Dear Senn Parents,
On behalf of the Senn Leadership Team, I am writing today to share the first of many updates you will receive regarding the next few months. Currently, we are adjusting our Remote Learning Plan while at the same time processing the news that we will not be finishing the school year in person. This decision, while not unexpected, has been difficult to deal with personally both in my role as a school leader and as a parent. For me, logic and reasoning are competing with emotions and traditions. Logically, I know that social distancing for 1550 students in the hallways during a passing period is not safe right now, but emotionally, I want to see our hallways and classrooms filled with student voices again. A reasonable person knows that 2500 people at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for graduation is not aligned with current sensibility; however, few educators or parents can deny the emotions of a graduation ceremony as a celebration of 13 years of schooling and right of passage. It is clear from the many emails I have received from students and parents that many of you are struggling with the same feelings.
While we await answers to our many (many!) questions about what our future will look like, I am able to persevere because I know how committed our staff is to our #Sennsational community. Our teachers, counselors, social workers, coordinators and office staff are prepared to adapt and support whatever needs may arise. I know that there are questions about cleaning out lockers, turning in Chromebooks, summer plans, etc. Seniors also have additional questions regarding graduation, prom, and fees. I ask that you remain patient as I wait for guidelines from the state and district on how we will close out the school year.
Please expect communication from me by May 1 with any updates I can offer. In the meantime, we will continue to be flexible and responsive to your needs. Do not hesitate to reach out with any specific questions or concerns. As always, our website will be a key source for information as will our daily communication with students. Additionally, see below for current updates:
Report Card “Pick Up” (Parent/Teacher Conferences) -
On Thursday, April 23 we will have parent conferences from 10:00am to 2:00pm. Parents will sign-up for a 50-minute primary and secondary time slot where they can speak to teachers about their student’s progress. During the chosen time slot a teacher will contact you on the phone number that was provided on the sign-up form. Please note that calls will be limited to 15 minutes.
Grade distribution
All 3rd quarter report cards are being printed and mailed home from Central Office. Please check your mail by the end of this week and early next week for the reports.
Remote Learning Update -
The first “official” week of Remote Learning kicked off on April 13 and Senn had 80% of our students connect with Senn Staff. We view this as a huge success and hope to continue to grow the number of students engaging throughout the next few weeks. To review our plan and expectations please see here.
As a reminder, all of our learning activities and communication from teachers to students is taking place on Google Classroom. If you have any questions about student assignments please ask your student to share with you their classroom pages and feel free to contact teachers directly. Counselors are actively reaching out to families as well, but if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact them. If you are not sure of who your counselor is, please see below:
Thank you for your patience, support and commitment to our community.
Principal Mary Beck