January Newsletter

After a long break, it's hard to get back into your work schedule. Make sure that you set your alarm- NO EXCUSES- Yep! you'll be sleepy, but push ahead. Your brain will get back into the schedule quickly. Don't tell yourself you'll catch up later. Very few people do. Use the Edgenuity calendar to keep you on track. Re-connect with your teachers and friends. Don't forget to take occasional brain breaks throughout the day. Eat regularly and get some exercise too. 5 hours a day, five days a week- you can do it- jump in and focus on school- it's your job! Graduation is closer than you think. You can do it and we are here to help! Welcome back from all the staff at HHSO! Go Tigers!

The Hope High School family is growing! This year Hope High School Online has seen a significant increase in enrollment. With more students comes more staff to serve our families. The Hope High School Online mission includes our commitment to provide individualized support for each student and family. We've added several teachers and support staff this year and now are adding an Assistant Principal to the team.

Robert Ortega has been with HHSO for five years. He has served in several capacities including Math teacher and Math Intervention Specialist. His responsibilities will include supporting Principal Horn along with HHSO Staff, students, and parents. He can be reached at roberto@blueprinteducation.org.

Congratulations!

Hello and welcome back to your second semester! We hope that this new year has started off great! We are excited and hopeful in helping to contribute to an awesome rest of the school year.

HHSO, and our school district Blueprint Education, are excited to invite you to participate in some FREE and FUN events that we have coming up soon! (This includes FREE FOOD too!). Feel free to take a look at our website below to see if any are interesting to you that you would like to sign up for: https://sites.google.com/blueprinteducation.org/vip1?pli=1

If you would like more information about any of these opportunities, please reach out to VIP’s advisor, Gisa at gisam@blueprinteducation.org.

Can’t wait to see you at one of our many great, upcoming events!

Just a reminder! Below are the links to forms you need to use regularly.

Time Log

https://myblueprintmedia.org/machform/view.php?id=16422

Exam Request

https://myblueprintmedia.org/machform/view.php?id=19388

Extension Form

https://myblueprintmedia.org/machform/view.php?id=122207

Click here to check out our "How to Master a Job Interview Workshop". There are lots of great tips to help you in landing that job!

You've heard it said before- If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. One of the easiest and most effective Executive Function Skills you can develop is that of planning. Pause and assess: Do you plan out your day in the morning? Do you plan out your week on Sunday evenings? If not, try it.

• What are the things that you HAVE to get done today? Classwork? Appointments? Go to work?
• What are the things that you want to get done, but it isn't crucial? Walk my dog? A load of laundry? Video games?

As you start the new year, try to plan it and see if it helps your productivity. Ask your self:

• Is it easier to get to where you need to be when you have a map?
• Does it help to give your day some direction?
• Do you get more done when you have a plan of action?

January is national mental wellness month, and what better time than the beginning of a new year to check in on your own mental wellness?! You can use the new year as a clean slate, and start working on those areas of your mental health that need your attention. Start by paying attention to your current mental wellness, and identifying areas that could use a little (or a lot) of support. Some areas to consider are contentment, resiliency, work/life balance, interpersonal relationships, self-confidence, and a sense of purpose. Once you have gauged your mental health status, work on learning the best self-care practices that help you maintain your mental wellness. Some healthy self-care tips for the new year include practicing mindfulness, focusing on a positive perspective, utilize positive self-talk, staying physically active, getting enough sleep, eating well, spending time doing preferred activities, spending time with people who make you happy, and asking for help when you need it.

If you need further support with your mental wellness, please talk with Mrs. Williams, our school counselor, or call contact a local agency to schedule an appointment.

Ms. Conrad is the first person most families meet when enrolling at HHSO. Her positive and supportive help give students and families hope. Born and raised in Larned, Kansas, the population was 5000 while she was growing up and now it is 3500. When asked how she found Blueprint and came to work at HHSO she replied "I would love to answer but it is a long story." Hmmmmm. This might be a good one!
Brenda has been working at Blueprint for 4 years in April 2022. Her favorite part of work is "talking to parents who are so discouraged and have them tell me they are crying because they thought they had no choices left and knowing we really give them HOPE."
In her spare time, she rides the Rzr and Spyder, plays with the dogs (4), goes for walks and loves watching all sports. "We love to travel to the beach also".
An interesting fact is that Brenda is one of 4 children and her sister is 19 years older than she is. THANK YOU, Brenda, for being the face of HHSO, encouraging parents that there is Hope.

I'm originally from Virginia and I moved to Arizona when I was 11.

I enrolled into Hope High Online due to Covid and because it works better for my schedule.

What I love most is the teachers and how they are always there to help you and are dedicated to helping you. My favorite part of the teaching is the projects.

In my free time, I like to cook, do art, swim, and go on walks with my dog.

An interesting fact about myself is I can play the guitar.

After I graduate high school I am planning on going to college and I would like to go to medical school to become a doctor and open pro bono clinics in low income areas.

My advice to other students is to not listen to the negative comments of others and to not let them get in your head.

I'm from Phoenix, Arizona! Despite how happy I am at HHSO, I never planned to go into online school. I had nowhere else to go. With a lot of fear regarding whether or not I was capable of doing online schooling due to my ADHD and bipolar depressive episodes heavily affecting my productivity, I enrolled at this school after seeing my older brother's success in it. Now, I wish that I had started online schooling much sooner.

My favorite part of HHSO is the supportive staff. Coming from a public space, it's really easy to feel insignificant amongst other students. It often feels like bias fills the halls and can be really suffocating - I've come to notice that public school teachers can unintentionally make this struggle worse for students like me. This school is different. Both the campus-based teachers and the online teachers are clearly invested in the futures of their students and do the absolute most to ensure their comfort no matter their circumstances. I wouldn't have gotten as far as I have without their support. They treat me as an equal whilst still functioning as mentors.

I usually draw, watch anime, clean, or chat with friends. I like to keep myself as busy as possible. Even though I tend to stay at home, I think it's important to always have something to do. Even having a routine as simple as waking up, brushing your teeth, eating, and then going back to sleep can do wonders for your mental health. I also really enjoy doing makeup. I think it's fun to do it with lots of different intentions. Sometimes I wanna get all dolled up to go out, other times I want to cosplay my favorite characters and kick back in my room. I've been seriously cosplaying for about four years now. Although I don't have a lot of time to play games at home, I'm mostly interested in cosplaying from the video games that I have played. I go to local AZ anime/comic/manga conventions all year round. My favorite convention is Saboten con. Cosplaying isn't necessary to go to conventions, but I find that cosplaying automatically displays an interest in a certain form of media - this is a very easy way to make friends with minimal awkward communication. I encourage everyone who asks me about cosplaying and conventions to try going to a convention or cosplaying at least once in their lifetime. It's very fun.

I'm going to go to a community college to major in culinary (specifically a baking kind of major) and minor in business. I have a long-term goal of opening a bakery cafe. My vision of my cafe has always been very clear, but before I get to that, I'd like to get to know as much as I can about how to achieve it through schooling. Technically, opening a bakery cafe doesn't require any serious secondary education. I'm just really interested in knowing everything there is to know.

Just because people aren't expressing that they're proud of you doesn't mean that what you're doing is pointless. I was never very close to my family, so I always longed for their validation in terms of academics and career strides. I never really got it as much as other children did. The moment I realized that what I do to prepare myself for the future brings me a sense of belonging, I no longer felt as much of a need for that validation. I came to terms with the fact that doing good things doesn't automatically come with loads of praise. You need to take pride in yourself. That's when you can really open up about who you are and allow others to really be proud of you. It's a struggle to gain a sense of identity when you've spent so long on your own (or the inverse where you've relied on someone for so long), but switching up your loneliness to independence over time leads to a lot of happiness. It just takes time.

The photos below are some of the fun activities that our students did over their winter break! We are so happy that our students were able to take some time away from school and enjoy quality time with friends and family.