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Homer High-Lights
VOLUME 12, ISSUE 4, November 2023
Principal's Corner
We are always looking for new ways to help our students and keep our school safe. The KPBSD has started their own Safe School Helpline to assist with this. The Safe School Helpline gives students an anonymous way to let us know if anything threatens our school or the people in the school. This allows students to help someone who is bullied or in bad situation without being in the middle of it. It could also allow students to report if they see vandalism or other misbehaviors.
Students can make reports on the web at: safeschoolhelpline.com or by text at 614-426-0240 and then type tips. They can call at 1-800-418-6423 and type extension 359.
Students can also call if they feel depressed, are suicidal or a worried about someone who may want to commit suicide. This is an anonymous and safe way for students to help each other out or to get help if they need it.
Call our office at 235-4600 and talk to our secretary Kristin Metz with questions or to schedule a meeting with the principal. This is a free and confidential service.
It is not easy to come forward if someone is threatening the safety of others or the school, or if they are depressed or suicidal, but it is essential that we try to help. The Safe School Helpline is a tool that could be helpful to our students when they are in need.
Positively yours,
Douglas Waclawski
Principal
907-235-4600
Homer High School Is Using Remind
Homer High School is now using Remind for all classroom and sports communication.
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.
HHS Competes at State Cross-Country Race
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 a program 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 and are tax deductible. 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.
Spanish Class In-class Market
Dates To Remember
11/3: First Hockey game vs Kenai 7:15pm
- 11/4: SAT exam 8:00am
- 11/8: Ski & Winter Gear Swap 5:00pm
- 11/9: Early Release day @2:20pm
- 11/10: Veterans Day- No school
- 11/10: Best Western Bidarka Wrestling Rumble 4:00pm
- 11/11: Best Western Bidarka Wrestling Rumble 9:00am
- 11/23: Thanksgiving – No school
- 11/24: Thanksgiving Break – No school
- 11/25: The Elks Basketball Shootout 9:00am
- 11/28: Wrestling vs Soldotna 4:00. Senior Night.
- 11/30: Hockey vs Kenai 7:00pm
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
Financial Aid and Scholarship Information Night
Many careers require post-secondary education, but most colleges and trade schools are very expensive. The goal of this evening is to break down how to bring those costs down and make them manageable. Paul and Sue, along with invited community members, will review the new FAFSA (which will hopefully be available by then) and CSS Profile, institutional aid, state and local scholarships, different types of loans, education benefits of military service, and more.
Mark your calendars! - Tuesday, December 5th - 6:00-7:30pm in the HHS Library
Career Aptitude Test coming to HHS
The ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) is designed for 10th -12th graders to help identify the kinds of jobs in which they show promise. While primarily used by and for the military, students without interest in the armed services sometimes take the test because it’s one of the few career assessments that tests aptitude, rather than just interest. Some of the subtests focus on non-academic areas like electronics, automotive, “shop info”, and mechanical comprehension.
The test will be administered at HHS Tue., Nov. 14 at 9am. Students who test will be responsible for making up work they missed in their 1st and 2nd period classes. To sign up, simply email pstory@kpbsd.k12.ak.us.
OneStop for scholarships and contests
Remember that the first pots of financial aid money are the FAFSA and “institutional aid” (See October’s HHS newsletter for more info.), but don’t forget about the KPBSD OneStop Scholarship Database. It is the place to go for regional- and state-wide scholarships, essay contests with cash prizes, and more. Check back often as MANY more will be listed in the coming weeks and months! Here’s a small sample of what’s available now:
· Elks National and Alaska State Scholarships - $2.52 Million available nationally; no Elks affiliation required – due Nov. 13.
· Hagan Scholarship - $15,000 per year scholarship plus additional benefits for students from designated rural schools (including HHS) who are high achieving and demonstrate financial need (Family AGI not in excess of $85K. 2 HHS grads have won this award in the last 3 years – due Dec. 1
· Alaska Community Foundation Scholarships – 48 awards due broadly between Jan. 20 and Mar. 15. - https://alaskacf.org/scholarships/
· Sons of the American Revolution Essay Contest – Grades 9-12 can enter for state awards between $100 and $500 and national awards of up to $5,000, which an Alaskan won last year. They reportedly don’t receive many applications. – due Jan. 31
If you’re looking towards college, read this:
An acknowledged problem with college applications and admissions in our country is that there is an overemphasis on a relatively small number of elite, highly selective universities (think Ivy League, Stanford, MIT, etc.). This can cause high school students and their families undue stress and angst thinking that their “success” is somehow linked to gaining entrance to these schools. I think the following provides some important perspective.
· From Challenge Success:
The top-ranked 5% of colleges — according to rankings that are, as we have discussed, problematic — include over 200 institutions. Most college applicants and their families cannot name 200 colleges, and yet the differences between the top of the list and the 200th on the list — in terms of all the outcomes discussed in this paper — are minimal.
Rather than choosing a school based primarily on a flawed scoring system, students should ask whether they will be engaged at the college in ways that will allow them to form strong relationships with professors and mentors, apply their learning via internships and long-term projects, and find a sense of community.
Takeaways: Rankings are problematic. College selectivity is not a reliable predictor of student learning, job satisfaction or well-being. Engagement in college is more important than where you attend.
· Article “Find colleges that want you more than you want them”
Congratulations to NHS Inductees
Congrats to the 14 new National Honor Society inductees. Successful applicants have at least a 3.8 cumulative GPA and have demonstrated the 4 Pillars of Scholarship, Service, Leadership, and Character. Thanks to faculty council members Michelle Borland, Erin Brege, Dan Newsted, Olivia Philpot, and Matt Stineff for assessing applications.
From left to right:
• Lukas Renner
• Elsa Otis
• Donovan Milstead
• Walden Kraszeski
• Kayla Kalafut
• Marina Co
• Clyde Clemens
• Cassidy Carroll
• Johannes Bynagle
• Lawson Alexson-Walls
(Not pictured)
• Caitlyn Rogers
• Abigail Morgan
• Asher Gagnon
• Briar Boyd
Bowls and Mugs
The ceramics department is donating bowls to the charity for hunger called Empty Bowls. Last spring ceramics students made the bowls, and students from this semester have glazed them. We have more bowls than can fit in one picture! Additionally, Ceramics II theme mugs have come out of the kiln. This project is exemplified by Alaiyah Brost’s floral mugs, and Bryce Glidden’s body mugs. Some additional cultural coil pots have been fired including the one’s pictured by Amber Stevenson and Emry Bourne.
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.
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