Our friend, colleague, and GLC, Ken McDill, passed away peacefully at home Wednesday night, surrounded by his family. He provided our Walnut High students, staff, and community with 17 years of education-filled guidance, counseling, mentorship, fun, and laughter. Ken first arrived in the Walnut Valley Unified School District in 1995, helping start the Pathways Academy at Diamond Bar High School. In 2005, he came over to Walnut High School as a Grade Level Coordinator.

Mr. McDill was known for his passion for Mustang athletics, cheering loudly for our student-athletes and often to the point of being cautioned by the officials. He had a passion for the high school experience, mentoring freshman students to adapt to high school life. Their four years with Mr. McDill culminated as he guided countless seniors into the most competitive colleges in the country. Ken was a bright light on our campus and impacted and inspired his students and colleagues every day.

We are in contact with Mr. McDill's family and working on a plan to hold a service and celebrate his life for our community. We will share this information as soon as we have it.

Please know Mr. McDill cared about his students more than we can express in this email. When he received his diagnosis, he immediately began planning for the support and care of your student. True to form, Mr. McDill worked between his treatment appointments to ensure that our students' college applications were supported. He was unwilling to let others write letters of recommendation for "his kids." We previously sent a message to all seniors letting them know that all the steps required from your GLC related to college applications were complete. While many offered help, Mr. McDill wished to give this gift to his students.

MONDAY - FEBRUARY 28

• *Periods 1-6 Regular Schedule - 7:50 am-2:45 pm

TUESDAY - MARCH 1

• *Periods 3-4 & 5-6 Tutorial Schedule - 7:50 am-2:45 pm

WEDNESDAY - MARCH 2

• *Periods 1-4 Collaboration Schedule - 7:50 am-2:00 pm

THURSDAY - MARCH 3

• *Periods 1, 2 & 5, 6 Tutorial Schedule - 7:50 am-2:45 pm

FRIDAY - MARCH 4

• *Periods 1-6 Regular Schedule - 7:50 am-2:45 pm
• 2022/2023 Registration Appt. Selection Begins 4PM
  

SATURDAY - MARCH 5

• SAT Practice Exam

Watch the entire assembly below!

Are you interested in joining Peer Counseling? WHS Peer Counseling is now accepting applications! Applications can be found on the link below and are due on March 15th.

Peer Support is offered by our WHS Peer Counselors, who have been trained to listen. They are fellow students who will not tell you how you should feel. They are willing to listen and go through issues with you.

Our WHS Peer Counselors have training in talking with students without judging. They understand that confidentiality is the most crucial part of what they do. Peer Counselors will keep what you say private unless there is a risk of suicide, self-injury, child abuse, or a danger that you will hurt someone else.

Peer Counseling is not a club and represents a diverse group of WHS students. Most Peer Counselors do not know each other when the year begins. This group of students only supports their fellow students during difficult times. Fill out the application for a chance to help others.

Here are their call times:

• Large Jazz: 1:45 pm
• Prop: 2:14 pm
• Large Lyrical: 3:41 pm
• Medium Jazz: 4:05 pm
• Kick: 4:53 pm
• Medium Contemporary: 5:23 pm
• Small Lyrical: 5:49 pm

If you are interested in joining Choir next year, please make sure you attend the Choir Informational Meeting on March 1, at lunch or 3:00 pm.

On March 4th at 4:00 pm, students will be receiving an email from their GLC via Sign Up Genius with a link to select their summer registration appointment. Parents, please coordinate with your student your preferred date and time! Preferably, sibling appointments should be selected on the same day. Sibling appointments will not be made for you.

Registration appointments will be held from June 27th-July 22nd.

IMPORTANT: Student schedules will be created in May based on their course request selections. There is no benefit or drawback to selecting the first summer or last appointments; please set the appointment time that best fits your schedule. Summer appointments are to review schedules, check for scheduling mistakes, and to ensure that your student is taking the most appropriate courses for their grade level and post-secondary plans. Teacher change requests will not be honored.

WHS Virtual Parent Information Night was held last week. The parent information sessions are grade-level specific 9th - 12th grade. GLCs reviewed the course selection process and pertinent grade level information for the upcoming school year. Please click on the links below that pertains to your student(s) graduation year:

If you have questions about the presentations, please fill out this FORM, and your GLC will respond to you within three school days.

For more information about our courses and programs, please click HERE for our showcase videos and HERE for our course catalog.

Our Grade Level Coordinators (GLCs) will visit English classes during the week of February 21. During this visit, your student will be given access to their Course Selection Sheet/Courses for the grade level they are transitioning to. Please click on the link below for more information regarding our course catalog.

Mt. Sac will have a virtual event on March 8th and 10th evening and an in-person event on Saturday morning, March 12th. The virtual event will provide students and parents with information about our fantastic Summer program opportunities. Our Saturday in-person event will have campus tours, a resource fair with all our Summer Programs, application workshops to apply for Bridge, Financial Aid, Mt SAC, fun activities and games, and FREE food. We are excited to have shaved ice available from Kona Ice.

Students can register themselves and up to 2 other guests through the QR code on the flyer. Space will be limited, so encourage your seniors to register early and fast!

Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to having a great Summer Programs Extravaganza with your graduating students.

Happy Black History Month! It’s essential to know the past to help create a better future. This Black History Month, our Black Student Union decided to create a video sharing Black Stories. Thank you, Mrs. Roberts and Mrs. Alorro for helping with the video.

Project Lead The Way provides transformative learning experiences for high school students and teachers across the U.S. We create an engaging, hands-on classroom environment and empower students to develop in-demand knowledge and skills they need to thrive. Our pathways in computer science and biomedical science engage students in hands-on activities, projects, and problems; empower them to solve real-world challenges, and inspire them to reimagine how they see themselves.

Applications are now available for Project Lead the Way.

Ready to apply? Click on the links below!

Link to application: https://forms.gle/XvP7HhVd1oeYTCVu7

Deadline to apply is February 25th.

Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation is pleased to announce that its scholarship program, Tzu Chi Scholars 2022, is now accepting applications. All the high school graduating seniors are encouraged to apply. Tzu Chi Scholars are selected on the basis of financial need, academic achievement, and community involvement. This is a nationwide program and each scholar will be awarded a total of $1,500. Please note that the deadline for the Scholarship is March 31, 2022. Applicants should mail the completed application form and supporting documents to the regional Tzu Chi office that is assigned to serve the state of applicant’s residency.

Students can also fill out the application online at https://www.tzuchi.us/scholarships/

Should you have any questions, please contact the regional office that is assigned to serve the state where the applicant’s current residence is located.

A friendly reminder that WVWD’s 2022 “Water Is Life” Virtual Poster Art Contest deadline is 41 days away! Don’t miss out on the opportunity to receive a participation gift for the TOP 10 teachers with the most student submissions. In addition, the teacher with the most student submissions will receive the grand prize, a $250 Staples gift card!

Please see the attached documents for the official Contest Rules & Guidelines and the Poster Contest Submission Form to share with your students. Utilizing the theme "Water Is Life," students are given the opportunity to demonstrate their artistic abilities while learning about the importance of water in our lives.

Artwork must be scanned and submitted online at www.wvwd.com/poster-contest NO LATER THAN Monday, April 4, 2022.

Check out the awesome prizes winning students will receive:

• All winners will receive a plaque and special recognition at our Awards Ceremony in May
• 1st place winners from the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade level will receive a STEM experiment Kit and a $75 gift card
• 1st place winners from the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade level will receive a $100 gift card
• 1st place winner in the High School level will receive a $100 gift card

Use the Walnut High School COVID 19 Reporting Form to report all Covid positive cases and known exposures. This will help facilitate the contact tracing process. Someone from the school health team will contact the person who submitted the form within 48 hours of the form submission.

Visit our website at www.walnuths.net and click on the button labeled REPORT A COVID-19 Case in the top left-hand corner. Parents can upload vaccine records, positive tests, and report details related to positive cases and possible exposure.

The information will go directly to the attendance office and our school nurse.

The following walk-up COVID-19 testing opportunities are available next week for WVUSD students and staff (ONLY). Please note: WVUSD ID is required at time of testing.

Monday, February 28:

Diamond Bar High School

4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Tuesday, March 1:

Walnut High School

4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Wednesday, March 2:

South Pointe Middle School

3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Please utilize this registration link if you would like to be tested at a WVUSD school site: https://labportal.coronainfo.com/pre-register/walnutschool.

No appointments are needed, but preregistration is requested. *Due to the increased volume of testing we are currently experiencing, emailed results will take up to 72 hours.

*** Additional Testing opportunities offered by the City of Walnut:

Thursday, March 3:

Walnut Senior Center

4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Walk-ups only - 300 Capacity

(Not a WVUSD-Sponsored Event)

Friday, March 4:

Walnut Senior Center

4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Walk-ups only - 300 Capacity

(Not a WVUSD-Sponsored Event)

BIRTHDAY MARQUEE is now available! If you have a student that has a birthday coming up, be sure to make a birthday dedication on the WHS marquee! All proceeds goes to support WHS students and staff so RESERVE YOURS TODAY!

Great idea for WHS staff, teachers and Alums too!

9th GRADE (Class of 2025)

Wil Lares (A – Lo) wlares@wvusd.org

Sonia Nunez (Lu – Z) snunez@wvusd.org

10th GRADE (Class of 2024)

Nathan Newman (A – Li) nnewman@wvusd.org

Jenny Alegre (Lo – Z) aalegre@wvusd.org

11th GRADE (Class of 2023)

Jennifer Tucker (A – Lim) jtucker@wvusd.org

Jeff Jacks (Lin – Z) jjacks@wvusd.org

12th GRADE (Class of 2022)

Ken McDill (A - Li) kmcdill@wvusd.org

Corolar Schultz (Lo – Z) cschultz@wvusd.org

Ethan Doiron (assisting Mr. McDill)

ADP (Academic Design Program)

Viviana Hoyos vhoyos@wvusd.org

Intervention Counselor

Jennifer Peiten jLPeiten@wvusd.org

Our GLCs held a College Application and Financial Aid Information Night over YouTube Live. Below the video contains the Frequently Asked Questions during Financial Aid Night 2021.

This short video provides a variety of College and Career Readiness Resources for this years Seniors.

Students must attend every class, every day, and be on time. In order to receive daily credit, students are to bring all necessary materials to class. Students will not be excused from class to get materials. Homework and class assignments are to be completed on time and to the best of the student’s ability. Only behaviors befitting the learning environment are acceptable. Students are to comply with all reasonable requests of any staff member. Dress code will be enforced.

Attendance is an essential part of each student's educational plan at Walnut High School. A parent/guardian must contact the attendance office for full-day absences by the end of the day. This procedure helps us fulfill required attendance monitoring obligations and helps ensure our students' safety.

Any student who arrives 30 mins late to school must check in to the attendance office either with a parent/ guardian or a phone call from their parent/guardian.

If a parent/guardian wishes to dismiss a student before the end of a typical school day, the parent/guardian will have to check out the student and must present their ID to the attendance office.

Attendance Reporting Hotline:

10 & 11 Grades: 909-594-1333 Ext. 43642

9 & 12 Grades : 909 - 594-1333 Ext 43625

Due to safety concerns, we DO NOT accept student lunches in the office. We understand the importance of student nutrition, but we encourage students to either purchase lunch at school or bring their lunch from home. Food, drinks, or other items are NOT to be passed to students through the fence. This is STRICTLY PROHIBITED.

Please Note: Parents can now access the Food Services Department from our website under the Parents tab. On that page, parents can set up and deposit funds into their student's lunch account for purchasing lunch on campus.

Never been on our campus? We used a 360-degree camera to help you get familiar with Walnut High School. We encourage you to click on the link, use your computer or mobile device to move around, and see what Walnut High School has to offer. Use this virtual tour to click on photos, learn more information, as well as hear voice-overs from our staff members. Below is a quick overview of our virtual tour and a map of all our scenes.

Our Virtual Tour is located on our webpage under "About Us" if you ever need access for future reference.