·        District Dress Code

·        Girardot yearbook informational sheet

o   2 Sections:  Underclassmen & Senior Section

·        Cheekwood Envelope

·        Parking Permit Application to Juniors and Seniors Only

·        Senior All-Night Party Letter and Registration Form to Seniors Only

July 19, 2012

Dear Cape Central Students and Parents:

Welcome to the first academic year of our second century of teaching, learning and caring at Cape Central High School.  As we look to our immediate future, we believe it holds tremendous promise to be even more successful than our first one hundred years.  As you come to campus, you will see our addition of nineteen new classrooms is essentially finished, and the days of faculty pushing carts through our hallways as they rush from class to class are finally over.  Our nineteen new classrooms will enable us to give every teacher and every class a permanent home for our new academic year and for many years to come.  As you look to the east side of campus, you will see our new Richard D. Kinder Performance Hall beginning to take permanent shape and color.  We believe we are still on schedule to be finished with Kinder Hall by Christmas, but even if we should miss the anticipated deadline, we are still thrilled to have a permanent home on our campus for our performing arts program.  One more time, I wish to thank our greater community for the progressive commitment they continue to invest in our senior high school and in our school district as a whole.  As we begin our new academic year, I invite you to join me in doing all you can to thank our community for its support by fully investing in all we have to offer each student on our campus.  We fully believe if you will take full advantage of all we have to offer our students at Cape Central, you will leave us with a high school education that will enable you to take that next step in your life journey with the skill, the confidence, the maturity and the conviction to succeed at whatever path you choose to take in life.

In addition to new spaces, we will also have some new faces on our staff and faculty as we do each fall.  One addition about whom we are particularly excited is the addition of a fourth guidance counselor, Mrs. Laura McClard.  With the addition of Mrs. McClard, a Cape Central alumnus home to Central, we will be able to offer an even greater level of student services than we have in past years.  Naturally, this means we will need to reconfigure our counselor/assistant principal groupings.  Please see the side bar on the first page of this letter to see how our counselors and assistant principals will be teamed to serve you this year.  

As we prepare for our new academic year, we want to welcome all students and their families who will be new to our campus whether you will be a freshman or an upper-grade student transferring from another school.   Please know, we stand firm in our belief that Cape Central High School can be the premiere senior high school not only in Southeast Missouri but also in the state of Missouri and in our nation as a whole, public, private or parochial.  However, we can only become that premiere school if we stand united as a total learning community on our two foundational principles:  academic rigor and caring relationships.  Simply, the main reason we will gather at 1000 South Silver Springs Road daily must be to expect and to practice the highest level of academic rigor we can attain, and the integrity of our academic rigor must be supported by our commitment to build and to sustain caring relationships with all who enter and depart our campus.  Academic rigor and caring relationships: these two principles were our guiding lights as we closed our first century, and they remain our expectation for our second century.

Back-To-School Orientation:  August 6, 7 and 8 (Parents, please join us!) As we announced at every possible opportunity last spring, our Eleventh Annual Back-To-School Orientation will be Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, August 6, 7 and 8.   Please know, we stagger arrival times alphabetically to reduce the amount of time you will have to wait in lines; frankly, if everyone comes at the same time, the lines will be quite long and less pleasant for all.  Thus, Seniors with last names A-M should report to The Commons at 8:00 A.M. on Monday, August 6, and Seniors with last names N-Z should report at 9:30 A.M.  We will close for lunch from 11:00-12:30 to prepare for our juniors.  At 12:30 P.M. on Monday, August 6, Juniors with last names A-M should report to The Commons, and Juniors with last names N-Z should report to The Commons at 2:00 P.M.   We will close for the day at 3:30 P.M.  On Tuesday, August 7, Sophomores with last names A-M should arrive at 8:00 A.M., and Sophomores with last names N-Z should arrive at 9:30 A.M.  We will close at 11:00 P.M. for the day.  Freshmen, please see the section below written specifically to you.  Even though we believe it is critical all students attend Orientation, we know some will be out of town.  Consequently, we will offer an abbreviated version of our Orientation on Friday, August 10, 9:00-12:00 and 1:00-3:00 in our Guidance Office, and you may report at your convenience.

Dress for Orientation Days   In order to help clarify our new District Dress Code, we expect all of our students who attend Orientation to be in full compliance with our new Dress Code included with this letter for your convenience.  Not only will this provide you an opportunity to confirm you will be dressed for success on our first day of school but also you will be dressed for success for your 2012-13 school picture.   

At Orientation on August 6, 7 and 8, you will address the following:

              School Pictures:      Order envelopes included in this mailing

           Yearbook Orders:      Information available about the purchase of yearbooks

              Parking Permits:      Purchased by lottery so the last draw may well be the best draw

       Lunch Applications:      Forms can be processed by Cafeteria Staff at Orientation

                Lunch Money:      Deposit money for those who wish to be ready to eat on day one

                        ID Cards:      Photograph for ID that must be carried at all times on campus

       Student Information:      Confirm personal contact information

           School Insurance:      Forms available for all who wish to purchase

          Course Schedules:      Official confirmation of courses, periods and teachers

      Locker Assignments:      New locker assignments and combinations for all students

                      Textbooks:      Secure books for all courses and place in lockers for first day

                CHS Athletics:      Information on our athletic program, activity passes and season football tickets

                 Campus Tour:      Locate lockers and classrooms for day one

        Health Information:      Complete state requirements as specified below

                     ParentLink:      Parents may register to receive school information electronically

 2012-13 Jungle T-Shirt:      Student Senate Official Jungle T-Shirt available for purchase at a cost of $10.00

Freshman Orientation:  Wednesday, August 8, 8:00 A.M.-2:30 P.M.  Our all-day Freshman Orientation is designed to offer a much more detailed and personal introduction to Cape Central High School hosted by an enthusiastic group of upper-grade students and a voluntary cadre of staff and faculty.  We will begin the day by addressing all of our enrollment procedures listed immediately above.  In addition, we will provide our freshmen and parents a free meal in our Cafeteria and conclude our day with a special assembly program designed just for our new Freshman Class.  Please know, it is very important to us that our freshmen begin high school successfully, and we firmly believe being informed, familiar and comfortable with what you can expect on your first day of senior high school is critical to your success for the year.  Freshman parents, we invite you to join us for part of the day only or for the entire day if you are available (and yes, you may wish to bring your checkbook); we even have one session designed especially for parents in order to help you as a freshman parent begin high school successfully as well.  Freshmen should arrive by 8:00, enter the main doors across from the three flags in the student parking lot, and someone will greet you at the door and show you where to report from there.  We will be finished by 2:30 P.M. or slightly thereafter.  Although we will not provide school buses for our orientation programs, we do remind you that Cape Central High School is now a regular stop on the Cape Girardeau City bus route.

Requirements for Health Screenings and Information  Please know, we are required by state law to administer formal Health Screenings annually.  All students new to Cape Girardeau Public Schools should bring updated immunization information for our nursing staff to review.  Returning students who need immunizations should have been notified last spring and must bring verification from your health care provider to Orientation.  If you have not received your immunizations, and a parent or guardian is present, Cape County Health will administer shots at Orientation.  Please know that students with missing immunizations will not be permitted to begin school on August 16.  In addition, all sophomores will complete a vision test, and all new students will have screenings for vision and blood pressure and will have their weight and height measured.  All students will be subject to random blood pressure screenings.  If you will be required to take medication during the school day, or if you have special health needs, please be prepared to present the appropriate information to our nurses.

Athletic Physicals and Fall Practice  In order to compete in interscholastic athletics, all athletes must complete a physical and show proof of insurance before the first day of practice.  As a service to our student athletes, we again this year offer physicals on our campus on Monday, August 6, 1:00 – 3:00 P.M. and Tuesday, August 7, 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. by Dr. Michael Givens for a charge of $20.00.  Parents must sign and fill out the History Form before the physical can be administered.  Certainly, you are welcome to use your own physician if you prefer; however, we must have on file the completed insurance information on the back of the MSHSAA (Missouri State High School Activities Association) Participation Certificate Form.  For your convenience, we have the MSHSAA Forms available in our Main Office and in our Athletic Office.  The first day of fall practice is Monday, August 6.

Revised Dress Code for 2012-13  As I included in my Term Five and Term Six parent letters to upper-grade students and families last spring, I do so again and ask you to please find enclosed a copy of our Student Dress Code that has been adopted by our Board of Education for the 2012-13 academic year.  Without doubt, there has been much debate—public and private—about our new Dress Code for much of our past academic year and throughout the summer.  Needless to say, I well understand all of us are not in complete agreement with our new policy, as was the case with our past policy, and as would likely be the case with any policy we would ever hope to adopt.  I am completely comfortable acknowledging that I, too, wish our new policy were different from what it has come to be, and I do anticipate we will enjoy continued discussion as our new academic year begins.  After 37 years of teaching in Missouri high schools, I do believe strongly that how students, as well as staff and faculty, dress does make a difference in how we perceive and present ourselves to others.  I also believe strongly appropriate dress is one of the many soft skills we have an obligation to teach all of our students as we prepare you for your postsecondary experiences whatever they may be.  Regardless of our individual preferences and predilections, we will continue to let the standards of dignity and modesty be the values we are trying to instill in our students so that teaching and learning become the primary focus of why we gather on our campus each day.  As you read the new policy, if you have questions, please call in advance so that we can reach an understanding before school begins.  Finally, I will share with you what I have shared with students multiple times in past years, “if you are not sure whether or not you should wear it to school, don’t wear it until you have cleared it in advance.”   I thank you in advance for your complete and for your congenial cooperation.

Body Jewelry and Piercings  As with dress, we expect all Cape Central students to be modest and safe in their use of jewelry and piercings on campus and at school activities in order to keep our focus on learning and teaching.  For obvious reasons of safety and sanitation, we will be particularly vigilant regarding any and all jewelry or piercings in and around the mouth.  More specifically, please know all jewelry and piercings must be removed completely during all physical education classes.  As with dress code, please feel free to contact me directly with any questions you may have about body jewelry and piercings.

Grade Cards, Parent Letters and Web Page  I remind veteran parents and inform parents new to our school that we send a cumulative grade report at the conclusion of each of our six-week terms.  Term One for 2012-13 concludes on Friday, September 21.  We then invite all parents to join us on campus for our First Semester Parent/Teacher Grade Conferences, and we offer two sessions for your convenience:  session one is Thursday, September 27, 4:00-7:30 P.M., and session two is Tuesday, October 2, 4:00-7:30 P.M.  Please know as well, I plan to include a parent letter similar to the one you are reading with each of our grade reports as yet one more opportunity to keep you fully informed about life at Cape Central.   For those who have access, I encourage you to reference our campus web page whereby you can access faculty and staff e-mail addresses and read our Tiger News daily to keep you and your family fully informed of our day-to-day activities.  Our web address is capetigers.com/chs.

ParentLink:  Communication by E-mail    We continue to invite access to pertinent student information concerning such matters as attendance and grades electronically.  For those of you who have not registered for ParentLink, we invite you to register as a participant if you are so inclined.  However, please know that for the purposes of security and confidentiality, you can only participate in this program if you register in person in our High School Guidance Office.  Please be assured, if you do not have e-mail access, we will continue to use all traditional forms of communication as well.  Finally, access to ParentLink is currently closed while we are refining student schedules for our academic year.

Annual Back-To-School Night:  Thursday, August 23  Our Cape Central Back-To-School Night will be Thursday, August 23, 6:30 P.M.  We will register in The Atrium and then assemble in Tiger Fieldhouse for our General Session.  We invite all Cape Central students and parents to join our faculty and staff for this evening of introductions and classroom visitation.

First Day of School:  Thursday, August 16  Please understand, at Cape Central High School, our first day of school will be a full day of classes with a clear focus on learning and teaching from the very first bell at 7:25 A.M. to our dismissal bell at 2:40 P.M.  Our Orientation programs enable us to address our enrollment procedures before school begins so that our first day is a full day of learning.  Please come with paper and pencil and be prepared to have homework on day one as a direct message from faculty that academic rigor is our priority at Cape Central.  We certainly want you to enjoy our new academic year, but most of all, we want you to learn and to learn well.  I sincerely look forward to learning with each of you this year.

In closing, I, again, offer a special welcome to our Freshman Class, the Cape Central Graduation Class of 2016, as you begin your first year of senior high school and also to all students and families new to the School District of Cape Girardeau regardless of grade level.  Although not a perfect school by any means, we believe we have a senior high school replete with outstanding programs in the academics, in the arts and in athletics.  School spirit is still very much alive and well at Cape Central where tradition runs deep and success is an expectation for everyone in all that we do.   I encourage you to become a passionate learner in our classrooms and an active member of our greater school community through cocurricular participation.  Soon, you, too, will stand with generations of proud alumni who have been “bleeding orange with Tiger Spirit” for one hundred years as we begin our second century of teaching, learning and caring at Cape Central High School.

Joyous Moments of Second-Century Wonder!

Mike Cowan, Ph.D., principal