On Thursday, February 19th, students who qualified for the quarterly HOWL incentive trip went to the Des Peres Marcus cinema to watch Zootopia 2, followed by a visit to West County Mall. Accompanied by three administrators, the group left after the first block around 9 am and returned at the end of the school day.

HOWL scores are behavior and performance-based grades that each student gets for each class every day, separate from their academic grades. If students balance a 3.5 HOWL average for each of their classes, they have certain privileges such as field trips, along with needing a 2.5 academic grade average.

“We set very high bars here for our students because we know that they can meet them,” Vice Principal Eli Phillips said. 

HPHS has had many changes throughout the school over the past few years, including dialing in on rewarding students who do well, rather than focusing on the negative things. 

“We just want to encourage more students to adopt those behaviors and, at the same time, make sure that you guys feel the appreciation that you deserve,” Phillips said. 

While administrators see the trips as a way to encourage positive behavior, students say they feel genuinely acknowledged. 

“It shows that [the school] actually focuses on people who do their stuff,” Freshman Kristian Taylor said. 

For many students, the incentives go beyond recognition and become motivation.

“The field trips make me wanna lock in so I can keep going,” senior Donubari Delolo said.

Students also reflected on what made this quarter’s tip memorable.

“Going to the mall and eating with my friends and shopping was fun,” Delolo said. 

The majority of students enjoyed the mall portion of the field trip the most. 

“My favorite part of the field trip was going to the mall because I was able to do whatever I wanted,” Taylor said. 

For students who don’t meet the requirements, administrators say the focus remains on growth for the future.

“I just say the same thing every time, the next quarter is a new quarter, and just make the next incentive,” Phillips said.

That mindset shapes how administrators respond to concerns about fairness.

“We don’t like students to be crucified for past performance,” Phillips said. “I think a critical part of growth, especially with teenagers, is having self-improvement within your locus of control.”