Aloha High School

Good morning Aloha Parents, Guardians, and Families,

Just this morning, I informed the students and staff about an important change that will occur here at Aloha High School. I would also like to let you know about this change.

As many of you know, last year, student representatives, staff, and community members began wrestling with questions around our school's long history and many connections with Hawaiian culture. It may have started with a question around the appropriateness of our mascot and representations of King Kamehameha I, but the work shifted to a commitment to look at all the many ways we represent Hawaiian culture and ensure that each of these are authentic and honoring, never demeaning or inappropriate.

This effort is part of a fundamental commitment, both here at Aloha High School and throughout the Beaverton School District, to ensure our students feel connected with, and belong to, an inclusive school community.

This is where these two efforts intersect: our work on authentic connections to Hawaiian history and culture and our role in a district-wide effort to ensure every student belongs to a supportive and inclusive school.

I was recently informed that the District’s efforts to move elementary and middle school mascots away from depicting human figures or specific genders will now apply to high schools, as well. These types of mascots do not connect with or represent all of our students. This decision means that Aloha High School has some work to do.

During this morning's Advisory class, I not only announced this change but asked all of our students to help us decide how we will move forward. Here's what I asked:

1. Given that we will no longer use the image of a Hawaiian warrior as our logo or mascot, do you believe we should maintain the name “Aloha Warriors”?
2. If you believe we should remain the Aloha Warriors, what other mascot might we begin to use that do not depict a human figure or specific gender?
3. If you do not believe we should remain the Aloha Warriors, what names, mascots and images do you think we should consider?

I will personally, along with my entire leadership team and Beaverton School District leaders, look at each and every response they provide. We will take our students' ideas and then all work together to make the decision on what we call ourselves in the future.

This will be a significant change for everyone and it is our hope and intent to work through a process that strengthens our community.

Please enjoy the next couple weeks and the holidays.

Stay safe and we’ll see your students back here on January 6th, 2025!

Matt Casteel
Principal

Aloha High School has a long tradition of helping our community. Our Season of Sharing is how Warriors help15 families from our feeder schools over the winter season. Our leadership students hosted a dinner with toys, giftcards, games and treats.

Thank you to our staff and community for your generous participation. We made our goal and raised $7500. Thank you to everyone for sharing in this Warrior tradition.

Did you know that if you get a homeless teen off the street before the 15th night you can avoid chronic homelessness. The 15th Night program is a community-wide response to helping youth navigating homelessness. The goal is to get teens off the street as quickly as possible, and better yet, never have them there in the first place. The driving goal is to coordinate quick access to community resources.

Community Responders are the key to our success. The role of Community Responders is to volunteer to help Aloha High School students obtain needed resources. It could be clothing, shoes, food, or other items. The Community Responder would get an alert to provide what's needed and deliver it to the school. If you don't live in the area and still want to help, consider buying needed items on our Amazon wish list. Thank you for helping us end youth homelessness in our community!

Click here: Sign-up to be a Community Responder for Aloha High School:

Click here to learn more about 15th Night: https://www.15thnight.org/

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When we experience inclement weather, school schedules can be affected — either by a delayed start, early release or school cancellation. The district makes decisions based on the ability of:

• The district to operate school buses safely.

• Students and parents/guardians to drive safely.

• Students to walk to schools or bus stops safely.

• Staff to get to work safely​​.

Decisions are made for the entire district. However, we encourage families to make transportation and attendance decisions for their children based on their own assessment of travel conditions at their locations.

School delays or closures are typically communicated by 5:30 a.m. For the latest information:

• Check the district website. A page pop-up will be posted if there’s a change in school operations. You also can find inclement weather protocols and snow routes online.

• Look for a notification on ParentSquare.

• Follow us on the district’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.

• Tune into media outlets for updates.

We kindly ask for your support in ensuring that your child remains in class for the full school day. Consistent attendance is vital to their academic progress, as missing even small portions of the day can disrupt their learning and affect their ability to keep up with lessons. By staying in class until the end of the school day, students benefit from uninterrupted instruction, engage in important activities, and have the opportunity to fully participate in discussions and group work. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in helping us provide the best educational experience for your child.

We understand that there are appointments and emergencies. If you need to call the attendance line (503-356-2762) to release your student early, PLEASE allow 30 minutes. Sometimes your student is in PE or the portables or the library. This is a large campus and it takes a time to deliver their passes.

Thank you for your continued support!

Call my student out for the whole day? Call the attendance line 503-356-2760 or email ahs-attendance@beaverton.k12.or.us line. The phone line is updated throughout the day. Please allow us 30 minutes to get a pass to your student.

Call my student out for an appointment? Call the attendance line 503-356-2760. Please allow us 30 minutes to get the pass to your student. Your student may leave class at the appointed time.

If my student is sick at school? Students should ask their teacher for a pass to the health room. We will call call you and arrange for the student to go home.

You will order the required cap, gown, tassel and medallion unit at Jostens.com. The cost is $46. Nothing else is required. Rings, shirts, invitations, etc. are all extras that you can get if you want to. You may wear a sibling's gown and/or cap and order the medallion and tassel. Jostens representatives will be on campus November 19th to take orders in person.

Thank you for volunteering your time and talents. The Beaverton School District is implementing a new volunteer management system. All current volunteer will need to reapply.

Start on the Volunteer webpage on the district website. The entire process — including the review of the Child Abuse Prevention & Reporting and Adult Sexual Misconduct training materials — should take less than 10 minutes to complete.

Thank you for prioritizing our students’ safety and for your willingness to volunteer in BSD.

The Beaverton School District uses the ParentSquare platform for district, school and teacher communications, primarily with email, text and app notifications. ParentSquare automatically generates an account for each parent/guardian, using their preferred email address and phone number. Download the app or log into the ParentSquare web portal.

• Academic or behavior, health and wellness counseling - 503-356-2763 Ms. McCue will connect you with the correct counselor, social worker or resource.

• Attendance - 503-356-2760 AHS-Attendance@beaverton.k12.or.us
• General questions - AHS-Communications@beaverton.k12.or.us
• Library/Chromebooks - Library 503-356-2780 Linda Dean Linda_Dean@beaverton.k12.or.us
• Parent Square - Download the app or log into the ParentSquare web portal
• ParentVue - Login
• Payments/Fees - Heidi Mayes 506 356-2777. Heidi_Mayes@beaverton.k12.or.us
• Translations -Help in Spanish or request for help in languages other than English or Spanish- 503-356-2800

Asesoramiento académico o de comportamiento, salud y bienestar: 503-356-2763 La Sra. McCue lo conectará con el consejero, trabajador social o recurso correcto.

Asistencia - 503-356-2760 AHS-Attendance@beaverton.k12.or.us

Preguntas generales: AHS-Communications@beaverton.k12.or.us

Biblioteca/Chromebooks - Biblioteca 503-356-2780 Linda Dean Linda_Dean@beaverton.k12.or.us Parent Square: descargue la aplicación o inicie sesión en el portal web de ParentSquare

ParentVue - login

Pagos/tarifas: Heidi Mayes 506 356-2777. Heidi_Mayes@beaverton.k12.or.us

Traducciones -Ayuda en español o solicitud de ayuda en idiomas distintos al inglés o español- 503-356-2800

Email: ahs-communications@beaverton.k12.or.us
Website: aloha.beaverton.k12.or.us
Location: 18550 Southwest Kinnaman Road, Beaverton, OR, USA
Phone: 503-356-2760

Instagram @ AlohaHighSchool
Facebook: facebook.com/ahsalohahighschool

• Information on Depression in Teens

Mental Health America has compiled an abundance of resources for teens and parents of teens who are experiencing depression.

• Parent’s Guide to Teen Depression

HelpGuide, a nonprofit organization, put together tips for parents to help them identify depression in their teens and help them treat it.

• Anxiety Information

According to Mental Health America, anxiety disorders are among the most common mental illnesses in the U.S. This page has resources for dealing with anxiety and in depth information about the causes, symptoms, treatments and more.

• Teens and Suicide: What parents should know

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention said that educating yourself on what put kids at the greatest risk for suicide is one thing that protects them the most. They have given information on the facts and some of the risk factors and warning signs for teen suicide.

• National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357)

The National Helpline is available in English and Spanish for individuals and family members facing mental health or substance abuse disorders.

• Support for Teens and Young Adults

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) put together page of resources of support for teens and young adults facing challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Stress Management and Teens

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry listed some sources of teen stress and ways that parents can help their them to decrease stress.