November 29, 2004

Principal's Notes

Parents often find it challenging to stay involved in their child’s education during the high school years, either because students resent their parents’ presence at school or because high schools aren’t as welcoming of parent involvement as elementary schools are. At City High School we are eager to fight this trend and to have parents be an integral part of our school community.

An impressively large majority of parents (90%) participated in student conferences in late October. Hopefully the conferences served to create an important link between school and home, establishing the advisor as the school liaison for each student’s family. A handful of parents and grandparents have volunteered at the school already, helping staff to do a variety of critical tasks during our first few months: answering phones at the front desk, chaperoning field trips, working on the building, leading after-school activities. Many more have offered their time and expertise, and we’re looking forward to tapping these amazing resources.

There is interest in starting a PTA-type parent group that could take on specific projects such as transforming the alley into an outdoor space for students, or coordinate ongoing efforts such as t-shirt sales or newsletter mailings. If you would like to be a part of a parent-teacher organization, please let us know and we can help pull together the initial group to get this going. Another avenue for parent participation in the school is the Community Advisory Council (see below).

How would you like to be involved? What can we do to facilitate your participation? We recognize that time constraints are a big challenge for most parents. We are open to your ideas and suggestions to make the school as welcoming as possible to all parents and to help promote active parent participation.

Carrie Brennan, Principal
(carrie@cityhighschool.org)

Community Advisory Council
One way parents can get involved is to join the school’s Community Advisory Council. As described in City High School’s charter, the Community Advisory Council will bring together students, parents, school staff, board members, and other community members to provide feedback on the school’s progress and offer input for future direction. The Council will meet monthly from January through June, with the first meeting scheduled for Thursday, January 27 from 5:30-7:00 p.m. For more information about the Community Advisory Council, please contact Carrie by email or at 623-7223.

In the Field
On Friday, December 3, all students will travel to the Berger Performing Center at the Arizona Schools for the Deaf and Blind on West Speedway to a musical performance sponsored by the Invisible Theatre. The show, designed for middle and high school students, will feature pianist Richard Glazier playing music by the Gershwins. Glazier weaves background narrative throughout the presentation, adding cultural and historical dimensions to the musical show. The Invisible Theatre is generously providing all City High School students and staff with tickets for the event. The next show in the Invisible Theatre’s school series features performer Rain Prior (Richard Pryor’s daughter) in a one-woman show titled "Fried Chicken and Lattes" on February 4, which we hope to attend as a whole school as well

Holiday Party/Dance
Members of the Student Voice Committee and other student volunteers are working with teacher Lisa Lieber to host a holiday party on Friday, December 10. The event will take place in the evening at the school. Students are allowed to bring one non-City High School guest. Guest request forms are available at the front desk from Lynn Schneuker and require a parent signature and principal approval.

Core Class Feature
Students are working on a project for math that requires them to apply what they have been learning the past three months to a real-world context. Each student must create and conduct a survey on a community-related issue of their choosing, and then analyze and present the findings. The due date is December 9. If they haven’t done so already, students should begin the first steps of the project this week.

Report Card Follow-Up
First quarter report cards were sent home on November 15. Please call the front office if you did not receive the mailing and/or need to update your address, 623-7223. If you have any questions about a specific grade, please contact the teacher of the class. If you have concerns about more than one class, we encourage you to contact your son or daughter’s advisor; the advisor can coordinate our efforts to work together as a team to support your child’s learning.

ADVISOR	EMAIL ADDRESS	PHONE EXTENSION
Carrie Brennan	carrie@cityhighschool.org	x203
Camellia Cosgray	camellia@cityhighschool.org	x207
Eric Freund	epfreund@cityhighschool.org	x306
Brett Goble	bgoble@cityhighschool.org	x201
Elliott Lax	elax@cityhighschool.org	x206
Lisa Lieber	lisa@cityhighschool.org	x208
Eve Rifkin	eve@cityhighschool.org	x301

Reminders
ATTENDANCE - If your son or daughter will be out from school, please call our office coordinator, Lynn Schneuker, the morning of the absence, 623-7223. If this is not possible, send a note the next day.

TUTORING - A math tutor is available to work with students every Tuesday 3:45-4:45 p.m. A reading and writing tutor is available every Thursday afternoon 3:45-4:45 p.m. Tutoring takes place in the library area on the first floor. Students can also do homework in this area after school.

WEDNESDAY LATE-START - Some students are arriving too early on Wednesdays, and others are arriving late. School begins promptly with a whole school meeting at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday mornings. Students should come to school early enough to attend the meeting on time, but not before 10:00 a.m. Students are allowed on campus after 10:00 a.m. for club meetings or study time. Teachers are usually in meetings on Wednesday mornings and are not able to work with students before 10:30 a.m.