Virtual Attendance Information for Students & Parents

Parents and students: we know that many of you have questions about how we will track attendance in the virtual setting. Please review the information below and feel free to reach out to us if you have any further questions.

Synchronous and Asynchronous Learning

There will be regularly scheduled periods of direct instruction through Zoom. (You can access our bell schedule here to see those times for each class period).  However, we are following an asynchronous instructional model, which means that students have the ability to access the instruction at any point during the day, as long as they connect with each class daily.  This means the teacher may hold a live lecture at 7:30 – 8:00, and some students may log in in to participate in the live lecture.  Other students may not be able to log in at that exact time, but they can access the recorded video later in the day to receive the instruction. 

A student will earn attendance credit for the day as long as students participate in instruction daily by:

• Accessing content available in their Learning Management System, or
• Having interaction with their teacher (ie. participating in lectures, participating in small group instruction, engaging in a phone conference with the teacher, etc), or
• Completing or turning in assignments

Student Work Time

Any progress towards an asynchronous engagement measure a student makes over the course of the 24-hour day, from 12:00 am to 11:59 pm may be counted for daily engagement. The student may be counted RA-Remote Asynchronous present for that day.

Attendance in Skyward

Parents will see a V-for Virtual Present in Family Access and you will continue to see A’s for absent, as you always have in the past.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Under the remote asynchronous instructional method, if a student fails to complete Monday’s measure of engagement on Monday but completes the assignment later in the week, can the student’s attendance coding be changed to remote asynchronous present for Monday?

A: No. In the remote asynchronous instructional method, student engagement is measured daily, and attendance is assigned based on the student’s completion of that day’s engagement measure. Students who do not complete the daily measure of engagement are to be counted absent for that day, and that absence cannot be changed to remote asynchronous present if the student completes the engagement measure on a later date. In the example above, the student would be counted absent on Monday.

Q: Under the remote asynchronous instructional method, if a student decides to complete the entire weeks’ worth of work on Monday, can the student’s attendance be coded to show perfect attendance for the week?

A: No. In the remote asynchronous instructional method, student engagement is measured daily, and attendance is assigned based on the student’s completion of that day’s engagement measure. Students who do not complete the daily measure of engagement are to be counted absent for that day, and that absence cannot be changed to remote asynchronous present if the student completes the engagement measure on a later date. In the example above, the student would be counted absent Tuesday-Friday.

Q: If students make academic progress at night, are we able to adjust the attendance for that day if they were initially marked absent?

A: If the asynchronous method is utilized then as long as the student is providing daily engagement through completion of daily assignments, making daily progress in the LMS, or has made daily contact with the teacher regarding the student’s progress then the student would be considered remote asynchronous present.

iPad Needed Form

Dear Gopher Families,

On behalf of the staff at Grand Prairie High School, we would like to welcome you back for another great year! We are looking forward to an amazing school year. We know a strong partnership with you will make a great difference in your child’s education. As partners, we share the responsibility for our children’s success and want you to know that we will do our very best to carry out our responsibilities. Below you will find important information that will help us all ease into a smooth school year. Parents, we ask for your patience, grace, and cooperation during this time.

 

Virtual Bell Schedule

• 2020-2021 GPHS Bell Schedule (Virtual & In-Person will follow the same schedule)
• A/B Day Schedule

 

Virtual Schedule Release

• Schedules will be viewable in Skyward beginning August 10 for all students who have completed the online registration process
• Schedule changes will only be made for the following reasons:
  • Academic misplacement - placed in wrong level of class (Advanced vs On-Level)
  • Placed in a class without meeting the Pre-requisite (Animation 2 without having Animation 1)
  • Program Change - accepted into a Pathway or no longer enrolled in a Pathway
  • Missing an academic class - missing a course necessary to graduate
  • Course balancing - to avoid overcrowded classes
• Completion of this request DOES NOT GUARANTEE a schedule change. FOLLOW YOUR CURRENT SCHEDULE until you are notified of an update in Skyward. The counselors will reach out and let you know when and if your schedule has been updated.
• For schedule changes, please complete the Schedule Change Form

 

Registration

• Please continue to complete registration and all required documentation as soon as possible in order for your child to receive his/her schedule.
• Online Registration
• School Supply List

 

First Day of School

• All students will start virtually on August 17 at 7:35am
• Students will be accessing their classrooms online and will not be in the physical building
• Students will log into their classes via Zoom and follow their schedule
• Teachers will be working with the students through the learning platform Canvas.

 

What is Canvas?

• This is our way of keeping all information uniform during online learning
• Think of it as one place where all assignments, notes, and communications are posted from your teachers
• If you are needing assistance with how to log into Canvas, please visit this link Overview of Canvas and scroll down to “How to Log Into Canvas.”
• Canvas Tutorial for Students
• Once in Canvas, your student will have access to each teachers’ syllabi which provides the zoom information to log into the instructional setting.

 

Roadmap to Reopening

• Our district has released our Roadmap to Reopening. This information outlines what procedures and protocols are in place as we begin to serve your child in 2020-2021.
• Please follow this link to access the latest communication from GPISD. Information such as attendance, grading and virtual learning videos can be found here as well.

 

Food Services

• As we return to school virtually on August 17 and eventually in-person, GPISD will continue to provide healthful meals to our students. Even though our district is beginning the year fully virtual, we still have opportunities for your child(ren) to receive healthful meals. To see if your child is eligible for free meals or reduced meal prices, please go to the link below and fill out the free and reduced meal application. Applications are available in English and Spanish. https://www.gpisd.org/MealApplication
• Please feel free to call the Food Services office at 972-343-4410 if you have additional questions.

 

Save the Date

• Meet the Teacher (Virtual)- Monday, August 31^st from 6:00pm - 7:00pm
• More information to come in the upcoming weeks

 

Safety Protocols

• We are constantly monitoring the newest recommendations and adjusting the plans for GPHS. As we get closer to the time when students return to campus, we will send more communication about the specific logistics for students.  This will include arrival and dismissal at school, passing periods, building logistics, and safety protocols.

 

Thank you for entrusting us with the well-being of your child and allowing us to take part in their growth. Thank you for choosing Grand Prairie High School!

 

Sincerely,

 

Laigha Boyle

Principal

Schedules

Students who have completed online registration will be able to see their schedules in Skyward beginning Monday, August 10^th.  If you have not completed your registration, please visit our website to complete this step.  https://www.gpisd.org/registration

Schedule Changes

Schedule changes will only be made for the following reasons:
            *Academic misplacement - placed in the wrong level of class (Advanced vs On-Level).
            *Placed in a class without meeting the Pre-requisite (Animation 2 without having Animation 1)
            *Program Change - accepted into a Pathway or no longer enrolled in a Pathway
            *Missing an academic class - missing a course necessary to graduate
            *Course balancing - to avoid overcrowded classes
Completion of this request DOES NOT GUARANTEE a schedule change. FOLLOW YOUR CURRENT SCHEDULE until you are notified of an update in Skyward. The counselors will reach out and let you know when and if your schedule has been updated.

GPHS Schedule Change Request Form

ECHS Schedule Change Request Form

Gophers! We can't wait to see all of you. If you haven't completed your registration on enrollment, follow the link below: 

https://www.gpisd.org/registration

Paying for a lost or damaged library book in My School Bucks

 

If you already have a My School Bucks account, click on this link for GPHS, sign in and it will take your directly to the screen to pay for you lost book: 

 

https://www.myschoolbucks.com/ver2/stores/checkout/getproduct?clientKey=ZZH4T2J4HA083ZG&buttonID=6cb1ca2c-2bf2-4767-a49f-c88b1ff87f0d

 

If you have never used My School Bucks you’ll need to create an account.  Then you will need to add your student(s):

Adding a new student to your account is easy. Click your name up top and select My Students. Now let’s add that new student [click the Add Student button on the My Students screen]. Select your student’s school and enter all the required information [The district is selected automatically to match the students already on the user’s account; if the student being added is going to a different district, click the down arrow next to the district’s name at the top of the screen and select (Add another school district)]. Remember: the information you enter must match your district’s student information exactly [the required information may vary depending on the district’s settings, but it may include the student’s full name, student ID, and birthdate]. Not sure what your student’s information is? That’s okay. Just reach out to your student’s school directly for assistance [the user may do this by clicking the Don’t have your child’s student ID link and following the instructions on the following screen].

 

If you are already logged into My School Bucks go to >School Store>Categories>GPHS Library Fines

If you have questions about your fine amount, email kyla.schooling@gpisd.org.

If you have more than one student listed in My School Bucks be careful to select the correct student and the correct campus.

In order to have your name removed from the campus fine list more quickly, either forward your receipt to kyla.schooling@gpisd.org, or take a screenshot of the receipt page and email to kyla.schooling@gpisd.org

The screen shot should include the date, amount and category paid.

 

If you are experiencing problems with Self Service on your iPad, here is what you need to do.

Self Service Problems

Follow the steps in this document to fix 'Can't Connect To Server ' problems in Self Service

Students, be sure and use this link for Canvas: GPISD Canvas

Keeping your teens safe in this online world can be tricky.  GPISD and Common Sense Media have lots of great resources.

For more information and resources please go to: Digital Citizenship and Safety