September 27, 2019

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Happy Friday! First off a big thank you to Jill Brown for leading our professional development on Wednesday. I think the activities she came up with really helped reinforce the 4 elements of effective lessons CIA presented the week before. 

 Since we have had two in-services on these elements of effective lessons, Kyle and I are going to make an effort to get into classes at the beginning of the period. So far, most of my walk throughs have occurred after the class has started and is into the lesson.

 We have now hit the midterm and we have parent/teacher conferences on October 3 and 8. This would be a good time to set up PASS plan meetings with parents. Remember if you do set up a meeting, let Amy Davis know so she can mark that time off on the appointment calendar. 

 During advisory on Monday we will have a Sophomore meeting in the little theater, followed by a senior meeting to go over graduation. We also have an evacuation drill on Thursday at 2:00 pm. I will be gone on Wednesday for a workshop at the AEA in Sioux City. 

 Have a great weekend!
Mark

Students as Leaders

Good luck to the Big Red Band as they start the marching band competition season at Starfest in Sioux City. They perform at 2:45 pm at Olson Field on Morningside campus.

Staff as Learners

This week, Tifany Wright, Molly Grell, and Danielle James attended the Best Practices and Innovations in CTE Conference in Tucson, Arizona. Make sure to ask them what they learned while they attended.

Assistant Principal's Happenings

My evaluation schedule is getting underway.  I am excited to get into more classrooms and start seeing more of the great things everyone is doing.  Please send out invites as several of you have already done this year if you are doing something exciting in class.  I won't always be able to make it but will do my best if I am free during that time.  So far, the classes I have been in I have seen a lot of student engagement which is essential if we want kids to learn.

 With conferences coming up, please make sure we are in contact with parents.  This is the best time, early in the semester, to start working with them if a student is falling behind.  That way we can avoid any surprises that parents don't always react the best to later in the semester.

 On the topic of parents, the administration read this article, A Caring Principal's Tips for Lawnmower Parents, earlier this week on lawnmower parents. It is linked below, under Article Worth Reading. They are the ones that take out anything in their child's path so they never learn how to overcome struggles.  I am sure you will talk to a few of those parents during conferences so please check out the teacher part of the article with some tips on how to talk to them!

Notes from the Librarian

Success Center Update

One of the elements of effective instruction that we introduced earlier in the school year was the importance of creating a safe and consistent classroom environment for all of our students.  We want to create a social contract that invites self-control and self-discipline no matter the activity.  Here are some thoughts to help accomplish this goal:

"Because self-discipline is difficult for some students, teaching it consistently must be a part of our plan and action.  You've got to create a classroom environment where self-discipline is discussed, recognized, and rewarded.  But doing so one week and not the next won't work.  The behavioral standards and goals you instill should steer students toward positive, constructive, and growth-producing behaviors and responses.  Rules and procedures to be followed must be discussed in class and individually with some students.  In the process, your objective should be to get a promise from students to commit to acceptable behavior.  The practice is to remind students of the rules and procedures before they engage in the work or activity" (The Master Teacher, 2019).  The more consistent we can be in what we expect, the more we will grow a culture that meets the needs of all students in our classrooms.  Have a great weekend!

Tracy's Technology Tidbits.

Are you a Google Chrome User? Do you like keyboard shortcuts? If you answered yes to both of those questions, then this list of Chrome Shortcuts You Should Know will be a must read.

  Are parents their children's weakest link to identity theft? Read here to learn more. 

 Retrieval Practice, Spaced Practice, Interleaving, and Feedback-driven Metacognition. What do these 4 things have in common? They are 4 evidence based teaching strateges that can help our students learn better. Click here to read about some simple ways to incorporate thm into your classroom.

 Did you know that you can display the word count as you type in Google Docs. Go to Tools → Word Count and checkmark "Display word count while typing." The count is displayed in the lower left corner.

 My last tidbit is a unique one. You can turn a video clip into a looping animation by uploading it to http://EZgif.com. You can choose start and end times, add effects, change speed, write text, overlay images, and optimize the file size before saving as a .gif file.

Article Worth Reading

A Caring Principal's Tips for Lawnmower Parents

Upcoming Activities

Friday, September 27
7:00 pm Varsity Football @ Storm Lake

Saturday, September 28
Star Fest Marching Band @ Sioux City
8:30 am JV Volleyball @ Western Christian

Monday, September 30
5:30 pm Freshmen Volleyball vs. Hinton
6:30 pm JV Football vs Sioux Center
7:00 pm JV Volleyball vs. Hinton

Tuesday, October 1
10:00 am Boys JV/Varsity Golf - Le Mars
5:00 pm Freshmen Volleyball vs. SBL
6:00 pm JV Volleyball vs. SBL
7:00 pm Varsity Volleyball vs. SBL

Thursday, October 3
4:00 pm Cross Country @ South Sioux City
5:00 pm Parent Teacher Conferences

Friday, October 4
4:00 pm Freshmen Football vs. SBL
7:00 pm Varsity Football vs. SBL

Saturday, October 5
TBD - Big Red Band @ Algona
8:00 am Varsity Volleyball @ Urbandale

Monday, October 7
4:30 pm Freshmen Volleyball @ Western Christian
5:00 pm Freshmen Football @ MOC
6:30 pm JV Football @ MOC
6:00 pm College Fair - Carey Gym

Tuesday, October 8
5:00 pm Parent Teacher Conferences
5:00 pm Freshmen Volleyball @ Heelan
6:00 pm JV Volleyball @ Heelan
7:00 pm Varsity Volleyball @ Heelan

Thursday, October 10
4:30 pm Varsity Cross Country @ Atlantic

Friday, October 11
4:15 pm Freshmen Football @ Heelan
7:00 pm Varsity Football @ Heelan

Saturday, October 12
TBD - Big Red Band @ Dutchman Field Competition
TBD - Big Red Band @ State Marching Band @ Sheldon
8:30 am - Varsity Volleyball @ Western Christian

Monday, October 14
6:30 pm JV Football vs. BHRV

Tuesday, October 15
5:00 pm Freshmen Volleyball @ CB Thomas Jefferson
6:00 pm JV Volleyball @ CB Thomas Jefferson
7:00 pm Varsity Volleyball @ CB Thomas Jefferson

Wednesday, October 16
8:30 am PSAT
2:00 pm ASVAB

Thursday, October 17
4:00 pm Cross Country @ Brunsville - MRAC Conference Meet
5:00 pm Large Group/ IE Speech Kick Off Meeting

Friday, October 18
4:15 pm Freshmen Football @ Spencer
7:00 pm Varsity Football @ Spencer

Saturday, October 19
8:00 am Robotics at Sioux Center HS
8:30 am Freshmen Volleyball Tournament
9:00 am Varsity Volleyball Tournament @ SC North

Monday, October 21
4:30 pm JV Volleyball Tournament
6:30 pm JV Football @ Spencer

Tuesday, October 22
7:30 pm High School Fall Vocal Concert

Friday, October 25
4:00 pm Freshmen Football vs Denison
4:00 pm Soup and Pie Supper - HS Commons
7:00 pm Varsity Football vs Denison
Halftime - Mass Band Show

 Saturday, October 26
All State Music Auditions
9:00 am Wrestling Cheer Camp @ Clark

 Monday, October 28
7:30 pm Orchestra Concert

 Friday, November 1
7:30 pm Indoor Marching Band - Competition Gym

Saturday November 9
NWI HS Honor Band Auditions

Thursday, November 14
7:00 pm Fall Play

Friday, November 15
TBD - Robotics
7:00 pm Fall Play

Saturday, November 16
TBD - Robotics
7:00 pm Fall Play

Monday November 18
7:00 pm Music Boosters Meeting

Wednesday November 20
7:00 pm Athletic Boosters Meeting

Thursday, November 21
All State Music Festival @ Ames

Friday, November 22
All State Music Festival @ Ames
6:00 pm JV Girls Basketball - Hall of Pride Scrimmage
7:30 pm Varsity Girls Basketball - Hall of Pride Scrimmage


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