March 1, 2019

Happy Friday! We made it through another cold week. Hopefully the forecast will start looking more and more spring like. 

We have now completed 2/3 of the school year as we wrapped our our 2nd trimester this week. The third quarter ends on March 15, 2 weeks from today. Third quarter grades will be due on March 18 at 8:30 am. Beth and Amy will print report cards and Mr. Utesch will go through the academically ineligible list that day. If you are giving a student an incomplete, please make sure you include a deadline in the comments. 

I will be meeting with seniors that are at-risk of not graduating and updating their parent(s). If you have a senior that may not be failing, but you are worried about, please send me the name and I'll talk with him/her as well. 

Thank you to those that have scheduled PASS Plan meetings. remember to get these done sooner than later. Meetings need to be held prior to April 17. 

As we start to head into the spring season, students will be busy with activities. The weather has a big part to play in all of the spring sports. As in the past, contests could be moved to other dates depending on what is going on outside. Please be flexible with these students as they are not the ones moving dates around. 

Reminder requisitions are due March 11. Please make sure you put FY 19-20 in the comment section or I'll have to reject it. If you have questions, please look at the requisition sheet that was in your mailbox. We also have our extra hour meetings on March 6 and March 20. On March 6, we will meet in the Library to go over the ISASP security requirements.


Have a great weekend!
Mark

Students at Leaders

Congrats to Crimson and Black on their 1st place finish in 3A at the Heelan Show Choir Invite. The group finished 2nd runner up over all!

Congrats to Edward Angiano, Zach Wingert, Kyle Herbst, Hunter Lapato, Jack Masuen, and Alex Meier for Geared Up 9967 showing at the state robotics competition. They were eliminated in the semifinal round, but made a strong showing throughout the competition.

Congrats to the following members of dance team for being selected for All Iowa Honor Dance Team: Haley Majeres, Isabelle Majeres, Hannah Albert, Zoey Campbell, and Kenna Kasel.

Congrats to the IE Speech students who performed on Tuesday at the District IE Speech contest. State IE Speech is March 9th.

Staff News

Congrats to Cliff and Kelly Collins as they became grandparents for the 2nd time. Kendra and Greg had a baby boy, Owen Benjamin Nelson.

Please keep Gina Smith and her family in your thoughts as her mother passed away this week.

Staff as Learners

Assistant Principal's Happenings

Finally - it is March!  Keep working hard and plugging away.  I have seen some really good things happening in classrooms and hope to continue with my visits.  Please send me an invite if you are doing something fun - I would love to join you.

The student council is having its next school dance this month, March 15th.  Please let me know if you are interested in chaperoning this event!  It is a great way to connect with students and to have fun outside the classroom with kids.

Resources of all kinds - notes from the Librarian

Instructional Coach's Technology Tid Bits

Behold, the Facebook phishing scam that could dupe even vigilant users

The internet is a system that is designed to continue to function even if portions of it are broken. But what would happen if a portion that you depended on was shut down? That is what could happen to areas that rely on Russia's internet connections. Click here to read more.

These Android apps have been tracking you, even when you say stop

Have you ever wanted to put speech or thought bubbles on a picture? You can! Here is how to do it using Google Drawings.

If you use the Thunderbolt ports on your Mac, Windows PC or Linux box, be very careful about what you plug into them. Dubbed "Thunderclap," the flaws let attackers steal sensitive data such as passwords, encryption keys or financial information, or run malicious code on the system. Antivirus software and other traditional protections won't help. All Apple laptops and desktops produced since 2011 are vulnerable, with the exception of the 12-inch MacBook. Many laptops, and some desktops, designed to run Windows or Linux produced since 2016 are also affected. For the moment, the most prudent thing to do is to disable Thunderbolt protocols in your computer's BIOS or UEFI settings, if you know how to do that. Otherwise, don't plug any device you don't control into your Thunderbolt ports, even USB-C chargers or projectors or someone else's phone that might need a charge.

Success Center

One of the most effective strategies for improving text-based comprehension in students is through the use of explicit teaching.  When we clearly tell students why and when they should use a strategy, which strategies to use, and how to use them, we not only reinforce and support the skill, but we also promote carry-over of that skill from class to class.  We cannot assume students know how to do this - good readers can usually figure it out, but our struggling readers do not have the natural ability to guess what our expectations are for a particular strategy or task.

Research suggests that there are four steps to explicit instruction: direct application, modeling, guided practice, and application.  In direct application, the teacher explains to students why the strategy helps and how to use it.  When a teacher models (or demonstrates), he or she uses "thinking aloud" to show how the strategy actually looks.  Modeling also offers prompts that students can use as they move into the next step, guided practice.  Guided practice is where students practice the skill with direct support from the teacher.  Not only do they practice HOW to do the strategy, but students learn WHEN to use it.  Finally, application is where the teacher helps students practice the strategy until they can complete the task independently.

Even our older students need the support that explicit teaching offers.  We want our students to become active thinkers, and explicitly teaching the skills students need is one of the most effective ways to build comprehension.  

Video Worth Watching

Upcoming Activities

Saturday, March 2

Show Choir @ Lewis Central Show Choir Contest

Tuesday, March 5

6:30 pm Spanish Club Field Trip

Saturday, March 9

8:00 am State IE Speech Contest @ Woodbury Central

Tuesday, March 12

4:30 pm Varsity/JV Boy/Girl Track @ Buena Vista University

Saturday, March 16

Show Choir @ Hinton Show Choir Invitational

Sunday, March 17

Show Choir Banquet

Monday, March 18

7:45 am NHS Induction practice

6:30 pm NHS Induction Ceremony

Tuesday, March 19

7:30 pm HS Vocal Recital

Saturday, March 23

State Solo/Small Ensemble Contest

12:00 pm Varsity/JV Boy/Girl Track @ SDSU

Monday, March 25

8:00 am IE Speech All-State Festival @ Cedar Falls

Tuesday, March 26

5:00 pm Varsity/JV Boy/Girl Track @ Unity Christian

Monday, April 1
11:00 am Boy/Girl Varsity Track @ USD
6:00 pm ICAN College Planning/Financial Aide Night

Tuesday, April 2
4:00 pm Boys JV/Varsity Tennis vs. Sioux City East
4:30 pm Boy/Girl JV/Varsity Track @ SBL

Thursday, April 4
Sine Nomine Honor Band @ Spencer
4:00 pm Boy JV/Varsity Golf vs. Western Christian @ Willow Creek
4:00 pm Girl JV/Varsity Tennis @ Spirit Lake
4:00 pm Boy JV/Varsity Tennis vs. Spirit Lake
5:00 pm Boy JV/Varsity Track @ Cherokee

Friday, April 5
4:00 pm Boy JV/Varsity Golf @ Hinton
5:00 pm Music Booster Pancake Supper
5:00 pm Girl JV/Varsity Track @ Cherokee