February 10, 2017
At your next department meeting take the time to review your norms. Make sure you are holding each other accountable to what your department has agreed to. If your department is struggling with the norms, please let Mr. Utesch and myself know and we would be happy to assist. Next Wednesday is a district in-service day and February 22 will be a building extra hour meeting.
As I have made it around to a several of your classrooms in the last couple of weeks, I want to remind you of the APL training you have all had. I have not been seeing clear learning objectives on the board for the students. Remember this is a research proven practice that helps bring clarity to the lesson and lets the students know the purpose of the days lesson. This is one thing Neal and I look for as we enter the rooms.
Also, sometimes we forget to check students for understanding to make sure students have learned the material before moving on. As we check for understanding don't fall in the trap of only calling on those that raise their hand. You may have to "cold call" a student to make sure they understand or walk around the room as they discuss with a partner listening to what they are discussing. Then call on a few of the groups to share that way you control what the rest of the students hear. This is another APL strategy.
With midterm coming up, you should start identifying your at-risk students if you don't already know. Please move forward with PASS plans on those students so we can try and get more assistance from their parents and make arrangements for additional help from you.
You will need to call Mr. Utesch if you need a sub on starting Wednesday night to Tuesday morning.
Have a great weekend!
Staff News
Please continue to keep Tracy Meylor in your thoughts as she continues to recover.Students as Leaders
Congrats to Geared Up Team 9967 for qualifying for the state tournament in Coralville on February 24 and 25.Congrats to the Jeanne Rust and the team of Zach Spieler, Jeff Ahlers, Kyle Marek, Ote Albrecht, and Chloe Evans for their 2nd place finish in the team competition at the Morningside Math and Science SMART Competition. Chloe, Jeff and Kyle also placed 2nd in the afternoon quiz bowl type competition. Individually, Kyle Marek place 2nd in Math and won a $2000 scholarship to Morningside, Jeff Ahlers placed 1st in Math and won a $5000 scholarship to Morningside. Jeff also placed first in Chemistry and won another $5000 scholarship to Morningside. Zach Speiler won 1st place in Biology and won a $5000 scholarship to Morningside. Finally, Kyle Marek placed 3rd in the physics category.
Congrats to the following students for being named to the All State Speech Festival on Feb. 18 in Ames. The following students will perform: Group Improv - Morgan Boehme, Kody Koerselman, and Noah Watson, Group Mime - Adventure on Voodoo Island - Brittany Lambert, Sarah Benton, Regan Albers, Jack Loutsch, and Ariana Grant, and Musical Theater - Alex Pick, Megan Connor, and Andrea Barrett. The following students will be recognized: Group Improv - Madisen Parker, Jack Loutsch, and Tressa Hunter, and Ensemble Acting - Captive Audience Megan Connor, Cole Berkenpas, Morgan Boehme, and Madelyn Johnson,
Good luck to our Winter sports teams as they close out their regular seasons and begin qualifying for their state tournaments. The bowlers will have their qualifying meet on Tuesday here in Le Mars. Bowling starts at 11:00 am. The wrestlers will have their district meet tomorrow in Fort Dodge. The girl's basketball team will start their march to state on Feb. 18. We will be hosting the winner of Spencer and Heelan. The boys will start their post season on Feb. 20 and will play Storm Lake.
Good luck to the Jazz Band as they perform at the NWI Jazz Festival which will be here on February 20.
Assistant Principal's News
Student council is still looking for another volunteer to help out with our SWINTER dance. The dance will be on Saturday, February 18, 2017 from 9-12 in Carey gym.On March 3rd a group of students from student council will be traveling with myself and Mrs. Isebrand to the START leadership conference in Council Bluffs, IA. Those students attending are Katie McAllister, Grace Milbrodt, Ote Albrecht, Caden Washburn, Maddy Mahan, and Elizabeth Ihrke.
Reminder to get your Boy's State nominations to Mr. Utesch by February 17th. Nominations must be Junior boys who show leadership qualities in and out of the classroom.
Remember that great classroom management will help to keep your students focused and engaged.
1. Keep your lesson moving - having 45 minutes in a period, try to plan 3 different activities to keep them engaged and up out of their seats at least once during the class period.
2. Keep the rules consistent and hold firm to your expectations.
3. Don't shoot skinny rabbits - making a big deal out of little things that could be handled in the classroom is not necessary. Stick to your APL training and use re-direction and time after school to reteach the behaviors that you are trying to target will be more productive.
Librarian's Corner
On February 6 & 7, I attended a conference at the AEA for a MakerspacesPD with Tracy Wingert, Eric Peterson, Gabe Davis and Amy Anderson. The instructors were from the Science Center of Iowa. We were introduced to many ways a student (or teacher) can be considered a "maker" and many ways to use such projects in the classroom. While not everyone thought themselves as a "maker," we soon discovered there are many ways to perceive creativity and innovation. Makerspaces allow for students to take risks, get hands-on learning, problem solving, adaptability, and responsibility. Working on a self-guided maker project, a student can test his or her ideas, find answers, solve problems, and discover new ways to do something. The LCHS Makerspace is open to students before school and during their study halls right now. Stop in and see what students are doing or check at @LeMarsHSLibrary on Twitter or LCHSMAKERS on Instagram.
Instructional Coaches' Tid Bits
Are you tired of only being able to insert videos from YouTube into your Google Slides presentations? As of February 8, 2017 you can now insert videos from your Google Drive into your presentations. You can even choose when to start and end the video, whether the video should autoplay when presenting, and whether it should be muted or play with audio. Click here to learn more.This week I came across a math teacher in California who made a Frayer model for her classes to use in Google Slides. If you would like to have that digital opportunity with your students, click here and then make a copy of her slide deck.
Right before Christmas Kahoot added a "jumble" option to its game. How could you use it? A foreign language teacher could have students rearrange words into a sentence. A social studies teacher could have students put events in chronological order. Click here to read more.
This Plate Tectonics Map is a comprehensive resource for studying plate tectonics.
This Climate Hot Map shows environmental impacts of pollution around the globe.
Tour Builder helps users create a navigable global map with location pins that explain or tell a story.
Time Maps lets students view the rise and fall of different civilizations, empires, and societies on a map as they adjust a corresponding timeline.
Success Center Update
We are quickly pulling into that time of year when we are thinking ahead to Iowa Assessments. The most recent STAR test scores can help identify your students who will need a little extra guidance to move them out of the bubble. Strong readers instinctively know strategies to follow, but readers who struggle need to be shown how to do a skill and given time to practice.On standardized tests, the reading comprehension section will generally contain a paragraph followed by a series of questions. One skill that makes a big difference in reading comprehension is question scanning. As you do close reading exercises or text-based assignments, please encourage your students to read each question before reading the passage. This will alert the student to the specific details they should look for while reading. Scanning questions before reading a paragraph can also provide a basic idea of the content of the article. Finally, students should also learn to pay attention to the nature of the questions. Do the questions ask for something specific, like names or dates? Knowing to watch for that type of information when reading the passage makes the answers more obvious.
Articles Worth Reading
Why Check for Understanding - excerpt from a bookAnalyzing the No-Homework Movement (I am not promoting the no-homework movement, just an interesting read.)
Ice Cream for Breakfast?
Upcoming Events
Saturday, February 11
- 12:00 pm Freshmen Boy Basketball vs. Sioux City West
- 12:00 pm Varsity Wrestling Districts @ Fort Dodge
- 2:00 pm JV Boy/Girl Basketball vs. Sioux City West
- 3:30 pm Girl Varsity Basketball vs. Sioux City West
- 5:15 pm Boy Varsity Basketball vs. Sioux City West
- 9:00 pm Swinter Dance
Monday, February 14
- TBD - Varsity Bowling State Qualifying
- 5:45 pm JV Boy Basketball vs. Sioux City North
- 7:30 pm Varsity Boy Basketball vs. Sioux City North
Wednesday, February 15
- 7:00 pm Athletic Booster Club Meeting
Saturday, February 18
- 8:00 am Large Group Speech All State Festival @ Ames
- 7:00 pm Girl Varsity Regional Basketball vs TBA (Heelan or Spencer)
Monday, February 20
- TBD Bowling State
- MS/HS NWI Jazz Festival @ Le Mars
- TBD Boy District Basketball
Tuesday, February 21
- 7:00 pm Girl Basketball Regional Final @ highest remaining seed
Thursday, February 23
- 7:00 pm Boy District Basketball @ TBD
Friday, February 24
- Iowa State Championships (robotics)
Saturday, February 25
- Bishop Heelan Show Choir Invite
- 8:00 am IHSSA Individual Events Speech District Contest
- Iowa State Championships (robotics)
Monday, February 27
- TBD Boy Substate Basketball
Tuesday, February 28
- 7:30 pm MS/HS Orchestra Concert
Thursday, March 2
- 7:30 pm HS Vocal Concert
Saturday, March 4
- Show Choir @ Sioux City East Invite
Monday, March 6
- Spanish Club trip to El Ranchito
Saturday, March 11
- IHSSA Individual Events Speech State Contest @ SC East
Tuesday, March 14
- 4:30 pm Boy/Girl Track Lakes Conference Indoor Meet @ Buena Vista University
Be Extraordinary!
Mark
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