From the Principal’s Desk
Seeing 2020
First semester, and 2019, are now in the books. It’s incredible to think about all the things that our Silver Hawks have accomplished over the course of the past two terms, given how quick the time has passed. It feels like we just came back from summer break a few weeks ago but here we are, preparing to usher in a new calendar year.
The arrival of a new calendar year also means it’s time to begin thinking ahead to next school year already. When next semester begins, it will be time to start doing things such as registering for next year’s classes, or auditioning for next year’s music groups, and building next year’s activity calendars. Over the course of the next month, please keep your eyes out for information via school messenger and on our website about the planning process and the steps that students and families can take to get a jump on planning for next year.
During this time of the year, the importance of giving back to others in our community always becomes a central theme among many of the student organizations we host here at Southwest. Our students, staff, and families have always done a great job giving back to the community and this year has been no different. One of my favorite examples from this year is the LSW “Good Citizenship Initiative” Huntington Project that students took part in early this past December. As a part of this project, LSW students were able to donate $490 worth of gifts to the Huntington Holiday Headquarters event for families to purchase at reduced prices. In addition to collecting and providing donations for the program, there were over fifty students and parents who signed up to help volunteer at the event. Led by Social Studies teachers Mrs. Bales and Mr. Hershberger, this was a tremendous opportunity for our students to give back to the community and experience first-hand the joy that giving to others can bring. We are very proud of their work and their commitment to serving our community as representatives of Lincoln Southwest.
Winter break is a long one this year. I hope that extra time away from school allows everyone to catch up on some well-deserved rest and relaxation before returning to school on January 7th. Term three is often the fastest of the year so it will be important to hit the ground running when we return.
Thanks for all you do for our Silver Hawks.
Sincerely,
Mike Gillotti – Principal
Upcoming Events
January
01-06: Winter Break
07: Term 3 Begins
14: Online Course Selection, 2:05-3:30
15: Future Hawk Night, 6:30 pm
20: Martin Luther King Day- No School
21: Online Course Selection, 2:05-3:30
28: Online Course Selection, 2:05-3:30
29: Order graduation announcement/caps and gowns, 11-1 p.m., in front of trophy case
30: Order graduation announcement/caps and gowns, 11-1 p.m., in front of trophy case
February
04: Online Course Selection- 8th Grade , 3:30-6:30
06: Online Course Selection- 8th Grade, 3:30-6:30, Blood Drive
08: Show Choir Show Down, ACT
11: Forensic Show Case, 6:30 pm
12: Parent Teacher Conferences, 4-7 pm
19: Jazz/Band Concert, 7 pm
20: Honors Convocation, gym, 8:15 am
24: Band/Orchestra Concert, 6:30 pm
26: Choir Concert. 6:30 pm
Parent Information
2020-2021 Course Selection
Course selection for next year begins in January. Be watching our website for information and instructions. All 9, 10, and 11 grade students will need to go online and select courses for next year.
High School Choice Forms
High school students are allowed to choose their school of attendance a maximum of three times throughout their high school career. Although transferring is not recommended, the opportunity exists if the student and family believe it is appropriate. Transfers will only be granted for the beginning of each school year and would only be considered otherwise under extreme circumstances. Request to transfer must be filed by January 31 for automatic approval.
Parent Teacher Conferences
Parent Teacher Conferences for Term 3 are Wednesday, February 12, from 4-7 p.m.
Honors Convocation
Honors Convocation will be held Thursday, February 20, 2020, at 8:15 a.m. in the main gym. Students participating in the Honors Convocation will receive an invitation by mail. Seniors will be honored in May at the Senior Honors Program. Three-year graduates qualifying for Honors should notify the main office if they wish to be recognized in February or at the Seniors Honors Convocation in May
Prom Requirements
Reminder about daily attendance expectations about prom. Daily attendance may affect eligibility to purchase dance tickets. Maintaining good academic standing includes making daily attendance in classes a priority. Students must have less than the equivalent of 10 days of truancy during the current semester of prom in order to be eligible to attend the event. Parents and guardians are allowed 2 school days to make corrections to attendance records if a student is marked truant (TR) when they should have been called in for a Parent Acknowledge (PA) absence. For additional requirements for prom and dances see the Student Handbook — https://www.lps.org/about/important/2018-2019/handbooks/lsw.pdf
ParentVUE
Synergy ParentVUE is a component of the Lincoln Public Schools Student Information portal that allows parents/guardians secure access to student grades (secondary), assignments, attendance information, and much more. ParentVUE will soon become the avenue for parents/guardians to verify student enrollment in LPS, replacing the paper Census Form returned to the school at the beginning of each year.
The District has a goal of ensuring at least one parent/guardian per household has activated their ParentVUE account. If you haven’t yet activated yours, please contact the school office for an activation key.
Senior Information
Please check the list of potential 2020 graduates posted on the Attendance Office window to make sure your full LEGAL name is spelled correctly. Diplomas will be printed as shown. See Mrs. Cornell, Registrar, if there are ANY changes.
Senior Ad Information
Seniors Ads due date has been extended! They are due January 31st!
Announcements/Caps & Gowns
Seniors planning on participating in the graduation ceremony at the end of the year need to order a cap and gown. Lincoln Graduation will be here January 29 and 30 during lunches to take orders one last time. PRICES FOR CAPS AND GOWNS WILL GO UP AFTER JANUARY. Cap and Gowns can be ordered online at lincolngraduation.com. Below is the order information.
Senior Academic Reminders
- It is YOUR responsibility, if you are transferring from outside LPS, to provide documentation regarding Honor Roll from another school in order to be eligible for LSW 7 Semester Honor Roll. Do NOT wait until the last minute to address this issue.
- If you are graduating early as a JUNIOR, please let Bre Wright (main office) know if you would rather be honored at the LSW Honors Convocation with the junior class, or if you would rather be honored at the Senior Honors Program.
- Any academic achievement awarded at the senior honors convocation and/or at graduation are based on a student’s GPA through their seventh semester. Academic achievements, such as Top 3%, are subject to change after the final semester grades are included in the overall GPA. It is important to remember that taking a lighter course load in your final semester could affect your GPA and academic standing.
Government and Politics
As part of this class requirement, students need to fulfill 20 hours of community service. All seniors are required to take Government and Politics their senior year. Please encourage your student to START their volunteer hours. FIFTEEN of the twenty hours of community service can be completed prior to them taking the course. The remaining five hours will need to be completed the term that they actually take the Government and Politics Course. Seniors have until graduation to complete GoPo (Government & Politics) hours. However, if their hours are not complete by the time they complete the course, they will receive an incomplete (Inc) on their report card. This means they will not eligible for Honor Roll/Letter/Pin/7 Semester Honor Roll. A link with information regarding what qualifies for the 20 hours is available here.
Due dates for Government and Politics volunteer hours:
- If your student is enrolled in Term 3 Government and Politics, volunteer hours are due: March 6
- If your student is enrolled in Term 4 Government and Politics, volunteer hours are due: May 23
Graduation
2020 Graduation will be held Sunday, May 24 at the Bob Devaney Center at 1:30 pm. No tickets are required for family and friends. Seating is on a first come first serve basis.
Student Grade Withdrawal Information
If a student withdraws from a class late in the term, below is the grading table that we follow:
| Term/Dates | Timeframe of Withdrawal From Class | Grade Student Will Receive |
| Term 1-Aug. 12-Oct. 16 | Sept. 3-16 | W |
| Sept. 17-Oct. 16 | F | |
| Term 2-Oct. 21-Dec. 20 | Nov. 11-22 | W |
| Nov. 25-Dec. 20 | F | |
| Term 3-Jan. 7-March 6 | Jan. 28-Feb. 11 | W |
| Feb. 12-Mar. 6 | F | |
| Term 4-March 16-May 21 | April 6-April 20 | W |
| April 21-May 21 | F |
Transcripts
More information about requesting transcripts is available here.
Computing Services
Student Data Privacy
LPS cares deeply about protecting students DIGITALLY. We go to great lengths to ensure that your child’s digital interactions are safe and appropriate, that the data we collect about them is secure, and that we are guiding them to make good digital decisions. Because these efforts are less visible than our physical security efforts, we have assembled this resource to shine light on these important measures that are happening in LPS every day: https://home.lps.org/cs/?page_id=18083
Instructional Technology Tools (ITTs) in LPS
LPS believes that high-quality curriculum and instruction can and should include instructional technology for improving student achievement and preparing learners for adult success. To that end, a District Instructional Technology Tool (ITT) Committee works to identify those ITTs that are safe for student use, support district learning goals, and encourage innovative teaching and learning.
All reviewed ITTs are cataloged in the LPS ITT Matrix [https://www.lps.org/apps/matrix/].
The most frequently used, approved ITTs are made available to students and staff in the LPS Portal [https://home.lps.org/cs/2016/08/08/the-lps-portal/].
Library News
No Fines at the Lincoln City Libraries!
Did you know that your LPS student can check out up to four items from the Lincoln City Libraries and not incur any fines?
AND it’s super simple because their LSW student ID card actually doubles as their Lincoln City Library card! Just have your student show the city librarian their student ID card or provide their student ID number when checking out items. And that’s it! Happy reading!
Digital Citizenship Tips
Password security is one of the key components of Digital Citizenship instruction in LPS. Students learn strategies to create strong passwords, and how to avoid having their password stolen. Create a plan to manage passwords and discuss what makes a password hard for others to guess.
Theatre
Newsies
AUDITION Materials for the spring musical – Disney’s NEWSIES – are now available at the Theatre Box Office. Auditions will be held on Monday, January 20 and Tuesday, January 21 at 6:00 p.m. in the auditorium and Black Box Classroom. CREW FORMS are due NO LATER THAN 6:00 p.m.on Tuesday, January 21 to be considered for this production.
Cost of the audition packet for CAST members is $1 to help cover duplication costs and then is the student’s to keep and bring with them throughout the entire audition process.
All auditions are CLOSED – only the student auditioning needs to attend
Audition information for the role of “LES” – A 4-6 grader, approx. 9 years old – is also available.
These auditions will take place separately on Wednesday, January 15 at 3:45 p.m. in the Black Box.
For any questions or more information – please contact the Box Office at 402-436-1335 or email Bob Henrichs at bhenrich@lps.org
Post Prom Fundraiser
LSW Silver Hawk Post Prom is conducting a shoe drive fundraiser on December 1st to January 30th to raise funds for Post Prom 2020. Silver Hawk Post Prom will earn funds based on the total weight of the pairs of gently worn, used and new shoes collected, as Funds2Orgs will issue a check for the collected shoes. Those dollars will benefit Post Prom. Anyone can help by donating gently worn, used and new shoes at Lincoln Southwest High School commons and gym area.
All donated shoes will then be redistributed throughout the Funds2Orgs network of micro-enterprise (small business) partners. Funds2Orgs works with micro-entrepreneurs in helping them create, maintain and grow small businesses in developing countries where economic opportunity and jobs are limited. Proceeds from the sales of the shoes collected in shoe drive fundraisers are used to feed, clothe and house their families. One budding entrepreneur in Haiti even earned enough to send to her son to law school.
By donating gently worn, used and new shoes to the Silver Hawk Post Prom Organization, the shoes will be given a second chance and make a difference in people’s lives around the world.
Silver Hawk Post Prom Organization was created to provide a fun and safe environment for the Junior and Senior class after Prom.
MTSS-B
Research indicates that you can improve behavior by 80% just by pointing out what someone is doing correctly. Acknowledgment is paying attention to and recognizing appropriate behaviors. There are many ways that you can acknowledge appropriate behaviors you see. At Southwest High School, we provide specific positive feedback to let students know exactly what they have done correctly, and we sometimes pair that feedback with a ticket from our acknowledgment system, SOAR Rewards. When we give specific positive feedback we know it increases the likelihood that appropriate behavior will happen again. We try to acknowledge positive behaviors four times more often than correcting inappropriate behavior. Outside of school, consider using specific positive feedback to shape the behavior you would like to see repeated.
SOAR Rewards
Would you like to be a part of promoting a positive culture at LSW? If so, please consider donating to our SOAR Rewards student acknowledgement system. Our goal is to help incentivize and recognize students who are “caught SOAR’ing” by demonstrating that they are being Safe, Open-Minded, Accountable, and Respectful. Students who are recognized by staff for modeling SOAR expectations are eligible to receive prizes such as (Gift cards to restaurants, tickets to husker games, movie passes, Husker/LSW apparel, etc)
If you would like to be a part of this please contact Laura Runge (lrunge@lps.org) or Brett Schuster (bschust@lps.org) to ask about which items students enjoy the most and how to donate. Donations can be dropped off in the main office here at school. Thanks for helping our Silver Hawks SOAR!
LSW Booster Store
Silver Hawk Authentic Booster Store is open: Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays: 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (while school is in session). In addition to the hours above the store will be open on the following dates:
Friday, January 10, 6:30-8:30
Thursday, January 23, 6:30-8:30
Future Hawk Night: January 15, 6:15
Wednesday, January 22, 5:30
Silver Hawk Authentic Booster Store is part of the Lincoln Southwest Booster Club. All store personnel are volunteers and all profits go to the Lincoln Southwest Booster Club for support of LSW school programs, student activities, athletics, and performing arts. New volunteers are always welcome; please inquire at the store! Thank you for supporting your school!
SCIP
SCIP works with schools to form a front line of early identification, intervention, and connections for resources for students and their families struggling with mental, emotional, and behavioral health issues. Please take a few moments and read through the various articles:
DXM
Dextromethorphan (DXM) is a cough suppressant that can be found in more than 100 different cough and cold medications, such as Alka Seltzer Plus, Coricidin, Delsym, Mucinex DM, Robitussin, Theraflu, Tylenol Cough & Cold, Vicks DayQuil/NyQuil, and literally dozens more, which include generic store brands of these cough and cold products. Most, if not all, of these products are sold in stores as over the counter products. DXM is a synthetic product of morphine. DMX is not a controlled substance; however, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) does list it as a drug of concern.
At high doses, dextromethorphan is classified as a dissociative general anesthetic and hallucinogen. The controlled substances, ketamine and PCP (phencyclidine) also fall in this classified category.
Research studies indicate that dissociative drugs, like PCP, ketamine, and DXM, disrupt the actions of the brain chemical glutamate at certain types of receptors in our brain. These receptors are called N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. Glutamate plays a major role in reasoning, learning, memory, emotion, and the perception of pain.
DXM can cause visual and auditory distortions. It can also produce a feeling of floating and a feeling of being detached from reality when high doses are taken. DXM can also cause or increase anxiety, memory loss, and impaired motor function, including shaking and numbness. The effects often depend on how much of the drug was taken. These effects can take place very quickly (within a few minutes) and they can last for hours. Below are some common effects associated with dosage levels of DXM taken.
Link – Remainder of the article
Depression in Children and Teens
Over 322 million people live with depression worldwide, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Approximately 3.2 million of adolescents 12 to 17 living in the US had at least one major depressive episode in 2017 (National Institute of Mental Health). An estimated 60.1% of adolescents did not receive treatment for depression.
Depression is a mood disorder that causes feelings of sadness over an extended period of time. Depression is also referred to as major depressive disorder or clinical depression. It is normal to feel sad due to an event or some kind of life change, but depression can cause overwhelming sadness for several weeks or even months. These depressive episodes can happen once or several times throughout one’s lifetime. Depression can affect how a person feels and behaves and can even cause physical symptoms. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5), clinical depression is when a person experiences a depressed mood and/or loss of interest in activities they once enjoyed, plus five of the symptoms below for at least two weeks:
- Depressed mood for the majority of the day
- Feeling of worthlessness or guilt
- Slowed thoughts and movements
- Difficulty concentrating
- Changes in eating habits – either loss of appetite or over eating
- Fatigue or lack of energy
- Thoughts of suicide
Link – Remainder of the article
Fostering Resiliency: Learning to “Struggle Well” in the Face of Adversity
Resilience is an important aspect of mental well-being. Resilience is the ability to bounce back from stress, adversity, failure, challenges or even trauma. Resiliency enables individuals to effectively cope with, or adapt to, stress and challenging situations. An important aspect of resiliency is growing from the adverse experience and being able to move forward with strength and the ability to be more equipped to deal with future challenges. Children and teenagers are not exempt from stressors and hardships. Focusing on young people’s strengths and helping to nurture resilient traits can help reduce the effects of significant adversity on their health and well-being. Identifying a youth’s “social resources” is also a key concept of resiliency. Several studies highlight the idea that resilience is more than individual traits. Environmental interactions with school, family, community and culture are also important ingredients.