December 1, 2023

Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great week. We have made it to December.

Normally we have already started the registration process for the following school year, but we have moved it back a couple months since 1st semester has fewer days then 2nd semester. Starting in January, the counselors will be doing their registration talks with the students. We will be hosting our Career's Day with the 8th graders on January 17. The goal is then to have all the registrations done by the end of February and master schedule done by mid April. 

With the end of the semester near, just a few reminders regarding semester test days. The only classes that students will not need to report to is study hall and resource room. Students will need to attend all other classes. Grades, PASS Plan summaries, and incomplete forms will all be due by 3:30 on Wednesday, December 20. 

I have been talking with Seniors that are failing classes that would put their graduation at risk. They have all been told to talk with the teacher whose class they are failing. Please let me know if you have a senior failing and they haven't talked to you yet. I will follow up with them again on Monday. They only have 13 school days to get the grade to passing. 

I would like to take the time to address student cell phone use in classes. Our current policy reads: Cell phones, pagers, 2-way radios, headphones, portable music devices, and portable game devices are not to be used or operational during academic class time unless the instructor gives permission to use the device. This means just having it out without permission is a violation, this goes for Airpods or other headphones, and game controllers. If students are using these devices in class, please confiscate them and bring to the office. Mr. Moss and I are looking at this policy for possible changes. There are some schools experiencing fewer harassment/bullying issues and an increase in student achievement with cell phone bans. I am trying to find data that backs this up rather than their testimony. If you have strong feelings either way, please talk with Mr. Moss or myself about this topic. 

I will be out of the building today, so if you need something urgent check with Adam. I will be checking my email and will respond when I have a chance. 

Mark

Assistant Principal's Happenings

Announcements: 

A) If you have not yet voted for Boys State, you have until 10am today.  Thank you.

B)  I ran a report this past weekend.  We have issued approximately 220 office referrals so far this year.  Exactly 100 of them are for "unexcused absence", which was by far and away the largest category.  Perhaps at the end of the semester I will share the whole list.

C) A little fun.   The SSFC (remember the super secret fun committee?) has been busy making some plans.  Our humble goal is "to bring smiles to staff and do our little part to make LCHS a great place to work".  Thank you to those who have volunteered.

The SSFC's first two official acts will be 1) You've been "socked", starting next week; and 2) "Dozens Day on 12/12.   More info on Dozens Day later.  Please read this announcement for You've Been Socked!

Thought of the Week:  Never throw away "special".

This was a theme I used yearly with my athletic teams. When working with teenagers, it is was tempting for them to become short-sighted (and for me, too). It is easy to both A) overlook the good things we have going and B) assume that we can make it all happen again in the future.  For the purposes of my teams, "never throw away special" meant to celebrate our successes, appreciate the good teammates around us, and to put our best effort into every contest -- because "next year" or "next time" is never guaranteed. 

I would encourage you to join me in not throwing away "special" at LCHS.  We have a fantastic staff that is the envy of many districts.  You have amazing kids in your classes that are a joy to have in class and you enjoy being around.  We have great coworkers that support us and make it fun to come to work.  And together we achieve excellence in academics, sports, and fine arts.  These are all difficult to achieve.  LCHS is a special place. And we continue to strive for even better.  But never throw away "special".

Boys Town Training:

It's been a couple of weeks, so it is time to swing back to this.  One technique used, but not unique to BT, is ABC charting.  ABC stands for Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence.   It works like this:  for every behavior a student exhibits, there is something that immediately precedes it-- the antecedent.  Immediately following the behavior is a consequence, but perhaps not the type you may be thinking of.  The consequence is whatever the student obtains immediately after the behavior.  The consequence may be obtaining attention from their peers.  Perhaps they were trying to get kicked out of class.  Or maybe they just wanted to avoid doing their homework.  Whatever the case, we tend to miss out on both the antecedent and the consequence when we recall things.  Our tendency is to focus on the behavior itself, along with my own response to it.

However, when our eyes are opened to the ABCs, patterns start to emerge in a student's behavior.  Perhaps the behavior only happens on days that another student is in the room; or only after a poor night of sleep; or when a writing assignment is given -- all antecedents.  Maybe the consequence is consistently getting their friends to laugh; or to be able to leave the room.  If we pay attention to the ABC's, and also document them, it can be a valuable and insightful tool when we are trying to decode improper behavior and teach proper behavior instead.  Give it a try sometime.  I would love to talk about this with you in the hallway.

Together -- Adam

 

Upcoming Activities

Friday, December 1

NWI Honor Orchestra Auditions

State Dance Team @ Des Moines

4:00 pm Boy Wrestling @ Hinton

4:00 pm JV Boy/Girl Basketball @ SBL

5:00 pm Girl Wrestling @ Okoboji

5:30 pm Varsity Girl Basketball @ SBL

6:00 pm Madrigal Dinner

7:00 pm Varsity Boy Basketball @ SBL

Saturday, December 2

9:00 am Freshmen Boy/Girl Basketball @ SBL

6:00 pm Madrigal Dinner

Monday, December 4

5:00 pm JV Boys Wrestling @ MOC

5:00 pm JV Girls Wrestling @ Lone Lines Family Rec Sioux City

Tuesday, December 5

4:00 pm JV Boy/Girl Basketball vs. SC East

5:30 pm Varsity Girl Basketball vs. SC East

7:00 pm Varsity Boy Basketball vs. SC East

Thursday, December 7

3:30 pm Boy/Girl Bowling vs. OABCIG

4:45 pm JV Boy/Girl Basketball @ Western Christian

6:00 pm Boy Wrestling @ Okoboji

6:15 pm Varsity Girl Basketball @ Western Christian

7:30 pm Freshmen Boy Basketball @ Heelan

7:45 pm Varsity Boy Basketball @ Western Christian

Friday, December 8

Boy/Girl Wrestling @ Mid-America Center - Council Bluffs

12:30 pm Boy/Girl Bowling @ Council Bluffs TJ

4:00 pm JV Boy/Girl Basketball vs. Heelan

5:30 pm Varsity Girl Basketball vs. Heelan

7:00 pm Varsity Boy Basketball vs. Heelan

Saturday, December 9

9:00 am Freshmen Girl Basketball vs. Sioux City West

10:15 am Freshmen Boy Basketball vs Sioux City West

Boy/Girl Wrestling @ Mid-America Center - Council Bluffs

Monday, December 11

4:45 pm JV Boys Wrestling @ Long Lines Family Rec Sioux City

5:30 pm Boy Swimming @ Carroll

7:30 pm HS Holiday Concert

Tuesday, December 12

4:00 pm JV Boy/Girl Basketball vs. CB Lincoln

5:30 pm Boy Wrestling @ Akron

5:30 pm Varsity Girl Basketball vs. CB Lincoln

7:00 pm Varsity Boy Basketball vs. CB Lincoln

Thursday, December 14

3:30 pm Boy/Girl Bowling vs SBL

6:00 pm Boy Wrestling vs. Heelan

6:00 pm Girl Wrestling @ Sioux Central

6:00 pm Freshmen Girl Basketball @ SC North

7:15 pm Freshmen Boy Basketball @ SC North

Friday, December 15

4:00 pm JV Boy/Girl Basketball @ SC North

5:30 pm Varsity Girl Basketball @ SC North

7:00 pm Varsity Boy Basketball @ SC North

7:00 pm High School Play

Saturday, December 16

10:00 am Boy Wrestling @ Spencer

11:00 am Boy Swimming @ Ames

2:00 pm JV Girl Basketball vs Dakota Valley

3:30 pm Varsity Girl Basketball vs. Dakota Valley

7:00 pm High School Play

Tuesday, December 19

1:00 pm Boy/Girl Bowling vs. Sioux City North @ Plaza Bowl

4:00 pm Freshmen Boy Basketball vs. Harrisburg 

5:30 pm JV Basketball vs. Harrisburg

7:00 pm Varsity Basketball vs. Harrisburg

Thursday, December 21

4:00 pm Girl Wrestling @ CB Lincoln

Tuesday, January 2

4:30 pm JV Boy/Girl Basketball @ Sioux Center

6:15 pm Varsity Girl Basketball @ Sioux Center

7:30 pm Varsity Boy Basketball @ Sioux Center

Thursday, January 4

4:30 pm JV Boy/Girl Basketball @ MOC

5:00 pm Boy Swimming vs. Lewis Central

5:30 pm Boy/Girl Wrestling vs. SBL and SC North

6:00 pm Varsity Girl Basketball @ MOC

7:30 pm Varsity Boy Basketball @ MOC

Friday, January 5

4:00 pm JV Girl/Boy Basketball vs. Storm Lake

5:30 pm Varsity Girl Basketball vs. Storm Lake

7:00 pm Varsity Boy Basketball vs. Storm Lake

Saturday, January 6

TBD - NWI HS Honor Band

9:00 am Girl Freshmen Basketball vs. MOC

9:00 am Boy Wrestling @ Linn-Marr

10:00 am Girl Wrestling @ Ogden

10:15 am Boy Freshmen Basketball vs. MOC

11:30 am JV Boy Swimming @ Des Moines Hoover

12:00 pm Varsity Boy Swimming @ Linn Mar

Monday, January 8

6:30 pm Boy Swimming @ Spencer