PEP ASSEMBLY: We will be on a special pep assembly schedule on Friday, September 8th. See the attached bell schedule HERE. We will be using Schedule #3. If you are a Running Start student, pay attention to the adjusted start times for your classes as they will be different than normal.
HOT LUNCHES: If you buy hot lunch from the school, make sure you are going directly to the lunch line within the first 10 minutes of lunch. Lunches will be served until the line is complete but will close after 10 minutes if there is no line. If you come to the lunch area after 10 minutes, you may not be able to get a hot lunch.
COLLEGE SHIRT DAY: One tradition at CHS is that on the first Wednesday of the month, we invite all students and staff to wear a shirt from their favorite college or university. This Wednesday is our first college shirt day. Students, be sure to ask staff members about their shirts to find out why they chose them. (We also have Tech Shirt Tuesday on the 2nd Tuesday of the month honoring technial businesses, trade schools, and other career paths. That will happen next week.)
CHS CLUB MEETINGS: There will be introductory meetings on Thursday during lunch for FBLA and a new Coding Club. FBLA will meet in Mr. Cioloha’s Room (9A) and the Coding Club will meet in Mrs. Kock’s room (1A). Come find out more about these clubs this Thursday at lunch!
ATTENDANCE: As we start the school year, here are a few helpful attendance reminders. You can also find more detailed attendance information in the Attendance section of the Student Handbook, found HERE.
- EXCUSING ABSENCES: State law only allows certain absence reasons to be excused after the fact (illness, doctors appointments, religious observances, etc.). Other absences (such as driver's education, family trips, etc.) can be excused but MUST be pre arranged in order for that to happen. For absences of 2 days or less, guardians may send a note, call the office at 509-493-1970 x 0, or email Crystal Rude at crystal.rude@whitesalmonschools.org. This notification may happen any time leading up to the absence but at the latest, must be done before 8:15am the day of. For absences of 3 days or longer, students will need to complete a pre-arranged absence form at least a week in advance. Forms can be found HERE and also under the student section of the website.
- LEAVING EARLY: If a student needs to leave early for an appointment, they can bring a note to the office in the morning and will be written a note to leave class at the appropriate time. Students must sign out at the office before leaving.
- ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENT FOR ATHLETICS: A student must be in each of his/her classes for the entire day in order to participate in an ASB or athletic activity that day. This includes attending advisory or any activity/assembly scheduled for that day. Students who are more than 15 minutes late for any class shall be considered absent for that period. The principal or their designee will make exceptions for medical related appointments (with note from provider) or activities pre arranged with the principal or their designee. Please see the Athletic Handbook in Final Forms for more information.
PARKING LOT CONSTRUCTION: We are still in the midst of parking lot construction and the lot will not be ready this week. Beginning Thursday, busses will drop off and pick up in the A Court parking lot while parents will still need to drop off in C Court or at the Field House. Student drivers will still need to park in C-Court. The alcove of the lot (in front of the Wellness Center and Academy) is reserved for people going to one of those two locations and not available to students. CHS students should park in the larger C Court lot. Just a friendly reminder, parking spaces are first come-first serve and may not be reserved. A temporary driveway has been installed from the football practice field (behind the field house) onto Simmons Road to create a one way loop for drop off/pick up of CHS/HMS/WPSIS students as well as overflow parking. The access road by the field house will be ONE WAY and only utilized as part of this loop. The access road (south of the field house) will be closed to traffic. Please see the attached map HERE. Parents and guardians, if you need to come to the school for any reason, you may also park in the back parking lot (nearest to C Court) or in the overflow lot.
FREE & REDUCED LUNCH APPLICATIONS: The National School Lunch Program is a federal program that allows students to qualify for free school breakfasts and lunches based on family income. However, even if students don’t eat school lunches, this program also qualifies them for a variety of other services such as free ASB cards, waivers for sports fees and class fees, free entries into dances such as prom, reduced fees for college applications, reduced fees for Running Start, and Advanced Placement tests. In order to qualify for these, families will need to complete the Free & Reduced Lunch Application Packet as well as the Consent to Share form. These forms will be made available on the first day of school and can be returned to the front office. You can also find them online HERE.
HUCKLEBERRY FESTIVAL: The Huckleberry Festival is this weekend in Daubenspeck Park. The parade will be on Saturday, September 9th with former WSVSD Superintendence Dr. Jerry Lewis as the Grand Marshall. See the website HERE for more information.
BRUIN CLUB TAILGATE: The Bruin Club, an athletic booster club associated with Columbia High School, is sponsoring a community tailgate party this Friday, September 8th from 4-6:30pm to celebrate the first home football game against Stevenson. For more information about the tailgate or the club in general, visit their website HERE.
EL GRITO: Join the City of White Salmon and Washington Gorge Action Programs on Sunday, September 17th from 4pm-8pm in Rheingarten Park in Bingen for the 2nd Annual El Grito celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. There will be free food, live music, activities, community resources, and more. See flyers in ENGLISH and SPANISH for more information.
GORGE MAKER SPACE: Gorge Maker Space is hosting an after school STEM club beginning in September. See the flyers in ENGLISH and SPANISH for more information.

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