WHHHS Update-January 31, 2025

Dear William Henry Harrison High School Families—

It’s hard to believe that we are already at the end of January!  Student scheduling for the 2025-2026 school year is underway, and our winter extracurriculars are all in full swing! 

Please check out the information below:

ProgressBook Information
As we work through the third quarter, please take some time to review your student’s grades in ProgressBook.  You and your student can also set up alerts for low grades and missing assignments as well.  Please feel free to contact your student’s teacher, guidance counselor, or an administrator with any questions.  Our expectation is that grades are updated in ProgressBook once per week and that any email or phone call is returned within 24 business hours. 

Here is a video on how to set up Missing Assignment and Low Assignment Marks Notifications in the Frontline Parent and Student mobile app v1.0.2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi5QanEAhoM

If you are experiencing problems accessing ProgressBook, please reach out to us at parentaccess@southwestschools.org.

Tutoring Available – Tues/Thurs AM Each Week
Our National Honor Society offers peer tutoring every Tuesday and Thursday morning from 7:30 – 8:00 in Mrs. Siemer’s classroom (Room 104).  The sessions are always available to walk-in and no registration is necessary!

After-School Virtual Tutoring/Help Available through The Public Library
Students (K-Adult) can get live online homework help, skills building (including SAT prep), writing assistance, test prep help, FAFSA form assistance, expert chess coaching, and more from expert tutors. Live tutoring is available every day from 2:00 PM until 11:00 PM.  Please visit this link to access the site and get more information.

Inclement Weather
Winter is upon us!  Please make sure your contact information is current in Final Forms.  If you have received the recent emails, texts and phone calls from us this week via the School Messenger Mass Notification system, you should be all set.  You can also check the District website (southwestschools.org) and the official District social media accounts for the most up-to-date, accurate information. 

As a reminder, our doors open at 6:45 AM every morning and students should wait in the Commons.  Likewise, we need the Activity Center cleared at 3:15 PM every day after school, however, students who still need to wait for a ride may wait as long as necessary in the Commons or the lobby of the Main Building. 

ACT Testing for All Juniors – Tues 2/25
Our annual in-school ACT Test for all juniors will take place on Tuesday, February 25.  All WHHHS juniors taking the test (including students attending programs on an Oaks campus or on a college campus) should report to school by 7:45 AM.  All freshmen, sophomores, and seniors will work remotely on this day.  Teachers will post assignments in their classes’ Microsoft Teams pages for students to do on this day.  We will be serving a light breakfast (packaged food only) and a light lunch on this day; students will be dismissed at the end of the testing session; standard time testing should end around 12:00 PM.  Please contact the Guidance Office with any questions.

ACT TorchPrep Opportunity
Is your student looking to take the ACT this school year?  If so, please register him or her for the upcoming TorchPrep ACT Tutoring opportunity.  There is an all-day session for freshmen and sophomores on Weds 3/19.  The cost is $80 per student, which is over an 80% savings over the typical cost.  Please sign up soon as spots are filling quickly—we only have a limited number of seats, and once they are filled, registration will close.  Please visit this link to register.

2025 Prom Attendance Requirement
As we have done with Prom and Coronation the past two years, we will have an attendance requirement for Prom in May.  To be eligible to attend Prom, a student can have no more than six (6) UNEXCUSED absences from school from 1/8/25 – 5/2/25.  Absences with appropriate medical or other third-party documentation do not count as unexcused absences.  Please contact the office with any questions.  We addressed this with the all students in our grade-level assemblies back on Weds 1/8/25, and the language also appears in our Student Handbook.

Yearbook Ordering Information
Make the memories last and buy your 2024-2025 book today. It's easy. Just click here! Email the Vista Yearbook Adviser with any questions at stacey.jones@southwestschools.org.

Third Annual Family Education Day: Mental Health Huddle
MindPeace and 1N5 are partnering with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, University of Cincinnati, and the Cincinnati Zoo to offer families an opportunity to get game-changing insights on supporting yourself and loved ones through anxiety and depression in a fun, supportive atmosphere!  Interested families can register at https://1n5.org/family-education-day-2025/.  The cost is $12/person, which includes breakfast & lunch + ZOO admission for the day!  Adolescents (14+) and young adults with depression or anxiety and their parents or caregivers are invited to attend insightful sessions covering topics such as: Adolescent brain health, latest treatments for anxiety & depression, peer support, personal stories from individuals & families affected by mental health conditions. 

School Fees Updated for 2024-2025
School fees for the 2024-2025 school year have now been posted to our students’ accounts.  Directions for how to log on and pay student fees without a service charge can be found here.  Please contact the Main Office with any questions.

Stay Connected
Get your updates straight from the source!  Follow our official school and district level social media pages, listed here, for the most up-to-date, factual information.  For questions or concerns, call the school or email the appropriate administrator or staff member directly.  Let's work together to make it a great school year! 

Extracurricular Activities
Our district goal is that 100% of our students will participate in at least one extracurricular activity (club, group, or sport).  As we end the first quarter, we are at 91% participation among our student body.  We want all of our students to connect with at least one extracurricular activity because research consistently connects involvement with higher achievement, and because high school is just better when you are a part of something bigger than yourself!  Our school newspaper, The Paw Print, has highlighted the growing list of all of our clubs and groups here.

College Credit Plus Information Session – Thurs 2/27 7:15 AM
Any student that is interested in participating in the State of Ohio’s College Credit Plus program needs to attend an Information Session with a parent/guardian.  If you were unable to attend one of the sessions on December 5, we are having a final session on Thursday, February 27 at 7:15 AM in the Activity Center theater.  This presentation is for first-time CCP students only and a sign-in sheet will be used for attendance.

College Visits
Any Junior or Senior that would like to go on a college visit can sign up on that college’s website. In order for this to be counted as a field trip day, students need to bring a note from their parent several days prior to the visit so we can fill out the proper paperwork.  This is a great way to learn about colleges and college admissions.

College Applications
All seniors learned about how to request transcripts on Naviance and if seniors need a refresher on the process, they can check their teams page for the slide show. Transcript requests need to be submitted on Naviance at least THREE open school days before the deadline. See your guidance counselor with questions.

FAFSA
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is open EARLY!!!!  Both the parent and the student need separate FSA ID’s to submit the application.  Go to https://studentaid.gov/ to get the FAFSA started!

Scholarships for Seniors
Any senior who would like to apply for local scholarships can do so by visiting the scholarship link in their Naviance account.  To find this link simply click on colleges at the top, then hover to scholarship search under scholarships and money.

Wildcat Dunk – Sat 2/8/25
The Wildcat Dunk is an exciting community event that brings together students, families, and community members to support a great cause!  The event will be held on Saturday, February 8, 2025, at 11:00 AM in the Harrison Fire Department Parking Lot (200 Harrison Ave, Harrison, OH 45030).  Participants will DUNK into a pool of icy cold water to raise awareness and funds for our Junior and Senior High Special Olympics and Community Fund!

Registration is free, but incentives can be earned based on your fund-raising efforts!  To register, please click the link below.  You may sign in as a guest if you do not wish to create an account.  For those wanting to support the cause but have NO DESIRE to jump in a cold pool in February, you can sign up as TOO WILD FOR THE WATER and still raise funds!  You can also click the link and give a monetary donation.  If you are donating to a specific participant, please list their name on the form for credit towards their incentives. https://www.locallevelevents.com/events/details/36941

Questions?  Email wildcatdunk@gmail.com or reach out to Emily Holbert (emily.holbert@southwestschools.org).

Athletic Booster Sport Stag – Thurs 2/20/25
Harrison Athletic Boosters is excited to announce its annual Sports Stag, featuring former University of Cincinnati coach and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Member Bob Huggins.  The emcee will be former WCPO-9 Sports Anchor Dennis Janson. This event will take place on Thursday, February 20, 2025 from 7:00 -11:00 PM at the Harrison High School Activity Center.

For tickets or sponsorship information click here or email harrisonathleticstag@gmail.com.

Harrison Night at the Cincinnati Cyclones’ Game – Sat 3/15
Gather your friends & family and join us for a fun evening supporting many Harrison organizations!  A small portion of ticket sales benefit PTO, Harrison High School A Capella will be performing the National Anthem and God Bless America, Harrison High School ASL students will be signing during the National Anthem and the CAT Boosters will be selling split the pot tickets during the game. 

Purchase your tickets here: http://cyclonesgroups.com/harrisonjrsrhs 

PTO/Booster Organizations
Finally, we would like to invite you to join the Harrison Junior/Senior High PTO as well as our Booster organizations.  You can visit https://harrisonjrsrpto.membershiptoolkit.com/home to join the PTO, https://harrisonwildcats.membershiptoolkit.com/Home to join the Athletic Boosters, https://www.harrisonmusicboosters.com/ to join the Music Boosters, and the Harrison CAT Boosters’ website at https://harrisoncatboosters.square.site/ to support the Vocal and Drama programs.  

UPCOMING DATES
FRI 2/14: NO SCHOOL/CONFERENCE RELEASE DAY
MON 2/18: NO SCHOOL/PRESIDENTS’ DAY
TUES 2/25: JUNIOR ACT DAY
THURS 2/27: THIRD QUARTER CONFERENCE NIGHT
 

Thank you and have a great weekend,  

Joe Pollitt
Principal
William Henry Harrison High School