Silas High School—Principal’s Weekly Message—February 23, 2025—

Silas Core Beliefs

• Every student can learn and grow at high levels.
• Every student brings valuable prior knowledge to school.
• Every student shall have a trusted adult at school with whom they connect.
• Every student shall have access to guaranteed and viable curriculum.
• Every student shall leave Silas High School prepared for post-secondary options.

The March Equity Theme centers around: Power Dynamics

Power is often defined as a force that makes us do something in a specific way; the thing that tells us to follow a rule, law, or social expectation. Power is not an object or thing, but rather it exists as a relationship between two things. We all follow certain rules can give people an advantage and make it harder for others to believe, act or speak up.

We must be aware of the power dynamics around us and how they operate within our role. Where there is power there is resistance. One does not exist without the other. When resistance happens, there is often an imbalance of power, and we must pause to evaluate how power is moving, and which stakeholders are most impacted.

Important Dates

• Monday-Friday, March 3-7—WIDA Testing in Room 210 (for multi-lingual students)
• Wednesday, March 5—Mini-late start—staff professional development
• Thursday, March 6—Course Selection for Fall 2025
• Tuesday, March 11—COMBEA Band Festival
• Wednesday, March 12—Mini-late start—PLC time
• Thursday-Friday, March 13-14—Conferences—class periods 1-3 on Thursday, and 4-6 on Friday, with student dismissal after the third period time slot/lunch
• Tuesday, March 18—COMBEA Choir Festival
• Tuesday, March 18—Band and Orchestra Concert, auditorium, 6:30 pm
• Wednesday, March 19—Mini-late start—teacher classroom time
• Wednesday, March 26—Mini-late start—PLC time
• Friday, March 28—College Pep Assembly
• Wednesday, April 2—Mini-late start—Building PD
• Wednesday, April 2—Choral Collaborative Concert—6:30 in the auditorium
• Saturday, April 5—Daffodil Parade
• Monday-Friday, April 7-11—SPRING BREAK!

Rose Rendezvous Spring Dance

Friday, March 14 (We have early release for conferences that day, so students can get ready with their friends.)

8-10 pm in the gym

Soccer game before the dance.

Food trucks in the courtyard beginning at soccer half-time and during the dance!

Schedules during conference week

During parent-teacher conference week, school schedules will be adjusted.

On Thursday, March 13, and Friday, March 14:

• Elementary schools that have a regular dismissal time of 3:10 p.m. will be released at 11:55 a.m. (Bryant Montessori follows this schedule.)
• Elementary schools that have a regular dismissal time of 3:30 p.m. will be released at 12:15 p.m.
• Middle schools will dismiss at 10:55 a.m. (Wainwright follows this schedule.)
• Most high schools will dismiss at 11:30 a.m. That’s us!
• All of Tacoma Online dismisses at 11:15 a.m.

IDEA, SAMI and SOTA have early release all week, March 10-14. There's no late start no March 12. Please see school websites for details.

Community-Based Transition will not have school March 10-14.

Student calendar now available for the 2025-2026 school year
The 2025-2026 student calendar is now available. Important dates include:

• First day of school for grades 1-12: Sept. 3, 2025
• First day of school for kindergarten: Sept. 8, 2025

See the full calendar here. 

College tours for TPS students, families
All Tacoma Public Schools families are invited to participate in our annual set of College Tours for Families, March 10 – May 17.

Tacoma Public Schools’ Community Partnership Office, in partnership with the College Success Foundation, organized tours of eight outstanding local colleges. Guests will tour campuses and learn from college staff about the admissions process, financial aid, scholarships and college life.

Tours are designed for TPS students and families to learn together.

Get more information and register here. 

RamTV News: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQXEPJpm1NU

What inspired me this week? So much to celebrate—here is just a small number of Ram successes.

• FOOTLOOSE.
• The boys’ basketball team and their tenacity this year.
• OUR UNIFIED BASKETBALL TEAM MEMBERS ARE STATE CHAMPIONS!
• Our top placing state wrestlers: STATE CHAMPION Adrian Windsor (40-0) placed 1st at weight class 113; Emanuel Cater (37-2) placed 2nd at weight class 138; and Nathan Frederickson (38-6) placed 2^nd at weight class 285.
• Thank you to the Black Student Union and Advisor Ms. Ashley Washington for a SPECTACULAR Black History Month assembly. The content was strong. The entertainment was good. The guest speaker was motivating and inspirational. WELL DONE!
• Watching our ROTC Unarmed and Armed Drill Teams compete on Saturday. (Can you all stop embarrassing the other teams, please? Just above and beyond!!)

GO RAMS. ❤