December 17, 2021
Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great week. This will be the last Friday Focus of 2021. Just a reminder grades are due by 2:30 on Tuesday, December 21. Any student that failed will need a PASS Plan summary turned in also by that time. If you didn't have a PASS Plan, please fill out the incomplete form. Give me a copy and mail a copy home.
First off, I would like to thank everyone for their work in developing our skills using the PLC process. This semester we have focused on a common skill in each of your areas. For some, this was really easy to do. Other areas had a difficult time coming up with a common skill that led to good, meaningful, conversations/feedback.
I would like to thank everyone for their work in developing our skills using the PLC process. This semester we have focused on a common skill in each of your areas. For some, this was really easy to do. Other areas had a difficult time coming up with a common skill that led to good, meaningful, conversations/feedback.
The CIA team feels that we are in a good place to shift our focus a little. We will continue using the PLC framework. You will still use your norms and roles, but instead of focusing on a skill, we want to shift the focus to lesson studies. You may ask, what does a lesson study look like or what is the purpose of a lesson study? The purpose of a lesson study is to get feedback from your peers before you teach the lesson to your students. After you teach the lesson, you will present your data to your peers. If the data showed the lesson was effective, then great. If the data shows that something can be improved, that is where your PLC group comes in. Each of you brings your own experiences in teaching and content to your group.
We have 9 extra hour meetings left for the second semester: January 12 and 26, February 2 and 16, March 2, 16, and 30, and April 20 and 27. Each staff member will have the chance to go through this process. Some departments may have to have 2 teachers present during a meeting to make sure everyone gets done by the end of April. So on January 12, the first teacher to go will present a lesson and the rest of the department will offer suggestions. On January 26, that same teacher will present the data and discuss ways the lesson could be improved the next time it is taught. Then on the 2, the next person will present the unit and on the 16 the data. We do have 3 meetings in March. So March 2 would be the next teacher presenting, followed by the data on the 16. The next rotation then would be on March 30 and data on April 20. On the 27th, we will get input about this process.
What I would like to happen next is that sometime today, Monday, or Tuesday meet as a department and figure out a schedule of when everyone gets their turn to go through the unit study. Please send me your department’s rotation so I have a record of when everyone is taking a turn. Remember, everyone needs to have at least 1 rotation. If you would like to do more, that is great.
During the 2 hour extra hour meetings, you will need to work on your units, update your essential learnings, and update your pacing guides. Much of this work was done a few years ago, so some of you may not have made the original plans. It is important to keep this updated to ensure we have a guaranteed and viable curriculum. It also assists in ensuring that the intended, taught, and tested curriculum are all aligned. A secondary benefit is to have a guide for new teachers. Remember curriculum is always changing, these documents should be updated monthly to reflect what is actually taking place in the classroom.
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Assistant Principal's Happenings
Happy Holidays Everyone! I know everyone is excited for a break and is winding down as we end the high school's first semester. Please continue to be present with your students and finish the semester strong.
Please remind students of the importance of passing classes and if there is a chance they can improve their grades to passing by coming on Tuesday, reach out to their parents and them. If they do fail, I will be talking to them the first day back from break and let them know about the State ineligibility rule with is for 30 days of their next extracurricular activity. Based on the current number of F's, we are, going to be adding quite a few students to that list.
On a more serious note, I know a lot of you have shared concerns with some social media posts about the new TikTok Challenge that encourages threats for schools on December 17th. We have not had any specific threat towards LCS. Please remember if you do see or hear something out of the ordinary to let us know right away. I have seen posts from parents that state they may keep their students home today. If that is the case, please reach out to those students so they understand they must come in on the make-up day to finish their tests.
We have some major changes for next semester in classes. Mrs. Vickery will be teaching several Basic Math and Science Courses and Mr. Hessenius is adding a Basic Math Course as well. I will be sending out the IEP Accommodations right at the start of next semester. We will also be changing the aide schedules to meet the needs of our students as they switch classes. If you realize that the needs of a student are too great in your class and you need an aide please let me know. We can be flexible in some areas, but we do need to have the core areas and any IEP accommodations covered first.
Please enjoy and relax over your next several weeks! See you in 2022!
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