDATES

• Upcoming Community Service Days: Work outside while beautifying our campus! Upcoming dates are Saturday, March 18, April 8, April 22 and April 29, all from 10:00am to 12:00pm. Meet in the GWHS Community Garden. Bring old newspapers (used for weed barriers) – we are collecting them for Go Green Day 2023!
• Next Landscaping Committee Meeting: Help plan Go Green Day 2023! Join us Wednesday, March 22 at 5:00pm at Tessa Delicatessen.
• Free Fruit Tree Pruning Workshop: Join us on Thursday, March 23 at 4:00pm. Click HERE to register.
• Go Green Day 2023: Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 6 from 8:00am to 1:00pm for this fun-filled annual event!
• Questions? Email Lisa Emerson.