September 2015 Newsletter

LAVACA HIGH SCHOOL

311 Holly Street - Lavaca, AR 72941
479-674-5612

A Note from the Principal:

The 2015-2016 school year is up and running. The high
school enrollment has increased by 8%. With the new school year
beginning, I am constantly thinking of how we can improve and what
we can do better. The parent survey results are listed below. Some of
the areas of concern is being addressed and those details are
described in purple.
There are often times that reflecting occurs within the school
building between the faculty and myself. What was not included on the
parent survey but needs to be said Open House/Orientation was
mass chaos. Plans are currently being made to speed up the process
of receiving schedules, paperwork, and schedule changes. Next year
will be more organized and less chaotic from the registration lines,
schedule change forms, and required paperwork.
I want to challenge you to subscribe to the Remind texting
that is available from many teachers. This service allows you to keep
up to date with assignments and important dates at LHS. You can
subscribe to the high school account by texting @lavaca to 81010.
The teacher accounts are available on the district website under the
high school tab. This year is shaping up to the best year at LHS!!
-Felicia Owen

Survey Says

The topics below were the Comments/Suggestions/Ideas that

were repeated several times on the Parent Survey:
Better communication see page 3 of the newsletter
Less scheduling conflicts Parent/Teacher Conferences for
the 15-16 school year will not conflict with any
extracurricular events
Scholarship information & assistance Planning for the
Future event is planned for September 21, 2015
Grading System for Parents HAC Training will be held at
5:00pm in the high school library or by appointment with
Mrs. Todaro. You can reach her at
shannon.todaro@lavacaschools.com.

Senior Needs: September Goals

-Jessie Crawford
Classes at Lavaca High School resumed on
August 17th, and some seniors have already found
themselves stressed out by all the work that must be done
in order to prepare them for college next fall. Here are a few
tips for seniors to help make the next few weeks become a
little easier for them.
Take the ACT. If you are a senior and you havent
taken the ACT, there are only a few chances left to take it.
Even if you have taken the ACT before, make sure to study
and get an excellent score. Most local colleges accept at
least a 22 overall for automatic acceptance. The higher
your score is, the more scholarships become available.
After you are satisfied with your score, start
applying for colleges and scholarships. Check the Lavaca
Public School website for any upcoming deadlines relating
to scholarships.
Seniors are also allowed two college visit days.
Forms may be picked up in either Mrs. Turneys room or in
the office. These two visits do not count as absences;
however more than two visits will count as an excused
absence. The two visits should be taken by Spring Break.
Good luck to all the seniors this year!

Upcoming Events: September

-Karrie Maney
This month, at Lavaca High School, there are quite a few
events scheduled. They are as following:
September 7th: There will be NO SCHOOL in observance
of Labor Day
September 8th: PTO Meeting, library at 6:30pm
September 14th: Sophomore ring presentation
September 21st: Parent/Teacher conferences/Ring
orders/HAC training/Preparing for the Future event
September 22nd: No school for professional development
September 28th: FBLA convention
September 30th: Picture retakes/club pictures

Parent Involvement at Lavaca High School

-Payhton Vereecke

Teacher Spotlight: Jaime Pair

-Ashley Ballman

Lavaca High Schools Parent Involvement Coordinator

and Media Specialist, Shannon Todaro, has many goals for our
students and the upcoming school year. Todaro plans on working
with senior parents with helping them with their childs college
admissions and scholarships. Todaro would also like to see an
increase in our students book circulation, vocabulary, and
reading rate; it is crucial for parents to recognize the importance
of their childs literacy skills and to encourage them to spend
more time reading
Todaro recommends parents to attend Parental
Involvement meetings, extracurricular activities that involve their
child, to connect with the high schools teachers, to check the
students grades, get involved with Remind and PTO, talk to
their child about his/her school day, and to attend Parent Teacher
Conferences. As of now, Parent Teacher Conferences have been
scheduled for September 21, 2015; PTO meetings have yet to be
scheduled.
When asked, what parents should focus on during Parent
Teacher Conferences, Todaro replied that they should be
concerned with how their student is doing academically, and if
they should consider extra support or tutoring.
Now at Lavaca High School, eBooks are up for grabs in
the high schools library. These electronic devices contain helpful
tips for students; contact Mrs. Todaro for the code to access
these books. Also, the Lavaca Schools website contains a parent
institute section which includes daily parent engagement and
school success ideas for parents. Everything in this area is
available in Spanish.

This months teacher spotlight for Lavaca High

School is Jamie Pair. Pair is the Algebra I, Linear
Statistics, Computer Science, and Facilitating Credit
teacher. Pair taught for 10 years at the University of
Arkansas-Fort Smith in the WATC program, which is a
pre-college program for juniors and seniors in high
school. Pair has also earned her bachelors degree in
mathematics and loves being in the classroom.
Pair says she has decided to come to Lavaca
schools because her husband, Greg Pair, really enjoyed
working at the school as a teacher and a coach.
Pairs typical day consists of four Algebra I
classes, one Linear Statistics class, a Computer Science
course, and a Facilitating Credit unit. She says that she
loves how every day is different.
Pairs goals for her students this year is to not
only help students learn math, but to help the have a true
understanding of the problems.
Pairs expectations for the students and the
school are for an all-around positive attitude and respect
for everyone.
Pairs favorite part about teaching is seeing the
look on a student's face when they truly understand what
they are doing. She also enjoys helping others achieve
their goals.

ACT Testing:
Parent Involvement Opportunities:
PTO Tuesday, September 8, 6:30pm in the high
school library
Parent/Teacher Conferences Monday,
September 21, 2:30pm-8:00pm, Receive grade
reports for your student and visit with teachers
HAC Training Monday, September 21, 5:00pm
stop by the library to receive training for accessing
the
Preparing for the Future Monday, September
21, 7:00pm seminar to help students,
parents/guardians, & community members begin
planning for college.

The ACT test is a required test for college admission and the
scores received from the ACT can help qualify for
scholarships, including the Academic Challenge Scholarship.
The registration deadline for the October tester is
September 18th
ACT Testing Dates:
October 24, 2015
December 12, 2015
February 6, 2016
April 9, 2016
June 11, 2016
www.actstudent.org
ACT ID Reminder
All students who are taking the ACT must bring a picture ID
(drivers license or other form of government issued ID) and
their admission ticket to be admitted into the testing room.

Stay current with whats happening at

Current event emails

Email the principal at

felicia.owen@lavacaschools.com, to receive weekly
emails.

Facebook

Like Lavaca High School

Twitter

@LavacaArrows

Remind
Text @lavaca to (479) 668-2335

Marquee
The LHS scrolling marquee is located at the end of
Holly Street (behind the Student Union)

Website
View the Lavaca High tab on the district website at
www.lavacaschools.com
Lavaca High School ~ 311 Holly Street ~ Lavaca, AR 72941
479-674-5612 phone ~ 479-674-0087 fax
Principal: Mrs. Felicia Owen
felicia.owen@lavacaschools.com