Palmer High Principal's Post
December
A Day We Won't Forget
Walking out of the front office area the atmosphere looked smoky from the dust of the quake. It wasn't long after that the fire alarms sounded. Knowing the building is old and the fire alarms were sounding there was only one thing left to do; evacuate the building.
The administration began the usual sweep that is performed on our monthly fire drills. The building was clear in around 3 minutes and the fire chief and the fire marshal showed up on the scene. One key difference between now and a typical fire drill is that after our student count we were not able to reenter the building due to the uncertainty of the building's structure and atmosphere. We sent another staff member to look into the conditions of the LDS (Mormon) church, which is our secondary gathering area; we couldn't take the chance of moving students into another potentially unsafe area. After verifying that the church was safe, a call was made to move staff and students.
From the LDS church, we found a steady stream of grateful parents that were reunited with their children. In the early afternoon, we released our last student back to their parent.
At the end of the day, there was a collective sigh of relief felt by everyone involved. Throughout the experience our students were resilient, our staff was supportive, and the end result was a stronger and better-connected school community. There has been an outpouring of gratitude from the school community, and the greater Palmer community.
Thank you for your support and understanding.
Adjustments In Academics
Students were out 4 days. The teaching staff is doing a great job of adjusting their curriculum and working with students to communicate the changes in timelines. I've emphasized with staff to not add undue pressure about covering materials that may have been previously anticipated. The second day back has looked more like business as usual. We have a purposeful approach of getting life back to normal and that already seems to be happening.
Finals week is the week after next and finals will take place during the last three days with students on December 18th, 19th, and 20th.
During finals, we strive to keep the test environment void of distractions. Students leaving the classroom can be a distraction to other students continuing to test. Please refer to the finals schedule to avoid checking out your student if they are done with their finals. We prefer that parents pick up or check out students during passing times. Thank you for your cooperation.
Mat-Su Special Santa Program
Palmer High Has a Dropbox in the front office.
Served 3,800 children, newborn to 18, in 2017 and over 41,000 children since 1997.
Needs donations of money, books, toys, coats, electronics, personal items, or gift certificates.
Appreciates the generosity of the Mat-Su Valley in helping bring the magic of Christmas to children and families in need.
Enstar Gas Safety Message
A quick message from Enstar gas on detection of gas leaks. I found this to be a quick and useful video on a subject that was talked about a lot after the earthquake.
Northern Lights Wrestling Tournament
Friday 2:00 P.M. Championship Round 1
4:00 Championship Quarterfinals
6:00 P.M. Championship Semi-Finals
Saturday 10:00 AM Consolation Wrestle
12:00 Consolation Wrestle Back Round 2
1:00 Consolation Semi-Finals
2:30 PM Championships
Learn more about Palmer High
Email: paul.reid@matsuk12.us
Website: https://www.matsuk12.us/phs
Location: 1170 E Bogard Rd
Phone: (907) 746-8400