February 26, 2016
As the winter sports season is ending, the spring season is beginning. As you know the spring can get really hectic with students gone for various reasons. Please make sure students are keeping up with their classwork and if they start to slip, let the parents know. I have also had quite a few PASS plans take place. Remember to get these done early so that their is a chance for the parent to help get a student passed.
I have been asked about Junior Assessments and when they will be this year. Looking ahead at the calendar, Iowa Assessments will be the week of April 11. We will do our local assessments the week of April 25. I will send out more details once they are finalized.
As the weather warms up, please remind students about the dress code. This would be something good to do during advisory.
One more reminder that requisitions for next year are due to me by March 14. We are using the online system again this year.
Finally, come to the Dance Expo tonight in the gym and support our dance team. Expo begins at 6.
Have a great weekend!
Staff as Leaders
Mark Zeka will be attending a workshop on the Constitution. Mr. Zeka had applied for the grant to attend the James Madison Legacy Project. This is the second of three workshops he will attend. He is one of ten teachers across the state of Iowa to participate in this program.Neal Utesch is attending the NASSP IGNITE 16 Conference in Orlando. I expect he will have something in the next Friday Focus highlighting what he learned down there.
Students as Leaders
Team 9967 will be making their first appearance at the state competition in Coralville on March 4 & 5. Good luck to them as they get ready and showcase what they have done. A big thank you to Doug Martin and Tracy Wingert for their time and leadership, also to Lori Carter for also giving up her time to work with the students. Lori will be filling in for Doug as he is at the NASA competition in Houston during the same time.Congrats to Coach Barry Borchers and the bowling teams for their great effort at state. The boys team finished in 2nd while the girls finished in 3rd. We also had 4 members place, Matt Hystad - 3rd, Noah Holder - 10th, Kyle Zenk - 10th, and Abby Whiddon - 8th.
Jonathon Hovden, Sydney Rand, Julianna Benitez, and Jacob Beyer will be attending the NASA Space Settlement Competition in Houston this coming week.
Assistant Principal's Corner
Congratulations to the students who have been selected to attend Boy's State this summer. Colton Webner & Kyle Marek will be attending and Jeff Ahlers & Luis Barrera have been chosen to be alternates. If you see these young men, please congratulate them as they are all excited about this opportunity.A note regarding Student Leaders in the classroom from the web site: theteachertoolkit.com
Student leaders in the classroom promotes ownership, community, and togetherness among class members. When students feel more involved in the daily operations of the classroom, they develop positive outlooks for themselves as well as their classmates. How can you use student leaders in the classroom?
1. Pitch the Idea - Let students know that they can "apply" for classroom jobs, give them examples of the types of jobs available, and take it seriously by holding them to their commitments.
2. Define Jobs - Define and demonstrate how various classroom jobs are done: room maintenance, teacher helper, technology champion, etc...
3. Monitor Performance - If students are not performing their job properly, then conference with them and reinforce expectations.
According to the author of the website, Stephannie Cundiff and Alicia Contreras, Student Leaders is a concept that works effectively in any grade, from elementary through high school. Name of jobs might change, but the need for students to help keep their class running smoothly is necessary no matter what the age of student. Assign Student Leaders throughout the school year to encourage structure and desirable behavior, specifically: at the beginning of the school year, at the beginning of semester, or quarterly.
Librarian's Corner
Thank you to all who supported the Blood Drive iv various ways. Some of you allowed students to miss a portion of class to volunteer to donate or to volunteer to help out. I was made aware that some students skipped class to donate instead of using their study halls, and I will work on conveying the message clearly next year. However, we did have our most successful drive in the last few years. Here is a fun slide show of the day: Blood DriveOn a different note, Mr. Wingert and I have worked with tech support and have the 3D Printers working! We have toured a Makerspace in SD, and are working on creating a Makerspace for students to investigate more creative sides of learning during their free time. If you have ideas for the space, please let me know.
Instructional Coaches' Corner
The Learning Network is sponsoring their third annual student editorial contest. The topic is an issue that matters to the student. It is due by March 29. More information can be found here.Is your technology dream for your classroom just out of reach? This might be the contest you are looking for. All you have to do is create a 90-second video, to be shared online, that shows how you would collaborate across departments. The winners will be voted on via the Collaboration Nation Facebook page. Three monthly prize winners will receive 15,000 in products from Cisco, Meraki, and Lenovo. The grand prize winner wins $50,000. If you would like to read more, follow this link.
The Brightbytes Survey will be open until March 31. If you haven't done so yet, please take the time to fill it out and share your views as a high school teacher. Also, if you have children in the school district you are asked to fill it out for each building your children attend.
There is one month left to complete a Technology Application! They are due in Dr. Wendt's office by March 25. If you would like some assistance or just want to bounce an idea off of me send me an email and we'll get together ASAP!
Tracy
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Up Coming Events
Friday, February 26 6:00 pm Dance ExhibitionSaturday, February 27 8:00 am District IE Speech
Crimson and Black @ Bishop Heelan Show Choir Invite
Tuesday, March 1 7:30 pm Orchestra Concert
Thursday, March 3 Dance Team All Iowa
NASA Trip
Friday March 4 Dance Team All Iowa
NASA Trip
Saturday, March 5 State Competition Robotics Club - Iowa City
Crimson and Black @ Emmetsburg Show Choir Invite
NASA Trip
Dance Team All Iowa
Sunday, March 6 NASA Trip
Monday, March 7 NASA Trip
Spanish Supper
Be Extraordinary!
Mark
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