THE PRINCIPAL'S NEWSLETTER [SCHOOL YEAR 2003 - 2004] |
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| NEWSLETTER # 1 -- 16 Sep 03
Dear Yo-Hi/KHS
Alumni, I will be sending part of
my Principal's Message to you each month as well as current pictures of events taking
place. If this is not of particular interest to you, please let me know. (I
won't be offended.) I want to give you information that you are interested in.
Other forms of media that can put you in direct touch with us are: our school
website (soon to be up and running, again), the SEAHAWK, and our STARS AND STRIPES.
We try very hard to keep Kinnick in the news. They are as follows:
We have some additional
new programs we are offering this year. To support our PTS (Professional Technical
Studies) initiatives, we now have a LabVolt system for Pre-Engineering. This will be
taught by Mr. Henry Falk. Mr. Falk has worked very hard to move out lots of old
equipment to make room for all of our LabVolt equipment. We have also brought back
Auto Mechanics, and Mr. Falk will, also, be teaching that class. Additionally, we
will be offering CISCO Networking taught by Ms. Ellen Murphy, full-time Cosmetology (with
a newly created hair salon and nail salon) taught by Mr. Patrick Bailey, and Heath Care
taught by Mrs. Sharon Spear. We are, also, adding a Geometry Support Lab and an
English Lab as well as continuing our Algebra Support Labs and Reading Labs. These
support classes are wonderful opportunities for your teens (who need assistance in math,
English, and reading) to receive help. We are offering the Algebra/Geometry Support
in conjunction with Algebra I and Geometry in order to provide math to these students on a
daily basis. The support classes are for elective credit only. These are
wonderful opportunities to help our teens improve and achieve.
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| NEWSLETTER # 2 -- 5 Oct 03
Dear Yo-Hi/KHS Alumni, Thanks to all of our teachers, staff members, parents, and students, we had a very successful Open House on Thursday, September 11. There were many positive comments about the afternoon. We have changed the format of the Open House. I think when most of you attended Yo-Hi/KHS, the parents followed their teens’ schedule, and as bells sounded, the parents moved from class to class. Now, it is more like an Open House where after a welcome from my Student Council president and me, parents see what teachers they want, enjoying refreshments along the way. Our student leaders serve as guides throughout the afternoon. Always playing active roles are: Student Council Officers, JROTC cadets, and National Honor Society students. They all did a terrific job and worked hard to get schedules ready, food prepared, and hallways decorated – all to make Kinnick look good for our parents. The month of October is the mid-point of the first grading period. I always ask parents to talk with their sons and daughters regularly about their progress in school and to ask questions about their homework, projects, etc. Because our enrollment is down this year – considerably – we are making a schedule adjustment, which is effective on October 6. You all might be interested to know that we still offer a wide variety of after-school programs for our teenagers to include After-School Learning Strategies, Fine Arts/Photography Club, International Activities club, Japanese Club, Math Tutoring, Community Service Learning Club (Band-Aids), Cosmetology Club, Video Club, and a newly formed Step Team. These are in addition to athletics, band, drama, student council, student newspaper, and yearbook! I am always asking our parents to encourage their teens to become involved in high school. Research shows that the more our teens are involved in school and the more involved parents are in their education, the more successful our teens will be. We have so much to offer here at Kinnick. Educators’ Day this year will be on Friday, October 24, at Arnn Elementary School in Sagamihara (near Zama). This is a day of teachers teaching teachers. For you sports fans, our only loss thus far is to YOKOTA!! We have been doing so well in football, but the team just sort of "lost it" when we played the Yokota Panthers on their turf. They are just a big, tough team. Cross Country, Tennis, and Volleyball are coming along – we win some, we lose some. Tennis is up right now; we’re doing well against our DoDDS schools. The international schools have the tough tennis teams! Our next game with Yokota is our Homecoming on Friday, October 31. I’ll be taking lots of pictures for you. The classes will build floats on mini-vans. And, they are always creative and fun. The theme this year is the Renaissance – a rebirth of school spirit and involvement (my Student Council’s idea). There is a KHS parade through the base and down to Berkey Field right on the water. There are class banners, the marching band, the floats, and the cheerleaders (hopefully riding on a fire truck with sirens blaring). This is always a fun,community event. In order to show support for the Navy Birthday Week October 6 – 10, the Yokosuka Complex schools have re-scheduled a Teacher Workday originally slated for September. Therefore, Friday, October 10, is an all-day Teacher Workday and no school for students so that our students may enjoy this special Navy celebration with their families. That’s it for now. Stay tuned for Homecoming pictures. As always, if this information isn’t what you’re particularly interested in, please let me know. I can shorten this, leave out everything except events – whatever you would like. I want this to be of interest to you all. Tari Wright, Principal |
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| NEWSLETTER # 3 -- 12 Nov 03
Dear Yo-Hi/Kinnick Alumni, I apologize for being late with this latest Principal’s Message. The month of October was so busy and ended, of course, with Homecoming. I hope you enjoy this account and the accompanying pictures. Friday, October 31, 2003, was Homecoming. We played the Yokota Panthers. This was a very big game with a tough team! The Student Council and the various classes all worked very hard to prepare for the Homecoming Parade. The parade through downtown Yokosuka to Berkey Field was terrific. All classes had banners, the cheerleaders were riding on a fire truck, the band marched and played, all classes had floats, and JROTC marched in uniform. It was quite impressive. We wish more of the community had turned out for the parade, but it was Halloween. Unfortunately, we lost big time to Yokota, but the spirit was there and never faltered. Yokota has not lost one game this season. So, they are first in the Japan Football League and KPASSP League. We are second. We’ll "get ‘em," though, one of these days. ( We’re finishing up our Fall Sports Season and will soon be starting the Winter Sports Season. I am always grateful to the coaches, students, and parents for making all of our sports’ seasons terrific ones. Our students have done well, and continue to exhibit a tremendous amount of spirit, determination, fun, good sportsmanship, and integrity. I deeply appreciate all of the hard work of all of the coaches who work with our student athletes. They spend hours with our students. And, now, we’re moving on to wrestling, cheerleading, and basketball. Cheerleading is a part of almost all of the seasons and is now revving up for the winter sports. They are to be commended for bringing spirit, energy, fun, excitement, dedication, and endless hours of practice to every, single event. I, also, always like to commend our NJROTC cadets and leaders for their continued support of the school. They are at almost every event, looking sharp, and representing us all very well. Show Choir is continuing with their superb performances as are our band students. The marching band continues to add a whole new dimension to the fun and spirit, and their performance at Homecoming was excellent as always. In addition to the above, and because we know that involvement in school activities is important to the development of our students and to their overall success in school, we, also, offer the following activities and already have many students involved: Japanese Club, International Culture Club, Kinnick Community Service Club (KICS), a newly formed KHS Step Team, Video Club, and Fine Arts/Photography Club, JROTC Armed Drill Team, JROTC Unarmed Drill Team, Color Guard, Honor Guard, and more. The teachers who sponsor these organizations work hard to ensure that our teens enjoy many fun events and in some instances contribute to the community. I always like to mention that I think any member of our community would be impressed with the involvement of our students. One needs only to stop by the high school on any given afternoon to see the many students involved in the many activities that are offered. I always enjoy saying, "This place never closes down." It takes a group of very dedicated teachers and sponsors to make these things happen.We are continuing to make progress on our School Improvement Plan goals – reading comprehension and problem solving. Based on our school-wide assessments, the various departments are working on our problem-solving model with their students and will begin the reading intervention, SQ3R. We at Nile C. Kinnick High School wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving with family and friends. Tari Wright, Principal |
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| NEWSLETTER # 4 -- 1 Jan 2004
Dear Yo-Hi/Kinnick Alumni, As was the case last year, we are combining our December/January Newsletter, thus sending it out a bit later than usual. At the end of last month, I spent a week at the New Sanno in Tokyo where I attended the DoDDS Pacific Principals' Conference. It was a very busy week filled with information on Standards-Based Education, Reading in the Content Area, Math Initiatives, and various presentations on leadership, resource management, safety and security. Discussions on leadership permeated the conference, and it was a welcomed opportunity to talk with colleagues on a variety of issues and leadership ideas. Dr. Joseph Tafoya, Director, DoDEA, was there, as always, and mentioned several times how much he is looking forward to attending Kinnick’s graduation on the KITTY HAWK. I don’t know if I mentioned this to you before, but we have tried, in the past, to have our graduation on the USS KITTY HAWK, but the ship has either been out to sea or just returned (as was the case last year) and we had already spent money for a local, off-base auditorium. Anyway, we are almost certain that we will be having our graduation on the KITTY HAWK this year, and we are so excited. I will have wonderful pictures for you no matter where it’s held. I debated about whether or not to include the below information which was included in our newsletter to parents. However, I decided to go ahead for those of you who might want to see how education and classroom expectations have changed somewhat from when you were in high school. This is a real focus of mine and something I feel is very important. So, the below is information on Standards-Based Education – a DoDEA focus - and how to lead towards an SBE school, as well as understand what an SBE classroom looks like as opposed to the non-SBE classroom. Some examples are as follows: CURRICULUM
I am continually amazed at the energy, tireless dedication, and commitment of the high school teachers. They are a great group and work hard for our teens. I wish you, your families, and friends a very Happy New Year! Tari Wright, Principal |
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| NEWSLETTER # 5 -- 13 Mar 2004
Dear Yo-Hi/KHS Alumni, Please forgive me for not being in touch with you for what seems to me quite a while! I've been so busy since the holidays. In fact, I did not even return to school after the Winter Break because I traveled to our DoDEA Headquarters on January 2 to be part of the selection committee for the Assistant Principal of the Year. It was fun being back in the "US of A." I, also, had the opportunity to take some personal time to visit my sister in New Mexico as well as visit with some friends of my parents who are not in the best of health. I was back a short time and then attended a District Principals' Conference at Yokota. Shortly after that, I headed to Atlanta to attend a conference for all DoDEA high school principals on high school initiatives that we began implementing in our high schools last year. All of that traveling was in the January – February time frame. So, I've really been "on the run." What I'm going to do is combine some items from my February and March newsletters to get you up to date. And, I’ve got some neat pictures of some of our events. The second semester started with the usual excitement among the students. It’s almost like a break or vacation at the semester because the students are always excited about their new schedules and new beginnings. There is, also, always a sense of urgency as we start our second and last semester of the school year! "Fresh start," I always say, "and a time to buckle down as we head towards June." Graduation is now just around the corner! I don’t think I’ve mentioned to you that I conduct "Senior Interviews" every year with every, single senior. I conduct a few every day or so, and am continually impressed with our seniors. I treasure our talks and honestly seek information from them as to how we can improve our high school. We, also, talk about goals and post-high school plans; I want to make sure we, as a school, are doing everything we can to make this year a successful one for them. I am, also, asking our seniors for some lasting memories of Kinnick, and these memories will become part of my farewell speech to our seniors at graduation. My Assistant Principal, Mrs. Helen Bailey was, also, out of school in between my absences. She attended the Assistant Principals’ Conference in Tokyo the week of Feb. 2 – 6. This was a wonderful opportunity for her to visit with colleagues, discuss promotion paperwork, focus on "Leading Learning," standard-based education, and to learn more about teaching strategies in the classroom and how to help teachers. It always makes it very busy at school for me when she is gone, but that’s okay. (I’m sure it’s busy when I’m gone!!) Mrs. Bailey works extremely hard; she deserved a break from the busy routine; she truly benefited from the professional growth opportunities. Our Winter Extra-Curricular Program brought many Far East events as well as many Kanto Plains Association of Secondary School Principals (KPASSP) events. These KPASSP events are with our DoDDS and Kanto Plain international schools. And, now March is here. We’ve started our spring sports, and we’re on our way to the end of another school year! Some of the events currently taking place are: SIP In-services We are very busy with school improvement. All teachers are now involved in committees and working on our goals of problem solving and reading comprehension. AMI JROTC Inspection We had our annual JROTC inspection on March 3. Our cadets looked sharp and performed so well. We won’t have the written report for a while, but I know they did very well. One of our cadets, Ervin Mercado, has received an appointment to the US Naval Academy. We are so proud of him. Our cadets continue to have a very busy schedule. They are in great demand for performances not only on base but, also, off base. In addition to our annual invitation to the Black Ship Festival in Shimoda, Japan, in the month of May, our cadets just recently marched in a in a St. Patrick’s Day Parade, hosted by the city of Yokohama. Congratulations!!! Congratulations went out to the Kinnick High School Red Devil Boys’ Basketball Team, Red Devil Ladies Basketball team, and the Red Devil Wrestling Team for their accomplishments during the Winter Sports Season. Our Red Devil Boys’ Basketball Team took second place in the Far East Tournament! We have a beautiful, Korean brass bell in the Front Office, which was their trophy to bring back to Kinnick. They were just outstanding. We have a new boys’ basketball coach this year, and he is very, very good. The Red Devil Wrestling Team also did very well. They took third in the individual matches and second in the duals. I spent many, many hours over a two-day period watching them. I was so impressed with their sportsmanship. I was especially touched when they insisted that I join them in the picture taking as they received their trophies. We, also, have a new wrestling coach. The Red Devil Ladies took fifth in their Far East Tournament. I don’t know if any of you remember Henry Falk (Vocational Ed. Teacher). Henry is still with us at Kinnick and the coach of the Ladies. He is a wonderful mentor and teacher to all. And, the cheerleaders continue throughout all seasons; they go and go and go! Once, again, I commend our coaches for all of the endless hours that they spend with our student athletes. They go above and beyond the hours of their contracts and truly are a dedicated bunch of professionals – committed to doing the best for our teens. And, now . . . it’s baseball, softball, and soccer! I hope I haven’t gone on and on too much for all of you. I guess that’s what happens when I miss a newsletter or two. I do hope you are enjoying these accounts of KHS goings on. It is really enjoyable for me to know that there is such a dedicated group of alumni out there. There will be two more newsletters before I send the final one in June. I think what I’ll do for my June message to you is just send my speech from graduation along with graduation pictures. You might like knowing my message to my seniors, where they’re going to college, how many are going into the armed services, etc. Take care. Tari Wright, Principal Nile C. Kinnick High School |
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NEWSLETTER # 6 -- 11 Apr 2004 Dear Yo-Hi/KHS Alumni,This month’s newsletter may not be of great interest to you. It’s more of a reminder to our community of school concerns now that it is spring and the end of school is in sight! I’ll go ahead and include most of the information so that you can see some of the things we need to focus on as we move full speed ahead to prom and graduation! I have asked our parents with assistance on the following: Dress Code We do, indeed, have a dress code. We do not want to see females in short shorts and t-tops. Our male students may not wear undershirts without shirts over them. Flip-flops (shower shoes) are not permitted. We are still seeing many, many baggy pants on our male students worn way below their "behinds." This is not permitted at KHS or on base. We are printing our Dress Code Policy, again, in this newsletter. Please review it with our teens. Weapons This is a strong reminder that students are not to have weapons of any sort on campus or on school trips. This includes toy replicas! I cannot emphasize this enough. If students violate this DoDEA policy, they will be suspended pending an expulsion hearing. In addition to the above, students have a responsibility to report any violations of the above policy. We want our Kinnick High School community to be safe for all students. Additionally, students have a right to come to school free of harassment, threats, and anything else that might impede their learning. Homework The Kinnick High School teachers work very hard to ensure the best education for our teens. We have asked our parents to help us by doing their part. We cannot do it alone. Therefore, please ensure that our teens do their homework. Our teachers are constantly teaching, re-teaching, testing, re-testing, and trying to assist students in achieving mastery with needed skills. A strong component to all of this is the assignment of homework to reinforce those skills. We need for parents to ensure that the homework is completed, placed in the bookbags, and taken to school. As we begin our last quarter of the school year right after Spring Break (April 12), we have asked our parents for their support in getting their teens to focus on academic achievement. We have many programs in place to assist our teens such as:
My last two newsletters of this school year will focus on end-of-year information as well as prom and graduation. I hope to have some really neat pictures for you from both of these events.
Tari Wright, Principal |
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NEWSLETTER # 7 -- 7 May 2004 Dear Yo-Hi/KHS Alumni: This is our next to the last newsletter for this school year. I cannot believe the year is almost over! For me, this is a time of reflection as to this tremendous, as well as very busy, school year and all that has been accomplished, all that is left to do, and where I want to begin next year. I feel so very fortunate to have such terrific students as well as a very dedicated, hard-working, and extremely professional teaching staff. I’m not sure how interesting this particular installment will be for all of you. It’s more informational as to rules and policies so that we can actually make it until the end of the school year! It is getting so hectic! Plans for graduation are coming together. Since this is the "first ever" graduation on the USS KITTY HAWK, there is much preparation and planning. However, there is much preparation and planning no matter what. I think I’ll feel better once I can get up on that flight deck to see the layout, where the stage will be, and how all of the logistics will work. The KITTY HAWK will be back soon, and then we can get on board to check everything out. Last minute sports banquets are taking place: basketball (late this year), soccer for both girls and boys, baseball, and softball. The calendar is just packed right now with something almost every night. The Junior/Senior Prom will take place this Saturday night (May 8). It will be at the New Sanno (Armed Forces hotel in Tokyo). It will be a great event, as always. Students are excited, and actually, we are, too. I’ll send pictures next week. And, Yo-Hi Day is May 28. I’m sure all of you remember Yo-Hi Day! Below is the rest of May’s newsletter. I’ll leave it in tact so that you can see what is going on. I do hope you enjoy it. I’ll be in touch via pictures of the prom. I will send the last newsletter of the year as well as my speech from graduation – a farewell speech to my seniors. Tari Wright, Principal Nile C. Kinnick High School ******************************************* Some reminders as the year draws to an end: Updated Calendar: Please be certain to frequently check the school calendar that is posted on our Intranet. As you know, that address/link is always in the newsletter. There is so much going on during this time of the year that we want to be sure to keep you up-to-date on everything. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call. We are trying very hard to keep you informed. Also, please spread the word to all Kinnick High School parents that we need current email addresses on everyone. This is part of the registration packet. Re-registration: This is a reminder that every single student who is currently enrolled and planning on attending Kinnick High School next school year must be re-registered before next school year. Students who have not been re-registered will not be given a SY2004-2005 schedule of classes. This is a mandatory DoDEA procedure. Mrs. Michelle Penaranda, Kinnick High School Registrar, is committed to making this an easy and simple process for you. Please make sure your teens have been re-registered. Mrs. Penaranda can be reached at 243-7393. Dress Code: Please remember that we do, indeed, have a dress code. We do not want to see females in short shorts and t-tops. Please help us with this. Our male students may not wear undershirts without shirts over them. I have seen many students wearing "shower shoes," the rubber flip-flops as well as the shower shoes that have a Velcro strap across the top. These shoes are unacceptable. This is a safety concern especially during inclement weather when the stairs become slippery. Please assist us with this. Early Departure/Withdrawal: Please remember that permission for the Early Departure program is for PCS moves only. All other students must remain in school for the remainder of the semester or take grades-to-date. Please refer to the Student/Parent Handbook for specifics about this DoDDS policy. Graduation: This is a very exciting part of the school year, as you know. We will be having our ceremony on the flight deck of the USS KITTY HAWK this year. This will be a first for Kinnick and a first for the KITTY HAWK. We are all so excited. Detailed information will be coming out from Mrs. Bork, our Senior Class Sponsor. Dr. Joseph Tafoya, Director of DoDEA, will be the guest speaker. This is especially nice because Dr. Tafoya will be traveling from Arlington, VA, to address our seniors! Final Exam Schedule: This will be sent to you this coming week via a separate attachment. The schedule has been completed and is being reviewed one last time by the staff. This is a very intense time for our students, especially seniors. Please help us by ensuring that your teens make preparing for their exams a priority now. Facilities Update: This summer, the heating and cooling system in the main buildings will be renovated. This is a $900,000 project and one we are all looking forward to. Upon completion of this project, all classrooms will have their own controls for heating and cooling! The gym floor, refurbished last year, has to be partially re-done this summer; therefore, no one will be able to use the gym, again, this summer. And, new red lockers will be installed. Due to budgetary cutbacks, the new carpet will have to be installed next summer. It’s here, but we do not have the money to install it. We’ve ordered more new furniture for the Student Forum so that our school store, Sparky’s Den, looks better and holds more. More chairs and tables have been ordered. We want a really nice place for our students to "hang out." Junior/Senior Prom: Please keep checking our Intranet for prom updates. Mrs. Nina Klimas, Junior Class Sponsor, is in charge and has done a tremendous job at planning this year’s prom. It will be at the Sanno this year, and will be this coming Saturday, May 8. Things are really gearing up at Kinnick! Banquets, balls, awards assemblies, and Yo-Hi Day are coming up. Please check calendars and stay tuned. Thank you, as always, for your continued support, and do not ever hesitate to contact me if you have questions or concerns. We are here to serve you and to make Nile C. Kinnick High School the very best for each and every student. Tari Wright, Principal |
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NEWSLETTER # 8 -- 23 May 2004 Dear Yo-Hi/KHS Alumni, With the school year almost over, I am sending you my last newsletter of the school year. I will, however, be sending one more email to you, and that will be my farewell speech to my seniors at graduation aboard the USS KITTY HAWK on June 10. It has been fun for me to be in touch with you this year. I hope that my newsletters to our Kinnick Community have been somewhat interesting and have brought back fond memories to you as well as kept you informed as to the many activities that take place at Kinnick High! Thanks for your support and a very special thanks to Jim Hyatt and Steve Norden for their kindness and assistance! SAYONARA: With the end of the school year come many changes for the following school year. We will be bidding sayonara to the following Nile C. Kinnick High School teachers and staff members: Mrs. Kentria Alston Math Mrs. Pam Austin Art Ms. Julie Baldree Math Mrs. Joy Bork Social Studies/AVID Ms. Ellen Murphy Computer Dr. Heather Rimstidt School Psychologist Ms. Lisa Santucci Computer/Reading Mr. Paul Stanley Math Ms. Patricia Sykes-Brown Computer/Business Mr. Mandy Quevedo Guidance Counselor Ms. Chloe Yamamoto Math These staff members will be heading off to many different locations . . . most will be teaching at other DoDDS schools, and one, Ms. Yamamoto, will be retiring. We will miss them all. Wherever their paths take them, they will be missed at Kinnick High School. We thank them all for their hard work, their devotion to students and Kinnick High, and for their never-ending support. The students, teachers, staff, and administrators at Nile C. Kinnick High School bid a very special sayonara to Ms. Chloe Yamamoto for her many years of dedication and devotion to children over the last 40 years! Ms. Yamamoto can always be found in her classroom after school, well into the late afternoons and early evenings, working with students. We will all miss her kindness, her fun, her energy, and her "scheduling expertise" as she embarks on a "new" phase of her life. A very special "fair winds and following seas" to her from our Kinnick Community! Sayonara, also, to our community members who are leaving us. You know who you are. We can't thank you enough for all that you have done to make Kinnick High School a better school. Please don't lose touch. NEW TEACHERS AND CURRENT PROGRAMS: I am currently interviewing prospective teachers and hope to have this very important task accomplished before I leave for a month-long vacation in late June. I will keep you posted as to the names and teaching assignments of our new teachers. As you can see from the individuals leaving, there is much to do with respect to staffing. We have gained an additional teaching position for this upcoming school year due to additional money from Congress to support high school initiatives. We will have additional algebra support, geometry support classes, and English Language Arts support labs. We will, also, be adding a Discrete Math class that offers an alternative to students upon completion of Algebra I and Geometry. As always, I won’t know how all of the staffing will work out until we finish "cooking" our master schedule, seeing exactly how many of what classes students have signed up for. Our first objective is to honor as many student requests as possible; we call this a student-generated schedule. Additionally, we will be placing all 9th graders into 9th grade teams. We are very excited to be able to offer this for incoming 9th graders. As you know, the 9th grade is a crucial time for students who are entering high school. This team concept is like middle school teams only from the standpoint of grouping into teams. The focus is on success in high school with close monitoring of students and their academic and social growth. Thus far, the students have been more successful than their counterparts elsewhere in the Pacific. Other schools in the Pacific are now starting to adopt this concept. I am excited that Kinnick has been the only school in the Pacific with 9th grade teams! It makes scheduling difficult, but I believe that it is of tremendous benefit for our students. GRADUATION: Graduation for the Class of 2004 will be on Thursday, June 10, 2004, 1800, USS KITTY HAWK. All guests must have tickets. The seating will be somewhat limited. Mrs. Joy Bork is the POC for tickets, and she is always happy to answer any questions you may have about graduation. Mrs. Bork’s email address is: Joy_Bork@pac.odedodea.edu REGISTRATION: Every student must be re-registered each year. If you have not completed this process, please do so immediately. It takes about five - ten minutes. All students must be registered or re-registered if they want a 2004 – 2005 schedule of classes. If you have any questions, please call Mrs. Michelle Penaranda, Registrar at 243-7392. Mrs. Penaranda’s email address is Michelle_Penaranda@pac.odedodea.edu FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL: We thought you would want to know that the first day of school for next school year is Monday, August 30, 2004. More detailed information about next year will be sent to you in early August. OPEN HOUSE: Our SY 2004 - 2005 Open House will be on Thursday, September 9, 2004, 1600, Little Theater. Please mark your calendars accordingly. The plan for the evening will be a brief welcome by me, and then parents and students will be free to visit classes of their choice. Teaches will have handouts and talk, in general, about classroom expectations. NEW STUDENT ORIENTATION: There will be a KHS New Student Orientation sponsored by the Nile C. Kinnick Student Council on Friday, August 20, 1100, in the Little Theater. We will make certain that more information about the orientation is out in advance. Please pass this information on to new high school community members as they arrive at Yokosuka. NEW PARENT ORIENTATION: There will, also, be a KHS New Parent Orientation on August 20, at 1630, in the Little Theater. This is for all parents of high school students who are brand new to Yokosuka, not for the parents of incoming 9th graders who have been living here for a while. UPDATED CALENDAR: Please, please, please remember to access our school Intranet for the current Master Calendar, student bulletins, and a wealth of school information. The links to our Intranet are always featured in this electronic student/parent newsletter (towards the end). You will, also, receive an early – mid August newsletter from me giving updates on the beginning of the new school year. If you want to email me about the newsletter, or anything else in particular, please do so at my email address on the front page of this newsletter. It is imperative that we have your correct and preferred email addresses. If you have fellow Kinnick parents who are not receiving messages, please remind them to give us correct email addresses. We really want our newsletters (and numerous other messages that I send out) to reach everyone. This school year has, again, been wonderful in so many ways. As always, I thank you for your support and for your kindness. I feel so very fortunate to have the best students in the world - students who are kind and caring and who continue to make my years here very special. I wish all of you a happy and relaxing summer. Fair winds and following seas to you all. Tari Wright, Principal |
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GRADUATION SPEECH BY TARI WRIGHT, PRINCIPAL 10 JUNE 2004 As the principal of Nile C. Kinnick High School, it is an honor for me to welcome you to our 2003– 2004 graduation ceremony aboard the USS KITTY HAWK. I would like to extend a personal welcome to Rear Admiral Kelly; Mrs. Ruhe; our DoDEA Director, Dr. Joseph Tafoya; our Base Commander and his wife, Capt. and Mrs. Dietrich (here as parents tonight); our Superintendent, Mr. Bruce Derr; our Assistant Superintendent, Mrs. Diane Bell; and a very special welcome to my colleagues, principals of Byrd Elementary, Sullivans Elementary, and Ikego Elementary schools. As you may or may not know, this graduation aboard the USS KITTY HAWK is a first for Kinnick High School, and we are very grateful to Captain Parker and the crew of the KITTY HAWK. They have spent weeks preparing for this evening! Thank you, Sir, for your hospitality and for this wonderful opportunity. And, now, it gives me great pleasure to share some information with you about this year’s graduating seniors beginning with the number of years they have been overseas in this particular area:
Our seniors’ post high school goals include:
With respect to the world of work, Kinnick has been working very diligently to build and improve upon our Professional Technical Studies Department. I am very proud to announce that many of our seniors who will be going into the world of work will be leaving Kinnick with certificates of completion or certification in areas such as Computer Service and Support, Cosmetology, Health Care, Video Production, Microsoft Office, Cisco Networking, Lab Volt and pre-engineering, robotics, and a variety of work experiences at our Navy Hospital, Base Legal, and our local schools to name just a few.
I would like to share with you the universities and colleges that our graduating seniors will be attending.
Additionally, our seniors have amassed over $800,000 in scholarships from local as well as non-local resources. So, we have a pretty impressive senior class with definite goals in mind. Our seniors have worked hard, and believe me, (and parents will attest to this . . . ) they are ready to move on! Let’s give them a round of applause! One of the best times of my school year is when I can sit down to talk with every single senior about his or her high school years at Kinnick . . . his or her aspirations, the stresses of being a senior, the anxieties of leaving, and most importantly about Kinnick memories. This process is called the Senior Interviews. I thought you might like to know some of the memories our seniors have shared with me – and, I promise you these are their words. The rites of passage, adapting from middle school to high school, lessons learned; I grew up here. The people here at Kinnick and the way they helped me go forward in my life; I’ll always be thankful for that. Being a part of KTV - the different things KTV does and how it’s changed. All of the Yo-Hi Days and the lip sync; the whole. school together and sharing those experiences. Friends, lunches at Main Street, lunches with my old friends who used to live here; off campus lunch –I didn’t have that in my old school. In-School-Suspension-I will never forget that. Those red lockers. Prom. Spirit weeks and dress up days. All of the ROTC memories. Teachers who support me and help me; their understanding; the teachers here connect with the students. Being in a safe school. All night study groups.
Kinnick has changed my life. I consider this my HOME; there is a cozy feeling here. The teachers here actually care; here they are willing to help you, and find people to help. All the programs offered here; all the opportunities here; Graduation on the Kitty Hawk is waaaay different. Teachers never gave up on me even though I did some things wrong; they always kept an eye on me. I love the pep rallies and school assemblies. Such a diverse community—we all help each other. Inside jokes that come from the Far East trips. Passing periods –this is when you create most of your memories with friends. The first day of school—WOW, I’m a senior!! The best homecoming ever--amazing--floats, a fire trucks with the cheerleaders on top, banners. . but sooooooooo much work. Dig-In research night. A lot of memories here—but . . . you can’t have memories without your friends. And yes, the halls of high school DO know everything! Seniors, I thank you for those memories because they tell me that Kinnick High has had a positive impact upon your lives. And for that, I’m very grateful. And so, my seniors, these parting words . . . For each passing year, one becomes more attached to those who have been here the longest. Most of you were freshmen my first year as a Principal. And, I’ve grown close to so many of you. We’ve shared so much together throughout these four years. And, as I’ve said to so many of you during our senior interviews, I will miss you more than you can ever imagine. You have displayed to me a kindness, a warmth, and support that will not only be very difficult to top but that will remain in MY heart forever. You have made it easy for me to work with you in a positive direction and to allow you room for self-discovery. Because of YOU, we have, together, created an atmosphere of encouragement and support among our student body. Because of you, there has been an unprecedented spirit to Kinnick this year! And, as so many of you requested in your Senior Interviews, I promise I’ll keep that spirit going. Together, we have kept alive all of the many wonderful traditions that separate Nile C. Kinnick High School from not only our other DoDDS schools, but also from schools in the United States of America. We have worked together to solidify our values – not only personal values but values that have enhanced the education of all students at Nile C. Kinnick High. For these things and many, many more, I thank you all. There are four things that I want you to always remember:
It has been my privilege and honor to serve as your principal. Best of luck to you all, and thank you for everything. |