Principal's Message (9/6/21)
Morning Carpool
We thank our parents for patience and understanding as this big school adjusts to morning carpool. Every big school struggles to find a balanced formula with the variables of volume, space, and time as students arrive on campus. Can you imagine a population of 2,800 students? Our freshmen parents are likely to see that problem before their children graduate on time. The reality this year is that the space of carpooling cannot accommodate the volume of demand within the times of 7:00 am to 7:25 am.
After the first week, we made adjustments and improved the space flow, safety, and time. We continue to advise our parents not to use the student lot, the faculty lot, or the bus lot for carpooling, for these areas are not safe for drop off activity at this time. We assigned over a dozen faculty members managing morning carpool in order to achieve the results of the second week. At 7:25, we now have only a couple of dozen cars remaining in the loop.
Punctuality is a value at GLHS. Our students are remarkably on time for class during the day. The tardiness rate is low and usually due to unavoidable circumstances. During the 3rd week, our goal is to eliminate tardiness due to carpool issues. We have adjusted space as much as safely possible at this time. We are also adjusting time by opening the carpool at 6:45.
We are asking our parents to help in two ways this third week of school.
- Help your children transition to the buses if possible. Over 700 students are now arriving on time on the busses. When the tardy policy is applied to morning arrival, only late bus arrivals or unusual cases in carpool will be excused.
- Utilize the 6:45-6:55 am window of time. There has been no wait. Yes, if everyone uses it at the same time, then it will overflow quickly but reduce or eliminate flow after 7:25 am.
We acknowledge how annoying this issue is. In the meantime, thank you for your patience, understanding, and help.
Picture Day on October 4
Fall picture day is scheduled for Monday, October 4. Click here for more information including pricing and package options. As a reminder to students, these pictures will be feature in the school yearbook as well as on student IDs and off-campus lunch passes, so please be sure to remind your student to have their picture taken regardless of your intention to purchase the pictures.
Virtual Meet the Teacher
This is a reminder that we will be shifting Meet the Teacher (which was scheduled for Wednesday, September 8th) to a virtual experience in which families will be able to learn about the classes their children are taking through teacher-recorded videos that we will post on a special Meet the Teacher section of our website on Wednesday, September 8 around 6:00 pm. These videos will remain accessible throughout the week so parents are able to view them whenever it is convenient for their schedule.
Virtual Senior Night
Our Student Services team will also be coordinating our very first Senior Night via an asynchronous (non-live) delivery method that will provide a variety of information and resources to seniors and parents/guardians of seniors as they navigate all that comes with senior year. This will include information about applying to college, securing financial aid and scholarships, enlisting in the military, and more. These resources will be made available on the GLHS website on Tuesday, September 14th.
OLD NEWS
Student Parking
Student parking spaces are still available—and are now available to sophomores, as well. Students should allow 24 hours for the application to be processed and can pick up the parking pass on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 7:00 am - 7:20 am in Student Services or during the first 10 minutes of each lunch period. Passes will NOT be given out during class time. Please visit our school website (link) to apply and pay for a student parking tag.
COVID-19 & Returning to School
As a reminder, students must stay home if they are sick. Furthermore, individuals experiencing any symptom of illness not related to an already documented medical condition will be sent home, even if they don’t have a COVID-19 diagnosis. Students are also required to stay home and quarantine if someone living with them is diagnosed with COVID-19.
If your child or a member of your household has tested positive for COVID-19 or has been exposed, please email our COVID Coordinator (Mr. Darren Williams) via email at dwilliams7@wcpss.net. This communication is critical for us to reduce the potential for further exposure and spread. Furthermore, please be sure to reference important WCPSS health guidance for coming/returning to school when sick.
For details on when it is appropriate to return to school, please reference the following site: https://www.wcpss.net/whentoreturn
Postponement of Gator Gala
Out of an abundance of caution, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the Gator Gala dance that was previously scheduled for Saturday, October 2. As we continue to examine ways to decrease opportunities for COVID spread, this was the right decision at this time. Once it is safer to resume activities of this kind, we will re-evaluate the possibility of rescheduling this event, as it is certainly something that we are all looking forward to.
From the PTSA
Join the Green Level HS PTSA: Thus far in the year, 106 families have joined as annual members. If you haven’t had a chance to join PTSA, please consider joining to assist the PTSA as it supports Green Level High School. Membership information is available here.
Monthly Newsletter: Hot off the press—click here to access and share the PTSA’s monthly newsletter that includes updates for families.
From the Gator Club (Athletic Booster Club)
Gator Gallop: Registration is now open for the first ever 5K race on Green Level's campus. Join us on Saturday, September 25th at 9 am for the Gator Gallop! Details and a link to registration can be found on the Gator Club's website. Sign-up early to be guaranteed a race shirt. Registration Link: https://runnc.com/event/gator-gallup-5k/
Legacy Brick Fundraiser: Our Gator Club is running their Legacy Brick fundraiser. It allows any member of our school community to create a custom brick to be installed on campus this Winter. The first Legacy Bricks were installed in the stadium this summer and they look great. For additional details about the Legacy Brick program, visit the Gator Club website.