Weekly News and Notes

We have a few updates from UHS this week:


Seniors' Last Day

May 22 was technically the last day of school for our seniors. Though this is a different scenario and different year, with unique circumstances, we do have some consistency with what the last day for seniors means. Here is what parents and seniors can expect over the next few days:

1. Teachers will finalize grades for the 2019-20 school year and input quarter 4 and year-long grades.
2. Counselors will audit all senior grades to make sure all graduation requirements are met (this has more to do with students in danger of not passing classes at this point).
3. Final transcripts will be compiled, and student records will be organized for pickup.

We did receive word from our manufacturer that caps and gowns will be ready for delivery on June 2 or 3. We are also finalizing awards and waiting to hear back from a number of scholarships. We hope to be able to distribute everything on June 5. We will communicate that day and time as soon as we have it for certain.

DPH Guidelines for Graduation

The Department of Public Health for the Commonwealth released information about graduation and assemblies for the summer, which means that our plan to host something in late July will hopefully be approved. It will be contingent on data supporting the continued reopening of the Commonwealth and reduced cases of COVID-19. We have been in touch with out local Board of Health on a regular basis, and we will be moving forward with plans that will, unfortunately, only be able to involve seniors and their immediate families, as well as some staff members. We know that many people in the community look forward to graduation, but, given the circumstances, we will not be able to host it as a public event.

Underclassmen and Fourth Quarter

We are approaching the end of the term as well for our underclassmen. We are looking at having students' last assignments being due on Monday, June 8. Our traditional exam period would have started on June 10; in place of traditional exams, our teachers will be focusing on those students who need to make up work from either the fourth quarter or past terms to ensure that they can pass classes for the year. We believe this practice is consistent with Commissioner Riley's guidance regarding "holding students harmless" and providing opportunities for students to pass for the year, even if past work were missed.
For students who have been on top of all their work and have actively participated in remote learning for the balance of the fourth quarter, it will be as if they are "exempt" from what would have been our traditional exam week. This likewise incentivizes the work being done right now and into the next 2-3 weeks.

Planning for Next Year

We have already had a number of questions come up about 2020-21, from staff, students, and families. The reality is that we are treading into significant uncertainty and that we do not have the ability to predict the future with any real accuracy. What we can do is prepare for a number of scenarios, many of which we will outline when we host another Town Hall meeting for our grade 8-11 students. We are hopeful that we will be back to school in some form of normalcy come fall, but we also realize that the new normal could mean some changes to what we do, how we teach, and our procedures. Please know that we have already outlines a great many of those procedures and are working to ensure that we can communicate them with clarity to everyone well in advance of September.

Pickup This Year

For those who have materials in the building, or believe they have materials in the building, we will be doing the following:

1. Teachers will be in the building the weeks of June 1 and June 8 to clean out their classrooms.
2. Any student materials that are found in classrooms will be brought to the cafeteria in a bag.
3. We will notify families and students if we have anything labeled for a student, and we will have a window of time for pickup, likely on June 11-12.
4. If students are still looking for things, we will have predetermined times on June 15-16 for students to come to the building to retrieve items. Students will be given the ability to enter the building to get to lockers. Classrooms will not be accessible.

We thank you for your continued cooperation. Enjoy the long weekend!