Panther Twilight-2011

The Panther Twilight Track and Field meet was held last Friday under some ideal conditions and with a strong field of participants.

The eight schools represented in this year’s edition included 4A Union and Battleground, 3A Fort Vancouver, and 2A Washougal, RA Long, Mark Morris, Hockinson and Centralia.

Many Panther athletes achieved personal records and/or season best performances contributing to a 2^nd place team finish for the boys and a 3^rd place team finish for the girls. Union High School won both of the team titles.

Four individuals had efforts that deserve special recognition. Three Seniors, participating in the final home track meet of their career set school records.

Brendan Casey set a new school record in the Pole Vault with a vault of 14’ 6”. He also won the Javelin with a toss of 171’ 6” and was named as the Boy Co-Athlete of the meet.

Dylan Croeni set new school record marks in the 1600M (4:23.21) and the 3200M (9:25.20) and was also named as the Boy Co-Athlete of the meet.

Kelley Young exhibited a dominating performance in winning the 100M Hurdles with a hand held time of 15.53, which when converted to the fully automatic timing equivalent is 15.84. Kelly currently holds the school record in this event at 15.83, the time that she ran in finishing 2^nd at last year’s state track meet. (The timing system did not catch the flash of the gun on Kelley’s race on Friday so the hand held back-up times had to be used.) While technically not a true school record by only one one-hundredth of a second, her performance is deserving of special recognition.

Two Juniors also turned in outstanding performances in winning their events, and one also set a school record.  Katelyn Wright broke the school record that she had shared with Roxie Niedert of 5’ 3”, with an incredible jump of 5’ 4”.  She also placed 2^nd in the long jump with a distance of 16’ 0 ½”.  Kendall Utter dueled it out with a competitor from RA Long throughout the race and prevailed in the 800M with a victory, and an outstanding time on 2:27 which puts at 3^rd fastest all-time in school history at that event.

Please congratulate these and the many other Panther Track Athletes, and Head coach Dave Hajek and his staff , on putting an another quality event that we can all be proud of.

Panther Scholar Athletes - Spring 2011

Here is the latest evidence of our collective success at holding our student athletes to a high standard:

Varsity Girls Track, 27 Athletes, 3.573 GPA              Coach: Dave Hajek

Varsity Boys Track, 40 Athletes, 3.184 GPA              Coach Dave Hajek

Varsity Softball, 11 athletes, 3.169 GPA                    Coach John Carver

Varsity Boys Soccer, 17 athletes, 3.112 GPA            Coach John Tyger

Varsity Girls Tennis, 13 Athletes, 3.576 GPA             Coach Linda Balholm

JV Girls Tennis, 17 Athletes, 3.112 GPA                   Coach Linda Balholm

In addition we have 68 Athletes who will receive a SWW2A All-Academic Team award for achieving a 3.5 or above GPA while also participating in athletics.

Great job everyone!  We can all share in the success of our Panthers.

Rotary Scholar of the Month

Rotary Scholar of the Month for April: Kelly Brown

Kelly Brown was selected as the Camas Washougal Rotary Scholar of the Month for April 2011. Kelly is a sophomore at Washougal High School and has a 3.845 GPA. Kelly’s Business teacher, Lisa Leonard, says Kelly “is a kind student others often look up to” and adds that she “can count on Kelly to pay attention to detail, listen to instructions and ask intelligent questions.”

Kelly is described by English teacher Sheila Good as a “very highly capable” student and that “she is an excellent writer.”Physical Education teacher Stephanie Watts says “Kelly is the kind of student you pass in the halls and always has a smile on her face and says hello.” Her world Geography teacher Scott Boothby says “Kelly is a really hard worker – quiet, dependable, and a pleasure to have in my class.” Congratulations Kelly Brown!

Spring has arrived!

This is evident because spring sports are in full swing, students are HSPE testing, AP testing is just around the corner and our drama students are gearing up for another major production in Murder in the Knife Room.  As usual, the school and school community are buzzing with the activity that this time of year always brings.

HSPE testing is completed.  WHS students have completed the Reading, Writing and Science HSPE.  Science, which was the last exam was completed Tuesday, April 12 during the morning.  If your student missed any of the exams this spring, there will be make-ups August 8-11.  We will be sending information home regarding the make-up schedule later this spring. 

The next exam students will be taking is called the End of Course or EOC in math.  We have tentatively scheduled those exams to occur June 13-15 during your student's math class. It is very important your student is present on those days as this test is a graduation requirement.  Students in the graduating class of 2013 & 2014 will need to pass one of the EOC exams.

Spring sporting events are happening nearly every single day of the week. If you are interested in watching any or all of the events, please check out the high school website for a listing of the events for this week or go to our building calendar to see the entire month.  We also have schedules at school if you are looking for a hard copy.

Watercare Industrial Services Student Achievement Highlight for April

Danae Lentz is the WHS Student of the Month

WHS senior Danae Lentz is known for her sunny disposition and strong work ethic.  As a student Danae is ambitious and responsible, challenging herself with running Start Classes at Clark College in addition to coursework at Washougal High School.  Danae also finds time to work at the ice arena in Vancouver.  Her ability to balance school and work is truly impressive.  This remarkable young lady sets an excellent example for her peers and definitely has a bright future ahead of her.

Science HSPE on April 12, 2011

WHS 10th graders will be taking the Science HSPE on Tuesday, April 12 starting at 7:55 AM.  This is an untimed, but mandatory test for all 10th graders.  We will be having an assembly on Monday, April 11 to let the students know where they will be testing.


We will be following the same schedule for the science HSPE as we did for Reading and Writing.  All 9th and 10th graders will begin at normal time, 7:55 AM.  11th and 12th graders who can arrive late, may do so and there day will begin at 11:10 AM.

The HSPE name conveys the goal of the test: to measure a student’s proficiency of basic skills. Students in the classes of 2010-2012 must pass a reading and writing assessment to be eligible to graduate. If a student has already passed a specific assessment via the WASL (the former state test), such as reading, they will not have to take the HSPE in that content area.

Students in the Class of 2013 are the first to be required to pass reading, writing, math and science assessments.

The HSPE is shorter to take than the WASL and will be moved online over the next few years. Reading, math and science will take just one day each instead of two with the WASL. For now, writing will still take two days.