Grosse Pointe South High School

Before I get into my message I have two brief announcements:

1. No school on Tuesday for students. Teachers will be engaging in professional learning.

2. Coffee and Conversations with me, Wednesday, November 4 at 6pm in Cleminson Hall.

On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to review some school data with a team of teachers. I want to share what we learned, highlight two of our school improvement goals, and ask for your help.

We are blessed with wonderful students. We see their kindness, talents, and potential every day. We also know that growing up involves learning to make responsible choices. When school and home work together to reinforce expectations, we help students build habits that support their success.

Two of our school improvement goals are:

• Behavior: Each school year, reduce the percentage of students receiving a disciplinary referral by 2%.

• Academic achievement: Over three years, increase the percentage of students scoring proficient or higher on M-STEP and PSAT/SAT assessments by an average of 5%.

During the 2025–2026 school year, we recorded 1,664 office referrals, and 44% of our students received at least one referral. The most frequent categories included tardies, with 644 recorded instances (not going to lie…I know it’s higher than this); skipped classes, with 477; electronic device violations, with 243; cheating, with 87; leaving campus, with 25; and plagiarism, with 15. These numbers represent incidents, so an individual student may account for more than one referral.

Our annual behavior goal may sound modest, but it represents meaningful progress. Reducing the percentage of students receiving a referral from 44% to 42% (a decrease of two percentage points) would mean approximately 23 fewer students receiving a referral. Behind each number is a student we want to help succeed.

Our behavior and academic goals are closely connected. Students are better positioned to learn when they attend every class, arrive on time, manage distractions, and complete their work honestly.

Here is how you can help:

• Report legitimate absences. If your child is absent for a legitimate reason, please contact the attendance office so we have accurate attendance information.

• Support accountability for skipping. If your child skips class, please do not call to excuse the absence. Allow them to take responsibility and experience the school consequences, while helping them make a plan for better choices.

• Talk about academic honesty. Reinforce the importance of doing their own work and avoiding cheating and plagiarism. Encourage your child to ask their teacher for help when they feel confused, overwhelmed, or unprepared.

• Help your child arrive on time. Please reinforce punctuality both at school and throughout the day, especially on Monday mornings when we have a later start. Students still need to be in class on time and ready to learn.

• Reinforce school expectations. Talk with your child about following electronic device rules, attending every class, and remaining on campus unless they have permission to leave and check out through the attendance office.

We care deeply about our students and believe in their ability to grow. Thank you for partnering with us, reinforcing expectations at home, and helping your child make choices that support their learning and success.

Here’s to a week of learning, leading, and growing!

Cindy Parravano

313-432-3504

As the first quarter comes to a close, take a few minutes to talk with your student about their experience at South. Before focusing on grades, start with what they are proud of. Recognizing effort, progress, and accomplishments can open the door to a meaningful conversation about growth.

As a South parent myself, I have these same conversations with my own student. I understand the balance of celebrating successes, working through challenges, and encouraging greater independence. We are in this together as a community.

Consider asking your student:

• What are you most proud of this quarter, and why?

• When did you work through something difficult? What helped you?

• What habits helped you feel prepared and successful?

• What would you like to improve next quarter?

• What is one specific change you want to make to help you reach that goal?

Listen with curiosity, celebrate their successes, and help them choose one or two realistic steps for the next quarter.

Whether their goal is completing assignments more consistently, arriving on time, asking for help sooner, or challenging themselves academically, a clear plan can make improvement feel manageable.

Let’s keep talking with our students, listening to their experiences, and encouraging them along the way. Together, we can help them recognize their strengths, learn from challenges, and enter the next quarter with confidence.

Daniel Hyliard

Specifically, smartwatches (Apple, Google, Samsung, etc.) and AI glasses (Ray-Ban, Meta, Oakely, etc.) are considered personal communication devices and fall under the Off and Out of Sight policy. Also note, the College Board does not allow AI glasses (Ray-Ban, Meta, Oakely, etc.) in testing. Please be aware of the district technology guidelines before purchasing for your student.

A selection from the full GPPSS Board Policy on Personal Communication Devices is copied below:

4.21 Personal Communication Devices

A “personal communication device” is a privately-owned device that is used for audio, video or text communications. “Personal communication device” includes, but is not limited to, computers, tablets (e.g. iPads and similar devices), electronic readers (“E-readers,” e.g. Kindles and similar devices), cell phones (e.g. mobile/cellular telephones, smartphones (e.g. iPhone, Android devices, Windows Mobile devices, etc.), telephone paging devices (e.g. beepers or pagers), and/or other web-enabled devices of any type.

Rebecca Fannon

Director of Communications
Grosse Pointe Public School System

Please encourage your student to attend 8th hour Tutorial! We offer free tutoring and an opportunity to get assignments completed.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JHW_RWmwnaQy0nkk18DOv29ETcij43EW-7PO9xINzs8/edit?tab=t.0

We're Happy You're Here

This fall, GPPSS is not hosting a district-wide Open House. We have studied the data about who attends, and listened to staff and busy families that shared ideas on how best to reach them as they make decisions about schools. So, our building tours will be conducted with our Info Nights in January:

• Tuesday, January 12 - Rising 5th Grade Info Night at all 3 middle schools

• Wednesday, January 13 - Rising 9th Grade Info Night at both high schools

• Thursday, January 14- Kindergarten & Young Fives Info Night at your local elementary school

In the meantime, please know we schedule personal tours and shadow opportunities through our website or by calling any building principal.

Not sure which is your neighborhood school? Here is our district boundary map or you may email verify@gpschools.org to check an address.

We recognize families have choices. We hope that as you make this decision for your child you consider the depth and breadth of our academic, extracurricular, and athletic programs and share this information with your friends and neighbors. Here are some data sources we urge you to compare:

• High School Program of Studies - 130 pages of course offerings including:

• 27 Advanced Placement Courses

• 5 World Languages

• 8 Career & Technical Education (CTE) programs

• 2 Grammy award winning music programs with courses including music theory, concert and symphony band, concert and symphony orchestra, drama, and multiple choirs

• 2 Spartan award winning student newspapers

• 30 sports, 120 teams

• 50+ clubs

• Middle School Program of Studies - including:

• Strong core curriculum instruction through advanced math

• Fine and performing arts

• Electives tied to student interest including family and consumer services, TV production, band, choir, orchestra, world music, physical education and more

• Support - including academic, English learner and special education services

• World Languages - Spanish & French

• Dozens of cubs including art, chess, robotics, Green Team, Peer to Peer, WEB (Where Everyone Belongs) leaders, and yearbook

• Athletics - including Boys Basketball, Girls Basketball, Cross Country, Swimming/Diving, Track, Girls Volleyball, Wrestling

• Opportunities for service learning including National Junior Honor Society

• Elementary Program of Studies

• Designed to provide students with a well-rounded, age-appropriate education that prepares them for success in their academic and personal lives

• Emphasizes the development of fundamental and enrichment skills in reading, writing, math, science, and social studies, as well as physical education, library and the arts

Attention Seniors

Please email Mr. Cilluffo if you did NOT take a senior photo and still want one. Email cillufj@gpschools.org

Also Senior Superlatives and Senior Quotes go live on November 2nd. Click on the link below.

http://www.itsyouryearbook.com/GPS.html

John J. Cilluffo

Grosse Pointe South High School

Yearbook Adviser 313 432-3615

Save Time — Purchase Tickets in Advance!

Buying your tickets ahead of time on GoFan.co will make the entry process faster and help you get to the action sooner.

If your student is participating in a sport at South, Final Forms must be completed.

Everything you need is at gpsouthathletics.com:

• Final Forms links
• All sports schedules
• EVENTS for all upcoming athletic events
• SPORTS for team-specific schedules and information

Get your forms done, check the schedule, and let’s have a great fall season!

All things Sports can be found here!

As the new school year kicks off, basketball season is right around the corner!

This year, we will be shifting how we communicate both with players and families - we will be utilizing the GPS Athletics App. Please download the app ASAP and register for your respective role (player, parent/guardian). The app will serve as our primary mode of communication moving forward - we will post messages and our game and practice schedule will also live on the app.

We are really excited to be making this shift and I think it will allow for much smoother and more transparent communication! If you need any help downloading, don’t hesitate to reach out. I’ve included a photo of what the app looks like below.

Next important thing, we want to make sure we have all of the correct information on file for girls interested in playing basketball this year. Please complete this survey and share with anyone else who may be interested: https://forms.gle/kBVzq3vRA52Bi4FJ9

All of the links will also be added to the app, so the most important thing is to sign up for the app - that is where all communication will occur moving forward.

Best,

Coach Caitlin

Getting involved in clubs is a great way for students to explore interests, build friendships, and strengthen leadership skills.

Grosse Pointe South High School is proud to offer over 65 student clubs and activities, both curricular and co-curricular. We encourage students to explore these opportunities and find a group that sparks their interests.

Please visit the links below to see the full list of clubs and activities available.

Student Link (with student contact info)

Parent/Outside Link (no student info)

Description of all Clubs