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Homer High-Lights
VOLUME 12, ISSUE 3, October 2023
Principal's Corner
I has been a great start to the school year and our students have been busy. The quarter ends October 12th, so make sure you children are keeping up with their grades. That being said, I would like to take about the effect of sleep deprivation with teens and how it can effect their performance in school and sports.
You can read more about sleep deprivation with teens at:
- https://myhealth.ucsd.edu/Search/3,89581.
- https://riseandshine.childrensnational.org/effects-of-sleep-deprivation-in-teens/
- https://www.sleepfoundation.org/teens-and-sleep
- This article was written with information from the above resources and with the help of Chat GPT.
In the bustling world of high school, where homework, extracurricular activities, and social engagements compete for attention, sleep is often the first casualty. However, what might seem like a rite of passage—the occasional all-nighter or late-night study session—can have lasting effects on our teenagers' well-being.
Why Does it Matter?
Academic Performance: Research consistently shows that well-rested students perform better academically. The brain processes and consolidates information during sleep, making it essential for effective learning.
Emotional Well-being: Sleep deprivation is linked to increased stress, mood swings, and irritability. Teenagers navigating the complex landscape of adolescence require emotional resilience, and adequate sleep is a crucial factor in maintaining it.
Physical Health: Beyond mental well-being, sleep plays a vital role in physical health. It boosts the immune system, supports growth, and contributes to overall vitality.
Safety First: Fatigue can compromise judgment and reaction time, raising concerns about safety—whether it's behind the wheel or participating in extracurricular activities.
The Culprits: Identifying the Causes
Understanding the factors contributing to sleep deprivation is the first step in addressing the issue:
Academic Demands: High expectations and a heavy workload can lead students to sacrifice sleep in pursuit of academic success.
Digital Distractions: The omnipresence of screens in our lives, particularly in the hour before bedtime and during the middle of the night, can disrupt sleep patterns.
Overloaded Schedules: Juggling multiple commitments, from sports to clubs to part-time jobs, can leave teens with minimal time for rest.
Promoting Healthy Sleep Habits: A Call to Action
Advocate for Balance: Encourage a balanced lifestyle that prioritizes both academic success and well-being. It's not about doing less; it's about doing it with purpose and balance.
Establish a Routine: Help your teenager establish a consistent sleep routine. Going to bed and waking up at the same time each day reinforces the body's natural circadian rhythm.
Create a Sleep-Friendly Environment: Make the bedroom conducive to sleep—dark, quiet, and cool. Discourage the use of electronic devices in the hour before bedtime and during the middle of the night. If at all possible, keep electronic devices out of the bedroom at night.
Check in Regularly: Foster open communication about your teen's schedule, challenges, and stressors. Be a supportive listener and collaboratively find solutions.
Our Collective Responsibility
Addressing sleep deprivation is a shared responsibility. As parents, educators, and community members, we all play a part in creating an environment that prioritizes the well-being of our teenagers. Let's work together to ensure our students not only succeed academically but also thrive emotionally and physically.
Call our office at 235-4600 and talk to our secretary Kristin Metz with questions or to schedule a meeting with the principal.
Looking forward to a great year!
Positively yours,
Douglas Waclawski
Principal
907-235-4600
Safe School Helpline
The Safe School Helpline is provided to allow students, parents and community members the ability to confidentially submit report threats of violence, suicide, bullying or illegal activity that impact KPBSD schools, students, or staff. This service provides users the opportunity to leave a message or speak with a live crisis counselor for immediate needs. The helpline is administered by an independent, outside company. All communications remain private, confidential, and anonymous.
Four Ways to Report to the Safe School Helpline:
- Call: 1-800-418-6423 or 1-800-4-1-VOICE (Ext. 359)
- Text: TIPS to 614-426-0240
- Online: SafeSchoolHelpline.com
- Mobile App: Download FREE on the App Store or Google Play
Your message will be communicated with school officials. All information will remain anonymous to encourage the reporting of all safety concerns. Your report will be assigned a case number, which you may use later to confirm that your report was received.
*The Safe School Helpline does not replace 911. Please call 911 if you know an emergency is actively occurring.
Parent Teacher Conferences 10/26 & 10/27
You can go to the following link and schedule your Parent-Teacher-Conferences now.
https://www.picktime.com/d7be4f55-0b91-4515-b288-a20c94e082b8
We will send you a text via Remind, e-mail and/or ROBO call in a couple of weeks as a reminder.
Directions:
- Click on the web address: https://www.picktime.com/d7be4f55-0b91-4515-b288-a20c94e082b8
- Exit out of the welcome message
- Click on the HHS FALL PTC link
- Chose your teacher
- Go to October 26 & 27
- Choose you times
Homer High School Is Using Remind
Homer High School is now using Remind for all classroom and sports communication. While we still use Facebook and Robo calls official HHS communication, Remind will be used for messages that need to be sent quickly and a computer may not be available to administrators. For example, during the fire alarm that happened last week, the principal was able to get a Remind message out to parents and staff while helping students get keys so they could get home.
Remind is also a safe way way for coaches and teachers to communicate with students. We hope this will streamline and make things easier for coaches to communicate with parents and vice versa. All messages are archived and can be accessed at any time. This meets the KPBSD policy for texting safety.
We encourage you to check out this parent guide to get tips on how to use Remind. We're excited to use Remind to make connecting with your family more engaging!
Please make sure you sign up for Remind and allow HHS to send you text messages.
National Merit Scholars Semifinalists
Homer High School proudly announces that three of its students have achieved the distinguished status of National Merit Scholar Semifinalists this year. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Blaise Banks, Spencer Co, and Lucas Story for their outstanding accomplishment. Their exceptional performance placed them in rare company, ranking within the top half percent among the more than one million students who participated in this test.
As they make decisions on their future college plans, they have the potential to secure lucrative scholarships, including full-ride awards at select universities. The National Merit Semifinalist distinction is highly esteemed, and we take great pride in recognizing the achievement of these students.
NHS Trivia Night
The HHS National Honor Society is hosting its annual battle of wits where teams compete to see who knows more random factoids spanning various trivia categories. Assemble a team of up to 6 or join a team at the event. $10 per adult; $5 for students.
- · WHO – HHS NHS and YOU!
- · WHAT – Triva Night!...with food for sale, too.
- · WHERE – HHS Commons
- · WHEN – 6:00 pm Tues., Oct. 24
- · WHY – To have fun supporting NHS and HHS Hockey’s comeback!
Help Athletes in Need
Homer High School stands by its commitment to assist families facing financial constraints in covering participation fees. To support athletes in need of financial assistance, we've set up a donation fund dedicated to alleviating these costs. Our aim is to ensure that every student can enjoy extracurricular activities without imposing undue financial strain on their families. We hope you consider supporting this initiative.
As a result of an initiative initiated by our site council last year, we've implemented a convenient method for you to contribute. Donations can now be made either online or in person at our office. If you have any inquiries or require assistance with the donation process, please don't hesitate to reach out to our bookkeeper, Julie, at 907-235-4624. Your generosity will make a significant difference in the lives of our students.
Dates To Remember
- Oct.3: Site Council meeting 4:10 in library
- Oct.3: Volleyball vs Nikiski, C-team 4:00, JV 5:00, Varsity 6:30
- Oct.6: Volleyball vs Mountain City Christian, C-team 4:00, JV 5:00, Varsity 6:30
- Oct. 7: Volleyball vs Grace Christian, C-team 12:00, JV 1:00, Varsity 2:30
- Oct.12: Early release at 2:20pm
- Oct.13: No school/Teacher in-service day
- Oct.14: Wrestling Fiesta night 4:00pm
- Oct.23: School picture retake day
- Oct.26: Parent teacher conferences-No school for students
- Oct.27: Parent teacher conferences-No school for students
- Oct.28: ACT exam 8:00am
DDF Competes at Chugiak
The HHS DDF team recently competed at Chugiak High School. Here are the results:
1st place – Spencer Co - Speaker Points, Lincoln Douglas Debate
1st place - Dayus Geysbeek and Poppy Smith - Duet
1st place - Raiden Skorski O'Donnell and Dayus Geysbeek - Improvised Duet Acting
2nd place - Finn Spitler - Humorous Interpretation
2nd place -Ashe Dias - Speaker Points, Lincoln Douglas Debate
3rd place - Erin Allen, Poppy Smith, Raiden Skorski-O'Donnell, Logan Dias, Dayus Geysbeek - Readers Theatre
3rd place - Kayla Kalafut - Dramatic Interpretation
3rd place - Alex Brock and Erin Allen - Improvised Duet Acting
4th place - Spencer Co - Extemporaneous Commentary
4th place - Sierra Mullikin and Logan Dias - Improvised Duet Acting
6th place - Shyanne Faulkner, Alex Brock, Sierra Mullikin, Finn Spitler - Readers Theater
Counselor Corner
HHS School Counselors
Sue Rennolds – Class of 2026 srennolds@kpbsd.k12.ak.us ~ (907) 235-4691
Paul Story – Classes of ’24, ’25, ’27 pstory@kpbsd.k12.ak.us ~ (907) 235-4685
Kenai College and Career Fair
Students in grades 12, 11, and honors/AP 10th are invited to this year’s event at Kenai Central High School on Wednesday, Oct. 11. Colleges, trade schools, employers, and military will all be present to discuss post-secondary options. Details of the trip, including organizations represented and itinerary are on this permission form, which is due to the front office Tuesday, Oct. 3rd. Guardians are also welcome to attend, but students may not transport themselves.
Homer Rotary Study Abroad Program FOL
The Homer Rotary helps pay for HHS students to spend a year studying internationally. They will be presenting during FOL Wed., Oct. 4th. Interested 9th and 10th graders, their families, and any family interested in hosting an exchange student while they attend HHS (a vital and rewarding part of the program) are invited and encouraged to attend.
Emergency Trauma Technician evening course returning to HHS
The Homer Volunteer Fire Department, Kachemak Emergency Services, and HHS are teaming up again to offer an Emergency Trauma Technician class Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays 6-8pm for 8 weeks starting October 16 and ending December 8. The class teaches CPR and how to help manage medical emergencies. It’s a great life skill and a good introduction to a potential career in emergency services. Successfully completing the course will also earn students 0.5 practical art credit. Register HERE by Oct. 9.
Post-secondary Financial Aid
Figuring out how to pay for college or trade school is a challenge that requires planning and effort from both students and their families. Here are some good resources from Sallie Mae, followed by my recommendation on how to prioritize. Everything underlined is a link to a resource!
Priority 1:
Seniors file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid aka FAFSA. Normally, you can do this beginning Oct. 1, but the revamped FAFSA isn’t available this year until December. In the meantime, you can read on and see the other things you can be doing. The CSS Profile, a financial aid application required at more selective schools is still opening Oct. 1.
Priority 2:
Maximize INSTITUTIONAL aid, the money that comes directly from a university and represents the biggest source of “free” money for most students.
- Most public universities have a pretty straight forward admissions application, after which students can access the school’s general scholarship application, which is an additional application and which is a step that many students do not take. After students have completed that, they may be directed to more specific scholarships based on their answers.
- Some schools, usually private ones, consider applicants for institutional aid based simply on their admissions review, not necessarily a separate application.
Priority 3:
Apply for local and state-wide scholarships which are generally redeemable at any accredited college OR trade school.
KPBSD OneStop Scholarship Database – Sort by “Expiring first” and check back OFTEN. There isn’t too much on there right now, but more will be added every week all the way through March!
- Seniors with a 3.5 cumulative GPA whose households earn less than $85,000 are eligible for the Hagan Scholarship, an award worth up to $80,000 over 4 years. HHS grads from the Classes of ’21 and ’23 won this!
- Alaska Community Foundation Scholarships – Due dates vary.
- State-wide awards
- Kenai Peninsula awards
Priority 4:
Try searching clearinghouse sites if you have time (You’ll likely have to sift through some marketing ploys to find the legitimate scholarships.). Some examples are:
- https://studentscholarships.org/ - I think this is my favorite of this type of clearinghouse.
- Going Merry
- Sallie Mae Scholarship Search
- Fastweb
Alaska Performance Scholarship – The APS is worth up to $4,755 per year at virtually any college or trade school in the state. To qualify, students must take additional academic coursework and meet minimum GPA and test score thresholds. You must file the FAFSA to be eligible for the award. Click the APS Scholarship icon in PowerSchool to see whether or not you’re on track.
Western Undergraduate Exchange – Through WUE, students from the Western U.S. pay 150% of in-state tuition at participating public institutions. This can represent significant savings compared to paying out-of-state tuition. Different schools/majors have different eligibility criteria and application processes. Cross reference the WUE web site and the individual school’s.
The U.S. military’s GI Bill offers extremely generous educational benefits for those interested in enlisting ROTC programs are another way to secure post-secondary funding as part of military service.
***Important note: There are scams out there. Don’t ever pay to file the FAFSA, to apply for a scholarship, or to join what’s advertised as a prestigious student organization.
Art In Science DEED Grant
SAT - PSAT - ACT
SAT – register at www.sat.org/register
ACT – register at www.act.org
PSAT (for 10th/11th graders planning to apply to 4-year college). Great, cheap practice and Junior entry into the National Merit competition.) – registration for October testing through HHS to be announced soon.
Student Life at HHS
Lunch at HHS
PSAT – Saturday, October 21st at HHS
PSAT – In addition to being excellent practice before the “real” SAT for 10th and 11th graders who are planning to apply to college, the PSAT is the only opportunity for juniors to qualify for the prestigious and lucrative National Merit Scholarship.
* Sat., Oct. 21 at 8am (Primary test date)
* Thu., Oct. 19 at 9am (Alternate date for HHS students on VB or WR teams with 10/21 competitions)
* $20
- Payable by cash or check to HHS bookkeeper Julie Gauthier
- Fee waivers may be available to 11th graders who have applied and been approved for free/reduced lunch http://mealapp.kpbsd.org
* Students may sign up now via this link.
Ceramics Finish Their First Project of the Year
Homer High School
Email: dwaclawski@kpbsd.org
Website: http://homerhighschool.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/wpmu/
Location: 600 E Fairview Ave, Homer, AK, USA
Phone: 907-235-4600
Facebook: www.facebook.com/homerhs