Homer High-Lights

Are you getting those midwinter blues? Is the cold getting to you? Do you need to get energized? If you can say yes to any of these questions then you need to attend our Parent Teacher Conference Event on February 8th in the commons from 5:00 - 8:00 pm.

Lose the winter blues by listening to the Blues from our jazz band or other performances by our choir. Warm up by participating in our first annual Staff Chili Cook Off. Energize yourself by talking to teachers and seeing all the great things our students are doing at HHS.

We know it can be hard to give up an evening to attend Parent Teacher Conferences so we are trying to make it as interactive and fun as possible. For more information please read the article below. We hope to see you there!

We are always looking to improve HHS and I would love to hear your suggestions or insights. You can email me at dwaclawski@kpbsd.org or call me at 235-4600. If this doesn't work for you, feel free to come into school and I would be glad to chat in person. We work hard to develop a positive and safe school environment, but we can't do it alone. If you know of a problem, please let us know.

Sincerely,

Douglas Waclawski

Principal

Jan. 13: Basketball vs. Houston 3:30, 5:00, 6:30, 8:00

Jan. 13: Hockey vs. Colony 4:00

Jan. 14: Basketball vs. Joe Redington 10:30, Noon, 1:30

Jan. 14: Hockey vs. Wasilla 2:00

Jan. 16: Vacation Day No School

Jan. 17: Random Acts of Drama, Debate and Forensics 7:00 pm

Jan. 24: Basketball vs. Nikiski 3:30, 5:00, 6:30, 8:00

Jan. 26: Hockey vs. Soldotna 7:00 pm

Jan. 28: SAT Test 8:00 am

Jan. 28: Basketball vs. Seward 10:30, Noon, 1:30, 3:00

Feb. 2: C Team Basketball 3:30 and 5:00

Feb. 3: Cross-Country Ski Homer Invite 3:00

Feb. 4: Cross-Country Ski Homer Invite 10:00

Feb. 6: Grade Check

Feb. 7: Site Council Meeting 3:45

Feb. 8: Early Release Day School dismissed at 1:45

Feb. 8: Parent Teacher Conference / School Showcase 5:00-8:00 pm

Feb. 9: Parent Teacher Conferences in Classrooms 8:30-11am, Noon-3pm

Feb. 9: Homer Winter Carnival Basketball 3:30, 5:00, 6:30, 8:00

Feb. 10: Boys C Team Basketball vs. Seward 1:00

Feb. 10: Homer Winter Carnival Basketball 3:30, 5:00, 6:30, 8:00

Feb. 11: Homer Winter Carnival Basketball 1:00, 2:30, 4:00, 5:30

Feb. 11: School Dance 8:00-11:00 pm

Feb. 13 and 14: Mass Choir in Kenai

Feb. 15: C Team Basketball vs. Nikiski 3:30 and 5:00

Feb. 21: KPBSD Budget Meeting 5:30 pm

Feb. 23: Basketball vs. Grace Christian 3:30, 5:00, 6:30, 8:00

Feb. 24: Basketball vs. ACS 3:30, 5:00, 6:30, 8:00

There has been a group scamming local Homer businesses. They call themselves HS Backers and they ask local businesses for money to support Homer High School Sports. Homer High doesn't work with this group and we have never received any money from this group.

Protect Yourself!

1. Homer High does not contract with outside companies to do our fundraising!
   
2. You will only deal with students, coaches or booster members with all fundraising activities.
   
3. There will always be a school employee who you can contact about any fundraiser we are doing!
   
4. Call us at 235-4600 if you have any questions about fundraising at HHS.
   

It is time for our second Parent Teacher Conferences of the year! We know it can be hard to find time to attend conferences so Homer High is trying to make this a community event. We want to get as many people in the building as possible.

PTC Schedule

Feb. 8, 2017

• 5:00 - 8:00 pm Evening Parent Teacher Conference Event!

Feb. 9, 2017

• 8:30 - 11:00 (Normal Parent Teacher Conferences)
• 12:00 - 3:00 (Normal Parent Teacher Conferences)

Feb 8th Evening Events:

• Visit with teachers
• Be a judge for our first ever staff chili cook off!
• Enjoy choir and band presentations
• View student work
• Have some cookies and punch
• Learn about scholarships
• Participate in college prep and FAFSA classes
• More...

Due to the reduced 2016 PFD, KPBSD Student Nutrition Services would like to encourage families that may have applied and were denied for free lunches or qualified for reduced lunches but think they may qualify for free lunches to reapply after January 1, 2017.

If you have not applied for free or reduced meal benefits for this school year and would like to know if you qualify, please fill out the application and submit.

Meal benefits applications may be applied for online at kpbsd.k12.ak.us The application is located on the Students/Parents page then scroll down to online meal application or you may pick up an application at any of the KPBSD schools or the Student Nutrition office at 139 E. Park Ave. Soldotna.

The Homer Area is going to a 2 tier busing system for 2017-2018 school year and that means Homer High School will have a different schedule. For the 2017-18 school year HHS will start at 9:00 am and will end at 3:45 pm.

This should have a limited effect on the high school. Athletes will get home a half hour later and some students may miss an additional class if they travel for activities during the week, but there should be minimal disruption. The one sport that may be most affected by this is cross-country skiing since they would lose another 1/2 hour of skiing in daylight.

As a community the Homer area is going to have elementary schools getting out at 2:30 pm every day. Day care, clubs and the return of the Boys & Girls Club will have to fill this void. The area principals are working to make sure everyone is aware of this change and are ready when school starts in August 2017.

One big positive to this change is that our middle and high school students will get an extra 1/2 hour of sleep. There is lots of research that shows that adolescents do better in school when they get more sleep. There are also fewer car accidents from teens when they don't have to drive so early in the morning.

We understand these changes will not be easy for everyone, but if we work as a community we know that Homer will be ready.

We want to say thanks to the American Legion for sponsoring our Winter Carnival Basketball Tournament and to honor people who have served in the military.

That is right! Current and past military members and their families get free admission to the Homer High School Winter Carnival Basketball Tournament February 9-11th. We will will also give them a free bag of popcorn! Come and cheer on the home team while being honored for your service (Please bring military or veterans ID).

Here is the schedule for this year's tournament:

Thursday, February 9, 2017

• 3:30 Girls - Kodiak vs North Pole
• 5:00 Boys - Sitka vs Nikiski
• 6:30 Girls - Homer vs Galena
• 8:00 Boys - Homer vs Galena

Friday, February 10, 2017

• 3:30 Girls - Kodiak vs Galena
• 5:00 Boys - Galena vs Nikiski
• 6:30 Girls - Homer vs North Pole
• 8:00 Boys - Homer vs Sitka

Saturday, February 11, 2017

• 3:30 Girls - Galena vs N. Pole
• 5:00 Boys - Sitka vs Galena
• 6:30 Girls - Homer vs Kodiak
• 8:00 Boys - Homer vs Nikiski

Do you want to be able to track your child's progress at HHS via a PowerSchool App? I think we would all love that and now it is possible. There is a PowerSchool App. Just download the App to your phone and enter this code: FRGJ. Now you can get all the cool information from PowerSchool right on your phone.

NEW SEMESTER

Since academic classes are largely year-long, most students’ schedules don’t change radically during second semester. Hopefully the large majority of HHS students are comfortable with their schedules and are ready for the next challenge. Second semester always seems to go more quickly than first so it’s important for students to stay on top of classes in order to get the credits they need.

SENIORS LAST SEMESTER

This is the last semester for graduating seniors and an extremely busy time for students and parents. Seniors have a lot of things on their plates at this point: college applications, scholarships, senior service hours to complete, athletics, the school musical, AP tests, etc. When parents are able to assist their students to keep on track with deadlines it helps their children be more successful (a simple chart on the fridge door can work wonders!).

Local Scholarships

Local scholarships have begun to trickle in but in the coming weeks, more will be available. It is a good idea for seniors to check every few days to check the new arrivals. Do keep in mind that the “big money” comes from the college itself, so if you think that an offer is not enough to make a school affordable, think about calling or writing to see if more money might be available. Remember that you must have your FAFSA turned in first.

PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES

Counselors and community members will be making presentations at Parent/Teacher conferences in February so stay tuned for more information.

We want to be able to give you instant up-to-date information about what is going on at school. This can include emergencies, sports scores, as well as dates and times of events. To stay tuned to what is going on at Homer High, "like" us on Facebook. The address is www.facebook.com/homerhs. Join close to 600 other people who have liked HHS on Facebook and the over 2000 people who view our Facebook posts.

Homer made a statement at the State Wrestling meet this year. They broke school records and had 5 athletes earn state titles. Great work Mariners:;

Results:

First Place: Luciano Fasulo (106)

First Place: McKenzie Cook (140)

First Place: Timmy Woo (160)

First Place: Jared Brant (138)

First Place:Tristan Cook (170)

Second Place: Wayne Newman (106)

Second Place: Jadin Mann (285)

Second Place: Kyle Wells (195)

Third Place: Alex Mosley (113)

Third Place: Seth Inama (113)

Third Place: Chris Cudaback (152)

Fourth Place: Heather Harrington (220)

Fourth Place: Jaime Rios (160)

Fourth Place: Levi King (182)

Sixth Place: Mose Hayes (132)

Are you wondering when sports teams have home games? Do you have a senior who needs paperwork for their senior service project ? Do you want to see agendas and minutes from our site council meetings? Check out our school website to find answers to these and other questions.

The address is http://homerhighschool.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/wpmu/.

You can access PowerSchool from our website and weekly activities as well. There are lots of great links and valuable information about Homer High School. If you have suggestions for things you would like to see on our website, please talk to Mr. Waclawski.

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