 Wildcat Weekly
September 22nd, 2019
Professional Development
As you likely know, our students do not report to school this coming Friday, September 27th. Unless you've ever been in education (other than a student of course!), you may not know what actually goes on during these mysterious "Inservice" days! For a behind the scenes summary, here's what our teachers will be working on that day:
- Staff meeting to discuss and build our building culture
- Work with outside organizations to develop best strategies for working with our students social and emotional needs
- Coaching sessions with local experts to improve teaching practices
- And more!
As we ask our students to continue to learn, we push ourselves to continue to learn and get better so that we can help ourselves, help our students, and help our school!
-Shane Hartley, Deer Park Jr/Sr High School Principal
What's New?
Deer Park App
Download the new and improved Deer Park Schools App! You can sync school events to your calendar, pay fees on EZ Pay, view the lunch and breakfast menus, email staff from the directory, and receive push notifications for any important school alerts (snow days, late starts, etc.).
This app is free to all Apple and Android users! Use this link to get more information!
World Affairs Hunger Seminar Opportunity
There is an opportunity for Deer Park students to attend the 2020 World Affairs Hunger Seminar in Wisconsin next June. The Blue Ash Rotary Club is offering to send a student covering all costs except for transportation. Students will meet with youth from around the world to discuss the global issues that impact our society. For more information, click this link. Please email me at hartley.s@dpccsd.org if you would like details!
Mobile Dentist Opportunity
The Mobile Dentist is scheduled to come to the Jr./Sr. High School on Monday, November 11th. Forms will be sent home to all 7th and 8th graders through their teachers, and forms are available in the front office for high school students.
News from the Counseling Department
While the dangers of e cigarettes and vaping are becoming more and more obvious through local and nation news reports (just Google it!), teenage usage is also on the rise. We want to pass along some basic information to parents that may help inform you as you discuss use of these dangerous chemicals that too many teenagers are putting into their bodies. Please click this link to find more information and talking points.
In Case You Missed It
Free and Reduced Lunch Important Information
Benefits for Free/Reduced Lunch expire on September 24th. For more information and to reapply, please read here.
Homecoming 2019!
The 2019 Homecoming Dance will take place on October 5, 2019 from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Deer Park students in grades 9-12 are able to attend, and any guest must have a guest form completed before purchasing tickets. Tickets are $25 and must be bought before the dance.
Ticket sales will be after school on: 9/23, 9/25, 10/1, 10/2, 10/3, and 10/4 as well as during lunch on: 9/25, 10/2, and 10/3.
Quality Profile and State Report Card
Every year, Deer Park Schools, along with more than 85 school districts throughout Ohio, release a comprehensive, community-oriented companion to the State’s District Report Card. Called a “Quality Profile,” the report includes additional accountability measures that are not captured by the state report card, but define a high quality education.
Click here to read the district’s Quality Profile.
Ohio recently released District and Building Report Cards. Overall, Deer Park Jr/Sr High School received a "B" grade, and Deer Park Schools received a "B" as well. Here is a link to our building's report card, and here is a link to the district's report card. The report card itself has many details and for a complete guide to the Ohio School Report Cards, please visit the Ohio Department of Education.
Washington D.C. Parent Meeting
There will be a Washington D.C. Parent Information meeting on October 14th at 6:00 p.m. at the Deer Park Jr/Sr High School. This meeting will be located in our "Cat Den" room, which is located in the front hallway of the building. The meeting is for parents/guardians of any 8th grader currently planning on attending the Washington D.C. trip. See you there!
Conference Times
Parent/Teacher Conferences are coming up in a little over a month. While we encourage you to reach out to teachers with any concerns before conferences, this is also a great time to have some great conversations about how to best work together with our teachers to prepare your students for success.
Sign-up information will be coming in future weeks, but we want to communicate with you the times for these days:
October 24th - 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (No School all day)
October 25th - 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (No School all day)
PTO Information and Concession Workers
Our Parent-Teacher Organization has kicked off 2019-2020 already, and they have already been helpful to our school in some big and some subtle ways (remember that free Kona Ice at Chromebook handout night? Thank you PTO!). Please consider joining the PTO if you have not yet already done so. More information can be found here
Additionally, our PTO does most of its fund raising through concessions. Please reach out to them if you are willing and able to volunteer your time at one of our athletic events this fall or this winter! Thank you.
Fees
Please be proactive by paying your student's school fees as soon as you can. Unfortunately, we are no longer creating payment plans for students wishing to purchase homecoming tickets. In order to purchase tickets for homecoming, the following fee balances apply:
- Any student in grades 9-11 must have a balance of $500 or less
- Any student in grade 12 must have a balance of $300 or less
Here is a link to our EZ Pay site for fee payment. You may also pay through our board office or front office at the Jr/Sr High School. Thank you for working with us on this!
Homework Help
Various opportunities for students to get extra time and help exist after school throughout each week. Here are the Homework Club days and times we are currently offering:
Junior High Homework Club
Thursdays - Ms. Malkwoski (Room 151)
Math Homework Club
Monday - Ms.Ginn (Room 226)
Tuesday - Mr. Benjamin (Room 224)
Wednesday - Mr. Gabbard (Room 256)
Thursday - Ms. Adler (Room 157)
9th Grade Homework Club is also underway. Students and parents can reach out to their teachers for more information for days and times.
Additional Notes from the Guidance Office
Attention Parents of Gifted Students: Registration for Super Saturday classes for the fall 2019 Term opened on September 1st, 2019! For more information, please check out the Fall 2019 Class List. For more information or to register, please visit online registration page.
Drug Prevention: Deer Park Jr/Sr HS is committed to helping students make safe choices! To help us with this, please consider signing up for Know! Parent Tips. These short yet informative articles from the Prevention Action Alliance have solid information on how you can prevent your students from the use/misuse of illegal substances.
Naviance Student Information: Deer Park Jr/Sr High School students will continue to use the Naviance platform as part of their college and career readiness efforts. While the look and name has changed, the link is still found by clicking on Naviance Family Connections on the main highschool website under "Quick Links." Your student's account will be their district email address and student ID number. Students can also download the app to their phone. Please check out this great tool together.
Need to Know by Grade Level
Junior High: Coming up October 1 and 2, our 7th and 8th grade students will take part in the programs The ID Project. This program identifies disrespect, stereotyping, and bullying as the main causes negatively impacting middle and high school climate and seeks to help our students grow through a day of fun activities, presentations, and learning about each other. The program from Changepoint Learning is designed to give adolescents key tools that will serve them lifelong. The primary emphasis will be Self-Leadership focusing on the following:
-SMART Action Goals and SMART Action Plans
-Future Self (focusing on personal values and who each one desires to become)
-Time Management (utilizing the metaphors of Four Quadrants/Big Rocks
-Key Behaviors of Leadership
-Qualities of Character
The program does involve learning about the challenges and hardships that peers have gone through and students are given the opportunity to share their experiences only if they are willing. While we hope that all students will participate, you may choose to opt out if you do not wish for your child to participate. To do so, please contact us at 891-0010 and/or if you have any questions, you can contact Jason Spelic at 936-4652 or at spelic.j@dpccsd.org.
Freshmen: 9th graders will start the year reviewing the requirements for graduation and the tentative options for after highschool. Please talk with your student about how their 9th grade year will impact their 12th grade possibilities!
Sophomores and Juniors: Deer Park High School is offering the opportunity for students to take the PSAT to its students. The cost of the assessment is $17. Payment should be given to Secretary Mrs. Vickrey by October 7th (checks can be made payable to Deer Park High School). Below is some information about the PSAT.
As students begin preparing for college, the PSAT is an excellent opportunity to receive feedback on strengths and weaknesses on skills necessary for college study. In addition to receiving invaluable information about skill level, the PSAT also enters juniors into the National Merit Scholarship. Additionally, the PSAT helps students to prepare for the PSAT by becoming familiar with the kinds of questions that will be on the SAT, as well as becoming familiar with the formatting of directions often seen in standardized testing.
The PSAT provides the first step for students as they begin to prepare for the next step after high school. Please feel free to contact Corrie Madden (madden.c@dpccsd.org) with any questions.
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.
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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.
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Twitter: Follow Deer Park Jr./Sr. High School for the most up-to-date news and happenings! @DeerParkHS, @DeerParkSchools and @dpcounselor.
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Facebook: follow us at Deer Park Community City Schools and Deer Park Jr/Sr High School
- Text Messages: Through a great program titled Remind, we can provide text message alerts/reminders in a safe, confidential manner.Remind never shows a person's cell number, which means we never see your number and you never see ours. Standard text messaging rates do apply. To subscribe, send an individual text message to: 81010 with the message @dpwildcats. Follow the instructions you receive via text message to complete your registration. Seniors also have a text messaging service. To subscribe, send an individual text message to: 81010 with the message @dpseniors
Upcoming Events
September 27th - Staff Inservice (No School for Students)
October 4th - Homecoming Parade and Football Game
October 5th - Homecoming Dance
October 24th and 25th - Conferences (No School for Students)
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