Hello Students and Families,

While “normal” is a thing of the past, YHS is seeing glimpses of what we have all been missing; and we all look forward to creating our new normal. Here are some highlights of the types of things students have had a chance to engage in, that are a cause for celebration! We have more than 245 students participating in 12 different CWU and SPSCC College in the High School courses. FFA students competing at the National Level - the Poultry Team earned the bronze and Harley Jo Holman placed third in Employment Skills Leadership. The Boys Cross Country Team is going to State and Kyla Poland also qualified for State from the Girls Cross Country team. Our Boys Football Team earned the SSC League Champs and will continue on in the state playoffs with their first game at Home Saturday at 1 p.m. Our Volleyball girls showed significant growth this season as they competed in a tough SSC league. The next two games will determine their path to District Playoffs. The Boys Tennis team are also continuing on to state as the West Central District/Southwest District Tennis champs. Not only do we have students and programs giving us reason to celebrate, but as a staff, we also enjoy seeing the interactions, relationships being made, and engagement in building capacity with our academics.

 Having said that, creating a new normal doesn’t come without challenges. We are reaching out to you, families, to keep the lines of communication open and request your support as we help guide our students to more healthy and productive choices. A few things we have been experiencing, at the forefront, are vandalism in the bathrooms, physical altercations, and excessive vulgar language in and outside of classrooms. While it may not be the majority of students who partake in this behavior, it sure does impact our school culture and who we are as a school community.

 Some of the things we are doing at the school level are:

• Hiring a Restorative Specialist ~ Specializing in re-engagement and truancy monitoring

• Focusing on reinforcing classroom procedures and instruction to keep students in class and engaged

• Launching initiatives in regards to attendance and tardiness

• Incentivising positive behavior in following routines and expectations

• YHS Clubs and individual students assisting with lunch clean-up

• Looking for opportunities for additional supervision around the campus. *

*I will be following up with communication to families with more specific information on what each of these will entail.

 Here are some things you can do at home to support your students at school…

• Please reiterate with your student(s) the importance of picking up after themselves, respecting school property and staff (custodial, grounds, maintenance, cafeteria)

• Encourage your students to download the app “Stop!t Solutions” to learn how to identify and report misconduct and other issues that occur at school. As well as Crimestoppers to report crimes or dangerous situations anonymously.

• Have discussions around appropriate language in shared spaces and be mindful of others

• Remind students that teachers are working hard to create a space where they feel safe and belong….. so please help them by being a good example.

• If you would like to volunteer, in any capacity, to support what we are doing at school, please sign up to volunteer by clicking on this link.

Curtis Cleveringa

Principal

Yelm High School