- South High School
- South High School Homepage
This Week at South
This Week at South - 6.9: Buy the Envelope
Greetings South Students, Parents, Staff, and Community Members,
Past issues of this newsletter are available at the following link: TWaS Archive.
TWaS is also sent via Canvas Messenger and linked to my Canvas Module for all students and families to access, and shared on South’s FB page.
Part I: The News
Content Disclaimer: I am not omniscient. Don’t see your event or results in the newsletter below? I rely on parents, coaches, and others to send me information to include in the newsletter. Feel free to share positive news and results anytime via my email.
PTSO Looking For Conference Lunch Volunteers:
South PTSO will host lunch for teachers on Parent-Teacher Conference Day, Thursday, October 24th. If interested in donating food or time, please sign up at the link below:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409094AAFAE2CA3F94-52090470-conference#/
Parent-Teacher Conference Information:
Students will have a half day on Parent-Teacher Conference Day, October 24th. Students will be dismissed at 12:15 pm. Conferences will take place from 1:00 to 3:30 pm and 5:00 to 8:00 pm. Teachers will be available in the commons. Conferences are not pre-scheduled. Parents are welcome to come and visit with teachers in any order they wish.
Please note: We will run a 1-6 bell schedule the week of parent teacher conferences, as well as Monday-Wednesday the week of Thanksgiving.
November 5th Election Day - Remote School Day:
Tuesday, November 5th, will be a Remote Learning Day for Students. Teachers will hold office hours in the morning and afternoon via Zoom. Please visit each teacher’s Canvas page for details. We will also run a slightly modified bell schedule to balance in-person instructional time. That schedule follows. Changes are bolded:
|
Monday November 4 Tuesday November 5 Wednesday November 6 Thursday November 7 Friday November 8 |
Late start Monday schedule 1-6 Friday schedule - remote learning day Wednesday schedule Thursday schedule Tuesday schedule |
Fall Concert Showcase:
The annual Fall Showcase Concert is Thursday October 10th at 7pm in the Auditeria. This is a FREE Concert featuring the Band, Choir and Orchestra, including Duel of the Fates with a Light Saber battle. It will also be live-streamed on the SAHSMusicBoosters Facebook page. Come support our South Musicians and enjoy an evening of music!
South Cross-Country Runners Race at State Race:
The cross country running team had a commendable performance at the State Championship meet this past weekend at Bartlett High School, with the boys placing 3rd behind Chugiak and Juneau-Douglas Yadaa.at Kale, and the girls placing 5th behind Chugiak, Colony, Dimond, and Juneau-Douglas Yadaa.at Kale. The South team and individual places are noted below:
- Boys Varsity (3rd overall): Vebjorn Flagstad (4th), Jaxon Henrie (11th), Bradley Otis-Goodman (20th), Owen Harth (22nd), Zane Gerlach (30th), Gus Olson (35th), Braxton Thornley (38th), Evan Nicholson (adaptive athlete); Alternates: Grayson Stanek-Alward and Miles Gastrock
- Girls Varsity (5th overall): Mia Stiassny (4th), Meadow Bailly (24th), Alise Elliott (25th), Adele Matthews (38th), Addysen Gasser (41st), Shayla Lee (51st), Lilian Coy (66th); Alternates: Anna Green and Lucy Olson
South Swim at BHS-CHS Invite:
South competed at the BHS/CHS Invite.19 swim teams! Top finishers below:
- 200 IM - Zoe Fencil, 2nd
- 50 Free - Charlotte Griffith, 2nd (tied)
- 200 Free Relay - Charlotte Griffith, Zoe Fencil, Alexa Kotter, Zoe Zipsir, 2nd
- 100 Back - Zoe Fencil
- 400 Free Relay - Charlotte Griffith, Alexa Kotter, Tui Stanbury, Iris Rothbarth
Our next meet is against Service High School, Thursday, October 10th at the Service High pool.
Winter Sports and Activities Information:
Next up are Girls Hockey (10/7 - see below), Hockey/Hockey Cheer (10/16 - more below) and Nordic Ski (10/30- Preseason meeting (10/9) - See below).
All athletes need to complete Planet HS (now Big Teams), pay the fee through ParentConnection, and then see Mrs. Cravens in the Activities Office for eligibility processing and a golden ticket. All athletes are required to have a golden ticket to start practice.
- Start dates for all sports can be found in the following list.
- The registration process is outlined in detail in the following document.
Contact Kara Cravens at cravens_kara@asdk12.org with any questions.
Girls High School Hockey Starts This Week:
Please visit the following website to get more information and to register for girls hockey. The first game takes place on November 1st.
Hockey Cheer Clinic and Tryouts:
There will be a Hockey Cheer Clinic on October 16th from 3:30 to 5 pm, and Tryouts will take place on October 17th at 4 pm. All of the aforementioned information is also available on the following POSTER.
Nordic Ski Preseason Meeting - October 9th
There will be a Ski Team preseason parent meeting and athlete social: Wednesday October 9th at 6:30pm in the SAHS Library.
More details about the ski team are available on the team’s website at: https://sites.google.com/site/sahsnordic/home
Volleyball Dig Pink Cancer Fundraising Game v. Dimond - Thursday Oct 10th:
On Thursday, South Volleyball will host Dimond for their Dig Pink Fundraiser to fight breast cancer. Everyone is encouraged to attend and wear pink to the game. All funds raised will go to the Sideout Foundation, which raises money for families affected by Metastatic Breast Cancer.
Donate here if you can’t make it to the game: https://giving.side-out.org/campaigns/21074
Last week the team defeated East to secure a #2 spot in the conference and also knocked off Colony in straight sets. The team travels to Bartlett to play tomorrow night.
South Students Stand Out at Singing Competition:
South Swing Choir students Jocelyn Moon and Auriana Smith were chosen from 20 students who competed from all over the state to be in the final 5 in the Celebrate the Music singing competition this weekend. Both will compete for scholarships Saturday night at the Performing Arts Center downtown.
Division of Elections Youth Ambassador Program:
The Youth Ambassador program for the Division of Elections is looking for 16-18 year olds who are interested in working on Election night November 5th at a voting precinct. The pay is $20 an hour. Please contact Lorna at the Division of Elections at 907-522-8683 for more information.
Part II: What I’ve Learned
Over the past two months I’ve written about what it means to be human in the midst of an algorithmic, hyper-efficient, automated, and often disconnected world. That has included the value of slow insight, the benefits of writing by hand, face-to-face communication, and others.
This week I’m shifting to the value of getting out there and building community. To this end, I recently reread part of an interview Kurt Vonnegut gave Inc. Magazine in 1996.
To summarize:
Vonnegut told a story about going to purchase an envelope to mail a transcript to a typist named Carol, who lived in Woodstock, NY, who composed the galley proofs of his books. He mailed her his typewriter-written pages with handwritten pencil notes, and Carol turned them into finalized pages for his publisher.
As he was preparing to leave the house to mail his manuscript, his wife asked, “Where are you going?”
To which the author replied, “Well, I’m going to buy an envelope.”
While this may seem surface level, the small act of going to purchase an envelope at a local newsstand and then to mail the package from the Post Office set off a small adventure, which put Vonnegut into contact with familiar faces in his community. At the newsstand, there was a line; so, he took the time to talk to the people around him. When he got to the register he asked the clerk if there had been any big winners on the scratch off tickets. Although these conversations were brief, they were meaningful because they provided the invisible glue holding his community together.
After recalling this story, he noted its significance:
- I stamp the envelope and mail it. And I’ve had a hell of a good time. I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around. We’re dancing animals. How beautiful it is to get up and go do something.
Vonnegut seems to be reminding us to venture out and see what we can find. And, that there is hidden value in interacting with those around us and appreciating simple pleasantries. If we do this enough we start to build small, stable communities, which are a basic human necessity. We cannot go alone for long.
Like Vonnegut going out to get an envelope, some of you may stop by the same coffee shop each morning and get to know the staff there. At some point they may know you well enough to ask, “the usual?” and that simple familiarity feels good. You may also recognize the other patrons. And you may exchange a knowing nod, which is yet another simple familiarity that builds community.
In his autobiographical book, Palm Sunday, Vonnegut echoed this theme, where he asked:
- What should young people do with their lives? Many things, obviously. Butthe most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the disease of loneliness can be cured.
So, if there is a question about whether to automate, perhaps we are all better off if we decide to go buy the envelope, take the small adventure, and engage with our community.
As Always, Onward!
Luke Almon, Principal
