The mission of West Hills High School is to graduate critical thinkers and problem-solvers who contribute positively to society as productive, responsible citizens.
*Bookmark the Wolf Pack Weekly and these links will always be here and up to date! *
Upcoming events:
Monday: Quarter 2 Begins: Teachers / Students work from home
Tuesday: Group A on campus
Wednesday-Group B on campus; Final Grades Q1 due to SST by 3:00 p.m.
SAT testing in Gym, 12-4 p.m. for pre-paid Seniors
Thursday- Group C on campus
Friday - Group D on campus; Substitutes: Emergency Protocols Drill training via Zoom
Thank you to everyone who was able to attend our first Equity Committee meeting. Please see the
attached minutes and the
Zoom chat feed. Although we thought we were recording the meeting, we did not successfully do so. We will link the minutes in the Agenda for the next meeting to review and add corrections as needed. We will do better next time!
Our next meeting is on Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 4:30 pm via Zoom. If you would like to join, please complete
this form...all are welcome any time!
We are trying an alternate day of the week and time of day to honor those who RSVP'd that Tuesdays do not work for them and / or the 6:30 pm start time did not work for them. We know with so much interest, we need to be flexible to allow for a fluid attendance while maintaining our focus.
You may or may not have noticed we did solicit interest in our Equity Committee via social media again as well as sending back out on Infinite Campus. We are working on adding this Committee link to our website to locate all resources within one easy to find space as well.
Here is just
one example of bringing equity into the classroom shared with me by one teacher, Dan Sutton, Global Geography, gr. 9. (Please note the hyperlink at the very top of the document takes you to the YouTube video used with the questions). This assignment is aligned with the Global Studies / Geography standards.
Students in the Committee expressed a great deal of interest in having more diversity and an explicit representation by all kinds of individuals across our curriculum. California Education Code requires us to teach and point out explicitly the contributions of individuals from traditionally overlooked minority groups to include, but not limited, to African-American, Hispanic, Latinx, Indigenous persons, Asian and Middle Easterners, as well as LGBTQ individuals. Our District English Council heard a presentation from a group of GUHSD students asking for this across all District campus' at their monthly meeting on Monday, Oct. 6 and have agreed to undertake a survey of current resources used within their departments, so this conversation is not limited to West Hills.
Students also want a willingness to act by adults on campus when a verbal wrong is heard made by a student(s) towards another student(s). This includes explicit, immediate and clear directives to the student making the comment and to the entire class, as well as possibly sending to the office (dependent on the nature of the comment). While we believe we do this, how can we increase our own comfort and training to know how to intervene and the appropriate way to do so even in distance learning? We can do more and welcome ideas and ways to help all of us feel more empowered and clear on "how" to intervene in all kinds of situations.
Having clear, concise and agreed upon norms like our "Be respectful, responsible and honorable" honor code is a simple way to react to any student who makes a poor choice. Simply making the statement "That was not respectful and is not tolerated here. You'll need to leave the Zoom [classroom / tutorial / office] until I can talk with you" is enough to give anyone listening the clear message that negative commentary is not tolerated. Please notice this is not a question--too often we accidentally "trap" ourselves by asking "That was not respectful. Why would you say that?" This allows for the perpetrator to respond with the "What? I was only joking...." and now EVERYONE is off task and focused on the adult interchange with the student. In denying the student the opportunity to be part of the group, this clearly shows you are "doing something" and allows you a private conversation with the student regarding their behavior or, allows any of us time to get another adult (additional teacher, administrator, etc) to become involved if needed.
Relationships remain the central focus in classrooms and on campus whether virtually or in person. Check out this article from Edutopia to find some key ways to bring
"Maslow before Bloom all day long" .
Connect with the library @WestHillsLIB: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
October Calendar: Taking it one week at a time! (bit.ly/oct2020cal)
Chromebook Help Reminders
The library only issues students additional Chromebooks and chargers when they have broken or lost/stolen items.
We do not provide day loan items. If teachers have classroom loaner Chromebooks that need to be fixed/troubleshot, we are happy to help you.
Curbside Chromebook help continues at the Flag Circle on Mondays 1-3pm and Wednesday 8-10am.
When attending classes on campus, students may get help in the library 7:30am-12pm.
Outside of these hours, students may also continue to get help by email and phone from:
GUHSD Joins One Book, One San Diego (bit.ly/rst-tcue)
As Robin emailed earlier this week, the One Book, One San Diego read for 2020 is They Called Us Enemy, a graphic novel by George Takei about his family’s experiences in Japanese incarceration camps during World War II. Access the link above to learn more about the One Book, One San Diego countywide reading program and how anyone with an @guhsd.net account may borrow the book from the San Diego County Library using the Sora app.
p.s.This is a subject that has personal resonance for me (Suzanne) since my family members were also incarcerated and when becoming a teacher librarian, I learned that my grandmother worked in a library in Poston!
At Thursday night's Board meeting, they approved the following increase in daily certificated and classified substitute rates:
Stay connected via our emails, social media and on campus!
