Solon High School

A new month is upon us and the daylight is increasingly getting a little bit longer! As we go about the daily grind this time of year we often times forget to celebrate all of the hard work that goes into the day to day operations of the building. Below you will see a few highlights from the Iowa School Performance Profile. Solon High School has seen great gains over the last few years and that is because of the hard work that our students, teachers, and you as parents have put in. Our 2021 score (61.74) was the highest it has been since the state switched over to this type of accountability report in 2018. There are many indicators that go into this score, but the overall growth we have seen in many areas is exciting. If you have any questions about the report, please reach out.

For ALL things Solon High School please remember to visit this page.

The overall performance includes both an overall score and performance rating for all Iowa schools across a number of performance measures. In addition, the Every Student Succeeds Act performance category identifies schools who are struggling or who have student groups who are underperforming. The overall score provides a single number which is the sum of the measures below. It provides a snapshot of school performance, but may not tell the entire story about performance of students in that school.

Senior Awards Night- Wednesday, May 18th at 6:30 PM in the Center for the Arts

Seniors Last Day- Thursday, May 19th

Graduation- Sunday, May 22nd

NHS Candidate Information forms were sent to eligible students and should be arriving in the mail. Forms are due in the high school office by 3:30 PM on Tuesday, February 8th. No late forms will be accepted. Contact Robert Taylor, NHS sponsor, with any questions: rtaylor@solon.k12.ia.us.

Please help us create the best yearbook possible! Any of you can upload photos at any time all year long. Right now we are specifically looking for Girls and Boys Basketball, Girls and Boys Wrestling, Choir, Club and Fall Musical candids.

Here is the 21-22 Yearbook link: https://plicbooks.com/go/6FVFG5

You all are welcome to start uploading pictures into your book at any time. We encourage adding a tag to the photo uploads before uploading, so that pictures get categorized correctly in your yearbook.

We all know how calendars can get filled, so please add the following dates to your to school calendar!

Feb. 3, 10, 17 and 24- Early Release

Feb. 5- We host wrestling sectionals

Feb 8- NHS application forms are due

Feb. 21- NO school: Professional Learning for our teachers

From Mike Thompson, Solon HS Counselor

Contact Information:

• Phone: (319) 624-3401 extension 1117

• Email: mithompson@solon.k12.ia.us

• Website: Solon HS Counseling

• To Schedule an appointment: calendly.com/shscounselor/meeting-with-mr-thompson

From Kathleen McKean, College and Career Transition Coordinator

Contact Information:

• Phone: (319) 624-3401 extension 1116

• Email: kmckean@solon.k12.ia.us

• To Schedule an appointment: Calendly.com/kathleenmckean

SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL LEARNING:

What is Social/Emotional Learning?

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is an integral part of education and human development. SEL is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions. (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning)

In education, teaching SEL to students of all ages helps them to better understand their emotions, to embrace those emotions fully, and demonstrate empathy for others. These learned behaviors can then be used to help students make positive, responsible decisions; create frameworks and resources to achieve their goals, and build positive relationships with others.

In the upcoming months I will share some information about the various components of Social/Emotional Learning.

CAREER EXPLORATION and INFORMATION

Summer 2022 Workplace Internships Opportunity.

The Workplace Learning Connection (WLC) will be offering job shadow opportunities to students in grades 10 & 11 for summer 2022. An internship is a 60-hour on-site experience. Over the past three years, more Solon HS students have completed an internship during the summer months because they have more time to schedule the hours. Solon HS students who have completed an internship experience continually report that the experience solidified their career plan. Students who successfully complete an internship receive three (3) elective credits.

The internship portal is NOW OPEN and WLC is accepting Summer 2022 internship applications. Current sophomores and juniors are eligible, with applications DUE by 3PM on Friday, February 11th! Access your application here.

POST SECONDARY INFORMATION

Planning

Planning for your Future: ICAN Resources

Below you will find links to grade level post-secondary recommendations. You can sign-up to receive weekly/monthly alerts from ICAN.

• Freshmen

• Sophomores

• Juniors

• Seniors

• Parents

In addition to these great tips, visit the ICAN YouTube Channel and check out our video Tip of the Week. Each week ICAN releases a video tip for students preparing for life after high school. To receive the video tip each week, subscribe to the ICAN E-Alerts

Financial Aid: FAFSA

If you haven’t completed the FAFSA now is the time to do so! If you have any questions contact our Iowa College Access Network (ICAN) Representative, Lupe Hernandez. She has an office at the Kirkwood Regional Center in Coralville. To schedule a one-on-one appointment with ICAN visit www.icansucceed.org/apt

• Lupe Hernandez, Student Success Advisor

• Iowa College Access Network (ICAN)

• Eastern Iowa Student Success Center

• Direct: (319) 423-7702

• ghernandez@icansucceed.org

Financial Aid: Scholarships

Mr. Thompson’s website has scholarships listed, check frequently for updates and deadlines

Last Dollar Scholarship: This scholarship pays for 100% of students’ tuition at Kirkwood in many high demand careers in Industrial Technology, Healthcare and Information Technology (also offered at other community colleges in Iowa). No separate application required, just complete the FAFSA!

COLLEGE CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES IN HIGH SCHOOL

2022 - 2023 Kirkwood CC College Credit Opportunities

The Kirkwood Regional Center @ The University of Iowa (KRCUI) is hosting informational Zoom sessions to provide information to students and parents on college credit opportunities for the 2022 - 2023 academic year. The final presentation this year is February 3rd at 6:00 PM. Zoom link https://kirkwood.zoom.us/j/98039275113

Kirkwood Career Academy Registration is going on right now! Your student received an email with Registration Steps, please encourage them to get their appointments scheduled with Kathleen at the high school and a Kirkwood Advisor via Zoom.

Kirkwood Individual Courses: Look for more information on taking single classes (referred to as Alternative Concurrent Courses) at the end of March. Registration will open the first week in April

SOLON HS COUNSELING WEBSITE

Mr. Thompson is continuing to update his website. You can access the High School Website here.

For all things activity related, please use this link to find schedules, locations, dates and times. The live streaming link for all of our events can be found HERE. Any questions can be directed to Casey Hack, district Activities Director. chack@solon.k12.ia.us

Thanks!

Email: zwigle@solon.k12.ia.us
Location: 600 West 5th Street, Solon, IA, USA
Phone: 319-624-3401
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SolonHighSchool/
Twitter: @wiglezac