ATTN: Senior Informational Night Postponed
Senior Families and Students,
We are needing to cancel the Senior Night scheduled for this Thursday, September 19th. We will get it rescheduled for the beginning of October and will notify you as soon as a date and time has been set. Thank you for understanding and sorry for any inconvenience that this may cause.
September is Suicide Prevention Month, a time dedicated to raising awareness, fostering spaces where mental health is prioritized, and spreading hope through shared support and resources. This is a cause that is near and dear to our students, staff, families, and community and we want to ensure that everyone has access to the tools they need to talk about suicide prevention and seek help when needed.
Throughout this month, our school will provide resources, strengthen connections, and lead with activities to build hope within our school community.
We invite you to join us for our HOPE WALK on Friday, September 20th, before school. We will depart from the IHS front steps at 7:45 a.m. and walk a loop of approximately one mile around Ilwaco, returning to the IHS entrance. After the walk, we’ll gather for quick donuts and juice before starting our regular school day.
We warmly welcome family and friends to join us on this symbolic journey as we demonstrate our shared commitment to supporting one another and creating hope together. Please join us in wearing purple and teal to show your support for the cause. Rain or shine, we’ll take this walk.
If you're interested in donating funds for our donuts, juice and other supplies for this event, please reach out to ihsoffice@oceanbeachschools.org and we will gladly receive your gift.
Resource Hotlines:
If you or someone you know is going through a crisis, you can call the national suicide help line at 988 for immediate help or contact the Crisis Text line by texting TALK to 741741". The Trevor Project is also another great project- Text 'START' to 678-678 or Call 1-866-488-7386.
IHS students: We are busy sprucing up our building for the start of school. If you would like to earn some of your community service hours there will be opportunity next week, Monday the 19th-Wednesday the 21st from 10am-2pm. Our fabulous substitute and volunteer, Mr. Pierce, has been busy painting our new concession stand and getting it moved to the stadium but he still has some projects he'd appreciate some help with. If you are interested you should show up in some clothes that you don't mind getting dirty and bring a water bottle. There could be some painting, some pressure washing, window washing, weed pulling...lots of opportunity to make our old building sparkle. Hope to see you there!
Our IHS Fall Sports Parent Meeting and Registration is still next Tuesday, August 20th at 6pm at IHS for our high schoolers. There is NOT a sports registration tonight. We heard word of confusion and wanted to make sure to clear it up. We look forward to seeing our IHS fall athletes and parents next Tuesday evening.
Our IHS office hours will be a little different for tomorrow, Tuesday, August 13th, so that we can participate in some important back-to-school trainings. Our hours tomorrow will be noon-3pm.
Important Back-to-School Information:
IHS Parents/Guardians and students, On Thursday you should have received a Back-to-School email with lots of important information and upcoming dates. You'll want to make sure to check that out as soon as possible so you don't miss out on all of the happenings.
Our school office will open back up on Monday, August 5th and be open Monday- Friday from 8am-3pm, and be closed for lunch from noon-12:30pm. For questions you can email us at ihsoffice@oceanbeachschools.org or call us at (360)642-3731.
Next Saturday, August 10th from 8am-3pm our fabulous Ocean Beach Hospital is putting on a free sport's physical event at their Ilwaco Clinic. See the attached flyer for specifics and requirements. Thank you to OBH!
Fall Sports Signup and Parent Meeting: Tuesday, August 20th @ 6pm @ IHS. All fall athletes and parents are encouraged to attend, meet the coaches, learn about the requirements, expectations and the schedule and plan for the season ahead. This is a great opportunity to get all of your questions answered. We will be available to help with registration in Final Forms, accept new sports physical paperwork and collect ASB card fees. ( $40) The first football practice is Wednesday, August 21st and all other fall sports practices begin on Monday, August 26th.
Back-to-School Event & Registration: Thursday, August 22nd, 2-7pm. See the email for the many details but there will be registration paperwork, school pictures, schedule pickup, and an opportunity to learn more about attendance requirements and the changes to our cell phone policy. We will also be holding a Kleenex Drive. Every box donated will earn you a ticket in a drawing for some fun giveaways. Kleenex is the one supply that we are always in need of and we would appreciate any support in meeting this need.
First Day of School: Tuesday, August 27th
Doors open for breakfast at 8:20 and class begins promptly at 8:40 with dismissal at 3:15pm.
Wednesdays we will normally release at 1:45pm EXCEPT for the very first Wednesday, August 28th. We will dismiss that week at 3:15pm and our early release Wednesdays will begin the following week on Wednesday, September 4th.
NO SCHOOL: Friday, August 30th or Monday, September 2nd for Labor Day (Enjoy your long last weekend before we really dive into the school year)
The 2024/25 Academic Calendar can always be found on our district site but is also included in the email.
Other Fun Dates to Put on Your Calendar:
1st Home Football Game vs.Toutle Lake: Friday, September 6th at 7pm
1st Home Volleyball Match vs. Clallam Bay: Thursday, September 12th, JV @ 5:45, Varsity at 7pm
1st Home Girls’ Soccer Game: Tuesday, September 24th @ 6pm
Only Home Cross Country Meet: Thursday, October 3rd @ 3pm
Picture Retake Day: Tuesday, September 17th
Homecoming Week: September 23rd-27th
Homecoming Dance: Saturday, September 28th, 8-11pm
To our IHS Students,
Enjoy the rest of your summer and we are excited to see you back in a few weeks.
If you are a community member who would like to be informed of the regular happenings at IHS, our events, and opportunities to get involved we would like to invite you to receive our monthly newsletter. Please email ihsoffice@oceanbeachschools.org with your name and the message "please add me to the monthly newsletter" and we will make that happen. You can also find updates on our Facebook page and our district website. We are always working on improvements and one of our goals this year is "stepping-up" our communication game. We have an extraordinary community and we want to make sure that you are part of our IHS team.
Ilwaco High School's office is now closed for summer break and will reopen on August 5th. If you need anything in the meantime, please reach out to our District Office at (360) 642-3739. We'll share all the back-to-school details by August 1st—we just need a little time to catch our breath and fine-tune our plans. Also, be on the lookout for updates specific to August athletics including sports sign-up night, practice start dates, and sports physical opportunities . We hope to have that athletics information out to you within the next week or so in order to give you plenty of time to plan. Have a fantastic summer, and don't forget to save the date for the first day of school, Tuesday, August 27th!
Congratulations to Hailey Hightower who just returned from the Skills USA National Competition in Georgia where she earned 7th place in Graphics Imaging-Sublimation. She also received an award of proficiency meaning that she has the necessary skill set to get a job in this field. We are so proud of the opportunities that she is taking advantage of at IHS and of all of her hard work. Congratulations Hailey!
Not that we are at all surprised but...she did it! Congratulations to Rachel Lake on advancing to the next stage. We received notification last night that she has officially been named the 2025 Regional Teacher of the Year. Congratulations! The next step is state.
New link for youtube channel. https://youtube.com/live/IRt5RPb0atQ?feature=share
It's almost "Go" time. Our graduates practiced this morning and then headed off on their last field trip complete with school sack lunches for the trip. Mr. Heath and Ms. Kymm led them through Long Beach and Ocean Park Elementary where they distributed little graduation duckies to all of the future graduates. They then made their way through the halls of Hilltop and back to the IHS where they enjoyed the sunshine with an ice cream party on the loading dock. Thank you to the leadership class for gluing and assembling over 700 rubber duckies with graduation caps.
Tomorrow is the big day and 68 graduates will earn their diplomas and throw their caps. Ms. Anderson will be Facebook Live from our Ilwaco High School Facebook page and Mrs. Lake will be Live from the " Ilwaco Music" YouTube Channel. www.youtube.com/@ilwacomusic Chico's Pizza and The Lost Roo have graciously agreed to help us out and also show the Live option at their establishments. We appreciate their willingness to navigate the tech and juggle this in addition to offering their regular dining experiences.
If you have a ticket and are joining us at the gym, our doors open at 2 pm and graduation begins at 3 pm. Our parking lot fills-up quickly so we've coordinated shuttle parking from the East end of the Port of Ilwaco parking lot near the restrooms by Coho Charters . The shuttle will run from 1:30-3pm with a drop-off right at the steps of IHS. There will be return shuttles afterwards.
The Junior Class Parents are also doing a fundraiser at our front door. This money will go towards next year's senior grad night trip. You can purchase a yellow rose to give to a graduate for $3. Their supplies are limited so it's "while supplies last".
Tonight our community shined with generosity as they awarded thirty-four of our students with scholarships totaling over $117,000. We truly live in the most wonderful community that comes together to ensure that our students are taken care of and that they have the opportunity to go on and pursue their passions. A Special thanks to Sarah Taylor, our Local Scholarship Coordinator, for organizing all of this and the entire event. Thanks also goes to Carrie Barnes, our GEAR Up Coordinator, and Erin Glenn who organized the Graduation Celebration before the awards. Congratulations to the scholarship winners and thank you to our fabulous community.
Today was by far the most exciting. It was the last day for our seniors but on top of that, it was Blasko's 9th Annual Boat Launch Event with the best weather and some pretty successful designs and creations. Thanks again to Oman & Son for the donations to make this possible and to our local Surf and Rescue Team for being in the water and helping to ensure that this event was safe.
Almost just as exciting was the end of the unit in Ms. Anderson's Veterinary Science class where it was time to take vitals . Students tested heart rates, respiratory rates and took temperatures of Ms. Hofer's dogs. They also got some snuggles from these prize winning show dogs.
To top it all off, our windows were tinted today and the deer found our flowers pretty appetizing. So much for the pretty flowerbed for graduation!
There's been so much excitement this week and it's not over yet... Prepare for multiple posts because there are tons of things to celebrate.
On Wednesday we had our Move-Up Assembly which included recognizing each senior and sharing their plans for next year, welcoming the incoming freshman, awarding the staff selected Oscar recipients to a whole crew of fabulous students, as well as a sports signing for 3 of our students who are going on to play college ball. Beckett Turner will head to the University of Puget Sound to play basketball. Jacob Rogers will take off to play baseball for Anoka-Ramsey in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, and Boston Caron is heading to play baseball at Linn-Benton in Albany, Oregon.
In the evening, we had an FFA Chapter Meeting and celebration where students gave a recap of the year including the competitions and achievements and then next year's officers were selected with Bailey Womack taking over as president.
There are lots of exciting things taking place this week. We have a Red Cross Blood Drive tomorrow, Blasko's Boat Launch on Thursday, a GEAR Up organized Grad Celebration and then our Community Scholarship Awards Night on Thursday, grad practice and the Parade of Seniors through the buildings on Friday and then Graduation Saturday at 3pm. Tickets are required but we will have a live link on Facebook as well as our website and plans to have live viewing at The Lost Roo and Chicos Pizza.
Also, this week during lunch, students can pre-purchase a rose and write a note for their graduating friends. The roses will be delivered at graduation to the recipients. They will be sold for $3 as a fundraiser by our Junior Class Parent group as the first fundraiser for next year's graduating class. For those attending graduation, they will also be sold at the door for purchase, while supplies last.
We've received some questions about Baccalaureate so we got the answers and are passing on the information for those seniors, families, and friends who are planning to attend.
Yes, seniors should wear their caps and gowns if they would like to. Also, if possible seniors should arrive 15-20 minutes prior to the start.
Also, just as a reminder it begins at 5pm this Sunday, June 2nd at Ocean Beach Christian Fellowship in Seaview.
Tonight you can enjoy the talents of our Concert & Jazz Band at 7pm at Hilltop Auditorium. Tomorrow night you can catch our choir, same time and place and on Friday our Mariachi Event and Seal of Biliteracy Recognition will begin in Hilltop's Cafeteria with dinner at 6pm followed by the performance and recognition at 7pm in the Auditorium. Hope to see you there!
The end of the year is fast approaching and we wanted to make sure you had a list of the many exciting events coming up.
Please note: IHS Graduation is Saturday, June 8th at 3pm. Because the ceremony has been moved indoors it will be by ticket only. If you do not receive a ticket from a graduate we would like to invite you to join us by watching the ceremony on one of our live stream options. We will offer the link on our Ilwaco High School Facebook page prior to the event and you can also watch it at The Lost Roo and Chico's Pizza at 3pm.
List of Important Dates:
Choir Concert: Wednesday, May 29th @ 7pm @ Hilltop
Jazz and Concert Band Concert: Thursday, May 30th @ 7pm @ Hilltop
Mariachi Band Performance, Dinner & Seal of Biliteracy Awards: Friday, May 31st @ 6pm
Baccalaureate: Sunday, June 2nd @ 5pm @ Ocean Beach Christian Fellowship
Move-up Assembly & Sports Signing: Wednesday, June 5th, 12:45-1:45 pm
9th Annual IHS Construction Class Boat Launch @ Black Lake: Thursday, June 6th noon-3:15pm
GEAR UP Senior Celebration and Family Night: Thursday, June 6th 5:30-6:30pm @ Hilltop Cafeteria
Scholarship Awards Night: Thursday, June 6th @ 6:30pm @ Hilltop Auditorium
Seniors Last full day: Thursday, June 6th
Mandatory Grad Practice & Senior Parade through schools: 9am-1:30pm
IHS Graduation: Saturday, June 8th @ 3pm (by ticket only)
IHS Field Day: Wednesday, June 12th, 11;45-1:45
Helicopter Landing & Presentation: Thursday, June 13th (TBD but sometime after noon)
Last Day of School: Friday, June 14th (½ day) 12:10 buses leave
We have some awesome coaching positions that we are looking to fill for the upcoming fall here at Ilwaco High School. These include a Head Volleyball Coaching position as well as a Head High School Cheer Coach position. If you or someone you know enjoys working with students, has a desire to make a positive impact and has knowledge to share in any of these areas, we welcome your interest. More information and job specifications can be found at the following link:
https://ocean.tedk12.com/hire/Index.aspx
Parking Lot cleanup was a success! We didn't have a lot of helpers but the ones that came were mighty! Collectively 71 hours of work were contributed today. A special thanks to Jeff Hightower, Anna and Josh Wilkins, Liam Kerwin, Rob, Katie, Mya and Chase Cunningham, Cameron and Tristan Katelnikoff, Johanna and David Gustafson, and Amber and Samantha Brown. Another thanks goes to Peninsula Landscaping Supply for donating a load of soil for our flower bed and Ed Bendzick for stopping by and lending some of his landscaping and plant knowledge. We didn't finish everything and we have a lot of curb painting left to do but it was a day of accomplishment in the sun and our campus got some TLC.
-Sheena Burke
