Principal's Parent Letters

 

FPHS MISSION: To provide students an engaging educational environment, built upon proven academics and high standards, resulting in successful and contributing citizens.

FPHS VISION: Every student (100%) graduates from high school prepared to succeed in post-secondary education.

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We are in the final stretch! Seniors only have about 20 school days left. If your child is a senior, please double and triple check Teacher Ease to make sure your child is on-track to graduate. If you have any questions, please reach out immediately to your child’s teachers or counselor. Feel free to call the main office to check to see if your child is on the Walking List for graduation. If s/he is not on the list, that means s/he has at least one unmet graduation requirement that needs to be addressed in order to participate in graduation.

As you have heard, there have been incidents recently of students writing threatening and anonymous messages on bathroom walls at our school and other schools in the district. Please, take a moment to have a serious conversation with your child about the importance of reporting threats immediately and help us to re-emphasize the message that we are in a position where we must take threats toward schools seriously.

In a recent training, I was educated regarding the plethora of drug, alcohol, and vape related paraphernalia that is “hidden in plain sight.” Unfortunately, many drug-related devices are geared toward kids and teens. I encourage you to visit the “Hidden in Plain Sight” website that contains valuable resources to educate parents on indicators of drug, alcohol, or vape use. Click here: http://powertotheparent.org/be-aware/hidden-in-plain-sight/

GRADUATION reminders:

• ·         Each Friday: The updated graduation “Walk List” is posted outside the main office. This is a list of all seniors who are currently on-track toward graduation. Seniors who are not on this list need to meet with their counselor asap to find out what they’re missing. If you have a senior, please ask him/her if s/he is on the list or come in to check the list yourself.
• ·         May 4: Prom. Students must be in good standing for Academics and Behavior in order to attend Prom.
• ·         May 20-22: Portfolio Presentations. This is a graduation requirement for all Seniors. If you have a Senior, please make sure s/he is prepared to present.
• ·         May 29-30: Final Exams for Seniors.
• ·         May 31: Moving Up Assembly. Final day for Seniors who are on-track to graduate.
• ·         June 5: Last chance for Seniors to meet graduation requirements. Check out forms due by 2:45pm in order to participate in the Graduation Ceremony.
• ·         June 5: Scholarship Awards Night for Seniors.
• ·         June 6: Graduation Parade. This has become an annual tradition, and all Seniors are encouraged to participate. Seniors will visit all 4 of our “feeder” elementary schools and Ford Middle School in their caps and gowns accompanied by the band in order to be celebrated and serve as role models for our younger students.
• ·         June 7: Graduation Rehearsal. This is a required event for Seniors in order to participate in the Graduation Ceremony.
• ·         June 8: Graduation Ceremony. Can you picture those Grad Caps flying through the air? Exciting day!

Thank you to all who attended our 4^th Annual Multicultural Night! What a fantastic event. Stay tuned to Facebook for a recap from our Video Production students.

 

FPHS MISSION: To provide students an engaging educational environment, built upon proven academics and high standards, resulting in successful and contributing citizens.

FPHS VISION: Every student (100%) graduates from high school prepared to succeed in post-secondary education.

 

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Spring is in the air! We’ve entered the 4^th and final quarter of the year. Please, continue to check Teacher Ease regularly to make sure your child is earning all of his/her credits toward graduation. Be on the lookout for Quarter 3 Report Cards, which will be sent out as soon as Q3 grades are finalized.

 Students have registered for their classes for next year, and we are building our master schedule based on their requests. While we will attempt to honor all course requests, courses not meeting the minimum number of students required will need to be collapsed, and students will be placed in the alternate course they selected. For courses that have too many students to place them all, we will prioritize seniors who need the course to meet graduation requirements. We are excited to offer a new course next year on Ethnic Studies, which will count as a Social Studies credit and provide an examination of how race, class, and ethnicity have shaped and continue to influence American culture. Students interested in this course should see their counselor immediately in order to register.

 As the weather gets nicer each Spring, we feel the need to mention something about appropriate school attire. While we are not the “fashion police” and leave clothing decisions up to parents and families, we do encourage modest attire at school. Parents, please be sure to monitor your child’s clothing before s/he leaves home.

 GRADUATION is right around the corner. Here are some important dates/info:

• ·         April 4: The graduation “Walk List” has been posted outside the main office. This is a list of all seniors who are currently on-track toward graduation. Seniors who are not on this list need to meet with their counselor asap to find out what they’re missing. We will update this list each Friday. If you have a senior, please ask him/her if s/he is on the list or come in to check the list yourself.
• ·         May 4: Prom. Students must be in good standing for Academics and Behavior in order to attend Prom.
• ·         May 20-22: Portfolio Presentations. This is a graduation requirement for all Seniors. If you have a Senior, please make sure s/he is prepared to present.
• ·         May 29-30: Final Exams for Seniors.
• ·         May 31: Moving Up Assembly. Final day for Seniors who are on-track to graduate.
• ·         June 5: Last chance for Seniors to meet graduation requirements. Check out forms due by 2:45pm in order to participate in the Graduation Ceremony.
• ·         June 5: Scholarship Awards Night for Seniors.
• ·         June 6: Graduation Parade. This has become an annual tradition, and all Seniors are encouraged to participate. Seniors will visit all 4 of our “feeder” elementary schools and Ford Middle School in their caps and gowns accompanied by the band in order to be celebrated and serve as role models for our younger students.
• ·         June 7: Graduation Rehearsal. This is a required event for Seniors in order to participate in the Graduation Ceremony.
• ·         June 8: Graduation Ceremony. Can you picture those Grad Caps flying through the air? Exciting day!

 FINAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Our 4^th Annual Multicultural Night will take place on April 25 at 5pm. All students and families are encouraged to attend and bring a food dish to share! See you there!

 

FPHS MISSION: To provide students an engaging educational environment, built upon proven academics and high standards, resulting in successful and contributing citizens.

FPHS VISION: Every student (100%) graduates from high school prepared to succeed in post-secondary education.

 

Dear Parents and Guardians,

With the snow days and Mid-Winter Break, February has come and gone in a flash. As much as I love the snow, I hope it’s behind us for this year. It’s been my experience that this time of year, things really begin to speed up as we move toward the end of the year and graduation for our Class of 2019. In the next several weeks, we will be guiding students through our registration process for classes next year. Counselors will be visiting all English classes to guide students through the course selection process. Current Seniors and Juniors are required to earn 22 credits to graduate. Current Freshmen, Sophomores, and our incoming 8^th graders will need 24 credits in order to graduate (4 English, 3 Math, 3 Science, 3 Social Studies, 1 CTE, 2 Health and Fitness, 2 Arts, 2 World Languages or 2 Personal Pathway Requirements aligned with the student’s post-high school career goals).

•  ·       Information regarding our course offerings and post-graduations supports can be found at http://franklinpiercehighschool.fpschools.org/counseling___career .
• ·         All students with aspirations to attend college are encouraged to take advanced courses such as AP or UW in the High School. Many of our CTE courses also offer dual credit opportunities for HS and college.
• ·        Juniors and Seniors have additional opportunities to attend Running Start (potentially earning an AA degree and a HS diploma concurrently) or Pierce County Skills Center for courses with potential to move directly into the  workforce (https://www.bethelsd.org/Page/2532 ).
• ·         Students interested in hands-on science curriculum and/or agriculture are able to enroll in two classes per day at the FPS Farm. Transportation is provided.
• ·         Parents will have an opportunity to review your child’s course selections at Student Led Conferences. Our master schedule is built based on student course selections, so be sure to review those carefully as course changes after the fact will be strongly discouraged. In some cases, students will not be able to receive their first selections as classes may be full or collapsed. In this case, we will do our best to honor a student’s second choice.

 February Highlights:

•  ·      February’s Character Theme: INFLUENCE
• ·         We celebrated Black History Month to honor the accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.
• ·         We celebrated Counselor, Psychologist, Therapist, and Social Worker Week.
• ·         Congratulations to our Winter Sports Teams and individual athletes who progressed deep into division and state championships in almost every sport. Way to go, Cards!
• ·         Hosted a high-energy BMX stunt assembly to address Bullying Awareness and Prevention.
• ·         Mid-Winter Break / Presidents’ Week
• ·         Sophomore and Junior Parent Info Night

March Look-Fors:

•  ·       March’s Character Theme: RESPECT
• ·         Student Registration Prep
• ·         Student Led Conferences, Mar 19 and 20: Required for all 9^th, 10^th, and 11^th graders.

 Reminders:

•  ·         Each Monday is College Monday, and each Friday is Spirit Friday! We encourage all students to participate.
• ·         We conduct school-wide grade checks on the final Thursday of each month to determine students who will earn

 

FPHS MISSION: To provide students an engaging educational environment, built upon proven academics and high standards, resulting in successful and contributing citizens.

FPHS VISION: Every student (100%) graduates from high school prepared to succeed in post-secondary education.

 

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Happy New Year! I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Winter Break and that the new year has started off well. Final Exams for Semester 1 will take place on January 23, 24, and 25. Please be sure your child is attending classes and arriving on time every day until Final Exams. Teachers will be going over Final Exam expectations, completing end of semester projects, and reviewing critical material. Our Homework Center is open and available to provide students with additional assistance in all subject areas each day until 4pm (including early release Wednesdays). A late bus is available at 5pm each day. Please, be sure to check your child’s grades in Teacher Ease and communicate any questions to your child’s teacher.

 December Highlights:

• ·         Our Character Theme for December was SELFLESSNESS.
• ·         Our Juniors and select Seniors took the ASVAB test to determine vocational aptitude.
• ·         Our Band and Choir provided outstanding concert performances.
• ·         Our Drama Club performed a wonderful rendition of The Nerd.
• ·         We held our annual Winter Wishes assembly and provided gifts for every student at Collins Elementary School. Check out the video on Facebook. It was a truly heart-warming and community-building experience for all.
• ·         We went on Winter Break and welcomed in 2019!

 Reminders:

• ·         Each Monday is College Monday, and each Friday is Spirit Friday! We encourage all students to participate each week.
• ·         We conduct school-wide grade checks on the final Thursday of each month to determine students who will earn Choice Learning or will be placed on Academic Probation for the following month.
• ·         January’s character theme is “Integrity.”

 

FPHS MISSION: To provide students an engaging educational environment, built upon proven academics and high standards, resulting in successful and contributing citizens.

FPHS VISION: Every student (100%) graduates from high school prepared to succeed in post-secondary education.

 

Dear Parents and Guardians,

 My apologies for getting the November newsletter out a bit late. We’ve now completed Quarter 1 and are moving quickly toward the end of Semester 1. As a reminder, each passing class earns .5 credits at the semester totaling 3 credits per semester. Semester 1 ends on January 23^rd. We are currently in the process of sending out off-track letters to families of those students who are behind in credits and off-track to graduate. Current Seniors and Juniors are required to have 22 credits to graduate. Current Sophomores and Freshmen are required to have 24 credits to graduate. If your child is off-track to graduate, please make an appointment right away with his/her counselor in order to establish a graduation plan. In addition to earning credits, all students must also pass the Math and ELA SBA exams (state exams). We recently concluding make-up testing for those exams this fall for Juniors and Seniors and all Sophomores will test in the Spring.

Celebrations!!!

• ·         ACADEMICS: We currently have 510 students in Choice Learning, which means they’re passing all classes.
• ·         BEHAVIOR: We currently have 927 students who have never received an office referral for any behavioral offense.
• ·         ATTENDANCE: We currently have 431 students who have zero tardies or absences.

October Highlights:

• ·         Thank you to all parents who attended our Fall Conferences.
• ·         Our October theme was “Commitment” and we had several Advisory lessons geared toward making and keeping commitments.
• ·         All teachers and many additional staff participated in a full-day professional training focused on ensuring equity for all students throughout our various school systems.
• ·         We had a successful and spirited Homecoming Week, which culminated in our Homecoming Dance at the original LeMay Car Museum.
• ·         Two of our outstanding students presented at our monthly School Board meeting.
• ·         All 10^th graders participated in PSAT testing.
• ·         Thank you to each of our Daffodil Princess candidates, and congratulations to Taychell Lott who was selected as this year’s FPHS Daffodil Princess.
• ·         We celebrated Nutrition Services Appreciation Week. Thank you to all of our cafeteria staff for your service to our students every day.
• ·         We practiced our emergency procedures in our annual school-wide Great Washington Shake-Out earthquake drill.
• ·         Kudos and thanks to Choir and our Choir Director for their fabulous Fall Concert.
• ·         Congratulations to our sports teams and athletes for wrapping up an excellent Fall sports season. Way to go, Cards!

Reminders:

• ·         Each Monday is College Monday, and each Friday is Spirit Friday!
• ·         We conduct school-wide grade checks on the final Thursday of each month to determine students who will earn Choice Learning or will be placed on Academic Probation for the following month.
• ·         November’s character theme is “Gratitude.”

 

FPHS MISSION: To provide students an engaging educational environment, built upon proven academics and high standards, resulting in successful and contributing citizens.

FPHS VISION: Every student (100%) graduates from high school prepared to succeed in post-secondary education.

 

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The month of September is in the books. As a reminder, at the end of each month, we will conduct a school-wide grade check. Grade checks will determine whether a student earns Choice Learning, Learning Lab, or is placed on Academic Probation for the following month. For the month of September, I am happy to report the following results:

• ·         Choice Learning: 462 students (42%) exceeded our expectations and earned Choice Learning, which means that they are passing all classes with a 3.0 GPA or above. Way to go! These students will receive independent study time in the cafeteria or library during our 30-minute Learning Labs on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This year, we’re also offering fun, physical activities in our gym during Choice Learning.
• ·         Learning Lab: 537 students (49%) are making adequate progress and will be attending regular Learning Labs for 30 minutes on Tuesdays and Thursdays with their Advisors for guided study time and additional academic support.
• ·         Academic Probation: 77 students (7%) have been placed on Academic Probation for the month of October. These students are failing 3 or more classes. They will attend regular Learning Labs for 30 minutes on Tuesdays and Thursdays with their Advisors for guided study time and receive additional academic supports from our Academic Support Team.

·         Our next school-wide grade check will be conducted on October 25!

Reminder: to access your child’s grade, use Teacher Ease. If you haven’t visited Teacher Ease yet, go to the district web page > For Parents > Gradebook tab for directions.

September Highlights:

• ·        September was Kindness Month. We had advisory lessons and character dares related to kindness throughout the month.
• ·         Every Monday is College Monday and every Friday is Spirit Friday. All students and staff are encouraged to wear college gear on Mondays and FPHS gear on Fridays!
• ·         Fall sports got off to a great start!
• ·         Our clubs hosted “Club Rush” to recruit new members!
• ·         Thank you to everyone who attended Back to School Night! We had about 70 community partners attending with information about college, careers, trades, and industry.
• ·         Our Voistra Choir Group held an overnight “Lock In” to build team comradery and practice.
• ·         I conducted my semester visit to the Pierce County Skills Center. Kudos to our 30 students who are taking 3 classes at the PCSC and gaining access to the latest information and training specific to a variety of career fields.
• ·         Our PE classes hosted our first annual Army Fitness Challenge Day where students participating in an obstacle course of physical challenges designed to emphasize team-building and leadership.

 

FPHS MISSION: To provide students an engaging educational environment, built upon proven academics and high standards, resulting in successful and contributing citizens.

FPHS VISION: Every student (100%) graduates from high school prepared to succeed in post-secondary education.

 

Dear Parents and Guardians,

It’s great to be back! Thank you to all the parents who attended our Freshman Orientation Night. On behalf of our entire FPHS staff, I want to let you know that we’re excited about the new school year and all the opportunities it brings. Our theme for 2018-19 is “Tune in to FP!” The idea is to make sure that every student is plugged into our school through sports, clubs, drama, band, choir, community service, and academics.  For the first three weeks of school, all students will be meeting daily for 30 minutes with their Cardinal Connections (Advisory) teachers. In their Cardinal Connections, teachers will deliver lessons to encourage and enhance community-building, kindness, resiliency, making good first impressions, emergency preparedness, anti-bullying, and our 4 Pillars for Success (AC/DC): Academic Achievement, Campus Safety, Determination, and Community. See below for a brief synopsis of each pillar.

We are very proud to announce that last year’s graduating class (Class of 2018) had a graduation rate of 95%. This is 16% higher than the state average! Also, for the second year in a row, we earned the US News and World Report Silver Medal, which independently ranks high schools throughout the country. FPHS ranked in the top 10% of the nation and in the top 6% in the state. We look forward to continued success this year.

 Academic Achievement

Our mission is to ensure that all students graduate from FPHS on-time and prepared to succeed in college and career. In order to do so, we strive to provide the highest quality instruction in every classroom every day. Our staff is dedicated to challenging our students with the right amount of rigor and support to foster consistent academic growth throughout high school. Our instruction runs bell-to-bell, and it is critical for our students to be on-time and present every day in order to engage in each lesson. Each student is expected to take responsibility for his/her own learning and ask questions to clarify their understanding of the material. Monthly grade checks will be conducted school-wide, and students who are not in academic “good standing” will be placed on Academic Probation to receive additional supports.

 Campus Safety

It is our privilege and responsibility to educate and ensure the safety of all of our students. In order to achieve at the highest levels, our students must feel safe at school each day. We take a firm stance against harassment, intimidation, bullying, and hate speech. We also have no tolerance for fighting, drugs, alcohol, or weapons on campus. While we do everything we can to be aware of all student behavior school-wide, we also need the help of our 1200 students. As citizens of our school community, if students see, hear, or read something that threatens or endangers the well-being of others or themselves, they must report it immediately to a staff member. “If you see something, say something.”

 Determination

As a learning community, we value a growth-mind set and wish to instill a passion for life-long learning in all of our students. We fully understand that balancing the academic rigor of high school with personal challenges that also accompany teenage years is difficult. We strive to cultivate in our students the ability to dig down and find their inner strength to continue pressing forward and to persevere through hardships. We believe that we can learn much from our failures and mistakes as long as we never give in or give up on ourselves. We believe that through our struggles, we strengthen ourselves and increase our ability to face even larger obstacles in the future.

 Community

We strive to build a strong, inclusive, compassionate, and respectful community. We value the diversity of our students, staff, and community and believe that we are strengthened by the multiple experiences and backgrounds we share. We believe that we uplift our community by building strong relationships and serving one another. We encourage all students to get involved in as many curricular and extra-curricular activities as possible and challenge students to establish relationships beyond their current circle of friends. The 9 Essential Characteristics we teach are Patience, Kindness, Honesty, Respect, Selflessness, Forgiveness/Empathy, Humility/Gratitude, Influence, and Commitment. In order to maintain a healthy, safe, and respectful community, all students must abide by the school rules as defined in the Student Handbook (on our FPHS website). When conflicts do arise, we strive to not only correct the “wrong,” but also to repair the relationship among those affected using community-building techniques and restorative practices.

Here are some upcoming events that we’re looking forward to seeing you at:

• ·         Our theme for the month of September is KINDNESS.
• ·         Sept 19: Back to School and College and Career Night, 6pm.
• ·         Oct 2 and 4: Fall Student-Parent-Teacher Conferences.
• ·         And, of course, Fall sports is under way, and we’d love to see you out at a sporting event.
• ·         ALL PARENTS are encouraged and invited to join our FPHS Parent Booster Club. Visit http://www.fpboosters.org/ for more information.

 Finally, nothing says “School Spirit” like some brand-new gear for the brand-new year! We have an online store available for students, staff, and parents with fully customizable FPHS gear of every type. Please, feel free to visit: https://schoolstore.jostens.com/school/washington/tacoma/franklin-pierce-high-school.