Hawks Happenings Monthly Newsletter

Hello Hawks Families!

We've had a great first month of school to kick off the year! Learning, laughter, and lightheartedness can be found all throughout the school, as we begin that return to the all familiar high school life COVID has stripped us of this past year and half.

October is a busy month for College Place High School.

We start off this month with a spirit week in preparation of Homecoming! Details are shared below, but this years theme will be "Under the Stars"; a fitting theme for us as we roll-out our first ever outdoor Homecoming Dance on Saturday, October 9th.

After a week of fun and festive Homecoming events, we transition into a month of heavy testing. We have our PSAT/SAT exams, and the state SBAC assessments. Plus, Fall Parent/Teacher Conferences Oct. 18-22nd.

Information about all of our assessments and conferences can be found below. In addition, we have information to share on our Character Strong SEL curriculum and celebrations to share with our Five Star Hawks Recognition program.

Also, please remember that if your students are sick, exhibiting symptoms, or awaiting test COVID test results they need to stay home. We appreciate your help in keeping our sick students home while they recover.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out!

Thank you and Go Hawks!

Robert Aguilar, Principal

College Place High School

We are overjoyed to share that we are able to host a semi-traditional homecoming dance this year on October 9th. We are hosting all the traditional homecoming events in some non-traditional ways.

We will have our buff-puff, powderpuff, spirit days, football game and of course the dance. Our ASB students and advisor Trevor Roberts have been hard at work ensuring all safety measures can be taken and still put on a smashing event "under the stars." Our dance will be outdoors with extra chaperones and masks, but with the sweet sounds of DJ Hoppen and beautiful under the stars decor.

Tickets are on sale for students at the main office. They $10.00 with ASB and $12.00 without ASB. We will close ticket sales on Thursday, October 7th at 3:30pm. Guests are allowed to attend but will need to have the Guest Form and COVID Testing Form completed and returned to the office by Oct. 7th.

We are thrilled to host this week full of fun events this year! if you have any questions, please feel free to give us a call at 509-522-3312.

Go Hawks!

Ms. Bryant

We will have our Picture Re-take Day on Monday, October 11th.

Leos Picture Forms for Re-takes can be found in the Main Office. If you have any questions, please feel free to call us at 509-522-3312.

We will also do our school wide photo out at the stadium that we have traditionally done on that day as well.

If you missed our Teacher Welcome Videos we sent out last week, here is the link them on our school website: https://www.cpps.org/o/high-school/page/teacher-welcome-videos

During the week of October 18-22 we will be having our fall Parent/Teacher Conferences, and we will, once again, host an opportunity for you to connect with all six of your students teachers during conference week if you would like.

We will send a specific communication out to families with details on accessing the conferences, as we get closer.

We will have virtual conferences, with accommodations for those that need an in-person option, including those that need translation support, or have technology barriers.

Our school calendar is linked here and it may be helpful to note that during conferences week, we do not have school on the following days:

--Monday, October 18th

--Thursday, October 21st

--Friday, October 22nd

We will again plan to schedule conferences both during the school day, and with evening options.

Again, we will send more details shortly but we are very excited to connect with you and discuss your students academic progress with you.

We will be administering the state required SBAC assessment this fall, and again this upcoming spring. We, historically, have not administered the SBAC in the fall, however, due to COVID impacts to the 2020-2021 school year, we were able to re-schedule last springs exams for this fall. Below is information for families on the SBAC testing.

Some Highlights for you to Know:

--9th and 11th graders will take the SBAC in ELA and Math from Oct. 25-28. Testing will begin at the start of the regular school day, and be finished by Lunch. Students will then attend their regular PM classes.

--12th graders will take the WCAS in Science on Oct. 29. Testing will begin at the start of the regular Friday school day (9:20am).

--None testing students do not need to arrive on campus until lunch. See Bell Schedule image below. There will not be AM classes on our SBAC testing dates. For example, if I am a 10th grader, I do not need to be at school until lunch during SBAC testing dates. If I am a 12th grader, I do not need to be at school until lunch, with the exception of Friday when I will be taking the WCAS assessment.

--Students who ride the bus, will still need to be picked-up in the morning as usual. These students will be invited to a study hall in the Sager gym upon arriving at the school. Any students who arrive in the morning but are not taking a SBAC exam, will be invited into the study hall area.

Please read the linked Parent Letter from Assistant Principal Bryant with information on the SBAC tests.

One of the aims at our school is to equip young people for all the realities of today's world. With that in mind, we have partnered with CharacterStrong - an organization that provides training for educators and social & emotional learning curriculum for students. Their work in grades 6-12 focus on three main outcomes: increasing a sense of belonging for all students, improving skills that support student well-being, and deepening student engagement in their academics, in their school, and in their community.

Here is what the data tells us:

--A sense of belonging in schools is one of the most important conditions for learning and a fundamental support for social and emotional well-being. Nearly 1/3 of all students report a weak sense of belonging in their schools. Roughly half of 6th-12th grade students say they don't enjoy coming to school most of the time.

--Mental health challenges for teens have been increasing and 7 out of 10 teens in the U.S. (between 13 and 17 years old) have named anxiety or depression as a major problem among their peers.

--Student engagement drives learning and supports school success.

This curriculum (which will be done with students on Wednesdays during Hawk Time) was created to support school communities as they engage in the work of preparing young people to thrive in the 21st century. The research supports the effectiveness of social & emotional learning in schools to increase student's academic success and college & career readiness. The lessons focus on developing skills and mindsets around building positive habits, understanding our emotions, and increasing empathy for people and communities who have lived different lives than us. The curriculum helps students think about things they want to improve in their school, their relationships, and their world and then provide tools for them to work individually and in teams to close the gaps they've identified.

One of the key parts of nearly every lesson is the "CharacterDare" for Middle School students and the "To Be List" for High School students. These are invitations near the end of most lessons to put the content that they are learning into action in the real world. If you ever want to play an active role in the CharacterStrong curricula, simply ask your student about the most recent CharacterDare or To Be List challenge. Maybe they'll invite you to try one yourself!

To learn more about CharacterStrong, check out characterstrong.com to discover other resources for students and families.

The below five students were nominated by their teachers for showing Selflessness in Service of Others -where the service performed for others without any expectation of result or reward for the person performing it.

Please join me in congratulating the following students!

College Place High School contact information and ways to reach us.

Email: raguilar@cpps.org
Website: https://www.cpps.org/o/high-school
Location: 1755 South College Avenue, College Place, WA, USA
Phone: (509) 522-3312
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CollegePlaceSchoolDistrict/