Consolidated School Improvement Plans - Congratulations to Director Jarnecke, Principal Tenney, and Principal Widener for completing their Consolidated School Improvement Plans. The Harrah team did such a fantastic job on their plan that OSPI has asked permission if Harrah's Consolidated School Improvement Plan can be used as an exemplar for other schools! This is great news!
Student and Staff safety on the Harrah Campus - The safety of all students on the Harrah Campus is a top priority. The construction site will be active during the first half of the 2023-2024 school year and the following protocol will be in effect until construction is complete.
● The construction site has one point of entry. The entry gate will be closed during school hours.
● The construction site will maintain the 6 ft. perimeter fence so that it is secured.
● At any time an air horn is blown, construction equipment will stop immediately.
● Construction workers will use the East Entrance to come and go on campus. They will not travel behind the school building to the other exit.
The Harrah Campus Welcomes Students! Principal Widner reports, “What a great start to a new year, even with the schedule changes. The staff rallied and adjusted to the new schedule and made it a great start for our students.
Harrah Campus Teaches Students campus expectations - Teachers and staff are working diligently to teach expectations and procedures and then positively rewarding students for meeting those expectations. This concentrated effort on teaching expectations will occur for the next couple of weeks. It is a research-based strategy that the more time devoted to modeling and giving students time to practice what is expected up front will capture that time later and give back instructional time later in the year. It is well worth the time academically but also, more importantly, it helps create a safe environment for students to learn in throughout the day.
Interest-based Classes Offered for MAMS Students - Mt. Adams Middle School students started their exploratory classes this week. Smiles and laughter were observed by many. Teachers are working with small groups on these student interest-based classes, including expectations for Social Emotional Learning.
Students Exhibit Excellent Behavior on the Bus! A big thank you to the transportation department for their efforts in supporting students with positive behavior on the bus. We are planning many ways for the drivers and the students to develop relationships this year. Bus drivers are the first and last people that our students interact with daily and they are a vital part of our school system. We are looking forward to building our partnership.
Hip-Hop at White Swan Campus – Principal Tenney reports, “We started our year off strong!” On Tuesday the students were treated to two motivational speakers named Burt and Navs from Genius Potential. They entertained the students with some hip-hop and a message of kindness and creating a successful future. As usual, our White Swan students were an excellent audience!
Positive Behavioral Intervention - This week at the High School, students moved throughout the campus to learn the PBIS expected behaviors for each location. Then they gathered in the gym to get their "passport" filled out. Students were asked to talk to every teacher about what subject they taught and get a stamp on their passport. The completed passport is their ticket to an off-campus lunch on Friday, although, if they leave they will miss out on some delicious cheese pizza.
What’s the Door Competition? White Swan students also participated in a door competition with their Cougar Connection class. This year our theme is "I will show more commitment to..... "As a class, the students decided what they would commit to and then decorated the classroom doors. One class committed to showing more commitment to attendance, another school spirit, and another to friendship.
Thankful Thursday - Thursday of this week was "Thankful Thursday". White Swan students wrote and delivered one thank you note to someone they are thankful for on campus. Also on Thursday each class held a meeting and elected their officers for the year.
A Half-Full day on Friday - On Friday, August 18 White Swan students will follow their full schedule and go to all seven of their classes. This will prepare them for Monday, August 21 when full-day school returns to Mt. Adams School District.
August Board Meeting – The August Board meeting will be held on Monday, August 21, 2023 in the White Swan High School Library. The regular meeting begins at 6:00 pm. Starting at 5:00 pm the District Admin Team will be presenting Learning and Achievement data from last school year. Students have made some pretty large gains year-over-year. I hope you will be able to attend and learn about what a great job our teachers and staff are doing related to our new Vision, that “ALL students will graduate from White Swan High School ready for life!”
The Heat has Lifted – The District would like to thank all of the parents and families of our communities for your flexibility this week. This heatwave has passed, no one fainted or passed out from the heat on the way home from school, and next week, we are full speed ahead. Also, a big shout out especially to our Mt. Adams Transportation Department and Kitchen Staff who had to make the biggest adjustment to make sure that all students are safe and well fed!