 Wildcat Weekly
November 3rd, 2019
Teacher Professional Development Day
This coming Tuesday, November 5th, our teachers have their next inservice for professional development. In keeping with our #H3 (Help Others, Help Your School, and Help Yourself), this is an opportunity for our staff to help their school by helping themselves. Some of the sessions our staff will be working on for the day include:
- Continued work and discussion to define our school culture goals
- Developing structures for student interventions
- Becoming more aware of steps we can take to increase cyber security
- Work with a "coach" to recognize and act upon social injustice and equity in our school systems
- Individual teacher "Passion Projects" to help improve our students' experiences
So while our students are at home on Tuesday, know that we will be working hard to make our school the best it can be to provide opportunities for their successes!
-Shane Hartley, Deer Park Jr/Sr High School Principal
What's New?
State of the Schools Address Video
On Wednesday, November 30, 2019, Deer Park Superintendent Jay Phillips hosted the 2019-20 State of the Schools address.
The presentation features Deer Park administrators Dr. Stace Orso (Director of Curriculum and Instruction), Patty Hadden (Director of Student Services), Jake Snyder (Director of Communications), Jim Stoll (Director of Business Operations) and Jeff Lewis (Interim Treasurer).
The administrators gave updates on the current state of Deer Park Schools, including information about the ODE Report Card, student programming, communications, capital improvement projects, and district finances. You can watch the entire State of the Schools address by clicking the link here.
Terrace Metrics Survey Updates
For the last few weeks, we have provided information for our student resiliency survey that was given last Wednesday, October 30th, to our 9th and 12th grade students. Known as the "Terrace Metrics" survey, the results provided an opportunity for our counselors to have valuable conversations with some of our students. We want to let you know that our internet provider had some technology glitches that morning, and we are looking for a date to reissue the survey to some of our students. Please contact me at hartley.s@dpccsd.org with any questions.
School Safety
Our students' and staff's safety is always are first and most important priority at Deer Park Jr/Sr High School, and we sometimes participate in drills to practice for potential unsafe situations. In addition to fulfilling state mandates, these are important opportunities for our school to rehearse and learn should a dangerous situation occur. This past Tuesday, our administration shared information with our 7th grade students on the basics of our emergency response of "Run, Hide, Fight." While we continue to acknowledge that these are difficult conversations to have, we also recognize their necessity. Our teachers have also held conversations with our students regarding plans of actions in dangerous situations as it pertains to being in their own classrooms. For more information on "Run, Hide, Fight," here is a link to the Department of Homeland Security's website. Please contact me at hartley.s@dpccsd.org with any questions.
News from the Counseling Department
End of Course Exams Retake Opportunities: Some of our high school students may be a little bit behind schedule on their track towards gaining points for their State of Ohio End of Course Exams. If your student is identified as being behind schedule, you will receive a letter in the mail indicating such, as well as information regarding retakes. Retakes will take place in early December. For more information regarding end of course exam points requirements, please see this link to the Ohio Department of Education Graduation Requirements.
Advice from On To College (Junior High Edition!): In the past, we have provided some links to John Baylor Prep's On To College articles. On To College has also just recently released podcasts, and here is a link to one about Maximizing Middle School! As always, these are great and short snippets of information to help students and parents of all grade levels as they plan their future!
Pride Survey Information: As we continue our drug prevention efforts at Deer Park Jr/Sr High, we ask for your support as we administer the PreventionFIRST! Student Survey. This is an anonymous student survey about alcohol use, drug use, and other health behaviors. The survey information will assist us in assessing our successes or failures in educating students of the health and safety value of not using alcohol and drugs. The PreventionFIRST! Student Survey is a thoroughly researched group of questions that can give us valuable insight into many positive and negative student health behaviors. The survey is an anonymous survey and students are not required to participate, it is voluntary on the part of each student.
If you prefer that your child not participate please inform our office, in writing, before Nov. 15th as the survey will be administered the week of Nov. 25th .
A copy of the survey is available in the main office if you would like to review its content. A summary of the information gathered will be shared with parents when results are obtained. Thank you for supporting our efforts to help students understand that alcohol and drug use can be harmful to their health and safety.
Cap and Gown Information for the Class of 2020: Graduation packets were sent home with students in October. Students can obtain extra copies in the CCR office or they can be accessed electronically at
https://www.herffjones.com/product/graduation .
Q: When should I order my cap and gown?
A: The cost of cap and gowns will go up starting December 6th-order ASAP because cost increases and to ensure appropriate sizing.
Q: How can I order my cap and gown?
A: Orders can be placed on-line at www.graduateserviceinc.com or by phone at 513-272-5890. Graduates Services will accept cash, check or credit card.
Q: What if I cannot afford a cap and gown?
A: Please contact Ms. Madden at 513-936-4684
Miami University has announced it will provide a full tuition scholarship to one person from each of Ohio's 88 counties in 2020.
The new Governor's Scholarship will cover recipients' tuition and fees beginning next school year.
"This new scholarship affirms our dedication to educating Ohio’s students and affording them the global education, leadership opportunities and innovative learning experiences offered at Miami," said Bethany Perkins, director of admission at Miami.
ACT Score Reporting: Because of the way the ACT score ordering process is structured—you get to pick which score or scores to send to which colleges. Here are some of thoughts on sending your ACT scores out:
Pros
- Allows you to choose what colleges to send your scores-this is helpful if you don’t want a certain college to see all your ACT scores.
- It's also perfect for colleges that superscore—you can send your schools just those test dates that have your highest section scores.
- It’s also the best way to send your highest score to scholarship programs and the NAIA.
Cons
- You have to be careful and read your target colleges' score submission policies carefully. Failing to send all your ACT scores to colleges that require all of them could jeopardize your application!
- Because each score report can only have one college and one score on it, sending out many reports can get really expensive fast.
In Case You Missed It
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.
Additional Notes from the Guidance Office
October is National Bullying Prevention Month. The biggest struggle that most schools have is students willing to stand up and report unkindness. Here are some links to resources that parents and guardians can use to reinforce how to stand up to bullies and deal with unkindness.
https://www.stopbullying.gov/
https://www.pacer.org/bullying/nbpm/
Seniors: As part of the college application process, it's important to fill out the FAFSA form as part of receiving Federal Student Aide. Please see this link for important information you'll need to fill out the FAFSA form!
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
November 3rd - Deer Park Jr/Sr High School performs at the State Competition at 12:45p.m. at Dayton Welcome Stadium
November 5th - Teacher In-Service Day (No School for Students)
November 6th-9th - 8th Grade Washington D.C. Trip
November 12th - Lifetouch Picture Retake Day
November 16th - Band TAG Fundraiser
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