Congratulations to the GO BLUE students of April! This month, eight students were selected by their teachers as GO BLUE students. Nominated students were recognized for the exceptional examples they provide as model students. Below are what they believe are the reasons they were chosen for.

Freshman:

Josh Redar- “I’m pretty sure i got it because i just get my work done.”

Sophomore:

Stella Hair Morin; “I work very hard in that class, it’s my favorite.”

Junior:

Brandon Pulliam: “I work hard and help people who need it.”

Amy Wagner: “I’m a hard worker and my team placed 3rd in state.”

Senior:

Ryan Watilo - “I’d guess it’s because I volunteered and passed expectation and I communicated well with my teachers

Henry Watson - “I’m pretty sure it’s because I get work done in class.”

Freshman, Jaquelin Ruiz-Ibarra and Junior, Matt Reser were also chosen as GO Blue students of the month. This month’s Staff members who were recognized are Barbara Brown and Katharine Curles.

Congratulations to all our GO Blue winners!
View all the April nominees here.

Seussical the Musical, is a play based off a mixture of stories from the great Dr. Seuss. Come along and follow Horton the elephant through a series of fun-filled and family-friendly adventures that are perfect for small children.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for students and can be purchased through the Wa-HI ASB office, online at intouch.wwps.org or one hour before curtain.

Show dates are May 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 9th, 10th, and 11th at 7 p.m. and also at 2 p.m. on May 4th and 11th.

Don’t miss the spectacular turn of events coming this May in Seussical the Musical, performed for you by Wa-Hi Drama.

Congratulations to the March GO BLUE students of the month! Nine students were chosen by their teachers to be March’s students of the month. These teachers believed that during the month of March these WA-Hi students provided an exceptional example of what a WA-Hi student is and should be. This is how they responded when asked why they thought they were chosen to be students of the month.

9th grade:

Kyle Porter -  “ I turn my work in on time.”

10th grade:

Makayla Board - “I do what I want and try to succeed.”

Mya Osborn - “I think it is really important to keep going, even when things get hard.”

11th grade:

Adalaide Pies - “Hard work”.

Amelia Gordon -  “Being quiet”.

12th grade:

Brett Ferguson - “I’ve always had the philosophy that it’s fun to be good and good to be fun. I think being a part of my award is always better than just having things given to me.”

Alyssa Drader- “I think I show up eager to set things up and help on the school farm.”

Ruben Rojas - “Mrs. Wagner challenges me in many ways, I guess I always have a good attitude when I show up to class.”

Also recognized was 9th grader, Ariel Plantenberg. Staff members recognized this month were Ginger Heiser and Jill Meliah.

See all the March nominees here.

Over the weekend, the annual track and field Blue Devil Legends Invitational was held here at Wa-Hi. With 17 teams qualifying, April 21st was a busy day for track students in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

Wa-Hi did exceedingly well, placing first in various events. Coach Eric Hisaw says this event is the “...biggest event of the season. The teachers look forward to it, the coaches look forward to it, and the students look forward to it.”

Madi Knight, a senior at Wa-Hi, placed first in long jump with a personal record of 17ft 2in. Along with Josiah Wik, placing first in boys long jump. Jared McAvley, also a senior, placed first in both 300 meter hurdles with a time of 38.56 seconds, and was the champion of the 200 meter dash. Jared said, to people wanting to join track, “You should do it! It’s a social based sport so you can be exercising and having fun while also bonding with other students.” Noelani Helm placed first in girls high jump with an impressive 5ft 2in. Ella Nelson placed first as well in the 1600 meter with 5 minutes and 0.93 of a second.

Hurdles coach, Michael Najera said, “Wa-Hi did really well. We are excited to see what comes next.” Overall, we are extremely proud of our track athletes and congratulate them on their hard work!

Have you been missing the WA-Hi Journal and its 4 times per year publication? Well, good news....its back but in a new format. In the past, the WA-Hi Journal published a minimum of 4 issues per year at a cost of $600 plus per issue. However, many students said they didn't read it or sometimes it didn't even get handed out to them.

In the fall, the WA-Hi Journal class began exploring other options for getting the news out to students. They still published articles on current events on the Walla Walla High School home page but that wasn't really a great format for a newspaper. After some discussion, the class made the decision to explore online formats.

An online format for a publication has several benefits. First, it is a much more cost effective way to get information out to students. There is a yearly fee for hosting the site but it can be used to publish unlimited articles without costing more. Second, the website has the ability to host other media, such as a picture gallery and video. Finally, it allows information to be more timely. In the past, articles were written and then publish but often weeks after the activity or event happened. With an online version, we can get information out on a daily basis, thus making the articles and the publication much more relevant to the students. All of these are wins for the school.

We are excited about the opportunity to inform the students about WA-Hi and look forward to hearing what students and staff think about the new format. Check us out at wahijournal.com and let us know what you think!

The dance season started at the beginning of August and they had a great season. Dance team co-captain, Aanika Swant, explains that the season began with learning routines for games and assemblies. They perform these routines at football and basketball halftime shows.

In October, the team began to learn routines for dance competitions. They compete is 2 categories….Pom and Dance. There are three qualifying competitions during the season and if the team scores at least 190 in two of the three competitions they can go to the district competition. This year the WA-Hi dance team did get a high score and qualified.

Districts was held March 9 at Pasco High School. A team must score at least a 210 at districts to qualify for state. They scored 236 to take 1st in Pom and a score of 233 to take 4th in Dance and qualify for state.

The dance team traveled to the Yakima Sundome on March 23 to compete at the state competition. They danced very well and placed 6th in Dance and 7th in Pom. Great job WA-Hi Dance Team!

The WA-Hi orchestras traveled to Southridge High School to participate in the CBMEA (Columbia Basin Music Educators Association) regional large group festival on Wednesday, March 13.

Julie Woods, WA-Hi Orchestra teacher, says this about the performances. “The string orchestra performed selected movements from Peter Warlock's Capriol Suite & Vivaldi's Concerto for Strings in D Major. They were adjudicated by Dr. Edward Dixon & Adrienne Shields. The symphony orchestra performed Glinka's Overture to Ruslan & Lyudmilla & Mendelssohn's String Sinfonia No. 2 in Major. They were adjudicated by Dr. Paul Luongo & Adrienne Shields”.   

Both the string and symphony orchestra received exceptional ratings for their performances.  

On Thursday, March 14 and Friday, March 15, Walla Walla High School participated in the Every 15 minutes program. This program was planned and organized by Walla Walla County Traffic Safety Coalition, law enforcement and emergency personnel and the WA-HI ASB. It was centered around the Every 15 Minutes event to bring awareness to the dangers of drunk and distracted driving.

    The main goal was to teach teenagers the severity of drunk and distracted driving by having them experience the effects of being involved in a driving accident without the “real-life” effects of having been involved in an accident. Statistics show that 37,000 people die yearly in traffic fatalities, 94% of which are preventable.

    Every 15 Minutes originally referred to the statistic where an individual dies of an alcohol related car crash every 15 minutes. Though the incidents of these crashes have been decreasing since the 80’s, it is still important to recognize how impactful they are. The program has changed to recognize that Every 15 minutes a traffic fatality occurs in the US; the most due to drinking or distracted driving of some sort.

    Wa-Hi’s Every 15 minutes program started 22 years ago with a primary focus on drinking and driving. Throughout the day students were pulled out of their classroom to represent the actual deaths of those who have died in driving accidents in Walla Walla County. The “grim reaper” came to class to get participating students while someone else read a brief obituary of the person they represented. Students had their faces painted white, dressed in a black gown and wore lanyards with information about the victim they represented. They then returned to class as a “walking dead” person and weren’t supposed to talk or participate the rest of the day.

    Student participants of the program spent a night outside of home to work on various activities including their final letters to their families explaining their deaths. They also took the time to work on a skit which was presented to the seniors on Friday to represent the aftermath of a car crash.

    Raising student awareness of making smart choices behind the wheel has dramatically decreased youth drinking and driving accidents in our area. According to Nancy McClenny-Walters, Target Zero Manager of the Walla Walla County Traffic Safety Coalition, “After years of participation in this program Walla Walla High School has had no drinking and driving related deaths during Homecoming, Prom and Graduation”.

Congratulations February GO BLUE students of the month! Eight students were chosen by their teachers to be February’s students of the month. These teachers believed that during the month of February these WA-Hi students provided an exceptional example of what a WA-Hi student is and should be. This is how they responded when asked why they thought they were chosen to be students of the month.

Freshmen:

Dominic Bayer- “I like growing myself; seeing how far I can go, and bringing other people up with me.”

Daniel Flores- “I try to be an excellent student and citizen.”

Sophomores:

Jada Hilliard - “I do a good job on my tests.”

Jessica Rasmussen - “I’m outgoing and inclusive during class activities.”

Juniors:

Zachary Moore: “I balance school, hobbies and work and I guess, I’m funny.”

Anthony Swanson: “I didn’t skip any classes and I had a good month.”

Seniors:

Zachary Arend - “I think it’s because I’m trying to be the best person I can be.”

Luis Bahena - “I’m respectful, I always get to class on time, and I’m always working hard.”

Staff members of the month were Lori Finn and Marqui Shields.

Choir students of Wa-Hi competed in the Regional Solo and Ensemble contest at Hanford High School on February 23. Students competed against all high schools in our region. Wa-Hi choir teacher, Colleen Hatch, rehearsed with the Treble Choir and Belles Voix choir groups and coached various students along with their individual voice teachers. Each group or soloist had 10 minutes to perform but the two ensemble groups perform without a composer.  

Students can receive Excellent and Superior ratings. Peter Hoffman got a Superior Plus (I+) which is the highest rating one can get in the contest.

Other awards:

Caroline Blethen and Amanda Loney - Placed 1st in the Small Sop/Mezzo/Alto Ensemble Category

Peter Hoffman - Placed 1st in the Bass Category

Dominic Walker - Placed 2nd in the Baritone Category

Shemar Irizarry - Placed 2nd in the Tenor Category

Lydia Anderson - Placed 3rd in the Soprano Category

Belles Voix choir- Placed 3rd in the Large Sop/Mezzo/Alto Ensemble Category