The mission of West Hills High School is to graduate critical thinkers and problem-solvers who contribute positively to society as productive, responsible citizens.
Hello Wolf Pack!
Welcome to our new "permanently flexible online world" while we all hunker down and try to stay healthy. While you have been at home, your Admin team has been working, rotating each day, supporting our facilities and our wonderful cafeteria workers as they continue to offer free meals. After the week of March 16, we merged our meal service over at Santana and each day an Administrator has gone there from 10:30-12:30 to support that effort along with Santana's Admin. This food service continues until we are told otherwise. We have also been in Zoom conferences, responding to emails and trying to keep up with the ever changing state of affairs as we deal with something NONE of us has EVER experienced. Please take a look at this email sent on Thursday, April 9 trying to give as much information as we know and have right now.
All classroom and office spaces have been sanitized. Please know that once anyone enters that space, it is no longer sanitized thus we are NOT able to continue to ask custodial to work to sanitize it if you enter your own room / office to get "just one thing". We need to take care of our custodial crew, so please know if you enter the space, we will not be sanitizing it again with the theory that your germs are your germs and no one else will be in your space. You are welcome to use Clorox or Lysol brand products in your spaces if that helps you. ***The exception to this is the daily cleaning of the main office where some staff are working at various times (keeping social distancing in mind), the two restrooms on campus that will be open and available to use: Main office and Faculty Lounge, and if Guidance staff works, that office. ***
Every door handle and door knob on campus has been sanitized as well. This is broken when individuals not wearing gloves touch the handles or knobs so please be mindful of 20 seconds of hand washing frequently if you do come on campus.
We continue to ask that ANYONE COMING ON CAMPUS text or calls Admin Cell phone so we are aware. (Not individuals we have asked to come onto campus to work essential duty. We already know you are coming in).
Mail: We do have quite a bit of US and District mail stacked up in various individuals' mail boxes. Coaches, Department Chairs. Classified and some teachers have quite a lot that might have timely documents, bills to pay (if a coach typically) etc. that might need looking at sooner than later. If you want to come in and look at your mailbox, the Admin building is locked so please call or text your Admin liaison and we can look through your mailbox to tell you what is in there, or come out and open the door.
Admin Team Cell Phones
Principal: Robin Ballarin: 619-571-7871
AP: April Baker: 619-944-1146
AP: Carrie Gaeir: 619-249-6033
AP: John Hoadley: 619-672-7890
Interim MSF: Ginny Bell: 619-871-4646
Schedule for the week:
Work from home almost everyone: Teachers and Counselors preparing for going online with students.
Follow on Instagram our whhsasb for their VIRTUAL ACTIVITIES WEEK
whhsclassof2020, whhsclassof 2021, whhsclassof2022, packof2023, whhscounseling,
westhillslib. You will need to create an Instagram account to view any of these and we URGE your to do so since this is our best way to connect with students right now!
To all Faculty and Staff who posted short videos of inspiration to our students and each other on our Instagram account! It is never too late....make one 30 secs. or shorter and send to April Baker via her cell phone. Here is my fledgling effort...go on our Instagram account to see many more! We also asked faculty, staff and students to share photos of their pets....in this new social distancing world "together...but apart" we are trying to stay connected. 😃😃
Follow on Instagram our whhsasb for their VIRTUAL ACTIVITIES WEEK
whhsclassof2020, whhsclassof 2021, whhsclassof2022, packof2023, whhscounseling,
westhillslib. You will need to create an Instagram account to view any of these and we URGE your to do so since this is our best way to connect with students right now!
To all Faculty and Staff who posted short videos of inspiration to our students and each other on our Instagram account! It is never too late....make one 30 secs. or shorter and send to April Baker via her cell phone. Here is my fledgling effort...go on our Instagram account to see many more! We also asked faculty, staff and students to share photos of their pets....in this new social distancing world "together...but apart" we are trying to stay connected. 😃😃
Tuesday 4/14: Chromebook exchange for students, 9-11 a.m. in the Flag Circle
Thursday 4/26: Chromebook exchange for students, 9-11 a.m. in the Flag Circle
Certificated Staff:
Supporting our parents and students with a WH
"one stop Distance Learning" Resource Page
We sent you an editable link to the shared google document
(linked above for "view only") and ask that you complete
the information requested. The first entry is an example.
This is to help our students and parents to find all of our links
in one place. It is a "work in progress" and we
ask that teachers invite their Admin liaison to their classroom as well.
We are pushing out to students and parents a variety of resources but also wanted you to know what to tell students if they let you know their Chromebook is not working. Please post these directions in your online classroom:
For Chromebooks: if it is just "acting up" (freezing, getting OS errors, etc.) then, it would be helpful for them to try the troubleshooting steps (bit.ly/cb-fixes) first and then a power wash (bit.ly/cb-wash), if necessary. If neither of those work, please call the GUHSD HELP Desk at 1-619-956-HELP.
Schools are closed, but classes are in session, and the library is online! - In addition to regular West Hills Library website resources, there is a special GUHSD Libraries collection of distance learning resources for both students and teachers.
- Academic Support for Students - Teachers are welcome to share this with students and may suggest additions.
- For Teachers - Suzanne is eager to collaborate with WHHS teachers to support distance teaching and learning. Whether it is getting tech set up, curating digital resources, creating help documents, or just having another person to bounce ideas off of - you can always email ssannwald@guhsd.net. (For a full overview of library services during distance learning, see this 1-pager.)
For Teachers: check out the GUHSD Tech Support page.
Technology: In his article “Videoconferencing Alternatives: How Low-Bandwidth Teaching Will
Save Us All,” David Stanford, looks at some options using bandwidth and immediacy as the axes in the
graph below. Within the article, he outlines options for teaching students with less-than-ideal technology
graph below. Within the article, he outlines options for teaching students with less-than-ideal technology
and internet in their homes, calling the green zone above, “underappreciated workhorses.”
We urge everyone to relax as much as you can. Here are some tips from an article on Reddit that might be
helpful to you and / or your students as we prepare to work and learn from home.
We can do this Wolf Pack! Please know we will be back together in person soon and look for an optional
Zoom meeting invitation for Thursday, 4/16 at 11:15 in your google calendar. Here is a short video and links
to joining a meeting on Zoom. May you have a blessed and wonderful Easter!
Go Wolf Pack!
