Dear Parents and Students:
I cannot believe we are already in the month of May. Just twenty-five more school days until summer, but still a lot to accomplish prior to the school year ending. As we continue to operate the building and conduct various activities, we conclude the year still following the Health Department and State of Utah guidelines and restrictions for schools. Please know that the safety, health, and well-being of your students and their learning takes #1 priority. With that said, we have a couple of things we need to make you all aware of:
-May 4th: Kearns High will be hosting the County Health Department in our building as they are providing the Pfizer vaccine to our students and parent permission is a MUST. This service will take place in our main gym from 8:00 am -3:00 pm. A letter was sent home, parent permission forms were delivered to your students through their English classes, and they can be located on our school website as well. If your 16-18 year old misplaces the forms, we will have hard copies available in our main hall on that day for your use. You are welcome to come in with your student if your desire. If not, we will be contacting you by phone for permission if your student does not have the proper forms. AGAIN, WE WILL NEED YOUR PERMISSION TO VACCINATE YOUR CHILD.
-May 3rd – 4th: Counselors will be handing out “Senior Lawn Signs” after school from the Career Center. You MUST be on line to graduate to pick one up. Your counselor will notify you if you are not online. Also, to honor our graduates, we will be hanging up a NEW Graduating Class of 2021 name banner outside our building this coming week. Keep watch for it!
-Graduation is on the calendar for June 3rd at USANA Amphitheatre. My graduation committee and I visited the venue last week Thursday and it is beautiful. A separate letter will be going home to senior parents regarding the logistics at the site. Keep in mind, this is a private venue with rules that we must all abide by or consequences will be levied. One major consequence is the shooting off of confetti at USANA. USANA, Unified Police, and Granite Police will be present to observe the ceremony. If one chooses to throw out confetti in any fashion you will be approached and guided out of the ceremony by police. The monetary charge for this action is $5,000. PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS! REMEMBER, THIS IS A CEREMONY TO HONOR YOUR GRADUATE AND SHOULD NOT BE RUINED BY INAPPROPRIATE ACTIONS!
-USANA has 6,000 individual side by side seats and a grassy area, each senior will be receiving ten tickets to hand out to their family members to attend. Your graduate does not need a ticket – they will be allowed in the student gate as they will be in cap and gown. This means we could have over 4,000 present at this event including our graduates and staff members. Tickets must be in your possession to enter and will be collected at the gate. You must sit together as a family, masks will be required, and an empty seat must be left between yourself and the family next to you. I will not be giving out more than ten per graduate for safety and health reasons. Mr. Tom Rogers is working with USANA to push out a live stream or a recorded version of our graduation ceremony.
-Unless things change we were told we will have platform speeches and music presented live at our graduation. Be patient with us on this note, as we are still under the jurisdiction of the Health Department.
Kearns High Administration and staff are thrilled to afford our graduates this opportunity to honor their accomplishments and are looking forward to this event.
-Chromebook Returns and cap and gown distribution will be held for seniors on Monday, May 24th. Chromebooks will be collected throughout the school day and cap and gowns will be handed out after school. In order to pick up your cap and gown you must have both an academic and fine clearance. EVERY SENIOR MUST COME TO THE LIBRARY DURING THEIR DESIGNATED TIME – EVEN IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A CHROMEBOOK CHECKED OUT TO YOU! We will call down seniors each period alpha by last name (A-E during 1B, F-L during 2B, M-R during 3B, S-Z during 4B). We will break them down further by calling those rooms with 1st lunch during the 1st half of the period and those rooms with 2nd lunch during the 2nd half of the period. Distance learners should come during the period that their last name falls in. We will give each senior a slip stating that they:
1) Have returned a Chromebook and don’t owe anything, 2) That they have returned a Chromebook and have been assessed a fine due to damage or a missing cord, or 3) that they never had a Chromebook and are clear.
-Chromebooks for underclassmen DO NOT have to be returned this year IF parents and students choose to fill out this renewal form granting the student permission to keep the device. This will provide students the opportunity to continue working on credit recovery and/or summer courses. It also encourages students to continue to take pride in caring for the device they were provided as they may have it until the end of their senior year. Please remember that you are still responsible for any damage to the device. Parents, if you DO NOT want your student to keep the device please DO NOT fill out the form and they will need to be returned during the week of May 24th. If the form is not filled out and the device is not returned there will be a charge added to your student’s account for the full replacement cost.
-Thank you to all of the freshman and sophomore students who participated in the Aspire test. We have held our original test day as well as three make-up days. If you have chosen NOT to have your student take this test please fill out the Aspire Opt-Out Form and return it to the Main Office as soon as possible so they don’t count against our completion rate. This includes both distance and in person learners! If you would still like your student to test, please email Aimee Duran at aduran@graniteschools.org and we can arrange a time.
Parents and students, this has definitely been a difficult year to navigate under the pandemic. I am so proud of each of our students, faculty and staff for following the safety and health rules, testing protocols, and continual flexibility as we have navigated the educational process this year. I appreciate you all so much and your continued support of my staff and myself. We are honored to be a part of the lives of your students educational experiences at Kearns High. Continue to be safe and healthy!
Respectfully,
Principal Loo
