NEWS from the NEST
CHAPIN HIGH SCHOOL Mid August 2025
Eagle Family,
What a fantastic start to the 2025-2026 school year! Our students are settling in nicely—making new friends, building strong academic habits, and setting the stage for success.
This year, we’re excited to introduce a new structure to our well-loved Power Hour—the dedicated time in the middle of the day designed to nourish students’ minds, bodies, and souls through academic enrichment (mind), lunch (body), and meaningful peer interaction (soul).
To better support academic growth, the first half of Power Hour will now be NEST Time (Necessary Enrichment Study Time). During these 30 minutes, students can get extra help from teachers or catch up on missing assignments. Starting after Labor Day, students will have the flexibility to choose where they spend NEST Time, as long as it’s in a designated academic space—whether that’s a teacher’s classroom, the media center, or study hall. Students who have a grade of 69 or lower will be assigned NEST Time for that particular class. We have found that grades that fall into that range are primarily due to missing assignments. This structure will allow students to complete these assignments and improve their grades. To support student attendance in “Necessary Enrichment”, we will partner with parents by notifying you when your child is assigned Enrichment and by contacting you if your child does not attend as scheduled.
The second half of Power Hour is reserved for lunch. Students may eat in the cafeteria, student lounge, amphitheater, arena lobby, or even in teachers’ classrooms. Of course, the cafeteria remains open to all students, regardless of whether they bring lunch from home.
We are also thrilled to offer a new Senior Lunch privilege this year! Seniors are not required to attend NEST Time unless they are failing a class. However, seniors who are in good academic standing can choose to go to enrichment if they need help. During the first half of Power Hour, all seniors are invited to enjoy a Senior-Only Lunch in the cafeteria—a special time to relax and connect.
As a reminder, students are not permitted to leave campus during Power Hour unless they are attending a CATS or Dual Enrollment class. We kindly ask that you encourage your child to follow this policy so we can ensure a safe and successful school year for everyone.
Thank you for your continued support as we work together to make this a successful year for every Eagle!
August 18th - 22nd kicked off our very first Spirit Week of the year! Student Government has planned a full week of fun, themed dress-up days for everyone to enjoy. Students, start planning your outfits and get ready to show your Eagle pride all week long! 🦅
Seniors who have a class at the Center on Friday morning and would like your attendance excused so that you can attend the Toga Pep Rally, you MUST check in with Ms. Manning or Ms. Register BEFORE the pep rally begins near the tunnel/lower athletic hallway where you enter the gym in your togas. If you do not check-in with one of us for attendance purposes, your attendance will NOT be excused. Underclassmen must attend their Center classes and will not be excused. Only students directly involved in Friday’s pep rally (e.g., band, student government, etc.) will be excused.
Aug. 18th & 19th Freshman Classroom Visits!
This week, school counselors met with ninth graders to highlight the importance of staying on track academically. Students were introduced to their counselors, learned how to schedule an appointment, reviewed the credits required for promotion to 10th grade and for graduation, and discussed how maintaining a high GPA can open doors to future scholarships.
Aug. 25th & 26th Senior Classroom Visits!
Chapin High School Counselors will visit Senior Government and Economics classes to answer college application questions, share scholarship information, and review Parchment—the transcript request program.
Sept.16th, 18th & 19th - College Essay Writing Workshop!
Meet in the Career Center during NEST!
Get personalized help to make your college essay stand out, impress admissions, and boost scholarship chances—no matter where you are in the drafting process. Bring a charged device and your questions!
FIRST JOBS APPLICATION NOW OPEN
Juniors & Seniors: How would you like to work in the school--and get paid for it!
The First Jobs Program is a LexRich5 initiative that hires students to work in 3 different areas: cafeteria, custodial, and clerical. If you're interested, see Mrs. Moseley in the Career Center (ROOM 101) for application information and parent permission form. Application window closes August 24th.
Underclassmen - September 8th & 9th
Underclassmen will come with your Science class to the media center to have your photo taken for the yearbook.
Seniors - September 15th
SENIORS ONLY! Missed summer portraits? Make-up day is Sept. 15. Check your Aug. 19th email to schedule your appointment - this is your last chance for a yearbook photo!
Order your yearbook!
Yearbooks are $85.00.
Save $10.00 off at checkout with coupon code 10EAGLES from NOW until August 31st. Click on image to order!
The PowerSchool Parent Portal is a secure, user-friendly tool that connects parents, students, and teachers. It provides real-time access to grades, homework, attendance, and assignments to help support student success.
Click the icon to access the PowerSchool Parent/Student Portal.
Please refer to this Brochure on how to set up Powerschool.
Eagle Family,
We’ve had a great start to the 2025-26 school year, with students settling into routines and enjoying traditions like Senior Signing Day. As the first full week wraps up, here are a few important attendance reminders:
Early Dismissals – Email notes to chsattendance@lexrich5.org by noon. Requests after 12:00 p.m. may not be processed in time.
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Attendance Overview – Please watch the this video for full details on District Five’s updated procedures for Seat Time and Truancy, especially if you are the parent of a new student to Chapin High School.
Key Points:-
Seat Time: Max 10 absences in a year-long course or 5 in a semester course. All absences (medical, parent note, suspension, etc.) count toward this limit. Exceeding the limit results in a grade of FA (Failure due to Absence) and a 0.0 GPA value unless seat time is made up during recapture sessions ($15/hour).
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Truancy: Refers to full-day absences. Parent notes for illness count toward the 10 full-day limit but do not excuse seat time.
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Medical Notes: Must be submitted within 5 school days or absences will be unexcused.
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Please closely monitor your child’s attendance closely to avoid loss of credit. Please ensure that absences coded as Parent Note, Unexcused Parent Note, Late, and Unexcused do not exceed 10 as a combined total in a year long class or 5 as a combined total in a semester class.
REMINDER - Chapin High School is a closed campus. Students are expected to remain on school grounds throughout the school day unless properly signed out by a parent or guardian. Sign out procedures. (scroll to the bottom of the webpage)
We appreciate your partnership in ensuring student success!
For questions, contact Ms. Ilvin Flowers at 803-575-5402 or your child’s administrator.
