Weekly News and Notes

It is safe to say that this week closes amid a different feel than last week; indeed, when last week's News was posted, we had no idea what last weekend's events would bring. Hence, this will be a short version, with enough requisite information to help people plan ahead and maybe some reading that will help get us ready for the academic challenges that await us, which no doubt get put into perspective when we are forced to cope with tragedy.

Before moving on, a significant thanks to the work at the onset of the week of the Crisis Team, many of whom individually supported both students and staff throughout the week. We also saw the power of the student organization, as the Peer Counselors have been a magnificent support to all our students this week.

Additionally, that the staff so professionally helped keep students on track throughout this week and maintained that professional air and stability that our students so needed is particularly notable. No doubt it was difficult at times, but having the staff lean on each other I'm sure made the instruction and the interactions with students much more palatable during an otherwise difficult week.

Video Link of the Week

This video portrays the adolescent brain as "Ned" knocks out eight powerful conditions of learning that can change everything for students. It's pretty clever!

Some key dates to plan with:

October 10 is looking like the day progress report grades are available; given the portal, grades are no doubt already being updates, which renders the "progress report" grade somewhat moot. That said, it's something parents expect. Typically, we look at holding a parent-teacher conference around that time, so as that day is finalized, we'll get that out. We're likely looking at either October 10 or 24 for the Parent-Teacher conferences.

On October 11, we have our full day PD. Be on the lookout for an agenda for that day.

October 25 will likely be the senior's "Halloween Parade." In the coming weeks, we will meet the class leadership to outline our behavioral expectations to ensure that the tradition may continue, though it is not among our favorites. Those of you who teach seniors could assist by reiterating the importance of maintaining some level of decorum that day. We will be giving the seniors our explicit instructions as to our expectations.

Finally, to address some confusion and long-term planning: the Junior Prom/Senior Reception is being held on Friday, May 2, not May 9, so there is no conflict with AP exams. That said, May 3 is an SAT date, so we hope students plan ahead!

Student Activities Update

Please - all advisors get their "annual statement of acknowledgement" regarding the hazing law back to Mike Rubin in the office by the end of next week. It should be signed by the faculty advisor as well as a designated student officer.

Also, unless you've spoken to us already about dates/deadlines with activity fees, make sure that activity fees are being collected. To date, there have not been many that have come to the office, so I'm making the presumption that all the students are paying online. I don't want to shut down activities because the fees are not being paid! Please take care of this!

Next, check the calendar - if there are meetings or events that your activity is planning, please email those to me so I can get all the activity meetings on the calendar!

Finally, many thanks to Student Government, NHS, TADA, Peer Counselors, and anyone else for assisting with the Open House on Thursday and this weekend with the Medway 300 parade. Mr. Collins did a fantastic job getting our student volunteers in place to assist with the event.


Some Reading

In this week's news, I added a couple of pieces that are not necessarily about teaching and learning, per se, but that I felt were timely.  First, while I'm not generally a fan of Rolling Stone magazine's journalistic tactics, there was an emotionally heavy piece on a scandal/tragedy from a California high school - at the end of an emotional week, not an easy read, but maybe something worth bookmarking for later. Also, there's a nice blog post by a parent on "6 words we should say today" - something I tweeted out earlier this week as a recommendation for parents.

If you're looking for some teaching/learning resources, there was a neat Infographic on the difference technology has made in classrooms -  59% of parents used typewriters, 82% of students use tablets, laptops, or desktops - and an article with tips for building technology-infused lessons.

At any rate, hope you find something worth perusing among those links.


Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!