Homer High-Lights

I know it is only the beginning of August, but the start of a new school year is just around the corner. I am excited to get started and see all the awesome things that this group of students will accomplish. I am always impressed and humbled by the accomplishments of Homer High School students and I am sure it will be the same this year.

We have a great school and all the data proves it. Our students score above the state and national averages in AP, SAT, ACT and AMP tests. Last year half of our senior class qualified for the Alaska Performance Scholarship which totaled $600,000 of scholarships for HHS students! In total, Homer High Students earned 1.5 million dollars in scholarships last year. We have students who have been admitted to MIT, Cal Tech, Colorado School of Mines, Brown University and many other prestigious universities. We had three state champions in skills USA last year including in construction and welding.

I love to brag about our school, but the point I want to make is that every student can get a nationally recognized education in Homer. You don't need to pay big money to send your child to a college prep school in the lower 48. Students at Homer can get accepted to MIT or an Ivy League school if that is their goal. All your child needs to do is be ready to learn and be willing to work hard. The opportunity to get a great education is right here.

I know this is going to be another great year, but we are not perfect and we are always looking for ways to improve. If you have a suggestion or know of a problem you would like us to address, please come in and I will be glad to discuss this with you. If you can't make it in to school please give me a call at 235-4600 or e-mail me at dwaclawski@kpbsd.org. I look forward to working with you this year.

Sincerely,

Douglas Waclawski

Principal

Aug. 2-5 - Boys & Girls Basketball Camp - Gym - 9:00 - 10:30 am

Aug. 3 - First Day of Practice - Swimming & Volleyball

Aug. 8 - Big Booster Meeting - Staff Lounge - 6:00 -7:00 pm

Aug. 10 - Seniors Schedule pick-up – 10am-3pm

Aug. 11 - Juniors Schedule pick-up – 10am-3pm

Aug. 12 - Sophomores Schedule pick-up – 10am-3pm

Aug. 15 - New Student Registration – 10am-3pm

Aug.18 - Freshmen Orientation/Open House – 6pm-8pm

Aug. 20 - Homer Volleyball Jamboree - gym 10:00 am - Evening

Aug. 22 - Connections class registration – 10am - 3pm

Aug. 23 - FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

Aug. 25 - Volleyball vs Seward - 3:30, 4:30 & 6:00 pm

Sept. 2 - Volleyball vs Nikiski - 3:30, 4:30 & 6:00 pm

Sept. 3 - Football vs Juneau Douglas - 3:30 pm

Sept. 5 - KPBSD School Board Meeting - Mariner Theater

Sept. 6 - Site Council Meeting - Library - 3:45 pm

Freshman orientation will be held on Thursday, August 18, 2016 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. This is mandatory for all incoming 9th graders. Students will get their schedules, find their classes, meet their teachers, find their lockers, explore the building and get ready for Homecoming activities. We want all of our new students to have a smooth transition into the new year. They should be focused on their classes, not how to open their lockers on the first day of school.

We hope to see you there.

Agenda:

6:00 - 7:00 pm

• Get Schedules and paperwork
  
• Find and practice opening lockers
• Meet your teachers
• Cookies & coffee

7:00 - 7:30 pm

• Presentation from Principal and Student Council

7:30 - 8:00 pm

• Class activities and scavenger hunt

The list of top schools in the country, as reported by US News & World Report, is out and Homer High is among the top in the country again! HHS was awarded the Silver Medal for being in the top 5% of schools in the country. This award is based on AP, AMP, SAT and several other indicators. Go to http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools for more details.

Homer should be proud of our students, our teachers and our school. We continue to excel on state and local assessments, but most importantly, we help your child grow up and become wonderful citizens.

At HHS we like to brag about how great HHS students are at academics, athletics and other competitions. We know we have a great school and now we have data to support it. Each year we look at "High School Success Indicators" to see how we are doing. These are nationally recognized indicators that equate to a quality education. These indicators are in addition to state standardized test scores. As you can tell from the graphs below, we have a great school!

Homer High had several students earn (AP) Advanced Placement awards that are based on end of year national tests. AP classes are college level classes where students can earn college credit if they score a 3 or better on these nationally administered tests. These tests are similar in rigor to SAT or ACT tests. Congratulations to these students who have continued Homer High's tradition of high academic success.

AP Scholar

Granted to students who receive scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams.

• Beach, Isabel G.
  
• Biessel, Rowan E.
  
• Bowe, Mary H.
  
• Carroll, Kyle J.
  
• Draves, Samantha B.
  
• Evarts, Lauren I.
  
• Kirsis, Megan D.
  
• Lush, Shenandoah
  
• Raymond, Jordan L.
  
• Webber, Elise K.
  

AP Scholar with Honor

Granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams.

• Boyer, Zane H.
  
• Bunting, Nolan P.
  
• Gillam, Eryn
  
• Sarmiento, Juan E.
  

AP Scholar with Distinction

Granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams.

• Schneider, Lindsey J.

• Waclawski, Aurora A.

• Wiest, Daniel T.
  

The Mariner Girls Track Team finished the 2016 season with a bang! They earned 4 event State Championship titles and broke two school records. The only thing that stopped them from earning a State Team Championship was a historic effort by three ACS runners who earned 7 individual Event Championships between them.

The most exciting finish of the meet was Lauren Evarts winning her first individual state championship in school record time. She won with a time of 46.67. The old record was 47.01.

The girls won the 4 X 800 relay in a school record time of 10:08.22. The old record time was 10:10.23. The girls also won the 4 X 200 and the 4 X 100 relays.

The boys had a strong showing including earning their first individual event championship in over 19 years! They won the 4 x 200 relay.

Here are all the individual results.

1st Place – Lauren Evarts – 300 Hurdles (School record of 46.67!)
1st Place – 4 x 400 Relay – Aubrey Rosencrans, Alex Mosley, Aziza Shemet Pitcher & Aurora Waclawski (School Record 10:08.22!)
1st Place – 4 x 200 Relay – Kaylee Veldstra, Angie Cardoza, Sarah Wolf & Lauren Evarts
1st Place – 4 X 200 Relay (Boys) – Teddy Croft, Zane Boyer, Luciano Fasulo & Jake Richter
1st Place – 4 x 100 Relay – Kaylee Veldstra, Angie Cardoza, Cheyenne Gellette & Sarah Wolf
2nd Place – 4 x 400 Relay – Lauren Evarts, Sara Wolf, Aziza Shemet Pitcher & Aurora Waclawski
2nd Place – 100 m – Kaylee Veldstra
2nd place – 400 m – Aurora Waclawski
2nd Place – 100 m Hurdles – Lauren Evarts
4th Place – 200 m – Aurora Waclawski
4th Place – 400 m – Aziza Shemet Pitcher
4th Place – Long Jump – Angie Cardoza
5th Place – 800 m – Audrey Rosencrans
6th Place – 100 m – Alia Bales
6th Place – 200 m – Kaylee Veldstra
6th Place – 1600 m – Audrey Rosencrans
6th Place – 3200 m – Audrey Rosencrans
6th Place – Long Jump – Cheyenne Gillette

Thanks to Don Pitcher for the photographs!

We want to be able to give you instant up-to-date information about what is going on at school. This can include emergencies, sports scores as well as dates and times of events. To stay tuned to what is going on at Homer High, "like" us on Facebook. The address is www.facebook.com/homerhs. Join close to 600 other people who have liked HHS on Facebook and the over 2000 people who view our Facebook posts.

Are you wondering when sports teams have home games? Do you have a senior who needs paperwork for their senior service project ? Do you want to see agendas and minutes from our site council meetings? Check out our school website to find answers to these and other questions.

The address is http://homerhighschool.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/wpmu/.

You can access PowerSchool from our website and weekly activities as well. There are lots of great links and valuable information about Homer High School. If you have suggestions for things you would like to see on our website, please talk to Mr. Waclawski.

Email: dwaclawski@kpbsd.org
Website: http://homerhighschool.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/wpmu/
Location: 600 E Fairview Ave, Homer, AK
Phone: 907-235-4600
Facebook: www.facebook.com/homerhs