Wednesday, April 1, 2020
Hello to all Seniors!
I hope you are all staying well! It sure feels like forever since we have seen you guys. I know that you have a lot of questions about finishing out your senior year. I have a few answers for you; however, some things are still up in the air.
Seniors on track for graduation at the end of first semester and who passed all third nine weeks required classes for graduation, have met graduation requirements. Third nine weeks grades will count as the semester grade. However, seniors who would like the opportunity to improve their 3rd nine weeks grade, and therefore their semester grade, must contact the teacher of that class and complete the plan developed by the teacher for the opportunity for an improved semester grade. Seniors MUST notify their teacher of their desire to improve their grade by 4:00pm April 10. The teachers will notify the counselors of any senior wishing to have the extended opportunity for 3rd nine weeks grade improvement. There will be no exams. In a nutshell, if a senior was on track for graduation at the end of first semester and is happy with his/her 3rd nine weeks passing grades, that senior is ready for graduation! Woo Hoo!
Seniors who were not on track for graduation at semester and/or failed 3rd nine weeks classes required for graduation will have to complete credit recovery. That is an online program, and for this situation only, we will open that up to be completed from home. The counselors will be contacting seniors in that situation soon.
Seniors in AP classes will still receive instructions from their AP teachers which will consist of only AP exam review material. It will totally be up to the seniors if they want to complete the work or not. The state law requiring students to complete the AP exam in order to receive weighted credit appears to have been waived. The requirements for seniors to pass the civics exam, have CPR training, take a digital learning class, and have personal finance training have been waived. Most of our students have met all of those requirements, but it is a nice relief for those who have not. Senior class rank will be frozen as it stood at the end of first semester.
As of today, by order of the Governor of Arkansas, school on campus will reopen April 20. Should we actually reopen school on that date, Mr. Tucker and I have decided that seniors will not be expected to return to school. (We will be glad to accept applause here!)
Now, on to the fun stuff--graduation and prom. I really want to have a physical graduation, Honor’s Day, and a prom. (I had a most fabulous time at my prom, class of 1979, and I definitely want our fabulous seniors to have that same opportunity!) So, we will be holding out to the very last minute to make any final decisions on that. If we return to school at any time before the end of May, I have no doubt that we can make graduation and prom happen...even if that means some time in June. Jostens is willing to print an insert card for graduation announcements with the new date. If we do not return to school at all this semester, we may have to make a hard decision.
So, for right now, most seniors have completed everything necessary for graduation. We will make any seniors aware of any fines that need to be taken care of before graduation. We will soon announce an online method in order to pay fines. Seniors not on track for graduation need to get busy and take care of any credit recovery.
This has certainly been a most unusual end to a senior year. The staff and I are not happy that we did not get to give you a proper send off here at school, but this situation is out of our control. I look forward to seeing you as soon as it is allowed. Remember, once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat!
With love,
Mrs. Hill