Mrs. Vereyken’s Weekly Update 1/25 – 1/29

3^rd Quarter is well under way! We are almost through the first half of the quarter. Please make sure you are checking behind your student by logging into your Canvas Observer account weekly to ensure your student is completing their assignments on time. Our teachers are here to help, please reach out to them if you have any questions or concerns regarding your student’s progress in their courses. You can schedule a virtual parent/teacher conference and get insight on your student and how they are progressing. Thank you for your help in supporting our students!

Shout out to our Kindergarten- 2^nd Grade students and families for a WONDERFUL first week back reopening last week. We transitioned our Kindergarten through 2^nd Grade students back on campus last week and it was a wonderful sight to see. Families, thank you for your continued flexibility and patience with us as we navigate this transition with the additional safety guards in place to help prevent the spread of Covid-19. Our car lines were extremely successful for the first time running them in almost a year! We hope to continue shaving a few extra minutes off our total time for arrival/dismissal next week once we get familiar with our “new routine”. Shout out to our AMAZING CGS faculty/staff who all jumped in to help make last week successful for our students and families. #CGSisbetterthanbest!

(Please read the information below carefully to ensure you are “up-to-date” on all of the updates/announcements/information being provided)

Report Card Audit:

CGS Families, we greatly appreciate your patience with us as we had to delay the distribution of Middle and High School report cards to last Friday, 1/22. The reason for the delay was due to having a team in place helping us “audit” all of our report cards to ensure the accuracy and precision of every report card printed. Our Report Card Committee worked endlessly combing through EVERY middle and high school student and EVERY course they were enrolled in during Semester 1 and EVERY assignment they were assigned. This was an extremely time consuming and tedious task but now we can honorably report that ALL student report cards in grades 6^th-12^th are accurate for Quarter 1, Quarter 2, and Semester 1. Unfortunately, there were some mathematical discrepancies and some students will notice a change in their first Quarter report card grades. Some students had grades increase for courses and some students had grades decrease. If your student’s grade decreased significantly, you will receive an email from me with this information so that you are aware. The reasons for decreases or increases in Quarter 1 grades came from the following:

Syncing Issues: This was one of the major discrepancies found. Information that was input into the Canvas platform did not accurately transfer over to the PowerSchool platform. PowerSchool is the platform that actually “prints” and “stores” student grades. Sometimes, a teacher had the intention of having an assignment “sync” over to PowerSchool but somehow the correct “button” wasn’t selected to enable this function. At times, some assignments went over but there was a glitch and the platform only pulled “half” of the class’s grades over, and not all. These issues were combed through one-by-one by our committee and all teachers with this issue made these corrections.

Blanks for missing Assignments: All assignments have been accounted for. There should be no “blanks” left in any gradebook for any student. If a student does not complete an assignment, there will be a “0” placed in the assignment grade until the assignment is completed. There are times when a teacher may “exempt” a student from an assignment depending on the teacher’s discretion, but there will be a “purple /” in the assignment place that shows that the assignment is being “exempt” and not held for or against a student. No longer will there be “blanks” in the gradebook for any student. Every assignment given will hold a “value”. This is something that we have corrected for every teacher’s gradebook to ensure consistency and equity amongst all of our students.

Category Weights: Another issue that was found when completing the report card audit was held within the “category weights” (Tests/Quizzes, Classwork/Homework, etc.) that are input into a teacher’s gradebook to account for the “value” that each assignment shall hold. There weren’t “many” of these errors but our committee did fix any gradebooks that did not reflect the true values of the assignments as listed out in our Student/Parent Handbook. We ensured that the same weights that were input in Canvas at the beginning of the year also reflected the category weights input into the PowerSchool platform as well.

Grade Floor: One issue we found with a select group of teacher gradebooks was that the grade floor value of a 50% was put into the wrong location. We changed our “normal” procedure for the location of where to place the grade floor prior to the first Quarter grade completion date, but some of our teachers unknowingly put in the grade floor value in the wrong location. Some of our teachers placed the grade floor value into the 1^st Quarter grade spot and it should have been put into H1 for Semester long courses, and in the S1 spot for yearlong courses. This is mathematically the most equitable way to ensure that all students no matter the course they took have the same opportunities as other students. This issue was addressed and every grade floor was input for all eligible students correctly. If your student was applicable for a grade floor, you will have a document attached to your child’s report card stating this information with more clarity.

Those were the MAJOR updates/changes found when completing our audit. We greatly appreciate your support and understanding as we identified and made these corrections. We also apologize for any frustration or disappointment we may have caused by making these changes. We pride ourselves on academic integrity and once these mistakes/errors were found, we all jumped into gear to ensure all students have accurate and precise records.

Our Report Card Committee will be auditing all 1^st-5^th Grade Report Cards for Quarter 1, Quarter 2, and Semester 1 next week. We will notify all 1^st-5^th grade parents if there are discrepancies found and the actions taken to correct them.

At this time, we have turned our “syncing” function OFF for Canvas and PowerSchool. We will manually turn it back on once we ensure Quarter 3 functions are accurately enabled between both platforms. At this time, you will need to monitor Canvas only for your student’s Quarter 3 progress until we turn the syncing function back on. We will not turn this function on until we can personally guarantee all courses, all grades, and all assignments are being pulled correctly for each teacher’s course(s) from Canvas to PowerSchool.

If you have any questions regarding your student’s grades, please feel free to contact me, Mrs. Moore, Mrs. Nina or Mrs. Reagan and we’d be happy to help clarify.

Any remaining report cards not picked up tomorrow, 1/25 from 9:00 A.M. until 4:00 P.M. during material distribution will be mailed home to your student.

Attendance:

Attendance is still an issue for some of our students. You will see a note on the report cards that specifically speaks to this. We are still REQUIRED to report daily attendance for our students. This is NOT optional. It takes a few “seconds” to complete the attendance check in requirement daily for your student. Your student should be working on school work EVERY school day MONDAY-FRIDAY. I’ve gotten a lot of “reasons” why students couldn’t complete this daily assignment, and it not acceptable. We will begin implementing our attendance policy this semester. We have tried to offer grace and compassion the first semester, but at this point, everyone is well aware of our system and of our expectations. Once your student accumulates excessive absences, you will be required to meet with an attendance appeal committee and can be in jeopardy of violating the law in regards to truancy. Your student may also be in danger of not obtaining course credit or grade credit and be retained based on our policies found in our Student/Parent Handbook. This is a serious task that must be completed daily. Please reach out to me if you do not understand the severity of this process and the importance.

Thank you to all of you who DAILY ensure that your student completes his or her attendance assignment, we greatly appreciate you!! Thank you for helping us enforce the expectations put forth upon us from NCDPI and for helping us stay in “compliance” with the state.

3^rd-5^th Grade Survey:

Parents of students in Grades 3^rd-5^th, please make sure that you are filling out the “return to school” survey that was emailed to you last week. This survey closes on Friday, 1/29. Please make sure that you mark your student’s decision to either return to school for “in-person” learning on 2/22 or if your child will stay remote for the 3^rd quarter. This survey information is vital to our planning and preparation for your student’s return. Please be sure to fill out this survey as soon as possible.

Testing:

Please see the updated testing schedule attached. Testing begins this week! Please make sure that you can make plans for your student to attend on-campus testing. This is vital to your student’s success and for our school to accurately assist your student in their educational journey this school year. Thank you for your flexibility and willingness to help us evaluate where your student is academically and how to assist them this school year. If you have any questions about testing, please reach out to our testing coordinator, Ms. Robyn at robyncox@cgsnc.org.

Pictures:

Please see the attached Yearbook Photo schedule for your student’s assigned “yearbook photo” timeslot. Yearbook photos will take place on Feb. 5^th. K-2 students on campus will take their photos in the morning, followed by 3^rd-11^th Grade students. If you have any questions regarding the procedures in place for your student to take photos, please contact Ms. Peel, our yearbook advisor at abigailpeel@cgsnc.org. If you are interested in placing your yearbook order, please click on this link.

Athletics:

Parents and Student-Athletes,

The CGS Athletic Department is going to begin the process for signing up to try-out Spring Sports. Due to COVID-19, this process will be much different than in the past. We are asking our CGS community to be patient and understanding as we embark on a very different year. There will be many different guidelines and protocols we will need to follow. We will need to communicate, be open to last minute changes and understand that everything we do has to keep our student-athletes, coaches, athletic staff members, and families safe at all times.

Please keep in mind when signing up to try-out, you MUST be eligible to try-out. Below is the CGS quarter grade policy, NC DPI and NCHSAA Semester Grade Policy AND CGS/NC DPI/NCHSAA Attendance Policy

1. Academics – In order to be eligible to participate in athletics, the student-athlete must pass at least 2 block classes and 2 period classes during the last quarter completed prior to the period of participation per Clover Garden School policy AND pass the equivalent of 3 full block classes during the preceding semester (Quarter 1 and Quarter 2) per the NCHSAA policy for high school and the DPI policy for middle school.

2. Attendance – It is a policy of Clover Garden that every student-athlete attend school. Student-athletes must not miss 10 or more days in a semester or they will be ineligible for the next semester. If a student-athlete misses 10 or more days they may appeal their absences by filling out the Athletic Attendance Appeal Form. Medical documentation is needed to be eligible for an Athletic Attendance Appeal.

It is our current plan to begin Varsity Girls Soccer, Varsity Softball and Varsity Boys Tennis Monday, March 1; MS Girls Soccer, MS Softball, MS Baseball and MS Co-Ed Golf on Monday, March 15; and Varsity Baseball and Varsity Girls Tennis on Monday, April 12.

Please submit the form below to sign up. Let the CGS Athletic Director, Kelly Moyer, know if you have any questions. You can reach her via email at kellymoyer@cgsnc.org or by phone at 336-586-9440 ext. 402.

You can print this form off or pick them up in the front office from Mrs. Lassiter. Forms can be submitted by scanning the documents (must be in PDF form) and emailing them to kellymoyer@cgsnc.org, dropped off in the front office to Mrs. Lassiter, or faxed to 336-586-9477 attention: Kelly Moyer.

Mandatory Student-Athlete Spring Sports Try-out form – In order to get the process moving, we are requiring anyone in middle school or high school who plans on trying out for a spring sport to complete this form no later than Monday, February 8, 2021. You will not be permitted to try-out if the form has not been submitted by the due date. After the Athletic Director, Kelly Moyer, receives the forms, she will be contacting each of you via email for further directions on the mandatory packet of forms as well as the mandatory parent, athlete and coaches zoom meeting.

Band:

“Attention all current Marching Grizzlies students and families! Marching band will be able to rehearse on campus beginning the week of February 2^nd. Details regarding the practice schedule, Covid-19 procedures, and music can be found in a message from Mr. Babb earlier last week, or on the school website. If you are intending on participating, please sign up using this Google Form . If you have any questions, please reach out to Mr. Babb. We hope to see you there!”

National School of Choice Week:

National School of Choice Week begins today! This is a week where we take a moment to appreciate the opportunity that WE at Clover Garden School are a “School of Choice” and our parents are provided with the opportunity to “choose” where their children attend school. Education is not a “one size fits all” approach! We are given the opportunity to “choose” which school works best for our children and that’s a WONDERFUL option to have. Click here for more information on what school choice means! Click here for more details in regards to School Choice Week 2021.

Thank you for choosing Clover Garden School as your child’s “School of Choice”. Our Student Council will be doing some activities later this month and into February to honor our school and continue shining a positive light on this opportunity for education made available for our students and CGS families!

School Board Appreciation Month:

January is School Board Appreciation Month. This year has been one of the toughest years ever to serve as a school board member. Making the tough calls that may not be the popular decision is tough in any year, but given the past year of operating a school during an unprecedented pandemic has been incredibly difficult! Please take a moment this month to send us a letter, picture, or note of appreciation for our Clover Garden School Board of Directors. They work endlessly and tirelessly to help our school continue to grow and flourish. Their jobs are 100%voluntary and involve much more time and effort than just “showing up” for a meeting once a month. They sacrifice their personal time to ensure CGS faculty, staff, students, and families have what they need to be successful. THANK YOU to our CGS Board Members!! You’re appreciated and loved! Thanks for all that you do for CGS!

Material Distribution:

-On Monday, January 25, 2021, we will have another distribution of materials for students. If your student has any of the courses listed below, please make sure that you come by campus and pick up their materials. Please stay in your vehicle and we will bring the material out to you. Please enter from the Burch Bridge Road entrance and travel around the building to the front circle. We request that you wear your face mask while interacting with our faculty/staff and that you remain 6 feet apart to social distance. If you’ve been in contact with anyone that has tested positive for Covid-19 or if you have symptoms of Covid-19 yourself, please do not come on campus. Thank you for helping us keep our faculty/staff safe!

Students with last names A-M will need to pick up materials from 9:00 A.M. until 12:00 P.M.

Students with last names N-Z will need to pick up materials from 1:00 P.M. until 4:00 P.M.

Materials needing to be picked up from students on: Monday, January 25 , 2021
Mrs. Long & Mrs. Savage	3rd Grade	Math, Science, Social Studies and ELA support materials (if you are in Mrs. Savage’s homeroom and will be on campus Monday for iReady assessments, you can pick up your packet then)

Feedback Opportunities:

Here’s a reminder of the documents available to provide questions, concerns, or comments during remote learning.

Questions about Canvas?

Email canvasassistance@cgsnc.org

Questions about Technology?

Email techsupport@cgsnc.org