Saturday, March 16, 2019

March



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The mission of West Hills High School is to graduate critical thinkers and problem-solvers who contribute positively to society as productive, responsible citizens.



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Mrs. Robin Ballarin

Thank you to more than 600 parents who were able to attend our PACK Day on Friday, March 1! We hope you enjoyed a glimpse into your students' West Hills world.
We have a lot going on in the next few months of school and look forward to continued good success with our students! Beginning April 1, we have two weeks of mandated state testing. Every student was given a paper copy of the schedule  in their period 3 class (extras are with teachers, front office staff if anyone needs another paper copy). We know this is a confusing schedule and appreciate your patience and support. None of us would "choose" to do  these two weeks this way unless we had to due to state required testing windows, length and variety of tests and required grades involved. If you have any questions or concerns about this schedule, please contact Assistant Principal Mr. John Hoadley at 619-956-0400 or jlhoadley@guhsd.net.  By law, we must test 95% or more of each grade required, thus we will be following up with students if they miss any portion of these tests. While  this testing schedule is unusual, it does provide critical student performance data we use to serve our students and give parents information about their students academic progress, but more importantly, it gives us actionable data about the needs of our students and how we better serve them and their peers in the future. 


Image result for Golden Star VolunteerWe are proud to announce that 
Mrs. Hala Totah (below) is our 2018-19 Grossmont District "Gold Star Volunteer of the Year". Hala has had three students graduate from the Wolf Pack and been involved as a parent on campus since 2008. She has been a pivotal volunteer within the PTSA as well as within the Boys Basketball Program for all of these years. In addition, for 11 years, she has sold tickets at football games, worked our school dances, been at HOWL Parent nights, staffed School Business Day, Chaired the PTSA "Supply Day", organized the Rummage Sales to raise funds for the Senior Scholarship and so much more.  She will be honored with other GUHSD volunteers in a  special  Board awards night on May 6 here at West Hills . Thank you  Hala and your entire family for all you do for the Wolf Pack!









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PTSA thanks everyone who donate items or funds / gift cards for Supply Day! Teachers and staff really appreciate YOU and thank you for your generosity!

Seniors: If you are a member of PTSA, keep an eye on the Counseling Scholarship page. PTSA sponsors scholarships each year for deserving Seniors but you have to be a PTSA member to apply AND you have to complete the application and turn it in. PTSA membership forms are in the main Admin building in reception.

Did you know that if you shop at smile.amazon.com and choose "whhs PTSA", Amazon will donate a portion of your purchase (at no cost to yourself) to WHHS? smile.amazon.com is the same exact pricing and website as the traditional Amazon url but it allows you to select a non-profit organization for Amazon to support. Please "share" with family and friends and help WHHS!


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Sponsored entirely by the PTSA, the Class of 2019 GRAD BASH at Universal Studios is happening!  Please check out the information at the PTSA website for a GREAT night of fun for our Class of 2019 after graduation day! 


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The WHHS PTSA is 
organizing 
SPRING
Rummage Sale... 
it's a win-win-win!
Get rid of things you

don't need...

shop for bargains...

support West Hills!




   Saturday April 6 - 7am - 12pm

 West Hills East Parking Lots
(Senior and Teacher)


We will take your donations:



We are accepting gently used, working, clean items. (Clothing, books, toys, games, tools, holiday-decor- household items and more.)

Tax Receipts will be available.

  (acceptance of donated items is subject to review by the PTSA Board)

HAVE A QUESTION? 
Have bulky items in need of pick up? Want to help?

Want to ask about specific items for donation?

Please contact Hala Totah: 
619-379-1477  



Please click on this link if you can not view this well.


    

Make a International Student's Dream Come True!!
Looking for host families at West Hills High School.
Learn about another country without leaving your home.
For more information call Karen Toledo @844-723-7403.


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Please join me in congratulating Mr. Pete Mergens, Math Chair and wonderful teacher selected as our "Teacher of the Year"!  With 32 years teaching experience, Mr. Mergens has been and continues to be a district leader in math education, writing and piloting curriculum in the new Integrated Math I course and is consistently involved, if not leading, math articulation with the Santee School District and the Grossmont-Cuyumaca Community College District. He has served for many years on the District Curriculum Master Plan Steering Committee, and is a pivotal participant in our Department Chair and Leadership Team. He also "bleeds Silver, Blue and Black" and exemplifies the "West Hills Way", dedicated and focused on the needs of students, and their all-around success. Congratulations Mr. Mergens...we are lucky to have you on faculty! 





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The annual National College Fair in San Diego will be held on Thursday, April 18th at the San Diego Convention Center. This is a free opportunity for students to start their college search. The College Fair has hundreds of admission representatives from schools across the country all gathered in one place. Register here




Seniors and Juniors: Keep an eye on theCounseling Scholarship page.  This links to a spreadsheet so look at the bottom tabs to look for scholarships by due date month. 

For current grade level specific activities please check this edition of the Counselor's Corner. Counselors have presented in all current grade 9, 10, and 11 classrooms and given students information about selecting courses for next year. Parents and Guardians should have seen these "wish lists" coming home and asked to sign so the student can return them with their class mates to their counselor during an appointed class period. Please remember, our bell schedule day is 7:15-2:47 and students may be scheduled at any point during those hours. Our master schedule is developed from a complex matrix of student needs / choice, school enrollment and attendance that funds our programs, and teacher contractual obligations. For these reasons, we can not "guarantee" any start times or that siblings will be on the same schedule.


"You Have Potential" Assembly review
On February 19, West Hills held a special assembly to remember Coach Jeff Armstrong who passed away unexpectedly in October. He had played with the "Washington Generals" for four years  in the Harlem Globetrotter organization and they wanted to retire his jersey. We wanted to use what Coach cared about the most --everyone's potential-- and recognize and congratulate our Honor Roll, Perfect Attendance, and Alpha Plus students. With exceptional original video from Derek Adkins and Nick Hammond, and the contributions of Shane Johnson as the student MC, we celebrated everyone's potential and Jeff's unique contributions with his family, friends and the entire school body. 


Mrs. Renata Armstrong accepting Jeff's "Washington Generals" jersey

Students trying to keep up with a Globetrotter


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We are proud of all of our teams and here are some updates
on some notable accomplishments:

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We are THRILLED to announce our newest CIF Champions in 
GIRLS SOCCER!
In rainy conditions, the Wolf Pack  defeated the Mira Costa Mustangs of Manhattan Beach 2-1 to win the Southern State Championship! 
With Superintendent Glover in attendance along with about 200 other fans and supporters, the game was fast paced and played with grit and determination! Please congratulate ALL of the girls in the soccer program for a phenomenal season! 




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To Boy's Soccer for WINNING CIF Division III Championship  against Central High, 2-1.
What a great season and THANK YOU coaches, parents and community members for supporting this team!
News from our Wrestling program...

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Congratulations to Saul Sanchez for taking 2nd place in all of San Diego and qualifying for the California State Championship tournament!!!

Saul went on to winning third in the State in his weight class! Congratulations Saul!

Huge congratulations to our wrestlers that were selected for the all league honors:
1st team All Grossmont league
Norman Stone
Jake Maheu
Eddie Marquis
Saul Sanchez
2nd team All Grossmont League
Allyson Byus
William Funes
Travis Byrd
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We are very proud to announce the following athletes are "All CIF" and were honored at Petco Park on March 12.

WEST HILLS
Rian Stiles, Boys Soccer
Fallon Burnworth, Girls Water Polo
Gianna Creighton, Girls Soccer / San Diego Union Tribune "All Academic Team Captain", Girls Soccer 
Taylor Gomez, Girls Soccer

Congratulations to all teams and sports who competed this winter season! We also thank all parents, grandparents, guardians, family and friends who continue to support athletics and our athletes!





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In February, AVID students visited UC San Diego as part of its commitment to expose students to university life every semester. Students toured the sprawling campus, participated in a Q & A panel with current students and admissions officers, and found inspiration to pursue their academics beyond high school. 




On March 7th, 9 WHHS student ambassadors from the AVID program were nominated to attend the GUHSD AVID Student Leadership Conference. Nine schools brought a total of 90 students to gather, collaborate, and foster positive relationships. In keeping with this year's theme of Social Media, students were tasked with recognizing their role and potential as a media influencer and this message was brought home with an activity and lecture by San Diego City College professor Nicole Vargas. Check out #thisisavid to view more fun photos from this annual event!





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This summer will see A LOT on construction on campus again like last summer. Thank you Prop U and Measure BB!

(1) Every building is getting additional work done on the roofs with installation of more equipment for the HVAC systems to work better. 

(2) Both the boys and girls locker rooms and the team rooms in the Gym are getting replaced, repaired, and repainted in a variety of ways.

(3) A variety of electrical for lighting repairs is on-going and will be completed this summer.

(4) Faculty and Staff parking lots in the front of school will be repaired, repaved, repainted and the RESERVED signs will be refreshed by the pavement company (may happen at Spring Break rather than summer..TBD)

What does this mean for parents and students? 
Summer School, June 10-28 will be on campus but centralized in two buildings--math and science. The Guidance, Library, and Performing Arts buildings will be entirely closed and any staff working from those departments will be in temporary space near the Administration building. (All phone numbers remain the same). 

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The yearbook will be done this month, and we are looking forward to selling out again.  There are only a few hundred books left.  Reserve yours at yearbookforever.com, the ASB webstore, or Finance Office for $80.  Due to returns, we also have a few books from 2018, 2017, and 2016 available for $25.  These can be purchased via the ASB webstore or Finance Office.  Please contact us at westhillsyearbook@guhsd.net to check availability.  

World War II Living History with 
Mr. Dan Sutton and colleagues this past Friday



Image result for infinite campus parent portalParent Portal assistance is available from our staff by calling us at 619-956-0400. There is also a Campus Portal App for SmartPhones. We can assist you with this as well IF you already have your parent account set up with your login and password. If you need technical assistance you can also call our District  ETS office Monday - Friday  7:00 AM - 4:00PM at (619) 956-4357. 

Newly added ability to get Infinite Campus on your SmartPhone...make sure you have the right app by following the directions below:

Infinite Campus Portal App "Campus Parent" and "Campus Student"

   Campus Parent AppCampus Student App
  • You must set up your Campus Portal account BEFORE you can use the App on your Smartphone.
  • Search the App Store for the Campus Parent app and download
  • District Name = Grossmont
  • Enter your username and password that you have already set up





As always, check out our website for lots of information. Go Wolf Pack!