TTTTTThhhhhheeeeee LLLLLLiiiiiioooooonnnnnn''''''ssssss RRRRRRooooooaaaaaarrrrrr GLOUCESTER HIGH SCHOOL - NEWSLETTER - MAY 22ND, 2020

partnership. performance. pride.

Hello Parents,

We couldn't be more excited for our Seniors to return to campus individually with family members this week. Seniors families should make sure to review the additional details below. I'd like to extend congratulations and thanks to all of our AP teachers and students. AP testing will conclude early next week with the nal portfolio uploads in AP Studio Art and AP Computer Science Principles. An indescribable amount of hard work by students, staff, and families takes place throughout the entire year to achieve the success levels that we have in recent years. I endlessly admire and appreciate the collective commitment to leading our students to excel in one of the greatest "college & career readiness" preparatory environments that high school students throughout the world have available to them.

Make sure to thoroughly read all updates within this week's newsletter and watch Dr. Vespe's video public announcement below updating our school community comprehensively on how week 9 has gone and what to expect in the weeks ahead. Gloucester City School District continues to maintain a COVID 19 web page to centralize all information during this time for parents and the community. Wishing you and your family a Happy Memorial Day Weekend. Let us always remember and celebrate the courageous men and women who have served as well as those who continue to serve our great country every day of the year.

Stay Well...In Partnership,

Sean Gorman dr. vespe - week 10 covid psa - may 22nd, 2020

G.C.S.D. Covid P.S.A. Friday May 22nd, 2020

college & career readiness

Here's our 8th virtual campus tour...Check out 's beautiful Montclair State University Virtual Campus Tours.

2020 academic awards night

If you haven't seen it yet, our 2020 Academic Awards night turned out excellent in the virtual format. We are endlessly fortunate to have so much to celebrate and be proud of. Enjoy the ceremony below. Thanks to Dolson Catering for helping us preserve the tradition of providing desserts to families for the ceremony! G.H.S. Academic Awards Ceremony May 20th, 2020

amazing spring concert performance

Last night, we released an incredible joint performance of the Beatles classic "Hey Jude" by our Choir and Concert Band. All student members and directors did this from their own homes!

G.H.S. Virtual Spring Concert - May 21st, 2020 graduation update

Senior caps & gowns arrived at GHS on Wednesday and were distributed yesterday. If your child has not received their cap & gown yet, please reach out to our Senior class adviser, Mr. Pat Hagan, at [email protected].

We have close to 100 Senior families registered for a 10-minute appointment slots via Sign-Up Genius. Appointments close at 5 p.m. today. We prepared this week to complete this process next Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Appointments on any dates impacted by inclement weather would be moved to the same appointment time on Monday, June 1st.

Families can expect to: Enter the school parking lot and be directed to proceed to the eldhouse by our staff. They will pull their car behind the eldhouse, let their child exit the vehicle and enter the football , and proceed to pull their car around the back of the building and park behind the ticket booth/stadium entrance. The Senior should already be dressed in their cap & gown. The cap & gown can not be altered in any way. Sweatpants, jeans, t-shirts, tank-tops, sneakers and slides/ip- ops are prohibited. The expectation is that all graduation participants will wear either dress pants or a skirt/dress, a collared shirt, socks and shoes. As always, any graduate that does not have any of these articles of clothing can email our Senior counselor, Mrs. Bobo, at [email protected] with a brief description of what articles of clothing you do not have and what size you would need. The plan that we have had approved by multiple local, county, and State entities over the last two weeks includes students being permitted to have up to four family members with them. Friends are not permitted to attend. Including GHS staff members, only 10 people are permitted in the stadium at once. Maintenance will set up hand sanitizing stations as well as gloves and masks at both the graduate and family entrances. After parking their car behind the ticket booth/stadium entrance, families will be permitted to stand on the track and watch their child do the following: Stand & walk to the diploma table Receive their diploma case Walk & turn their tassel Each family will be permitted to stand with their graduate on the eld for a photo. Once this process is completed, the family will have to leave the stadium, enter their vehicle, and exit campus. We will not permit the subsequently scheduled graduate to leave their vehicle and enter the stadium until the previous family has exited the stadium.

We will lm this activity for all Seniors and create a video of all members of our outstanding Class of 2020 that will be released on our original graduation date, June 11th. Again, we fully plan on having a group Commencement ceremony any time that we are permitted to prior to September. This lmed activity would be in addition to that ceremony. student belonging pick-up

A Sign-Up Genius will soon be created and shared with all GHS families to make appointments to pick up any belongings their child left at school and drop off any school-issued materials. We are hoping that this will take place later in the week of June 1st. Once we are certain that potential inclement weather next week will not push the hybrid graduation ceremony into the week of June 1st, we will create the Student Belonging/Drop-Off Sign-Up Genius and share it with you.

We will schedule no more than 5 families every 20 minutes. Student belongings will have already been labeled and organized in a central location in our building. Staff members will greet families as they enter the parking lot and direct them to pull up into the horse shoe that leads to the front doors of the school. The greeter will utilize a walkie-talkie to inform staff members inside of the building of when a family arrives. Those staff members will bring the student materials out to the family vehicle similar to meal distribution.

We will have labeled bins present outside for families to drop off/return school-issued: Books Calculators Athletic Uniforms Miscellaneous Materials

There will be a table set up for Seniors to drop-off their Chromebook, charger, and bag. Underclassmen will keep their Chromebooks & accessories throughout the summer. athletic awards night - wednesday

Over 100 student athletes will be honored on Wednesday at our annual Athletic Awards Night which will be shared virtually at 7 p.m.:

Team Conference Champions Individual Conference All-Stars Individual All- Honorees Team Most Valuable Player, Coaches Award, Board of Education Award, and other assorted team honors Lion's Pride Award Winners - Seniors who achieve 6 or more career varsity letters Varsity team with highest academic average Marshall Halphen Award: presented to the Senior Boy and Girl who are most dedicated and unselsh to their sport. Carmen Palmiero Award: presented to the Senior Boy and Girl who exhibit the qualities of unselshness, neness of character, loyalty to school, humility to all and outstanding all-around athletic ability.

We will introduce a new “Lions Citizen of the Year” Award for a community member who “goes above and beyond” for the GHS community. GHS graduates, Alisha Fox and Stefano Okoro, will be our honored speakers that evening. They will speak to student-athletes about the impact athletics have made in shaping the person that they have become. senior signing day

We will celebrate our 3rd annual “Senior Signing Day” via a video that will be released tonight at 7. This activity highlights all Senior college and military commitments for the upcoming fall. The national movement has been supported by former rst lady, Michelle Obama. We look forward to sharing all of the accomplishments of this amazing class with you throughout the next couple of months. They may be remembered as the most accomplished class in our school's proud history! class of 2021 updates

class of 2021 - post-graduation planning

Our Guidance Department staff will soon create and release a video for Junior families during reviewing all of the tasks that they need to complete throughout June, July, and August as they proceed deeper into the post-secondary planning process. It is extremely important for all members of the Class of 2021 to return to our campus in September with a clear, evolving plan for the colleges, universities, and technical schools that they will apply to or military branches that they will meet with a representative of. This process will include unique challenges for our Junior families created by COVID-19 but we will be here to support you throughout the summer.

All high school parents should check out these Parent Action Plans that the College Board has created for every high school grade level. They break down important summer activities that parents should aim to do with their child every summer of high school. class of 2021 senior trip

We will be sharing a video next week for Juniors and their parents regarding their Senior trip. We are currently scheduled to depart on Monday, April 12th and return on Friday, April 16th. I will review trip highlights, payment deadlines, fundraising opportunities, and other trip details. I hope that your family participates in this once-in-a- lifetime opportunity. class of 2021 senior portraits

Our yearbook adviser has remained in contact with Lifetouch regarding Senior portraits for our Class of 2021. The plan right now is Juniors will be provided with scheduled times to report for their Senior portrait photo between August 31st and September 2nd with a make-up date scheduled for October 5th.

8th grade class of 2024 final orientation

8th grade students and their families from both Gloucester Middle School and Alice Costello School will have their nal orientation shared with them virtually on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. They will receive all summer reading & Math information and learn of opportunities to participate in summer athletic and extracurricular activities that we hope begin once social distancing requirements relax. Our Guidance staff will share information about interpreting their Freshman schedule and transcripts, course levels, and grade point average. Some of our Seniors will present to them briey about approaches that best served them throughout their high school careers and what they wished they had known prior to entering high school. award-winning navy lions rotc

Sterling High School had an ROTC postal competition earlier this school year. Gloucester High School's unit performed extremely well! Sebastian Smith tied for the top-score of all competitors with an 86. One of our Navy Lions teams came in 3rd place overall behind Chambersburg and George . Congratulations to all! prom date has been changed

We have remained in communication with Auletto Catererers throughout school closure regarding this year’s prom. At this time, we have postponed this year’s prom to July 17th. 11th & 12th grade students can still to submit prom reservations (via the below Google Form).

Note: Please complete only the online reservation form. You do not have to complete the permission slip at this time, but please review all documents for prom regulations and details. ALL INFORMATION IS TENTATIVE based on the ongoing COVID-19 school closure and crowd- size restrictions. We will not accept any payments until we know with certainty that prom will take place on July 17th. We remain committed to physically continuing this wonderful tradition this year if permitted. june home decorating contest - 2 weeks away

The heartfelt care and concern that our community has shown towards our Class of 2020 and all other Gloucester City School District students during this challenging time of school closure has been inspiring. We are inviting all Gloucester and Brooklawn residents to participate in a competition to collectively ll our towns with school pride and unity during our Seniors nal week of this school year. Families can decorate their homes (front door, Blue & Gold lights, balloons, etc.) as a tribute to all students and a sign of unity in support of them. We will have some members of our Senior class serve as judges. The competition will take place the week of Monday, June 8th - we wanted to give everyone as much time as possible to order decorations. The top 3 homes decorated will be awarded with $100 Amazon gift cards. Pictures of homes that participate will be emailed to [email protected] with your home address listed. We hope to continue this tradition during graduation weeks in the future. city camps cancelled for summer

Gloucester City representatives reached out to us this week to communicate that the annual youth summer camps will not be held this year due to the impacts of COVID-19. We look forward to these camps returning next summer and our students continuing to serve as excellent counselors and role models to children throughout our community. covid can't stop the lions news

The Lions News has transitioned to lming from home.

LPNN Remote Broadcast #12 - Friday May 22nd, 2020

next week meal distribution next week tech support next week office hours mental & emotion health resources

Our counseling department has compiled a list of Mental & Emotional Health Resources During COVID-19 for our students and families. We recognize that this is a stressful time for our community and our country. Taking care of your mental health is essential. We will continue to share additional resources as they become available. Please do not hesitate to reach out to our counseling staff if we can assist in any way. Download COVID 19 - Parent Guide to Helping Families Cope.pdf pdf 127.3 KB

yearbook purchases & distribution

Our Yearbook staff has been working hard to ensure that the impacts of COVID-19 create minimal delays in students receiving this year's yearbook. Here are the latest updates:

If you have already ordered a yearbook, either online or through Ms. Sacchetti or Mrs. Curto:

1. If you paid in full, you need to do nothing further 2. If you paid a partial payment: a) Call Jostens at 877-767-5217 to arrange to pay off any remaining balance. b) Mail your remaining balance by check payable to Gloucester High School to the High School at 1300 Market Street. Please make sure to add Attention: Yearbook - Ms. Sacchetti on the envelope so that it can be immediately directed to the yearbook. c) Pay your remaining balance at yearbook pickup that we hope occurs the week of June 9th.

If you still wish to purchase a yearbook:

1. Go to Jostens.com (this link is also available on our website) and order a yearbook. You can pay in full or you can set up to pay in 3 installments 2. Mail your check payable to Gloucester High School to the High School at 1300 Market Street. Please make sure to add Attention: Yearbook - Ms. Sacchetti on the envelope so that it can be immediately directed to the yearbook. 3. Extra yearbooks will be available at pick up but must be paid in full (rst come, rst served basis).

We do not yet have a denite delivery date from Josten's for yearbooks. We will have to wait to receive this information before sharing instructions with you on how distribution can be accomplished safely.

Any questions, please email Ms. Sacchetti at [email protected] or Mrs. Curto at [email protected]

Download Yearbook Sale Flyer.docx docx 12.2 KB the week ahead

Monday, May 25th – Memorial Day - School Closed

Tuesday, May 26th – Hybrid Commencement Filming Final 8th Grade Orientation Video Released for Students & Parents - 7 p.m. AP Studio Art - Deadline to submit portfolio: Midnight AP Computer Science Principles - Deadline to submit portfolio: Midnight Meal Distribution Day - A Week’s Supply of Lunch & Breakfast Will Continue to Be Distributed 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Families can pull up in a car to the 6th Street parking lot in the back of Gloucester Middle School to pick up a week’s lunches and breakfasts. There will also be a walk- up table for families without a vehicle. Student ID is required for pick-up. Note: Families who miss the Monday meal pick-up should email Mr. Gorman directly for assistance. Technology Support Hours - 3 to 4 p.m. @ GMS

Wednesday, May 27th – Hybrid Commencement Filming Athletic Awards Night Video Released - 7 p.m. Technology Support Hours - 3 to 4 p.m. @ GMS

Thursday, May 28th – Hybrid Commencement Filming Technology Support Hours - 3 to 4 p.m. @ GMS

Friday, May 29th – Blue & Gold Friday Technology Support Hours - 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. @ GMS athletics

Here is a recent announcement from the NJSIAA regarding Fall Sports on 5-12-20:

Will we have sports in fall? Certainly, there are many unknowns – and public health is paramount. As athletic administrators, our number one goal is the safe return to school and play as quickly as possible. We remain hopeful that school activities, including sports, will return in the fall. With every positive step related to testing, tracing, and treatments -- and other improving measures – we get closer to our goal. At this very moment, teams of education and medical professionals from around the country -- including experts in public health, sports medicine, pediatrics and others -- are developing return-to-school and return-to-play protocols that will ensure the safe return and play for all. We’re optimistic that these steps will help our kids get back to school and back to the playing eld in the fall.

If so, when will is start? At this point, our scheduled start date for the fall season is as indicated below. However, should this timing is pushed back then NJSIAA will work with our leagues and conferences to accommodate whatever guidelines are in place, and that may impact scheduling. Football – August 10 All other sports – August 17

Will things change? We shouldn’t be surprised by modications that impact various educational activities, including athletics. Exactly what these might be remains to be determined – but, similar to the school day, we should anticipate adjustments.

But I’m hearing rumors that X During times of uncertainty, it’s not uncommon for rumors to circulate. When it comes to high school , please use only reputable sources of information, including New Jersey state agencies, the NJSIAA, or the ocial channels of your school district.

For the most up-to-date information on all Lions Athletics Schedules, check here. fall sports registration

Don't forget to register your child for fall athletics online through Family ID. This process helps ensure that all student- athletes have met the various athletic eligibility requirements, including medical clearance. June 5th is the deadline. There is no cost for registration. You can nd all information here. Reach out to our Athletic Department at [email protected] if you need any assistance. athletics summer session

The NJSIAA permits athletic teams to work together with their coaches during the ocial summer session. The long-standing quote of "many championships are won during the off-season" often comes to mind. We are optimistic that social distancing requirements will continue to relax and our athletic teams will get to work together in the summer. Make sure that your child is signed up for the Google Classroom and/or Remind accounts listed below of the programs they are interested in joining so they keep informed of all team activities this summer.

photos of the week

Thanks to our Maintenance Department for rehanging our Track "Forever Champions" banner yesterday at Mary Ethel Costello School. Make sure to check it out behind the TD Bank parking lot. want a peer tutor for your child?

Tutoring is available during school closure. Please reach out to your child's Guidance counselor any time that you feel that they could benet from the additional support:

Grades 9: Mr. Kevin Hagan Grade 10: Mrs. Charles Grade 11: Mr. Bakey Grade 12: Mrs. Bobo upcoming events:

June 2nd-4th - Tentative Student Belonging Pick-Up Dates June 4th - Early Dismissal Schedule Begins June 5th - Fall Sports Registration Closes on Family ID June 5th - Senior Final GHS Walk-Out Video Released June 9th - Baccalaureate Video Released June 10th - Senior Final Walk-Outs: Cold Springs, Gloucester Middle School. & Alice Costello School Video Released June 10th - Senior Luncheon Video Released June 10th - Senior Sunset June 11th - Final Day for Students June 11th - Commencement June 15th & 16th - Summer School Registration June 21st - Father’s Day June 22nd - Summer School Begins June 22nd - Senior trip payments accepted: All grade levels July 17th - Prom Reschedule Date July 27th - Athletic Physical Paperwork Due August 25th & 26th - Student “Drop/Add” Days featured college of the week

Georgetown University is a medium-sized, 4-year, private university located in Washington, DC. There are approximately 7,500 undergraduate students with a freshman class size of roughly 1,600. Admitted students typically rank in the top 10% of their high school class and have an SAT score between 1380 and 1550. Click here to learn more - Georgetown University. pre-school registrations

Pre-K registrations for the 2020-2021 school year will begin to be accepted on Monday. Only Gloucester City residents with a child who will turn 3 or 4 before October 1st, 2020 are eligible for this outstanding program. Check out additional information below. athletic boosters announce august wildwood social

The rst-ever "All-Class Reunion" Social will be held this August 8th at the Seaport Pier on Wildwood's boardwalk. Save the date and support Lion's athletics! lions school store

Purchase all of your Lions gear from the ocial source here... lion's roar student newspaper

Check out the most recent issue here... yearbook orders

Keepsakes to forever remember your high school experience... powerschool parent portal

Access your child's grades & attendance any time... nutrislice parent cafeteria accounts

Add funds to your child's lunch account at any time. ghs guidance department

GHS Guidance Department Website---College planning, military resources, scholarships, nancial aid, and much more...

College Board---Invaluable resources for nearly everything related to "College & Career Readiness"---PSAT's, SAT's, AP classes, college & major searches, scholarship searches, etc.

NJ STARS---Free college tuition for students in the top 15% of their class!

FAFSA---Free Application for Federal Student Aid

HESSA---Everything New Jersey families need to know about nancial aid.

Federal Student Aid---US Department of Education's nancial aid website.

AVID---Learn more about this application-based program which has proven to prepare all students for college readiness & success in a global society since 1980. gloucester high school

1300 Market Street Gloucester, NJ 08030 (856) 456-7000 ext: 1513 follow us on

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