Homer High-Lights
Volume 3, Issue 3, October 2014
Message from the Principal
We have had a great start to the school year and most students are excelling. Last year we had a 97% graduation rate and were named a US News & World Report Silver Medal Award winner for the third year in a row.
While this is good, we can do better. We are currently offering PSAT study sessions during FOL. Later this year we will offer test preparation during FOL for both the ACT and SAT tests. We are currently creating Junior and senior checklists for students who plan on going to college. This will help student and parents understand all the steps it takes to get ready for college and how to find help to pay for it. These will be distributed in a couple of weeks.
For students who need a little more help, the computer lab will be open each morning from 8:00 am to 8:25. Each grade check, counselors and administrators look at each failing grade and assign a staff member to work with that student to help them bring it up.
These are just some of the small steps that we are taking to help improve our school and increase student achievement. They may be small, but we are hoping they provide some large results.
Remember, my office is always open and I appreciate hearing your opinions or suggestions. My goal is to be responsive to what our parents and community want and need. Please give me a call or come in and chat.
Sincerely,
Douglas Waclawski
Principal
New Pain Medication Policy at HHS
The KPBSD has a policy that high school students may have small amounts of non-prescription pain medications such as ibuprofen (Advil) or Acetaminophen (Tylenol), on them or in their lockers. The medicine must be in the original container and must not be shared with other students.
Until now, if your student did not have her/his own medicine, the high school nurse could make these medicines available to the student without parental permission. However, that is no longer the case. Because it is a medicine, we need your permission to give your student over-the-counter pain medicines. If we are able to get ahold of you, the first time we can have a verbal permission via a phone call. At that time, we will send home a form that you can fill in and give us permission for the year. You would write in the medicine that is allowed, ibuprofen (Advil) or Acetaminophen (Tylenol) and give the expiration of the permission of May 28, 2015 if you wanted your student to be allowed to have this medicine for the whole school year. Or you could print this form, sign it and email or fax it to us or have your student bring it to the nurses, so if they had a headache or needed a pain medication we would have the form on file.
The form can be found at: http://www.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=3474
Call with any questions,
Sharon Gorman, RN, or Ella May Cooper-Waldron, RN
HHS Nurses
235-4626
Fax 235-4604
Email sgorman@kpbsd.k12.ak.us
Mariner Art:
Birch Trees
Daniel Weist
Grade 11
Cray Pas on Black Paper
Dates To Remember
Oct 3 - Volleyball vs Cordova - 4:00 pm, 5:00 pm & 6:30 pm
Oct 4 - Homecoming Dance - 8:00 pm
Oct 4 - Football vs Houston - 12:00 pm and 3:00 pm
Oct 4 - Volleyball vs Cordova - 10 am, 11:00 am & 12:30 pm
Oct 9 - Budget Development Session at Middle School Library - 6:00 pm
Oct 10 - JV Volleyball vs Seldovia
Oct 11 - JV Volleyball Ninilchik & Seldovia - 10:00 am, 11:00 am & 12:00 pm
Oct 14 - Volleyball vs Nikiski - 4:00 pm, 5:00 pm & 6:30 pm
Oct 15 - PSAT Makeup - 8:30 am - Library
Oct 17 - No School - End of Quarter
Oct 18 - PSAT - 8:30 am
Oct 18 - ACT - 7:30 am
Oct 21 - College Fair - Soldotna
Oct 25 - Alumni Volleyball Game - 5:30 pm
Oct 29 - Early Release - Students are dismissed at 1:45 pm
Oct 30 - No School - Parent Teacher Conferences
Oct 31 - No School - Parent Teacher Conferences
Counselors' Corner
The school year has had a great start—students are in classes and doing very well so far. We have a record number of HHS students taking a variety of classes at the college. With the new ability for juniors as well as seniors to use the Jump Start discount, we hope to have more high school students using this option to obtain college credit while still in high school.
HHS also encourages students to take advantage of the APS (Alaska Performance Scholarship). It takes four years to accumulate the necessary credits to fulfill the requirements so it’s important that all students are aware of their part in accomplishing the necessary steps. Students and parents can track their APS progress on Power School.
In addition to the APS, the top 10% of each graduating class are designated as UA Scholars. This year’s scholars are: Evan Boyer, Brandon Beachy, Aspen Daigle, Michael Downing, Jenna Dragoo, Larson Fellows, Axel Gillam, Patrick Latimer, Tisha Lovett, and Jonas Noomah. Congratulations to these students who are eligible to receive additional funds if they choose to attend post-secondary training in Alaska.
Further congratulations to the four students who have earned the title of National Merit Semi-Finalist. Evan Boyer, Patrick Latimer, Jonas Noomah, and Jace Miller are four of 16,000 students nationwide who scored in the 99th percentile. With over 1.4 million students taking the test, this is quite a tribute to the students, teachers and parents of Homer. Considering the small size of our population, we are well served to have over 10% of the semi-finalists in the state and more than all other Kenai Peninsula schools put together. Go Mariners!
October 21 is the date for juniors and seniors to attend the College and Career Fair in Soldotna. We will be taking buses and spending time with the representatives of 40+ colleges and technical programs. There are lots of opportunities for face time and questions. Parents are also welcome to attend. Homer High will also be hosting college rep visits at our school throughout the year. We will be announcing visits or check with the office for schedule times.
Upcoming Events
- SAT testing www.sat.org/register
- ACT testing www.actstudent.org/start
- College and Career Fair in Soldotna Oct. 21 (Juniors and Seniors)
- PSAT October 18 (Sophomores and Juniors)
- Parent/Teacher Conferences Oct. 31
- University of Puget Sound and Colorado College visits to HHS
Homer High School is On Facebook
We want to be able to give you instant up-to-date information about what is going on at school. This could include emergencies, sports scores and dates and times of events. To stay tuned to what is going on at Homer High, "like" us on Facebook. The address is www.facebook.com/homerhs.
Mystery Photos!
The Production Art class at Homer High took a field trip to the Homer Spit, on a mission to capture "Mystery Photos utilizing compositional elements and manual exposure."
Chloe Adkison, a sophomore, came up with these clever mysterious compositions.
Order Your Yearbooks Today!
New School Calendar of Events
School Goals
- Increase students who sign up and participate in FOL by 10%
- Homer High School will increase by 12% the number of freshmen who pass all their classes each year
- 60% of all Homer High School seniors will qualify for the Alaska Performance scholarship.
We have many action items that help us achieve these goals and we will review our progress each quarter during our Site Council meetings and in our Monthly Newsletters.
School Board Annual Meeting at HHS in September Highlights Local Students
The HHS Culinary Arts Program Serves Dinner to the School Board Members
HHS Swing Choir Performs for the School Board Meeting
The Paul Banks Peanuts Sing During the School Board Meeting
Sport Picture Roundup
Volleyball Sweeps Seward and ACS
Our Swim Team Continues to Improve
Mariner Football Defeated Barrow
Megan Pitzman earned Cross-Country Runner of the Year and Bill Steyer earned Coach of the Year for the second year in a row!
Homer Girls had 6 runners in the top 15 at regionals!
Homer Lady Mariner Runners are Region Champs!
Homer boys earned 3rd and qualified for State!
Homer High School
Website: http://homerhighschool.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/wpmu/
Location: 600 E Fairview Ave, Homer, AK
Phone: 907-235-4600
Facebook: www.facebook.com/homerhs