Sparrows Point High School

Principal's Message

December 16, 2020

Greetings Pointer Students and Families,

I hope this message finds you safe and well! I am pleased to be able to reach out to you for the first time since the ransomware cyber-attack on BCPS. It goes without saying that this has been a challenging time for our students, teachers and staff. My focus and that of all SPHS staff continues to be on supporting our students and families during this time.

Despite the many challenges we have faced, our students and community continue to persevere, to grow and to succeed. What each of us; students, parents, families and staff alike, can do right at this moment, is to keep moving forward together.

For any students struggling with grades or attendance, our message is simple- let us help you! Join your virtual classes, talk with your teachers, we are here to support you and help you succeed. Tomorrow is a new day and a fresh start. It is not too late to improve your attendance and grades; we believe in you and we know you can do it!

For our parents and families, we recognize the current challenge in supporting your students without access to Schoology to monitor grades and progress. Our staff will continue to contact you by email and phone to discuss concerns and you can also view grades alongside your student in Schoology. We want to ensure you are aware of the following information and resources:

1. Staff email addresses are listed on our website under “Staff Directory.” You can email teachers directly for updates about grades, attendance in a specific class and to schedule a conference with an individual teacher. As a reminder, Asynchronous Wednesdays are time for students to work 1:1 or in small groups with their teachers.

2. General attendance questions or concerns, including reporting absences- please email Mrs. Metallo at mmetallo2@bcps.org

3. In the instance where a parent or family member is concerned about grades in more than one class, we ask that you reach out to our school counselors: a. Mrs. Jubb- last names A-F- ajubb@bcps.org b. Mr. Muller- last names G-O- emuller2@bcps.org c. Mrs. Allshouse- last names P-Z- rallshouse@bcps.org

4. Social/Emotional Resources for students- our school counselors are available to meet with students and families to support social and emotional health. Please use the email addresses above to set up a time to meet to share any concerns.

a. Baltimore County Resource Guide- attached to this email. This document contains resources for Baltimore County residents including housing and utilities information, food resources and 24 hour call lines.

b. We encourage our 9th and 10th grade students to join “Pointer Pals” each Tuesday at 3:00 pm (Google Meet- pointerpals) to meet fellow students and make new friends. Contact Ms. Paragios fparagios@bpcs.org or just join in next time! There are many, many additional extracurricular clubs and activities taking place and we strongly encourage our students to remain involved.

5. Technology Concerns: students and families can submit a “tech ticket” using this link or call the help desk directly at 443-809-4672. https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=3cPDSRs_g0GOdLONSDpa_bN9gK_DoLNMiZj-pN7hORtUMkVZR1FJU0pIMU1JSllUUFlPRFgwM09KVSQlQCN0PWcu

In closing and in the spirit of the holidays, we encourage our students and families to participate in Virtual Winter Spirit Week. Let’s show that Pointer Pride one more time in 2020!

Thursday, 12/17- Holiday Movie Character Day

Friday, 12/18- Flannel/Plaid Friday

Monday, 12/21- Polar Express/Pajama Day

Tuesday, 12/22- Holiday Hat/Elf Ears Day

Wednesday, 12/23- Holiday/Ugly Sweater Day

Best regards,

Emily J. Caster

Principal