Aloha!

Did you know that I went to Hawaii for winter break?  A few students had asked me about my plans for break and we had talked about it, but I don't know that I had shared it with everyone.  My whole family went and it was a trip of a lifetime.  I am back now and happy to see Lexi and I will be happy to see all of you too.  But, I am struggling with jetlag and the fact that mornings were already not my favorite could make tomorrow's bright and early wake up call a bit of a struggle.  I hope you are feeling well rested and excited for the start of the new semester.

A few reminders for you...

- The new semester is a complete and total fresh start!  No matter how well or how poorly you did in a class during the first semester doesn't matter for this semester as you have a clean slate and you get to start fresh.  But that also means you need to hit the ground running.  You already know how your year-long classes work and so you know what to expect.  If you need to make changes, spend a few minutes thinking about what you realistically can do to get a stronger start to the semester.

-  Your schedule may be changing - in fact, unless you have all full, year-long classes, your schedule IS changing.  Log into IC to get a print out of your updated schedule so that you know where you are going and when.

-  If you failed a class in the 1st semester I need to see you ASAP!  We need to discuss the plan for how you will make up that credit. 

-  If you are interested in taking college classes (for free!) next school year, make sure you and a parent plan to attend the mandatory Academic Options Night where the presentation will meet the state's requirements of receiving information about the option of taking college classes while in high school.  Please note that yes, even if you did attend this presentation in the past the state requires you to attend the meeting annually.  The meeting will be held on Thursday night, January 10th, at 7pm in the WKHS auditorium. Please see me if you have any questions.

-  Speaking of College Credit Plus classes - if you are currently scheduled for Sociology or English Comp 2, don't forget that your classes don't start until the 14th so you get a few more days of break just for those courses.

-  If you are trying to change your schedule, you will need to complete a schedule change request form.  This form does require a parent signature.  And, if you are dropping a year-long class it also requires your teacher's signature.

Mahalo (thank you) for your patience as I took my family vacation over break and therefore didn't respond to emails.  I know that this was challenging timing.  I will work on getting caught back up with emails as soon as possible.  Can't wait to see all of you and hear about your breaks!