WHHHS Update
Welcome back from Spring Break! We have hit the ground running by jumping into State Testing with this past Wednesday’s English II End-of-Course Exam, and we are excited about celebrating Prom and After Prom tomorrow night with over 600 students! Please don’t forget that SLSD is closed on Monday, April 8 due to the solar eclipse; Diamond Oaks has also closed their campus on Monday 4/8 as well.
Please see below for some important updates and information.
Community Engagement Update
In the last few years, we've made it a priority to try and get every student in the district to participate in at least one extracurricular activity. During our town halls this year, we heard a lot of participants who wanted to see more involvement and more opportunities for our students. We continue to strive for 100% participation, and we are making great progress! We've seen increased participation across all of our buildings, and as a district, we went from 88.9% participation last school year, to nearly 93% participation this year. At the high school, we were at 86.1% participation at the start of the fourth quarter.
We want all of our students to thrive inside AND outside of the classroom. Involvement in these activities is critical in development of discipline and paving a path to success for all our SLSD students. We will continue to push for our goal of 100% participation with your help on the home front. Have ideas for other extracurricular activities we could add to the options we provide students? Let us know your thoughts!
Finally, our facility tours continue in April, and we encourage you to sign up to attend! You can RSVP below:
April 29th at 7:00 PM at Miami Whitewater Elementary
We're listening. We're learning. We're acting.
Prom – Saturday 4/6
The 2024 Prom is finally here! We are looking forward to a memorable evening at the Museum Center tomorrow night as well as a great After Prom at The Place. Thank you to all of the volunteers who have helped make this night possible. As a reminder, all Prom attendees check-in at school and must ride the busses from school to the Museum Center and then from the Museum Center back to either school or After Prom; students at After Prom must then ride busses back to school. No student can be picked up or dismissed from the Museum Center or The Place. We shared this information, as well as the timeline for the evening, with students yesterday during Advisory, and the information was also shared in the grade level Microsoft Teams pages for students who are not on the Harrison High School campus. Check-in will be at the high school from 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM with Prom running from 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM and After Prom from 11:30 PM – 2:00 AM.
Be Kind Harrison Business Clothing Closet
Be Kind Harrison is partnering with us to launch a Business Clothing Closet to provide Harrison students with clothing to help them “dress their best” for job interviews, presentations and formal occasions like Coronation and Graduation! The collection will be on-going, but our Student Council will be launching a drive during the two weeks after Spring Break to help stock the closet for Graduation and post-graduation hiring. They are also collecting caps and gowns to loan to students as needed as well. If your spring cleaning has turned up some items to donate, please be on the lookout for additional information coming soon!
State Testing Information
As we are now in the fourth quarter, we are approaching that time of year where we conduct our annual state testing. We will begin state testing the week we return from Spring Break. We will follow last year’s schedule in which any student not taking the test for English/Language Arts or Mathematics will not report to school on that testing day and instead work remotely; the Social Studies and Science tests later in April/May will be on a two-hour testing schedule where all students will report to school at staggered start times.
Here is the remaining testing schedule at a glance:
WEDS 4/24: ALGEBRA I/GEOMETRY (all testers report to school by 8:00 AM, non-testers will work remotely)
TUES 4/30: US HISTORY/AMER GOVT (all testers report to school by 8:00, non-testers report by 10:05)
THURS 5/2: BIOLOGY (all testers report to school by 8:00, non-testers report by 10:05)
We will continue to communicate testing information in weekly emails to families.
Please contact the Main Office with any questions.
Wildcats Care Fundraiser – Saturday 4/27
We will be hosting the first annual “Junk in the Trunk” rummage sale/vendor market at Crosby Elementary on Saturday, April 27 from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM. Sellers/vendors keep 100% of their sales and all rental proceeds go to Wildcats Care. Please see the attached flyer for more information; for more information on Wildcats Care, please click here.
New Mental Health Resources for Parents/Guardians
We are pleased to offer a FREE and confidential website for families, ParentGuidance.org. This site was developed by licensed therapists that provides trusted and specialized courses, professional support, and a safe community for parents, to learn how to support your child. Parents can also get answers to mental health questions, including anxiety, depression, self-worth, grief and loss, suicide ideation, family strife and other mental health concerns. Popular courses you may want to explore are: “Parenting with a Purpose” and “Unlocking your Inner Parent Superhero.” The courses within ParentGuidance.org will provide you with tools to form stronger bonds with your children. You and your child’s mental health are important to us! Additionally, you also have access to FREE webinars developed by licensed therapists. These are virtual and anonymous. Please see the flyer linked at the bottom of this email for the dates, times and links of these offerings.
Tutoring is Available
The National Honor Society has started their weekly tutoring sessions. Every Tuesday and Thursday starting at 7:15 AM, the National Honor Society students will be available for free tutoring for anyone who needs help. There’s no need to sign up in advance, just show up to Room 104 (Mrs. Siemer’s room), and let the NHS students help you with any subject you need. Please reach out to Mrs. Siemer if you have any questions.
Check Out The Paw Print – Harrison’s Online Student News Site
Mrs. Evanson’s Journalism class has been working hard, and they have launched an online news site entitled “The Paw Print.” Please be sure to check it out at https://harrisonpawprint.org/.
Drama Club - Spring Musical
William Henry Harrison High School’s Creative Arts Theatre presents Legally Blonde The Musical, Friday April 12th at 7:00 PM, and Saturday, April 13th at 2:00 PM & 7:00 PM!
Purchase your tickets here: https://www.locallevelevents.com/events/details/32853
We’re Positive you won’t want to miss it!
School Fees
School fees are posted to our students’ accounts. If you have not done so already, please take care of these obligations right away. Directions for how to log on and pay student fees can be found here. Thank you for your attention to this information!
Junior/Senior College Information
Seniors received instruction on how to complete transcript requests in Naviance on Thursday, August 31st during Advisory. The slide show is available for viewing on both the Guidance page of the school’s website and on the Class of 2024 Teams page. Students at Diamond Oaks/Scarlet Oaks received the same instruction during their individual meetings when their Harrison counselor visited.
Juniors and Seniors interested in visiting a college campus can sign up on that college’s website. We need a parent note stating the day and time of the visit. Please bring this note to the guidance office several days prior to your visit.
Senior Scholarship information
All seniors have access to Naviance. There is a scholarship section where the guidance office frequently uploads scholarship applications. We encourage all seniors to review the scholarships available and apply. If you have any questions, reach out to connie.acra@southwestschools.org
Senior FAFSA Information
There have been recent changes with FAFSA. Your FSA ID can be obtained at FAFSA.gov and register for an FSA ID if you do not already have one. Every student will need their own FSA ID to apply for FAFSA as well as anyone that is considered a “contributor”. A “contributor” would be a spouse/parent/guardian of the student. In the past only one parent had to get an FSA ID even if the parents were married, now married parents BOTH must have their own FSA ID. (If the parents are not married/living together, then the parent that provides the most financial support must be the contributor) You must have different email addresses and phone numbers to register for the FSA ID, you cannot use the same email address or phone number when registering. By having your FSA ID registered and ready, the student and parent/guardian can immediately fill out and submit the FAFSA.
Seniors attended a FAFSA Financial Aid package presentation on March 7th, during Advisory. Topics covered included award letters, types of financial awards, interest rates, and tips on smart borrowing. Please know that with the rollout of the new FAFSA application, the government has announced delays in financial aid award notification. Many schools are pushing back their decision days due to this, check with each school to see if any decisions dates have been moved.
PTO/Booster Organizations
We would like to invite you to join the Harrison Junior/Senior High PTO as well as our Booster organizations. You can visit https://harrisonjrsrpto.membershiptoolkit.com/home to join the PTO, https://harrisonwildcats.membershiptoolkit.com/Home to join the Athletic Boosters, https://www.harrisonmusicboosters.com/ to join the Music Boosters and the Harrison CAT Boosters’ page to support the Vocal and Drama programs.
UPCOMING DATES
SAT 4/6: PROM
MON 4/8: NO SCHOOL/SOLAR ECLIPSE
FRI 4/12: LEGALLY BLONDE 7:00 PM
SAT 4/13: LEGALLY BLONDE 2:00 PM & 7:00 PM
WEDS 4/24: ALGEBRA I & GEOMETRY STATE TESTING (ALL STUDENTS NOT TESTING ARE REMOTE)
SAT 4/27: WILDCATS CARE “JUNK IN THE TRUNK” FUNDRAISER 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Please feel free to contact us with questions. Thank you and have a great weekend!
Go Wildcats!
Joe Pollitt
Principal
William Henry Harrison High School
SLSD Participation
Business Clothing Closet
Junk in the Trunk Flyer
Mental Health Information