Check out this week's updates, information, and upcoming events at Goochland High School. The Bulldog Bulletin is your weekly look into the great things happening at GHS. Go Bulldogs!

THIS WEEK at GHS

First Day Of School - On the first day of school, Goochland High School will officially open to students at 8:45 am. All students will report directly to their last block of the day to store their cell phones and then report to Day 1, Block 1 class by 9:06 am. As we continue balancing classes and working through scheduling conflicts, some schedules may be altered slightly from those handed out on Back to School Night. We ask that students check PowerSchool before reporting to school on the first day to confirm the most up-to-date schedule. A printed copied of the student’s schedule will be given to them in their Day 1 Block 1 class on the first day. Students, if there is an open block or error in your schedule, please see your school counselor first thing in the morning. Students have until Thursday, August 29th to turn in a signed change request form or email their counselor. A huge thanks to Ms. Hudak and our school counselors, Ms. Ferrell, Ms. McMullin, and Ms. Salazar, for working tirelessly on our master schedule.

Senior Sunrise for the Class of ‘25 - ANG will kick off the school year with the annual “Senior Sunrise Class of 2025” event at GHS. This will take place on the first day of school - Monday, August 19 at 6:15 am. All seniors are encouraged to attend this annual tradition at the GHS complex field to watch the sunrise with their classmates. A delicious breakfast will be served for all seniors that attend. We hope to see you there!

12th Grade Required Vaccines - The Virginia Department of Health (VDH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) strongly recommend a dose of the MenACWY vaccine at 16 years of age. To enter 12th grade in Virginia, a single dose of MenACWY vaccine is REQUIRED after the 16th birthday. School vaccine requirements protect students from potentially serious diseases. Proof of this vaccine is due by Monday, August 19th. After this date, students who have not received any doses of this vaccine will not be able to return to school until they either show proof of the vaccine or submit a vaccine exemption form. If you have any questions please contact Nurse Griffith (lgriffith@glnd.k12.va.us.) 

PowerSchool Parent Portal - Parents, please take a moment to verify/update your information in the PowerSchool Parent Portal. Parents must complete this verification process annually to ensure they are included in school division communications throughout the year. Below is a list of the forms that need to be verified or updated on PowerSchool for accuracy:

• Agreements (handbook agreement, consent to share information, and acceptable use policy)

• Demographics

• Health Information

• Legal Guardians

• Student Contact

You must update or confirm (by clicking “submit”) this information by Monday, August 19th. Please contact your child’s school counselor if you have any questions. 

MacBook Air Deployment and Insurance Payments - Laptops will be distributed to 9th-grade students on Wednesday, August 21st, and Thursday, August 22nd through English classes. Freshmen must pay the $30 Macbook Air Insurance fee, sign the AUP form on PowerSchool, and return their iPads and Kajeets before being issued laptops. Upperclass students who are new to GCPS or who returned their laptops at the end of the 2023-2024 school year will also be issued laptops on August 21st and 22nd.

All students and parents should sign the AUP form on PowerSchool and can pay the $30 Macbook Air insurance fee using the Online School Payment System. This fee covers most laptop repairs and a one-time replacement of lost or damaged GCPS-issued technology. Without insurance coverage, all repairs and replacement costs are the responsibility of the student/parent.

SAT Prep for Goochland Students - Goochland Education Foundation and Huntington Learning Center are partnering to offer SAT Practice Test Prep for Goochland County students. The practice test will take place on Saturday, August 24th at the Goochland County Central High School Cultural Educational Complex on Dogtown Road and Huntington will provide a comprehensive score report tailored to your child's results. Please see the SAT Prep Flyer for more information and to sign up for this amazing opportunity. The Goochland Education Foundation will support any student who cannot pay the $25 registration.  The registration deadline is Thursday, August 22nd, 2024.

Girls Basketball Camp - The girls' basketball team is having a back-to-school basketball camp next during the weekend of August 23rd - 25th for boys and girls in grades 3rd - 8th. The cost is $75. Please contact Coach Kempf (wkempf@glnd.k12.va.us) for details. Please see this flyer for details.

All Night Graduation - Be sure to mark your calendars for Saturday, August 24th for our ANG Back-to-School Bingo event at the GHS cafeteria. Doors will open at 5:30 pm and games will start at 6:00 pm. They can be purchased at $20 - 12 games in advance ($25 at the door). Indoor concessions will be open with a variety of hot food available for purchase. Any parent or senior student willing to volunteer will earn tickets for chances to win AWESOME prizes at the end of the school year sunset student gathering.  

Athletics and Activities - Please visit www.GoochlandBulldogs.com for up-to-date schedule information. Many of these events can be streamed live at www.NFHSNetwork.com. Feel free to contact Mr. Fowler (jfowler@glnd.k12.va.us) if you have any questions or need more information. 

THIS MONTH at GHS 

Student Schedules- Schedules are available on PowerSchool and students will receive a printed copy in their Day 1 Block 1 class on the first day of school. School counselors requests for schedule changes until Thursday, August 29th, 2024. Please keep in mind that schedule change requests are not guaranteed and may cause many changes in a student’s schedule to make it happen. Schedule change request forms will be available in School Counseling.  

Fall Play: The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe, Auditions and Crew Interviews - The Goochland Drama Department's fall play will be the classic tale The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe. Acting auditions will occur in Mr. Burch's room (P162 - GMS) from 3:45 - 7:00 PM on Monday, August 26th, and Tuesday, August 27th. Crew interviews will take place during bulldog block on Tuesday, September 3rd. Students in grades 6 - 12 are allowed to audition. If you are interested in participating as a performer or crew member, please email Mr. Burch (nburch@glnd.k12.va.us.)  

Junkyard Dogs Robotics Team is Looking for New Members - The Goochland Junkyard Dogs Robotics team is looking for new members and will be collecting applications (linked HERE) through Wednesday, September 11th. Interviews will follow on Friday, September 13th. As part of FIRST Robotics, the Junkyard Dogs practice and implement skills that translate to almost ANY employment environment. These skills include planning, budgeting, time management, observing deadlines, leadership, communication, design, outreach, fund-raising, building, using tools, machining, web design, programming... the list is extensive. Their six-week season starts in January and competitions follow. During the season, the team designs, builds, programs, and tests (and iterates) a robot from scratch to compete with other robots in our district. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Maloney (rmaloney@glnd.k12.va.us.) 

REMINDERS   

Absence/Tardy Procedures - Attendance in school significantly impacts a student’s academic success, and families play a crucial role in making sure students make it to school on time each day. The Virginia Department of Education asks schools to report chronic absenteeism each year, which is included in their School Quality Profile. As in previous years, we ask that parents call the school before 10:00 am to report their child’s absence. Students who are absent must also bring a note on the first day they return to school stating the reason(s) for their absence(s). Notes are held as legal records of student absences. Please assist us by following these policies throughout the school year so that we can continue to provide our students with a safe learning environment and ensure they receive the exceptional instruction our teachers provide.  This school year, students who arrive after the tardy bell at 9:06 am must enter through the front doors at GHS and report to the tardy table for a pass to class. Please take a moment to view this letter regarding the impacts of compulsory attendance.

Bulldog Gear - Check out our new online school store. We have hundreds of products that can be customized to show your GHS spirit! For a limited time, you can get 20% off most items. Purchases are shipped directly to your home. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Fowler (jfowler@glnd.k12.va.us). 

Bell Schedule - Our bell schedule has been slightly altered from the 2023-2024 SY. We will begin the school day at 9:06 am each morning and end at 3:35 pm. Doors will open to students at 8:45 am.  Please see the link to the GHS 2024-25SY Bell Schedule for details. 

Calendar - Please reference the 2024-25 GHS Day 1/Day 2 Calendar to know which classes will meet on any given day. 

Calling All Local Veterans - Mrs. Tate, one of our U.S. History teachers, is looking for veterans for the 2024-25 school year to be "adopted" by her ACA 11th-grade students. Local veterans willing to volunteer to be interviewed by 11th graders (and have an awesome time with our students all year!) are encouraged to join. Veterans can join via the Google Form on the GHS Veterans Project website or by emailing Mrs. Tate (rtate@glnd.k12.va.us).

Canvas - Canvas is the learning management system for Goochland County Public Schools. Teachers deliver instructional materials, assignments, etc. through Canvas, and it is recommended that parents create an account to view their child’s progress in Canvas. Parents should use the directions and resources found at https://www.goochlandschools.org/page/canvas to create an account and connect to their students’ Canvas accounts to view course assignments, school announcements, and our activities calendar. If you have any questions, please contact Catherine Richards, GHS Instructional Technology Coach, at crichards@glnd.k12.va.us.

Disciplinary Updates - Here is our GCPS conduct video for the 2024-25 school year. Please contact one of our Goochland High School administrators if you have questions. Also, please view our updated school board policy regarding cell phones and dress code here.

Early Dismissal Procedures - Students wishing to leave school early without their parents present must bring a WRITTEN excuse signed by their parents by 10:00 am the day of the early dismissal to the main office.  This written excusal note can also be in the form of an email (coming from the parent’s email account) sent to bulldogs@glnd.k12.va.us.  In the case of an emergency, parents may call in and ask for administrative approval for an early dismissal over the phone. Please assist us by following these policies throughout the school year so that we can continue to provide our students with a safe learning environment and ensure they receive the exceptional instruction our teachers provide.

Fentanyl Awareness - Per the Virginia Department of Education, school divisions are required to share a “Fentanyl Awareness” document with parents. Please take some time to view it HERE.

GHS Cross Country Team - The GHS Cross Country team is still accepting new runners to join the team for the Fall season. Cross country is great for anyone looking to get in shape for a winter sport or just looking to stay active during the fall. There is no prior running experience necessary - just the willingness to try your best. All practices will be after school from 3:45 - 5:15 pm at the GHS Stadium. Please contact Coach Funkhouser (jfunkhouser@glnd.k12.va.us) for more information. 

Goochland High School Website - Be sure to check out our Goochland High School website. All the information you need is easy to find in a few short clicks! We also encourage you to download the GCPS app. Search for Goochland County Schools on Google Play and the Apple App Store. Everything you need to know about menus, special events, and news is available on your phone.

G-Tech Classes - Students who attend classes in the GTech building will need to meet in the front bus loop once the bell rings for the block. We have a shuttle bus that will pick up and drop off students throughout the day. Students are not allowed to drive to GTech.

Library Purchase Process/Notification - Please take a moment to review our GCPS library book purchasing process here. You can also view a few library resources. If you have any questions, please contact our media specialist, Ms. Boehm (mboehm@glnd.k12.va.us). 

Outside Food Items - Federal regulations prohibit outside food vendors from selling or distributing food during school hours. Our food services staff has worked extremely hard to provide our students with different menu options. Please consult their daily menu here. 

Parking Passes - These passes can be purchased on the OSP website, and the cost is $75.00. Once the purchase is complete, students must complete this application. Bring the completed application and your driver's license to Back to School Night on Thursday, August 15th to receive your pass. Applications must be printed and submitted in person. Students who are unable to attend Back-to-School night can also get their pass during lunches during the first week of school. Please email Mrs. Coiner at ecoiner@glnd.k12.va.us with any questions.

PTSA - Your GHS PTSA welcomes YOU - students and families to our hallowed halls, fields, courts, and classrooms - returning and new! We are reachable by email at goochlandhsptsa@gmail.com. Please follow our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/GoochlandHighPTSA. We are celebrating your child and you being here! Go, Bulldogs.

Social Media - Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram (@ghs_bulldogs) and Twitter (@BHahnGHS and @GoochlandHigh). We will post updates and announcements periodically throughout the year. We also use these digital platforms to highlight many of the fantastic things our students and staff do daily. It’s a great way to stay connected to the Bulldog Family!

Student Drivers - Student drivers may drive to school for the first two weeks without a pass. Within the first two weeks of school, we will distribute parking passes to those who have completed the registration form and paid the parking fee in OSP. Beginning on Tuesday, September 3rd, any student who drives to school without a pass will receive a ticket. Additionally, student drivers are not permitted to return to their cars during the school day without administrative approval. Please reach out to Ms. Coiner (ecoiner@glnd.k12.va.us) or another administrator if you have any questions.

Student Drop-Off and Pick-Up - The high school student drop-off and pick-up area is located in the back stadium parking lot. Take advantage of the short line in the back instead of joining the middle school drop-off line in the front parking lot.

Supervision After School - Students are asked to leave campus before evening activities because we cannot provide supervision after school. Any student who wants to stay after school must be accompanied by an adult. Thank you for your assistance and cooperation. 

Senior Class of 2025

All Night Graduation - Please follow ANG on Facebook, “Goochland All Night Graduation 2025.”  If you have any questions or want to join ANG, please email them at GoochlandANG@gmail.com. 

• Are you interested in purchasing a “Bulldog Discount Card?” If so, email the ANG team (email above)