Returning to Campus Learning
Primary Charter has limited spots for students to return to campus for class beginning February 16, 2021.
Discovery Charter has limited spots for students to return to campus for classes beginning February 22, 2022.
Millennium High School will accept students that would like to return to campus for classes immediately.
Please email Michele Beringer at mberinger@tracylc.net to see if your student’s class has an opening and schedule a start date.
Note: This is a story from a high school opening its doors to in-person instruction. Please read the things students had to say.
Meanwhile, MHS is inviting high school students to return during the month of February. We miss the students and hope they will be returning soon. In-person classes have been open to students since November. We have an excellent record of safety with consistently implemented protocols to protect students and staff.
If your high school student wishes to return, contract Michele Beringer at 290-0511 or mberinger@tracylc.net
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For some high school students, the return to school comes just in time to salvage a year
- Lisa O’Donnell
- Feb 1, 2021
Since mid-March, she had been in her room alone, doing school from her laptop. Like most of her classmates, she usually kept her camera off, her sense of isolation deepening.
She slipped into a depression.
She’s a freshman and until today, she had not met a classmate or teacher in person.
A high-achiever who made straight A’s, her grades dropped last semester, causing her anxiety to skyrocket.
“I can’t do this for another semester,” she told her mother. “I want to try to live.”
The return to in-person learning is coming just in time for Amy, whose identity the Journal is protecting.
On Monday, she and several hundred freshmen were back in the classroom, the next step in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools’ reopening plan. About 2,400 freshmen will return in cohorts, alternating between in-person and remote learning.
For Amy, that will mean going to school two times a week, and though she craves more interaction, it will allow her to connect with teachers and classmates, walk the halls of her school and try to salvage what’s left of this milestone year in a young person’s school career.
Originally scheduled to return on Jan. 25, high schoolers are the last group of students learning remotely. Acting on the advice of local health officials, Interim Superintendent Tricia McManus recommended the return date be pushed to Feb. 22 to give the district time to review all the ways it is trying to keep students and staff safe and limit the spread of COVID-19. Eager to get some high schoolers back to in-person learning, the school board compromised, voting to have freshmen return on Feb. 1 and grades 10-12 on Feb. 22. High schoolers also have the option of continuing with online learning.
Visiting Reagan High School Monday, McManus said having a staggered return for high school students was a good idea because it acquaints them with their new school.
“They haven’t been here before,” she said while touring the high school with its principal, Brad Royal.
A research team out of Duke, the ABC Science Collaborative, is reviewing the district’s data and making sure the safety protocols are in place for three more grades of high school students, a cohort of students that McManus said presents a bigger set of issues than elementary and middle school children. High school students will move around their schools more and because many have drivers licenses and jobs, they interact with more people. In response, McManus told the school board last month that the district will beef up its contact tracing program.
Reagan’s freshmen class is divided into four cohorts that will alternate in-person and remote learning. Monday’s cohort at Reagan was expected to be 125 students.
The return of local high schoolers comes at a time when passions are running high across the country, with both sides pointing to compelling stories and reports that affirm their positions.
Mental health experts warn of a looming crisis among young people, evident in Las Vegas, Nev., where a rash of suicides prompted the school board there to reopen the schools as quickly as possible, according to a story in the New York Times.
For Amy, the isolation was crushing. Many of her friends from middle school are not attending her high school, leaving her with no friends. Online school work was grueling.
She was looking forward to Monday with some trepidation.
“I know we can’t do anything together, but I hope seeing a person makes a difference,” she said.
Much like the decision-makers in the school district, high-school students have varying opinions on whether to return to school.
At Reagan on Monday, Daniel Reyes and Leila Ramirez were the only two students in Marilyn Mercer’s English class.
Leila said she decided to go back to class because she has trouble staying on task in remote learning and for her mental health.
“I’m very, very talkative,” she said. “In May, I had this huge feeling of depression and isolation.”
“I’ve heard my sister talk about it and I wanted to experience it,” he said. “It’s helpful to have Ms. Mercer here to ask questions.”
In a few weeks, Olivia Kuhner expects to return to Reynolds High School for her junior year. She is ready to interact with teachers face-to-face. She found asynchronous learning — which is not live — to be a challenge that can leave students unmotivated.
“Mainly, it’s about hands-on learning,” she said of her decision to return to school. “That’s a big part of Reynolds as a school.”
Meanwhile, Laura Doughton has made the decision to finish her senior year online. The high number of COVID-19 cases over the holidays convinced her to stay home.
She beats isolation by spending time with her twin brother during the school day and playing online card games with friends.
PCS
TK and Kindergarten enrollment has begun!!
We are starting the enrollment for Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten for the 2021-2022 school year. If you have a child that is turning 5 between December 3, 2020 thru September 2, 2021 you will apply for Kindergarten. If your child turns 5 between September 3, 2021 thru December 2, 2021 you will app;ly for Transitional Kindergarten.
The application deadline is February 26, 2021 Any applications received after that date will be placed on a waitlist.Once you receive acceptance notice, Physicals will be mandatory for enrollment to Kindergarten and cannot be dated before March 1, 2021 to enroll for Kindergarten. If you have any questions please email our registrar at mberinger@tracylc.net
K and TK Application (PDF)
K and TK Application (en Espanol)
DCS
DCS Picture Day is Wednesday, Feb 14th
MHS
Picture Day-
All High School Students (including online students) Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021, in Gym. For online students, we have a Google Form that you must complete to sign up for a time slot.
MHS Online Student Picture Day Sign-up
Learning Continues on MHS Campus-
Physics kicked off a unit on electromagnetism this week with a day fully dedicated to exploring the behaviors of magnets. Did you know that there is a national laboratory in Florida dedicated to building and housing magnets? Next week we will have the great fortune of participating in a Zoom field trip to speak with a specialist from Florida’s Maglab to learn more about what makes their magnets the most powerful in the world.
Congratulations to all our Honor Roll recipients!
We had a fun celebration on Thursday to show how proud we are of your hard work and dedication. Go Falcons!!
