Dear GP Parents/Guardians:
Happy New Year! I am writing to provide our parents with some important updates as we begin the second semester of the 2020-21 school year. First and foremost, I want to once again thank you for your patience and cooperation as we continue to work through this school year. I truly believe that we were fortunate to have little interruption with our in-person model and remote learning option due to your cooperation, the staff’s commitment to our kiddos, and frankly, our students' adherence to the many rules and regulations put forth by the IDPH.
I wanted to take this opportunity to provide you information regarding some modifications to our 2nd semester calendar as well as future options pertaining to our schedules. Due to the pandemic, the Illinois State Board of Education has allotted each school district five remote planning days to be utilized during the current academic year. For your convenience and planning purposes, we wanted to announce those days as we have updated the calendar. Therefore, we will utilize Friday, January 29th, Friday, February 12th, and Friday, March 26th for remote planning days (no student attendance). Also, our original calendar included early dismissals on the first Wednesday of the month. Those will be postponed for the remainder of the year. I have attached an updated calendar to this correspondence. You can also find the calendar on our website.
Without doubt, the pandemic has taught us that “anything is possible” on any given day. I ask that you continue to be prepared for any scenario, including a move to full remote, if our quarantine or positive levels reach a point where staffing is not available or the health/safety of our students/staff is not suitable. Also, during the month of February, the GP Transition Team will reconvene and review options in terms of scheduling for the fourth quarter of the academic school year. I will continue to communicate our plans with you and provide updates for preparation purposes.
In terms of extracurricular activities, we are still in a “pause” due to the mitigations put forth by the state of Illinois. We continue to hope and wait for positive news for both our student-athletes and families. Our athletic department is monitoring developments and will distribute more information if any changes are made by the Governor’s Office.
As a kid, I used to love to hear the words “Snow Day” due to inclement weather. However, for this school year, we will use “remote learning days” in lieu of cancellation days. The good news is we will not be required to “make up” those days at the end of the year. I will still make every attempt to make that decision as soon as possible and utilize our One Call Now system for notification.
Again, I want to thank you for your assistance and cooperation. Also, I do apologize for what seemed to be many, many communication updates during the first semester. In my effort to communicate, my messages sometimes are a bit long-winded and I do apologize. . (It’s a New Year Resolution to begin shortening my messages… starting of course with the next correspondence :) Take care and be safe!
Dr. John Palan
Superintendent, Grant Park #6