IHS January Newsletter

January 1-January 31: School Choice Lottery season

January 6: NO SCHOOL--Professional Development Day

January 16: Last day to request Pass/No Pass

January 20: NO SCHOOL--Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

January 28: IHS Sophomore Information Night

January 30: End of Semester 1

January 31: NO SCHOOL--Grading Day

February 3: NO SCHOOL--Professional Development Day

March 24-28: SPRING BREAK

June 6: Eugene IHS Graduation

IHS Site Council Meetings continue to go well! We have had a great turnout of parents, teachers, and students. We meet once a month, on the second Tuesday of the month, from 4:15-5:15 at South High School in room 541. Snacks are provided :) OUR NEXT MEETING WILL BE ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 14!

If you are interested in being a parent member for IHS Site Council, please email me: dearinger_c@4j.lane.edu. I will add you to our email list so you can receive updates and a copy of the agenda before each meeting.

On January 28, we will hold an information night for parents of sophomores who intend to pursue the IB Diploma or IB Course Certificates, or anyone who wants to learn more about the IB Diploma Program and testing opportunities for students during their junior and senior years. The information presented to parents will also be presented to students in classes so they can make decisions when forecasting for classes for next year.

On December 18th, IHS teacher Joanne Heidel organized a special guest speaker for her sophomore IHS Civics and Engagement classes at Churchill High School. Oregon House Speaker Julie Fahey, who is also our local elected representative, spoke with Civics students throughout that day, and she held a drop-in Q&A session during lunch. This special guest speaker is part of our ongoing mission in IHS to have more authentic community engagement in our classes, as well as model the importance of knowing our elected officials for our Civics students.

During her visit, Rep. Fahey explained her role in our Oregon legislature, and she answered many questions and addressed the concerns of our students. She was very impressed with the thoughtfulness of our IHS students, and she complimented them several times on the depth of their knowledge about issues, their ability to articulate their concerns, and their genuine engagement with their community. We were so proud of our IHS Churchill students! And we were so grateful to Rep. Fahey for taking time out of her busy schedule to meet with our young soon-to-be voters!

The school district is maintaining the same policy as last year in regards to taking courses Pass/No Pass. All academic classes will earn a letter grade (A-F) unless a request for Pass/No Pass is made by the student. Students can choose a P/NP grading option until two weeks before the end of the semester. For Semester 1, that deadline date is JANUARY 16.

We have two amazing educational assistants available to work with all IHS students at our three host campuses. Suzanne Jarvis and Amy Baker split their time between the three campuses and do their best to be available for any IHS student who needs support or additional help in any IHS class. If your student is looking for extra support, please see the EA schedules below. A student does NOT need to have an IEP or 504 plan to ask for help from our EAs!

Monroe Colbath -$3,200

Paige Benedetti -$1,200

Madison Creach - $1,200

If your student is interested in applying for a future travel scholarship, we open applications in September of each school year and typically accept applications through October 31.

I am currently one of the Museum Education Program Assistants working at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (JSMA) on campus at the University of Oregon. We want to reach out to you to provide you with the details for our World of Work (WoW) High School Internship Program!

If you are not familiar with this program, the WoW Program is a 3-month hands-on paid internship program for underrepresented and underserved high school students grades 9-12 that provide them with the resources and knowledge of pursuing careers in the creative field. This program will take place on Wednesdays at 4-6pm from April 9-June 4, 2025. The experience of this internship provides these students with practical and essential skills by actively engaging them in the JSMA’s duties to foster global understandings of art and cultural histories working with faculty, students, and artists to contribute to a more just, equitable, and sustainable world. If you would like to find out more information, click here.

Please share the World of Work student application and flyer with those that qualify! The application period is currently open, and the deadline is February 13, 2025 at 11:59pm.

Please have each student email their completed application to Gio Betancourt at giobetancourt19@gmail.com.

Thank you and please feel free to reach out if you have any questions regarding this opportunity!

Warm regards,

Gio Betancourt (They/them/elle)

Museum Program Education Assistant

Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art | University of Oregon

giobetancourt19@gmail.com

Believe it or not, we're already in the planning stages for the School Choice lottery for next year! The School Choice lottery will run the entire month of January, from Jan.1-31, 2025. During this month, schools offer information sessions for students and families to attend to learn more about the options available throughout 4j. Students who are interested in a school outside their drawing area or in a special school (like Eugene IHS) need to apply through the 4j lottery, which closes on January 31.

This year, Eugene IHS will hold (4) information sessions for prospective students and families. If you already have a student in IHS but you have an 8th grader this year, you are welcome to attend. We sent information to all our feeder middle schools, but please feel free to pass this information along to other families who might be interested in Eugene IHS.

Tuesday, January 14--Churchill High School from 7:00-8:00 pm in the cafeteria

Thursday, January 16--ONLINE

Tuesday, January 21--Sheldon High School from 7:00-8:00 pm in the cafeteria, with Spanish immersion breakout session from 8:00-8:30 in room C9

Thursday, January 23--South High School from 7:00-8:00 pm in the cafeteria, with French immersion breakout session from 8:00-8:30 in the library

This is a reminder that our Spanish immersion teacher, Mr. Ricardo Zapata Bello, is sponsoring the Hispanic Honor Society at Sheldon High School. The Hispanic Honor Society is open to all Sheldon students (including students not in IHS) who fulfill the prerequisites listed below:

• Student must have taken Spanish for at least 2 years to join
• Minimum GPA of 3.0 (unweighted GPA)

Benefits for members:

• Scholarships for seniors pursuing post high school education
• A formal induction ceremony
• Graduation cords to be worn at IHS and Sheldon graduation
• Weekly meetings with other students about issues and concerns important to the group

If this is a club you think your student would be interested in joining, please tell them to go to the next meeting and check it out! Meetings are held in Mr. Zapata's room (B10) on Tuesdays during lunch.

The IHS branch of Model UN has officially kicked off the 2024-2025 session! This year, our group will be representing Slovenia, Egypt, and Guyana. Meetings are held twice per month at each campus, and the Model UN State Conference will held in the spring at the University of Oregon. Students are still able to participate this year! So If your student is interested in joining Model UN, please reach out to Steve Smith (smith_st@4j.lane.edu) or Joanne Heidel (heidel_j@4j.lane.edu). Mr. Smith tells me that this year we have the largest Model UN club in recent IHS history with over 50 members! All are welcome to join!

One of our IHS juniors would like to promote an amazing opportunity for all IHS students and families! This is a program that brings Costa Rican teenagers to Oregon to live with host families and shadow their host siblings at high school for one month.

Here is what the student said:

"My family and I have hosted twice already plus I went on the two month Southbound program and lived with two different families and made so many friends while learning Spanish. We are hosting again this December. This is a culture and language immersion program so the participants really get to experience life in the US and build connections across borders."

Students aren't required to go on the program if they host, but they can apply to go on the summer program if they are interested. There are six students who still need host families in January, and they can match US and Costa Rican students who have similar interests (like soccer, dancing,video gaming, etc.).

Here is the website information: https://www.partnersorcr.com/.

And, here is a slidedeck of the students they are still seeking families for: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1AUK56qM1dTVUerZtJNjdYfGVzSz-rXbexgVoXjXRrAQ/edit#slide=id.g2f477fef115_0_0

If you are interested or would like more information, please contact me at dearinger_c@4j.lane.edu and I will put you in touch with this family!

Travel with IHS teacher Lisa Joye

Would you be interested in traveling with Lisa Joye in 2026?

Please take a moment to fill out this Google form:

https://forms.gle/pmrL8koeTLoNZ84EA

Last day to enroll in the Switzerland trip is March 4, 2025

Last day to enroll in the Iceland trip is April 20, 2025

Email Lisa Joye @ TravelwithLisaJoye@gmail.com to learn more about 2025 travel opportunities

Eugene International High School offers students a chance to earn an honorary diploma at the end of our four years together. Students still earn their high school diploma from their host school--for example, a student's high school diploma is from Sheldon High School, but they also receive the honorary IHS diploma as recognition for completing our separate set of standards and requirements. Eugene IHS holds our own separate graduation ceremony at the Hult Center (my favorite night of the school year!) where we recognize graduating seniors together from all three host campuses.

In order to earn the honorary IHS diploma, students must do the following:

• PASS all required IHS courses in 11th-12th grade
• Submit a final draft of the Extended Essay research paper (completed during Junior Seminar)
• Take at least (3) years of a world language (does not have to be the same language all three years)
• Complete (100) CAS hours (Creativity, Activity, Service) during junior and senior year
• Complete all graduation requirements for the high school diploma

**Please note that students DO NOT have to take any IB exams in order to earn the IHS diploma. IB testing and the IHS diploma are separate and do not affect the student's ability to earn the diploma.**

We have begun the process of planning for graduation in June! Here are a few important dates to mark in your calendars:

- Monday June 2, 2025: Eugene IHS Graduation Rehearsal for ALL SENIORS 8:30-9:35am, South Eugene High School Auditorium. Our Farewell Assembly will follow from 9:45-11:15am.

- Friday June 6, 2025: Eugene IHS Graduation 7:00pm, Hult Center for the Performing Arts (seniors will need to arrive at 6:00pm for class photo and taking the stage).

I will continue to publish important updates about IHS graduation in each monthly newsletter. For now, here are a few fun facts to look forward to:

1. IHS graduates do not wear caps and gowns to graduation--since we have graduates from three different host schools, we just ask students to dress up nicely for our ceremony.

2. It is tradition that our Spanish Immersion and French Immersion seniors perform group dances at our graduation ceremony. These dances are always the highlight of the evening!

3. We take great pride in each of our graduating seniors, and we honor each student with a personalized, individual speech written by an IHS teacher. Each senior gets to stand up on the stage while the teacher reads a speech written especially about them, one at a time. It is a really special and unique ceremony as we get to honor our individual students.