Cashmere High School Monthly Newsletter - March‘26
From the Principal’s Office
We are proud of the positive school culture at Cashmere High School. We also acknowledge that school culture is fragile, and often hinges on the attitudes stakeholders bring to the table daily...Teachers, Administrators, Students, Maintenance, Custodians, Bus Drivers, Parents, Community Members all have the potential to impact positive school culture. When we all contribute to the positive, our culture grows strong. I ask myself daily, "What can I contribute to making CHS a better place?" daily, and I'm asking all Bulldogs to do the same. The Cashmere High School Diploma has value. That value grows as we make our school a better place - in our own eyes and in the eyes of the world. Our shared goal is that we leave CHS - daily, when we graduate, and when our children and grandchildren graduate - a better place for our time here. As principal I'm grateful to the generations of Bulldogs who continue to contribute to our school in positive ways. Our tradition of service is one of the many reasons why Cashmere School District is special!
From The Dean’s Office
One of our favorite things about walking our hallways is seeing the incredible spark and talent you all bring to this building every day; we truly have a remarkable group of young people here. However, as we navigate the busy rhythms of the school year, it is easy to become so wrapped up in our own individual worlds—our own stresses, schedules, and social circles—that we forget we are part of something much larger than ourselves. I want to challenge you to view a warm and pleasant school atmosphere not just as something you experience, but as something you have a personal duty to create.
When you choose to lead with “others first” attitude and offer a genuine smile to someone outside your friend group, or simply prioritize the "good of the all" over a momentary personal feeling, you transform our shared space. It is a group responsibility to ensure that no one feels like an outsider and that our environment remains a thriving hub of mutual respect. By shifting our focus from "me" to "us," we make this school not just a place where we learn, but a community where everyone feels they truly belong.
Soon we will begin preparing for course registration for next year We are a small school that prioritizes registration by grade levels, beginning with seniors and ending with sophomores. The freshmen class is scheduled by administration.
You receive a priority schedule time based on a combination of your:
Attendance
grades
community service hours
Now is the time to work towards ensuring that come April, you have the greatest selection of courses available to you when you schedule.
From the School Counselors
College In The High School Information Night is Wednesday, March 18th at 5:30 pm.
Come to the CHS Commons to learn about our college classes and options through UW, CWU, EWU and WVC.
Teachers will be introduced and a student panel will help explain the programs and the benefits of College In The High School, Dual Enrollment or Running Start.
This event is open to all students and parents grade 8-11.
Any questions, reach out to mfall@cashmere.wednet.edu
Seniors-Scholarships are still available
Check out the CHS Guidance Scholarship website or stop by the office for more details.
All scholarship applications are different, so please read the directions carefully.
Any questions, reach out to mfall@cashmere.wednet.edu
Career Week at CHS
March 23-27th is Career Week at CHS with the Theme-Now Playing: Your Future.
This week highlights CHS Alumni and Community Partners who are sharing their career journey.
To add a little spirit to the week, we have dress up and music themes. (See poster)
Wednesday- students are encouraged to Wear Their Future Career Field Attire
Thursday- students are encouraged to Wear a College or Career T-Shirt
Thursday will include a Career Expo with visitors from: Crunch Pak, Selland Construction, Air Force, GCU, Perry Tech, WVC, WWU, Wenatchee Valley Human Society
Friday-All 9-12th graders will be attending 3 career speakers or field trips and students are expected to Dress Their Best-Interview Clothing for this event.
Friday’s speakers will include over 25 presenters (Alumni, Parents and Community Partners) highlighting their career journey. We will take field trips to Cascade Medical in Leavenworth and to HITT Construction Site-Data Farm in East Wenatchee.
Thank you to all community partners for inspiring our students during Career Week.
Sophomores, Juniors and Parents-
Spring break is a great time to start visiting colleges. It’s never too early to start making your list of universities to learn more about.
Most colleges have tours all throughout the academic year and summer, so start making your plans today.
College tours are free and typically a GREAT way to learn more about the campus. Some colleges offer specific days for STEM tours or opportunities to meet with the professors.
Check out college admissions websites today and start making plans.
Department Spotlight - Spanish
Attention Juniors and Seniors, If you earned a proficient score on your 10th grade SBA test, have completed Spanish 3, or as a native speaker have a high level of Spanish proficiency, you are eligible to take the STAMP assessment to earn a Seal of Biliteracy on your diploma.
The Seal of Biliteracy is a resume piece that will enhance your applications for jobs, scholarships and admission to colleges.
The STAMP test is a three hour assessment of your reading, writing, listening and speaking skills in the target language.
If you meet the above criteria you will receive an email from Mr. Mac regarding your interest in taking the STAMP test on March 19th. Those interested will be invited to a meeting during school hours to learn more about the STAMP and confirm your interest.
Mr. Theiss and Ms. Yousey are currently piloting three different texts over quarter 3 to identify the resources best suited to support our students. Students are providing their own feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of each text through surveys at the end of each pilot. While the texts piloted are different, they all mirror the curriculum we have had in place. We hope to roll out the newly selected resources next year.
CTE Spotlight
Students are actively taking advantage of extending learning and leadership opportunities in CTE! All students have the opportunity to become members in CTSOs (Career and Technical Student Organizations) throughout their high school CTE experiences. Enrollment and participation in CTSOs consists of local projects, community service, leadership development as well as the opportunity to compete in various events specific to each CTSO.
DECA: 25 students competed at the Distributive Education Club of America State Competition at the end of February. Projects and competitions consist of various events related to marketing and business. The school based enterprise team earned a ticket to the International DECA competition in late April held in Atlanta, GA!
FBLA: Students competed at the regional level and are preparing for state competition in April in Spokane. Sophomores Oliver Chalmers, Oscar Green and Judah Lewis will be competing in digital video projection, along with many other members. All competing will be hoping to win a ticket to the Future Business Leaders of America National Competition held in San Antonio, TX in late June.
FCCLA: Seven sophomore girls will be heading to Spokane from March 11-13th to compete at the Family Career and Community Leaders of America State Competition. Projects and presentations consist of career investigation, food innovations and sports nutrition. Winning a ticket to nationals will land them in Washington DC during the beginning of July!
FFA: New Future Farmers of America teams are beginning to be assembled for career development events and many freshmen are working on their public speaking and parliamentary procedure skills. Sub districts will take place on March 12th. The state competition will be held mid-May in Pullman, WA.
TSA: Students in Technology Student Association are also actively preparing to compete at the state level April 15th-18th in Spokane. Students have submitted projects related to engineering design, music production and will also compete at state for some on-demand events in design and building.
Did you know CTE teachers are also CTSO advisors? All of our CTE teachers offer extended learning opportunities to students and couldn’t be more proud to see them compete at the state and national levels. Way to go teams!!
If you have any questions or would like to become more involved in Career and Technical Education at Cashmere High School, please contact Rebecca Swanson, CTE Director.
CTE is good for students, good for businesses and good for communities!
AI at CHS
Last month we explained Prompt Engineering - the art and science of communicating effectively with an AI. Think of it like giving a very talented, but very literal, intern a set of instructions.
As we begin to teach students to this “art and science”, here are some ways we are exploring to train students to develop this critical skill.
Teaching the Skill: The "C.L.E.A.R." Framework
To help students develop proficiency, teach them to build prompts using these five elements:
Conciseness: State the goal clearly.
Logic: Structure the request in a sequence.
Explicit: Provide constraints (e.g., "Write for a 5th grader," "Limit to 200 words").
Adaptability: Use the "Iterative Loop"—if the AI misses the mark, how do you refine the prompt?
Reflective: Critique the AI's output for bias or inaccuracies.
Monitoring Growth & Assessing Proficiency
How do we know they are getting better? Move from "using AI" to "evaluating AI."
Growth Goal Example: "By the end of the quarter, students will be able to refine a vague prompt into a multi-step structured prompt to achieve a specific academic outcome."
The "Reverse Prompt" Assessment: Give students an AI-generated response and ask them: "What prompt was used to create this? How would you improve that prompt to make the output more accurate?"
The Prompt Log: Have students submit a "Version History" of their prompts alongside their final product. Assess the iteration—how did they change their language to get a better result?
Important Dates & Reminders
Important dates in March
March 2nd – First Day of Spring Sports
March 4th – 6th – Mid Winter Break
March 9th – Winter Sports Awards 7:00 p.m.
March 11th – Future Freshman Night 5:30 p.m.
March 11th – March 13th -FCCLA State Competition in Spokane
March 12th – FFA Sub Districts at CHS 3:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
March 13th – Key Club Spring Fling 8:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
March 17th – Festival Band Concert @ CMS 7:30 p.m.
March 18th – LATE START
March 19th - STAMP testing 8-11am
March 18th – Targeted Conferences 3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
March 18th – College in the High School 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
March 24th – Festival Choir Concert @ CMS 7:30 p.m.
March 25th – CHS Band Large Group Contest @ Chelan
March 25th – FFA District Leadership/Speaker Contest @ Chelan
March 26th – Career Expo in Community Center 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
March 26th – March 28th – Jazz Tour
March 27th – Career Day
April 1st – CHS Choir Festival @ Wenatchee
April 6th – April 10th – Spring Break
Contact Us
Please share any questions/feedback at cmackenzie@cashmere.wednet.edu
