May 3, 2019

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Happy Friday! We are down to just 6 more class days with Seniors. Just a reminder Seniors last day of class is May 13. They will take semester tests in the library on May 14 and 15. Seniors were told they needed to take them on the 14th if they have 4 or fewer tests. They may use the 15th if they have to take more than 4 tests. Tests need to be done at the end of 4th period on Wednesday and grades updated ASAP so Amy can run the final awards for Seniors. The awards program will be on May 15 at 6:30 pm. If you want your Senior students to take the tests in the library I need you to bring me the test with the students name, period, and class written on the top. If you are giving a computer exam, please send me a list of names and test so I can give that to the teachers covering tests for us. If you are giving the Senior exam in your room, I don't need anything from you at this time. Thank you to those teachers helping with tests. If you need the Senior test schedule emailed to you again, please let me know.

 A BIG THANK YOU to Nancy Isebrand and all the Junior Class sponsors for organizing and running a great prom. I appreciated the extra effort and everyone's assistance in making this a safe, fun evening for our students. Next years prom is on April 25, so next year's Junior sponsors can mark you calendars. 

 As we get closer to May 19, we are rushing to get everything done for graduation. I have a handful of seniors that are going to be pushing it until the end. Please make sure their grades are being updated frequently as it helps me out in determining how close they are to making it.

 We are hosting the State Large Group Music festival tonight. If you have a chance, come and support our different groups. On Tuesday, Mrs. Bork, and the art students will be hosting our first art show. It will run from 4-9 pm in the old MS gym. When you come and check out the art show, you can stay for the vocal concert at 7:30.

 During Advisory on Monday, I need to meet with the Sophomores in the Little Theaters and Mr. Utesch needs to meet with the Juniors in the competition gym. The Sophomores will be hearing about the Youth on Main Street program run through the Le Mars Chamber of Commerce. The Juniors will be getting info on opens for next school year. 

 Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week. There will be items throughout the week in the lounge, with lunch being provided on Friday. Thanks for all that you do for our students!

Have a great weekend!
Mark

Students as Leaders

Good luck to all the students performing at State Large Group tonight. If you get a chance come and watch them perform.

Staff News


Assistant Principal's Happenings

Reminder about semester test:  Senior list is out for those who are taking semester test due to attendance issues.  Please share this with your students. It will be updated by Friday, May 10th.  Remember that the following criteria are set for attendance and taking the semester test:
  1. Students can be absent no more than four times in the semester for non-school related reasons.
  2. If a student has a truancy, then they will take all their semester test.
  3. If a student has an ISS or OSS, then they will take all of their test.
  4. Students who accumulate 6 or more tardies in a class will take the semester test.
  5. All students have open lunch on the days of semester test.
  6. Students are excused the last two days, if they have no tests to take.
Staff, you are responsible to track semester test related to their grade.  Students must have no grades lower than a C- for each quarter.
There will be a junior class meeting on Monday, May 6th during advisory to discuss Senior Opens for the 2019-2020 school year.  This meeting will take place in the new competition gym. If you are available to attend, please do.
The new student council members for the 2019-2020 school year will have their first meeting in the high school library on May 22nd during 8th period.  Please allow students to attend.  They will visit with you about missing work that they may have to complete.  A list will be shared with you prior to the meeting.

Resources of all kinds - notes from the Librarian


Instructional Coach's Technology Tidbits

ClassicReload was setup for preservation of 6,000+ old retro abandonware games and abandoned OS/interfaces that you can play DOS games online right in your web browser for education and research purposes. Remember some of these oldies but goodies? The Oregon Trail, Number Munchers, SimCity, and many more.

 Copy emojis at emojicopy.com. You can paste them in the titles of docs, sheets, folders in your Drive. You could even use them as variables in math equations :-)

 Team Drives is being renamed to shared drives

 How to Manage Saved Passwords in Chrome. This article not only shows you how to have your browser save and fill out passwords for different sites when you’re asked to sign in. It also shows you how to how to remove a site from the “Never Saved” list, how to view saved passwords, how to export saved passwords, and how to remove saved passwords.

Success Center

Each of us is tasked with teaching vocabulary and has been in a situation where we had to try to figure out which words in the lesson needed to be taught.  Evidence-based support for the Common Core State Standards recommends breaking down the text into three "tiers" of words with each each tier having different instructional demands.  In addition, creating a blend of the three tiers supports explicit instruction in vocabulary.

Tier One words, for example, are words that are used in everyday speech and are usually learned in the early grades.  These are the words we would expect all of our students to know, and any instruction would be explained when the word is first identified and again in the context of the text.  Our ELs might need more instruction in these words than our English-speaking students.

Tier Two words are known as "academic vocabulary." These are words that will appear across content areas and that reappear often in text.  These words require significant instructional time from multiple teachers, but a focus on the structure of the word (its morphology) and how the word is formed will provide the connections students need to carry its meaning into other assignments and courses.

Tier Three words are much more domain-specific.  These are the words that students need for your content area and are critical to understanding new concepts within a class.  Tier Three words are taught in the context of the lesson or text and are explicitly defined.

It is important to recognize that not all vocabulary words are created equal, but all still deserve instruction.  If you've never read Rebecca Alber's blog on Edutopia, she has great ideas.  This one supports this week's discussion on vocabulary.

Article Worth Reading


Upcoming Activities

Friday, May 3
7:00 am State Large Group Contest

Monday, May 6
10:00 am Girls JV/Varsity Golf @ Rolling Hills
10:00 am Boys JV/Varsity Golf @ Willow Creek
4:00 pm Girls JV/Varsity Tennis vs. Cherokee
4:00 pm Boys JV/Varsity Tennis @ Cherokee

Tuesday, May 7
4:00 pm HS Art Show - Old MS Gym
7:30 pm HS Vocal Concert

Thursday, May 9
4:00 pm Girls JV/Varsity Golf @ Willow Creek

Saturday, May 11
TBD - Girls Varsity Tennis @ Regional Team

Wednesday, May 15
TBD - Girls Varsity Tennis @ Individual Regional
6:30 pm Senor Awards Night

Thursday, May 16
Outstanding Performance Showcase @ Ames

Saturday, May 18
TBD Girls Varsity Tennis Regional Team

Sunday, May 19
3:00 pm Commencement

Monday, May 20
5:15 pm JV/Varsity Baseball vs. Sioux City East
5:30 pm JV/Varsity Softball vs. Sioux City East

Tuesday, May 21
5:30 pm JV/Varsity Baseball @ SBL

Wednesday, May 22
5:15 pm JV/Varsity Baseball vs. Sheldon
5:30 pm JV/Varsity Softball vs. Sheldon

Friday, May 24
TBD - Softball Girls Varsity/JV Tournament vs. Bishop Heelan

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