Homer High-Lights

VOLUME 10, ISSUE 9, May 2022

Principal's Corner

Principal's Corner

I love this time of year because this is the time we celebrate the accomplishments of our students. It is also the time of year that we have sporting events almost every day. There is so much going on that it is almost too much. Through all these events, concerts and awards nights help your child remember to stay focused on finishing all their classes strong. It is very easy to get distracted and let their grades slip.


Here is a quick reminder of some of the events that are happening at HHS that you may want to attend:


  • May 9: Senior Awards - Theater - 6:30 pm
  • May 11: Yearbook Distribution and Sports Awards - HHS Gym - 2:30 pm
  • May 11: Homer Spring Concert - Theater - 7:00 pm


Don't forget our graduation dates:


  • May 13 - Last day of school for seniors
  • May 17 - Graduation practice - Gym - 10:00 am
  • May 18 - Graduation - Gym - 7:00 pm


Please support our students and attended as many events as possible. Cheer on on your favorite sports team, attend the band and choir concert or be amazed at the amount of scholarships our students earn. It is a small amount of time, but it means a lot to our students and helps make our community stronger. I hope to see you there.


Have a great spring!


Douglas Waclawski

Principal

907-235-4600

dwaclawski@kpbsd.org

Principal's Corner
DATES TO REMEMBER

DATES TO REMEMBER

5/2 Booster Club meeting 6:00pm

5/4 AP English Lit & Comp exam 8:00am @KPC

5/5 Homer Middle School step Up Day

5/5 JV Baseball vs Soldotna 3:00pm

5/5 Varsity Baseball vs Soldotna 6:00pm

5/6 AP US History exam 8:00am @KPC

5/6 Varsity Boys Soccer vs Soldotna 5:00pm

5/6 JV Girls Soccer vs Soldotna 3:00pm

5/6 Varsity Girls Soccer vs Soldotna 7:00pm

5/7 SAT exam 8:00am

5/7 JV Baseball vs Kodiak 12:00pm

5/7 Varsity Baseball vs Kodiak 3:00pm

5/7 Varsity Boys Soccer vs Dimond 1:00pm

5/9 AP Calculus exam 8:00am

5/9 AP Computer Science exam 8:00am

5/9 Senior Scholarship night 6:30pm in Theatre

5/10 JV Baseball vs Kenai 3:00pm

5/10 Varsity Baseball vs Kenai 6:00pm

5/11 AP Biology exam 8:00am

5/11 Mariner Athletic Awards & Year Book Distribution 2:30am

5/11 Homer High School Spring Concert 7:00pm in Theatre

5/12 AP World History exam 8:00am

5/13 Seniors last day of school

5/13 JV Girls Soccer vs Nikiski 3:00pm

5/13 Varsity Girls Soccer vs Houston 7:00pm

5/13 JV Softball vs Dimond 4:00pm @ JGP

5/13 JV Softball vs Dimond 6:00pm @ JGP

5/13 Boys Varsity Soccer vs Nikiski @5:00pm

5/14 Safe & Healthy Kids Fair 8:00am

5/14 JV Softball vs Dimond 10:00am @JGP

5/14 JV Softball vs Dimond 12:00am @JGP

5/15 Class of 2022 Baccalaureate Ceremony 6:00pm in Theatre

5/17 JV Softball vs Soldotna 4:00pm @JGP

5/17 Varsity Softball vs Soldotna 6:00pm @JGP

5/18 Class of 2022 Graduation 7:00pm in Gym

5/19 Students last day of school

5/20 Teachers last day of school

5/20 Softball Bash on the Bay tournament TBA

5/20 JV Varsity Baseball vs Kodiak 3:00pm

5/20 Varsity Baseball vs Kodiak 6:00pm

5/21 Softball Bash on the Bay tournament TBA

5/21 JV Baseball vs Grace 12:00pm

5/21 Varsity Baseball vs Grace 3:00pm

5/25 Grade Check

DATES TO REMEMBER
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Mariners On the Move

Each Homer High faculty member selects one outstanding student per year based on scholarship and character. Honorees, their families and the nominating teachers attended an April 12th celebration. Fourth quarter winners were (left to right):


  • James Trissel – nominated by Andrea Stineff
  • Juliann Techie – nominated by Mike Steen
  • Oak Anderson – nominated by Lisa Fellows
  • Lexie Sweeney – nominated by Erin Brege
  • Jamen Anderson – nominated by Chris Perk
  • Diamond Ojeda – nominated by Annie Raatz
  • Bristol Johnson – nominated by Sean Campbell
  • Zellah Symens – nominated by Jackie De La Cruz

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Telluride Association Summer Program

Alana Prescott was accepted and awarded a full ride scholarship to Telluride Association Summer Program.


Alana was one of 64 students who got selected. Over 1300 students nationwide applied! She will be participating in the 2022 Telluride Summer Seminar-Anti Oppressive Studies at University of Maryland, College Park.
HHS Registration is Now Open for 2023!

HHS Registration is Now Open for 2023!

Please go online and register your children now for the 2022-2023 school year. It takes about 10-15 minutes and helps us plan our staffing and programs for next year.


https://kpbsd.org/students-parents/student-registration/

HHS Registration is Now Open for 2023!
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Freshman Gracie Miotke Shows Off Her CAD Skills

The Homer High CAD (Computer Aided Design) class is a must for students who want to go into a science or technology career, but can be helpful no matter what career path one takes.. Gracie Miotke demonstrated how useful CAD can be at Homer High, and saved the track team a lot of time and money.


During her CAD class Gracie designed all the awards for the April 23rd Homer Invitational Track Meet. Not only did she design the awards on the computer, she used the HHS laser engraver to cut them out. This saved hundreds of dollars and a lot of time for the track team.


Gracie is a prime example of what it means to be a student athlete. In this case she is taking it a step further. Not only did she learn some awesome skills in CAD that she applied to the real world, but then she ran as a member of the track team and earned some of the awards she helped create. That is taking education to a new level. Great work, Gracie.

Graduation Wednesday, May 18, 2022 at 7:00 PM

HHS is planning on having a normal graduation in the gym. Of course, things can change, but barring some unforseen event, it will be a graduation like what we had before COIVD-19 interrupted our normal graduation ceremonies.
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Mariah McGuire Keeps Winner Awards!

The ASAA All-State Art Competition Awards have been announced.

Mariah McGuire won 1st place in the state for Painting!


Artist Statement:

This was my first time doing an art series and paintings this big. The main goal of these was to show different stages I go through in my mentality: of being numb and wanting to wrap myself in my bed, of seeing some prospective goodness to pull me out of my dark and numb moments, and reaching the outer parts of the cave in the light, finally blessed with a moment of elation.


From stage 1 to 3, the artworks gradually increase in color. The less color, the more senseless the paintings’ subject was feeling. The yellow dress was the only color constant, symbolizing a stereotypical color of happiness, plastered onto the subject just like an outsider's perspective. To others, the subject may seem happy, because that is the mask—the dress that they are wearing. But the monochrome world of stage 1 is how the subject sees everything.

For stage 2 I kept with a cooler color palette to show that there still isn’t a lot of warmth that the subject is feeling inside, but the light brown rocky opening to the cave is the subject seeing that warmth is attainable. The water symbolizes that this is an opportunity for change, with an ebb and flow that water provides, but at the moment it is semi-stagnant with just some wind from the opening rustling it. The starry cave lining could be glistening rocks, but I was imagining that this stage of mentality seems like it can last forever and is ever-expansive with overthinking, similar to space.


Stage 3 completes the series with a burst of saturation. The subject has finally reached the high of the mental space, beaming with joy. The blue sky symbolizes freedom and an open space, and the pink petals symbolize growth and the warmth and beauty the subject can now see in the world. If you look closely, you may also notice that the subject’s hair grows throughout the series, which stems from Native American culture where hair is an integral part of the soul. To deal with grief and loss, the hair is cut, and as it grows back to its full length it shows the healing process that one has been through to move past the hardships. Now, these stages are not the end of a journey. I believe that the cycle continues all throughout life, with each stage lasting a different amount of time each go-around. The world may seem dull, but have hope and most importantly willingness to see a light outside the cave.

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Want To Know What is Going on At HHS? Follow Us On Facebook!

Want To Know What is Going on At HHS? Follow Us On Facebook!


Lots is happening! Homer High School uses Facebook to communicate with parents and the community about events, emergencies, school closures, sporting events, and more. Go to facebook.com/HomerHS/ and follow us to stay up-to-date!

Want To Know What is Going on At HHS? Follow Us On Facebook!
Graduating Seniors

Graduating Seniors

Graduation Garb


Caps and gowns are in and can be paid for by sending cash or check in an envelope labeled with the student name and cap and gown fees. These can go to the bookkeeper or front office. Online payment is also an option using the link: https://kpbsd.revtrak.net/hs/homer-hs/Homer-HS-Additional-Items-and-Events/#/list


Items will be sent home beginning April 13 after fees are paid.



  • Cap, gown, stole and tassel are $52
  • Cap & tassel are $25
  • Stole is $22
  • Tassel is $15



If you have questions about items or orders, please contact Desiree Smude at dsmude@kpbsd.k12.ak.us. For payment questions, please contact Laurie Palo at lpalo@kpbsd.k12.ak.us.

Graduating Seniors
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Cascarones

Cascarones

Spanish Egg-citement! Cascarones, pronounced kas-ka-ron-ez, are a Mexican tradition used for Easter, Cinco de Mayo and other celebrations. It is a colored egg shell filled with confetti used to crack over someone's head and shower them with goodness. The Spanish II Students participated in this cultural tradition. Linguistically, students wrote all of the ingredients and a step-by-step plan in Spanish. They worked together to make the cascarones and then, once the eggs were hidden, students went on a hunt to find them and crack them over one another's head for good luck. ¡Qué divertido! How fun! To conclude the activity, students did a final Spanish report stating what everyone did for the Cascarones Tradition.

Cascarones
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Free Audiobooks for Teens, ALL SUMMER

From April 28 – August 10 2022, SYNC gives you two free titles every week.

How do you get them?


1. Register here and follow the instructions

2. Download Sora from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, or go to soraapp.com in your browser.

3. If you’ve never used Sora before, do this:

* In Sora, tap I have a setup code (at the bottom of the screen).

* Enter this setup code: audiobooksync.

* Enter the email address you used to sign up for SYNC.

* Tap Explore (the binoculars at the bottom of the screen) to see the week’s featured titles [SYNC 2021 starts April 29].

4. If you already use Sora, do this:

* In Sora, open the menu (in the top-right corner).

* Select Add a library.

* Search for audiobooksync and select the library from the results.

* Enter the email address you used to sign up for SYNC


New titles will be available each Thursday at midnight Eastern time (i.e., 12:01am ET). You can access the titles for 7 days, until the next Wednesday at 11:59pm. You MUST download the titles you want when they are available. Otherwise, they’re gone.


Questions? Come by the library or contact Mrs. Curtis in the library! dcurtis@kpbsd.k12.ak.us

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Middle College Goes District-Wide

Kenai Peninsula Middle College is expanding after being piloted in the Central Peninsula. Some of the details are being ironed out, but the gist is that students who apply and are accepted into this program will be able to take the dual credit JumpStart classes at KPC for free instead of at a discount.


More information and application at https://kpbsd.org/schools/river-city-academy/kenai-peninsula-middle-college-school/ . You can ignore the parts about applying to River City Academy (RCA). That was the pilot school. Just list your intended affiliate school as Homer High somewhere on the application.





If you want to know the difference between college classes and AP classes, see Paul Story’s April 14th email that was sent to 10th and 11th graders.

Counselor Corner

Counselor Corner

Summer employment opportunities


Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies

CACS is looking for local summer interns which can be tailored what the student is interested in. The main areas are working with elementary students, environmental monitoring, and helping with other naturalist programs and trail work. Interns also get the chance to help with some of the camps across the bay during the summer.

See flyer here for more info.


Seldovia Village Tribe

SVT in Homer is seeking an Operations Intern this summer to work alongside multiple departments and employees planning activities and events and much more. $12-/18 per hour. No experience necessary. Minimum age 14.

See this link for more info.


Homer Chamber of Commerce

The Chamber wants to hire a student to restock its Visitor Guides at several locations around town. It sounds like just a couple flexible hours of work two days per week that should work well around other jobs or commitments. Wage is negotiable. Contact Brad Anderson for more information at (907) 235-2325 or exdir@homeralaska.org.


Support our seniors!

This year’s HHS graduation will return to the Alice Witte Gymnasium and will also be livestreamed on the Homer Mariners YouTube Channel! 7pm Wednesday, May 18.


Required rehearsal for seniors 10am Tuesday, May 17, followed by a fun procession in your caps and gowns through the halls of West Homer El., all to the cheers and delight of admiring WHE students and staff.



  • Baccalaureate – a spiritual sendoff 6pm Sunday, May 15 in the Mariner Theater
  • Grad Night party at the Elks Club starts at 10pm Wed., May 18
  • Scholarship Awards Night – 6:30pm Monday, May 9 in the Mariner Theater. Students receiving a local scholarship will be notified and invited, though anyone is welcome to attend.


Summer classes

There are several different learning opportunities and paths to earn school credit this summer.


HHS classes:


  • Exploring Performing Arts Production – taught by Mr. Schneider May 24-June 8. Students will put on a staged production and learn the process from audition to performance and all the elements in between.
  • SOAR Mathematics – taught by Ms. Mall June 13-24. A great way to recover a missing math credit via hands-on learning and alternative problem solving strategies.



Credit Recovery classes:

Students who did not pass a core academic class may make the credit up via GradPoint

May 25-June 16 at HHS.


  • Students don’t necessarily need to be physically present every day as long as they are progressing through the course, which requires internet connectivity.


To register for any of these HHS Summer classes, fill out this simple online form .



KPBSD Distance Education classes:

The KPBSD Distance Learning Program will be offering classes during a special summer session. These classes are full length, first-time credit classes. This is not to be confused with credit recovery summer school. There is a limited number of seats available for these classes:

  • Alaska History
  • Government
  • Health
  • Computer Applications 1, 2, and 3
  • Keyboard (Typing)


Classes will officially start on May 25th and end on August 5th, 2022.

Students need to login to their school email and click here to request a distance ed. class.

Counselor Corner

HHS Positive Referral Program

Prize Movie 1
Homer Foundation Supports HHS Students

Homer Foundation Supports HHS Students

It has been a tough year for students with COVID-19 and masking, but the Homer Foundation is helping student by rewarding them for a job well done. The David & Mary Schroer Fund helps Homer High School recognize students who are excelling or caught doing good. Teachers and staff send a positive referral to the office and students can earn prizes. To date, HHS has had over 40 positive referral for everything from volunteering at the track meet, standing up for someone being picked on, being a good role model, making locker decorations for sports teams and much more.


This program also allowed us to give out prizes to students who were wearing masks when they were mandated. Teachers gave students tickets that either qualified them for a prize automatically or allowed them to put their name in a jar to win a prize. Wearing a mask was not always fun, but earning rewards helped make it a little easier for students. Over one hundred prizes were given away.

Homer Foundation Supports HHS Students
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Homer High School

Homer High School

Homer High School

600 E Fairview Ave, Homer, AK, USA dwaclawski@kpbsd.org 907-235-4600 homerhighschool.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/wpmu/