Happy New Year everyone and welcome back to school!  I hope you had a festive holiday season with family and friends and are ready for all the joy and challenges 2015 will bring to us all.

Waimea HS received two awesome gifts over the Christmas break:

1.        WHS and our feeder schools – Waimea Canyon MS, Eleele, and Kekaha Schools – will be visited by Duke University’s traveling science show, called ‘The Darwin Roadshow.’  The North Carolina scientists will be on campus during the day on Wednesday February 18^th to do an all-school assembly.  That same evening, we will open up the gym at 5:30 pm and invite the entire community to come and participate in this once in a lifetime opportunity to see this outstanding science exhibit.

2.       WHS will receive a “Not Even Once” mural painted by Trysen Kaneshige in March 2015.  Trysen painted the “Believe in Your Dreams” mural at Kauai HS as his senior project two years ago.  Since then, he’s painted four other murals at schools on Oahu, Kauai, and Molokai while still managing to attend college full time on the mainland.  The theme “Not Even Once” encourages students to choose a drug-free lifestyle.

You will be receiving your student’s semester 1/quarter 2 grades shortly.  Please take time to sit down with your son or daughter and review not only their academic grade but their GLO marks as well.  The GLOs that all students are receiving grades on – self-directed learner and community contributor – are critical skills that we believe all students must develop before leaving WHS and heading off for more school, the military, or work.  You will notice that academic grades and GLO marks are closely related… students who are focused and conscientious about their education receive good grades.  Students who are conscious of how their words, actions, and attitudes affect others rarely receive referrals or get into trouble at school. 

You will also be receiving a packet of information about the new Smarter Balanced Assessment tests that our juniors will be taking this April.  These tests are considerably more rigorous and longer (8 hours to complete) than any testing our students have been exposed to previously.  They will be doing more writing and will have to justify their responses by pulling information from multiple sources of information.  They will have multiple choice questions that will have multiple correct answers.  They will have to manipulate data and make conclusions based on that data.  Even if you don’t have a junior, please read the packet carefully as there will be suggestions on how parents can best support and help prepare their students for these new tests.

Finally, please be sure to scroll through the calendar in the right hand column of my blog…. You will find upcoming school events that you can add to your personal or family calendar.

Have a great week everyone; here’s your announcements.

Mrs. Anguay  J

Staff Bulletin for week of January 12, 2015

Monday January 12, 2015 – Teacher Professional Development Day

·         7:45 am start in the LRC with consultant, Tom Schimmer.  Please bring a snack to share, something to write with

Tuesday January 13, 2015

·         1:45 – 2:45: Faculty meeting in LRC.  Please bring your laptop

·         5:30 pm, Girls BB at Kapaa.  JV game first, then varsity

·         6 – 8:30 pm – LRC open for students and credit recovery; math tutor available

Wednesday January 14, 2015

·         5 pm, Varsity Boys soccer v. Kauai HS at Hanapepe Stadium. 

·         7 pm, Varsity Girls soccer v. Kauai HS at Hanapepe Stadium

Thursday January 15, 2015

·         ELL teachers at district workshop

·         KCC advisory visit to Baker’s class

·         Department Head Meeting, pd. 7

·         1:45 pm, SPED teacher meeting with Anguay at SPED office

·         5 pm JV Boys soccer v. Kauai HS at Hanapepe Stadium

·         7 pm, JV Girls’ soccer v. Kauai HS at Hanapepe Stadium

·         6 – 8:30 pm – LRC open for students and credit recovery; math tutor available

Friday January 16, 2015

·         ELL teachers at district workshop

·         5:30 pm, Girls BB at Waimea.  JV game first, then varsity

Saturday January 17, 2015

·         9 am – Paddling #5 @ Wailua River

·         10 am – KIF swimming at Kapaa Pool

·         10 am Varsity Boys soccer v. Island School @ Island School

·         12 pm Varsity Girls soccer v. Island School @ Island School

·         5 pm, Boy’s BB at Kapaa.  JV game first, then varsity

                                                                                                                                                               

Campus Supervision

Assigned campus area	Team 6	Team 6	Team 1	Team 1
·         Upper campus (preschool/J/I)	Jan 13, 14, 15	Moises	Jan 16	Uyehara Camara
·         library		Evens		Saligumba
·         front lawn/outside cafe		Matsuyama		Naumu
·         S/T/U courtyard		Kellogg		Rose
·         AR room (ELA teachers)		Bush		Matsumura