PARENT

CONNECTION

WEEKLY

Spring 2021

May 7, 2021

Newsletters will be sent weekly on Fridays to parents/guardians and students. If you have questions or suggestions regarding the newsletters, email Deb Lange. We value your feedback. Past newsletters are available on the WHS website.

Dates to Remember

May 14: Online Mindfulness Class for Students

May 14: WHS Chinese Club Guest Speaker

May 15: Prom, Seniors Only

May 31: Memorial Day - No School

June 3: Seniors Last Day of School

June 4: Synchronous Classes

June 4: Graduation

June 5: Senior Party

June 10: Last Day of School

Upcoming Events

WHS Chinese Club Guest Speaker

WHS Chinese Club is excited to announce guest speaker Dr. Hong Cheng's presentation on "Cultural Shocks across the Ocean: an Early History of Asian Immigrants in America" to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month! Chinese Club will be hosting a Zoom meeting open to all WHS students and the communities on Friday, May 14 at 2:15 p.m. Contact Heng Laoshi for more information.

Hong Cheng has his Ph.D. and MA in History and MLIS in Library and Information Science from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He is currently the Chinese Studies Librarian at UCLA, and the Vice President / President-Elect of the Council on East Asian Libraries in North America. Hong Cheng's research fields include Asian socio-economic and cultural history, historical philosophy, and library theory, and he published a number of books and academic articles in history and library studies.

General Information

Attendance Reporting for in-person students

The attendance offices have been receiving a high volume of parent phone calls in regards to in-person students attending classes online. Students who have chosen to attend school in person are highly encouraged to physically attend. If your student is designated as an in-person learner, but is home attending classes virtually due to an illness or another reason not COVID related, please enter the attendance in Skyward Family Access and choose HS NONCOVID REMOTE PARTICIPATE for the absence reason. Notifying teachers is appreciated, but the attendance office must be notified in order to verify the attendance. Students who do not have a verified reason to be absent from an in-person class may be marked Unverified/Participating (which shows as a "Y" on their attendance) if they Zoom into class without a parent notifying the attendance office first. This ensures we have accurate records should we need to contact trace for COVID purposes.

How to report absences and remote participants: (Please choose only one method.)

Skyward Family Access: Choose appropriate reason for the absence, and provide any additional information (including COVID symptoms if applicable) about the absence. Uncheck the "All Day" box to enter a specific time, or leave it checked for a full day.
Attendance line - 763-745-6655: Please choose the correct prompt (1-4) based on your student's last name.

In addition, please know that your student may be marked unverified if they log into their Zoom class and are not present or responsive to prompts for engagement from the teacher via the camera, chat or verbally.

Please Note: Parent entered Skyward requests are not immediate. Please allow the Attendance Office 2 hours to process your request. For requests less than 2 hours, please call your alpha attendance office directly.

Yearbook Distribution and Sales

Yearbooks will be arriving at the end of May. Distribution will happen the week of June 1. Final details are still being worked out for exact dates and times but will be communicated as soon as possible. Please check our purchased list on our website to see if you have purchased a book. If you have not purchased a book yet, there is still time. There are limited books available and are sold on a first come first serve basis. You can buy your Wayako Yearbook by visiting our whsyearbook.com site and click on the "Buy Your Yearbook" button.

Summer Student Volunteers Needed

Wayzata High School students are needed as volunteers across the community this summer. Volunteering during the summer is a great way to serve one's community and gain valuable experience and skills.

Organizations and programs needing Wayzata High School student volunteers this summer include: Camp Explore at Meadow Ridge, Wayzata Kids summer sites, Wayzata Summer Youth Camps at Oakwood, Wayzata Chamber of Commerce special events, City of Plymouth, local senior living communities, and more.

Check out the Wayzata High School - Summer Youth Volunteer Opportunities brochure for a wide variety of volunteer opportunities. Many volunteer opportunities have registration deadlines coming up fast, so don't delay reviewing the volunteer options for summer. For questions, contact Brenda Badger, Club Y.E.S. Program Manager at brenda.badger@wayzataschools.org or (763)745-6807.

Transferring Schools?

Moving? Changing schools? Please contact Nancy Vogt, Registrar, at 763-745-6731 or email nancy.vogt@wayzataschools.org. Nancy will work with teachers to get withdrawal grades if your student is leaving before the term is over and send records to the new school once a records request is provided by the new school. Please also fill out this withdrawal document which notifies our Welcome Center that your student is withdrawing and will allow them to withdraw your student and any other students in your family that might be leaving.

Youth in Business Virtual Summer Camp

Youth in Business is hosting a virtual summer camp at a low cost from June 14-18, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. for interested incoming middle schoolers to freshman who want an introduction to business! Camp will feature lectures and a guest speaker, with students creating their own marketing plans to present. Go to https://youthinbusinessmn.weebly.com/ for more information/registration!

Summer Volunteer Opportunity for Wayzata High School Students - Camp Explore

Camp Explore is a summer learning camp for elementary students in Wayzata Public Schools. It is designed with programming that ensures each student reaches their academic goals while having FUN! It's more like going to camp than going to school! Enthusiastic and caring high school student volunteers are needed throughout the camp to provide assistance to teachers and help ensure campers have a fun summer camp experience. Students in service programs such as Club Y.E.S. and NHS are encouraged to apply. Registration is required and space is limited. View the 2021 Camp Explore Volunteers program flier for more information and to access the registration link. The registration deadline is May 14 or until all spots are filled. For questions contact Brenda Badger.

Minnesota Bilingual Seals & Global Seals

Students in grades 10, 11, or 12 have the opportunity to earn a Minnesota World Language Certificate, Bilingual/Multilingual, or Global Seal through home-testing options. This is a wonderful opportunity to recognize all of our students' languages as assets. To earn a Minnesota Certificate or Seal, students must demonstrate proficiency in listening, reading, speaking and writing in a language(s) other than English. NEW this spring, students can earn a Global Seal by demonstrating proficiency in speaking and writing in a language(s) other than English. All Certificate and Seal awards will be noted in students' high school transcripts. Students who earn a Certificate or Seal may be eligible for college credit and/or advanced placement in a university-level language course.

Students who complete an AP Language & Culture Exam automatically earn a Certificate (AP score of 3), Gold Seal (AP score of 4), or Platinum Seal (AP score of 5). No further testing is needed.

Students who do not or cannot complete the in-person AP Language & Culture Exam have the opportunity for home-testing on Friday, May 21 from 12:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. Proficiency tests are currently available in the languages of Amharic, Armenian, Arabic, Chin (Hakha) Chinese, Chuukese, Czech, Filipino (Tagalog) French, German, Hatian-Creole, Hawaiian ('Ōlelo Hawai'i), Hebrew, Hindi, Hmong, Ilocano, Italian, Japanese, Kannada, Korean, Marathi, Marshallese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Samoan, Spanish, Somali, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Turkish, Urdu, Vietnamese, and Yup'ik.

Interested students should register and submit payment on ePay. The deadline for registration and payment is May 10, 2021. Additional testing opportunities will be offered in August 2021, February 2022, and May 2022.

More information can be found here.

Social Studies Department Feature

Race and Ethnicity in America is a new elective course this year in the Social Studies Department and we have had a wonderful experience of learning and discovering together.

This year, we have all seen that talking and learning about race is hard and often uncomfortable. An incredible aspect of a course like this is to allow the space and time for students to practice, make mistakes, learn and grow.

You can see various projects students worked on at our class website.

Health & Wellness

Online Mindfulness Class for WHS Students

Mindfulness is a powerful, research-based practice that can help teens reduce stress and anxiety, and improve focus and concentration. This mindfulness class consists of seven sessions in which students will learn basic mindfulness practices and develop strategies for self-care and stress reduction. The course also includes:

strategies for navigating school-related and/or test anxiety
practices for working with overwhelm and distraction
relaxation and calming exercises

The class is open to all interested students and will be taught by Sarah Rudell Beach, a Mindful Schools Certified Mindfulness instructor and former Wayzata High School teacher.

Students are encouraged to join us via Zoom for any or all of the following Fridays from

11:20 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Meeting ID: 898 7002 338, Passcode: 56751223

Upcoming Dates: May 14, May 21, May 28 & June 4

Class of 2021/Senior Information

Rock the Block Senior Party

It's time for our seniors to celebrate with their class at the Rock the Block Senior Party!

To sign up and purchase tickets visit: https://www.wayzataseniorparty.com/registration

Want to help us do something special for our 2021 senior class?
Please consider making a donation in support of the senior class party this year. We have plans and are determined to host a well deserved, fun, and COVID safe celebration. Current restrictions prohibited many of our traditional type of fundraisers, so we created this opportunity for our community to come together to make a difference in the party planning process.

As always, any contribution made, no matter what amount is tax deductible. Please consider a donation today!

Donate
Here

Community Ed

Driver Education with A+ Driving School

Wayzata Community Ed has partnered with A+ Driving School to offer high-quality driver education to Wayzata High School students. Classroom and Behind the Wheel packages are available. Registration is open now for spring and summer classes. Learn more and register with A+ Driving School.

Financial assistance is available or call 763-745-5200 for more information.