District Survey on Calendar Options for Next Year-Action Requested!

Please take an opportunity to give your input into this survey!  The two options are VERY different (as outlined below) and it will be good to let the district know your opinion!

Thanks :)

Kristin

District Survey on Calendar Options for Next Year - Your Feedback is Needed

We are aware that many parents were unable to access the District survey on Calendar Options for next year from the email sent via Skyward. Here is the information - please take some time to complete the survey. The deadline to complete the survey is February 4 at 11:59pm.
http://www.rochester.k12.mn.us/cms/One.aspx?portalId=3083753&pageId=6100598

The major differences between the Options are:

Option 1: 3 day Thanksgiving Break, 6 day Spring Break, Last day of school is June 8

Option 2: 2 day Thanksgiving Break, 3 day Spring Break, Last day of school is June 2

Second Semester Schedules/ Finals Week Schedule

I hope everyone had a nice holiday break. We are almost half way through the school year and with the second semester the students will be assigned a new schedule which will start Monday, January 26th. Their class hours and teachers even for their core classes may change.
1)     January 13th after advisory (approximately 10:15 am)– 2nd semester schedules will be available for viewing/printing on Skyward through Family and Student Access. Students will be expected to access their schedule themselves. Mayo High School will not be printing copies of schedules.
2)     If student has one of the following schedule issues, they MUST print out their schedule and see their counselor:
a.     Schedule conflict (more than one class listed for the same period)
b.     Less than 6 classes listed on schedule
c.      Missing 2nd semester of year-long class

   If a student would like to request a course change based on the following reasons, the Course Change Request Form must be printed out by student and completed/signed by parent and submitted on January 14th,15th and 16th:
(you can also pick up a form from guidance during these days to bring home and have signed)
 a.     Level change (Honors/AP to Regular; Regular to Honors/AP)
b.     7th class
c.      Elective choice (change one elective to another)

     To Access The Form:
a.     Go to Mayo website > Support Services > Counseling Office > Forms
b.     Print out “Course Change Request Form”
c.      Complete form and have Parent/Guardian sign
d.     Submit the form to the Counseling Office.
e.     Students are responsible for checking Skyward to see if a change has been made. If the request is not able to be honored, then refer to the “Denied” List.


FYI   Requests for the following Will Not Be Processed:
a.     Teacher change
b.     Class period change
c.      Lunch period change
d.     Open Hour (Apella, Jr./Sr. Privilege) period change

Dates to Remember:
1/7 No Homework Night
1/14 Band Boosters Meeting in the Band Room
1/20-1/22 Finals week schedule- HAVE YOUR STUDENT START TO TRACK DOWN THEIR TEXT BOOKS, THEY WILL NEED TO SHOW THEM TO THEIR TEACHERS IN ORDER TO TAKE THEIR FINALS---the students will not attend their regularly scheduled classes, there will just be testing according to which class they have for each hour.
The first day will be finals in your students 1st, 2nd and 3rd hours with a break for lunch after the first two tests. The second day will be 4th, 5th and 6th hours with a break for lunch and the third day will be 7th and 8th hour with the second part of the day open for make-up work. When your student has a regularly scheduled lunch or study hall they do not have to be in school during those testing times if they have alternate transportation. The buses will run on a normal schedule and there will not be the late start on Tuesday.
If they are at school all day there will be designated areas for them to study. Watch for the newsletter for the exact schedule. 
1/26 6pm PTSA-Ranny Ou a counselor at Mayo will be the guest speaker to answer questions about signing up for next year's schedule.
1/26 7pm Booster Club Meeting
2/7 Sweetheart Dance

  

Chipotle Night for GOFA!

Chipotle Night for GOFA is Tuesday, December 2, 2014!  Stop by Chipotle between 5:00-8:00 pm and bring in the flyer or show it on your phone and 50% of the proceeds will go to the Dorothy Day House and the Women's Shelter!

GOFA--Give One For All

I just wanted to pass on a little background about an exciting event that will be taking place during the month of December at Mayo High School.

Give one for all, or GOFA, as it is commonly known around the halls of Mayo High School, is an annual fundraiser coordinated by Mayo Student Government. The funds raised benefit the Rochester Dorothy Day House and the Women's Shelter. Mayo High School is one of the largest donors to both of these organizations. In years past Mayo students and teachers helped raise over $20,000 for these two charitable organizations. GOFA 2014 begins at the kickoff pep fest on December 2nd and concludes with the final pep fest on Dec 23rd. Between the pep fests many other activities will add some excitement to the days. Some of the exciting activities planned for this year are power-puff volleyball, eating contests at the pep fests, penny wars, which is a grade by grade fundraising competition, and many other fun activities. Members of Mayo High School's National Honor Society and Student Government will even be collecting donations outside of Hy-Vee South.  If you are interested in donating to GOFA, there are many ways you can get involved. Students can donate loose change to their grade for Penny Wars, raise money to enter one of the food eating contests, or even go door to door in your own neighborhood to raise money. There will also be a Chipotle night on December 2nd so make sure you stop by.

Parent's if you are interested in helping out, or work in a business that wants to help out with GOFA there are many ways to chip in. We will of course accept cash donations, but are also looking for small gift cards to student friendly restaurants or business that we can award as prizes to winners of our various contests. Any donations can be mailed or brought in to Mayo High School and given to Mr. Trimble our Student Government Advisor.

Thanks for your unending support,

Mayo High School

Student Government

Academic Resources

Is your child struggling or needing extra help in Math, English (Writing) or Science?
Mayo offers a lot of resources throughout the day.

English Writing Lab
Where you can get help with writing or submit a paper you have written for review.

Math
There is a math teacher available to assist with all levels of math

Science

Quiet Study Environments
Media center, structured study halls or peer tutoring homework help across from the cafeteria during lunch which is staffed with upperclassmen and a resource teacher.

You should start by speaking with your instructor about your specific needs, together you can decide if extra time with them would work or if your should try a resource lab.
You can take advantage of these resources by getting a pass from your teacher to the resources lab during a lunch or study hall. Your teacher could even coordinate specific instructions with the resource teacher so you can get the help you need.

These resources are offered during the school day and there is additional extra help for math after school.

Writing Lab
Help is available every hour during school except 5th daily, for a paper review you just drop off your paper and pick it up at a later date.

Math
Help is available every hour during school except 5th daily and Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday after school from 3:10-4:10.

Science
Help is available 2nd and 7th hour daily

Quiet Study Environment
Students can go to the media center during lunch to work on homework, use the computer lab or do research. The homework help across from the cafeteria is available to anyone who wants help or just a quiet environment to get homework done.

REMEMBER TO GET A PASS FROM YOUR TEACHER TO UTILIZE THESE RESOURCES
AND TO FIND OUT WHERE THEY ARE LOCATED. ( The homework help across from the cafeteria during lunch does not require a pass)

Mayo High School also has other resources if you are struggling with issues outside of academics such as a minority liaison, social worker and guidance counselors. Please contact the office and they will be able to direct you to the appropriate resource.

Attendance

Due to my past experiences and feedback from the attendance office I am going to review the procedure to use when you need to pick up your student during the school day.

Please send a note with your student on the day they need to be picked up or earlier.
The student needs to bring the note to the attendance office to obtain a pass out of class.
The student needs to keep that pass and present it to the teacher he has during that hour to be excused from class. They can then leave their class at the designated time and go to their locker if necessary and meet you at a predetermined place. You need to write what the appointment is for and approximately how long they will be gone or if you are taking them out for the rest of the day.

It is IMPORTANT that your student goes to the attendance office office when they return to school to get a pass to return to class, even if it is between periods because they need to be marked as returned to school.

A sample note would be:

Attendance Office:

     Please excuse John Brown from class today, October 10th at 12:15pm for an orthodontist appointment. He will be returning to school at approximately 1:30pm (or he will not be returning to school today).


Mrs.Brown

THINGS TO REMEMBER:

-allow for time when indicating the excused time for them to leave class and go to their lockers
-decide on a place to meet
-have your student check back in with the attendance office when the return to school

If you forget to send a note you can call the attendance office and your student can go down and obtain a pass.

Other attendance policies are outlined in the student planner on pages 7-13.
You can always call the office directly if you have any further questions:
328-5454

Conferences

Well we are one month into school and Fall conferences will be coming up this month.

Conferences

Mayo High School holds parent/student/teacher conferences twice a year, in the Fall and the Spring.
Conferences will be held on two different days this month, Monday, 10/13 & Thursday, 10/23 from 5-7pm.There are two types of conferences. One is semi-private in an arena style setting where all the teachers are in the cafeteria sitting at tables in alphabetical order by last name. You come in, locate the teacher that you would like to see first and wait for your turn, it is on a first come first served basis. You will have 5 minutes to visit with each teacher. It is great way to meet the individual teachers and check in and make sure your child is not having any issues with a class.
The other type of conference is by appointment. If needed, you will be notified by your students teacher in the next two weeks about scheduling an appointment for a specific time between 4-5pm on the scheduled conference days.These 10 minute conferences will also be in the cafeteria but will be less crowded allowing for more privacy and time allotted to visit with the teacher. These are usually scheduled when the teacher feels they need to speak to you about specific concerns about your child. ***If you are not contacted in advance just attend the open arena conferences.***

What to bring:

1-Bringing a copy of your students schedule with the subject, teachers name and hour to reference
2-It is very helpful when the student can attend and be an active participant in the conference
3-It is beneficial to look at Skyward for current grades and missing assignments prior to attending the   conference, in case you would have any concerns.
4-Any questions that you may have for the teacher.

It is also important to mention that if your child is struggling you don't need to wait until conferences to communicate with a teacher. All the teachers can be emailed through Skyward. You can also communicate with your child's guidance counselor. The one assigned to your child is listed on their schedule. The number to the Guidance office is 328-5570. If your child is struggling make these contacts right away so they can get the help they need as soon as possible. The work load in high school can be overwhelming and even the best students will occasionally need some help.

Dates to Remember
10/1-10/31 Winter Sports registration is open, to access use the "athletic" tab on the Mayo website or   go directly to <www.mayospartans.org>
10/8 7pm--Band Booster Club meeting in the band room
10/9 11:30am --Brown Bag Lunch meeting with Mr. Olson
10/13, 10/23--CONFERENCES-- 4-5pm appointment only, 5-7pm general arena conferences
10/15 9th grade testing--OLSAT
10/20 7pm--Booster Club meeting in the main office conference room.
10/28 7pm Band Concert
10/31 No Homework night