May Newsletter

Graduation is almost here!

As a reminder, all courses and graduation requirements must be completed by May 26th to be included in the graduation program and walk in the ceremony.

The absolute last day to complete all courses and graduation requirements is May 27th, 2022 to be able to just walk in the ceremony.

If you have any questions, please reach out to your academic coach.

With the year coming to a close, we wanted to get some information out to you about deadlines and extensions:

• You may continue working over summer but remember, all of your courses must be completed by July 18th.
• Your course extensions can go up to the last day of school.
• Your summer break DOES NOT start until you are finished with your current courses.
• If you are not working on your courses over the summer, the courses will be dropped.

Sometimes big tasks are just too overwhelming. Other times, the to-do list is longer than what can possibly be accomplished in a single sitting. Students can be coaxed out of their inaction by selecting a task that should take no more than 5 minutes, setting the timer, and springing into action! We have seen this tactic become a springboard for longer periods of work. Sometimes, just becoming immersed in the task leads to a productive 10, 20, 30 minutes, or more.

Did You Know May Is Mental Health Awareness Month?

Mental health promotion and prevention interventions aim to strengthen an individual's capacity to regulate emotions, enhance alternatives to risk-taking behaviours, build resilience for managing difficult situations and adversity, and promote supportive social environments and social networks.

"When it comes to online school you need to have four things, persistence, push through, time management, and a great attitude. It can be very easy to let the time slip away and procrastinate your schooling. Persistence is a key factor in being able to do school. You need to be able to not give up, and keep looking forward, even if the mountain in front of you is huge. Time management is key. There are only so many hours in the day and you want to maximize your time. You want to sleep in but stay out late. You may want to hang out with your friends but you have schoolwork laying heavy on your chest. Doing online school is all about maximizing your time. You can make the day all yours if you put your mind to it.

In my experience I have learned to get my schoolwork done as soon as possible. It leaves the rest of the day open for whatever I want to do. I start my school day anywhere from 8:00-9:00 am each day. I take a break around 10 to eat breakfast most days and then I have lunch around 12:45. It can be hard to stay in a routine daily and I dont stick to my routine each day because life happens. However, I try my best to stick to it. It takes 21 days to create a habit. So for those 21 if you wake up around 8 or 9 it will begin to be a routine. You may find yourself waking up earlier as well. Something very important I have learned to do is find joy in my school. When you feel excited to learn it makes all the difference. You want to be ahead in your classes because you are having fun, or maybe you just want to get the class over with. That's okay as well, for me, I’m not a huge math fan. (sorry Mrs. Garner :) However I have learned to push myself to keep going.

Now I may sound like the perfect student, happy to learn, ALWAYS ahead, and inspired. However I have had my fair share of mishaps in school. I can think of 4 specific times where I was behind and had to really push myself to finish on time. When I say behind I mean EXTREMELY BEHIND. Like 75 assignments behind, in 2 classes!!! I had to learn hard lessons along the way. I missed out on going to the Great Wolf Lodge last year because I was so behind and I had 50 assignments overdue and I had 5 days to get it all done. My most recent experience was actually a few weeks ago. I took some time off of school for personal reasons and I had just enough banked hours as well. But when I came back I was faced with the huge amount of schoolwork on my plate. I was in ELA 10 B and Geometry 10 A, one class I love and one class that requires me to watch the instruction video 3 times to understand. I was very overwhelmed when I saw I had a lovely 147 over-due assignments total. At first I panicked. I was freaking out and planning to just get by to 70% so I could get an extension. I told myself that if I just got there I would be fine. I was ready to settle and use an extension on each class. But I knew deep down inside there was a way I could do it.

So I began tackling school work. I worked about 7 hours a day and it was tough!!! My brain felt fried at the end of the day but by the grace of God, I did it!!! I pushed through, I planned out the amount of work I needed to get done, and I worked and worked and worked some more. I am beyond happy to say I finished my English class 10 days early, and passed the class with a 90. And as I am writing this I am preparing for my math final this Wednesday! I chose to push through and not give up, I held on to every last bit of hope I had and finished both classes!"

1. Where were you born and raised? I've been here in Phoenix, my whole life.

2. Family? Any cats or dogs? I am married to my college girlfriend and we have a little boy named Max who is six years old. We have two dogs: a Dachshund and a Maltese

3. Name something unique about your family. My family is very close-nit. We do everything together. We hang out all the time, especially for the holidays. My mom has five siblings. There are a lot of cousins in our family and we are all close. I love it.

4. If you could live anywhere else, where would it be and why? Because of my family, I would stay in Arizona forever, but I been to Washington and I thought it was so pretty and green. If I could being my whole family there, then I would live there.

5. How did you end up at HHSO? My wife went to a Women's Expo in 2016 and saw a booth for HHSO and she asked them if they had a math position open and they did. So that is how I got the math job. I didn't renew my contract for the new year with a school where I was working because I wanted to be able to be around for my wife and new baby, so working online was the best option for me. I was glad to have the time at home.
6. Did you always want to be an assistant principal? I always knew that I wanted to work in education. When I was in high school I was in a program called Future Educators where we worked with younger kids. In college, the teacher program included the practicum during your freshmen year so that you could experience teaching early to see if that is what you really wanted to do. I started teaching with Blueprint Education at 23 years old. They had opportunities to grow and as opportunities opened up, I took them.

7. What is your favorite thing about HHSO? The growth and openness. To think of how much HHSO has grown over the last five years. I also love the the community, the culture and the leadership. It's a place where we can afford to take risks and to see if they work or not.

8. What is your Zodiac sign? I don't know. My birthday is May 12th. (Taurus)

9. Name something that you wished folks knew about you that they don't already know. I am a big gamer. Some folks already know that, but I am a social gamer. I love board games, multi-player games. I love playing with other people.

1. Where were you born and raised? San Diego, California. "I took a teaching job in Phoenix because I needed a job with a contract, so I came on a whim. It was an opportunity and I took it."

2. Family- "I am married with three daughters: Keiya-17, Niyah-12, and Sarai-10."

3.Name something unique about your family. "Wow, that is a good question...I am not sure what makes our family unique. I guess it would have to be that we are a very active family and we love to do stuff. For the holidays, we try to make memories instead of buying a lot of gifts. We visit places. We went to Walt Disney World and Universal Studios for Christmas last year."

4.If you could live anywhere else, where would it be and why? "I would live somewhere tropical where there is close access to the the beach and the outdoors. It would be like a large playground."

5. How did you end up at HHSO? "I had taught 15 years and was an admin for a year and my long-time friend who I had worked with for years, Krissyn, told me about the position, and it was a perfect fit." "We have worked together for a long time."
6. Did you always want to be an assistant principal? "No, I didn't. I kind of fell into education. I kind of always loved working with young people and helping them develop themselves and realize their full value, their worth and their potential, and I kind naturally fell into teaching. I got my teaching certificate after I went to school for International Development. I went into it after college."

7. What is your favorite thing about HHSO? "We are such a close-nit group. To do the crazy things that we do, we have to be close."

8. What is your Zodiac sign? Libra

9. Is there anything that you wished folks knew about you that they don't already know? "Oh, wow, that is a good question too. Wow... that is a really good question. I feel like I am really expressive. I feel like if I want someone to know something, I tell them. I wish they knew how much I care about how people treat one another. That is really important to me. So when I see people mistreat one another or not treat others with the same respect they want; that is something that I don't like. I just want to try make sure that everyone feels validated. I think that I had some experiences when I was young that I observed some things that really impacted me. So I never want to be apart of making someone feel like that."

FRESHMEN AND SOPHOMORES ONLY!

Are you interested in pursuing a career or technical program after graduating? Why not start now?! West-MEC offers incoming juniors and seniors free courses for innovative Career & Technical Education programs that prepare students to enter the workforce and continue their education in the career field they wish to enter! These programs include careers in medical assisting, cosmetology, veterinary sciences, technology, automotive, and MUCH MORE! LUNCH PROVIDED.

Click here to sign up!

Ever wonder about an easier way to get a big project done? Take look at this video to know how!