Homer High-Lights
VOLUME 7, ISSUE 8, May 2019
Principal's Message
We are finishing up another great year at HHS and we have lots to celebrate. Graduation will soon be here, spring sports are going at a frenetic pace and our students are raking in awards and scholarships.
Here are a few of the accomplishments of our school and students this year:
- Earned US News & World Report award for top schools in 2019 (9 years in a row!)
- State Champion in Wrestling
- State Runner-up in Hockey
- Austin Cline won the Caring for the Kenai competition and Vianne Sarber took 4th place
- Olivia Glasman and Delilah Harris earned the NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Technology
- Brita Restad earned top honors at the state art competition for sculpture
- HHS students rocked AP, SAT, SAT PEAKS & MAP tests!
- Cora Parish earned Young Person of Distinction Award through Haven House
- We have students attending MIT, Princeton, Yale and Dartmouth
- Much, much more....
Congratulations to our students, staff and parents for all of your hard work. Help your child finish the year strong. Make sure you check that your child is passing the 4th quarter classes and earns credit for their classes.
As always, I would love to hear from you. If you have ideas or suggestions, please drop by. If you can't make it in, you can call me at 907-235-4600 or e-mail me at dwaclawski@kpbsd.k12.ak.us.
Sincerely,
Douglas Waclawski
Principal
Take Online Classes During the Summer!
- · Alaska History
- · U.S. Government
- · Health
- · Keyboarding
Two HHS Students Earn NCWIT Award!
Two Homer teens won awards for their computing-related achievements and interests. Homer High School freshmen Olivia Glasman and Delilah Harris are two out of five Alaskan high schoolers being honored with a Southern Alaska NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing.
The NCWIT or National Center for Women & Information Technology is a nonprofit that works to increase women’s participation in technology careers. In a press release, Homer Public Library director Ann Dixon applauded the teenagers by saying they won, in part, for their skills and the volunteer hours they’ve donated to the library. Both Glasman and Harris will lead a tech camp at the library this summer.
Youth services librarian Claudia Haines also won an award from the nonprofit. She’s being recognized by NCWIT for her role as a mentor to teenagers and for coordinating Makers2Mentors, an initiative that provides opportunities to explore computer science and computational thinking.
Please note: This article was taken from a press release from the Homer Library. You can view the entire press release at the link below.
https://www.kbbi.org/post/homer-teens-win-aspirations-computing-awards
Homer Students Excel at Caring For the Kenai
"Caring for the Kenai" is a creative, problem solving competition where high school students try to find ways to better their community and the environment. We love that these students are applying what they have learned and are making a difference. Congratulations to Vianne and Austin.
You can see all the winners at: http://communications.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/2019/04/23/caring-kenai-2019-competition-raises-bar/?fbclid=IwAR3ElXIj1rIHnX0J8B7-Vg7NVCH4LlbDyPegYlHFS-eG2dJsKpf9bBWA2fo
HHS Wins Silver Medal for 9th Year in a Row
We received this award for 2019! We are currently ranked the #2 high school in Alaska!
Go to the link below to see the results yourself.
Dates To Remember
May 1- Early Release Day
May 1 - National Honor Society Induction 6:00
May 2 - Baseball vs Houston 6:30
May 3 - Baseball vs Grace: JV at 3:30, Varsity at 6:30
May 4 - SAT test 8:00 am
May 4 - Baseball vs Palmer: Varsity at 10:00 and 4:00, JV at 1:00
May 6 - AP US Govt Exam 8:00 am
May 7 - Site Council Meeting 4:00
May 8 - Baseball vs SoHi: JV 3:30, Varsity 6;30
May 9 - AP Chemistry Exam 8:00 am
May 9 - AP Psychology Exam at Noon
May 9 - JV Soccer vs Kenai: Girls JV Soccer 4:00, Girls Varsity 6:00
May 10 - Soccer vs Thunder Mountain: Girls JV 3:00, Boys Varsity 5:00, Girls Varsity 7:00
May 11 - Track Boroughs starting at 10:00
May 13 - Senior Scholarship Awards 6:30
May 14 - AP Calculus Exam 8:00 am
May 14 - POPs concert 7:00
May 15 - AP English Lang and Composition Exam 8:00 am
May 16 - AP Comp Govt and Politics Exam 8:00 am
May 16 - Regions Soccer at HHS begins time TBA
May 17 - Regions Soccer at HHS continues time TBA
May 17 - Baseball vs Kodiak: JV 4;00, Varsity 6:00
May 18 - Regions Soccer at HHS continues time TBA
May 18 - Softball vs Kenai: JV noon, Varsity 2:00
May 19 - Baccalaureate 7:00
May 21 - Final Exams Periods 1,3,5
May 22 - Final Exams Periods 2,4,6
May 22 - Graduation Practice 10:00 am
May 22 - Graduation Ceremony 7:00 pm
HHS Students Are Accepted to Top Universities
HHS Students Are Accepted to Top Universities
You can get a world-class education at Homer High School. Currently we have 3 former HHS students attending MIT, 1 at Princeton, 1 at Colorado School of Mines and many other great universities and post secondary institutions. This year’s class is continuing the tradition. Avram Salzmann was recently accepted to Yale, Brown, Columbia, and Pomona. Theo Castellani has earned an almost a free ride at Dartmouth. Congratulations to Avram and Theo!
We are just getting started. Many seniors are just starting to finalize their plans for after high school and many past graduates continue to pursue their passions such as Erin Farrell’s pursuit of a career in media and video production.
MOM Award Winners
Congratulations to fourth quarter Mariners On the Move. These students’ scholarship and/or citizenship have stood out to the teachers who nominated them (listed as they appear left to right in the attached picture):
- Ben Rainwater – nominated by Mrs. Rugloski
- Aiden Brost – nominated by Mr. Perk
- Taylor Tressler – nominated by Mr. Schneider
- Kalen Molodih – nominated by Mr. Love
- Kendra Socha – nominated by Mrs. Allen
- Larry Dunn – nominated by Mr. Campbell
- Hailee Alexander – nominated by Mr. Steen
- Seneca Roach - nominated by Ms. Moore
- Judah Rainwater – nominated by Mrs. Rugloski
AP Testing
AP TESTING 2019
Monday, May 6
8:00 am United States Government & Culture
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Thursday, May 9
8:00 am Chemistry
12:00 pm (noon) Psychology
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Tuesday, May 14
8:00 am Calculus AB
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Wednesday, May 15
AP English Lang and Composition Exam 8:00 am
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Thursday, May 16
8:00 am Comparative Government & Culture
Tests are $94 each—due before the day of the test.
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All tests will be at Kachemak Bay Campus upstairs in the main building. Testing room doors will be closed at 8:00 and noon sharp—no exceptions. No phones in the testing rooms.
Counselor's Corner
Graduation—May 22
Graduation will be held in the HHS gym at 7:00 on May 22. This is a joyous event for the students and families (and the entire community). Please plan to join us and celebrate the impressive class of 2019!
All seniors planning to walk in the graduation ceremony are required to attend graduation practice in the gym at 10:00 am the morning of graduation.
Senior Awards Ceremony
One of the happiest events at HHS is the annual awards event. Community members and honored guests present their organizations’ scholarships to the graduating seniors they have chosen to reward. Committees from these groups have spent many hours poring over applications and made difficult choices. Please join us to honor these students as well as the excellent philanthropic organizations who have given their time and talent to make this evening possible.
Reminder for Seniors
Important dates for seniors:
Last academic day for seniors is Friday, May 17th. Any senior taking an online class must complete the class before May 17th. Online teachers have been in contact with students about specific deadlines and other reminders. Parents, you may want to check with your senior if they are enrolled in an online class just to see how they are doing at this point.
Senior Service Projects should be wrapping up at this point. All seniors must complete 40 hours of community service. Check with Chad Felice if you have specific questions about this requirement.
Scholarships are updated daily in the counseling office and online at the district website/1stop portal. Many deadlines are fast approaching. The scholarship Awards Night is May 13th at 6:30 pm. Look for a letter, or telephone call if you are a recipient.
Mandatory graduation practice is May 22nd at 10:00 am.
Other happenings in Counseling Office:
AP Testing Dates:
AP US Gov—May 5th (8 am)
AP Chem—May 9th (8 am)
AP Psych—May 9th (noon)
AP Calc—May 14th (8 am)
AP Lang/Comp—May 15th (8 am)
AP Compar. Gov—May 16th (8 am)
Girls and Boys State: Applications are available for any junior interested in the great opportunity sponsored by American Legion. It’s a great way to learn about government, the political process, and to build your high school resume!
Award Winning Art
Homer High School believes in a well balanced education that includes art. Students created some beautiful, passionate, and daring artwork this year. Help me congratulate all of the students who participated in the KPBSD Juried Art Show and the Alaska All-State Art Competition. Students who earned recognition include:
- Brita Restad - "Forget-us-Not" KPBSD Honorable Mention / All-State First Place - Sculpture
- Summer McGuire - "Identity Erasure" KPBSD Third Place / All-State Second Place - Sculptural Ceramics
- Wayne Newman - "Black Water Teapot" KPBSD / Honorable Mention - Functional Ceramics:
- Evan Welty - "Strigaformis" KPBSD Second Place - Open:
- Harrison Metz - "Alexios" Honorable Mention
- Mariah McGuire - "Self Portrait" KPBSD Second Place - Painting
Print A Report Card For Summer!
Make sure you print a report card for your children at the beginning of the summer. Many summer programs require families to print their student’s report cards for summer activities (baseball, football, etc...).
Why you need to do this: PowerSchool is "locked down" each summer so that schools can work on scheduling without parents/students being able to view all that drafting work. However, that "lock down" also disables parents/students from being able to access report cards, which many parents need for their students to participate in community athletics/actives such as Pop Warner Football and Little League Baseball.
Make sure you plan ahead so you are not scrambling at the last minute. We want you and your children to enjoy their summer and not worry about paperwork.
HHS Communicates Using Facebook
Sometimes things change at the last moment and we can't call everyone. If you want the most up-to-date event schedules, start times, scores and last minute changes, like us on Facebook. Go to https://www.facebook.com/HomerHS/ and be sure to follow us. This is the most efficient way for HHS to post last minute details, school closures and more. We also post lots of the cool things our students and staff are doing.
See you on Facebook!
HHS Rocks the SAT Test
The SAT revamped their test two years ago and our students are still rocking it. Even with the new test, our students are scoring 66 points higher than the state average and over 100 points higher than the national average. This makes total sense and is one of the reasons that our students get into some of the top universities in the county including MIT, Princeton and Yale!
This is one more indicator of the high quality education our students are getting at HHS and in the KPBSD.
Homer High School
Email: dwaclawski@kpbsd.org
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