Prosper High School Newsletter

Eagle Nation,

We had a great week at PHS! The students have started to settle in and the teachers are showing incredible efforts, ingenuity, and perseverance to balance in-person and virtual learning. I am so proud of our kids and teachers for all of their work at the beginning of the year. We will start getting into more of the substance of our learning now that we have had a chance to review from last spring and to introduce the curriculum for our courses for this year. Please encourage your student to reach out to their teacher if they are having difficulties in the class. We are offering in-person and virtual before/after school tutorials and we have virtual Eagle Time that can be used for tutoring as well. Each teacher has their contact information on their webpage and you can click here to find the webpage of your teacher(s). We want to build the capacity within our students to become advocates for themselves, and having them reach out to their teachers for assistance is a great way to start this. Of course, any parent can contact the teacher to ask for assistance, but we want our kids to own their learning and to recognize when they need assistance from the teacher. As parents, sometimes we need to help our children understand when they need this assistance from teachers, so please do not hesitate to give your child a gentle nudge to contact the teacher. We are here for your student and for you so please lean on us.

Last Wednesday, we were able to listen to Damon West speak about being a coffee bean by having a positive impact on your environment. Mr. West speaks to college and professional athletes/teams and we are so fortunate that he came to speak. I was able to talk with several students afterwards and each of them emphatically stated that this was an awesome message and that it was inspiring to them. Unfortunately, we had some technical difficulties with the live stream so not all of our students were able to see the full presentation. We have added the presentation to the PHS webpage and you can click here to watch it.

This week is Suicide Prevention Week and our Hope Squad has put together a dress up theme for each day. Tuesday is Tacky Tourist day and please encourage your student to join the fun while we spotlight the need to support each other. See below for more details for each day including a fundraiser on Friday for Hurricane Laura Relief.

Pep Rallies are back and our first one will be on 9/25!!!!! The pep rallies will have strict guidelines that we will enforce. We appreciate your understanding as we do our best to have fun and follow COVID-19 protocols of social distancing and face mask/coverings.

• Pep Rallies will be for students, staff, and set up crew only. No parents, families, or other guests will be allowed. We will stream the pep rallies for you to see from home.
• Seniors will be allowed to attend each pep rally and we alternate one other grade level in attendance for the pep rallies. The other students will stay in class and watch the pep rally via live stream.
• We will space students as much as possible in the arena during the pep rally and face masks/face shields will be required for those in attendance.

This Friday, at 8:46 am, we will have a special Patriot's Day remembrance for our American heroes who sacrificed their lives on 9/11/01. We will also have other remembrances and celebrations in our Social Studies classes and in the school this week and in the upcoming weeks.

Coming Back to In-person Learning

We have had several requests from our virtual learners to come back to in-person learning. We are granting these requests and not waiting until the end of the first 9 weeks. We want our kids in the building and we appreciate Dr. Ferguson's support for this. If you want your virtual student to come back to in-person learning before the end of the first 9 weeks, please email me and I will work with you on a start date. If your student has a teacher who is teaching exclusively virtual classes, we may have to change your student to an in-person teacher. We are pleased to be able to offer this to our families, but you can wait until the end of the first 9 weeks if you prefer.

Coffee with the Counselors/Principal

Thank you for taking time to fill out the survey from our Counselors. We have started analyzing your responses and we will send out information soon on our first Coffee with the Counselors/Principal. One thing that we quickly noticed in the surveys is the need to have fun. I believe that our dress up days this week, subsequent dress up days, and our pep rallies will help to bolster school spirit, they will highlight important messages we want to bring to everyone's attention (Suicide Prevention Week for this week), they will foster relationship building, and we they will allow us to have some fun. Please encourage your student to get involved in these and other opportunities to build the spirit of the Eagle Nation.

COVID-19 Daily Screening

A huge THANK YOU to our families who have taken the precaution of keeping students home who are displaying symptoms of sickness. This is helping to prevent the spread of illness whether it is COVID-19, a cold, or other yuckiness! Parents should review the COVID-19 Screening Questions on the District website each day before sending their child to any in-person Prosper ISD activity. If your child tests positive, has been exposed to a COVID positive individual, or has one or more of the symptoms on the screening questionnaire, use the link at the bottom of the questionnaire to notify the school nurse and do NOT send your child to school until receiving clearance to return from the school nurse. Remember, your student can log in to classes from home and you will not be counted absent if you log in within the first 20 minutes of the class. This also allows you to keep your student safe and the other 2,000 students at PHS safe and helps to prevent the spread of illness. Please do your part and keep your student home if he/she is displaying symptoms of sickness.

*If your child has a chronic condition that presents as one of the symptoms on the screening questionnaire, it is recommended that you contact the school nurse and your child's teacher about the chronic symptom so that both of these key school personnel are aware.

Check in/Check out Procedures

Please give us a two hour notice for checking out your student. This will give us enough time for us to get your student ready for you when you arrive. Please email at least two hours in advance to phsadministrativeattendance@prosper-isd.net. This email is accessed by our House Secretaries to identify who needs to check out from school. Please call when you arrive at the front of the school, but do not try to enter the building. We are closed to visitors unless you have an appointment. Once a member of the Administrative team or a member of our Prosper ISD Police Department verifies the identity of the parent/guardian, your student will come out to your vehicle. When your student returns, he/she will go to their House office to submit their absence note.

Curbside Book Checkout for Virtual Learners

The Prosper High School Library is now offering Curbside Library Book Checkout for our eLearners. You can read more about this service here and can find a list of answers to frequently asked questions here. If you have any additional questions please contact our Future Ready Designers Jenna Hutt and Ryan Miller.

Class Shirt Distribution

We will distribute Class Shirts after Labor Day to those who did not receive one during our porch visits. These will be given to our in-person students during their English classes and we will coordinate with those who are virtual learners.

Parent Norms for Virtual Learners

We want to partner with our parents of students who are virtual learning as much as possible to make the virtual experience a successful one. We have developed a list of norms that will help parents to promote student success in the online environment. Please click here for these norms.

Graduation

PHS Graduation will be on Saturday, May 22, 2021 @ 7:30 pm at Children's Health Stadium. Our rain make up date is Tuesday, May 25, 2021 @ 7:30 pm at Children's Health Stadium.

I hope you all get to spend time with your family for the rest of today and tomorrow for Labor Day. Give the kids a big hug, tell them that you love them, tell them how proud you are of them, and just enjoy being with each other.

Together, We are Prosper!

Email: jmburdett@prosper-isd.net

Office: 469.219.2185

Cell: 469.573.1488

I am currently reading Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power & Greatness by Robert K. Greenleaf.

Congratulations LJ Richardson for being the Mortgage X-change Wrestler of the Week on Wrestlingtexas.com. He placed first in the freestyle division and second place in the Folkstyle division at the Rocky Mountain Nationals Tournament.

Need to make an appointment with your counselor- virtual or in-person? Order a Transcript? Attendance check-in/out information, and Community Resources

Check out the Virtual Counseling Office.

On September 10th, the PHS Counselors will begin their individual senior guidance meetings. Here is the link to our Senior Presentation with helpful information for applying to college, financial aid, college essays and other important senior information. Senior Presentation

Please take the time to view this presentation with your student. Each counselor will meet individually with your senior student to do the following: ensure they are on track for graduation, discuss career and counseling resources, review their transcripts and answer any college application questions as needed. Please understand that it will take us several weeks to complete these meetings. If your student is virtual, we will be setting up Google Meets to hold these meetings.

We are looking forward to meeting with your students!

If your student is considering leveling down from an Honors or AP class at the end of the six weeks, please note the following required procedures.

If a student is currently struggling in their class, they must communicate with the teacher as soon as possible to discuss setting up a plan for success. This plan may include tutoring before or after school, Eagle/Soar time tutoring, additional resources, working with them on their study habits, etc. The student and parent must commit to the success plan until the end of the 6th week of school. If the student and parent still want to level down, then the student needs to pick up and complete a Request to Drop an Advanced Academic Class Form from their teacher or the counselor’s office to receive a schedule change.

These steps must be followed in order to change the schedule:

1. Student AND Parent communicates with the teacher as soon as possible
2. Success plan is created - Request to Drop an Advanced Academic Class Form is picked up from teacher or counselor’s office.
3. Students, parent and teacher follow the steps outlined in the form.
4. Form is turned into the Counselor's office.
5. Counselors will change schedule and send new schedule to student

Our Honors/AP teachers want the opportunity to assist our students in overcoming initial hurdles and achieving their goals by working with them to meet their potential.

The following form can be used as a guide to understanding the process. Please let your student's counselor or administrator know if you have any questions about this process.

Thinking about college? Here's your chance to hear firsthand from those-in-the-know at hundreds of colleges and universities nearby, across the country, and around the world.

How? Attend a NACAC Virtual College Fair. See the fall schedule below. Sign up at virtualcollegefairs.org

Save the date! More than 600 colleges and universities will be online to talk with high school juniors and seniors on each of these dates this fall:

• Sunday, Sept. 13: 12 - 8 p.m. ET
• Monday, Oct. 12: 1 - 9 p.m. ET
• Sunday, Oct. 18: 12 - 8 p.m. ET
• Sunday, Nov. 8: 2 - 10 p.m. ET

Each virtual fair is a free, one-day event. Attend as often as you like. Parents are invited too.

Simply sign up at virtualcollegefairs.org now and register for one or more fairs. On the event date, use your phone or computer to log in. Learn, connect, ask questions, and discover your best college fit!

DARN Virtual College Week- Sept. 8th – 10th

• Sept. 8th - College 101 and Paying for College – 6:00 PM Register here
• Sept. 9th – University Spotlights Night #1 Register here
• Sept. 10th – University Spotlights Night #2 Register here

PISD is planning to host a Stress and Anxiety Round Table on September 28. We are asking students and parents to submit questions for this presentation.

Please click HERE to submit a question that you would like addressed.

Students can wear Nike shorts or hats for $2 on Friday, 9/11. Please wear purple to go with the theme for Suicide Prevention Week (see above). All proceeds will go to organizations helping with Hurricane Laura efforts. Everyone is encouraged to donate even if you don't participate.

Class Officer forms are available to fill out online and are due by September 5th at noon. Visit the PHS web page under students/StuCo for more information. Stuco Webpage

Anyone who has not yet had their picture taken - in-person, virtual, or anyone that would like a retake. Location: downstairs arena foyer. Sign up here

Please contact Lyndsey Hamlin -lghamlin@prosper-isd.net - if you have any questions.

Yearbook recognition ads are a great way for parents, families and friends to commemorate student achievements and important milestones. In addition, revenues from recognition ads help our school to create a better yearbook. To purchase your ad online, follow the instructions on the form below.

Senior Ads

Jostens is managing your school's yearbook ad sales so please do not contact or send materials to the school. Please take into account our school's ad content guidelines on the bottom of this form during the creation of your ad online. All ad orders must be placed online by 09/18/2020. More information

Golf Tournament Registration

See the PTO website for pre-ordering the masks

Spirit Wear Orders

Preventing Youth Suicide: Tips for Parents and Educators

Our Hope Squads will sell "Be Kind" yellow T-Shirts as a symbol to simply be kind to one another, which is why you often see "yellow" shirts scattered throughout our district on Wednesdays each week. This stems from supporting our cause of suicide awareness and prevention.

To purchase a shirt, log in to My School Bucks, Go To School Store, Look for Hope Squad T-shirt, Select T-Shirt option (See options below) Student Name. Homeroom = 1st Period Classroom

Orders will be placed at the end of each month with delivery to campuses the following month. 1st Period teachers will hand them to students when they arrive.

PISD will continue to light up the new Children's Health Stadium every Wednesday evening as a simple reminder for our community to show kindness and compassion to one another. If you find yourself driving around Prosper on Wednesday evenings, drive by the stadium to enjoy PISD's symbol for kindness.

September 7: Labor Day / School Holiday

October 9: End of 1st 9 Weeks

October 12: Columbus Day / School Holiday

October 13: Beginning of 2nd 9 Weeks

October 15: School picture retake day - Sign up here

October 30: Professional Learning / Elementary Conference / Student Holiday

November 23-27: Thanksgiving Break / School Holiday

December 18: Early Release / End of 2nd 9 Weeks

December 21-31: Winter Break / School Holiday

Tip411 is a new tool to enhance student safety. It is an internet-based communication system that gives students or any concerned citizen a means to quickly and anonymously report threats, potential self-harm, concerns, suspicious or criminal behavior at school or beyond school hours regarding PISD schools, students and/or staff.

When you submit a tip, it is sent to a 3rd party tip service acting as a privacy buffer between you and the Prosper ISD Police Department to preserve your identity and contact information. If you have a tip for the Prosper ISD Police Department please use any of the options on this page to provide important information on crimes or criminals that will help us to keep Prosper ISD safe for everyone.

Tip submissions may not be received until the following day. In case of emergency dial 911.

Email: phsinfo@prosper-isd.net
Website: https://www.prosper-isd.net/phs
Location: 301 Eagle Drive, Prosper, TX, USA
Phone: (469) 219-2180
Twitter: @ProsperHS

Spirit wear is available.

More information on how the PTO benefits the students and staff.

Please contact us with any questions or concerns via email - ProsperHighPTO@gmail.com
Like us on Facebook - @PHSPTO