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GCHS OFFICE HOURS
Main office will be open from 7:00 am – 3:30 pm through July 30

Regular office hours (7:00 am – 4:00 pm) resume on Monday, August 2

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WELCOME TWO NEW ADMINISTRATORS
Grant Community High School would like to welcome two new administrators. Mr. Greg Urbaniak was hired as the Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment. This is a newly created position.  Mr. Urbaniak had been the Director of Curriculum at Prairie Grove School District 46 since July 2009. Formerly he served as the Principal at Prairie Grove Middle School for three years.  He holds a BA in English from Northern Illinois University, MA in Curriculum from Concordia University and a MS in Educational Administration from Northern Illinois University.  Mr. Urbaniak began his employment on July 1.

On July 15, the Board of Education approved the appointment of Dr. John F. Barbini as the Interim Principal for the 2010-11 school year.   Dr. Barbini has extensive administrative experience in education. After serving in Schaumburg District 54 from 1982 – 1994 as an elementary principal and deputy superintendent, Dr. Barbini was hired in Wauconda Community Unit School District 118 in 1994 as Superintendent. He served in District 118 until his retirement in 2004.  Since 2004 he has served as an interim or co-interim superintendent in Grayslake District 127, North Chicago District 187 and Mundelein District 120.  For the past three years, Dr. Barbini has worked in the Regional Office of Education in Grayslake conducting health and life safety inspections of schools and conducting compliance review assessments in schools throughout Lake County. Dr. Barbini begins his employment on August 2.

Welcome Mr. Urbaniak and Dr. Barbini.

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NEW 2010-11 GRADE FORMAT
Beginning this fall, the grading format at Grant Community High School will undergo several changes. First, the traditional first and third quarter grades will be eliminated. Instead, grades will be issued at the completion of the first and second semester only. Second, in lieu of the quarter grades, three (3) progress reports (4.5, 9 and 13.5 weeks) will be sent to parents. Each progress report will continue to communicate a cumulative grade for each course. An updated 2010-11 school calendar is available on this website.

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FBLA MEMBERS COMPETED AT NATIONAL CONFERENCE
Grant Community High School Future Business Leaders of America members competed at the Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda National Leadership Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, on July 14-17, 2010. The students and their competitive event include Nicolette Ashmore, Future Business Leader; Dylan Jay, Introduction to Business; John VonHelms, Business Law.
The competitions are part of a competitive events program sponsored annually by FBLA-PBL, a professional association for students pursuing business careers. Individuals, local chapters, and state teams competed in over 60 events representing business, career, and leadership development activities. The winners of these challenging and prestigious awards were selected from the FBLA members who had won state competitions to qualify for the national awards program. Over 7,500 attended the annual conference to elect national FBLA student officers and to attend business and leadership workshops in addition to competing in business and career skill events. This year’s national theme, “Simply the Best," reflected the goals of FBLA-PBL members, some of the best and the brightest of today’s young people.
Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda, Inc. (FBLA-PBL) is a nonprofit organization that prepares students for careers in business and business education. Its mission is to bring business and education together in a positive working relationship through innovative leadership and career development programs. To learn more please contact Mrs. Zimmer or Mrs. Highley.

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Application for Free and Reduced Price Meals is now available.  Information can be found under Parents>Waiver Forms

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STEERING COMMITTEE OFFERS SURVEY TO THE COMMUNITY
Grant Community High School has been awarded a three year grant to develop and implement a sustainable, school-wide plan that addresses the social and emotional learning standards adopted by the State of Illinois. These standards focus on five key concepts: self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, relationships, and responsible decision making. Research has identified these concepts as critical to the academic success of students, and therefore they need to be addressed to maximize student potential.
The Social/Emotional Learning Steering Committee identified the need to assess the current climate of Grant Community High School with respect to these standards. During this planning phase, the committee is conducting a series of surveys to staff, students and the community. Once this data is collected, the committee will formulate a plan to incorporate the Social and Emotional learning standards into the school.
Community members who wish participate in this anonymous, electronic survey may do so. Thank you for your participation.

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NEW STATE LAW PROHIBITS CELL PHONE USE
IN SCHOOL ZONES
On January 1, the new Vehicular Phone Use in School Zones law will take effect. It states that "a person, regardless of age, may not use a wireless telephone at any time while operating a motor vehicle on a roadway in a school speed zone." Once you are sitting in the car line, you can start dialing. But out on the street in the School Zone, no cell phone use allowed. There are exceptions for hands-free and other instances. Check www.drivinglaws.org/ill.php for details. In addition, our schools request that you refrain from talking/texting at any point when students are present. Our parking lots are very busy places, especially at the beginning of the day and at dismissal time. For those parents waiting in the car line, we respectfully ask that once the doors open and the students are present, please turn off your phones so we can all devote our undivided attention to their safety.