Thank you to everyone who participated in our ASB Virtual Dress Up Week!
Check out all the posts on Instagram @whhsasb posted in the stories area.
Upcoming events:
Monday 8/17: DC & Leadership Zoom meeting; 9-10 a.m. Agenda linked in Calendar invite
All staff: Please take a moment
to review this important PowerPoint from our Fall 2018 training regarding Anaphylaxys (severe reaction to an allergen causing an inability to breathe).
We do not allow latex on campus due to two siblings attending West Hills who are highly allergic. No balloons, pencils, rubber bands, band aids, or tape is purchased for our campus that contains latex. Teachers with these siblings will be notified so when we return to campus, there is an awareness. We will be offering an in person refresher for any staff member who would like to attend when we return to campus with students.
Wednesday, 9/2: virtual Back to School night with launch of teacher welcome videos and Admin welcome video. Will also be HOWLParent PowerPoint presentation as a breakout option.
Congratulations Casey Ash and family! Your pals in the English department want you to know that we are currently celebrating the birth of Callan Ash, the newest member of the Wolf Pack family. Date of enrollment: 13 Aug 2020.
Dad Casey will likely be sharing photos of his son once he is done napping.
Hello teachers,
We have been receiving emails from parents and students about scheduled Zoom meetings for their classes. We just want to remind everyone that we need to adhere to this schedule for live Zoom meetings. Please be sure to hold them during your period's scheduled time. If you are not holding a Zoom during your scheduled time, please notify students on your weekly calendar so that they are aware. We know that your daily contact with students can happen in a variety of ways, but this is causing some confusion for students and families. Clarity at the start of the week with a Weekly Calendar posted on Monday can prove helpful.
Please let Admin know if you have any questions!
We appreciate all of the certificated staff creating their
"Back to School" videos! We extended
the deadline until Monday and are busy
posting then to our virtual Open House document. We
looking forward to launching our first Virtual Open House Night
on September 2!
Here is the letter sent to all students on Friday regarding textbook check out. We appreciate everyone's patience with this process! A HUGE "THANK YOU" to Campus Supervision for all of their muscles and hard-work in not only moving 3000 books to various classrooms in the late spring when books were returned, but also in moving many of the same titles BACK to the Gym to facilitate this process! We appreciate
Mike, LoriAnne, Q, John and Ruth!!
Connect with the library @WestHillsLIB: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Chromebook Repair Exchanges Now Wednesdays 8-10am
The weekly Chromebook repair exchanges continue on Wednesdays. The time slot has been moved to 8-10 am so that it does not overlap with live class Zoom sessions. If you have a student who needs immediate access to a Chromebook on other days (e.g., if they have no other technology options), please contact Jovan (jbessette@guhsd.net).
Chromebook Insurance Purchasing Window
If students ask about Chromebook insurance, refer to this information about how they can buy it. There is only a purchasing window at the start of each year (unless a student transfers in mid-year), and the deadline for 2020-21 is September 18, 2020.
Distance Librarian WHHS Help Line
Do you have students or parents who could use some extra one-on-one help navigating all of the tech programs for school? I am happy to help! Please feel free to share my information with them, and/or forward me their information, and I will reach out to them.
Sora Access for GUHSD (bit.ly/rst-sora)
This past summer, GUHSD access was set up for Sora, an eBook and audiobook lending app that now allows anyone with an @guhsd.net account to borrow books from the San Diego County Library’s OverDrive digital collection through single sign-on. Contact Suzanne if you have questions or want to discuss how you might use it.
Just a quick update: We have had to close some 6/5ths sections due to lack of enrollment. Currently our total enrollment is 1659 but that will drop when we drop students who have no registration AND when a teacher has noted on this form that the student is a "no show" [by the third Friday of school]. PLEASE DO YOUR Best to enter all of your student's who have NOT been in touch with you in your Period 3 class. Support staff is making multiple calls and attempts at every email and phone number we have on file for these "no show" students to make sure they are enrolled in school somewhere if not with us. Here is the Fall Master Schedule, which is in the West Hills Needs to Know Folder for you to reference.
Social Justice and students online this past week
This past week we had several issues with social media and our students. In an attempt to "out and embarrass others", the owner of @whhswhitetrash [now deleted account] re-posted West Hills student's social media with the intent to "shine a light on racism, bullying and homophobia". They did not recognize that the choice of this account name and their actions were, ironically, bullying, stereotyping, and as hurtful as the re-posts they were were condemning. In responding to this situation, miscommunication happened between WH Admin and some in our school community. We are in the process of addressing this and hopefully making clear to all that our message regarding the unacceptable name and actions of @whhswhitetrash was not endorsing the intolerant and racist posts contained in the account, but was trying to educate all that the originating account was equally abhorrent. The "two wrongs don't make a right" message went awry, and we wanted you to be aware of this.
However, one interesting outcome were students who emailed Admin asking for more inclusive curriculum, representing the history and contributions of BPoC, and LGBTQX individuals across all content areas. While we know we do much of this, we can always reflect and do more. We are purchasing 5 copies of the
text above for our professional development library for teachers to check out and urge teachers to look at these ideas within this resource:
Social Justice Framework ideas for all Content Areas. Talk with each other as you can and know that we are here to support this work both professionally and fiscally to the best of our ability. We view this as part of our continuous cycle of improvement as a school.
We are also planning a student forum regarding these topics and hope student leaders will partner with us to make this "by, for and with the students" so we can create a plan of action to help make WHHS a better school community for all. Thank you to those of you who have already reached out to Robin with interest in being on the planning committee. If you would like to participate in the planning, we welcome you! Please just let Robin know of your interest.
Stay connected via our emails, social media and on campus!
