York Families:

Open House

Thank you to all of our parents and guardians who attended Open House last week. We had a great turnout, and feedback from parents and faculty was very positive. We extend our appreciation to the York PTSA: to President Maureen Polte, and a special thanks to Erica Tourlas and Deb Webb and to all of you who provided the delicious faculty dinner beforehand. The PTSA also distributed new parent directories, designed and produced by Anne Sullivan. The directory serves as a wonderful resource and facilitates greater communication among families and between parents and school. Thank you to Tom Wethekam and the volunteers from the York Boosters for providing an opportunity to purchase spirit wear to support our Dukes! 

Bridge Parents

I also want to extend our thanks to the York Bridge Parents, led by Barb and Paul Rzeszutko, who served as discussion leaders for the Freshman Family Night before the first day of school.  We received positive feedback from freshman parents about the value of talking informally with experienced York parents who shared sage advice on raising a high school student!   We had 30 parents volunteer to serve in this important mentor role—thank you!

PTSA Meeting

The first PTSA meeting of the year will be at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 20, in the Yorker Room.  The speaker will be Dr. Lisa Bucciarelli, Chair of the World Language Department, who will highlight trends and advances in language curriculum at York.

Student Late Arrival

I want to provide parents with information about the work our faculty is engaged in during the student late arrival Wednesdays.  We recognize that this has been a significant adjustment for families, and we appreciate the time provided to our teachers to collaborate to affect gains in student achievement. For the past several years at York, our teachers have worked in Professional Learning Communities, in course teams, and in departments to focus on curriculum and assessment.  Our work this year will be closely focused on the building goals identified in our last newsletter.  Each York Department has selected two of the five goals to prioritize.  We are committed to focused school improvement and will maximize the time you have granted us on Wednesdays to further those efforts.   

Early Intervention - Building Goal #4

In order to improve student achievement, next Monday we will examine all student grades to identify students with D’s and F’s.  Teachers will work closely with struggling students to help them bring up their grades or to access resources in the building, including the Learning Commons, Study Tables, or Math Lab. While the option to seek help is voluntary at the four-week mark, any student who continues to fail will have a mandatory assignment to a study table teacher. We greatly appreciate the opportunity to work with you in an effort to support your child’s academic progress. Please contact the teacher if you have a question in a specific class or your child’s counselor if you need additional information.

Homecoming 2012 - September 17-22: “Born to be Wild”

We are looking forward to Homecoming Week and thank our Student Council for their hard work preparing for our spirit activities and the Homecoming Dance. 

Spirit-wear themes:

Monday:        Pajama Day (with school-appropriate PJs!)

Tuesday:       Class Color Day
                    (Freshmen-pink, Sophomores-purple, Juniors-                                        blue, Seniors-black, Adults-neon)

Wednesday:  Dress Like an Animal Day

Thursday:     Jersey Day – Any sport, any level, any team!

Friday:          Green and White

Events during the week:

All week:

• Faculty competition–students vote on Friday for the teachers who have the most spirit!
• Entertainment outside the main entrance
• Student competitions during the lunch period in the Commons (pie eating, etc.)

Wednesday:

• Hallway decorating for student clubs and teams after school until 6:00 p.m.
• Powder Puff Football beginning at 6:30 p.m.
• Half-time: Coronation of Homecoming Court, performances from Queen/King of the Couch contestants               

Friday:

• Pep Rally at 2:15 p.m.
• Football Game at 7:30 p.m. vs. Proviso West High School

Saturday:

• Homecoming Dance at 7:00 p.m. 
  Our Homecoming Dance is semi-formal, and while some students go with a date, most come in groups. The music is provided by Mary Monica Music, which utilizes a wonderful, interactive dance experience for students. Please: no limos!

We welcome parents to the Powder Puff Game (over 1,000 people attended last year!), our Pep Rally, and our Friday night football game. We hope you can join us if your schedule permits!

Please call or email me if you have any questions or feedback.

Diana Smith
Principal