Remember To Do Your Part

This may be new information for most parents, but beginning this year all high school teachers will enter grades through Pinnacle. The result is that grades are available electronically to students and parents at all times. The middle schools have been providing feedback in this manner for a couple of years, so many of you may already be accustomed to this type of access.

I encourage you to check your son or daughter's grades at regular intervals. We will no longer send interim reports to the home because access through Pinnacle is more timely and provides much greater detail.

To access Pinnacle/Parent Connect go to www.gpschools.org and click on the top center portion of the page for Pinnacle, Parent & Student Connect. Make your selection using your assigned PIN and PASSWORD. There are two viewing opportunities for internet monitoring: Parent Connect and Pinnacle. In order for you to take advantage of these viewers, once you have successfully logged in to Parent Connect, you must provide the district with a current email address. Please be sure to enter this information into Parent Connect by using the account menu item (top, right-hand side of Parent Connect screen).

To access electronic gradebook information, select Pinnacle. For Pinnacle, remember to select South High at drop-down window. To view attendance, schedule, demographic, cafeteria debit balances, click on Parent Connect.

Please note: Parents have their own PINs and passwords for Parent Connect. Students and parents share the same log-in and password for Pinnacle. It is the student ID number and network log-in password. If you don’t know your child’s ID number and password, please ask them to share this information with you. In the meantime, the district is in the process of mailing Pins and Passwords to all families. Please look for this information during the week of 9/22.

The first marking period ends on Friday, October 31. That means that October 3rd would normally serve as the midpoint of the first quarter. Grades entered by that date would provide the data leading to an interim report. Use this place in time to determine if your son or daugher's progress is where you feel it should be.

On the other hand, one drawback of this type of access is that parents may "hover" over every single grade and overreact to a missing or late assignment. When in doubt, please contact the teacher via email to get a more ocmplete picture.

I wish you well as you monitor this type of grade reporting, and I believe it has the potential of making us more effective. After all, "knowledge is power".

It's Been A Grand Start

As we're finishing the first full week of the school year, there are several thoughts going through my head about the time we've spent together so far.

The first is of the ribbon cutting for the new pool facility this past Sunday. I was surprised to see approximately 400 people attend the event. However, I believe that nearly all of them left impressed with the features of the new building.

The girls' swim team will actually have their first practice later this afternoon with the first meet scheduled for next Tuesday, September 16. Although it has been more than 30 years without a "home" swim meet, this facility will serve our needs for decades into the future.

The first eight days with our students have also been very productive. They have been enthusiastic and most compliant. When I step into classrooms, they are on-task and engaged. At lunch they are chatty and energized, but that is exactly what you would expect of high school students on their break.

I also want to personally thank Dr. Steve Minnick, the Director of Medical Education at St. John's Hospital. Over the summer, in partnership with Biology teacher, James Adams, a job shadowing experience was established for approximately 25 South students. However, this wasn't your typical job shadowing experience.

These students accompanied physicians, surgeons, and interns three days a week over four weeks. They were in surgical rooms for C-sections, tumor removals, and a leg amputation. They followed physicians on rounds with their patients, and sat in meetings with the pathology department. As I spoke with the students about the experience, it struck me that this could only happen in Grosse Pointe. We are blessed with an excellent medical facility within minutes of our community, and former and current parents that operate that facility. This experience was a life-changer for some of these students, and they will be forever grateful to the staff at St. John's for making them feel so welcome.

I have also been part of meetings with members of the Mothers' Club. The biggest event that was discussed is the Auction that will be held next spring. The date is March 14th and the location is Lockmoor Country Club. They have a big goal in mind, to the tune of $80,000 that will likely be earmarked for building technology.

We desperately need upgrades to our technology. I believe we are at a tipping point when students of other districts will have advantages over South students because of technology available to them. We must keep up. Just as the new pool will be a great marketing tool to keep and draw more families, we must think of our technological capacity in a similar manner. The access to technology will supplement what is already an extremely well developed curriculum and dedicated teachers.

Place the date on your calendar of March 14 for the Auction. The format of this one will be different in that the majority of it will be held online. People from across the world can bid on the auction items. As the date draws nearer we will need you to reach out and touch alumni and supporters of South (and the High) to maximize its success.

Here's hoping the next few weeks are as successful as the first two.