Dear Parents and Students of Granite Park Jr. High,
I want to begin by telling you how excited we are as a staff to have you at Granite Park Junior High this upcoming school year. We have missed our students and want you to know that we have chosen to be educators because we like working with great young people. This email is a little long due to the unusual times we are all living in. Please read this thoroughly.
My name is Chris Griffiths and I would like to introduce myself as the new Principal of Granite Park. I have been a part of Granite School District since 2003 as a teacher and as an administrator. I look forward to the opportunity of serving our students, parents, and school community. I have a great administrative team that I work with. If you have a concern, question, or a positive story to share, please contact the administrator that will be working with your student. We are here to help your student succeed.
·Chris Griffiths will work primarily with our 6th Grade students. Email cgriffiths@graniteschools.org
·Tim Clark oversees our 7th grade students. Email tclark2@graniteschools.org
·Kamaal Ahmad oversees our 8th grade students. Email ksahmad@graniteschools.org
The number one Priority for us is to make sure students and staff are healthy and safe when they return to school. As part of our re-opening plan we have established the following guidelines that will be implemented when school starts. These guidelines, and other expectations, will be explicitly taught to students starting the first day of school and will be reinforced throughout the year.
Face to Face and Distance Learning at Granite Park
To help ensure that students continue to receive a quality education at Granite Park, parents of Granite Park students will need to make a decision that fits their needs and the needs of their student. Granite Park will be offering two learning options for the school year. You may choose to return to school with face-to-face instruction OR take your courses online using our distance-learning curriculum. Our school has been working hard so we can provide both options to students based on their individual needs. As much as possible, the online courses will be the same as the face-to-face classes and both options will be taught by every teacher at Granite Park. If a student decides that online is best for them, they will be required to receive instruction using this format for at least the 1st term. Students taking online classes can expect the same daily time commitment required in a traditional face-to-face setting. Our district has sent out information relating to how each student can declare his or her learning option for the start of the new school year. This step will be part of the online registration process that will need to be completed for each student starting August 1st.
If you have any specific needs relating to how your students is provided instruction, please contact an administrator via email or phone to discuss options.
Health and Safety
It is important to know that our biggest priority this fall is to keep our students and staff healthy and safe. We will continue to work with the health department, school district, and the Granite Park Community Council to make decisions that protect all students and staff. We ask that parents monitor the health of their students and keep them home if they are showing any symptoms of any illness, especially symptoms of COVID-19. We are also asking staff members to go home if they have any symptoms. If a students or staff member displays symptoms at school, they will be sent home. We will have a designated sick room for students to wait while we contact parents to pick them up from school.
Governor Herbert has mandated all students, patrons, and staff to wear masks at school at all times. This includes all classrooms, restrooms, lunchroom lines, school buses (kids will be provided a mask as they board if they have forgotten theirs), and other spaces where social distancing cannot be maintained. As the school year begins there will also be a few other things that look different compared to previous school years:
- There will be regular schedules for enhanced cleaning of facilities and equipment that meet or exceed health department regulations.
- Students will have established hand washing/sanitizing opportunities in each class. Hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies will be in every classroom.
- Students and staff will be expected to participate in the cleaning of personal workspace at the conclusion of each class period.
- Staff and students will be trained on how to keep our school healthy and safe. Important topics such as hygiene and social distancing will be frequently reviewed.
- Symptoms and hygiene posters will be placed throughout the school to reinforce expectations.
- Students will be provided with a reusable mask and a water bottle the first day of school.
- Once students enter the building in the morning, they will need to go to the lunchroom to eat or go a designated area.
Students will receive information relating to these changes when they return. Our school will reinforce the 3 W’s as we work to keep staff and students safe.
- Wear your mask.
- Watch your distance.
- Wash and sanitize your hands.
Chromebooks
All Granite Park students will be issued a Chromebook and a set of headphones (if needed) to use this year. The student will be responsible to make sure the Chromebook is returned undamaged at the end of the school year. Please note the following:
- Students need to bring the Chromebook to school, charged every day.
- Students doing distance learning may choose to opt out and use their own device at home.
- Granite Park will NOT have lockers available this year. Students need to bring their Chromebook and charger in their binders/backpacks every day )binders will be provided the 1st day of school). We encourage students to carry masks, hand sanitizer, and their own water, as well.
- Classes that require students to leave their backpacks unattended will have a locked area to store them during that class. This would include PE, Dance, etc.
Student Registration
Please note that REGISTRATION is required for all students who will be attending Granite Park either face-to-face or via distance learning. Beginning this year, the district has a new on-line registration process that will be completed using your Parent Portal (if you do not have an account, you will need to set one up). The window to complete online registration is from August 1st – August 15th. You may sign into the portal by going to our school’s website and by clicking on the Portal Login tab. You may also use the link or QR code provided below to access the district website for registration.
If you complete the registration process at home, you do not need to attend our registration days. If you cannot register online, need further assistance, or are a new student, you can come to the school on the following dates:
- August 3rd and August 4th from 9:00 am – 2:00 p.m.
- August 5th from 3:00 pm – 8:00 p.m.
- Our school will also have a shot clinic in our building during registration on Aug. 4th from 8:00 am – 2:00 pm for those students who need up-to-date immunizations.
*Student new to Granite Park, meaning they attended a different Jr. High last year or did not attend one of the following elementary schools last year, (Roosevelt, Lincoln, Moss, Wilson or Redwood) will need to meet with our registrar, Dawnette Dial, in the counseling office during registration to enroll.
Fee Waiver Process
Fee Waiver applications can be found on the Granite School District Registration site. The application can be completed and submitted using the online registration tools; applications can also be completed at Granite Park and turned in for approval. Please make sure to provide the school with one of the following when applying for a fee waiver: 2019 taxes or your last 2 pay stubs or current documentation showing you are currently receiving government assistance, such as food stamps, disability, Medicaid, etc.
GSD REGISTRATION information page weblink and QR Code: https://www.graniteschools.org/studentlearning/school-registration/.
Grading and Proficiency Based Learning
All classes at Granite Park will use PBL as the primary grading tool. This will be the same whether you are learning online or face to face.
Here are two major changes to PBL this year. Granite has heard your voices about these two issues and have made them easier to understand.
- Number of Assessments
Teachers now have the flexibility to determine the number of assessments for each standard. Proficiency scores for a standard will be generated when the first assessment is entered into Gradebook and will begin calculating into the overall grade. This requires a shift in thinking about assessment QUALITY over quantity: teachers will focus on creating reliable SUMMATIVE assessments that adequately assess proficiency through multiple modalities (reading, writing, performance tasks/projects, technology).
- RECENCY rather than Decaying Average
The most recent evidence of student learning will determine the proficiency score on a standard and will calculate into the overall grade. This favors students by not penalizing early learning attempts and focuses instead on learning as a process that often includes “slow starts.” All assessments & scores show up in Gradebook – the most recent will generate the proficiency score for the standard and calculate into the overall grade. This requires a school & classroom culture shift: Teachers must explain & expect that all evidence of learning – extra practice, classroom learning activities, proficiency checks (formative assessments) – “count” because they inform instruction and let the teacher know when and how many times to formally assess. All learning activities will move students toward proficiency on the last summative assessment (the one that generates a score), which acts as VERIFICATION of a student’s proficiency. Note: Students can still reassess on a summative assessment, but only if they have demonstrated they are prepared through their work prior to that reassessment.
Stay Informed
Please remember to follow these accounts to stay up to date on all things Granite Park:
@graniteparkvideo (YouTube)@GraniteParkjrHigh (Facebook)
@GraniteParkJHS (Twitter)@GraniteParkJHS (Instagram)
Web-site: https://schools.graniteschools.org/graniteparkjr/
I hope that this information will help Granite Park parents determine what option is best for their students. We, as a school community, will continue to make adjustments to meet the needs of our students and staff as we strive to create an environment that will:
- Ensure students and employee safety is maximized
- Optimize student learning opportunities
- Support the social and emotional well-being of students
Please do not hesitate to contact our school if you have any questions or concerns.
Chris Griffiths,
Principal
Granite Park Jr. High
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