Archie Williams High School Home of the Peregrine Falcons

                                                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   August 09, 2022
Dear Archie Williams Falcon Families,

Welcome to the 2022-23 school year! We are looking forward to students returning to campus on Wednesday, August 17th. We are very excited about the upcoming school year as we welcome new students, new staff and new parents. Our theme for Day One with students this year is “Building the Nest.” On this day and throughout the year, we will continue our focus on relationships and providing a safe, inclusive and supportive environment for our students.  

I am very excited to start my second year as Principal and look forward to continuing to build strong relationships with students and families to ensure that each student has the support that they need to be successful here at Archie Williams.

Please read and review all of the contents of this email carefully, all of which is important information to ensure a smooth start to the semester. Please refer to our school website throughout the year for updates and other important information.

First Week of School Schedule (8/17-8/19)

We are planning and organizing an all-day community building event for the first day of school.  “Day One” has been an ongoing tradition at Archie Williams High School for many years and we are excited to be offering various activities, events and learning for all students on this day. There will be community building events, an all-school BBQ and rally. Students will also take their school photo and receive a free planner and t-shirt!  A special thank you to the AW Falcon Foundation for providing free lunch on this day. Please note that we will have an adjusted schedule on this day. All 10^th, 11^th and 12^th graders will start their day in their CREW/ADVISORY class and all 9^th graders will meet in the Main Gym. School starts at 8:30am and ends at 3:35 for everyone.

AWHS Calendar 2022-23 - HERE

Day One BBQ  

Our amazing AWHS FALCON FOUNDATION will be providing lunch for all students and staff on DAY ONE. We need your help in setting up, serving and cleaning up for this fun activity!  Please use Sign Up Genius to choose a time-slot and be a part of the excitement of DAY ONE!

* Due to Day One festivities, there will be limited parking in the parking lot. Students and visitors are encouraged to use other modes of transportation on this day.

Student Schedules 

Grade 9 - schedules will be available for pick up on Monday, August 15th 2:30 - 3:30pm in front of the Main Office.

Grades 10 - 12 - students can view schedules in Synergy, Monday, August 15th at 5pm. Transfer students should have received a welcome letter from the district office detailing the steps needed to take to log into this platform.

Schedule Changes 

Counselors are working hard to finalize student schedules to ensure that they are correct and ready for access on August 15th. All students must be enrolled in a minimum of 6 classes and the only free periods allowed are during first, second or seventh periods. 

Schedule changes will ONLY be allowed in the following situations:

• You are enrolled in less than 6 classes (6 classes are required by Board Policy).

• You are missing a graduation requirement.

• A course that you completed over the summer requires a schedule change.

• You have been misplaced in a class according to prerequisites or teacher recommendation.

Schedule Change with Counselors:  Please see your counselor in person on Tuesday, August 16th per the following schedule if you have one of the above issues (students only):

• 9th grade:  9:00 - 10:00 am

• 10th grade:  10:15 - 11:15 am

• 11th grade: 12:15 -1:15 pm

• 12th grade:  1:30 - 2:30 pm

• Priority will be given to in-person students. Emails will be answered as time permits.

School Photos 

School photos are scheduled for Wednesday, August 17th during our Day One activities.

Please consider helping to check in our students to be photographed. Sign up HERE if you are interested in helping out. Additional picture day information is available HERE.  

Any Senior that has not taken their Senior Portrait, please call Dorian Studios 800.759.1234 x 2 and schedule a time to be photographed.

New Staff 

We are thrilled to welcome the following new members to our staff:

Suzanne Blunk - Administrative Assistant to the Principal

Sonya Carrillo - Returning as Special Ed Teacher

Ginnie Chu - LLT Intervention Coordinator

George Dickerson - Paraeducator

Anna Leemon - Science Teacher

Katie Ludin - Special Ed Teacher 

Amy Luck - Special Ed Teacher

Kaki McLachlan - Assistant Principal

Weldon Miller - Paraeducator

Alan Nealley - Returning as Dean of Students

Kokayi Postell - Paraeducator

Cathy Sarkisian - Returning English Teacher

Amy Thwaite - Science Teacher

Covid Update

The district continues to follow the guidance from public health and the current COVID-19 conditions in the county, and our top priority is to provide safe, in-person learning for all students. All decisions will be based on maintaining our ability to maintain that priority and we will keep the community informed as we receive updates from public health.

To that end, we rely on students and families to monitor for symptoms and report any positive COVID test results to our school health team and/or attendance clerk. We also ask that all positive test results be uploaded on Primary Health. Please be on the lookout for updated information for Covid Protocols to be shared with families in the coming week.

Parking/Getting to School

AWHS Student Drivers: parking permit information was available on our website as well as in Crew announcements and applications were collected last Spring. If you missed this deadline or were not eligible for a permit at that time, complete the  Parking Permit Waitlist Application and you will be notified if we have spaces available.

Students that are receiving a permit will be notified via email (the one you included on your application) . Pick up will be on Monday, August 22 and Tuesday, August 23 at lunch in the plaza by the Devonshire bridge.

We encourage our entire community of students, staff and families to use alternate modes of transportation to and from school. Our parking lot and street parking are both limited.  Always follow parking laws and respect our neighbors. Illegally parked cars will be ticketed.

USE PUBLIC TRANSIT:

Marin Transit Youth Pass Information  

Route 68 Stage Schedules:  https://marintransit.org/routes/68

For route planning, Marin Transit recommends viewing their routes available by school:

Marin Transit: School Bus Services & Interactive Map  

Athletic Information
Please see our Athletic Director’s letter sent home by email last week.

AWHS 101 Information Night

This event is for the parents of all 9th grade and transfer students. Please join us on Monday, August 15th at 6:00pm for this informational event. It will be held in the Student Center which is located near the baseball field (behind the gym). At this event you will meet key people and learn important information about how to navigate and connect with the school.

Counseling Session for 9th grade parents 

Please join our counseling team at "Frosh Night" for parents of incoming freshmen. This event will be held on Thursday, September 1st 5:15 - 5:45pm in the Student Center, before Back to School night.

Back to School Night

Back to School Night is scheduled on Thursday, September 1st at 6pm. Parents, please mark your calendars. This is a great opportunity to meet your students’ teachers. More information about this event will be forthcoming.

Attendance Procedures  

Daily attendance is an important factor in student success. This year we are strongly emphasizing the importance of students arriving to each class, on-time daily. Even with the 8:30 start students are still arriving late. We strongly encourage you to create routines that promote students arriving at school on time, and stress the importance of being on time to every class in order to fully engage in the learning process. Punctuality is important for college and career readiness.  

You may report absences to our attendance clerk Mark Machado by emailing him at mmachado@tamdistrict.org or calling 415-458-3418.

Student Planners  

All students will receive a complimentary Student Planner THANKS TO THE AWHS FALCON FOUNDATION! These will be distributed to all students on the first day of school. Check out The Falcon Foundation website to learn more about how they support Archie Williams and how you can get involved.

Falcon Families Connect

In high school, opportunities for families to gather are far fewer compared to the K-8 years. We have a solution! Falcon Families Connect groups are grade-specific meetings for parents/caregivers of Archie Williams High School students. The groups meet five times throughout the year and serve as a place for parents/caregivers to connect, learn, stay informed and support one another as their child(ren) attends high school. Each Class is led by parent volunteers who facilitate discussions on various topics related to our teens. Often these topics lead to other topics or just good conversations which are beneficial for everyone! You can learn more about FFC groups and the 2022-23 meeting dates here. We are also seeking two parent volunteers to facilitate our Class of 2026 group. No experience necessary - just a willingness to connect with others. If you are interested and want to learn more, please email Melissa at mcwahlstrom@gmail.com or Liz at lizharges@gmail.com. 

Parental Annual Notice

Parental Annual Notice 2022-23
Parental Annual Notice Signature Required (For Spanish, click here)
This form must be printed, signed by a parent/guardian and brought by the student on the first day of school. REQUIRED FOR ALL STUDENTS.

Parent-Student Handbook

Tamalpais Union High School District Parent/Student Handbook 2022-23

Student Accident Insurance

English

Español

Student Medication

Authorization to Administer Medicine -- must be on file (with all signatures) for any student to receive any medication at school.

Student Nutrition Forms

Please see our district Student Nutrition Information and National School Lunch & School Breakfast Programs page to find out how the school lunch program will work for the 2022-23 school year. 

We look forward to a successful and rewarding 2022-23 school year. Enjoy these last few days of summer and see you soon!

Sincerely,

LaSandra White

Principal