Welcome back! I do hope that you had a wonderful winter break. As you know, another semester is underway at WRHS and it is shaping up to be as eventful as the last! Winter sports and activities are in full swing and classes are going well. Amidst it all, construction has been, or is nearly, completed on 11 major projects! They include the Media Center, West Office, Teachers Work Room, Textbook Storage Area, remodeled Cafeteria, Alternative High School, Auditorium, locker room facilities in Gym A, the New Gymnasium, Commons Area and the music renovation in Gym B. Additionally, we are very excited to be approaching the end of nearly three years of continuous construction on the building. At present, final projects such as a science addition, additional classroom space and the remodeling of hallways will be going out to bid sometime in February.

As we have concluded the 1st semester it is time to again evaluate the strength of our advisory program. As you may recall, we launched this initiative for multiple purposes. Our objective was to provide small learning communities within our very large school in which students would be able to discuss a myriad of developmental topics and make connections with the advisory teacher. Moreover, opportunities have been provided for students to: explore possible career interests, obtain additional assistance from classroom teachers, prepare for standardized tests such as the ACT, work on computer based classroom projects, and visit with their counselors. It is our hope that this initiative has improved your student's connectedness and success in school. In the coming weeks you will be receiving an email from me inviting you to participate in a survey gauging the initiative's success with respect to your child. I encourage you to take this opportunity to provide us with feedback that will help us make decisions about the future of the program. As always, if you would like to discuss the matter with me personally, please feel free to either email me at or call me at 339-4105.

Finally, I have one more item that I would like to share with you. In the coming weeks, we will be preparing for the administration of this year's State Assessments. Because these assessments measure the acquisition of knowledge and skills critical to ongoing, individual success in high school and college, we take our responsibility to help students demonstrate their proficiency very seriously. We have identified the students who are in need of intervention and are formulating plans to help them. If you received a letter from us late last semester offering assistance, I would encourage you to talk with your student(s) about taking advantage of this additional help. It is imperative that we work together to ensure maximum student preparedness. It is our mission to ensure that every student learns to the best of their ability.

Sincerely,

Ed Raines