Principal's Message
Thank You, Homer!
Normally I would write about all the great things Homer High students are doing and the cool events that are coming up. Instead, I want to let you know how grateful I am to the Homer community. We moved to the Homer area eleven years ago and it was the best decision we ever made. I say this because not only am I a principal of Homer High School, I am a parent and my youngest child is a member of the class of 2018 and will graduate in less than a month.
My children are a product of the Homer community. We have had so many great experiences raising them here. Events ranged from Bruins Basketball and taking art classes at Homer Council on the Arts to taking kayaking classes, HOWL and Boy Scouts. Our kids were inspired by participating in Math Counts and even performed for Pier One Theatre.
We have great memories with Homer Community Recreation, especially with Fuzzy and rock climbing. All through Middle School our kids lived at the rock wall. We even spent a time across the bay climbing Kachemak Crack. We have missed Fuzzy since he passed away.
In High School our kids were able to play varsity sports and be a part of National Honor Society and Ocean Bowl. Most importantly, they were inspired by a great staff. They were awoken to the world of science by Mr. Rife and were challenged to think critically by Mr. Campbell. Mrs. Borland pushed their limits studying history and Ms. Tetor helped them fall in love with ceramics. There are too many influential adults, teachers, coaches and community members who positively affected our children's lives to list here.
They were able to give back by helping teach kids to ski in remote villages as part of Skiku, encourage children to get excited about sea life through providing tide pool walks for elementary children at Peterson Bay and help present Native summer camps in the Aleutian Islands. I am totally envious that my daughter got to deckhand on the Tiglax for a couple weeks one summer with YCC. It is crazy to me the number of opportunities there are in Homer for our youth. It is like we woke up one day and hit the parenting jackpot.
Both of my kids worked hard and are going to college to become engineers and I couldn't be prouder of them. They have both earned awards, excelled at school and enjoyed sports, but it wouldn't have played out the way it did anywhere else in the world but Homer. In fact, our kids are mad at us that we didn't move to Homer sooner. In their hearts they are Alaskans.
It truly does take a village to raise a child and my children are an example of that. I am truly grateful for what the Homer area has provided for my family and I hope I can give a piece of that back to future graduates as Principal of Homer High School.
Thank you, Homer!
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
Early Release Parent Survey
Please help KPBSD by taking a survey about how you feel about early release days. The district will use this information when they plan for next year. Click this link to take a few minutes to fill it out:
2018 HHS Parent Survey
Please help us by filling out the HHS annual parent survey. This information is essential for our planning for next year. We review every suggestion and look at all the data closely.
Here are just a few of the ways we have used this data in past years.
- Created school goals to help deal with bullying
- Implemented Green Dot Program
- Increased the number or Robo Calls to advertise important school events
- Added articles in our newsletter to explain school policies or to give exposure to less known school activities
- Made changes in our counseling department to be more reposnsive
- Added classes such as Computer Programming and Cad
- Much more.....
Your voice is important and we want to hear what you have to say. In fact, we are going to put our money where are mouth is. If you fill out a survey, we will put you in a drawing to win two $25 gift certificates. So help HHS and you may help yourself!
Click the link below and take the survey!
Dates To Remember
May 1 - HHS Site Council Meeting 4:00
May 1 - Baseball vs Kenai JV at 4:00 Varsity at 6:30
May 2 - Early Release Day--school ends at 2:15
May 4 - Soccer vs Ketchikan -Girls Varsity 4:00 and Boys Varsity 6:00
May 5 - SAT test 8:00 a.m.
May 7 - AP Chemistry Exam 8:00 a.m. KBC
May 7 - AP Psychology Exam 12:00 p.m. KBC
May 8 - Softball vs Kenai JV at 4:00 Varsity 6:00
May 9 - AP English Lit and Composition Exam 8:00 a.m. KBC
May 9 - Baseball vs SoHi JV at 3:30 Varsity at 6:00
May 10 - AP US Gov and Politics Exam 8:00 a.m. KBC
May 10 - Soccer vs SoHi Boys JV at 2:30 JV Girls at 4:15
May 10 - Soccer vs Voznesenka Girl's Varsity 6:00
May 11 - AP US History Exam 8:00 a.m. KBC
May 12 - Soccer vs Palmer Girls JV 10 am; Boys JV noon; Girls Varsity 2 pm; Boys Varsity 4 pm
May 14 - AP Biology Exam 8:00 a.m. KBC
May 14 - Softball vs SoHi Varsity at 4:00 JV at 6:00
May 14 - Senior Awards Ceremony in HHS Commons 6:30
May 15 - AP Calculus Exam - 8:00 a.m. KBC
May 15 - HHS Pops Concert 7:00
May 17 - AP Comparative Gov and Politics Exam 8:00 a.m. KBC
May 17 - Baseball vs Colony JV at 4:00 Varsity at 6:30
May 18 - Softball vs Bartlett Varsity at 4:00/6:00 JV at 6:00
May 18 - Baseball vs. Wasilla JV at 4:00 and Varsity at 6:30
May 18 - Last day of school for Seniors
May 19 - Softball vs Houston Varsity at 10:00 and 12:00
May 20 - HHS Baccalaureate 7:00 in HHS Theater
May 21 - Mandatory Graduation Practice for Seniors 10:00
May 22 - Final Exams in Periods 1, 3 and 5
May 22 - HHS Graduation 7:00 p.m.
May 23 - Final Exams in Periods 2, 4, and 6
May 23 - LAST DAY OF SCHOOL
May 24-26 - Baseball Regions at HHS
Sport ASAA Conference Changes
Just wanted to give everyone an update of the upcoming conference changes this spring and next year.
Effective this Spring;
Grace Christian will be in our Baseball Conference, making it a nine-team conference.
Soccer will be a Div. II sport with Kenai, Sohi, Nikiski, Seward, Voz (girls only) with 2 berths going to state (6 team state tourney).
Next Fall
Kenai will drop down into our Conference for the following Sports: cross-country running, volleyball, wrestling, basketball, cross-country skiing and track & field.
Hockey
Alaska formed a Div. II with 2 conferences
Railbelt: Homer, Sohi, Kenai, Houston, Palmer, Juneau (3 berths)
Aurora: N.P., Hutchison, Monroe, Glennallen, Tri Valley, Delta (3 berths)
Plus 2 at large berths from either conference. Winner of Div. II has a chance to qualify for Div. I tourney.
HHS Communicates Using Facebook
Sometimes things change at the last moment and we can't call everyone. If you want the most up-to-date event schedules, start times, scores and last minute changes, like us on Facebook. Go to https://www.facebook.com/HomerHS/ and be sure to follow us. This is the most efficient way for HHS to post last minute details, school closures and more. We also post lots of the cool things our students are doing.
See you on Facebook!
Counselor Corner
AP Testing
Tests will be administered in May but must be paid for ahead of time. Parents are welcome to call with any questions about the cost of tests or method of payment.
Course Requests
Almost 100% of students have indicated which classes they are interested in taking next school year. Counselors will be using this data to help create a schedule for the new year. There will be some staffing changes based on retirement and resignations but hopefully we will have a preliminary schedule before school is out for the summer. Students will have opportunities to amend their requests but the sooner we have firm information the better so we can make decisions about fall schedules.
The FAFSA is open for the 2018-19 school year. Some money is first come, first serve. www.fafsa.ed.gov
How to Afford a College Education?
Even with the best of scholarships, Pell grants and other assistance, the cost of college remains around $20,000 per year minimum. This is a sizable amount of money for all but the very affluent. In a search for a more affordable, families are turning to two-year programs for a number of reasons.
Beyond price, some student athletes are looking for two additional years of coaching and experience before trying to play for Division 1 or 2 teams. Many so-called community colleges have dorms and cafeterias so they can easily accommodate out of state students. With smaller enrollments than the typical State University, community college faculty and staff are able to give extra attention and supervision to students, many of whom have not been away from home before. I think this article will help alleviate some parent concerns and address myths about the whole idea of community colleges.
Middle-Class Families Increasingly Look to Community Colleges - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/05/education/learning/community-colleges-middle-class-families.html
Homer High School
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