Great work team!

I continue to hear great things from the community, especially about how you are working with students during this tough time. We have many GCS employees whose students attend here and they continue to let me know how impressed they are!

This past Thursday, the board voted for High School students to return on January 20th. More details will be communicated as we start preparing for this date. Please make sure you stay in the loop of all GCS and SW communications. A great deal of information is available on our website. www.gcsnc.com/reopening.

Please share with your parents if they are not an observer in Canvas:

This video has been used district wide to provide information regarding pairing student and parent accounts in Canvas so parents can access what is due, what has been submitted, graded, etc. You’ll see in the video that one of the key pieces is a pairing code that can only originate from the student account holder.

From the desk of the CF:

Resources and Curriculum Updates:

Please see the attached document where resources have been gathered for teachers. One Stop Shop SWHS.docx The SWHS Canvas page is also being updated and houses lots of great information, please make sure to check out the “Modules” listed. The SWHS Licensed Teacher Teams page now has a “Curriculum Facilitator News” channel, curriculum updates from the district will be posted and uploaded there in order to cut down on school wide emails.

MIE Certificate

Due by October 20th!

Please see the quick video on how to upload your MIE Certificates to the SWHS Licensed Staff 2020-21 Teams, Curriculum Facilitator News Tab.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VUFUCPW7qdgiyb1B-odJH_8WHX82B3uN/view

Microsoft Innovator Educator

Courses have been developed for each school, here is the course for SWHS:#14665 GCS-PROFLRN: Microsoft Innovator Educators (MIE) Badge Initiative Fall 2020 (SOUTHWEST GUILFORD HIGH)Participants have the ability to earn between 0.3-2.0 Digital Learning Competency credits based on which pathway they choose to complete. Click the link for information on GCS Microsoft Innovative Educator – 2020:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QMf51c02XmFJ5ff539KX7YSnF1pWq4Pd0ngWB1k3CBA/edit

Please complete your MIE pathway between August 26th – October 20th. Once you have completed your pathway, please download your certificates and upload them to the folder located in the files tab of the Curriculum Facilitator News channel.

Learning Pathways	Hours	CEUs
21st Century Learning Design	20	2.0
Creating a Digitally Inclusive Learning Environment	6	0.6
Fostering a Dynamic Remote Learning Environment with Student-Centered Tools	3	0.3
Getting Started with Office 365 and Windows	4	0.4
Inclusive Classroom Foundation	5	0.5
Inclusive Classroom Specialization	9	0.9
Office 365 Teacher Academy	11.8	1.18
Skills for Future, Voice, and Collaboration	5.8	0.58
Student Centered Learning	6.5	0.65
Level Up with Office 365 and Windows	4.5	0.45

2020-2021 PLCs

The goals of effective professional learning communities:

· Increase student achievement

· Create meaningful and quality task and assessments

· Establish professional relationships

· Improve teaching and learning

Effective professional learning community (Links to an external site.):

· Always Assume Positive Intentions: All members come with the intention to work and assume the same of their colleagues

· All members focus on increasing student achievement

· Work to create meaningful and quality task/assignments/projects/assessments aligned with course curriculum standards

· Understand and prepare to implement the district curriculum framework

· Unpack the curriculum standards to make constructive instructional decisions

· Set SMART goal(s) (often connected to the most pressing instructional challenge, service-learning project, quality task, or a skill)

o Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound

· Analyze student data for strengths, weaknesses, and remediation strategies

· Review concepts and skills necessary to master standards

· Develop effective lesson plans and assessments

· Share instructional practices, pedagogical knowledge, and teaching experiences

· Always end with an action, plan, or solution

This school year, the focus is for your team to use data to drive instruction and increase student achievement. Below, I have attached the fall PLC meeting schedule as well as copies of the data protocol and assessment analysis documents to be used as you meet. A link will be created weekly for you to submit your data protocol/meeting minutes to Canvas. All meeting minutes should be posted by the end of each week by 5:00 pm to Canvas as an attached Word document.

The PLC documents can be found in Canvas. The agenda is attached to this e-mail and the exemplar can be found in Canvas.

SW PLC AGENDA

Remember that we are still following the NC grading policy (10 point scale)... just like we were prior to this past March. Please make sure your weights are alike within your department and shared to your students.

We will be giving the PSAT to all Southwest 10^th and 11^th grade students IF they complete online registration by October 9. The online registration link can be found in the QUICK LINKS area of the GCS and the SWHS websites. Students or families who are not comfortable returning to the building to test on October 29, will have the option to take the PSAT on January 26. The January 26 date is also a National Merit Scholarship qualifying test date for juniors. Covid protocols will be followed for building entry, social distancing in halls and classrooms and masks that cover both nose and mouth will be required to be worn at all times by staff and students. Remember you must complete the online registration process by October 9^th in order to test at SWHS on October 29.

Feel free to use this link when students tell you they don't have a device, or internet, or need work, etc....

Jessica White is leading the charge with the oversight of delivering work to students houses, as well as the pick up of work. We will only deliver items that are on the tables in the front office foyer area. If you are needing items picked up, you MUST fill out a form to have that work picked up and put on the routes. We now have a steady drop off/pick up system every Tuesday and Thursday. Please e-mail Jessica White with any questions related to this process.

Counselors' caseloads are as followed: Ms.Graves A-D 10th-12th, Ms.Campbell E-L 10th - 12th, Ms. Graham M-R 10th - 12th, Mrs. Hudgens S-Z 10th - 12th, Ms.Compton 9th grade counselor

Have you left your mark at SWGHS? Buy a Legacy Brick to commemorate your time as a Southwest Cowboy, and make a contribution to your sport, band or chorus to help fund critical equipment and uniform purchases and fees! AND get a great deal RIGHT NOW! The first 21 seniors/senior families to purchase a Legacy Brick this year will get 21% off the price of the brick! That's $21 off the $100 brick! Click here to order your brick, and enter 212021 in the promo code field to take advantage of this deal!

Based on the GCS High School Athletics calendar (included below) volleyball and cross country will be the first sports allowed to take part in voluntary workouts beginning on Sept. 28. Following volleyball and cross country, other sports will follow suit in the coming weeks.

GCS High School Athletics Calendar

Sports/Activities	Conditioning Period (Max 2 Days Per Week)	Skill Development (Max 4 Days Per Week)	NCHSAA Start Date
Volleyball and Cross Country	September 28	October 12	November 4
Swimming & Diving and Marching Band	October 12	October 26	November 23
Basketball & Cheerleading	October 19	November 9	December 7
M Soccer, M Lacrosse, and W. Lacrosse	November 9	December 1	January 11
Football	November 30	January 4	February 8
M/W Golf, M Tennis, W Soccer, and Softball	January 4	February 1	March 1
Baseball, W Tennis, Track & Field, and Wrestling	January 20	March 15	April 12