March 2015
This spring I am working to reengage a prior communications practice used in the Hermiston School District: regular email updates provided to our key communicators. The purpose of these regular updates is to keep key stakeholders informed about the happenings in your local school district, and provide you an opportunity to give us timely feedback about our initiatives.
For this initial installment of our key communicators update, you’ll find information on these three hot topics: “Distinguished Alumnus” award, spring sports, and the Smarter Balanced assessment.
With regards,
Dr. Fred Maiocco
Distinguished Alumnus Award: If you know of highly successful and accomplished Hermiston High School graduate, now is the time to let us know. We are now taking nominations for the first annual “Distinguished Alumnus” award. The HHS Distinguished Alumnus will be revealed as part of the “Evening of Excellence” on May 13, 2015. Additionally, the Distinguished Alumnus will be a featured speaker on June 6, 2015 during the HHS graduation program and then serve as a guest speaker and featured role model throughout the 2015-16 school year. The successful candidate will be:
- A graduate of Hermiston High School, having attended Hermiston High School for at least two consecutive years prior graduation.
- A leader in his/her chosen field/profession with a proven record of achievement and at least fifteen years verifiable and successful business/career experience.
- A strong supporter and contributor to community service.
- Willing to serve as a role model for youth.
- A model citizen with a clean background free of criminal convictions.
- Supported by strong references and/or endorsements.
The “Distinguished Alumnus” award is intended to recognize outstanding accomplishment and inspire current students to pursue excellence and achievement in their own endeavors. To nominate a deserving HHS graduate, please contact Briana Cortaberria at 541-667-6010.
Click here to read further about the award.
Athletics: This winter each Hermiston High School sport saw great numbers of bulldog student athletes turn out, enhancing their overall educational experience at Hermiston High School. Following is an update for the winter sports teams and a look ahead into spring.
Boys Basketball
This year’s program of 43 students experienced some growing pains, but it made positive strides toward achieving program goals in its last few contests of the regular season. Currently, the boys are schedule to compete against Sandy on Tuesday, March 3, 2015 for the 5A Play-in contest.
With 35 girls turning out for basketball, the Lady Dawgs once again experienced a successful season and have earned many accolades over the course of the season by winning several pre-season tournaments, including the Nike Interstate Shootout. This accomplishment proved nationally fruitful, as the team has been invited to compete in the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix, Arizona, this coming December. Being invited is a great honor, and the tournament is an event that will continue to showcase the great program and student athletes Hermiston has. Lastly, our girls were once again crowned CRC Champions and will play host to the 5A 1st Round Playoff at the Dawg House on Saturday, March 7, 2015 – opponent and start time are to be determined.
The girls finished with 21 and 3 overall record and a 9 and 0 league record, with a first place OSAA ranking going into the playoffs.
In similar fashion to our Lady Dawgs, our 43 grapplers continue to shine across the Pacific NW and across the state. It goes without saying that Hermiston has some real individual standouts in its program; yet, we have a number of up-and-comers too, who have competed at high levels and contributed to the overall team success that lead to three tournament titles and several top 5 finishes this season. The boys are currently in Portland at the 5A State Championships in the Memorial Coliseum wrestling for another state title.
This season’s swimmers experienced a season of small, but progressive, strides, as we continue to develop our student athletes to a higher skill set. Coach Hamblin speaks very highly of these athletes and is looking forward to their continued development in the off-season, with hopes of turning the page next season and competing at the state level.
This year the team included 17 girls and 14 boys.
Spring is in the air and our spring sports teams are gearing up for their seasons by prepping the-athletes to transition from winter workouts to full-on practice mode. Spring participation rates look very promising across the board, and what better way to keep students positively engaged in their school and community than through the development of core values such as teamwork, respect, servant leadership and discipline. Here is a glance of current participation rates:- Track & Field—Girls: 78
- Track & Field—Boys: 76
- Lacrosse: 34
- Baseball: 50
- Softball: 34
- Tennis—Girls: 38
- Tennis—Boys: 28
- Golf—Girls: 13
- Golf—Boys: 17
This spring we are scheduled to host over 76 school-related contests and several non-school-related contests, as the region continues to increase its usage of Hermiston High School facilities.
Smarter Balanced Assessment: Oregon is committed to providing a quality K-12 education for all students, 
regardless of where they live or which school they attend. That’s why our public schools are working hard to implement college and career-ready standards, known as Common Core State Standards, which are clear expectations for what every child should know and be able to do at each grade level. Now we are using new tests aligned to our higher standards that will measure the real- world skills our students need to be successful in the 21st Century. You can learn more about Common Core State Standards and the Smarter Balanced Assessment from Hermiston School District’s Education Services department by clicking here or by visiting the Oregon Department of Education’s web site.
If you have suggestions for other hot topics which should be addressed in a future “Key Communicators’ Update,” please let us know! If you think someone else should be included on the key communicator list, please let us know. Executive Assistant and Communications Officer Briana Cortaberria maintains the list; she can be reached at 541-667-6010 or via email at [email protected].