It's Wednesday of Hartford Fair week. Students are practicing sports, and I've heard the band practicing for the past few weeks. That means it is time for school to begin. Welcome Back! The custodial staff and the administrative assistants have been working diligently this summer in preparation for school to begin.

Since students cannot learn if they do not feel safe, your student's safety is central to everything we do at Centerburg High School. If you ever have a concern about your child's safety, please contact me directly. You can reach me by calling the office or by emailing me at brent.garee@centerburgschools.org.

Upcoming Events

August 12- Open House: 6:00pm - 8:00pm

August 14 - First Day of School

September 2- Labor Day (No School)

September 28- Homecoming

I have a few quick reminders and announcements below for you before we begin school on Wednesday.

Let's make it a great school year.

Let's Go Trojans!

Brent Garee

High School Principal

First, make sure you have completed all the requested information forms on Final Forms. It's crucial that we have your emergency medical information on file when school begins. Go to the district website www.centerburgschools.org, and click on: “Final Forms” (or click on the link above). If assistance is needed, please do not hesitate to call. If you need a computer and/or internet access you can come into the school to complete.

Starting tomorrow, students should be able to access their schedules on PowerSchool. If you need help accessing PowerSchool, please call the office. If you would like to make a schedule change request, please fill out the Schedule Change Request document that Mrs. Ballinger will be sending out. Schedule changes will be addressed in the order they are electronically submitted to the office.

A couple notes to remember about schedule change requests:

1. We do not change schedules so students can take classes with their friends or significant others.

2. If you drop a class, you will need to add another class. Students are only allowed to have one study hall per semester unless they are taking a College Credit Plus (CCP) class. CCP students may have two study halls.

If your child is going to be absent or if you need to change the way your child is going home, you may call the office or email attendance.ms.hs@centerburgschools.org. The secretaries will be checking it throughout the school day.

Students may enter the building at 7:45 AM. They may eat breakfast/wait in the cafeteria until 8:10. At 8:10, students may enter the hallways and access their lockers. Students being picked up at the end of the day will exit through the front entrance of the school. All students are to be out of the building by 3:15 unless under the supervision of teacher, coach, or class/club advisor.

Breakfast is served every day beginning at 7:45 AM. Breakfast costs $1.50. Lunch is $3.00. Free/Reduced Meal application affects funding in many areas. We ask that ALL families fill out the Free/Reduced Lunch application (the form is on Final Forms) to ensure continued funding to support ALL students in our district!

The staff at Centerburg High School is dedicated to creating positive learning environments for our students. Personal Communication Devices (PCDs) often disrupt instructional time for our students. For this reason, classrooms are cell phone free. Students may not use their phones during the class period (or when they leave the classroom for a bathroom break). Students may only use their electronic devices between class periods and during lunch.

Ohio law now requires all schools to adopt a policy governing the use of cell phones by students during school hours. Our policy can be found in the Centerburg MS/HS Handbook. The policy states:

Students may use PCDs before and after school, during their lunch break, in between classes as long as they do not create a distraction, disruption or otherwise interfere with the educational environment, during after school activities (e.g., extra-curricular activities), or at school-related functions. Use of PCDs, except those approved by a teacher or administrator, at any other time is prohibited and they must be powered completely off (i.e., not just placed into vibrate or silent mode) and stored out of sight.

The Department of Education & Workforce explain that “Studies show the rise of the use of cell phones contributes to several related harms in the daily lives of smart phone users, including social deprivation, sleep deprivation, and attention fragmentation. For students, these harms may contribute to an increase in youth mental health concernsand have negative impacts on academic performance. Youth mental health symptoms and disorders continue to rise at concerning levels in the United States, with at least 1 in 5 children reporting mental, emotional, developmental, or behavioral disorders.”

Welcome back students! As we enter the new school year please be in mind of the following safety points.

• During school hours all of the doors need to be locked. Do not prop the doors open with any items as they tend to be forgotten, leaving the door open.
• Do not open locked doors for anyone; all visitors need to enter the main doors and check in at the front desk.
• Do not leave the building without permission or signing out. This is for safety purposes as during school hours we need to know where everyone is.
• Safety is everyone's responsibility, if you see someone doing something that could hurt themselves or others please let a staff member know. It is not "snitching"or being a tattle tale if someone is at risk.
• Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any concerns or questions.
• Be kind to each other. Don't say anything to someone in person or online that you wouldn't want to hear back.

Let's have a wonderful and safe school year!

Deputy Mercer