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THS Enews 11/13/20

Posted on: November 13, 2020

Talawanda High School E-News - November 13, 2020

 

Remote Learning Decisions for THS & TMS Due to Staff Shortage

Talawanda officials have made the very difficult decision to fully transition THS and TMS to a remote learning plan from now until January 18, 2021.  Students would return on January 19,  2021 pending updated data as we continue to monitor the spread of Covid-19. Talawanda is currently experiencing a severe spike in the number of Covid-19 quarantines and positive cases.  All districts in Butler County are experiencing a shortage in substitute teachers, educational assistants, and cafeteria workers due to Covid-19.  Talawanda has already exhausted the small number of workers (including administrators and members of our curriculum team) that we have available to reassign to assist where we need help the most.  Specifically, we have become unable to operate our kitchens at the secondary level this past week due to staff quarantines.  Talawanda plans to keep the elementary schools/face-to-face school going as long as we have the staff available to operate them.

 By moving secondary schools to remote learning, we hope to utilize some employees from THS & TMS to assist with the staff shortages we are also experiencing in our elementary schools.  We understand that childcare for younger children is a big issue for our families, and we hope to alleviate this stress by doing everything we can to try and keep our elementary schools open. 

We wish we could continue to operate in person in all of our schools, but Covid-19 is making an impact and we have made a decision that we believe is the best one for now, considering the circumstances we find our district in.  The health and safety of both our students and staff are among our very highest priorities and are a primary factor in the decisions made this week. 

If you have any questions please contact the administrator in your child’s school.

High School Students will follow the following daily schedule:

 

Reminders:

  • Because of our return to remote instruction picture day for both F2F and online students has been canceled. We will reschedule it for sometime early 2nd semester. Until then you can also submit a picture for inclusion in the yearbook! Please visit this site and enter the supplied ID: www.images.jostens.com 

ID#: 415713950  

    • If you are submitting an underclass picture please follow these rules:
  1. Solid, single color background - NO OUTSIDE PICTURES!
  2. Chest up portrait, face can be seen clearly
  3. No props, filters, or other extra features added
    • If you are submitting a senior picture please follow these rules:
  1. Backgrounds are up to you, these can cater to your senior
  2. Face must be seen clearly, but not limited to only chest shots
  3. NO FILTERS -but-  props are ok as long as they follow code of conduct

 

You must provide the first and last name of the student you are uploading, as well as grade and email.  This applies to all students, even seniors.  You can no longer submit your photo to yearbook@talawanda.org! Please use the provided link and school code!  If your portrait does not follow the rules supplied, you will receive a notification of a rejected photo and be asked to resubmit!

 

DEADLINE TO SUBMIT UNDERCLASS: JANUARY 29TH, 2021

DEADLINE TO SUBMIT SENIOR PHOTO: MARCH 5TH, 2021

 

  • Beginning Monday, November 16th, food distribution will take place each Monday at ALL FIVE SCHOOLS between 2:15-2:45. ALL children ages 1-18 are eligible for FREE meals. See our flyer for more information.

 

  • Attention Senior Parents/Guardians! If your senior is planning to attend any form of post-secondary schooling, you should have completed the FAFSA, typically a requirement for most colleges and technical schools. If you have questions about creating your FSA ID and/or completing the FAFSA, please reach out to your child's school counselor ASAP! 

 

  • We want to remind everyone that the THS Media Center has a link to our Remote Learning page that has an order form for curbside pickup of books and two tutorials that Monica Green made back in August for using infohio.org and SORA(an online digital book resource). There are icons for linking to infohio, overdrive(online digital books), the THS Library catalog,and SORA on the Abre homepage(using the waffle in the top right hand corner). If you have any questions, call us at ext 3230 or 3229. We will continue curbside pickup of books, supplies and technology at the bus entrance, Mon-Fri 8:00 to 3:00. THS Media Center Remote Learning page.

 

  • Congratulations to the 2020-2021 Class officers and student body president! 
    • 9th grade: President: Muhammed Khan, Vice President: Brianna Johnson, Secretary: Lillian Shelley
    • 10th grade: President: Jordan Gresham, Vice President: Jacob Farmer, Secretary: Julia Rode, Sentry: Anna Newlin
    • 11th grade: President: John Nelson, Vice President: Luke West Poley, Secretary: Isabel Lykins, Sentry: Scout Tincher 
    • 12th grade: President: Hannah Adkins-Lamb, Vice President: Celeste Siferd, Secretary: Grant Monson, Treasurer: Kasey Turman 
    • Student Body President: Brooke Hubbard 

 

  • Our apologies, we inadvertently left a few students off our Honor Roll list! Congratulations to Hannah Adkins-Lamb, Lilliam Cieslak, Morgan Hancock, Katelynn Jones, Blake Madden, Alexandra Pyles! Click here to see the updated list.

 

 

  • There is still time to register for TorchPrep courses leading up to the December 12th tests! We have in-person & virtual trainings for the December test! Click here for more info.

 

 

  • From Madison Wetzel our Success Liaison- Little Free Pantries now at all TSD schools!  We have installed Little Free Pantries in front of ALL of the school buildings, a place where people in need can find FREE school supplies, hygiene items, and non-perishable food items. The Pantry at the High School is to the left of the main building entrance and is accessible to students and families 24/7. The pantries are stocked with donations from the community which can be dropped off at the building. Families can access ANY of the five pantries at the school buildings. 

 

  • A group conducted over WebEx by the high school's clinical psychology intern in conjunction with the counseling office is being offered to increase high schoolers’ connection and engagement with their peers for those who have chosen to continue school online. Other things the group may focus on include: problem solving difficulties related to online school, and learning coping skills for anxiety related to Covid-19. Please contact Teresa Peter (petert@talawanda.org) if your teen is interested.

 

  • PUSH has funding for furnace and water heater repairs or replacements. Grants are available to low-income, homeowners in the Talawanda School District for critical and emergency home repairs. Call Jeanne or Sabrina at 513-523-8100 for more information.

 

  • The Ohio Department of Education is inviting parents of children with an IEP or who receives special services to fill out a short survey. The survey can be found here.

 

 

THS Calendar of Events- 11/15/20 to 11/21/20

 

Sunday, November 15th

6 – 8 pm Fermata Nowhere Rehearsal, 608 and outside

 

Monday, November 16th

2:15 – 2:45 pm Weekly Food Distribution, Main Entrance

3 – 4:30 pm Fermata Nowhere Rehearsal, 608 and outside

3:30 – 4:15 pm Setting Stone Meeting, Virtual

8 – 9 pm Mock Trial, Virtual

7:30 – 9:30 pm School Board Meeting, PAC and Virtual

 

Tuesday, November 17th

3 – 4:20 pm FFA Online Testing, Virtual

4:30 – 5:15 pm Talawanda Tribune, Virtual

7 – 8:30 pm Academic Challenge Practice, Virtual

 

Wednesday, November 18th

11 am – 12 pm Talawanda Hope Club, Virtual

11 am – 12 pm Y.I.T., Virtual

12 – 1 pm Diversity Club, Virtual

2 – 3 pm Best Buddies, Virtual

2 – 3 pm Project Green, Virtual

4 – 5:30 pm Mock Trial, Virtual

5 – 9 pm Jazz and Steel Concert, Marston, Virtual

 

Thursday, November 19th

3:30 – 4:30 pm NHS (New Members ONLY), Virtual

7 – 8:30 pm Academic Challenge Practice, Virtual

 

Friday, November 20th

3 – 4:30 pm Fermata Nowhere Rehearsal, 608 and outside

 

Saturday, November 21st

No events scheduled