News and Notes for October 5

Greetings,

Another long weekend! The scheduling gods have certainly eased us into the school year, considering the number of four day weeks. The next month will feature consecutive five-day work weeks for the first time in the school year - remember to get plenty of vitamins and to stay fresh!

We have been meeting this week with student groups in anticipation of creating some more consistency with respect to some of the social norms at Medway High School. The students have been very positive in working with us toward a better interpretation of the rules, so that we can provide a safer environment for all students at Medway. We certainly do not like using consequences as the sole deterrent to particular behaviors, but it is important for students to know what the rules are and eliminate as many shades of gray as possible.

Not certain this is what the Class of 2013 had in mind for Thursday...

You may have heard some rumbling about a senior skip day this week. Please be aware that the school does not, can not, and will not condone any skip day of any kind and will support decisions to hold students accountable and responsible for their actions given their choices. See Doug's blog post for his email to parents.

We are also looking at better ways of disseminating information to families in this era of instant information. Mike's Twitter account will provide some news from the school, and we are investigating establishing a school Facebook page, where we can post announcements and news. Advisers to clubs and classes: if there are specific announcements you want going out virtually, or if you have suggestions, please let Mike know! Again, we aren't posting information to multiple places for information overload, but for people to access information as they see fit.

To that end, we are trying to work on updating a Faculty Handbook with helpful tips, from the professional responsibility (i.e. how to take attendance and post grades), to the procedural (i.e. how does someone request a workshop/professional day), to the "personal," if you will (i.e. where is my mailbox or where do I get a cup of coffee). Department heads will be straw polling the faculty for tips - or if you have some resources to share, let us know.

If you didn't catch The Medway Weekly, it's located here.

The PD360 Video of the Week discusses the difference between assessment of learning and the assessment for learning: http://www.pd360.com/index.cfm?ContentId=143.

As always, check out Mike's Diigo links here, and his Twitter feed here.

FACULTY FLASH MOB:

Can our faculty be better than this?

Contact Ms. Rodgers if you are interested in being part of this for the Pep Rally in November!

FERPA:

Just a reminder about FERPA - and our responsibility to ensure that students' rights are protected. Here is a handy "primer" regarding basics in case you need a refresher.

Upcoming events:

The senior class Halloween Parade is due to occur on Friday, October 26, in advance of Halloween. Ms. Ryan and Ms. Aigler will be working with the class officers to ensure minimal disruptions to the school day and to make sure the building is left in good working order - there will be no mess!

PSAT registration is ongoing, as is SAT registration. Both tests will be given in the next month.

Parent-teacher conferences will be held on Wednesday, October 24; Doug distributed information on how to set up teacher accounts. Parents have been instructed on how to sign up, and a couple have already done so with relative ease. This will assist with both privacy and preparation for all of us!

Be on the lookout for some discussions that will be taking place in the coming weeks and months regarding the program of studies and course registrations for the 2013-14 school year (yes, it's already time for that).

There will be a handful of students taking the MCAS retakes on November 1 and 2. Please be flexible if you happen to have those students in your classes.


Enjoy the long weekend!