Personalized Learning is coming to Homer High or is it already here?

Hopefully you have already heard that KPBSD has contracted with Educational Elements to bring personalized learning to the Kenai. The reality is HHS already provides personalized learning throughout our school and in many subjects, but we are always working to become better at what we do.

In a nutshell, personalized learning is providing learning to students when and how they need it. This can be accomplished by letting some students go faster, by grouping students in classes, flipping a classroom or providing online or blended learning. There is a lot more to Personalized Learning than what is included in this list, but this gives you an idea of what we are trying to do.

I am excited about personalized learning coming to HHS because research has shown these teaching strategies to be effective and it allows us to meet the needs of all of our students more systematically. It is hard to improve student achievement in a high performing school like Homer High, but I think this is one way for us to get there.

Homer High doesn't officially start the Personalized Learning initiative until the fall of 2018, but we do plan on learning and trying new things between now and then. We will keep you posted on our progress as we explore and implement these new strategies. If you have any questions about the KPBSD Personalized Learning Initiative give me a call at 907-235-4600 or go to http://www.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/departments.aspx?id=37724 for more information.

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

The College and Career Fair will be held on Oct 17 at Soldotna High School. There will be 50 or more colleges at this fair. Technical schools (including AVTEC), military recruiters and employers will have a separate fair in February. Students will be able to have face-to-face conversations and get valuable information.

HHS will be sending buses of juniors and seniors to this event. Students must ride the bus unless accompanied by parents. Students will need a permission slip which is available in the counseling office. This event will take up the majority of the day but the experience will be well worth the time. Many HHS students have connected with colleges that they eventually attended. This is a great opportunity, especially for students who are beginning their college search or do not feel they will have the opportunity to actually visit schools in the lower forty- eight.

Here are the colleges that we be represented at the KPBSD College and Career Fair:

Alaska Career College
Alaska Christian College
Alaska Department of Labor and Worforce Development, Peninsula Job Center
Alaska Job Corps
Alaska Pacific University
APICC (Alaska Process Industry Careers Consortium)
Augsburg College
AVTEC
Boise State University
Central Washington University
Chadron State College
Chugach Education Services Inc
College of Fisheries and Ocean Science – UAF
College Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University
Colorado Mesa University
Colorado State University
Corban University
Eastern Washington University
Fort Lewis College
Gonzaga University
Grand Canyon University
Kenai Peninsula College
Leading Edge Aviation
Lewis-Clark State College
The Moody Bible Institute – Spokane
Northern Arizona University
Pacific Lutheran University
Presentation College
Saint Martin’s University
Southern Oregon University
Southwestern Oregon Community College
The College of Idaho
UAA College of Engineering
United States Military Academy
University of Alaska Anchorage
University of Alaska Fairbanks College of Engineering and Mines
University of Alaska Southeast (Juneau campus)
University of Alaska Southeast Sitka
University of Idaho
University of Montana
University of Montana Western
University of Oregon
University of Portland
University of Puget Sound
Washington State University
Washington State University Tri-Cities
Weber State University
Whitman College
Whitworth University
Willamette University

Hopefully all sophomore and junior parents are aware of PSAT testing in October. To allow for optimum testing conditions, we will be holding the Wednesday, Oct. 11 test (primarily for student athletes who cannot test on Saturday) at KBC in the upstairs of the main college building. Testing will start at 8:30 and be over before noon.

The Saturday, Oct. 14 test, which is the one most students will be taking, will happen at HHS also beginning at 8:30. Students taking the Wednesday test will be excused from their morning classes. Cost is $20 (checks should be made out to HHS) and given to Mrs. Graham or Mrs. Hampson. Please be sure to indicate if your student will be testing on Oct. 11 or Oct. 14.

Sophomores will be welcome to test in October or they may choose to test in the spring, giving them more class time to improve their skills. Either date will be in preparation for taking the test junior year when it serves as an entry point for the National Merit Competition.

There will be FOL times in the next couple of weeks to work on test prep. Students who are opted out of FOL may attend as well. We have copies of previous tests for any students who took PSAT last year and that information can be very helpful for preparing.

Please call the counseling office with any questions you may have.

Caps & Gowns

The rep from Jostens will be visiting seniors on October 2. We will order a basic package of cap, gown, stole and tassel for each senior. Check on the Jostens website for other items. Seniors should be bringing home catalogs with descriptions of all Jostens merchandise www.jostens.com/

Parent/teacher Conferences

Counselors will be available to talk with parents during the hours of conferences. If you would like to talk with a counselor but can’t make it to conferences please call the office at 235-4691.