Friday, September 9, 2011

September 9, 2011
West Salem High School parents:
We are off to a great start. We had an amazing first week. Even though we have 1,730 students (and more still enrolling), hot weather (and no air-flow), running short on desks and chairs and adjusting to the 7 period day..... we are still having a great start of the school year.
Our students have been wonderful to work with as we have worked out issues with their class schedules.
At the First Wednesday event downtown on Wednesday, I was so proud to see so many of our students there and to hear our award winning band perform
A couple events I want to remind parents of:
a) Music Day - Saturday, September 10th
b) PTO on Monday, September 12th at 6:30pm in the media center
c) Education Foundation on Monday, September 12th at 7:00pm in the Titan room
d) Campus beautification project - Saturday, September 17th 8:00-11:00am
e) Latino Family Night - Thursday, September 29th at 6:00pm
Again, thank you for your continued support.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to give me a call.
In appreciation,

Ed John
Principal
503-399-5533

Thursday, June 16, 2011

June 16, 2011
West Salem High School families:
Our school year has rapidly drawn to a close and I know students and staff welcome many changes that come with summer break. This is a time of great change for our school district. I have some news to share about some changes for next fall – the elimination of some staff positions.
The gravity of the school district’s $55 million budget deficit has left few alternatives for balancing the budget. Deep cuts are necessary and all schools have eliminated staff positions for next school year. In making staff reductions and determining which staff remain, the district must consider many variables based on collective bargaining agreements (negotiated agreements with employee groups), including seniority, competency (licensure, special skills or training) and related experience (the type of work the employee has done in the last five years). The district also took a hard look at programs and prioritized cuts with the goal of preserving, in every way possible, the programs tied closest to student achievement.
Sadly, the budget cuts mean that certain staff members will not be returning next year. We have cuts in the classified staff, the teaching staff, counselors and administrators.
These changes are difficult, however, it presents our school community with an important opportunity to say “thank you” and express our heart-felt appreciation to these valued staff members. As a school community of staff, students and families, we also have the challenge to pull together to continue providing the best education for our students.
West Salem High School finished this school year proudly, and returning staff members will arrive in August ready for a new year of excellence. We remain committed to the well-being and education of our students. Thank you for supporting excellence in education, and please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions.
Sincerely,

Ed John
Principal

Monday, January 31, 2011

February 1, 2011

West Salem High School Parents:

We just finished the first semester and moving towards the end of the year. The year is going by too fast.
We have a lot to be excited about with the many accomplishments of our students. Our state report card indicated that we showed significant improvement in each of the four state assessments.
I appreciate your support as we deal with a number of issues facing us next year due to the budget crisis. We do not know the exact numbers yet, however we anticipate that we will have a reduction in our teaching staff for next fall. Whatever the outcome, we will provide a quality education for our students. We had a well attended parent meeting last month to discuss the 7 period day. Certainly there are issues to address, but I know we will be able to develop a schedule that will meet the needs of our students.
Hopefully you have seen the link for the science students ..... they are in the top ten and need your vote (5 per day): www.samsungsolvefortomorrow.com

In appreciation,

Ed John
Principal

Sunday, October 3, 2010

School district boundary change process begins in West Salem

A community forum October 13 kicks off the planning process for new school attendance area boundaries in West Salem. With current elementary schools Chapman Hill, Harritt, and Myers, Walker MS, and West Salem HS all with student enrollments over capacity, new elementary and middle schools now under construction north of Orchard Heights Road NW will provide much-needed overcrowding relief throughout West Salem. The new elementary and middle schools were part of the $242.1 million construction bond approved by Salem-Keizer voters in November 2008.

The community forum is Wednesday, October 13 from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. in the West Salem High School library. Parents, staff, and interested community members are invited to attend.

The forum will share information about the boundary change work plan, school enrollments and capacities, and the School Board’s criteria for making boundary changes. People attending will examine current attendance area boundary maps and suggest possible changes. Another community forum this winter will share proposals developed by a neighborhood work team and gather reactions and input from those attending. New boundaries would be adopted by March 2011 for the 2011-12 school year. For more information, contact any West Salem school principal or project coordinator Mike Bednarek at (503) 399-3290.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Friday, September 3, 2010

September 3, 2010

West Salem High School parents and community:

The most exciting day of the year (first day of school) is a weekend away. I am certainly looking forward to the start of the 2010 / 2011 academic year.

I wanted to update you on a couple things.....
1) The school district is forming a neighborhood work team that will develop proposals for new and realigned school attendance area boundaries due to the new schools opening next fall. If you are interested in being on that work team, please plan to attend the September 13th PTO meeting at 7:30pm. We will take names of interested individuals at that time and determine a process to send the names of our two representatives to the district office.
2) During in-service this week we have provided training to our teachers, classified staff, student council and peer mentoring group on The Power of Respect. The focus for students is: Respect self, respect others and respect property. We want to communicate this message at assemblies, on posters, in morning announcements and in the classroom. The message we have given the staff is that students are looking for these things from the staff:
R - respect
A - accepted
I - important
S - secure
I - included
N - noticed

Again, thank you for your continued support.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to give me a call.

In appreciation,


Ed John
Principal

Monday, August 30, 2010

September 2010

West Salem parents and community:

We are excited about the start of the 2010/2011 academic year. We were able to hire some exceptional folks this summer to join our staff.

Saturday, August 21st was an amazing event. The Dream Center and West Salem Foursquare Church organized a wonderful event that brought 300 people together to spend the day pulling weeds and spreading barkdust in a community-wide campus beautification project. It was an other example of the West Salem community pulling together to support their school.

We are celebrating the fact that our state testing results indicate that we went up in each of the four state assessment areas (reading, writing, math and science). Math, writing and science showed significant gains.

This past week was a reminder that school is about ready to start with the sounds of band camp, athletic practices and teachers coming in to get their rooms ready.

Just a reminder, as we have big events at school, we have the special events parking lot behind the school for overflow parking. We want to be good neighbors and not park in the neighborhood.

Thank you for your continued support.


Ed John
Principal

Friday, January 29, 2010

February, 2010

West Salem High School Parents:

As the first semester ends and we start the second semester, I had a chance to reflect on the many positive things that are happening at West Salem High School. Students are being successful academically and our music and athletic programs have had a successful start this year.

The state report card is out (if you would like a copy, there a copies available in the main office). We were rated as satisfactory again this year. We have many things to celebrate, however we continue to work to improve our math, reading and writing scores.

The school district budget guide is available if you would like to pick up a copy from the office.

Again, thank you for your continued support. It is my pleasure to work with your students.


Ed John
Principal

Friday, October 16, 2009

October 15, 2009

West Salem parents and community:

This has been an exciting start of the academic year. Our music programs are in full swing, the athletic teams are doing well and our students are settling into their classes. Our enrollment is up to 1,700 this year and we have added a double-wide portable.

Teachers completed report cards today. You should have them in the mail within the next two weeks. Parent conferences are scheduled for November 23rd and 24th. Please make a point to attend this opportunity to meet with teachers.

This Wednesday we are honoring 383 students for being on the honor roll for their work second semester last year. We are proud of our students and appreciate their hard work.

Congratulations to Shawn Stanley, Linda Pooleon and Brenda Hauswirth for being nominated for the Crystal Apple Award. The awards ceremony is November 12th.

Our student council is working on a project to raise awareness on the important topic of bullying and harassment. I appreciate their help with this important issue.

The Titan Auction is Saturday, November 12st. Please plan to attend this event that supports student programs at West Salem High School.

Thank you for your continued support.

In appreciation,

Ed John
Principal

Thursday, October 1, 2009

October 1, 2009

West Salem High School parents:

We are off to a great start with nearly 1,700 students. I am certainly proud of our students. Our athletic programs are doing well, our music programs are doing well and academically I believe this is going to be an amazing year. October 21st we will honor 383 students that are on the honor roll because of second semester grades last year.

Today in 3rd period class we are giving students a flyer to bring home regarding H1N1 safety tips. You might ask your student to retrieve it from their backpack.

The superintendent is having her annual School Talk Summit at McNary High School on Tuesday, October 21st at 7:00pm in the auditorium. You are encouraged to attend this important event.

I know this is early, but I wanted to remind parents that the two days of parent conferences are November 23 and 24.

This year we are having our monthly PTO meetings at 2:45 rather than in the evenings. Our next meeting is Tuesday, October 6th in the Titan Room. Parents are welcome to attend.

Our newsletter is coming out in a couple weeks. It will have some important information as well as a calendar of events.

Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Ed John
Principal

Thursday, August 20, 2009

2009 Graduation on CCTV's Web site

CCTV will be streaming video of West's 2009 graduation on Aug. 21 on their Web site. They also have DVDs available to purchase for $3 at the station, or they will mail them out for an additional $3. Please contact CCTV at cctvsalem.org for more information.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

August 13, 2009

West Salem High School Parents:

Summer is about over and I am certainly looking forward to an exciting year. I think this year is going to be our best year yet.

We were able to hire some exceptional staff members over the summer. We are excited about what this year will bring and anxious to get started.

As you know, Taking Care of Business days are August 19th and 20th. It is important for all students to take advantage of this opportunity to get their schedule, get their ID card, pay fees, get your locker, etc. I would like to encourage you to purchase the ASB card - it is money well spent and a great value. In addition to entrance to games and dances, it provides a discount on the yearbook and prom tickets.

Students will pick up their draft schedule on the Taking Care of Business day. If you see a problem with the schedule, please have your student stop by and see the counselors August 27, 28 or 31 to resolve the problem. That way, they have a good schedule for the first day of school.

You may not know that we have a home football game with South Medford on Friday, September 4th prior to school opening. Please join us as we kickoff the fall season.

In appreciation,

Ed John
Principal

Friday, June 5, 2009

June 5, 2009

West Salem High School Parents:
We had a wonderful graduation last night (other than walking through two inches of water on the Pavilion floor). We are proud of our graduates and wish them the best.

Speaking of graduation; we were informed by CCTV this morning that they had equipment failure and the graduation ceremony did not get recorded. They were there video-taping and it was on the monitor, however the tape was blank. They feel badly, and are asking for our help. If any parent video-taped the ceremony and is willing to give their tape to CCTV, they will reproduce it on a DVD for all parents (free of charge). If you know of anyone that could help with this, please contact Alan at CCTV.

I especially want to thank all of the parents that worked on the senior grad party. The party was a huge success with over 80% of our graduates attending the party. The variety of the activities and the wonderful food made for an amazing event. I realize that many parents put in a lot of time, energy, money and resources to make this possible. We live in a wonderful community.

Thank you again for your continued support.

In appreciation,

Ed John
Principal

Friday, April 24, 2009

April 24, 2009

West Salem High School parents:

I wanted to make you aware of a special meeting coming up next week.
On Thursday, April 30th at 7:00pm in the library a couple members from the superintendents cabinet will be here to present the budget message. As you know, the district is facing some serious budget cuts and we would like your input before the budget is finalized in June.

In appreciation,

Ed John
Principal

Friday, April 3, 2009

April 3, 2009

West Salem High School parents:

Let me bring you up to date on our damage to our front lawn. Our School Resource Officer has nearly completed her investigation. It appears that the individual involved was not a West Salem High School student, in fact has no affiliation to West.

I was impressed with how the community has come together to support our school. Individuals contributed in a variety of ways: paid for fill-dirt, paid for the grass seed, worked on the front lawn to rake the dirt and grass and even made financial contributions to the school. I appreciate so much the support of West Salem parents and community.

In appreciation,


Ed John
Principal

Friday, March 20, 2009

March 20, 2009

West Salem High School parents:

We had a very positive pep assembly today as we recognized a large variety of students from our athletic teams to music programs to science groups. I am extremely proud of our students and their accomplishments. Representatives from Toshiba were at the assembly to recognize four students for winning a regional science contest.

Please take a minute to look at the calendar of events on the school newsletter. We have a number of important events coming up in April.

Congratulations to Dr. Ike Nail, he was selected as the Regional Music Educator of the Year. He will be honored next month at an event at Willamette University.

I hope you have an enjoyable spring vacation.

In appreciation,



Ed John
Principal

Friday, March 6, 2009

West Salem High School parents:
This past week was an exciting week at West. A number of our science students in Mr. Holman and Mr. Dey's classroom won a regional competition and will be going on to the next level next month. Mr. Lampert's science students also won their competition and will advance. Mr. Moneke's Mock Trial teams took first and second place at the district level and will go to state next week. Our wrestling team did very well at the state meet taking 6th place.
We are proud of our students and appreciate their hard work.
Parents are reminded of the freshman orientation / curriculum fair coming up this next Tuesday, March 10th starting at 6:00pm in the commons.
We recognized over 500 students earlier this week for being on the honor roll for their work first semester.
Spring sports have started and we are looking forward to spring music concerts. It is a busy time of the year.
Again, thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Ed John
Principal

Friday, February 27, 2009

WS Education Foundation Scholarship applications available

The 2008-2009 WSHS Education Foundation Academic Scholarship is a $1,000 award to the college or university of your choice. The award will be made for the 2009-2010 academic year. There are three awards available. Winners will be selected on a composite score based on their transcripts, two essays, activities and community service. Applicants must be a graduating senior at West Salem High School to qualify.

The 2008-2009 WSHS Education Foundation Service Scholarship is a $500 award to the college or university of your choice. The award will be made for the 2009-2010 academic year. There are two awards available. Winners will be selected on a composite score based on their transcripts, one essay, one description of a service project that they have organized or significantly participated in during their high school years, activities and community service. Applicants must be a graduating senior at West Salem High School to qualify.

The links below will take you to the forms for the scholarships sponsored by the West Salem Education Foundation.
Applications for both scholarships are due to the font office of West by 4 p.m. on April 13, 2009.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

West Salem High School parents:

We are excited to recognize 500 students next Wednesday morning that are on the Honor Roll for their first semester grades. That is the largest number of Honor Roll students since the school opened seven years ago.
If you have any incoming freshman, be sure to attend our Freshman Orientation / Curriculum Fair Tuesday, March 10th starting at 6:00pm in the auditorium.

Thank you again for your continued support.

Ed John
Principal

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

February 24, 2009


West Salem Parents:

I sent this message out via the phone master but I wanted to share it via this media as well....
"Parents, this is Mr. John, Principal at West Salem High School. We discovered a threat written on a restroom wall that made a vague threat to our school (no timeline or details). We take these issues seriously and have taken precautions and have additional security staff on our campus. We believe that school is safe and we will have classes as usual tomorrow. If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call.


Ed John
Principal
503-399-5533


Thank you for your understanding. I will write again tomorrow with more positive news.
Ed