April 6, 2018

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Happy Friday! I hope everyone enjoyed the extended Spring break. I do not know what this snow day will do to the boards decision on the last day of school. It is back in the agenda for the meeting on April 11.  We do have Iowa Assessments next week on Tuesday thru Thursday. Students will be taking them in their advisory classroom. Teachers that have Seniors may be asked to help read the math or science portions to special education or ELL students. Other dates to keep in mind, mid-term for 4th quarter is on April 18. Grades should be updated by 8:00 am on that day. Prom is April 21.Also next week we have our extra hour meeting at 7:00 am on Wednesday.

 As we make our final push please remember it is just as critical to contact parents of students who are starting to slip, especially if he/she is a senior. I do have a handful of seniors that I am tracking that are in jeopardy of not graduating. I may email you about those kids to get a better picture of where they currently stand.

 We may have a final master schedule for next year. Judd and Melissa are going through it and looking at students schedules. Hopefully, we will be able to hand out schedules for next year to you and the students before too long. We would like students to do schedule changes before they leave for the summer if possible.

 Congrats to Doug Martin being named the Crystal Bell Teacher of the Year! You can join us at the foundation banquet and hear him give an inspiring speech. Tickets can be purchased at Central Office. 

 Next week is the spring play. Please take the time to attend. It will be performed Thursday - Saturday in the Little Theater.

 Have a great weekend!
Mark

Staff News

Congrats to Nancy Isebrand for being the Region 5 finalist for the National Student Council, Warren E. Schull Advisor of the Year!

 Please add the Schimek family to your prayers as Paul's father, Merle, is having serious health issues.

 Please continue to keep Doug and Yashila Permswaran in your prayers as they continue with their treatments.

 Joel received good news at his last check up, so he doesn't have to go back for a few months. Please keep him in your prayers as well. 

 Welcome back to Trish Baldwin, she will be returning on April 10. Thank you to Karen Carlson for filling in for her while she was out for maternity leave.

Staff as Learners

Students as Leaders

We had 12 students attend the Ed Thomas Leadership Academy in Des Moines on March 27. Gabe Davis and Neal Utesch made the journey with these students. They are: Sidney Baumgartner, Dacia Buss, Katelyn Raymond, Maddi Pippett, Abby Hoss, Kylie Dreckman, Ryan Brown, Brayden Schmidt, Will Pottebaum, Morgan Marineau, Brooke Haage, and Payton Marineau.

 Good luck to the students attending WITCC skills day on Friday. Auto: Tyson Weiler, Robert Murra, Kaden Ostermyer, and Clayton Luschen. Welding: Alec Arens, Ab Cerda, Riley Kluver, and Logan Kibby.

Assistant Principal's Happenings

Reminder that it is that time of year.  Kids are getting spring fever and it may begin to get harder to keep their attention.  Please be patient as we work through the fourth quarter.  Remember that the better you plan, the less opportunity students will have to be distracted and off task.

 Congratulations to Mr. Martin on his Teacher of the Year recognition.

Librarian's News

While most of our students did very well taking the CTEs, a number of students will be retaking them Tuesday, April 24 in the morning. Mr. Kopperud and Mrs. Hill will be getting a list out soon. The library will be closed to study halls and classes that morning.

 We did receive 3 3D printers in the library, thanks to funding from L.E.E.P. There are many lesson plans out there for incorporating 3D printing into various curricular areas. If this is something in which you are interested, please let me know. I will be glad to help you find plans for your class. Currently, we have a few students very knowledgeable with Tinkercad (design software) and have been printing many items, while some other kids are becoming familiar with the software as well as the many intricacies of 3D printing planning!

Success Center Update

It's everyone's favorite time of the year - Iowa Assessment time!  Here is a short review of the test-taking strategies we have worked on over the past couple of years.  Please take a few minutes today and Monday to remind your students of these critical strategies.

 *  If an article is followed by questions to answer, read the questions first.  Providing that framework for your brain will help the passage make sense and make the questions easier to answer.
*  Don't guess!  It's okay to go back and reread the passage to find the answers or support the answer you have chosen.
*  Read all of the answer choices before you choose one.  Eliminate any that you know are wrong to make your choice more logical.
*  Don't get hung up on a question you don't know.  Taking too much time on one or two questions might leave you scrambling at the end.  Leave it blank and come back to it later.  Use the test to help you take the test; it is very possible you will find the answer when you work on the next questions for the passage. 
*  Trust your brain!  Don't change your answers unless you have proof from the passage that you were wrong.  

 Good luck! 

Instructional Coaches Corner

If you are an iphone user and haven't updated to iOS 11.3, you may want to reconsider. Apple has a beta feature so you can see how bad your battery really is. Click here to learn more.


6 New Things To Try In Your iPad Classroom

 Have you ever worried about all of the personal data that Google and Facebook collect about you? Click here to learn all about what is archived about you. You may want to hold your teddy bear near as you read this.

 Barnes & Nobles Educator Weekends Are Back. Every Saturday & Sunday in April Educators save 25% off of books, toys, games, music, movies, & more (certain restrictions may apply).

 Control Google Slides Remotely from Any Device (such as your phone).

 My last nugget was shared with me by a teacher at MOC-FV. This was shared with their staff by their superintendent Russ Adams. Yesterday, I was at a meeting and a lawyer who was presenting suggested that we be “very careful” about what we and our staff retweet or post on social media.  He informed us that several schools in Iowa have been sued for violating copyright laws for retweeting a quote from the book “Winning Isn’t Normal.”  EMC has settled out of court with the author for $30,000 in each case.  Here is the link to an article about this situation (not the Iowa connection), but it appears that this gentleman has decided that he can make his living by tracking down people who have used his quote without his permission.  Certainly gives pause to what we should and shouldn’t post.

Articles Worth Reading

Upcoming Events
Friday, April 6
- Music Booster Auction
- Music Booster Pancake Supper
- 4:00 pm Varsity/JV Boy Golf vs. Hinton
- 5:00 pm Varsity/JV Girl Track @ Cherokee

Saturday, April 7
- 8:30 am Varsity/JV Girl Tennis @ Spencer

Monday, April 9
- 4:00 pm Varsity/JV Girl Tennis vs. Spirit Lake
- 4:00 pm Varstiy/JV Boy Tennis @ Spirit Lake
- 4:30 pm Varsity/JV Boy/Girl Track vs. Heelan, SBL, SC East, SC North, SC West, & Spencer

Tuesday, April 10
- Iowa Assessments
- 4:00 pm Varsity/JV Girl Golf vs. ELC & Storm Lake
- 4:00 pm Varsity/JV Boy Golf v@ Storm Lake
- 4:00 pm Varsity/JV Boy Tennis vs. Cherokee
- 4:00 pm Varsity/JV Girl Tennis @ Cherokee

Thursday, April 12
- 4:00 pm Varsity/JV Girl Tennis @ Spencer
- 4:00 pm Varsity/JV Boy Tennis vs. Spencer
- 4:45 pm Varsity/JV Girl Track @ Sioux Center
- 7:00 pm Spring Play - Little Theater

Friday, April 13
- 5:00 pm Varsity/JV Boy/Girl Track @ Sioux City Relays
- 7:00 pm Spring Play

Saturday, April 14
- ACT Testing
- 8:00 am Varsity/JV Boy/Girl Track @ Sioux City Relays
- 9:00 am Varsity/JV Boy Golf @ Spencer
- 7:00 pm Spring Play

 Monday, April 16
- 4:00 pm Varsity/JV Girl Tennis vs. Storm Lake
- 4:00 pm Varsity/JV Boy Tennis @ Storm Lake
- 4:30 pm Varsity/JV Girl Track @ Sheldon
- 5:30 pm Varsity/JV Boy Track @ Unity

 Tuesday, April 17
- 4:00 pm Varsity/JV Girl Golf vs. Western @ Brunsville
- 4:00 pm Varsity/JV Boy Golf @ Western - Rolling Hills 

 Wednesday, April 18
- 6:00 pm CTE Advisory Meeting @ WITCC

 Thursday, April 19
- 10:00 am Varsity/JV Girl Golf @ Sun Valley Golf Course vs. Sioux City North
- 4:00 pm Varsity/JV Girl Tennis @ ELC
- 4:00 pm Varsity/JV Boy Tennis vs. ELC
- 4:30 pm Varsity/JV Girl Track @ Sioux City East
- 4:30 pm Varsity/JV Boy Track @ Sheldon

 Friday, April 20
- 12:00 pm Varsity/JV Girl Golf vs a bunch of schools @ Willow Creek
- 7:00 pm Festival of Orchestras

 Saturday, April 21
- 6:00 pm Prom Dinner
- 7:30 pm Grand March
- 9:00 Pm Prom





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