Thursday, December 6, 2018

December 2018: Final exams are coming!


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December is here and so is the end of semester one! Finals are the week of December 18-21, 2018


With the first semester coming to a close, I would like to ask parents and guardians to continue to encourage their students to remain focused and finish strong in their classes. Final exams are right around the corner, but it is still not too late to take advantage of the time we have left. Students can still participate in tutoring, and talk with teachers to get that extra bit of help down the home stretch. 

Final exam days are minimum days and our Finals Week schedule is listed below:

Monday, December 18: Regular Day

Tuesday,  December 18: All offices and teachers unavailable 12:35-2:00 p.m. 

Finals      Period 1 or 7       8:14 - 10:11 
                Break                10:11 - 10:27
                Period 4            10:33 - 12:30

Wednesday,  December 19 

Finals       Period 3            8:14 - 10:11  
                Break              10:11 - 10:27
                Period 5          10:33 - 12:30

Thursday, December 20 – last day of fall semester

Finals        Period 2          8:14 - 10:11
                 Break             10:11 - 10:27
                 Period 6         10:33 - 12:30

Friday, December 21 Teacher and Staff Work Day – No students

I would like to thank our students, parents, guardians, staff, and teachers for a great first half of the school year. Besides all of the impressive work happening inside the classroom, we saw a lot of great achievements by our fall and winter athletes and our performing arts students. I cannot wait to see what the second half of the year has in store for us!

Go Wolf Pack! We are Respectful, Responsible and Honorable

Mrs. Robin Ballarin

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Attention military families and students: Are you aware of the FREE tutoring services online for you via your tutor.com website? In addition to our own tutoring services, these tutoring services are available 24 / 7 for you. Check out the website and see how easy it is to access more support for your academics.




Image result for GradesOur semester ends December 21, 2018.  Please look at your students' grades and talk with them about their progress--both successes and challenges. Please know that our goal is your students' success! Please contact teachers with individual questions about the grades you are viewing as well as ways for your student to improve if they are earning below a "C" in any course. 

There are two weeks left in this semester until final exams-- Final exams are  December 18-21, 2018. Please avoid pulling your student from this week for travel. This is VERY difficult for students to return and "make up" final exams--they typically do not do well and their permanent, final grade on their transcript is often affected negatively.  Our complete bell schedule, including Final exam schedule, is available on our website. 

All students must earn 220 credits to graduate and colleges and universities accept "C" grades and higher. Military careers ask for many of the same requirements so this is a CRITICAL AREA for support and encouragement for our students. Any grade of an "F" must be made up to earn credits towards graduation. Teacher contact information,  as well as Guidance information and our tutorial schedule,  may be found on our website at wolfpack.guhsd.net.


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  • SENIORS: The season for most 4 year college application deadlines is coming to a close, but we strongly encourage students to work on their community college applications now to take advantage of priority registration opportunities.
  • California State University (CSU) system has extended their application deadline to December 15 (SDSU, San Marcos State, CSU Chico State, etc) Our Counselors have ADDED more tutorial sessions to help Seniors with any and all applications and the FAFSA. (see below)
    • Grossmont/Cuyamaca College Applications available now! Visit: https://www.gcccd.edu/home-content/default.html to apply.
    • College application tutorials are available Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 2 - 3 pm in the Career Center room L-1 through December 12.

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    Senior Memory Ads make a great gift!
    If you are looking for a meaningful present for your senior, consider a senior memory ad.  Prices start at $30.  The deadline is Feb 20, 2019 or whenever we sell out of space.  
    Also, please be aware that we have sold out of yearbooks the past three years.  You can reserve one for your senior at yearbookforever.com for $80.

    Bank of America Student Leaders Program
    The Student Leaders program from Bank of America connects qualifying high school juniors and seniors with paid summer internships that have a focus on serving the community.

    In addition to an eight-week internship working with a local nonprofit, each student will attend the Student Leaders Summit in July 2019 in Washington, D.C., with travel expenses paid by the program.

    Click here to learn more. To download a flyer, click here. The application period closes Feb. 1.

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The West Hills Performing Arts Department has been busy with concerts, competitions, and our terrific run of the musical "Guys and Dolls"! Our programs are OUTSTANDING and doing SO MUCH...it is often hard to keep up with them



Beginning and Intermediate Guitar Concert: Thursday, Dec. 6, 7:00 p.m.

Our Guitar program is one of the absolute best in the county, and it shows in the pieces the students play come together beautifully.

Advanced Guitar and String Orchestra: Saturday, Dec. 9, 7:00 p.m.

The West Hills High School String Orchestra is a wonderfully close-knit family! The year is off to a great start as this talented group of experienced players and beginners alike work together to create beautiful sound.

Winter Band Concert: Tuesday, Dec. 11, 7:00 p.m.

Winter Choral Concert: Friday, Dec. 14, 7:00 p.m.


Bob Guess Theater for the Performing Arts

8756 Mast Blvd. Santee, Ca. 92071

$10.00 adults; & students w/out ASB sticker, $8 .00 students w/ASB
Children 5 and under free






West Hills AVID students led the campus in  participating in Channel 933's "Big Thank You", a letter-writing campaign focusing on sending deployed troops notes of gratitude and holiday spirit. In total, our Wolf Pack students and staff wrote nearly 550 letters that were mailed off to the troops in time for Thanksgiving. 

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Field Trip to Costa Rica

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Jodi Kohler  (Math teacher) is coordinating our Summer 2019 Costa Rica trip. Please see her in room M8 or go to  www.worldstrides.com/signup for more information.  Our trip ID is 159819. All current students with a 2.0 or better and in good academic and behavioral standing (no suspensions, etc.), with an interest in ecology and trave, l are welcome to attend. 


Homeless Club collects over 1100 pairs of Socks!
Thank you students and parents for donating new socks to benefit the homeless! 
Applying the "West Hills Way" to real world problems is where our students shine!





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The Art Department volunteered their time and resources to help our 9th and 10th grade AVID students learn how to appropriately grid and scale large drawings. This will help us accurately balance and size our University Logo Chalk Art around campus, to be completed and enjoyed once the weather wishes to cooperate. Thanks, Mr. VanDyke and Mr. Goodman!

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Join the free resource for information if WHHS has urgent information for you regarding an EMERGENCY or for a timely TRAFFIC update. Text @bf6c9d to 81010 from your cell phone to join. This is a "one way" messenger only and you control if you want to continue receiving the texts or not.

Disaster Preparedness Plan for People Needing Special Assistance and Their Caregivers

Helen Davis, Special Education teacher participating in a County of San Diego initiative to provide resources and plans in the case of a natural disaster has shared the County Resource book filled with ideas and information for anyone in need of assistance. It is never too early to plan!


And now...SPORTS!


From left to right:Tara Bandi, Alyssa Borbolla, Alainna Bolton,
Coach Peterson,Haley Tritthart, Victoria Nease, and Sierra Streit

Congratulations to the 2018 West Hills Girls' Golf team for an outstanding season.  The Wolf Pack finished the season with a 13-1 record and a Grossmont Hills League Championship.  

Varsity Football

The Wolf Pack finished the 2018 campaign with an 8-3 record.  The season got off to a fast start with a 4-0 record and highlights included winning a 7th straight Jack Dale Cup match-up against the Santana Sultans, competing against Monte Vista for the Grossmont Valley League championship on the final night of the regular season, and participating in the Division 3 playoffs. At the conclusion of the season, Jordin Young, Nathan Jones, Hunter Gauthier, Jake Maheu, and Jack Browning were recognized as 1st Team All-League performers.  Game stories, statistics, and more can be found on eastcountysports.commaxpreps.com, and sandiegouniontribune.com.

Freshman football wins 7-0 against MV! Congratulations to our LEAGUE CHAMPIONS 🐺🏈

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EAST COUNTY PREP BASKETBALL: Late coach JEFF ARMSTRONG would've been proud of Wolf Pack's season-opening win on Wednesday night...




West Hills College Signing of athletes from Winter Sports....

College signing day! F.Burnsworth; CBockstahler ;BFlores; GCreighton; TGomez all commit! Go Wolf Pack!



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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!



Connect with the library: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

December Calendar: Appreciating the gifts of being part of the Pack! (bit.ly/dec2018challenge) - With the help of some student aides, we took time to dedicate our December calendar to thanking members of the Pack. Feel free to print your own copy and follow along!

Design and Robotics Exploration - Mr. Knopp’s students have helped us further develop our school’s Maker Hub offerings by applying design thinking and experimenting with robots, which were generously donated to West Hills by the OtterCares Foundation last spring. We are excited to continue this collaborative exploration together!

In Remembrance of Stan Lee Display - Upon hearing of Stan Lee’s death, a student deeply inspired by his work created this library display built around the idea shared in Spiderman 3 that “one person can make a difference.” In our library, many students enjoy checking out books from our Graphica section that includes comics, graphic novels, and manga. Curious about their value? Check out some of these articles:

AVID’s College & Career Corner - Next time you’re in the library, make sure to see the expanding College & Career Corner, which was inspired by our AVID team. Thank you to students who added the pennant decor, to teachers and staff who shared where they went to college (students are enjoying this!), to Ms. Carson for preparing the labels and hand-drawing the maps, and to student aides for putting the final map display all together!

Student Writing and Art Contests
2019 Ninth Circuit Civics Contest  

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The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is again offering a civics contest for high school students. The theme for 2019 focuses on the 4th Amendment with the prompt, "What is an 'Unreasonable Search and Seizure' in the Digital Age?"

The Southern District of California will announce the local winners who will then go on to compete at the circuit level. Contest winners could receive up to $2,000. 

Contest rules and entry instructions will be posted on Jan. 2. Click here to view.

To help with planning, teachers can request an attorney or judge come and speak to their students about the topic. Contact Kathleen Walford for more information.
Holocaust Art and Writing Contest

Chapman University's Rodgers Center for Holocaust Education is offering middle and high school students an opportunity to participate in the 20th annual Holocaust Art and Writing Contest.

Entries can be submitted in one of four categories: art, film, poetry, and prose. The projects entered must be based on the video testimonies from Holocaust survivors available on the approved websites listed in the contest rules.

Click here to learn more, and download an Educator's Guide here. The submission deadline is Feb. 1.
Envision 2019 Conference for High School Girls

The UCSD Society of Women Engineers (SWE) welcomes high school girls ages 14 to 18 to learn about the exciting career possibilities in STEM at the SWE Envision 2019 Conference on Feb. 2 at Jacobs Hall in UCSD.
Students will participate in hands-on computer programming activities, see a STEM project fair, hear speakers from industry and academia, and have a chance to be mentored by engineering undergraduates. There will be a parallel parent-educator session that includes discussion about financial aid and a student-parent panel.  
The conference will be from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Registration is free. Click here for more information and to register.

Contact the planning committee at swe.envision.outreach@gmail.com with any questions.




Go Wolf Pack! 

The "Wolf Call" is a monthly news blog for students, parents and community partners.