Homer High-Lights
Volume 3, Issue 4, November 2014
Message from the Principal
The first quarter is already over. I can't believe time has flown by so fast. Our fall Parent Teacher Conferences are already completed and report cards have been handed out. As a parent, this is a good time to keep a close watch on your child's grades. Even if they passed all their classes the first quarter, it only takes a couple weeks to get off track. It is always a good idea to monitor your child's progress. One great way to do this is to have PowerSchool e-mail you a grade check every week. If you see any trouble, you can get with your child's teacher and see what can be done right away. It can be hard to catch up at the end of the quarter.
To help with this, Homer High School staff will be looking at all failing grades every 3 weeks. We will check with both teachers and students and plan a way to help them improve their grades. If this is not effective, we will enroll them in a mandatory FOL study hall or tutoring class.
These are small changes but we hope they can provide some positive 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
Dates To Remember
Nov 1 - Rotary Health Fair - HHS Commons
Nov 3 - First Cross-Country Ski Practice
Nov 3 - Big Booster Meeting - Staff Lounge - 6:00 pm
Nov 4 - Site Council Meeting - Library - 3:45 pm
Nov 7 - Blood Drive
Nov 8 - SAT Test
Nov 8 - Skills USA Dance and Spaghetti Feed - Commons - 7:00 pm
Nov 11 - Hockey vs SOHI - 7:30 pm
Nov 13 - Wrestling vs Bethel - Gym - 6:00 pm
Nov 17 - Athletic Eligibility Grade Check
Nov 20 - Hockey Tournament - 5:30 & 7:30 pm
Nov 21 - Hockey Tournament - 5:30 & 7:30 pm
Nov 22 - Hockey Tournament - 10:00 am & 12:30 pm
Nov 21 Softball Clinic - Gym - 4:00 pm
Nov 21 Neon Dance - Commons - 8:00 pm
Nov 26 - Early Release - Student Dismissed at 1:45 pm
Nov 27 - No School - Thanksgiving
Nov 28 - No School
Dec 1 - First Basketball Practice
Lady Mariners Bring Home the State Title!

Homer Girls Won By 32 Points. Boys Earn 3rd Place!
The boys finished the season strong by placing 3rd. They have a young team and are in a building phase so placing third was a pleasant surprise. Jared Brant was the top finisher in 7th place. Other finishers included Jordan Beachy 17th, Jacob Davis 27th, Brandon Beachy 32nd, Jamie Rios 46th, Denver Waclawski 51st and Elan Carroll 77th.
The Start of the Boys Race Photo taken by Don Pitcher and can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/pitcherphotography?fref=photo | Girls Medal Winners Photo taken by Don Pitcher and can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/pitcherphotography?fref=photo | The Girls Warm Up Before the Race Photo taken by Don Pitcher and can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/pitcherphotography?fref=photo |
The Start of the Boys Race
Girls Medal Winners
The Girls Warm Up Before the Race
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.
Counselor Corner
COLLEGE FAIR RECAP
On October 21 interested HHS students had the opportunity to attend the College and Career Fair in Soldotna. They had the opportunity to speak with over forty college representatives, hear about programs and collect literature. Students came away very excited and some were able to follow up with Jay Smith of Linfield College when he visited HHS on the 24th. We took 64 students and look forward to even more students participating next year. As usual, HHS students were on their best behavior and impressed the reps with their questions and interest.
PSAT Testing
We had a good showing of sophomores and juniors who took the PSAT. Students felt they were well prepared and we look forward to hearing some good information from the feedback that will arrive in early December.
ONESTOP
Students and parents are urged to start checking regularly on the KPBSD feature called OneStop which is a site that has a section for scholarships that are offered in the district. Scholarships that are exclusively for HHS students will be listed as well as those available to the entire KPBSD population. To check it out go to the KPBSD Home page, click on Parents and Students, click on the icon for OneStop, and select the Scholarship and Enrichment option.
IMPORTANT NOVEMBER DATES FROM THE COUNSELING OFFICE
· It is still early, but seniors should be applying for colleges soon. This is a good month for college visits (students should print out a copy of their transcript to take along for admissions staffs or request one from the Counseling Office)
· SAT reasoning tests and subject tests are being given on Saturday, Nov 8
· Please help your seniors who are applying for early action and early decision remember that November is the month when these applications are due.
· On November 18, HHS will host the ASVAB. This is an excellent test for Junior and Senior students who are not sure they want to take the SAT but would like more information on their own skills and abilities. Required by all branches of the military. The test is free of charge.
· On November 4 at 11:00, a representative from Pacific Lutheran University will pay us a visit. Students are invited to hear about this great school where so many HHS students have been successful.

Order Your Yearbooks Today!

New School Calendar of Events
Mariners On the Move Winners!

· Sean Blaine nominated by Mr. Creel
· Christina Mitchell nominated by Mr. Welch
· Chelsea Marsh nominated by Ms. Tetor
· Ian Lowe nominated by Mr. Akers
· John E. Hamilton nominated by Ms. Bishop
· Eric Hill nominated by Ms. Hampson
· Aurora Waclawski nominated by Mr. Rife
School Goals
Each year Homer High School creates a school improvement plan and develops school goals. We want parents and the public to know what we are working on. To do this I will report on one of our goals and give you more details about what we are doing and why.
The goal I will be discussing here is increasing the number of freshmen who pass all their classes by 12%. Here are just a few of the action items we are implementing to meet this goal.
- Administration and counseling department review all students with failing grades every three weeks. Each child is assigned an adult who will follow up with that child.
- Students who have more than one failing grade will automatically be assigned a makeup FOL.
- Create remedial FOL's for students who lack skills in Math and Science.
- Create incentives for freshmen to pass all their classes.
Below are the remaining 2 goals:
- Increase students who sign up and participate in FOL by 10%
- 60% of all Homer High School seniors will qualify for the Alaska Performance Scholarship
Blood Drive on November 7th
Join us to once again help Alaska patients in need. Our upcoming blood drive is on 2014-11-07 at 08:30 AM to 03:30 PM.
The drive location is:
Homer High School
600 E. Fairview Ave
Homer, AK 99603
Click here to Schedule Appointment schedule an appointment to donate.
Please remember to eat well the morning of the drive, drink plenty of fluids and bring your photo I.D. Every time you donate, you earn points for the hero store. Once you create a profile in our Donor Connection portal, you can view your points and order merchandise.
Thank you for helping Alaska patients in need.