I hope everyone is having a safe and enjoyable summer with family and friends.  As the principal at the Almond Campus, I am honored to be leading an outstanding staff to empower our students to achieve great things during their high school career and beyond.  This will be my 26^th year at Warren, and I am grateful to be a part of a school culture that is focused on student learning, a commitment to excellence, innovation and collaboration.  It is my intention to continue these important traditions and practices during the 2019-2020 school year.

Please help me in communicating a message that our staff and students will hear from me throughout the school year.  This message invites everyone to be a part of the A-Team at the Almond Campus and focus our energy on five concepts that will promote success. I believe that for our staff and students to achieve great things, they should focus on:  

• Attendance – This is a dedication to being at school, in class, on time, each day.
• Attitude – This is a focus on choosing to get better every day.  To choose an attitude that makes yourself and others better.
• Academics – This is a focus on taking active ownership of your learning and making positive progress academically.
• Acceptance – This is an appreciation for the diversity in our world and valuing the assets diversity brings to our community. It is a commitment to treating others as you would want to be treated; and even better, getting to know others so you can treat them how they want to be treated.
• Athletics/Activities – This is an engagement in the opportunities outside of the classroom that enhance student connectedness and contributions to our school community.

Those five concepts are much bigger than the words I used to describe them, but I think they will help you understand the concepts I will communicate and promote throughout the year so that we can have a common language and understanding for the things our staff and students should focus on to be successful.

Summer has been very busy at the Almond Campus, and the start of the school year is fast approaching.  Below are some important dates and information that you may need for the start of the 2019-20 school year:

• Walk-in registration is July 30 - August 1, 2019, from 1:00-6:00 p.m. You should complete walk-in registration at your campus of attendance. To save time at walk-in registration, be sure to complete the online portion in PowerSchool and pay school fees prior to walk-in registration.
• All seniors must have a meningococcal vaccine prior to the first day of school. This is a mandate from the State of Illinois. Please comply so your student, seniors only, will be able to attend the first day of school. We have sent emails throughout the summer to those that are still in need of the vaccination.
• Seniors will have the opportunity to be exempt from final exams second semester if they have an 80% or higher, five or less excused absences and no unexcused absences for any given class. Please contact the attendance office when your student is absent. In addition, please help make it your student’s goal to miss less than five days second semester to be able to take advantage of the opportunity.
• We will continue to support students who achieve perfect attendance each month. When a student has perfect attendance, they are entered into a raffle for a chance to win a gift card.
• To support our digital learning environment, our students will be given instruction and support in the area of digital citizenship. As a learning community, we want our students to make informed, appropriate decisions and develop strong study skills in this digital age.  Our Digital Citizenship Committee has created a program to assist our students with this goal.
• We will continue to offer a resource room in math, English, and science during lunch periods. This will allow students to receive support from our math, English, and science teachers during their lunch hour or study hall.  Our intention is to provide opportunities for academic support to students during the school day without disrupting their schedule.  Please make sure you remind your student(s) of this option to support their learning.
• The State of Illinois requires all students in grade 11 to take the SAT on April 14, 2020. There is a PSAT/NMSQT test for juniors on October 16, 2019. If students are interested in taking the PSAT/NMSQT, information can be found on our website at d121.org.
• Warren Township High School's 103^rd Commencement Ceremony will be at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois on Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 11:00 a.m.
• On Monday, August 12, we will host a “Sneak Peek” for students who would like to see the building/walk their schedule. Parents/guardians are also welcome to attend.  Administrators will be available for any questions or concerns that you may have. The building will be open from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
• On Wednesday, August 14, we will host a junior orientation. We will be running the busses at the regular pick-up time, and students should arrive at their bus stop if they need transportation. Students will receive their bus route information at registration. Students will arrive on campus prior to our regularly scheduled start time (7:25 a.m.) and follow a shortened schedule in order to become more acclimated to the building. Students may also drive to school as parking permits will NOT be enforced on this day.  In addition, the administration and student services will provide the students with helpful information for a successful junior year.  Please CLICK HERE for a link to the schedule.
• On Thursday, August 15, we welcome all students back for the first day of the 2019-2020 school year.
• On Friday, August 16, we will have an all-school assembly to welcome our students back to school, celebrate successes, and establish expectations for success. We encourage all of our staff and students to wear blue and gold on this day as well as every Friday during the school year.
• On Thursday, August 22, the Almond Campus will host our fall open house for parents to meet their student’s teachers and experience a condensed school day. Parents will follow their student’s bell schedule starting at 6:30 p.m. with 10-minute classes and five-minute passing periods.  Teachers will be present to introduce themselves and give a brief overview of their classes and expectations.

Please take the time to familiarize yourself with PowerSchool so you can track your student’s progress academically and check attendance.  Attendance is a critical part of student academic success.  By encouraging a positive attendance pattern, you help support your students’ academic growth.  Our staff strives to provide engaging opportunities for our students, but we cannot help them if they are not here. 

The start of the school year is right around the corner, and our staff cannot wait for the students to return.  I believe we provide a first-class education for our students, and I know we are going to have another outstanding school year in which we celebrate many successes. Please feel free to contact me or any other staff member with questions or concerns during the school year.   

Thank you and As Always, Go Blue Devils!