Hello Parents and Students:

We are all excited to welcome you back to Moses Lake High School for the 24-25 school year! Throughout the year, I will use this Smore newsletter tool to inform you of high school events, as well as to share our successes with you. Please take some time to review all of the opening school year information found below. The newsletter is able to be translated into your language preference.

We are planning for yet another perfect year at MLHS! Our high school lawns are mostly green, our floors are sparkling and we're working to get the place ready for your arrival on Wednesday, August 28th. Moses Lake High School is the true hub of teenage activity in our city and so of course, all of you deserve nothing less than our best.

Right off, I want to alert you to our new Bell Schedule. We will begin Period 1 at 7:50am T-Fr and at 8:50am on Mondays. We will be released from school at 2:45pm on all days.

Secondly, we have lowered our Parking Registration Fee for all students. This may indeed be the only price that is going down in this time of inflation. We are asking that all parents complete the student vehicle registration form for all potential vehicles that may be parked on our campus this school year.

Update (August 25 2024)

Finally, I wish to speak about the current status of our Master Schedule for this school year. I know that this is a sore point for the community, myself and our staff included. Due to a required tightening of our finances this year at Moses Lake School District, I have been asked to try to keep our class sections as close to 30 as possible without going over that number. Because of that situation, some smaller classes have been collapsed/combined into other classes or have been suspended for this school year. In some cases, the shift in our class sections has freed up a teacher to teach a core required class that currently had average class sizes of over 30, thus lowering the class size to 30 or a little below. In some cases, the combined classes had an end result of a class with 30 and also freed up a teacher to teach an elective section.

As a result of collapsed,combined or suspended classes, as well as due to tighter staffing this year, there are a significant number of students with no elective to add into their schedule. We anticipate that will be more often the case with our lower grade levels rather than with our 11th and 12th graders.

After consultation with counseling staff and some teaching staff, we felt that the best way to offer our students success this year would be to offer Mav Support and Success classes. At this late date, to place students into random new classes they didn't choose, taught by teachers who would have a short period of time to prepare for such a class is not optimal. In contrast, the Mav Support and Success classes will provide our students, particularly our 9th graders, who are most impacted in numbers by the reduced academic program at MLHS, a chance to receive additional support for their core academic classes. Students enrolled in the Mav Support and Success classes will receive elective credit towards graduation.

Many schools across our state currently have a 6 period day and we have felt for some time that our students (particularly 9th grade) on track numbers suffer due to the weight of holding down and passing 7 vs 6 classes. It is the case that often our underclassmen end up in electives that they don't want and don't care about and such can distract from success in their core schedule of classes. We felt that the best thing we could do for our students this year, (with the reduced schedule of offerings), was to work on keeping the core classes at capacity and below overage, while still trying to offer those elective classes that had exhibited high student interest numbers when we built the Master Schedule last June. We also felt that the best thing we could do in the case of the suspended classes was to offer Mav Success and Support opportunities.

Several of our suspended classes for this year are available through the Edgenuity online program. We have a credit retrieval/Edgenuity class offered, staffed by a certificated teacher, each period of our day at MLHS. Our counselors are able to assist you with questions regarding that. Additionally, in some cases students who wanted a class that is now suspended may choose to take another elective in the affected academic department.

Besides the adjustments made to our Master Schedule, we still have several unfilled staffing positions as we begin this school year. School District leadership has advised us that they wish to complete the Aug/Sept. counts prior to authorizing additional staff for MLHS. So we will have substitute teachers covering a line of 6 algebra/Geometry Support classes, a line of 9th grade science, and a line of art classes, at minimum. The academic departments affected have offered to prepare open days' curriculum for our subs and we have secured excellent teachers known to us that have experience teaching those classes.

At Moses Lake High School, we have an exceptional team who are standing ready to assist your student towards high school success. We will focus on what we can control and please know that all things we do will be with an eye towards student success. It is ultimately my goal in these challenging times, that generally, students will not know the difference and indeed every day will be a great day to be Mav!

Looking forward to seeing your students in a few days.

Best regards,

Sheila Kries, Principal

Welcome Letter From Mr. Thomas Jay, Assistant Principal for Grade 9

All ninth graders and their families are invited to a Welcome Hot Dog BBQ (sponsored by Moses Lake Churches) on TUESDAY AUGUST 27 5-7pm out in the front entrance courtyard of the high school. Food, music, free stuff and school tours will be available. Thanks in advance to Moses Lake Churches for the BBQ food and great cooking.

Teachers, staff and several support organizations will be present. (MLHS Cashier will be available to process payments for ASB, Parking, Fines, etc.)

2024-25 Mav Sessions:

Counselors will be available for families and students

**School Nurses will be available for families to update student health plans.

August 27: Student schedules in skyward will go live by 9am

*Running start students will have a scheduled date for enrollment verification and they should return their MLSD Chromebooks back to their counselor at this time.

August 27 (Tuesday) 5-7pm 9th Grade Welcome BBQ (front Commons Courtyard, MLHS)

Wednesday August 28: first day for ALL grade levels (9-12). Full day- 7:50am-2:45pm

School picture day for grades 9-10 (8:30-2:30pm)

Thursday August 29: 2nd day of school grades 9-12(Full day: 7:50am-2:45pm

School picture day for grades 11-12 & running start. (8:30-2:30pm)

Friday August 30: Full day of school grades 9-12 (opening assembly schedule)

Monday September 2: Labor Day- No school

Tuesday, September 3rd: regular schedule

Picture Day Information

School pictures will be taken Wed/Thurs August 28, 29 8:30-2:30pm.

Parents can order online at mydorian.com before picture day and up to 4 days afterwards. Attached is an editable PDF of our picture day reminder that you can fill in and share with your students and families prior to picture day.

The following student fees may be paid at MLHS at the Cashier's Window at the front office during business hours, or using the MLHS online payment portal:

ASB Card: $50*

*If you feel you may qualify for a reduction in fees due to HB 1660, check with Food Services.

MLHS Yearbook: $60 until Sept. 30, $56 with ASB Card

Parking Fee: $10*

*If your student will be parking their vehicle in the student parking lot at MLHS, please complete this required PARKING REGISTRATION FORM. We need the license plate#, Make & Model in order to effectively manage safety and security on our campus. Once you have registered all vehicles on the form, you may purchase a parking tag at the MLHS Main Office Cashier's Window or through the online portal. You may pick up your parking tag at the front office, once payment has been made and the registration is complete. One tag will be provided that may be moved between the student's registered vehicles.

Our schools are participating in a federal program called the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). This program allows all children in our school to eat at no charge. However, some education programs we provide are funded with state dollars.

We will no longer be collecting Free and Reduced-Price Applications every year, instead, we must collect the Family Income Survey. This form helps us collect household information for all students attending CEP schools. Without this information, our school district could lose important state funding for educational programs that our students are entitled to.

By completing the consent to share form, your student is able to access assistance in a variety of student activities and fees at MLHS.

Link to Consent to Share Form 24-25

School to home communication is vital to your child's academic success. Please take a moment to check on your contact information (names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses). To do that, log into your Skyward Family Access Account. On the top of the screen it say "Family Access" and has an "All Students" drop down.

From there, click "All Students" which brings up all of your students.

Then Click "Student Info" on the toolbar on the left hand side of the screen. That will pull up all of your active students in the district and their contact information that the district currently has for them. If anything needs to be updated, please complete the parent contact update form and return it to MLHS. We also have copies of this form at the school office.

During our 2022-23 school year, we moved to having only two lunch 30 minute lunch periods. We also closed the MLHS campus for all of our 9th graders. While all MLHS students are encouraged to remain on campus for their lunch, all ninth graders are required to spend their lunch period (B lunch- after period 4) on MLHS campus. Both Vanguard Academy and MLHS grade 9 “B” lunch will operate “closed” campuses.

Attendance is the most important indicator and mechanism that leads to student academic success. We found that our 9th grade attendance for period 5 class improved from prior years. (Period 5 lands right after the 9th grade lunch.) Our 9th Grade “on campus” lunch will provide our 9th graders with a safe, leisurely time for lunch, allowing them to arrive at their next class on time. Our 9th Grade on campus lunch policy will support student safety, consistent student attendance during scheduled classes, and will help our school be a good neighbor to our nearby community, It is also our hope that by regularly attending all of their classes, (even the ones after lunch), along with not having the opportunity to find themselves in potentially dangerous or ill-advised situations off campus, our 9th grade Mavericks will see great success at MLHS this year.

During the 9th Grade “B” Lunch, students may eat their lunches in the MLHS Commons or in the front outdoor courtyard. "No go" areas include school property behind the school (south athletic fields and dugouts) and the student parking lots. Students may not leave the school property during their lunch period. Parents, as always, are able to sign their students out for appointments throughout the school day.

CELL PHONE POLICY - Moses Lake School District has maintained a Students and Telecommunication Devices policy since 2017. All Moses Lake High School students are allowed to access their cell phones only during the following times while on campus: before and after school, during their lunch period and during the passing periods between classes. Phones should not be used during class or when leaving class during their class period. Students are not allowed to be in immediate possession of their cell phones during class and will be asked to place their phones into a secured cell phone keeper lock box.

If the student’s cell phone makes its presence known, is being used without permission or is visible during the class period, the teacher will ask the student to place their phone into the lock box. If student complies, there is no further school response.

• 2nd Violation: (Phone is out during class and not in the box) The teacher confiscates the phone and places it in the lock box in the office for the rest of the day. If necessary, school Administrators or security may become involved.

• 3rd Violation: If the student has a third incident of not voluntarily placing the phone into the box, and is observed with it out, the phone will be placed in the Front Office phone box , and a parent is called to collect it.

• In the event of a student's refusal to place the phone in the box or surrender their phone to the teacher: The teacher will not engage in a power struggle with the student and the student will receive a cell phone referral which could result in a range of administrative actions including a parent phone call, detention, ISD, suspension, or loss of cell phone privileges while on our campus.

1. Be sure to pull up your student schedule on your chromebook or a browser. Schedules will go live on Thursday. Aug. 22,by 1pm.
2. Counselor Drop In Sessions: Counselors are available for drop in meeting sessions the following two evenings (Aug. 22, 26) 4:30-7:30pm in the Commons.
3. Students new to Moses Lake School District should contact our registrars and receive an appointment with a counselor prior to August 23, if possible.
4. LUNCHES: Grades 10,11,12 will have the A Lunch (right after period 3) for 30 minutes.
5. All ninth graders will have a 30 minute lunch (the B lunch) coming right after period 4 class.
6. Download the 24-25 Bell Schedule
7. Download a the skyward mobile app for your phone Skyward Mobile Access App
8. Take a screenshot or take a picture of your schedule for easy access. NOTE: student schedules may often change during the initial first fews days of school. Be sure to check your online schedule in skyward to keep and updated copy of the your schedule.
9. Or print out a copy of the most recent schedule to use at school.
10. Use your schedule, along with the school map to navigate your day.
11. Arriving at School: There are two main entrances into the building at the start of each day. Entrance A in through the Commons doors, and Entrance B is the 300 hallway entrance at the Bus Loop. Once the school day has begun, students should enter and leave the building by the Commons doors or Main Office entrance.
12. The first passing bell rings at 7:45am T-Fr. Period 1 begins at 7:50am.
13. Cross the threshold of your period 1 class prior to the ringing of that 7:50am bell.
14. Tardy procedure: If you arrive to school late, check in at the front office for a pass and then locate a security staff member in the hallway of your classroom to be let into that classroom.

During the month of September, MLHS will transition student 1:1 Chromebooks back into classroom sets. By housing student chromebooks on campus, the school is able to conserve the device investment through a more controlled storage arrangement. Additionally, all students will have access to a charged chromebook device, with functioning wifi during class time. Aside from those considerations, there are other potential positives outcomes from this transition: students will complete much of their school work during class time, allowing for a higher level of academic integrity, better time management, and fair and even access to school resources. Additionally, there has been some research that points to the increase in 1:1 device availability as being correlated to increased absenteeism. Students do better when they attend class regularly and missed class instruction is very difficult to replicate remotely. If a student has an extended illness or is removed from school due to a disciplinary event, a chromebook will be made available to them so that they keep up on their work.

MLHS school administration will arrange a process for the timely return of chromebooks once school is underway. All students will be required to return their school-issued chromebooks back to MLHS. **Running Start students should bring their MLSD chromebook to return when they come in for their Running Start enrollment meeting with their counselor.

The link for accessing student transcripts is found under the "academics" drop down on the MLHS web page. Here is the link for current student transcripts. Here is the link for MLHS Alumni transcripts. See screenshot below for further instructions.