Grosse Pointe South High School

Hello South Families!

Every day, you entrust us with the people most precious to you - your children. We take that responsibility seriously and want South to be a place where every student and staff member feels safe, supported, and comfortable speaking up.

Please remind your children that if they see or hear something concerning, they should report it immediately to a trusted adult on campus. Students do not need to determine whether a concern is credible before sharing it. It is always better to bring something forward and allow us to investigate than to remain silent out of uncertainty or fear of retaliation. If students are worried about what might happen because they reported a concern, we want them to share that worry with us, too, so we can help support them. Sharing a concern takes courage and is the right thing to do. I would rather investigate a concern and have it turn out to be nothing than have a concern go unreported and miss an opportunity to keep us safe.

Please also review these important reminders with your children:

• Never prop open an exterior door. Keeping our building secure depends on everyone following our entry procedures.

• Once school has started, do not open exterior doors to let anyone in, even someone you recognize. All visitors must enter through the secured vestibule.

• Report safety concerns immediately to a trusted adult, such as a teacher, counselor, administrator, or campus support staff member.

Students and families can also use OK2SAY, Michigan’s confidential student safety reporting program, to share concerns about potential harm to students, staff, or schools. Reports can be made 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by texting 652729, calling 855-565-2729, or visiting Michigan.gov/OK2SAY. In an emergency, call 911.

Thank you for having these conversations at home and for partnering with us. When students know that speaking up is an act of care for themselves and others, we strengthen the safety of our entire school community.

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

Cindy Parravano

313-432-3504

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

Last week, I invited community members to share their stories with South students through our Lunch & Learn program. The response has been wonderful, and our November and December speaker dates are now filled. Thank you to everyone who volunteered to share their experiences, career journeys, and life lessons.

We look forward to continuing this speaker series into January and beyond. Our ultimate goal is to host a career fair in April where South students can explore a variety of professions, connect with community members, and learn about potential summer opportunities.

If you would like to speak at a future Lunch & Learn, participate in the career fair, or share summer opportunities for students, please email me at hyliard@gpschools.org.

Your experience could help a student discover a path they had never considered.

Daniel Hyliard

Congratulations to South Senior, Jamesetta Tucker, she finished the Detroit Marathon on October 18! She ran in the female under-20 age group, which had only 18 runners, and she was one of just three young women under 18 to finish.

WE are proud you YOU!

Have a shoutout? Email to Dr. Hyliard - hyliard@gpschools.org

Parents,

Our School Picture RETAKE day will be October 29th for student's who wish to have their photo retaken. See link and QR code below for ordering.

Link to shopping cart: https://shop.imagequix.com/g1001418668

Attention Senior Families,

The yearbook's deadline for Senior Portraits is October 27th. This means you need your portrait in if you are going to a private photographer on the 27th. If you are going to a local studio you must make an appointment on or before October 27th.

Also checkout our website for upcoming dates and offers. http://www.itsyouryearbook.com/GPS.html

If you have any questions you can also contact Mr. Cilluffo at cillufj@gpschools.org

John J. Cilluffo

Grosse Pointe South High School

Athletic Clerk 313 432-3541

Yearbook Adviser 313 432-3615

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.

Figure Skating

Informational Skater Meeting - October 26th at SCS Civic Arena Lobby – 6:30 PM

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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

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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!

Thank You!

Any feedback is welcome.

Paul Angelo

Grosse Pointe Public Schools

Food Service Director

Office: (313) 432-3258

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