Hello Grizzly Families,

October is a month filled with anticipation, academic endeavors, and the promise of new discoveries. Our dedicated faculty and staff are committed to providing a safe and engaging educational environment for your student. Together, we look forward to a month of shared successes, meaningful connections, and the continued pursuit of excellence. Thank you for your ongoing support, and may October be a month of inspiration and achievement for us all.

Please follow our social media pages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for any last-minute updates. If you have any questions, please contact us at 757-558-4749.

Sincerely,

Mr. Brian Haughinberry, Principal

Congratulations to Mrs. Caroline Shea, Grassfield High School's 2023-2024 Teacher of the Year!

Thursday, October 5 marks the end of our first marking period. Please make sure that your students are communicating with their teachers to complete their missing assignments. Please see more information regarding make-up work and late-work below

Make-up work is defined as assignments or assessments missed due to a student absence. Students shall be permitted to make up work because of excused or unexcused absences, including in-school or out-of-school suspensions (School Board Regulation 6-44). Students who are absent on the day an assignment or assessment was assigned, or are absent on the day the assignment or assessment is due, are permitted to submit work according to the make-up work policy.

1. It is the student’s responsibility to access and submit all completed work missed when absent. Students absent between one to three consecutive days have up to five instructional days to submit make-up work for full credit.

2. When a student is absent the day of an assessment, the student should be prepared to make up the assessment as soon as possible as agreed upon with the teacher.

3. Teachers will use a zero in Synergy for all missing work with a comment of “absent”. This will compute as a zero until work is made up so as to not inflate grades in ParentVue or StudentVue.

4. After the five-day window, missing make-up work is considered late work. See protocol for late work below.

Late work is defined as assignments or assessments submitted after the due date/time with no related absence.

1. It is the student’s responsibility to access and submit all work on time to avoid a late work penalty.

2. Teachers will respond to late work with a grade deduction of no more than 10% per day, not to exceed 30% total deducted for being late.

3. Late work must be submitted within five instructional days of the date the work is due for credit.

Until a student submits late work, teachers should use a zero in Synergy for all late work with a comment of “late”. This will compute as a zero until work is submitted so as to not inflate grades in ParentVue and/or StudentVue.

This information and more is available in your students instructional syllabus for each course.

PSAT:

The PSAT will be administered over the course of two days. All sophomores and registered Freshmen and Juniors will take the PSAT on Tuesday, Oct 10 or Wednesday, Oct 11. Students will receive communication on their testing day and location via their student school gmail accounts.

Fall Writing SOL:

The Fall administration of the writing SOL will begin in two weeks for those students who are currently enrolled in English 11 courses. If you have any questions regarding whether or not your student will be completing an SOL, please reach out to their School Counselor.

All high school students and their parent(s)/guardian(s) are invited to attend the Chesapeake Public Schools College Fair, hosted at Indian River High School on Monday, October 23, 2023 from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Students that register will receive a barcode that will give attending colleges access to their information. Please ask your teachers to dedicate a few minutes during their first block for students to register using this link.

Impact Aid Cards will be distributed on October 17th through the student's homeroom. Please complete these forms and send them back to school on October 18th. They should be turned into the student's bell 1 teacher.

Please see the letter for more information. If you have any questions, please email Dr. Sapieka (helen.sapieka@cpschools.com)

School counselors are available are currently working on course schedule changes. Please contact the school counseling department at 558-4509 for additional help.

School counselors are certified/licensed educators who improve student success for ALL students by implementing a comprehensive school counseling program. School Counselors can help students by providing:

• individual student academic planning and goal setting
• school counseling classroom lessons based on student success standards
• short-term counseling to students
• referrals for long-term support
• collaboration with families/teachers/ administrators/ community for student success
• advocacy for students at individual education plan meetings and other student-focused meetings
• data analysis to identify student issues, needs and challenges

School Counselor Alpha-List:

• Ms. Brandenburg: A-Ca
• Ms. Lewis: Cb-Fo
• Ms. Bowers: Fp-I
• Ms. Creamer: J-Mc
• Ms. Kates: Md-Ra
• Ms. Davis: Rb-St
• Ms. Morris: Su-Z

Seniors who paid to paint a space must park in their painted space. Seniors who did not pay but have a valid senior parking permit must park in the senior lot.

Juniors with a valid junior permit must park in the junior lot.

Sophomores and Freshmen are not permitted to drive to school.

Please email Ms. Ott with any question (heather.ott@cpschools.com)

Our GHS Field of Valor is a tradition aimed at generating a visual and heart-felt salute to military service members in recognition of Veterans Day through a display of American flags. Individual miniature flags can be sponsored to recognize family, friends, Grizzly alumni, Chesapeake Gold Star Service Members as part of our Field of Valor. Flag sponsorship is just $3 and flags are labeled in honor of the service member. All proceeds go to benefit our local Chesapeake veterans through Chesapeake’s own Veterans of Foreign Wars post command.

Sponsorship forms are available through Tuesday, October 31st.

The Field is planted by our students and ready for observance of the holiday. Flags are planted alphabetically and folks are encouraged to visit their flags. Our hope this year is to sponsor over 1,200 flags to fly in front of Grassfield High School and around the Cody Childers Memorial. Please consider supporting this wonderful service-learning activity.

If you would like to sponsor a flag to honor a loved one, or even a GHS alumni or teacher, payment can be sent to Grassfield High School (Attn: Kim Hammers) or made online via the OSP system. Choose one of the following options:

Option 1: Mail a sponsorship payment and use the Printable Sponsorship Form. Include one for each flag sponsorship.

Printable Sponsorship Form

Option 2: Online payment of sponsorship. Use the OSP link AND complete the Service Member Google Form for EACH sponsorship.

Service Member Google Form: https://forms.gle/6Anxt2fbdLwjvT9t9

Online Payment Link: Click Here

Option 3: Flag sponsorships will be available at the homecoming football games on Friday, 10/13.

The homecoming dance will be held Saturday, October 7th at Grassfield High School Students must have a tick to enter. We can't wait to dance our way into Homecoming week!

Spirit Week

Let's show our spirit! Pictured above are our Spirit Day themes. Please keep in mind that the dress code is still in effect. Please review the dress code guidelines for specifics.

Pep Rally

Our annual fall pep rally will be held on Friday during 4th block. We will highlight our fall sport teams, homecoming court, and compete in grade level games. There will also be an opportunity to submit you name for a chance to kick a field goal and earn chick fil a for a year!

Parade

The homecoming parade will be October 13th at 5:30 pm and travel down Scenic Parkway. Join us in cheering on our team and clubs as they travel to the stadium.

Homecoming Game

Friday October 13th 7pm kick off- Join us in Red, White, and Blue as the Grizzlies take on the Hawks. Our homecoming king and queen will be crowned at halftime.

Chesapeake Public Schools (CPS) has gone to great lengths to be a technology-forward school division and our schools are rich with access to technology. CPS currently provides Chromebooks for all students, wireless internet throughout our buildings, interactive panels in our classrooms, and industry-leading technology platforms to support instruction. Through these efforts, we can ensure that our students have access to the technology they need to prepare them for their future. Personal Communication Devices (PCDs) are not part of the technology environment which has been carefully curated by CPS.

To view the Policy: Click Here

Students are required to attend their classes as scheduled. Students are considered tardy after the bell has rang. Please see the bell schedule for class start times. Students will be issued discipline consequences for tardies exceeding 4.

It's that time of the year that we invite all parents and students to join our PTSA. Our faculty and staff last year had 100% membership and we would like to do the same with our parents and students. The cost is $7.00 and you may join at the link below. Any senior student wishing to apply for a $1000 scholarship(possibly 3), needs to be a member to win. We hope to have many members as we all work together to make this a fabulous school year for all!

Givebacks (memberhub.com).

Please follow us on Facebook- Grassfield High School PTSA and Instagram-GFHSPTSA

If you have any questions, please feel free to email GFHSPTSA@gmail.com

The following individuals will be serving a two year term as officers of our PTSA for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school years. Thank you very much for volunteering your time to serve our school community.

✨President- Chessa Foster

✨1st Vice President (Legislation)-Amy Fannon

✨2nd Vice President (Craft Show)- Meghan McDermott

✨Treasurer- Pattie Oliver

✨Secretary- Sandy Huneycutt

You may still join our PTSA. Seniors wishing to win a PTSA Scholarship need to join by January 31, 2024 to be considered. The link is provided below.

Click Here to join the Grassfield PTSA

Thank you for your continued support of our school community.

The Grassfield High School PTSA Annual Craft Show will be October 28,2023 from 9am-4pm. We have over 120 vendors and would love to see you there. This is our PTSA's biggest fundraiser of the year. Students who are looking for volunteer hours may sign up using the link below.

Click Here to Volunteer

The 2022-2023 sports year was a very successful one for Grassfield High School. The Grizzlies captured multiple Southeastern District Regular-Season Titles, Region 6A Championships and the VHSL State Championship. Grassfield also won the coveted Southeastern District Paul Gates Cup for the twelfth time. Congratulations to all of our sports programs and good luck in 2023-2024!

Cash is NO LONGER accepted at Chesapeake Public Schools athletic events. All tickets must be purchased via Gofan.co (not .com) prior to the game.

Adults - $7 Student - $5

Parents are highly encouraged to purchase a “Parent Pass” at Gofan.co. Parent passes are ONLY $50 and allow you entry into any high school or middle school regular season sports event in the city of Chesapeake. This pass is good for the entire 2023-2024 school year!! (Does not include playoffs events)

“Student passes” are available at Gofan.co as well. Student passes are ONLY $20 and are good for the entire school year to any sports events at the high school or middle school levels.

(Does not include playoffs)

Purchase the 2023-2024 athletic pass using the QR Code.

Acceptable passes for entry into Athletic Events:

· VHSL Pass

· VHSCA (Coaches Pass)

· Media Credentials

· Gold Card/CPS Senior Citizen Pass (regular season ONLY)

· Faculty passes of those schools participating in the competition and CPS badges

Winter Sports– Monday, November 6th

• Boys Basketball – Erik Johnson – Erik.Johnson@cpschools.com
• Girls Basketball – Alan Jones - Alan.Jones@cpschools.com
• Swimming – Eric Henniker - Echenniker@gmail.com or Eric.henniker@cpschools.com
• Gymnastics – Kelley Williams - Kelley.williams@cpschools.com
• Wrestling – Patrick Shuler - Patrick.Shuler@cpschools.com
• Indoor Track – Leroy Harper – Leroy.harperjr@cpschools.com
• Cheer – Zoe Deuel - Zoe.Deuel@cpschools.com

Spring Sports – Monday, February 19th

• Baseball – Gary Spedden – Gary.spedden@cpschools.com
• Softball – Leroy Bohn – lbohn3@aol.com
• Track and Field – Leroy Harper – Leroy.harperjr@cpschools.com
• Girls Soccer – Kevin Ellis – Kevin.ellis@cpschools.com
• Boys Soccer – Brad Killenbeck Bradley.Killenbeck@cpschools.com
• Girls Tennis – Melissa Strickland - Melissa.Strickland2@cpschools.com
• Boys Tennis – Stephen Cutchin – sw10is@aol.com or Stephen.Cutchin@cpschools.com

*Specific locations and times of tryouts can be obtained from the main office, the school website, or by contacting the coach directly via e-mails shown above.

*A completed VHSL Physical Examination Form is required to be on file prior to trying out and participating in athletics. Forms may be found on the Athletic Website, the VHSL website or in the main office. (Other required forms for participation found on website: Social Media Contract, Concussion Form, CHKD release, CPS Sportsmanship Pledge, Emergency Information Form)

Core Course GPA – NCAA Eligibility

Every Grassfield High School athlete is invited to take advantage of Core Course GPA for FREE. Core Course GPA is a program that allows our athletes and their parents to track their progress to becoming eligible for NCAA participation. Information on how to create your personal account can be found on the athletics website or obtained from any Grassfield coach. All Grassfield High School athletes are highly encouraged to enroll.

Check Schedules, Get Updates, Scores and More with “R-school”

Parents and athletes can now check team schedules, records, scores, get updates on cancellations and postponements, and more utilizing “R-School”. All Grassfield parents and athletes are encouraged to go to www.southeasterndistrictva.org , go to the Grassfield High School tab. Download the app to get updates on your mobile device. More information regarding “R-School” can be found on the Grassfield Athletic website.

VHSL Alignments – Grassfield’s District, Region, and State

The VHSL alignment changed yet again in 2023. Information regarding specific schools, districts and regions can be found at www.vhsl.org. Grassfield currently competes in:

· Southeastern District (All Chesapeake and Suffolk secondary schools)

· Region 6A (Eleven level “6” high schools in Hampton Roads and Richmond)

· Virginia High School League (State Tournaments)

Grassfield High School Athletics Website

Be sure to visit the Grassfield High School Athletic Website to obtain information on: dates for athletic physicals, Core Course GPA, required forms, concussion testing, “R-School”, athletic recognition ceremony dates, youth sports camps, contact information (Athletic Director, coaches, trainers), and upcoming events.

Sports physicals are offered twice a year at Grassfield High School and are done by CHKD physicians. The physicals are $25 each and are offered in the months of February and May. Exact dates are contingent upon physician availability and are advertised at least two weeks in advance. Physicals begin at 4 p.m. and end at 6 p.m. promptly. VHSL physical forms can be downloaded from the school athletic website. Physicals are not valid if dated prior to May 1 of the previous school year. Parents are highly encouraged to maintain a copy of their athlete’s physical for summer camps, transfers, etc.

For up to date information about Grassfield Athletics follow @grassfieldathletics on instagram.

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s):

As cold and flu season approaches please remind your students of good health habits to protect themselves as well as others. Practicing these health habits will assist us in preventing the spread of illnesses in our school. We appreciate your help!

1. Get plenty of rest and be sure to consume nutritious food.

2. Do not share drinks or utensils with others.

3. Keep hydrated!! (No sodas/energy drinks do not count).

4. Practice frequent handwashing with soap and water or hand sanitizer, especially before meal times.

5. When coughing or sneezing, cover the nose and mouth by doing so into a tissue or bent elbow.

Grassfield High School Nurse

Alexis Primdahl, RN

757-558-4749

Effective July 1, 2021, the state of Virginia requires all students entering the 12th grade to have at least one dose of the MenACWY (meningococcal vaccine), on or after their 16th birthday. Proof of vaccination or appropriate documentation, must be turned in to the school. Please contact the Chesapeake Health Department with any questions at 757-382-8600.

Forms of accepted documentation

1. Proof the MenACWY vaccination was administered by your doctor's office, walk-in clinic, or pharmacy
2. A healthcare providers written statement of a medical exemption for a student who can not receive the vaccination due to medical reasons
3. A notarized religious exemption form. Can be found on the Virginia Department of Education’s Website. http://www.doe.virginia.gov/support/health_medical/certificate_religious_exemption.pdf

Students may receive the vaccination at walk-in care clinics, pharmacies, doctors office, etc. The vaccination is administered for free at any local health department.

Resource for Virginia recommended and required immunizations. https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/immunization/immunization-manual/acip/).

To register with the VDH, click the flyer to the left.