Friday, June 5, 2020
A reminder to students and parents that all late work for Quarter 4 must be submitted to teachers for full credit by Friday, June 5th. Students should be in dialogue with teachers if they are expecting to send late work on June 5th.
Skyward Access & Semester Grade Reports
From Monday, June 1st at 7:00 a.m. – Sunday, June 9th at 7:00 a.m., parents and students will not have access to Skyward gradebooks. During this time, grades will be submitted, processed and verified by SMSA faculty and staff. Families will have access to Skyward grade reports again on Sunday, June 9th at 7:00 a.m.
Student Schedules for 2020-2021
On Friday, May 29th, parents and students were given access to Skyward to review preliminary course schedules for the 2020-2021 school year. These preliminary schedules are directly informed by the course selections originally submitted by students in January and February.
I would like to stress the PRELIMINARY nature of the current schedules. High school scheduling is evolutionary – with many variables and factors informing the process.
We will continue to work diligently to guide students in their choices, honor student interests, build the Master Schedule and mitigate schedule conflicts. While some schedule conflicts are still being addressed, the great majority of high school schedules are really looking good for next year! Students may contact Mr. Mahaffey tmahaffey@smsacademy.org through Friday, June 12th to discuss their 2020-2021 schedule.
As we shared in January, the course selection process is key to building a master schedule for SMSA and to staffing decisions. Because of potential disruption to other students and to personnel, schedule changes are thus discouraged unless deemed essential to a student’s academic wellbeing. In August, there will also be a designated period of time to make schedule adjustments if necessary. Please note that beginning in 2020-2021 any schedule change not initiated by SMSA will require payment of a nominal fee. More detailed information around this process will be shared with parents in the return to school summer packet mailing.
Thank You!
I would like to offer a personal note of gratitude to all SMSA students and their parents for providing me with such a warm welcome to the Ledge! This school year concludes my 26th year of serving in Catholic schools, and this year at Springs was easily one of the most memorable! From the transition of school leadership to the transition to virtual learning, students and parents were supportive, helpful and flexible!
I am surely not a perfect school leader, and SMSA is not a perfect learning community. Together as partners, however, we have been highly successful in striving to advance a perfect mission – the Gospel of Jesus – in this time and place. I am a Ledger now, and I am grateful to the good Lord for blessing me with this opportunity to serve a community that has such high expectations and such soulful sense of identity and mission. God bless you all, and thank you for accepting me into the Springs community! I look forward to many good years of partnership.
Summer 2020
During this summer, we will be sure to communicate relevant information around the start of school in August. As you know, the coronavirus pandemic continues to be a very fluid situation. As we have since March, our leadership team will be closely following updates and recommendations from the CDC, as well as from the Wisconsin DPI and DHS and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. The WIAA will also be communicating protocols around the management of high school athletics for the fall.
Our hope is to be back on the Ledge engaged in face-to face education again this fall. If that is to occur, we also anticipate some necessary changes to our routines. We will communicate all that we can, as soon as we can, this summer.
Be assured that we will continue to ask Our Lady of the Ledge to protect all SMSA families and guide our decisions with Heavenly wisdom. We ask that you also pray for our SMSA leadership team and all SMSA educators. May God continue to bless you!