Thank You!

With one week of our school completed, I'd like to thank all of the families for helping us make this a smooth transition back.  Despite the challenges we face, we've had a great school reopening!  While we know that we are not yet able to be in-person full time (though it is our ultimate goal), we also know that we are easing back into normalcy.  This past week was exciting for us as we are able to get back into doing what we love: working with our students and our community to educate Deer Park students.  Thank you for all of your support! 

Shane Hartley
Principal, Deer Park Jr/Sr High School
hartley.s@dpccsd.org 

What's New?

Entry Reminders and Updates: Doors open and temperature checks begin at 7:55am.  PLEASE PLAN ACCORDINGLY FOR INCLEMENT WEATHER.  Students and parents are encouraged to arrive at school as close as possible to 7:55 a.m.  Other reminders:

• Students will need to socially distance themselves while waiting in line for temperature scans.  There are marked locations at each entry to help. 
• Entry Locations:
  7th Graders - Back doors by cafeteria/band room (South West corner)
  8th and 9th Graders - Front doors by auditorium (South East corner)
  10th Graders - Breezeway gym entrance doors (West)
  11th and 12th Graders - Front main doors (East)
• Parents are suggested to drop their students off around the back of the building or at another close location.  The front gate by the auditorium will be closed for student drop off.
• UPDATE: Because our students have done such a great job being efficient in their morning entry, we will now allow students to go to their lockers before first bell.  Students should no longer be bringing backpacks/bookbags with them to any more classes.

Labor Day Week: Last week, Deer Park released the updated yearly calendar.  If you missed it, please click here for more information.   As part of the update, please see that A-Day Students will report to school on Tuesday (9/8/20) AND Wednesday (9/9/20).

School Photos: School photos will take place on September 8th and September 11th this year.  We are working with a new company, John Ritchie Photography, this year.  Look for additional information coming out soon as it relates to order forms and packages!

Counselor's Corner: Here is a link to this week's Counselor Corner!

Apex Learners: Extra Activities! We know that our Apex learners may feel less connected to their peers through their online experiences.  In order to help bridge this gap, our Apex teachers (Ms. Hibbett and Ms. Apke) have designed opportunities for further connections to be made!  Please see the links below for these activities.

Remote Learning Orientation and Video

Middle School Links and Extra Activities

High School Links and Extra Activities

In Case You Missed It

Wednesdays: Over the course of the first two weeks, teachers and administrators will be meeting on Wednesdays review processes and procedures.  If any adjustments need to be made and communicated out to our families, we will be sure to do so!

After Labor Day, teachers will be in the building holding "office hours" and offering instructional learning opportunities for students.  Students are expected to be engaged in their learning on Wednesdays as well.  Please see this document for more information as it relates to Wednesday Processes and Schedules.

Schoology: Deer Park Community City School District is excited to continue our partnership with Schoology.  Schoology is an integrated learning management solution (LMS) that provides support for district and school-wide communication. Schoology enables our parents and teachers to engage with learning materials and their school community from the classroom and beyond.  We believe that Schoology streamlines teacher, student, and parent communication while providing a user friendly and intuitive LMS for all users.

You should have previously received login credentials. However, if you need your parent access code, please reach out. If you have not signed up for Schoology, we encourage you to do so before school starts.  With Schoology, you can review grades, receive announcements and more, just by logging in to the website or checking the app on your smartphone. It is important that as a parent, you access Schoology through the parent code and not your student’s code, as each platform receives different information.

Website: www.schoology.com
Deer Park Parent Schoology Guide

If you have questions, please feel free to contact us at 513-891-5995.

A Day in the Life

Wonder what a typical day will look like for a student this year?

• Here is what A Day in the Life of a student who will be attending A/B Days may look like!
• Here is what A Day in the Life of a student who will be attending virtually may look like!

General Safety Information

While details for cleaning and maintaining a safe environment has been shared through previous press releases, we want to overall remind families that our school will follow many cleaning and safety procedures, including: Signs reminding students to wash hands and wear masks, closing off of drinking fountains (though water-bottle fill stations are still available), socially-distanced and grab-and-go lunches, eliminating shared school supplies in classrooms, and routines for regular cleaning of student desks.

Hybrid Learning: General Reminders

For students who are attending school "virtually" to start this school year, please see this press release from a few days ago (in case you missed it).

For students who are attending in person, we want to be sure to inform families that Fall 2020 IS NOT going to be the same as Spring 2020.  In the spring, our main goal as a school was to keep students engaged in their schooling.  Some students were able to continue their learning, and that was great.  But there were also many simple "completion" assignments and extended due dates.

Starting this school year, we know that students must continue to learn!  This is a critical partnership between our school and our families!  Teachers are working hard to create lesson plans that are more creative and more engaging for students, and we will be expecting students to do what they need to do outside of school in order to be successful.  Please know that we are always available to help our students, and we will be developing routines to help students get as much assistance as needed, especially on their non-attending days.

Hybrid learning is a challenge for all of us.  Teachers are re-thinking traditional lesson planning, and students are more responsible for their work outside of the building.  As always, please reach out to us any time you feel the need, and we are committed to communicating as clear and consistent as possible.

Staying Connected

There are multiple ways to stay connected to Deer Park Jr./Sr. High School. Please see the attached flyer for ways to stay connected through Email, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Text Messages.

• E-Mail: If you are not already signed up, please register for the e-mail communication. To register, simply go to www.deerparkcityschools.org and click on the button on the left side of the page that says “Subscribe to District News”. From there, you will send an email requesting that you be added to future email communication from the district.
• Twitter: Follow Deer Park Jr./Sr. High School for the most up-to-date news and happenings! @DeerParkHS, @DeerParkSchools and @dpcounselor.
• Facebook: follow us at Deer Park Community City Schools and Deer Park Jr/Sr High School