Spencerport High School
Parent Guardian Update
9/1/23
Good Afternoon!
I hope each of you are doing well and that your child/children are as excited about the first day of school as we are at SHS!! In this update, I provide a variety of information related to the first day of school and general procedures that are followed throughout the course of the year.
Student Schedules: Every student’s schedule is now “live” on Infinite Campus. Students and parents can log in to the system to view their schedules. If you need any help accessing Infinite Campus, please contact our “Help Desk” at 349-5106.
Students are welcome to “walk” the building and set up their lockers on Tuesday, 9/5 from 7 AM until 5 PM.
First Day of School-Wednesday, September 6, 2023:
Start Time: First block begins at 7:25 a.m. Students may be dropped off at the main entrance starting at 6:45 a.m. Students using our buses typically enter the school building by 7:03. Students will be entering the building through the “Blue Arches” in the back of the building when dropped off by the buses. Breakfast will be in the West Cafeteria until 7:20 a.m.
First Class: Students will report to their 1st block for A day. Students will receive their agendas/ID, during the 1st block. Please reinforce with your child that there will be staff throughout the hallways to ensure they get to where they need to be throughout the first week of school. They do not need to be nervous about getting lost.
End of the Instructional Day: School ends at 2:10. Buses depart at 2:20. Parents may pick up their students in the front loop OR the staff parking lot nearest to Gillett Road. Please note that students can wait in the front loop a few minutes before being picked up (especially in nice weather). If you plan to pick up your son or daughter at 2:20 instead of 2:10, you will miss the great majority of the traffic. I would strongly suggest this approach when possible. Please drive carefully and be patient while picking up your child if you do plan on picking up right at 2:10 as traffic does back up.
Activity Period: Activity period runs from 2:20-2:50. Students can use this time to meet with teachers for extra help. If students do stay after school, they are required to be with a teacher or, if they are an athlete, they can be in Sports Study Hall, in the West Cafeteria. Students will be asked to leave the building if they are not working with a teacher or in Sport Study Hall. Students are not allowed to stay after school to wait for athletic contests to begin. Late buses are provided for students at 3:00 but they must receive a late bus pass from the teacher they are staying with.
Student Drop Off and Pick Up: The front loop is very busy for drop off and pick up. I would ask that if you are dropping off or picking up you pull up as far as possible in the front loop before letting your child out of the car. Bob “the security guard” will be in the front loop in the AM. Please follow Bob’s request to pull up as far as possible (he will be waving you forward). Pulling as far forward as possible when you are at the front of the line helps tremendously in speeding up drop off and pick up for everyone. Please do not double park your car to let your child out of the car (or to pick up). This is dangerous and could cause a serious accident. After 7:05 a.m. students can be dropped off at the “Blue Arches” at the back of the school as buses have departed by that time.
All Students--Laptop/Technology Assistance: If you have any issues with your child’s laptop or accessing various accounts online (Infinite Campus for instance), please reach out to the district’s “Tech Help Desk” at 349-5106. They are open M-F from 8-3 p.m. If they are unable to help you with a specific question, they will direct you to the person that can.
Laptop User Agreement 2023-24: Please complete the Laptop User Agreement and Protection Plan by following the link below. Please complete this prior to September 6th (first day of school for students). You will have the option to purchase the “protection plan” for your child’s laptop when you complete this form. Completing the form literally takes one minute. Please contact our Tech Help Desk at 349-5106 with any questions.
https://spencerport.revtrak.net/Laptop-User-Agreement-Protection-Plan/
School Supplies: Once again, the Spencerport Rotary has generously donated school supplies for any students in need. If you are in need of school supplies for your child, simply contact their counselor and we would be happy to provide what we have available to you. Thank you again to the Rotary, they are truly great neighbors and partners in our students’ education.
Parent/Guardian Updates: My next parent/guardian update will be on Friday, 9/8. In an effort to help reduce the amount of information we are sending to parents and guardians via email after that update (9/8) I will only be sending updates out bi-weekly. Please let me reinforce that if you ever have any questions, always feel free to reach out to me at any time.
9th Grade Orientation: We had orientation for our 9th graders yesterday and it went great. It was awesome to see kids back in the building after a two-month absence. I cannot thank our staff and student volunteers enough for welcoming our newest RANGERs to the high school! I am especially proud of our students who gave up two mornings when they could have slept in to be part of this. They simply did a wonderful job welcoming our 9th graders to Spencerport High School!
Cell Phone Policy: Below I have included a short video that provides an overview of our cell phone policy for the 23-24 school year:
If you have any questions after watching this video or reviewing the information that I sent home earlier this summer, please feel free to reach out to me.
Dress Code: As I mentioned in my last update, I am asking for the help and support of parents and guardians around our dress code and supporting our students in making appropriate choices in their personal dress that support a productive and focused learning environment.
Grading Update: All of the high school’s building commitments and department commitments for grading and assessment can be found on the high school web site under “Grading Practices”:
Grading Practices - Spencerport High School (spencerportschools.org)
Here you will find a variety of resources related to grading and assessment at Spencerport High School. I have also included a link to a short video we created that provides an overview of our work on grading and assessment and the commitments that the entire building has made related to grading:
Teachers will be reviewing grading and assessment with students during the first few days of school and they will also be reviewing this with parents at Open House.
Video:
Open House: Open House will be held on Thursday, September 21 from 5:30-8:25 pm. Classroom visitations will begin at 6:30 pm. For full details on Open House, please open the document below:
2023 Open House Parent Letter.docx
School Photos: Student photos will take place September 6, 7, 8, and 11. Students will take their photos during the assigned physical education class. An email will be sent to parents/guardians from Lifetouch. The make-up day for student photos will be October 23.
Homecoming: Homecoming will take place September 18 - September 23. Please mark your calendars for the following dates:
picture
Any junior or senior interested in participating in Powderpuff (football and cheerleading) will need to attend the Powderpuff Informational Meeting in the PAC at 2:15 on the first day of school, 9/6. This information is being sent to students directly through Schoology but if parents could remind them that would be greatly appreciated!
As I mentioned in my last update this year, we will have a limit on the number of tickets that are sold for the Homecoming Dance. I did receive some feedback/concerns regarding this decision from parents. Please know I do take this feedback seriously. I want to provide all of our students as many opportunities as possible to connect with each other and the entire school community. However, I am very attuned to trying to make sure our events are as safe as possible. With that being said, I am working to see if I can increase the number of tickets available while still keeping our students as safe as possible. Please know, even if I can increase the number of tickets sold, there will still be a limit on the number of tickets available. No middle school students or outside guests will be allowed to attend and no tickets will be sold at the door.
I hope each of you and your families have a great long weekend. Please know the staff of Spencerport High School is ready and excited to be able to welcome your children to the 23-24 school year on Wednesday! All the best. Sean
All the best. Sean
Sean McCabe
Spencerport High School Principal
(585) 349-5202
Julie Hill
Secretary to Sean McCabe
(585) 349-5201