April 15, 2016
This week was also National Assistant Principal's week. I would like to thank Mr. Utesch for his hard work and dedication towards the staff and students of LCHS.
On Monday, during advisory, the sophomores will meet in the Little Theater as the Youth on Main Street will do a presentation on their program.
On Wednesday, I will be coming around to your PLC meetings to get feedback, address questions, etc. on the proposed grading policy. I hope you have had a chance to look it over and if you have questions, please ask. After the SIT team meeting, there was one item that they cleared up. That is the wording for re-test. The SIT team felt like something needed to address having completed their regular work as well as other work the teacher may decide the student must do in order to demonstrate they have learned the material better. The also wanted to change it for teacher criteria to course criteria. For example, Mr. Eckstaine and Mrs. Cunningham would have the same expectations for World History. I also made one change and that dealt with the administration issuing an in-school suspension for a student not coming to the teacher's room to make up the missing work. I felt this needed to be change because removing a student from a full day of instruction for not making up a detention doesn't really seem like an appropriate consequence. Mr. Utesch and I will need to discuss this more, but appropriate consequences shouldn't impact the student in their academic work. I know we have made an effort to stay away from ISS and OSS consequences so a student behavior issue doesn't have a negative impact on their academic performance. As we hammer this out, we will keep you posted.
Midterms are on the 22 at 8:30 am, please make sure grades are up to date as Beth and Amy will run midterms that morning.
I will be at a Perkins meeting Monday in Marshalltown. If you need a sub, please call Neal. I won't be able to help you as I will be some where east of Storm Lake by 6:00 am.
Staff News
On Wednesday, the Le Mars Board of Education approved the retirement of Pam Hirschman. I would like to thank Mrs. Hirschman for all the work she has done with our students. It takes a special person to become a special education teacher. Not only does she have the normal planning for classes, grading, and teaching duties, she also has to conduct the IEP meetings, monitor student progress, and work to help students overcome their learning disabilities. Her sense of dedication and passion towards the students will be missed. Congratulations on the retirement!Also on Wednesday, the Le Mars Board of Education approved the contract of Jenna Bowmaster as our new Spanish teacher. Ms. Bowmaster is a Morninside graduate and is currently finishing her second year teaching at Resmen St. Mary's.
Staff as Learners
Kellie Bork and Tracy Wingert took their show on the road again and presented at the South Dakota Ties Conference in Sioux Falls on Tuesday. They presented on the heart monitors that Mr. Bork uses in his strength class.
Students as Leaders
Caden Washburn was named an honorable mention in the Stossel in the Classroom's "Censored in America" essay contest.Congrats to the following students who placed at Skills Day at WITCC:
Mechanical Drawing
2nd Place - Derek Cunningham
3rd Place - Jared Kessenich
Inventor 3D
1st Place - Keaton Candor
2nd Place - Konner Koerselman
3rd Place - Steve Haakenson
Photos courtesy of Bill Dalton
Memebers of our FFA chapter will be attending the State FFA Convention in Ames on Monday and Tuesday. There the following students will compete and receive various awards:
Mitch Renken - Iowa Degree, Cody Laughton - Iowa Degree and State Proficency Award, Logan Niehus - Iowa Degree, Denton Ohlrichs - Iowa Degree and Ag Business Management CDE, Jacob Holck - Iowa Degree and Ag Business Managment CDE, Brandon Neyens - Offical Voteing Delegate, Kennedy Schilmoeller - Offical Voting Delegate, Keaton Koerselman - Ag Business Management CDE, Whitney Ten Napel - Ag Business Management CDE, Claire Ohlrichs - Greenhand Exam CDE, and Christian Koch - Greenhand Exam CDE.
They also celebrated their 75th Annivsary of the founding of the chapter. The current members hosted a reunion last Saturday night. Jacob Holck did an excellent job presenting the history of the chapter as part of his independent study course.
Photos courtesy of KLEM
Assistant Principal's Corner
Student Council/Class Officer election sign-ups have begun and will run through Wednesday, April 20th. We will vote electronically on Monday, April 25th for the results of our election. If a student ask you to sign their form, please write under the comments area your recommendation for them and indicate if you believe they would do a good job or not.I read a great article on line the other day called, "6 Steps to Successful Co-Teaching: Helping Special and Regular Education Teachers Work Together". As we look to improve on our practice regarding our co-teaching model, I urge you to read this article as it outlines a great idea surrounding what you may need to consider when co-teaching and planning with another teacher for instruction. Remember, as co-teachers, you will plan lessons and teach a subject to a class of special and regular education students. Your co-teaching will support academic diversity in the regular classroom and provide all students with access to the same curriculum. These six steps were listed in the article as key talking points for you and your co-teacher to consider:
1. Establish Rapport - get to know each other on a personal level so that you are comfortable.
2. Identify your Teaching Styles and Use them to Create a Cohesive Classroom - how will you manage behaviors, instruction, what are your discipline styles, are you a hands-on teacher or text dependent, when can you lesson plan together?
3. Discuss Strengths and Weaknesses - make a list of things you are good at, interested in, like or dislike - compare the list and highlight the similar strengths to help build a foundation of similarities.
4. Discuss Individualized Education Plans and Regular Education Goals - keep in mind that the students in your co-taught classroom are all your students so the general educator must be informed about the IEP for any child in the room. A discussion on expectations for modifications and accommodations will need to be established and a timeline for material development is essential in that discussion. (example: a teacher should get a test to the special education teacher at least 2 days prior to the test so that accommodations can be established and agreed upon - changes cannot occur at the last minute)
5. Formulate a Plan of Action and Act as a Unified Team - if you formulate a plan of cation now, then panning for instruction will be easy. Consider all aspects when looking at your co-taught class such as expected classroom behaviors, classroom procedures (homework/grading), consequences, grading, and communication with home.
6. Take Risks and Grow - learn from each other and work together to try new ideas. Don't be afraid to try and fail - remember that you have a co-teacher to fall back on for support.
Link to article on co-teaching: www.nea.org/tools/6-steps-to-successful-co-teaching.html
Upcoming Events
Friday, April 15
- 7:00 pm Spring Play
Saturday, April 16
- 8:00 am Boys' Varsity/JV Golf @ Spencer Country Club
- 8:00 am Girls'/Boys' Varsity Track @ Sioux City Relays
- 7:00 pm Spring Play
Monday, April 18
- State FFA Conference
- 4:00 pm Boys' Varsity/JV Tennis vs. Spencer
- 4:00 pm Girls' Varsity/JV Tennis @ Spencer
- 4:30 pm Girls' Varsity/JV Track @ Sheldon
- 5:00 pm Boys' Varsity/JV Track @ Unity Christian
- 7:00 pm Music Boosters Meeting
Tuesday, April 19
- State FFA Conference
- 4:00 pm Girls' Varsity/JV Golf vs. Western Christian
- 4:00 pm Boys' Varsity/JV Golf @ Western Christian @ The Ridge
- 4:00 pm Girls' Varsity/JV Tennis vs. Storm Lake
- 4:00 pm Boys' Varsity/JV Tennis @ Storm Lake
Wednesday, April 20
- 1:30 pm Early Dismissal
- 7:00 pm Athletic Booster Club Meeting
Thursday, April 21
- 4:30 pm Girls' Varsity/JV Track @ Sergeant Bluff
- 4:30 pm Boys' Varsity/JV Track @ Sheldon
Friday, April 22
- Midterm
- 7:00 pm Festival of Orchestras
Be Extraordinary,
Mark
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