Principal’s Message
January 7, 2019
Souper Bowl of Caring:
We are participating in the Sopuer Bowl of Caring again this year. This is a food drive that benefits the Utah Food Bank, but, more specifically, it is run in Granite by the Granite Education Foundation, and all the food we collect will be distributed to school-based food banks in Granite School District. The number of schools in the district operating their own food banks has increased the last few years, and this is the main food drive of the year that helps supply those pantries. Our students can bring canned food or money in to be collected. Money is useful because the food bank is able to turn one donated dollar into the equivalent of seven dollars of buying power through the various agreements they have with suppliers.
The SBOs are running our food drive and they have decided to have a class competition for the drive between all 2nd period classes. Students can bring in food or money and take it to their second period teacher for collection. Totals will be kept and the winning class will earn a little party for their efforts. We encourage everyone to participate by donating non-perishable food items or money to our drive.
2nd Quarter:
Second quarter ends this Thursday. Please check with your student(s) to make sure they have taken care of things in their classes. I recommend that everyone get into their parent portal and check out Gradebook. If you have any questions, it’s always better to email teachers early. It’s best to resolve questions and issues PRIOR to Friday when teachers finalize their grades for the quarter.
We will be distributing new schedules to students in first period on Monday. We will have all students go to their current first period class, will distribute new schedules, and then will give students a few minutes to get to their new class if it is different. The counselors are working on schedule changes this week, so if you or your student know of a change that needs to be made to their schedule for 3rd quarter, Tuesday or Wednesday of this week are the best times to take care of it.
Spotlight on Skyline:
All eighth graders will be going to Skyline High on January 15 from 8:30-10:30am for Spotlight on Skyline. During this time, they will have the opportunity to hear about the programs and activities available to them at Skyline and will have plenty of opportunity to talk to Skyline students about the various clubs, sports, academic programs, and activities. We will be bussing the students for this activity.
Churchill on Parade
Churchill on Parade will be January 23 from 6-7:30pm. This is our school’s open house night for any prospective students. The event is geared toward incoming sixth graders for next year, but if you have a friend who will be going into 7th or 8th grade and would like to check out the school, Churchill on Parade is a great night to come meet the teachers, see the school, and ask me questions about our great school.
Open Enrollment:
The Early Open Enrollment window is open until February. Open Enrollment is the state law that allows families to choose which school they would like to attend. The following is the official letter from Granite School District regarding Open Enrollment:
Dear Parent/Guardian,
Granite School District provides school choice enrollment in all schools where space is available. Parents are responsible for transportation when exercising school choice. This letter explains Granite School District’s Open Enrollment Guidelines; Open Enrollment is necessary for students to attend a school other than their home boundary school.
There are two open enrollment periods: Early Open Enrollment and Late Open Enrollment. The Early Open Enrollment period is the recommended time to enroll for the next school year. Late Open Enrollment period is for the current year and may be applied for at any time. Early open enrollment period for the 2019/2020 school year begins on Monday, December 3, 2018 and ends on Tuesday, February 19, 2019. Open Enrollment Applications are available at all schools, and are processed in the order received. Students residing within Granite School District boundaries are given priority. Enrollment depends on space available in the requested grade, class, or program. Open Enrollment requests do not require a release from the student’s home school or district.
A one-time, non-refundable $5.00 processing fee, payable to the requested school, may be charged at the time the application is submitted. This fee can be waived for qualified applicants.
If your student is accepted for Open Enrollment, annual reapplication is not required—as long as the student remains in the same school, and space is available. When a student transitions from elementary school to junior high, or from junior high to high school, there is no automatic feeder system for Open Enrollment; therefore, reapplication is necessary to attend a school outside of the student’s home boundary school.
For more detailed information, refer to the back of the Open Enrollment Application or Granite School District’s website: www.graniteschools.org; select Departments>Prevention and Student Placement>Open Enrollment Guidelines.
The Early Open Enrollment period is an important time, and I recommend that everyone submit their paperwork during this window. The window is important because the school uses the applications we receive during this time to submit a preliminary enrollment number to the district so that we can get preliminary FTE allocated to us. The FTE is what we use to determine the number of teachers we have in the building and the programs we can offer. It is much easier for our school to accept Open Enrollment Applications if they are received during the Early Application Window as opposed to those received after the February 20 deadline. This year we did get to the point where we denied Late Open Enrollment Applications and placed students on a waiting list due to our core classes reaching capacity. I know that has not generally been the case at Churchill and people have not felt a sense of urgency to get their application turned in during the Early Window, but it is important to change that perspective and get it in.
I would also like to remind everyone that you do not need to fill out an Open Enrollment Application each year, but you DO need to fill one out if you are changing schools. So, for any of our eighth graders who are at Churchill via Open Enrollment, they will need to fill out a form if they would like to attend Skyline next year. Out-of-boundary fifth graders at any of our elementary schools will need to fill one out to attend Churchill.
As always, if you or anyone you know would like to check out Churchill, you can call the main office and speak to Mr. Peterson or me about setting up a time for them to take a tour of the school. If you have friends who live out of the boundaries who would like to see the school they can do the same. We have already begun doing tours and have done around eight in the past month. The phone number for the main office is 385-646-5144. Our email addresses are jeleroy@graniteschools.org and wcpeterson@graniteschools.org
Student Drop-off:
With the return of snowy mornings, we are having many parents using the east parking lot as a drop-off zone. This is not a drop-off area. Please use the west parking lot loop for drop of as that area has been designed and designated for drop-off.
Spanish Students:
Ms. Gedge will be out for the rest of this week after having missed last week. She knows the quarter is ending and wants to make sure students can still turn in missing work for credit prior to the end of the quarter. She has asked that all late/missing work be turned into her via email. Her email address is mjgedge@graniteschools.org. If you are turning in a worksheet-type assignment, she is asking that you take a photo of the completed assignment and then send it to her email.
Sports Update:
We want to congratulate the girls basketball team for winning the district championship when the defeated Hunter Jr. in the championship game. The played great defense in the game and held Hunter to 15 points for the game. The Churchill girls are having a great year so far. There have been three sports; cross-country, soccer, and basketball; and Churchill has won all three championships.
Volleyball started last week and continues this week. Volleyball has the shortest intramural period of any of the sports, and teams will be selected this Thursday, January 10. The first games are on January 17.
Class Fees:
Class fees for 3rd Quarter/2nd Semester will be added to student accounts at the end of January. Please make sure to check accounts and pay outstanding fees.
After School:
We are having some problems with students staying and hanging out in the building after school gets out. Please make sure your students head home when school releases. We have added a bell that rings at 3pm Monday-Thursday and 12:45pm on Fridays to remind students to leave. Once those times come and go, the only students who should be in the building are those under the direct supervision of an adult, meaning they are in Homework Club, another club meeting, are at practice/intramurals, or are at rehearsal.
Attendance Issues:
We have a lot of people calling the main office to handle attendance issues. Please call the Counseling Center for attendance issues. Their phone number is 385-646-5145. Calling the main office will only mean it will take longer for you to take care of the attendance as they will have to put you on hold and then transfer you back to the Counseling Center.
Important Dates:
Jan. 8 Band/Orchestra Elementary Visits
Jan. 8 PTSA Meeting, 11:30am
Jan. 8 Oakridge Registration visit, 9:45am
Jan. 9 Eastwood Registration visit, 1pm
Jan. 9 GT Play Fieldtrip
Jan. 10 Morningside Registration visit, 11:20am
Jan. 10 Volleyball Team Selection
Jan. 10 Quarter 2 Ends
Jan. 11 No School for Students
Jan. 14 Quarter 3 Begins
Jan. 15 Spotlight on Skyline, 8:30-10:30am
Jan. 17 Volleyball vs. Bonneville (Boys away)
Jan. 21 No School
Jan. 22 Volleyball vs. Valley (Boys away)
Jan. 23 Churchill on Parade, 6pm
Jan. 24 Volleyball vs. Granite Park (Girls away)
Jan. 25 Driggs Registration visit, 9am
Jan. 29 Volleyball vs. Wasatch (Girls away)
Sincerely,
Josh LeRoy
Principal
