FROM THE DESK OF: Adam Kurth, Principal
We had an incredible Homecoming week to kick off October. Our students were great and were a part of the highest participation we have seen in years. For the first time in over a decade, we hosted an all-school outdoor pep assembly, and the image of our entire student body unified in their Warhawk red was a beautiful sight.
October is recognized as National Anti-Bullying Month. On Wednesday the 13th, students and staff wore blue to bring awareness to bullying and as a show of commitment to be a part of the solution. In the sections below is information from our Student Services team and our administration on Arrowhead's efforts toward educating, supporting, and responding to issues of bullying at AHS. We know that bullying is timeless, systemic, and cultural and takes a unified effort from the school, families, and community to create the safest and most positive atmosphere possible for our students. We appreciate your partnership in this endeavor.
There are numerous opportunities for the community to watch and engage with our students and school over the coming weeks. Athletics are in state tournament season. The AHS Broadway Company is performing Catch Me If You Can this weekend. Conferences are being held the first week of November. Several other opportunities are shared below. We hope to see you out and about.
Enjoy the beautiful fall weather and Halloween season.
Adam Kurth
Principal, Arrowhead High School
UPCOMING EVENTS
Oct. 20: Extended 3rd hour for student safety presentations
Oct. 26: Josten's Cap & Gown Presentation to Seniors
Oct. 28th-29th: No school for students. Staff Professional Development
Oct. 28th: Trunk or Treat- Downtown Hartland from 6-8pm
Nov. 4th: Parent-Teacher Conferences- VIRTUAL from 4:30pm-7:30pm Additional information below. ***note the change from the original district calendar
October Is
National Bullying Prevention Month!
Below is information on AHS efforts to support, educate, and empower our students, as well as a statement from our student services department to provide insights and information for our parents.
Blue is the color identified in support of anti-bullying efforts. Our students and staff were invited to wear blue on October 13th, the official Anti-Bullying Awareness Day
Speak Up/Speak Out (SUSO) ~ Anonymous reporting program
SECURLY ~ Computer alert when students search sites regarding harm to self or others
Lunch supervisors assist students eating alone by finding students for them to eat with
Peers for Peers - A student group of peer support
Bullying/Harassment document - When a student reports bullying in the slightest manner it is documented so that it is addressed and administration can tie together even small instances that can build into a larger issue
School Counselor interventions
Arrowhead Way proactive efforts:
It Starts with Hello campaign
Empathy messages posted on school white boards
Teacher presence in hallways, common spaces, and events
Course content in Health, Leadership, and other courses that teach strategies toward responding and supporting peers through instances of bullying
Restorative practices with counselors and administration
Student Engagement - currently students are invited to participate in an anti-bullying video competition where they can use their skills and experiences to influence their peers in a positive direction.
Progressive discipline in response to repeated behaviors
Through it all, our goal is to change behaviors and understandings in hopes of creating positive and empathetic members of our school community.
A statement on behalf of our Student Services staff
Parents and School Community:
With bullying awareness month upon us, we would like to take this opportunity to shed some light on an issue that continues to be a focus at Arrowhead, and ask for your help in making progress towards a healthier and safer school.
Bullying as defined by the Wisconsin Department of Instruciotn is "unwanted, aggressive behavior among school-age children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time." In tangent with the Wisconsin DPI, Cyberbullying is defined by the Wisconsin School News as the" use of technology to harass, threaten, embarrass or target another individual or group." This is behavior that is "persistent"
One of the biggest challenges schools face in their efforts to decrease bullying and harassment behaviors is obtaining the information needed to take immediate action. We know that students who bully other students are not the majority at Arrowhead, not even close. Furthermore, it is rare that this type of behavior is witnessed by an adult in the building, and even when it is witnessed by an adult, it is not always perceived as an instance of bullying or harassment.
Here is how it so often goes:
1) A student becomes the victim (or the witness) to an act of bullying or harassment.
2) They often tell a trusted friend, or a parent about this situation, but they do not report to a trusted adult within the school for fear that things will get worse or retaliation will take place against the reporting student.
3) This behavior, then, ends up going unaddressed with the offending student, thus leaving more opportunities for the behavior to continue. No lessons learned, no consequences administered, and an increased likelihood that your (or someone else's) child will be the next target of such behavior.
This is where we are asking for everyone to come together in understanding; Parents, students, and staff, to make a statement that bullying and harassment has no place at Arrowhead High School and those who engage in these behaviors are stopped. If we are going to achieve this in a sustainable way, the reporting of these incidents must become the norm, not the exception. We are asking you to help your child do the right thing and report this type of behavior when it happens or when you become aware of it. This is truly a “One Team” effort.
It is important to know that every credible instance of bullying and harassment that Arrowhead Staff become aware of is investigated. If offending behaviors are addressed and they continue or worsen, the consequences for the offending student increase. Arrowhead has made significant improvements over the years in the way we address bullying and harassment. Still, the end result of these investigations does not always please everyone. Also, due to the FERPA, our actions of recourse are often not known by the public. We are committed to addressing these behaviors in our school so that Arrowhead can continue to be a safe and comfortable place for all students, but we do need your help.
We are asking that you talk to your child about the importance of reporting this behavior immediately when it happens. We know this is a big ask, but with your help, our children can become more empowered to make things better for themselves and others in the school. Thank you for your attention to this important issue.
Ways to report instances of Bullying or Harassment at Arrowhead:
Use the Speak Up, Speak Out website to make an anonymous report to AHS administration.
Contact an administrator or school counselor: South campus counselors include Thomas Stuber, Barb Whyte and Molly Sroka. North campus counselors include Kelly Matthias, Todd Reineking and Angie Rodenkirch). You can also contact Becky Gordon (North campus associate principal) or Debra Paradowski (South campus associate principal).
Students can enter the main office and ask to speak to an administrator, or go to the counseling office and speak to a counselor.
Use the QR code below
Important Notice for Class of 2022 Seniors and Parents/Guardians
Cap & Gown Ordering Presentation
Tuesday, October 26, 2021 during 5th and 6th hour lunch in the East Gym
A representative from Jostens will be here on Tuesday, October 26 during 5th and 6th hour lunch in the gym to talk to the Seniors about ordering their cap and gowns for graduation. Orders will be due by Tuesday, November 9, 2021 to ensure a proper gown size and that your items arrive in a timely manner. Please contact Taylor Crandall at taylor.crandall@jostens.com or 1-800-JOSTENS with questions.
Visit Jostens.com for more information.
CELEBRATIONS!
Congratulations to AHS senior, Ava Ulatowski who was selected as one of only four students across the nation to serve on a student panel at the Speak Up 2021 Congressional Briefing: Release of the National Research Findings on Wed. Oct. 20th!
What a great opportunity for Ava and great representation for Arrowhead and our student body.
Catch Me If You Can!
Don't miss the incredible opportunity to see our AHS Broadway Company perform the Broadway musical, Catch Me If You Can! It is an incredible show and showcases the very talented students we have at Arrowhead.
Tickets can be purchased here - https://www.vancoevents.com/PDL
Shows are running this weekend and next, October 16th, 17th, 21st, 22nd, and 23rd.
Don't forget to check out our AHS Student Newspaper @ https://thearrowhead.org/
Lots of great insights into the student experience.
Warhawk Manufacturing
Warhawk Manufacturing is a student-run business organized to teach students the real-life skills it takes to organize and manage a business for a profit. Students are challenged to mass produce items to sell along with assembling and engineering products for local companies. Please click on the "Shop Now" link to see our products.
AHS was proud to host the National PSAT, the ASVAB and the Wisconsin Education Fair! All three provided great opportunities for our students to access post-secondary information and educational and scholarship opportunities.
ATHLETICS AND ACTIVITIES
Please consider stopping out to our South Campus on Saturday, November 6th for our Varsity Cheer Craft Fair!!!! Over 60 local crafters kicking off the holiday season!
Good luck to all of our fall teams as they compete in the state tournaments!
Soccer - Tuesday @ Home
GVolleyball- Thursday @ Home
Football- Friday @ Home
BVolleyball - Friday @ Home
Cross Country - Friday @ Shorewood
Girls Swim - Nov. 6th @ Fond Du Lac
Teaching and Learning
Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment Survey (PARENTS)- WE NEED YOUR FEEDBACK!
The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Grant is funding that is awarded to our district each year to improve the quality of career and technical education for our students. The grant application requires school districts to conduct a Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA) to help districts identify, understand and prioritize their needs and how their funds may be used.
We are asking parents to complete this brief survey (using the link below ) to help us better identify, understand, and prioritize our needs.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeW8ER-OhUZM73M5nmbFneLw-ikXr7MR2zKi0XXPS3H086KVg/viewform
Please complete this short survey by November 1st, 2021.
Thank you very much for your time and assistance.
__________________________________________________________________
Academic and Career Planning-
As part of a comprehensive Academic and Career Exploration program, Arrowhead students experience homeroom lessons 5-6 times a year intended to focus students on the key steps and tools available to make more informed choices in course planning and postsecondary options. Homerooms emphasize awareness of self (what am I good at? What are my growth areas) to knowing about career options, labor force trends, college and career planning tools/checklists and thoughtful considerations and reflections on how to best manage high school and the post-secondary planning process. As part of the Arrowhead Focus Plan, this effort, in part, helps Arrowhead students to see a pathway to achieve their life dreams!
Our next Academic and Career Exploration homeroom will be in December. Lessons are on the AHS website https://www.arrowheadschools.org/academics/Student_lessons.cfm
Parent Information
Parent Support
PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES
Through our C-19 learning period, many adjustments were made and some of those changes in practice carried benefits that continue and education returns to 'normal.' One of those changes was a shift to virtual Parent Teacher Conferences. The feedback from last year's conferences, held completely virtual, was overwhelmingly positive. Families shared feedback stating:
connecting from home served as a great convenience
the traditional waiting -in-line was almost non-existent
the virtual one-on-one made for a more private and confidential conversation.
the ability to screen-share and discuss individual details help parents understand their students situation
This fall, we will continue the practice of virtual Parent Teacher Conferences because of all of the benefits it offers our families. We hope parents see this as a positive response to the feedback we received.
Conferences will still be held on Thursday, November 4th from 4:30pm-7:30pm. Additional information and directions on how to connect with teachers will be shared in the coming weeks.
Arrowhead Tech Information:
Securly Parent Portal, Additional Solutions to Help Guide Students’ Online Activities
Arrowhead partners with our families for all aspects of students’ learning and experiences. That includes online educational opportunities. Arrowhead uses Securly as our Internet safety monitoring service which includes web filtering, cyberbullying monitoring, and self-harm alerts.
Parents will receive an email from Securly with a snapshot of their children’s weekly online activities while at school. To receive their full online activity history, parents can create accounts in the free Parent Portal. The Parent Portal contains an Activity Tab, a Flagged Tab, and an Accounts Tab.
The Activity Tab is the first tab you will see upon logging in. You will see the complete browsing history of your child on the Arrowhead network. The activity listing has been segregated according to sites visited, videos searched and watched, keywords searched, and social media posts, and wiki pages visited.
If you have more than one child associated with this account, you can view activity for each of the children separately by selecting the child’s name from the filter.
You can also edit the date range to see activity from the previous 30 days.
The Flagged Tab displays the social media posts that students post during the school day on the Arrowhead network. It also contains any suspicious keywords that students may have searched for.
We have partnered with Securly to monitor students’ social media activity as this has been shown to be an excellent indicator of the student’s mood and mental well-being. Securly has managed to detect bullying and suicidal and self-harm tendencies through social media posts, giving schools and parents a chance to avert tragedies.
The Accounts Tab allows you to change your password.
If you do not wish to receive that weekly email from Securly, simply click on the unsubscribe button in the bottom left corner of the email.
For more information on the Securly Portal, please see the FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS.
Monitoring devices may be one way parents can encourage students to have healthier screen time and habits.
Each family should develop their own family media plan. Arrowhead would like to support families who choose to use these additional options by providing monitoring tools as a part of an overall plan.
AHS Info
From our AHS District Office
People are the most important and influential elements in a school’s success. At Arrowhead High School, every student, parent, community member, and staff member is an integral part of our One Team!
Facts about the people within Arrowhead:
(Data as of Sept. 17, 2021)
Students
2,070 Total students enrolled
513 9th graders
532 10th graders
491 11th graders
534 12th graders
89% Students who live within the 68 square mile residency
area of the Arrowhead District
11% Students who live in other communities, choosing
Arrowhead through WI's Open Enrollment Program
Staff
228 Regular/permanent, full and part-time staff members
89 Support staff
139 Teachers and administrators
Parent Support
ATTENDANCE PROCEDURES
We are getting many inquires about the best procedure to get your son or daughter released from school in a timely manner for appointments scheduled during the school day. If your son or daughter needs to leave during the school day for any reason, please send them with a note signed by you the morning of the appointment. Students should bring notes to the Attendance Office between 7-7:20 a.m. to receive their pass to leave. This procedure is the most efficient way to get students released on time for appointments without having to interrupt classes.
We realize that from time to time appointments need to be made last minute and therefore you are unable to send a note. In these instances, please call the Attendance line a.s.a.p. and feel free to leave a message. Passes will be written and waiting for students to pick up in Attendance. If the student is unaware of the appointment, please let us know and we will try to get the pass to the student before the time they are expected to leave.
State Statute 118.15(3)(C) states that parents may excuse their child from school for not more than 10 days (all of part of) in a school year. So we encourage students to bring back medical excuses from appointments which will ‘exempt’ the absence, meaning it would not be counted as one of the 10 days allowed.
If students are feeling ill during the day, they should report to the Health Room first. The Health Room will then contact the parent in regard to releasing the student to go home.
Thank you for your cooperation.
South Campus/District Office
700 North Avenue
Hartland, WI 53029
(262) 369-3611
Attendance: ext. 4101
North Campus
800 North Avenue
Hartland, WI 53029
(262) 369-3612
Attendance: ext. 4201
Parent Support
SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM - FREE LUNCHES
Re: 2021-22 School Breakfast and Lunch Program
Dear Arrowhead Families,
Arrowhead Union High School District is participating in the USDA Seamless Summer Option
(SSO) for the entirety of the 2021-22 school year. This means that our school is providing free
breakfast and lunch meals every day to all students through June 30, 2022 regardless of their
meal benefit status – Free, Reduced or Paid. This program does not affect your local taxes, it is
funded by the USDA. At breakfast, all students are offered three food components (grain, fruit,
and fluid milk) and at lunch are offered five food components (grain, protein, fruit, vegetable,
and fluid milk). For your student’s breakfast to be free, they must take all three food items.
For your child’s lunch meal to be free, they must take all five food components. For students
that are lactose intolerant we will be offering Lactate milk. A la carte items, milk only, or meals
that do not meet the requirements described above will be charged a fee to your child’s food
service account.
Please contact me with any questions at 262-369-3611 Ext. 4119 or email me at
kulick@arrowheadschools.org
Sincerely,
Jason Kulick | Director Dining Services | Arrowhead School District
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CONTACT INFORMATION
LAURA MYRAH- myrah@arrowheadschools.orgSUE CASETTA- casetta@arrowheadschools.orgADAM BOLDT- boldt@arrowheadschools.orgDONNA SMITH- smith@arrowheadschools.orgADAM KURTH- kurth@arrowheadschools.orgRYAN MANGAN- mangan@arrowheadschools.orgDEB PARADOWSKI- paradowski@arrowheadschools.orgBECKY GORDON- gordon@arrowheadschools.orgStaff Contact Website