EXCITE Laboratory COVID-19 Testing: Thank You!
Thank you for all of your support of our new COVID-19 testing program in collaboration with UCSD’s EXCITE Laboratory. We appreciated everyone coming to campus last week and helping the program run smoothly. As we shared in our e-blast last Friday, we are pleased to report that 100% of our tests were negative for COVID-19.
We sincerely appreciate knowing that our Grauer community is taking our Return to Campus Contract and our safety efforts so seriously. Grauer proves to be a strong culture: students care about one another, about our community and are showing courage and intelligence in abiding by these tough guidelines, getting us through this. School core values of perseverance and self-advocacy have never been more in evidence. Please commend your child on their resilience and express the enormous pride we have in their actions. Please thank a teacher today: these essential people are heroes.
We all look forward to a vaccine becoming readily available and look forward to getting back to normal. In the meantime, we are grateful to be able to offer full-time, on-campus instruction for our students and appreciate everyone’s adherence to mask wearing, social distancing, frequent hand washing, quarantining after travel, and staying home if exhibiting any symptoms of COVID-19. We plan to test all faculty, staff, and students for COVID-19 again upon our return from the Winter Holiday vacation on Monday, January 4—please watch the newsletter for more details.
Final Exams: December 2020
Although we strive for a balanced, holistic educational environment, The Grauer School is a college preparatory school. To help students learn valuable study skills and demonstrate mastery of essential curricular standards, we do offer comprehensive final exams in our courses. Middle School students engage in practice final exams whereas high school students do take comprehensive final exams in all classes. The week of December 9-14 is our annual Final Exam Review Week, an opportunity for our teachers to help our students learn how to study and to prepare themselves for the anxiety final exams may bring.
Please note The Grauer School’s policy regarding Students Needing to Miss Final Exams as was outlined in our Parent and Student Handbook.
______ Final Exam Schedule (Students Needing to Miss Final Exams)
Missing final exams, in the view of The Grauer School, is bad for the student. We strive to maintain a liberal absence policy (only for students who have a demonstrated ability to complete their work independently and on time). However, we expect the highest accountability during finals week. Teacher and student stress becomes high when final exams are missed and need to be rescheduled. To compensate teacher preparation, missed final exams are billed at twice the rate of regular tutoring.
If you need have already made arrangements to travel during Final Exam Week and need to reschedule Final Exams, please contact Alicia Tembi, Assistant Principal, for tutoring rates and for rescheduling information. Alicia can be reached at aliciatembi@grauerschool.com.
_____
We will be hosting Final Exams during the week of December 15-18, 2020. Please note that we will be operating on a modified schedule during the week - click here to view the Final Exam schedule. Students will be scheduled to take two Final Exams per day on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday; on Friday, students will have one exam prior to being dismissed for the semester at noon on Friday, December 18. High School students are only required to be on campus when they have a scheduled final exam; they may leave campus once their exams have been completed (however, they are encouraged to schedule additional Office Hours appointments with their teachers in the afternoons if they would like). Middle School students are scheduled to take their final exams in the mornings; in the afternoons, they may either leave to study more at home or may attend optional Physical Education every day (so that they can run around and burn off some of the stress of the week) and then have additional study sessions scheduled to help them prepare for the next day’s final exams. If parents elect to pick-up their middle school student at 12:15pm, we do request that they sign-out in the office so that we know how many students to account for on campus. Additionally, if high school students elect to stay on campus to attend study sessions and/or office hours, we do request that they remain in classrooms under teacher supervision.
We expect some stress and anxiety with this process and final exams—after all, this is normal. However, if your child seems overwhelmed by this process or is unable to function with the amount of stress surrounding exams, please contact Dana and/or Shelley Boniwell, our Counselor. We’ll do our best to help.
ASB Presents Game Pigeon Tournament: December 14
The High School ASB is hosting a Game Pigeon Tournament starting on Monday, December 14. This free event is open to all students and faculty. Individuals can register to play by signing up on the Google Form was sent out yesterday. Each day, participants will be emailed a phone number as your "opponent" with the name of the game that you will be playing, and you must text them and start a round of "Game Pigeon". Rounds continue until there is only one person left, and the ultimate winner will receive a $5 prize! For more information, feel free to email Jason W. '21.
End of Semester Music Performances on YouTube Livestream: December 16
The Advanced Music and Honors Music students will be presenting their End of Semester performances on Wednesday, December 16 at 12:45pm. All High School Music students have the option of presenting their final projects at this time as well. We will be live-streaming the event on the Grauer Arts YouTube channel, and we invite parents, relatives, and friends to click here to watch the mix of student performances and videos live on YouTube, starting at 12:45pm. The event video will be available to watch on YouTube any time after the event as well. Join us to see check out what our talented musicians are up to!
Grauer Literary Society Meeting: January 13
There won't be a meeting of the Grauer Literary Society in December due to the holidays. The next meeting will be on Wednesday, January 13, at Noon on Zoom. The book that will be discussed is The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri. All current parents, alumni parents, and Grauer community members are welcome to join - just email Sheila Wirick to be added to the mailing list.
Buy Your Yearbook
Grauer students - click here to order your yearbook now for $60. You can get free personalization (a $6 value) if you submit a drawing of a teacher to yearbook@grauerschool.com.
Attendance Line
Is your child going to be absent? Please contact Tracy Ahrens, our Attendance Officer, in our Main Office prior to 9:00am to let us know that your child will be absent for the day. Tracy can be reached via our Attendance Line at (760) 944-6777 or by e-mail at tracyahrens@grauerschool.com. Also, if you need to arrive late due to an appointment or leave early, we request that parents call or e-mail Tracy to let her know so that she can excuse each student accordingly. Thank you, we appreciate your helping us account for our students daily.
CALENDAR
View the 2020-2021 Grauer Academic Calendar Overview: Click here
View the Grauer Public Calendar on our website: Click here
Add the Grauer Public Google Calendar to your calendar system: Click here
Wednesday, December 9-Monday, December 14
~ Final Exam Review Week Monday, December 14
~ Regular Odd Day Tuesday, December 15
~ Final Exams: Periods 2 and 6 Wednesday, December 16
~ Final Exams: Periods 1 and 7
~ End-of-Semester Advanced Music Class Performances, 12:45pm (YouTube Livestream) Thursday, December 17
~ Final Exams: Periods 3 and 5 Friday, December 18
~ Final Exam: Period 4 and Semester Check-out (Noon Dismissal) Monday, December 21-Monday, January 4
~ No School (Winter Holidays Vacation) Monday, January 4
~ COVID-19 Testing for all faculty, staff, and students (more information to come) Tuesday, January 5
~ Second Semester Begins (7-Period Day) Tuesday, January 12
~ Great Conversations Event: Dr. Gary Chapman Wednesday, January 13
~ Grauer Literary Society Meeting, 12:00pm (Zoom)
Upcoming Events
Great Conversations Event: Dr. Gary Chapman - January 12
Save the Date! The Grauer School has historically presented "Great Conversations" events to engage in a dialogue with the community about educational issues as well as topics that our families want to learn more about. We are pleased to announce that we will be hosting a Great Conversations ZOOM event in January featuring Dr. Gary Chapman and his book "The 5 Love Languages of Teenagers: The Secret to Loving Teens Effectively". Please save the date for the evening of January 12, and share with your friends!
Dr. Gary Chapman is an experienced and well-respected family counselor, and a well-known author having written more than forty books. He hosts a nationally syndicated radio program, A Love Language Minute, and a Saturday morning program, Building Relationships with Dr. Gary Chapman. The 5 Love Languages, one of Chapman’s most popular titles, topped various bestseller charts for years. Dr. Chapman holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in anthropology from Wheaton College and Wake Forest University, respectively. He received his Ph.D. degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and has taken postgraduate work at the University of North Carolina and Duke University.
Grauer Gear - Show Your Grauer Spirit!
We're excited to offer new Grauer Gear available for purchase now, just in time for holiday gifts! All of the items in the store are made with eco-friendly materials, in accordance with the school's Ecostewardship pledge. They are also compliant with Grauer's dress code, so students can wear them whenever they want at school. The newest additions to our Grauer Gear are shown below, modeled by Gabriel S. '21 and Camille I. '25:
Light Grey Long-Sleeve Shirt ($30) - the school's logo is embroidered in white on the left chest, and this long-sleeve shirt is soft and warm - perfect for any Grauer student to wear on cold winter days.
Short-Sleeve Navy Blue T-Shirt ($10) - the school's logo is printed in white on the left chest, and this is a great "everyday" shirt to wear to school.
Click here to view and order these items on the Grauer Gear Store on the school's website, and you'll find additional items in the store including water bottles, beach towels, beanies, and shirts. You can specify to pick up your order in the office or have it delivered to a Grauer student. Contact Olivia Kleinrath for any questions.
Visual Arts Department Presents: Winter Photography Contest
The Visual Arts Department invites students to enter the Winter Photography Contest. You can submit photos of anything relating to winter - for example, you can submit photos of winter weather, holiday lights, and other winter-themed photos. Take your photos during Winter Break, and click here or use the QR code with your mobile device to submit your photos by January 15. Contact Johnny King for any questions.
Visual Arts Department Presents: Fan Art Challenge
The Visual Arts Department invites students to enter the Fan Art Challenge through January 5. You can create any fan art piece you like, including a piece from your favorite book, video game, podcast, movie, comic, etc. You can also create a fan art piece of a Grauer faculty member, and your piece may be chosen to be their photo in the yearbook. You can make it a little wacky, but just make sure the faculty member is the main focus of the piece. Get creative! We will be posting some entries on the Grauer Art Instagram @GrauerArt, and some fan art pieces will also be shown at assemblies. Click here to learn more about the challenge, and contact Johnny King for any questions.
Weekly Columns
Principal's Desk
Sharing Our Compassion: Conner’s Cause for Children
Every day, I give thanks that my daughter is healthy. As we enter the season of giving, I am pleased to introduce our school-wide December charity event. Conner’s Cause for Children is a small, but important San Diego based non-profit organization founded over twenty years ago in memory of Conner Champ, whose family was the first of thousands who have been helped by Conner’s Cause. Each year, Conner's Cause for Children provides critical financial assistance to over 400 families struggling to cover the out of pocket costs of caring for a child with a life-threatening illness or injury. They make sure that no child goes without medical services or proper in-home care because of a family's lack of resources. As you can imagine, the pandemic has brought even more challenges to many of these families.
For the past 15 years, The Grauer School has partnered with Conner’s Cause for the holidays. This year, The Grauer School has once again adopted 100 Conner’s Cause kids and has promised to send them holiday presents from our Grauer “angels.” Would you consider helping out this holiday season and purchasing a holiday gift for a child with a life-threatening illness whose parents are struggling to cover the costs of caring for him/her?
Clayton Payne, our Dean of Student Support, shared a touching account of his involvement with Conner's Cause with our students during assembly today. We expect to have the sign-up list ready in the next few days - Carol DelSignore, Conner’s Cause’s Executive Director, will share the list of children here in San Diego that could use a little holiday help, Peggy Gardner will enter the list of children into a SignupGenius list to facilitate sign-ups, and then we will send an e-blast with the link and information about how you can sign up.
If you’re interested in participating, we ask that you sign up for one or more children and, if you are able, it would be nice (though not required) to send small gifts to the child’s siblings as well. Some of the families are large, so please feel free to partner with other Grauer families if you would like to “adopt” a family together. To participate, we request that our Grauer students:
Sign-up for a Conner’s Cause child via our Sign-up Genius (see e-blast this week with the link).
Purchase one or more age-appropriate holiday gifts for the child (you may wish to send small gifts to the child’s siblings too, though it’s not required).
Please mail the gifts to your Conner’s Cause family (or have them shipped via an online service). Please note that The Grauer School is not hosting a charity gift wrapping party this year.
In addition to knowing that they did something to brighten someone’s holiday, all participating students will earn one-hour of community service for participating in Conner’s Cause this year. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Jessi Brown, Humanitarian Service Coordinator, at jessibrown@grauerschool.com or Dana at dana@grauerschool.com. Thanks, we look forward to your participation again this year.
Deans' View
How to Prepare for Finals and Stay (Mostly) Stress Free
The Grauer faculty cannot begin to express how proud we are of our students for persevering this semester given the current public health situation and its implications on school and home life. Our worlds have been upended and yet, our students show up to school daily ready to learn, have fun and be kind.
Before we can celebrate the end of the semester, students have two more hurdles ahead, review week and finals week. I realize the title of this column might sound like I am asking students to find a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow (San Diego’s precipitation levels don’t help much), especially given that we are in the midst of a pandemic. But the Grauer School encourages and challenges students to find balance in their lives, and finals week is no exception, it just might take a bit more effort and pre-planning to get there. I would like to offer some study tips, as well as some tips for de-stressing during review week and finals week, to support students academically, emotionally and spiritually.
Study Tips Study Distraction Free
~ Find a quiet place to study.
~ Turn your cell phone off and leave it in another room.
~ Give yourself 5-10 minute breaks every 30 minutes to refocus. Know What to Spend Your Time On
~ Identify strengths and areas for improvement in a given class/unit.
~ Study the most challenging topics/skills first. Study in Advance, A Little at a Time
~ Begin studying 1-2 weeks before an exam.
~ Use your agenda book to break up study time.
~ Set due dates for different parts of your study guide.
~ The night before an exam do an overview, try not to study. Use Tools to Help You Study
~ Complete all parts of a study guide.
~ Extra tools – Flashcards, Quizlet, Kahoot, old notes, old assessments, mnemonic devices, make your own study guide, office hours, think outside the box!
~ Be wary of group study guides – information could be incorrect.
Tips for Reducing Stress Maintain your regular exercise regimen - exercise is an instant mood booster!
~ Get outside and enjoy the fresh air on a walk, hike, bike ride or surf.
~ Invite a family member (human or furry) to join you. Maintain your regular sleep schedule
~ Sleep will help you retain the information you are studying. ~ Sleep will help you feel less stressed. Eat healthful foods and limit refined sugar
~ Eat a healthy breakfast before school each day.
~ Pack unprocessed snacks like fruits and vegetables to keep your energy up. Connect with friends and offer them support
~ Simply asking a friend how they are doing can go a long way.
~ Write a friend a card wishing them luck on finals (handwritten cards are one of my favorite ways to communicate with people I care about!).
~ Video chat a friend, listen to music together or watch a tv show together on Zoom to unwind. Positive Self Talk
~ You are your most important and impactful supporter.
~ Remind yourself of all the preparation you have taken for your finals.
~ Speak kindly to yourself and tell yourself you can do it!
Preparing for finals is no easy task! Many middle schoolers are experiencing finals week for the very first time. We encourage middle schoolers to think of finals as “practice,” they are weighted less and most middle schoolers are taking classes that will not show up on their high school transcripts. This is a chance for them to build their study skills repertoire and become resourceful self-advocates. For all our students finals are a way to demonstrate mastery of content and skills, and finals are certainly worth putting effort into, but they are not everything and not who our students are. Our students are resilient, compassionate and inquisitive and that is what matters most! The Grauer faculty and Dean Team are here for students should they need an extra pep talk or need more advice moving into review week. Please let us know how we can help. We thank our students in advance for all the energy they are putting into preparing for the end of the semester. Our students mean the world to us!
– Guest Columnist: Alicia Tembi, Assistant Principal
Dr. Grauer's Latest Column
The Story At The Heart
“Songlines are guides for travelers who have no choice but to pass through unknown and harsh territory, who hope to arrive safely.” – Meg Wheatley
What story will you tell your grandchildren about the Great Pandemic of 2020?
High School CIF Sports: Delayed Until January The CIF state office released an update last week concerning high school sports - click here to view the update. The start date for Season 1 has been moved to no earlier than January 1. Boy's Volleyball was also moved from Season 1 to Season 2. Although this is unfortunate news, I will do everything in my power to continue offering fun and engaging sports on our campus, and while I know they will not fully replace what you have lost, I can only hope they offer some joy. If you have any questions, please contact me at trevorolson@grauerschool.com.
This Week In The Garden
The Grauer Gardeners accomplished a lot in the garden on Tuesday. Thank you to all the parents who came out to help! We continued with the fruit tree irrigation project, adding an irrigation line in an area where there was none, planted a Murcott Tangerine from Jamie Burnett - thank you Jamie!, planted seedlings of kale, lettuce and cilantro, deadheaded and cleaned the pond! We had a great time taking turns with the syphon and Molly dubbed getting out all the muck "satisfying". By the way, Michaelangelary the turtle says hello to our students and best wishes for Finals next week!
Coming Up In The Garden
Please plan to join us this Thursday, December 10, when Kelle will be teaching the first of our "First Thursday" Holistic Health Classes from9:15-10:15am in the garden. While it was unseasonably warm and breezy in the garden today, the forecast for Thursday is much cooler, so please wear a warm jacket and bring a hot thermos.
Next Tuesday, December 15, please stop by the garden between 9:15am and 10:15am to sample a dried (Hoshigaki style) persimmon. We'll explain the simple process and give you a persimmon to dry at home. If you'd like to stick around for general garden chores, please feel free!
OnThursday, December 17, beginning at 9:15am, please join us for a short class on stone fruit care. Meet us on the upper bank, by the picnic table. We'll show you proper pruning techniques, as well as demonstrate how to apply dormant spray.
Events & Activities at The Grauer School
Fun Physical Education Activities
Athletics Director Trevor Olson provides a wide variety of activities for Grauer students in Middle School and High School Physical Education classes, with a different activity each week. His goal is to make PE fun for his students, so that they enjoy different types of physical exercise and continue to stay fit and active through high school and beyond. Trevor and Coach Paulina Davis-Fisher played an energetic game of "4 Goal Soccer" this week with their 7th Grade PE students. This game is set up with 4 different goal areas, and students try to knock down cones by kicking soccer balls at each of the goal areas around the field. Other students are goal-keepers who try to prevent the kickers from knocking down the cones. There were soccer balls flying in every direction, and action was happening all around the field simultaneously. Jonah L. '26 said "it was a lot of fun"!
Grauer Weekly Virtual Assemblies
The Grauer School's weekly assemblies on Tuesdays are a special part of our community, and we don't want to miss that feeling of togetherness that we all get as we gather all the students and staff together each week. Since we can't gather in large groups, we host virtual assemblies in CVP (Core Value Portfolio) Groups every Tuesday at 12:30pm. Assemblies begin with a message from Dr. Stuart Grauer, followed by each teacher reading out the weekly announcements to their CVP group.
Assembly Video Message for Tuesday, December 8
You can click on the image of Dr. Grauer to view his Assembly video message for this week. He talked about the importance of resilience and optimism, and how these character attributes contribute to each person's own sense of happiness and success. He asked Grauer students to take action to strengthen their own resilience and optimism, and reminded them that the ultimate superpower of Grauer teachers is their ability to believe in every one of their students, especially as we head into Finals week.
Counselor's Corner
From Shelley Boniwell, Associate Director of Counseling - follow the Grauer School Counseling Office on Instagram @gscounseling:
Columbia University's Academic Year Immersion Spring Semester
Through the Academic Year Immersion program, high schoolers will prepare for the college experience through exploratory coursework and community activities over ten weekends this spring. The Academic Year Immersion Program runs January 16–March 21, 2021. Applications are due by December 14. Click here to view an information flyer, and click here to learn more on their website.
Language Bird Culture Camp
The LanguageBird Culture Camp is a fun and interactive cultural immersion seminar where students learn together while our instructors take them on a guided cultural exploration without leaving home! Learn about Spanish, French, and Mandarin cultures from LanguageBird’s engaging instructors - choose one of the cultures or explore them all. Click here for more details about this program.
Community Service
From Jessi Brown, Humanitarian Service Coordinator:
Looking for ways to volunteer during the school year, either in person or virtually? Remember that you have a great resource right at your fingertips. Log into your MobileServe account, click on "EVENTS" in the side menu bar, and then click on "DISCOVER." You can enter keywords or just enter your location to find opportunities close to you. This is a great way to discover opportunities that are perfect for you!
Six Cleanup Challenge
The Six Cleanup Challenge brings together adventure, volunteerism, and citizen science to challenge San Diegans to go beyond the beach cleanup. San Diego County is home to beautiful beaches, striking coastline, diverse neighborhoods, and secluded urban canyons and parks. With the Six Cleanup Challenge, you get to explore them all while collecting important citizen science data on debris types and concentrations throughout our coastal watersheds. Students can participate individually or in a team. You will download the Litterati app, select your 6 sites, and conduct your cleanups. Click here to learn more and register.
Middle School Fridays
From Patricia Young, Middle School Fridays Coordinator:
Middle School Friday activities are optional. Each week, we plan to offer opportunities for Friday fun, whether they are on-campus or remote via Zoom. The activity for this Friday is:
Catan Board Game with Nick Scacco (meet outside Nick's classroom). After a long, hardship-filled journey, you have reached the coast of an uncharted island. However, other explorers have also landed on Catan, and the race to settle the island has begun. Build roads and cities, trade skillfully, and become ruler over Catan! Nick Scacco will be teaching the rules of the board game Catan, and students will be playing in small socially-distanced groups.
Teacher Spotlight
Christina Burress, Grauer English Department Chair, was featured in the December 2020 Newsletter of the Touching the Earth Collective, about her work with creating intricate designs from the microplastic pieces that she collects at the beach - click here to read the article on the Shambala Times website.
Here's an excerpt from the article: "Unfortunately there is no shortage of microplastics washing up. My collection kept growing and so I started to make designs from the found objects. Using the tweezers, I’d place each piece with care, creating a physical poem that allowed me to talk about the suffering I was witnessing on Earth. The work was cathartic and healing. Once a design was done, I’d photograph it, post it on Instagram,then destroy it like sweeping a sand mandala." You can see two of Christina's beautiful artwork pieces below, and you can see more of her art on her Instagram @christinamisenburress.
Student Spotlight
Parents, please let us know if your child is doing something newsworthy so we can congratulate them in our Student Spotlight section! Please send submissions to newsletter@grauerschool.com.
