eight hour time period. REMEMBER: Seven unexcused absences in any one class for the semester will result in a grade of "F" and a loss of credit. We hope the spring semester is productive and enjoyable for everyone, and thanks.

Safe & Drug Free Schools
It is our goal to provide a safe educational environment for all students, free from harassment, retaliation, and intimidation.  Present education code and board policy makes it a suspendable or expellable offense for students who engage in this kind of conduct.  In addition to enforcing the education code and board policy, we are engaging in ongoing educational programs for staff and students to ensure awareness of our expectations and to provide positive alternatives for resolving conflicts.  We encourage students and parents who are aware of harassing or intimidating activities to report it to the school.

In addition to our high school Freshmen Orientation Program, Challenge Day Events, and Conflict Mediation Program, we have added a new program to enhance our safe school environment. Last spring, the idea of creating a cadre of students and staff who would become Safe School Ambassadors for HHS was proposed and widely supported by the Safe School's parent group and the School Site Council.  Using funding from the Polly Klass Foundation, the Small School funding grant and the Site Council, training was set up for the fall of '02.   During the training, we had two days of intense orientation that involved a corps of 20 people, both students and adults.  The training and follow-up will continue for the rest of the year.  From the training, 20 safe school ambassadors have emerged for HHS who have already begun to make a positive difference in our school.  Being able to change the behavior of others is the challenge of our ambassadors, and from the initial feedback, change has already begun to happen.  As the year progresses, we expect the program to continue to grow by including more ambassadors.  We are very excited about the progress so far.

The 54th Annual Redwood Empire Invitational Basketball Tournament
We would like to recognize and thank all of the volunteers and participants in this year's REIBT tournament. As you know, this is the oldest and largest basketball tournament in Northern California and Healdsburg plays host to 14 other school basketball teams for both boys and girls.  As tournament hosts, we welcomed our guests to Healdsburg where they were treated to a school rally, a pasta feed, and Friday night dance.  Both our HHS boys and girls teams took first place honors adding to the weekend excitement. There is nothing quite like the REIBT tournament and HHS is proud of the efforts of so many to make this a lasting tradition.

MATH, ENGINEERING, & SCIENCE ACHIEVEMENT (MESA)
The MESA program at the high school under the direction of Celso Rosales and Herm Velasquez, continues to provide our students with a variety of extended learning activities.  During this school year, students have had the opportunity to participate in a pre-med student panel presentation at Stanford University and attend a variety of field trips including: Triformix, a designer and manufacturer of precision molded optical components, Laurence Hall of Science, and Gallo Sonoma Winery.  These relevant experiences undoubtedly have a positive impact on student achievement.

California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE)
This year's administration of the CAHSEE will be on March 4, 5, and 6 for tenth graders.  The state has determined that passing this exam is required in order to obtain a high school diploma in the State of California.  It is expected that the results of this year's exam will be provided to schools and students as to performance on specific test questions by May 2003.  We believe it is in our sophomore students' best interest to take the exam this year in order to become familiar with the test and to prepare for their future.  Our teachers have been creating units of study based on exit exam standards designed to prepare students for the tests.  Specific information and sample test problems can be found at http://www.cde.ca.gov/statetest/cahsee/Resources.html