LCHS Friday Focus

Happy Friday! Two more school days and you get some much deserved R & R! Thank you for all that you have done in 2015 and making this a successful school year so far. As I reflect back on the year I have been very impressed with the number of teachers trying new strategies or new ways to do things. I know it isn't always easy and new strategies don't always go as planned, but keep pushing yourself and learning new ways to help our students.  I also want to take a moment to remind you about our model teachers. During our first model day we didn't have any high school staff take part. I would like to see some of you get out and see what some of the model teachers are doing. Just because a model teacher isn't in your content area doesn't mean they don't have something to offer. I truly believe good strategies can be adapted to fit any content. Good teaching is good teaching. So if you want to observe one of the models, Tami, Kurt, or Kellie, let me know...

Happy Friday! Thank you for all your work on the reading comprehension lessons. As I walked around the groups I was able to hear some good lessons. I know some of you are not seeing the improvement you have hoped, but keep pushing the students. Research shows that students need to be exposed to a strategy several times before it will become a habit. Once the student makes the strategy their own, the growth will occur. Just a reminder the extra-hour meeting on December 22 will be in your department PLC groups. I will be gone this today for a Lakes Conference Principal's meeting in Spencer. If you ever wonder what one of our conference schools do for something, let me know and I'll try to find out. Most of our meetings consist of sharing what we are doing or how we handle certain situations.  Looking ahead we do have a shelter drill on Thursday, December 17 at 1:30 pm. I will be out of town on Monday, December 14, so if you need a substitute please call Neal Sunday or Mon...

Happy Friday! Today is midterm of 2nd quarter! We will be sending out the midterms today. As of now, we are not going to move the end of the semester back a day. If we would have more snow days, we will revisit if we need to. but the plan now is we won't. Semester tests will be on January 13 and 14 with a make up day on the 15th. As some of may have seen, the House has passed the new ESEA legislation that gives control back to the states. The House version gets rid of the prescribed goals and punishments and allows the states and school districts to set their own goals. The House version still requires the states to have some plan on what to do with continually low performing schools. The bill still retains the testing requirements. The Senate still needs to act on the ESEA legislation, however, according to many of the "experts" the House was seen as the major hurdle. What this means for us is still unknown and we will have to see what guidance the state puts out i...

Happy Friday! Next week is a short one so I am going to update for the next couple of weeks. Reminder our next building in-service is on November 24 at 7:00 am. You will meet in your department PLC groups. Please use the last protocol where you discussed your reading comprehension strategy with your department and mixed group PLCs. Tuesday is an early out day, so we will get out 1 hour early. Don't forget December 4 is the midterm date of 2nd quarter. Grades should be updated that morning by 8:30 so we can run midterms and get them sent out that day. All PASS Plans should be completed by this date also. If you have a student who you think may be at-risk please get this scheduled. I have had the question a couple of times about the parent not responding to the letter. If a parent hasn't called you, please give them a followup phone call to your letter to ensure the parent actually got the letter. The counselors will be going to classes to give their registration talk. We w...

Happy Friday the Thirteenth! I hope everyone has had an excellent week. Now that we have had parent/teacher conferences, I hope you will take the time to reach out to the parents that were unable to make it. Especially those of students who are risk. These are the parents that we really need to reach to help make a difference in their children's education. Don't forget about PASS Plans. We should have these completed by December 4. After December 4, it will be difficult for a us and the parent to help the student succeed. Midterm for 2nd quarter is December 4, we will send out midterms on that date. Our next building professional development meeting will be on November 24. This will be in your department PLC groups. It is important that we use this time to discuss the SMART goal you created on November 4 and what you have done to reach that SMART goal. In the next couple of weeks Nicki and Barry will be starting their classroom presentations for registration. We will be r...

Happy Friday! I just wanted to take a moment to celebrate and recognize our accomplishments this first quarter. We have no students who are on the 2nd quarter in-eligibility list, this means all of our students passed at least 4 full-time classes. In the Success Center, 36 of the 48 students assigned for assistance in reading comprehension have increased their scores. In addition we have had 5 students who have exited the Success Center and are back in their regular study hall. Several students have won honors or made All-State groups in various activities. The Student Council earned the honor council distinction. It has been a great start to the school year. Next week we have our last night of parent/teacher conferences. If you haven't seen an at-risk student's parent please call and personally invite them to come Monday night. This would be an excellent time to have a PASS Plan meeting. The more we communicate with the parents, the better chance we have of reaching the st...

Happy Friday! We have wrapped up the month of October and the first quarter. Just a reminder grades are due Tuesday at 8:30 am. We will run report cards that day and then hand them out at conferences. If you have a student at risk in your class, a phone call home inviting the parents to conferences will go a long way. Lets not leave this up to the parents to decide if they should come. Research supports that having engaged parents leads to greater student achievement. It also sends a message to the students that we do care about their academic progress and them. Conferences are next Thursday and Monday, November 9. Both nights go from 5:00 to 8:30 pm. Don't forget about having a PASS Plan for students at risk. The important part of that plan is having something the parents are responsible for. If you don't make the parents accountable for their child's success, then we are still the ones doing all the work. This should be about coming up with a plan that each person has...