Weekly Family Newsletter

Posted Date: 09/06/26 (06:36 PM)

Steers Family Newsletter

September 6, 2026

Adam Anderson, Principal of Graham High School

Principal's Corner

Hello Parents and Community,

This past week has been busy and exciting for our students. We had picture day, a lockdown drill, and multiple athletic events. Many of our students started their NWEA testing. This test provides teachers with some baseline data and individualized information on how to help each student grow!

Please make sure to look at the important upcoming dates. We have the Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.) Constitution Day Program coming up at 8am on September 16th. We look forward to all who can join us in celebration and in recognition of the D.A.R. Good Citizen Scholarship. We also have several athletic events coming up this week and I hope to see you at them!

I hope that each of you is able to enjoy this long Labor Day weekend and stay safe!

Committed to Excellence,

Adam Anderson

Principal

Graham Safe

Drill Updates

Thank you to everyone who helped in our lockdown drill this past week. We had 15 law enforcement officers from four different agencies participate.

We still have to complete a fire drill this month.

Upcoming Events

Mark Your Calendars

Upcoming Events for GHS

September 7th: No School (Labor Day)
September 8th: LBVB vs Abilene Cooper @ Home Fresh/JV at 4:30pm and Varsity at 5:30pm
September 9th: Cross Country @ Glen Rose Invitational
September 9th: GISD Board Meeting
September 10th: LBVB vs WF Legacy @ Home Fresh/JV at 4:30pm and Varsity at 5:30pm
September 10th: Fresh/JV Football vs Paradise @ Home, 5pm and 7pm
September 11th: Steers Football vs Paradise @ Paradise 7pm

September 15th: All-Region Jazz Band Auditions
September 15th: Tennis vs Peaster @ Home 4pm
September 16th: D.A.R. (Daughters of the American Revolution) Constitution Day Program @ 8am
September 18th: Pep Rally (Safari)
September 18th: Brownwood vs Steers Football @ Home 7pm
September 18th: End of 6 weeks (gain or lose UIL eligibility)

September 21st: No School
September 21st-25th: Homecoming Week
September 22nd: Tennis vs Brock @ Brock 4pm
September 25th: Pep Rally (HOCO)
September 25th: Peaster vs Steers Football @ Home 7pm

October 19th: Senior Girls Pictures
October 20th: Senior Boys Pictures

November 4th: Picture Make-up Day ALL students 9-12

What's Happening at GHS...

Michelle Lowery Memorial Golf Tournament

Please see below for an opportunity to support the Michelle Lowrey Scholarship Fund.

Words from Mrs. Lowrey's son as registration for the Michelle Lowrey Memorial Golf Tournament opens.

_________________________________________________________

"Mom saw something in students before they could see it in themselves, and she never made them earn that belief first — she just handed it to them. That's the part I keep trying to carry forward."

Every dollar raised goes to scholarships for students pursuing STEM degrees. Come play. Bring a team. Help us live out her legacy of believing in kids & giving them a brighter future.

Scan the QR code or click the link to register

www.golfgenius.com/ggid/btu7d4/register

Yearbook Cover Design Contest

Attention Students:

The yearbook staff would like to invite the students of Graham High School to design a cover for our 2026-2027 yearbook. The winning entry will appear on the yearbook cover!

The 2026-2027 yearbook theme: Insta-Graham (social media) and is a celebration of the year gone by and an invitation to join in on the fun. It’s about bringing together all of the students at GHS to memorialize the year that we have all experienced in different ways.

Please click this link for more information!

Perfect Attendance Winners

Every week, Graham High School will be randomly selecting students who had perfect attendance from the prior week. They will be awarded with a coupon from our local Whataburger or Dairy Queen. Thank you to these local businesses for recognizing the importance of daily attendance at school and rewarding our students!

This past week, our perfect attendance award winners for the week of August 24th were Walker Bennett, Zaylea Pippin and Jack Clark! Congratulations!

School Pictures Now Available!

Click the link below to view and order your student's school pictures!

https://www.photos940.com/store/gisd-2026-27

Heart of Graham Information

Rowan Bronfield has been selected as the Heart of Graham recipient this year. Please see the attached information to learn more about Rowan, and how you can help support him and his family. I hope to see each of you at the Heart of Graham game against Brownwood on September 18th! Thank you to GHS Athletics for sponsoring Heart of Graham and supporting our community!

🌸Steers and Lady Blooms - Fall Subscription🌸

Our Advanced Floral Design students will be creating unique, seasonal arrangements for the months of September, October, November, and December.

If you are interested in receiving one arrangement each month, please complete this form. The total cost for the four-month subscription is $150.

Please join our google classroom for updates k2vylnt

Our first delivery is scheduled for September 25, 2026.

Payment will be due on or before the first delivery date.

For any questions or additional information, please contact Mrs. Piper at saige.piper@grahamisd.com.

Thank you for supporting our Floral Design program!

GISD Bond 2026

The Board of Trustees called a Nov. 3 bond election for $60 million to address facility needs identified and recommended by the Facility Planning Committee. The $60 million proposal includes construction of a new (grades 1-5) elementary school to replace Crestview and Woodland, as well as safety, security, accessibility and CTE projects at the remaining campuses. To keep our employees, families and Graham community informed, the district has launched a Bond2026 website.

Staff and Student Shoutouts

Please consider sharing words of encouragement, a word of thanks, or a shoutout for a job well done for our staff or students so that they can be recognized in the monthly TeleGRAHAM.

Submit a Shoutout

Need Something in the Newsletter?

Need something in the weekly newsletter? Click on the link below and fill out the form.

Newsletter Request

Did You Know...

Processes at GHS

Access Academic Success

Did you know that completing and returning Free and Reduced Price Lunch Forms does more than just allow your student to receive free lunches at school? It also provides financial benefits to families such as:

Reduced fees for SAT, ACT, AP, and TSI testing.
Reduced college application fees.
Expanded eligibility for college and trade school scholarships and grants.

These forms can be picked up and returned in the front office or you can apply online here.

Standard Response Review-SECURE

During a Secure, students and staff are safely locked inside the building due to a situation or threat outside. This is different from a Lockdown which is implemented when the threat to students and staff is imminent and more likely inside the building.

Students and staff are typically free to move from class to class inside the building, but cannot go outside until the situation has been resolved.

Examples of when a Secure could be ordered include when first responders must address a threat or police situation in a neighborhood or area around the campus, to capture a stray animal on school property or to manage a chemical spill on a nearby highway.

Often, a Secure lasts only a few minutes, but it will be communicated to all parents to explain the facts and to reassure them that students and staff are locked safely inside. During this time the campus will not allow any visitors or deliveries. Once the “all clear” is given, staff and families will be notified that the Secure has been lifted.

Attendance Codes

Here are the commonly used attendance codes at GHS.

GHS Process for Signing Out Students

Students that are 16 or older AND are drivers.

Parent/Guardian calls in and requests to sign their student out over the phone.
The front office staff will verify that the number being called from and the parent/guardian is in Skyward.
Once confirmed, the student will be notified to check out at the front office. The student MUST come check out.
The student driver will then leave campus.

A minimum of 30 minutes notice before the desired release time will help ensure that your child is released at the correct time. Please help us out by making sure all contact information in Skyward is correct and up-to-date. A student will not be signed out from a phone call if parent/guardian information can not be verified with Skyward.

All other students:

Parent/Guardian comes to the main office and signs their student out.
The student will be notified to come to the front office because they are being signed out.
The student leaves with their parent/guardian.

Email for Attendance Notes

Any note that you are submitting can be emailed to: ghsattendance@grahamisd.com. Parentsquare messages are accepted as well.

Attendance Notes

Parent notes are only accepted for 14 days after an absence has occurred. After that, they will not be accepted and the absence will stay unexcused. This only applies to parent notes, not notes from doctors. Doctors notes will be accepted at anytime during the year, but the sooner we get them the better.

Service Cord Information

We are excited to announce a new tradition at Graham High School dedicated to honoring the students who pour their hearts back into our community. Beginning with the Class of 2027, students will have the opportunity to earn a Community Service Cord to wear proudly at graduation!

This cord recognizes the dedication, leadership, and selflessness of our Steers and Lady Blues who actively work to make our community a better place.

To earn this honor, students must complete and submit the required hours. These hours can be earned throughout their entire 4 years at GHS, not just their senior year. Because this is a new initiative, we are phasing in the hour requirements:

Class of 2027 - 50 hours
Class of 2028 - 75 hours
Class of 2029 and Beyond - 100 hours

Students will complete a Volunteer Tracker Sheet which can be picked up in the counseling office, and return it to Mrs. Bazan, in the counseling office. She will track all students' hours. Because we are phasing this in, students will be allowed to claim any hours from January 2026 to now towards their Community Service Cord.

If students have questions, they can come see Mrs. Bazan in the counseling office.