Thank you so much for a great first semester!  The first half of the year has gone very quickly, and we’ve had a lot to recognize and celebrate along the way, in terms of both academics and extracurricular activities.  During the first semester, we used our PBIS cards to recognize our students living our core values of Trust, Respect, Ownership, and Leadership 1109 different times among 869 different students; that is over two-thirds of the students on the high school campus!

We are excited to begin the second half of the year, which will go just as quickly, as we celebrate the Class of 2024, wrap up the 2023-2024 school year, and plan for the 2024-2025 school year. 

As a reminder, teachers will be entering grades up until Wednesday, January 3 and official grades will be posted shortly thereafter.

Please see below for some important information and updates.

2024 Prom Attendance Requirement
As we did with our 2023 Prom and with our most recent Coronation, we will have an attendance requirement for Prom in April.  To be eligible to attend Prom, a student can have no more than six (6) UNEXCUSED absences from school from 1/3/24 – 4/5/24.  Absences with appropriate medical or other third-party documentation do not count as unexcused absences.  Please contact the office with any questions.  We will address this with the juniors and seniors when we return from Winter Break.

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/.

School Fees
School fees are now posted to our students’ accounts.  Directions for how to log on and pay student fees are attached to this email.  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 31^st 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 and it looks like it should be ready around December 31^st.  You can get ready for the launch of the new FAFSA by going onto FAFSA.gov and registering 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 “contributer”.  A “contributer” 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 contributer) 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.

Athletic Booster Sport Stag – Thurs 2/22/24
Harrison Athletic Boosters is excited to announce its annual Sports Stag, featuring Hall of Fame broadcaster Marty Brennaman and host on Chatterbox Sports, Thom Brennaman. This event will be February 22, 2024 from 6:00 -11:00 PM at Harrison Blue Note.

For tickets or sponsorship information go to harrisonathleticboosters.com or email harrisonathleticstag@gmail.com.

Harrison Night at the Cincinnati Cyclones – Sat 3/23/24
The Harrison Jr. Sr. High PTO is hosting Harrison Night on Saturday, March 23!  The Acapella group and the Sign Language will be singing/signing God Bless America, and the Band Boosters are doing the Split the Pot!  A portion of each ticket sold through our link is donated to our PTO!  Buy your tickets here:  Cincinnati Cyclones

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:
THURS 12/21 – TUES 1/2 – WINTER BREAK/NO SCHOOL (MAIN OFFICE CLOSED)
WEDS 1/3 – SCHOOL RE-OPENS
MON 1/15 – DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY/NO SCHOOL

Please feel free to contact us with questions.  Thank you and have safe and relaxing Winter Break!

Go Wildcats!

Joe Pollitt
Principal
William Henry Harrison High School

Paying Fees Online