We welcome you to the Tenino High School website. Thanks for dropping by to see the exciting news and activities happening here at our school and in our community. We provide outstanding education in Tenino, Washington. We're located just minutes from the metro area. We encourage you to visit next time you're in the area.

We also hope you'll accept our invitation to visit this website often and stay as long as you like. We think it’s a great place to join together as a community in support of our kids. We look forward to partnering with you to lead and inspire our students.

Dear Parents/Guardians and Students:

“How did it get so late so soon?” is a quote by the well-known Dr. Seuss. In thinking that in reference to our school year, we are looking at the final quarter of the 2011-12 school calendar. We have seen athletics complete competitive and successful seasons, clubs travel and explore interests, and students academically challenge themselves. Where did the time go?

Many of you will be receiving your child's quarter three grades. If there are any surprises or concerns, please contact his/her instructors as soon as you can. Just because they might be struggling at this point, there’s still time to make an improvement. Following a few simple guidelines will help you and your child finish strong as semester two concludes:

• Make time for your child's education:  Carve out a specific time during each day to talk about school and what is happening for the remainder of the year. We will have End of Course (EOC) exams, MAP testing, finals, senior presentations, and probably most importantly - graduation. There should be plenty of conversation starters so that you and your child are on the same page.
• E-mail your child's teachers:  It may seem like a small task, but setting aside a few minutes in a hectic day can be tough when it comes to writing e-mails. Take a few minutes and send a group e-mail to your child's teachers asking what would be helpful to know as the term is ending. What type of behaviors might be of concern for the instructor, and also, what can you do as a parent to make sure your child finishes on a positive note?
• Continue to care:  Often it is said that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. With young adults, that could never be a more true statement. Serve as that role model for your child, and be the type of person you wish they would become. Mentors and role models are a dire need in every child's life.

Graduation is coming fast, and many parents are seeing a story in their child’s life ending and the beginning of a new story just around the corner. If you are a parent of an 11th grader, this is a pivotal moment in his/her life where you and your child need to start making plans for after his/her senior year in high school. What type of post-high school pathway does your child see in his/her future? Does that plan match up with what you would like to see? Now is the time where the decisions should become more narrow and focused down, so that there can be a priority placed on applying to schools, meeting with recruiters, attending job shadows for apprenticeship programs, etc.

Start taking a very serious look at what you and your child see in the very near future. As the parent of a senior student, the time flies and yet there is no rewind button. Being prepared will enable you and your child to fully appreciate and enjoy his/her senior year knowing there is a plan for him/her that is attainable, as well as a new and exciting journey that awaits him/her after he/she graduates. If you have questions that need answers, please contact our counseling department, and they will enthusiastically assist you.

Lastly, thank you again for letting me work with your children on a daily basis. Not a day goes by without a student bringing a smile to my face (usually there are many), and you are part of that. The students at Tenino High School are great people, and the faculty enjoys working with them.  

Sincerely,

Brad Ramey        
Principal