Reflecting on our Veterans Day Celebration: Show Up, Pay Attention, and Choose Well!

Friday, November 16, 2018

Dear OHS Community,

Last Friday, Junior Hans Schiefelbein organized and hosted a school-wide Veterans Day Assembly as part of his Eagle Scout project. At this event, our community had the opportunity to welcome over 75 veterans, their families, and guests from the Oconomowoc area as we paid tribute to those who served our country. This was our first ever formal Veterans Day assembly, and I hope it becomes a new tradition!

During the assembly, we had the opportunity to hear from a veteran named Jerry Stern. Mr. Stern, who served in the Air Force and is a retired high school principal, shared three pieces of advice to our community. They were simple: show up, pay attention, and choose well. His advice is spot on and I could not have said it better myself!

As we move into the second term of the school year, I would encourage all of us to take a minute to reflect on Mr. Stern’s advice.

Show Up: How is your attendance this year? As a school, we have made significant improvement. In October 2017, our attendance rate was approximately 86%. This October, I am proud to say we are at a 94% attendance rate. We have also reduced unexcused absences by 1,300 incidents as compared to last October!

Pay attention: It’s one thing to show up, but it’s another thing to engage in the many different learning opportunities that exist at OHS. In January, the 2019-2020 Program Planning Guide will be released. This fall, we will be adding more manufacturing and computer science courses as well as launching our automotive program. In addition, most departments have begun the process of tweaking and adding classes so that they align to our vision of preparing ourselves to be college, career, and life ready.

Choose well: The behavior of our students at the Veterans Day Assembly was incredible! My email inbox was flooded with compliments and I visited with no less than a dozen guests who commented on the maturity and respect of our students. I was so proud! However, the reality is that we all make mistakes and slip up from time to time. The true test of character is how we learn and grow from those mistakes. I invited all of us to take a minute to reflect on the following questions: How are we holding ourselves accountable to our community commitments? Are we living our Be Responsible, Be Respectful, Be Extraordinary mantra beyond the OHS community?

Mr. Stern closed his remarks by reminding us that we are the legacy of the individuals who sacrificed to protect our freedom. Let’s continue to honor the legacy of all of the brave men and women and make a commitment to follow the advice of Mr. Stern and show up, pay attention, and choose well.

Finally, with Thanksgiving approaching, I want to take a moment to tell you how sincerely thankful I am to work with the amazing staff, students, and families of our community. I wish you and your families a safe and happy Thanksgiving! Also, please note that OHS and our offices will be closed Wednesday, November 21-Monday, November 26.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Jason

Drug Prevention Policy at OHS

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Dear Oconomowoc High School Community,

As a community, we have the critical task of working together to ensure the safety of everyone at Oconomowoc High School (OHS). One threat students may face among peers is the exposure to drugs and alcohol. In recent years, OHS, in coordination with our district and community advocacy groups, has taken steps to help educate our students on the dangers of drug and alcohol use and empower students to resist any temptation to use them.

One such preventative measure is that we have partnered with the Waukesha County Sheriff’s K-9 team. A few times throughout the year, we invite the team to complete a search for illegal drugs around our entire campus and building. This measure makes it clear we are serious about OHS being a drug-free community. Today, we conducted an unannounced search of our entire campus. In total, the search lasted about 65 minutes and caused minimal disruption to our school day. For the search to be efficient, the building was placed in a non-emergency lockdown, which means that teachers were asked to continue with their lessons and students were asked to stay in their classrooms for the duration of the search. Often, people want to know the results of these searches. However, to protect the confidentiality of the members of our community, we do not publicly share the results.

There are other preventative measures our community offers. Additional measures offered include our Random Drug Testing Policy, which requires students to agree to random drug testing if they participate in clubs or sports or if they have purchased a campus parking pass. In addition, the Student and Family Assistance Program provides free counseling sessions to families through Aurora Health Care. Site-based counseling opportunities are also available at OHS through Gals Institute, LLC and Waukesha Family Services. Together, these efforts help provide our students and families appropriate resources to support a safe and healthy lifestyle.

Again, today’s procedure is just another way to ensure the safety of everyone on our campus and to give students an excuse to say “no” to any pressure they may face when confronted with the opportunity to use or carry an illegal drug.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at CurtisJ@oasd.org.

Thank you!

Jason Curtis

Principal

November Update from Student Services

Thursday, November 1, 2018

Hello everyone!

You can click here to view the November newsletter from our Student Services department. Specifically, this month's update includes:

• Information on sophomore meetings
• How to sign up for ACT Prep classes
• Resources for the SAT and SAT subject exams

Have a great day!
Jason