Neah-Kah-Nie High School Home of the Pirates!

Dr. Heidi Buckmaster
Principal

August 1, 2023

Neah-Kah-Nie Pirates, Family, Community and Friends;

Welcome to the 2023-2024 school year! 

We are looking forward to a great year.   We are expecting about 260 students in grades 9-12.   The freshmen “class of 2027” will be about 65 students strong, the sophomores “class of 2026” with 70, the junior “class of 2025” at 57, and the  senior “class of 2024” with 66. 

For athletics and activities, we will continue to compete at the 3A level (Football 2A).

Our staff is a student centered group of professionals committed to providing a learning space focused on Safety, Wellness, Connection and Relationships.  We carefully attend to Equity, and strive to provide Effective and Engaging Instruction for all students.

We keep upgrading our facilities especially in our career and technical education programs.  Towards the end of last year we completed a major renovation of our construction trades space which features a mini lab where students can learn electrical, plumbing, hvac and other trade skills.  We will kick off our first full year of our school wide AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program which will complement our GEAR-UP activities designed to make sure every student sees that there are unlimited options for them and that they can start on a pathway towards their college and career goals and a successful life beyond high school.

In alignment with the aforementioned programs, offering an increasing number of dual credit opportunities continues to be a priority for us.  It is never too soon to start planning for the future.  Please investigate our scholarship links (which can be found on the high school page of the district website) to identify some of the many amazing opportunities both in our community and available to larger audiences to help finance future educational goals.

All students at the high school have access to a wide variety of supports that include facilitated study hall and tutoring, online grade monitoring (StudentVUE and ParentVUE), academic, college, career and social counseling, student forums on topics of student interest and concerns, and professional counseling services in partnership with Tillamook Family Counseling Center and Rinehart Clinic.  We are continuing our partnership with SafeOregon.  If you see or hear about bullying, violence, drugs, or harm to students, staff or school, please report a tip using the SafeOregon link provided on this page. 

There are many factors that contribute to student success: Supportive involved adult role models, regular attendance, physical and emotional health, a growth mindset, a well-balanced nutritional and electronic diet, 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep and a quiet, distraction free place to do schoolwork are keys to ensuring students are ready to learn each day.  The staff is committed to building strong, positive relationships and strong family engagement to develop the character traits and skills students need to thrive in life.

We hope every student will be meaningfully engaged in healthy physical and academic pursuits.  Course fees and “pay-to-play” fees have been eliminated to encourage participation in a greater variety of classes and activities by all students.  We hope to see our programs bursting at the seams with students successfully utilizing our amazing facilities.

The NKN HS staff invite you to participate, provide feedback and help us make sure that every effort put forth results in healthy, responsible and productive students ready to make a positive impact on our world.

Sincerely, 

Dr. Heidi Buckmaster, Principal

Ryan Keefauver, Assistant Principal