SVHS Newsletter October 2021

As we move into October the weather will hopefully be cooling down a little and we can enjoy some Fall before the bitter Illinois Winter is upon us! I wanted to get a communication out to keep everyone updated on what is happening at SVHS.

Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent Teacher Conferences will be held district-wide this month on October 27 and 28th. We will be offering in-person conferences at SVHS on those days beginning at 3 pm and running until 7 pm. If you would prefer to conduct your conference virtually, please contact your child’s teacher to schedule. Due to Parent Teacher Conferences, there will be a 1:10 pm dismissal on those days and no school on October 29th.

Early Dismissal Wednesdays

The Board of Education and Sangamon Valley Education Association have entered into an agreement to allow for early dismissals each Wednesday. These dismissals for the High School are at 1:40 pm and help our teachers to assist students who are excluded from school for health department quarantines due to close contact, and/or covid related illness and symptoms. In addition to these absences, we also have students who are out for other health-related issues, such as illness, concussion, etc.

Mask Mandate

The Governor of Illinois issued a mask mandate for all Illinois Schools earlier this month to fight the spread of COVID-19 and this applies to all students and staff regardless of vaccination status. Please make sure that you bring a mask in the morning and wear it appropriately throughout the day. If your student forgets their mask we will have some available in the office. If you are visiting the school for any reason, including indoor sporting events, coming to the office, etc. please remember to wear your mask.

We are all frustrated with the masks, but it is a rule we are required to follow at this time. We appreciate your help and support on this issue as we work to deal with all of the other issues we are experiencing due to the ongoing pandemic. This is not our rule and we are doing our best!

Keeping our COVID numbers down is very important for maintaining in-person learning and following these rules helps keep us from excluding more students in close contact situations. And as difficult as wearing masks has been for us, it pales in comparison to fully remote learning. I think I can speak for the majority of teachers, students, and parents by saying we DO NOT want to go back to remote learning!

Other mitigation measures which help greatly include:

• Keeping symptomatic/sick kids home

• Testing to determine alternate diagnosis from COVID-19

TikTok Challenges

As many of you have read in the paper, or watched on the news there are a string of challenges called “Devious Licks” being posed on the social media App Tik Tok which has been gaining popularity in area schools. These challenges encourage inappropriate and dangerous behavior including theft, bathroom destruction, and slapping staff members. These types of behavior (many of which are considered felonies) will not be tolerated at Sangamon Valley High School and appropriate consequences will be issued to any student who engages in gross disobedience and misconduct. Consequences for this type of behavior will be harsh and could include restitution, suspension, expulsion, and law enforcement intervention. I encourage parents to talk to their students in regard to this and explain the consequences which could result from their participation in such challenges.

Student Drivers

A reminder to students who drive to and from school, or leave campus for Tech or any other program to practice safe driving. Any student who is found violating safety rules will have their driving privileges revoked and risk potential dismissal from off-campus programs. Driving is a privilege and any violation of our driving agreement is taken seriously. Students who cannot follow the driving guidelines will have their privileges revoked and will have to ride the bus daily. Students who cannot follow safe driving etiquette while attending school will lose their privileges to drive to and from school. A few points to note on driver safety for all drivers:

• The speed limit on North Illinois Street in front of the school is 20 miles per hour.

• Students may not ride together to Tech.

• You must stop for a school bus stop arm regardless of which lane you are in.

• Do not pass a stopped school bus when the stop arm is out.

Dress Code

Be sure to review the dress code in the student handbook, this means no revealing clothing such as spaghetti straps, shorts that are too short, or cut-off t-shirts that show too much skin. Other inappropriate dress includes clothing that advertises alcohol, tobacco, or drugs. In addition, hats of any kind should be left in your vehicle, put in your locker, or left at home. Students should not carry their hats with them in the hallway, or wear them in class. The same goes for hoods on sweatshirts and coats. They should be off of student's heads at all times while in the building.

Dr. Jonathan Field, SVHS Principal

Follow me on Twitter for school updates! @svprincipalhs