Analy High School

Dear Analy Community—

Cell phones are designed to be distracting. Even worse, social media is designed to be addictive.

As a Dartmouth Health article noted last year, social media algorithms “reward users with likes, comments and shares, activating a dopamine rush of motivation and reward.” For many of our students, the combination of cell phones and social media has created mental health and attention challenges that are too serious to ignore. Ultimately, this combination is not conducive to creating an educational environment where learning, focus, safety, community and belonging are prioritized. 

Assembly Bill 3216, also known as the Phone-Free School Act, mandates that all California schools develop policies to restrict or ban the use of smartphones during the school day by July of 2026.  The bill is designed to  "raise pupil performance, decrease acts of cyberbullying, and help lessen teenage anxiety and depression.”  While our current policy adheres to the letter of the new law, a recent School Site Council Meeting generated better ideas to  realize its intent, and to bring improved consistency and coherence to the student experience of the policy across campus.  

To this end, beginning next week we will be implementing changes to our cell phone policy, which has been updated in the student handbook, here, and which is included below. While we realize that in some ways this is an incremental change, we see it as a move toward an educational environment where cell phones are the exception rather than the rule. We are committed to a phone-free educational environment during class time, and we have empowered staff to enforce this policy in and out of the classroom. We welcome your partnership in creating the healthy and safe social and academic environment our students deserve. Thank you for your help!~ Chuck Wade, Principal

Cell Phone Policy

Cell phones are allowed on campus, but must be turned off and put away during class time. Cell phones must be in the teacher caddy or zipped up in student backpacks (including TA’s). This includes during class time when the student is not in the class, for example when on a restroom break. 

All students must leave their cell phone in order to take a bathroom pass. Students using their cell phones when out with a pass will be sent to the office.  

If a student is using their cell phone during class time, the following consequences apply:

First offense: Teacher or other staff member will confiscate cell phone and submit it to the office.  The cell phone will be released to the student at the end of the day.

Second offense: Teacher or other staff member will confiscate the cell phone and submit it to the office. The cell phone will be released to the student at the end of the day, and the student will receive a lunchtime detention. 

Third offense: Teacher or other staff member will confiscate the cell phone and submit it to the office.  Cell phones will be released to parents or guardians only.  Administration will meet with students and parents/guardians to address the problem.  

Students are not allowed to take pictures or videos of students or staff without their direct consent.  

No pictures or videos can be taken in any restrooms. 

This is against the law and school policy. 

Students at Analy exhibiting any of our Portrait of a Graduate traits--curiosity, empathy, resilience, balance, collaboration, or communication--are issued a Paw Award. One copy goes home for the student and the other is entered into our monthly prize drawing. See below for this months recipients and winners.

Prize Winners for March.

• Harry Hillborn

• Myles O'Huerta

• Alina Petersen

Bite of Reality Fun, Safe, and Interactive
Bite of Reality is a hands-on app-based simulation that appeals to teens while giving them a taste of real-world financial realities. Teens are given a fictional occupation, salary, credit score, spouse and child, student loan debt, credit card debt, and medical insurance payments. The teens then walk around to various table-top stations to “purchase” housing, transportation, food, clothing, and other needs. Fortunately, the game also includes a “credit union” to help with their financial needs.

This interactive activity will teach teens how to make financial decisions and give them a better understanding of the challenges of living on a budget. Teens will have to deal with a pushy “car salesperson” and a commission-based “realtor,” and weigh their wants versus their needs. There’s even a “Fickle Finger of Fate” that will give the students unexpected “expenses” or “windfalls”—just like in real life. Here is an overview of the program. 

The Sebastopol FFA Livestock Judging Team just won the 2nd high team overall at the Sonoma County Livestock Judging Contest! The team has been working hard this spring and has traveled to competitions at Chico State, UC Davis, Modesto Junior College, and SRJC. We have 1 contest left (at Fresno State) before our 2025 State Finals Competition at Cal Poly, SLO. Good luck to our members as they round out their contest season!

Last Friday Ms. King and Ms. Powers took their CCAP classes to Santa Rosa Junior College to spend the day touring Shone Farm. All students had a great time checking out their livestock facilities, collecting plant samples from their large gardens, and exploring the campus! 

META students visited Sonoma State last week. We took a tour of the campus, experienced a college classroom, heard from a panel of current students and had the opportunity to ask questions, and had lunch in the dining hall. This was some students' first experience on a college campus, and many left with newfound inspiration for their post high school plans.

Sebastopol Grange Mural Project

Art students Richard Varville, Ty Kimbro, Josie Porter and Quinn Sherwood worked with Art Start, Ashera Weiss, and the Sebastopol Grange to design and paint 3 panels representing the three graces of the Grange. The panels will be installed in late April and will be visible from HWY 12 as you head west into town.

Happy National School Library Month  

We’ve had a BUSY year with library book checkouts, so please start returning LIBRARY books you checked out last semester and earlier this semester so that we can get them all back by the end of the year. April and May FLY by so quickly so get a jump on taking care of this!  See Mrs. McClelland if you have questions.  

Now in its third year, the Only in West County film festival at Rialto Cinemas Sebastopol has expanded into a TWO night event, and student films will play on the biggest screen in the theater on both Tuesday, April 22 and Wednesday, April 23. The event will begin each evening at 4:30 PM and provide student filmmakers and guests with opportunities to mingle, have their pictures taken by professional photographers, and participate in video interviews. 

The screening will start in Rialto Cinemas Auditorium 1 at 5:00 PM and feature a block of student films produced by a collaboration among Film & Literature classes, Work-Based Learning, and Career Technical Education Advanced Media classes.

This year, in order to include all of the 20+ films made this year, each night will showcase different films ("Program 22" on April 22nd and "Program 23" on April 23rd), with some of the most exemplary student films being shown both nights. After the screening, we will invite student filmmakers up for a brief Q&A and acknowledgement for all of our student filmmakers on completing the project and seeing their films on the big screen.

Tickets for the evening screenings are free, and will be available at Rialto Cinemas Sebastopol Box Office starting Friday, April 18. Seating will be limited. More information will be coming in early April for program specifics (such as which films play on which dates), so keep an eye on the Analy High School website!

BONUS: Also new this year, Rialto Cinemas Sebastopol will be presenting Program 22 and Program 23 as a fundraiser matinee (1:00 PM) on April 22 and 23 (separate from the evening event) to support the Only in West County project's ongoing operation, with proceeds going to a donation account for the program and providing a source of funds to support student film posters, print programs, equipment and more.

Anatomy students doing a sheep heart dissection to study the heart. 

Biology students doing a Gel Electrophoresis to learn about DNA and Forensics. I thought we could share it in the paw print. Most Bio classes on campus have done this lab, so you can just say bio students and not teacher specifically. 

Final dance show is just around the corner. 

April 29, April 30 and May 1st at the El Molino PAC 7pm.  Presale is $10 and ends April 28, $15 at the door.  Come support your dancing Tigers.