March 1 , 2010

Dear Parent or Guardian:

 March is an important month for our freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. Their future academic careers at WHS will in part be determined by the following three events:

• On Tuesday, March 16, Wednesday, March 17, and Thursday, March 18, sophomores, plus juniors and seniors who did not pass the WASL, will be taking the High School Proficiency Examination (HSPE). Students will have to pass the reading and writing HSPE, or its equivalent, in order to graduate. The first day students will be taking the reading portion of the test and on Wednesday and Thursday, the writing section. Testing will take place between 7:55 and 10:35 a.m. on those days, and we will be using a modified schedule. Freshman will report to their regular classes, although the order will change. Juniors and seniors who do not take the test will not have to be at school until after lunch (11:40). There will be some special activities for juniors and seniors not testing. Transportation will only be provided at the regular times.

The math and science portion of the HSPE will take place on April 13 and 15.

For more information about the HSPE, go to http://www.k12.wa.us/assessment/StateTesting/HSPE.aspx or Washougal High School’s website, http://www.washougal.k12.wa.us/WHS/.

• Freshman, sophomore, and junior forecasting for the 2010-2011 school year will be taking place during the week of March 8–11. This year students will be entering their course requests from home allowing for more parent participation and input. If you do not have internet access at home, students can use the school computers. For more information, go to the WHS counseling website at: http://www.washougal.k12.wa.us/WHS/departments/counseling.htm.

• Student-led conferences will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, March 24 and 25. During the week of March 15-19 your student will be calling you to set a time for the conference. If you do not get a call, contact your son/daughter’s Panther Time teacher to schedule one. On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of that week, school will be dismissed at 11:25 a.m. in order to provide time for the conferences. During conferences, we are asking parents to use our main entrance located on 39th street. You will be greeted and given a scoring rubric and survey we would like completed at the conclusion of your visit.

If you have questions about any of these events, please call the school office at 360-954-3100. I also encourage you to check our website regularly for new information.

Gerry Stavney,

Principal