Olympia High School

We live in a digital world where we have access to news at our fingertips. But how do we evaluate these sources to make sure they are reliable and trustworthy? Mr. Hendricks’ students are analyzing new sources for bias and accuracy by examining news websites. Media literacy provides students with skills that will help them think critically about media, helping them develop into active consumers of information.

Check out these OHS students diving into an activity to determine their Core Values! Our values orient, drive, and anchor us. We experience integrity when we act in alignment with them. These students were challenged to think about how their core values help them make decisions, connect with others, and expand their resilience.

The OHS Speech Team is back at it again. At the Norlympia West Tournament there were 6 Varsity Finalists and 4 JV Finalists. Extra Congratulations to Julia Collins for being tournament champion in JV DEC and Michael Bagby for being tournament champion in Varsity HI!

Attention OHS girls interested in track and field: We will hold an informational meeting during advisory on Wednesday (1/12) in the auditorium. Please contact Coach Hamilton (cj.hamilton@olympia.org) or refer to our website (https://sites.google.com/olympia.org/ohs-girls-track/home) with questions! Join our Remind group using class code @ohstf22 to get updates.

Varsity Boys Basketball falls in the first round of the State Farm Classic to Aurora Christian. They will play tomorrow Dec 28th at 12:30pm at Illinois Wesleyan against Providence St. Mel.

Varsity Girls Basketball falls in the first game of the State Farm Classic. 53 to 37 against Camp Point Central. They will now play tomorrow Dec. 28th at 2:00pm at Bloomington High School.

Wikipedia.org is where millions of people stop first for information. Tools like it are what make the internet so valuable. But they also teach an important lesson, one you can start teaching your kids now: don’t believe everything you read. Family Tip Sheet: bit.ly/OlyNMFR2

Olympia is now officially on Instagram! If Instagram is your social media platform of choice, follow your favorite Olympia sites using these handles: bit.ly/ConnectWithOly

Check out this list of trustworthy resources to help you learn what's true (and what is not!) on the web. You can even use one of them to look back in time and what was on a website in the past!

The OHS National Honor Society partnered with the counseling department and PBIS Team to host a “De-Stress Fest” on Dec 17th. This event allowed students and teachers to devote time to practicing healthy stress-reducing activities as the end of the semester approaches. The event included: A therapy dog, yoga, dancing challenge, holiday games, free treats, coloring, board games, and athletic events. The students were wonderful and appreciative of having time to de-stress. A special thank you to Mrs. Hapgood and Mrs. Steve for all of your work and leadership! You do an awesome job empowering our student leadership at OHS. We are thankful for you!

Tip #5: Choose a Variety of Sources. Show your children how you get news and information from different places, and explain how you make your choices. Use words like "credible," "trustworthy," "respected," and "fair." Ask them where they get their information, and if they think about those same words when choosing. As kids get older, introduce the ideas of bias, satire, and clickbait.

If a picture's worth a thousand words, do the words always tell a true story? One way to find out is through a reverse image search. Search with an image instead of a keyword and see what you discover!

Tip #4: Play "Should You Share?" Talk through the kind of content you and your tween or teen pass along to friends online. What types of things do you like to share? Do you always check to make sure something is true before you share it? How do emotions factor into your decisions to share things? Have you ever shared something and later found out it wasn't true?

OHMS staff participated in a Spartan Selfie Elfie Scavenger Hunt where they searched for Mr. Jones and Dr. J.  Bitmojis and took selfies with them. Congratulations to Mrs. Crebo our OMS winner and Mrs. Cahill who was our OHS winner!

The JV and Varsity Boys Basketball games scheduled for Tuesday Dec. 14th at Fieldcrest have been postponed. A make up date will be announced at a later time.

Tip #3: Explore Different Sides of a Story! Use real-life examples to help kids understand how people can view the same situation with totally different perspectives. One child might experience a game on the playground as fun, while another might feel like the rules are unfair. Sibling conflict can be a great example of how two people can have wildly different opinions about the same event. With older children, talk through controversial subjects and take turns arguing for different sides to help kids understand various viewpoints.

The OHS Speech Team placed 2nd in Team Sweeps after an oustanding day of performances! The following students were Tournament Champions: Abraham Bishop and Katherine Helms in Varsity DDA, Kyalie Kesner in JV Poetry, Julia Collins in Varsity DEC, and Abraham in Varsity SOS!

Fake News has been around for a long time. Track its history from 63 B.C. through present day in this infographic. Where do you see Fake News today? How does it impact your life? Does it impact the type of media you consume, or where you consume it?

Give Back to a Spartan This Season! Angel Tree Update: All of our OMS students have been sponsored! Way to go Spartan Nation! Now let's expand that generosity to our students at OHS. There are still around ten students whose holiday season can be made bright with a sponsorship from an Olympia community member. Share this message, and let's get those ornaments on the tree! 🎄💙 https://www.olympia.org/page/nhs-angel-tree

Correction from wrestling tonight. Lincoln 41 and Olympia 37.