The mission of West Hills High School is to graduate critical thinkers and problem-solvers who contribute positively to society as productive, responsible citizens.
WHHS self-identified & WASC confirmed Goals
Activities for the week:
Monday: No School: Think about President Lincoln 
Tuesday: Regular Day
Tuesday: Regular Day
Wednesday: Regular Day:
Thursday: Regular Day:
Friday: Minimum Day: First Progress Report Grades due and
Valentine's Day
We are very proud to announce Mrs. Tanya Morrison, Social Science, as our Teacher of the Year! Nominators noted that Tanya is valued for her involvement across campus in our PBIS efforts, our WASC work, working as a Google Ninja and helping peers with technology and so much more! Tanya will represent West Hills in our District selection process for TOTY. We are proud to have Tanya on faculty!
Congratulations to our Classified Staff Member of the Year, Mr. Matt Nelson! Our Lead Groundskeeper, nominators noted that Matt was responsible for keeping our campus grounds beautiful, taking care of 76 acres, and "always willing to do anything we need. He goes out of his way to help us whether it is football Fridays or graduation set up". Matt will be honored in our District "Golden Apple" Ceremony in May and is eligible for being named our "District Classified Staff Member of the Year". We are grateful to have Matt on staff!
Thank you Debbie Avery Weaver (pictured above) for coming out of retirement to support us in the Facilities Manager role with Chris Quarders out on leave. Debbie's last day was Friday, Feb. 7 and we expect Chis back February 19. If you have any immediate Facilities concerns (water leaking, HVAC problems, flooding etc) during this week, please contact Ginny Bell and / or Matt Nelson. All other Facilities requests we are holding until Chris returns. If you are unsure, contact Ginny Bell.
Thank you Debbie Avery Weaver (pictured above) for coming out of retirement to support us in the Facilities Manager role with Chris Quarders out on leave. Debbie's last day was Friday, Feb. 7 and we expect Chis back February 19. If you have any immediate Facilities concerns (water leaking, HVAC problems, flooding etc) during this week, please contact Ginny Bell and / or Matt Nelson. All other Facilities requests we are holding until Chris returns. If you are unsure, contact Ginny Bell.
On Sat Feb 1st, West Hills Orchestra students represented a large part of the District Honor Orchestra directed by Anthony Kim. It was a beautiful night of music and talent! Students from left to right are Andrew Gorombey, Joseph Mamon, Maryhanna Leraas, Jenna Allred, and Natasha Whitman.
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On February 5, the Bell Schedule Exploration group meet to discuss and
begin exploring what options we might look at for our bell schedule as of July 1, 2022 (or earlier) due to the state law SB 328 requiring all high schools to start no earlier than 8:30 a.m.
2020 Bell Schedule Working Group Surveys:
Certificated Staff (GEA) please let us know your thoughts on moving forward with any restructuring of our Bell Schedule.
Classified Staff (SEIU / CSEA) please let us know your thoughts on moving foward with any restructuring of our Bell Schedule.
Reference Documents:
California state law SB 328
GEA contract (pg. 80)
GEA Restructuring Timeline example (2016-17)
Get Lit(eracy) Guerrilla Strategy 2: Teachers...please look for this strategy in your mailboxes and in places where adults gather. If you try it out, please send a photo or example to Robin or John in Admin to share with colleagues.
Exciting Strategy at work with West Hills Students....
Using CommonLit.org biology students were asked, "Which statement best expresses the central idea in the article?"
On January 21, our Literacy Team met to continue to look at our critical campus-wide efforts in continuous student improvement outcomes. Checking in on our literacy focus for this year and from our August PLC time as a teaching faculty, we discussed and looked at our 6 areas of focus for our students. Working with Lin Kuzmich, we looked at the best way ALL teachers could support our students and decided to focus on our WASC Goals around assessment, cross-curricular collaboration and common formative assessment practices. We also wanted to bring strategies TO TEACHERS in a variety of places and so we are launching our "guerrilla Get Lit(eracy)" movement. Simply put, every two weeks on Monday (beginning 1/27/2020), teachers will get sample assessment questions and strategies to practice / merge into their classroom practices. These assessment strategies and various types of questions are modeled after standardized testing assessment question types from both academic assessments (CAASPP, SAT, AP, ACT etc) and college and career industry standards type questions that we see and use in a variety of settings in the world of work (OSHA, ASVAB, Human Resources training, etc).
Monday, February 10: President Lincoln's Birthday: No School
Friday, February 14: Minimum Day; First Progress Report
Monday, February 17: President's Day: No School
Wednesday, February 19: Freshman Showcase, 5:30 p.m. Please SHARE the flyer with anyone who might be interested in West Hills. Feel free to POST IT to Social Media. Our enrollment is low and we WELCOME any and all students and families interested in West Hills. Any and all staff are welcome to open their classrooms and be welcoming ambassadors this night!
Wednesday, February 19: Freshman Showcase, 5:30 p.m. Please SHARE the flyer with anyone who might be interested in West Hills. Feel free to POST IT to Social Media. Our enrollment is low and we WELCOME any and all students and families interested in West Hills. Any and all staff are welcome to open their classrooms and be welcoming ambassadors this night!
Wednesday, February 26: Airbands Talent Show in Theatre--it's not too late to join in! Contact Debra Heeb in World Language for any questions. All staff emails have gone out as well.
Thursday, March 5: Literacy Team working with Lin Kuzmich; 8:00-2:00 pm., Rm. E-8
Friday, March 6: PACK DAY (Parents at Class with Kids Day)--minimum day schedule
Friday, March 27: 12 Weeks Progress Grades Due (note to parents of any student with a "D" or below "Student may be in danger of failing")
March 30-April 10: Spring Break, no school
Freshman Showcase 2020
Wednesday, February 19 starting at 5:30 p.m.
Reminder: Here is our BEST CHANCE at ATTRACTING students
to our school! We want as many programs and people
on campus this night welcoming parents and prospective students!
Please JOIN US!!
February 2020 Calendar: Books we loved when we were little! (bit.ly/feb2020cal) - Thank you to staff members who participated in the “Books we loved” survey last month. We are excited to share a number of staff responses throughout the month of February. Print a copy of the calendar to follow along. Staff members who shared books will be revealed daily on social media.
Resource Snack Time: News Literacy Week (bit.ly/rst-nnlw) - During News Literacy Week (January 27-31), the News Literacy Project shared a number of helpful resources. Find links to all of them here!
Resource Snack Time: ILA’s What’s Hot in Literacy Report (bit.ly/rst-ila20) - The International Literacy Association recently released its What’s Hot in Literacy Report. Check out some excerpts that are most applicable to our high school setting.
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Suzanne Sannwald
Teacher Librarian, West Hills High School
8756 Mast Blvd. | Santee, CA 92071
619.956.0461 | http://westhillslib.weebly.
