Exemplary Performance in Future Ready Skills Award

Parents of Juniors and Seniors:

Nominations are now being accepted for the Tahoma School Board's Exemplary Performance in Future Ready Skills Award for juniors and seniors. This award seeks to recognize students who have grown and developed their ability in a Future Ready Skill over time, as well as showcase the student’s current achievement, and the importance of the skill in the student’s life. The award is available to juniors and seniors who submit and demonstrate exceptional evidence of achievement or accomplishment in a particular Future Ready skill. Students who receive an award will have documented their authentic application of and their exceptional ability in the skill while in high school. 

Anyone in the community may nominate a current junior or senior who they think demonstrates exemplary performance in one of the Future Ready Skills. Students may also nominate themselves. Nominations are due February 6. Nominated students will be notified immediately and encouraged to apply. Applications will be evaluated by the Future Ready Advisory Team, including members of the school board.

Students who receive this award will be honored during Senior Awards night at Tahoma High School, recognized at graduation through special honor cords and receive a digital badge which they may post on social media sites such as Facebook or LinkedIn, allowing them to share their achievement with family, friends, employers, and others, and build a positive digital reputation.

Questions and nominations can be directed to futureready@tahomasd.us

Nominations are due by February 6, 2017

Student Application Deadline: March 31, 2017

Community Colleges & Professional/Technical Schools

All parents:

Most people know something about community colleges and technical schools, but there may be a few things you don't know. We will be sharing some of that information from time to time.

Did you know that community colleges offer certificates, associate degrees, and even bachelor degrees?

• Certificates train a person in a specific skill set for a particular type of work. There are many certificate programs that can be completed in a relatively short amount of time and can lead to a good, living-wage job. Some examples include dental assistant, licensed practical nurse (LPN), precision machining technology, forensic and fingerprint technology, and entrepreneurship and small business management. 
• Associate degrees are offered in professional/technical subjects, which may develop a broader set of skills than a certificate. Some examples include air traffic control, massage therapy, accounting, and IT systems and security. 
• Associate degrees are also offered for students who wish to transfer a college or university and earn a bachelor's degree. Students may want to pursue this option for a variety of reasons such as saving money or staying close to home.
• Bachelor degree programs are also being offered at community colleges near us such as Green River, Bellevue, and Highline. Students complete all coursework at the community college. These programs are in areas for which there is high demand in the work force.

Learn more by visiting the Washington State Community and Technical Colleges website.

Affordable College Degrees

For anyone in the community:

This was originally posted in December--join us Monday night!

Tahoma High School will be hosting an information night on Monday, January 23 from 6:30-8:30 pm for all members of the community, including students and parents, to learn more about keeping a college education affordable.

From 6:30-7:30, program managers from Green River College will provide information about five different bachelor of applied science degrees at Green River. These four-year degrees target high demand fields, offer small class sizes, and provide students with hands-on learning opportunities. The cost of obtaining a bachelor’s degree at Green River is significantly less than a state university, making Green River a popular destination for traditional students and career changers alike. There will be time for questions after the presentation.

From 7:30-8:30, Dr. Jonathan Brown will be giving a presentation: “Pros and Cons of Community Colleges: The Last College Bargain.” Dr. Brown has worked as a college administrator at both four-year universities and community colleges. He will use both history and current data to challenge some of the societal myths people believe about community colleges. This presentation is sponsored by the Maple Valley Library.

People may attend one or both sessions. Presentations will be in the Lecture Hall at THS. Enter through the courtyard which is to the left of the main entrance to the school.

If you have questions, please contact Lara Lindersmith llinders@tahomasd.us | 425-413-3468

Registration Anxiety

Parents of sophomores & juniors:

As you know, many students are feeling anxiety and stress around registration. This is compounded by the fact that students will be able to take 8 classes next year.

We want to offer students a variety of ways to achieve their goals, but sometimes all of these choices can be overwhelming.

Here are a few things you can discuss with your student to help alleviate stress.

1. Although you are encouraged to think about your future plans, you don't have to commit to a particular college or career right now! With 8 periods in your schedule next year, you'll have more of a chance to explore your interests. You might sign up for a class and discover it's your passion, but you might also realize you don't like that subject. High school is a time when you get to explore different subjects that you might be interested in. 
2. Young people and adults change their minds all the time! It's okay to change your plan. What are the values and goals that guide your decisions about what classes to take?
3. Set aside a chunk of time to peruse the Course Catalog to find classes that might interest you. Don't forget that there are electives with no homework. Almost all students will need a few "no homework" electives.
4. Sit down and look at your weekly schedule to make sure you have time for all of the classes and other activities you want to do. Use this Schedule Planning Worksheet to see if you can fit everything in and stay sane.
5. There is no single perfect plan! You can always make changes to your future plans as you learn more.

Remember to submit course selections and alternates for next year using Skyward by midnight on January 16. Turn in paperwork to science (grade 10) and ELA teachers (grade 11) on January 17/18.

Registration for 2017-18 Starts This Week

Parents of sophomores & juniors:

Students are receiving registration materials this week. Students need to submit their requests for classes using Skyward no later than midnight on Monday, January 16. In addition, registration forms should be turned in to teachers with parents signatures on Tuesday, January 17 (gold day) or Wednesday, January 18 (blue day). All students will be receiving:

• Registration form
• Registration instructions
• Homework hours worksheet

Students have already created tentative schedules using the Personal Pathways planning software. Click here to get to the login screen for Personal Pathways. The username is first part of student's GoTahoma email; the password is Tahoma10.

Sophomores will get their materials in their science classes. They will also be doing a credit analysis this week to check their progress toward graduation requirements. Sophomores who are in chemistry will be doing the credit analysis on the 11th during tutorial in the Lecture Hall.

Juniors will get their materials in their English classes. They completed a credit analysis to check their progress toward graduation before break. Students who were absent should ask their junior social studies teachers for handouts.

Counselors will be available in the commons next week during lunches to answer questions.

Talking points for parents:

• Are you on track with credits to graduate on time? If not, what is your plan to get caught up?
• What classes are you taking to explore your interests?
• Are you signing up for classes that match your goals for after graduation (tech school, military, work, gap year, college, etc.)?
• How are you feeling about having 8 classes instead of 6 next year? How will this impact what you decide to sign-up for?
• Let's look at your homework hours worksheet together. Do you have a balance of classes that will challenge you without making you feel overwhelmed?
• Let's look at the schedule(s) you created using the Personal Pathways planning software together. Are you happy with this plan, or do you think you want to revise it?
• What are you going to put in for alternates?

View the Course Catalog 

Information about courses can be found in both Personal Pathways and the Course Catalog. Course descriptions include approximate homework hours per week.