Homer High-Lights

A Promising Start to the Year

It was fantastic to see all the bright and eager faces as we kicked off the school year. As everyone adjusts to the new bell schedule, students are gearing up for Homecoming festivities and have received their Chromebooks in advisory. It’s shaping up to be a great year ahead!

Building Improvements

Significant work was done on the building over the summer. Our gym floor was refurbished, new lighting was installed in the gym and commons, and the entire building was stained. Thanks to the hard work of our custodial team, the building looks fantastic as we start the new year.

However, the borough did not complete the renovation of our front entrance as planned. We’re dealing with rotting timber in the front and will do our best to manage this issue until the renovation can be done next summer. We'll remove the worst timbers, cover others, and hope for the best in the meantime. We appreciate your understanding and patience as we navigate this challenge.

School Safety

While we anticipate another great year, it's crucial to be prepared for anything. I’ve provided information on our plans for various situations, including:

• Snow or late start days
• ALICE drills
• Fire or earthquake procedures
• Guidelines for what to do before, during, and after an emergency

Homer High School is committed to planning, preparing, and drilling for almost any emergency or disaster. While we can’t control everything that happens, we will be ready when it does. Please review the safety information below to ensure you know what to do in case of an emergency at HHS.

I am looking forward to a great year and am excited to get started. If you have concerns or suggestions please schedule a time to meet with me by calling 235-4600 or send me an e-mail at dwaclawski@kpbsd.k12.ak.us.

Douglas Waclawski

Principal

907-235-4600

dwaclawski@kpbsd.org

Welcome to a new school year!

We want every parent to know that Homer High School will be using the Remind App for classroom communications, emergencies and school updates. Make sure that you opt-into allowing HHS to send you text messages.

This seems to be the quickest and most efficient way to communicate. We will do our best to honor and respect your phone and limit the messages we send you.

If you already have a Remind account, make sure you allow us to contact you via text and you are ready to go. You can opt-in to our school using the code: hhs-25. If you haven't set up your account yet, the directions are below. (Click on the picture to increase the size for viewing)

Fall sports are underway, and we want to celebrate the achievements and growth of all our athletes and teams. To make this happen, we need your help! Please send a few photos, along with scores and accomplishments, to dwaclawski@kpbsd.org. I will feature the best pictures of the month in our newsletter. While I do take photos at events I attend, I’m not the best photographer, and I can sometimes miss the most exciting moments due to supervision duties. Thanks in advance for your help!

The pictures for this article were taken during the first football game against Kenai.

• Sept. 2 - No School
• Sept. 3 - Site Council Meeting - Library - 4:10 pm
• Sept. 7 - Homer Swim Meet - 9:00 am
• Sept 10 - Volleyball vs SOHI - 4:00, 5:00 & 6:00 pm
• Sept. 13 - Early Release - Students Dismissed at 2:20 pm
• Sept. 13 - Football vs Kodiak - 5:00 pm
• Sept. 17 - School Picture Day
• Sept. 19 - XCR Borough Championships - HHS Upper Field - TBD
• Sept. 21 - Football vs Barrow - 2:00 pm
• Sept. 21 - Homecoming Parade, Bonfire & Dance - 5:00, 6:00 & 8:00 pm
• Sept. 27 - Football vs Redington - 2:00 & 5:00 pm
• Oct. 1 - Site Council Meeting - Library - 4:10 pm
• Oct. 4 - Football vs Kenai - 2:00 & 5:00 pm

Do you need Senior Service hours? If so, I will post service opportunities in the newsletter each month. If you have questions, come see me in B-102.

Senior Service Opportunities

• Timers are needed at the Homer swim meet on September 7th. If you are interested, reach out to Kane Graham, the Head Swim Coach, at KGraham@KPBSD.k12.ak.us for more information.
• The Homer Public Library is recruiting for their teen advisory board which helps plan programs for teens at the library. If you are interested, reach out to Cinda, the Youth Services Librarian, at cnofziger@ci.homer.ak.us for more information.

Jonathan Raymond

HHS School Counselors

Sue Rennolds – Class of 2026 srennolds@kpbsd.k12.ak.us ~ (907) 235-4691

Paul Story – Classes of ’25, ’27, and ‘28 pstory@kpbsd.k12.ak.us ~ (907) 235-4685

Alaska Performance Scholarship (APS) New and Improved!

The APS is now:

Easier to get:

• CTE classes can substitute for the 4th year of an academic class.
• You can qualify via your high school GPA OR your SAT/ACT score. No longer do you need to qualify in both areas.

Worth more and expires later:

• Up to $7,000 per year
• Redeemable up to 8 years after high school graduation

(Still) redeemable at virtually every Alaskan post-secondary institution:

• cosmetology schools
• CDL programs
• AVTEC
• University of Alaska
• and more!

Students and parents/guardians can follow individual progress towards the award by logging into PowerSchool and selecting “APS Scholarship”

More information also available on the APS web site.

Question: Who should take the SAT and/or ACT?

Answer: Any student considering attending a 4-year college, and any student looking to qualify for a higher level of the APS than their GPA qualification.

• Consider taking your first test(s) 2nd semester of 10th grade and be sure to take at least one test by the end of 11th grade.
• The school year gets busy quickly, especially for student-athletes, so consider registering now for a test date or two.

Juniors/seniors who qualify for free or reduced lunch can see Mr. Story for a fee waiver. If you don’t eat school lunch, it’s often worthwhile to apply here and see if you qualify to waive hundreds of dollars of testing and college application fees.

Go to HHS Counselors’ Corner web site for test dates and registration links.

Kenai College and Career Fair – Tue., Oct. 8th

Students in grades 12, 11, and honors/AP 10th are invited to this year’s event at Soldotna High School on Tuesday, Oct. 8. Representatives from over 50 colleges, training programs and employers will be available to discuss post-secondary options. Details of the trip, including this year’s tentative itinerary are on this permission form, which is due to the front office no later than Tuesday, Oct. 1st. Guardians are also welcome to attend, but students may not transport themselves.

Post-secondary planning

We will be using Advisory to work on post-secondary plans, but families are absolutely critical in this process, especially for seniors. Teenagers don’t know what they don’t know. If your teen is brushing you off about what they’re going to do after graduation and saying something like, “Don’t worry, I’ve got it”, don’t believe them. 99.9% of them don’t “got it”. And if they’re exasperated by your involvement, blame me. “Sorry, but Mr. Story insists that we work on this together.”

There are several sites in which you can research post-secondary options based on personal interests and goals, earning potential, associated costs, etc.

* Naviance: https://go.kpbsd.org/naviance-student - This College AND Career readiness program is new to KPBSD and will be used in Advisory this year. We’re still getting training on it, but I’ve been pretty impressed with how it helps students explore careers, military, college, etc. You’ll need your student to log in with you, but feel free to click around and get a feel for its many cool features.

• collegescorecard.ed.gov
• https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/
• www.niche.com

College Applications

Most college and trade school admissions applications are available to seniors now. “Early Action”/”Early Decision” deadlines are usually in October or November, which yield admissions decisions in December. Regular admission deadlines are typically early January and don’t yield decisions until late March/early April. Many schools also accept applications and admit students on a rolling basis throughout most of the school year.

The most efficient way to apply to multiple colleges is usually through the Common App (www.commonapp.org ). Many schools, but not all, subscribe to this service.

AVTEC – Alaska Vocational Technical Center – https://avtec.edu/

• Highly reputable training in trades and careers in less than a year
• Nearby in Seward, AK
• Programs fill up fast. Apply early.

* Western Undergraduate Exchange – www.wiche.edu/wue

• Consortium of western U.S. public universities that offer students from participating states 150% of resident tuition instead of the much more expensive out-of-state rate.

Scholarship Scams

If you ever have to pay to apply for a scholarship or to join an honor society, it’s almost surely bogus. For example, the National Society of High School Scholars solicits students/families and advertises they will gain prestige and access to scholarships if they pay a membership fee. Not true, nor should it be confused with the actual National Honor Society, which is a legitimate service-oriented organization through which many U.S. high schools, including HHS, have a chapter and selection process for high achieving 10th-12th graders

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The following radio stations will air public service announcements at fifteen minute intervals:

The PSAT will be offered at Homer High School for interested 10th and 11th graders on Friday, October 11th at 8am during the Teacher In-service day. 11th Grade Students who are traveling for sports on that day will have the opportunity to take it with Homer Flex, Tuesday, October 22nd at 9am. Interested students should complete the Google Form indicating their requested date and method of payment: https://forms.gle/mS6Jgz8tXaRkHzMQ6

Two years ago our teachers, students and parents from our Site Council got together and helped write the Mariner Way. This is what we think it means to be a Mariner and what we want to aspire to. We hope that when people think of Homer High School, they will say we are living the Mariner Way.

We are the Mariners, a special blend of toughness, compassion, grit and integrity. We understand we are part of something bigger than ourselves and endeavor to be better every day. We show sportsmanship, help out community and strive for academic excellence. This is the Mariner Way.

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Do you know what to do in case of an emergency? What happens on snow days? What should parents do if there is a shelter in place, earthquake or violent act at school? Below are links to district web pages and district information sheets for your information about the District Emergency Action Plan.

https://www.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/communications.aspx?id=22877

https://www.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/Workarea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=34276

Here are a couple quick answers to the questions asked above:

What if there is a huge snowstorm?

• Check the KPBSD Facebook page to see if school is closed. If you think it is dangerous to travel, you don't have to send your student to school. It is your call, but please call the school office so they know what's happening with your student.

What is ALICE?

• ALICE is a system to help keep as many students safe as possible during if an active shooter incident happens at our school. This program trains students and staff to know whether to evacuate, stay in place or counter. See the form below that explains what ALICE stands for.

What if there is an earthquake or active shooter at my school?

• Please don't rush to the school; this creates more challenges for the emergency responders and police and could make the situation more dangerous. It is better not to call your child; it distracts them from following safety instructions and could put them at risk in some situations. The police and school will not let students or staff out until everything is all clear. Check the school's Facebook page for information. Please trust us to take care of your children.

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I’m passionate about high school sports. It’s exciting to watch our athletes develop and progress throughout the season. This year, I plan to share some of my favorite photos and selfies with our teams and at various venues.

Winter storms are a common occurrence in Alaska, and they often lead to school cancellations or delays, which can be confusing for parents and students alike. To make things easier, we want to share the schedule for classes at HHS if there is a delayed start. Below, you'll find two schedules: one for a delayed start on a 6-period day and another for a delayed start on a block day. If you have a college class or other prearranged commitment during these modified schedules, students will be excused for those absences.

6 Period Day

(all classes shortened with 5 minutes breaks between classes):

• Period 1 – 11:00 am to 11:40 am
• Period 2 – 11:45 am to 12:20 pm
• Lunch – 12:20 pm to 12:55 pm
• Period 3 – 1:00 pm to 1:40 pm
• Period 4 – 1:45 pm to 2:20 pm
• Period 5 – 2:25 pm to 3:05 pm
• Period 6 – 3:10 pm to 3:50 pm

Block Day

(all classes, breaks and lunch shortened, no FOL):

• Block 1 – 11:00 am to 12:00 pm
• Block 2 – 12:05 pm to 1:05 pm
• Lunch – 1:05 pm to 1:40 pm
• Block 3 – 1:45 pm to 2:45 pm
• Block 4 – 2:50 pm to 3:50 pm

KPBSD now offers Early Release days 8 times a year to help staff plan and for professional development. It is great for us, but can be confusing for parents and students. To help reduce the confusion we have proveded our early release schedule below for both block and 6 period days. We hope this helps.

Have you ever wondered why we start school on certain days or why we get some days off, but not others. Do you have an opinion on the school calendar? If so you may want to apply to be a member of the KPBSD calendar committee. Fill out the form below and send it to Natalie Bates and let your voice be heard.

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