Weekly News and Notes

The stretch run to the Holiday Break is on! These next couple weeks will see an upswell of student enthusiasm and energy - but also anxiety and tension. The holidays are kind of a watershed moment for a lot of students, and because of the variety of emotions that come with the holidays - particularly for some who have lost friends, family members, siblings, parents, etc. - we do expect some days in these next couple of weeks to be difficult for some students.

The best advice we have is to keep students engaged and on task in class - which is what is done by so many on a daily basis anyhow! That said, an active mind on the subject/topic/assignment at hand is sometimes the distraction some of our students crave. If you are in need of ideas for ways to put together some different kinds of activities for those waning days before vacation, see your department leader or an administrator - we're all happy to help out!

From a staff standpoint, be on the lookout for an email from Doug about the holiday brunch.

Code Yellow Today








This is the text of the email we put together today:

Good morning, again.

Great job, one and all. From the students entering the building that took direction from the staff in the foyer, who were free B block and volunteered to help, to teachers who dropped everything (literally) to run to classrooms, to the students who hardly asked questions other than "is everything okay?" - BRAVO TO ALL. The Code Yellow was implemented and closed exactly as it should have.

In sum, a student was choking, and the nurse needed to call 911. The medics responded quickly, and within 15 minutes, the situation was clear. The student was breathing on his own in leaving the school, and he was taken to the hospital for follow-up.

Everyone's prompt, efficient, and textbook response is extremely, extremely appreciated!





We received an update mid-morning that the student was released from the hospital and was doing fine. Again, in our follow-up with Doug and Dr. Evans, in our conversations with many people around the building, everyone did a remarkable job in making sure this morning went so smoothly - and the aftermath had a minimal impact. Again, our most sincere thanks.


NEW WEB SITE

Word on the street is that the new web site may be launched by month's end. The home page will look very different, and some other links are being built off of it. For a preview of coming attractions, here's what the new Student Activities site will look like:

https://sites.google.com/a/medwayschools.org/high-school-activities/


We're still waiting on some of the descriptions from advisors to include on the website, but, beyond that, you should see information much, much better organized and more readily accessible. Please, if you have suggestions, let us know!

HOLIDAY CONCERT

The music department's holiday concert is next Wednesday at 7:00 in the auditorium. Admission is free - and the chorus performed a preview of coming attractions at this week's School Commitee meeting, sounding great!

FIELD TRIPS

There have been many co-curricular field trips of late, with a couple more scheduled for the coming months. This week, our economics classes attended the International Economics Summit held at Gillette Stadium, the account of which appears here from Mr. Petrarca, who chaperoned the trip with Mr. Borden:

Fifty Medway students representing 10 countries competed in the International Economic at  Gillette Stadium on Wednesday December 4th.  There were over 500 students representing over 100 countries in the entire competition.  The students went through several competitions to accumulate points.  In the months leading up to the competition students had to complete several on line tasks that counted for points.  At the summit, students took a geography quiz and an economic quiz as well as a current events quiz.  Students also set up trade alliances.  The centerpiece of the event was a 50 minute trade simulation session in which students had to make several strategic decisions to maximize their points.  After lunch, students made global proposals to solve a problem that requires international cooperation between the countries.  Students were also awarded points for their costumes and table displays. 
Our Medway students behaved with tremendous enthusiasm, motivation and sportsmanlike competitiveness throughout the summit.  It was wonderful to see our students have to make so many strategic decisions, functioning as a team by dividing up responsibilities, and networking with students from other schools to set up alliances or making trades.  It was culminating event that developed their skills and at the same time revealed how far they have come along in their maturity toward adulthood.  Our students were totally into it.  Tournament officials were very happy with the effort and performance of the Medway teams as well.
We will be awaiting final standings from the Summit in the coming days. Some photos of the event appear below!

Above:  Team Iran was actually from Medway, placing in the Top 6 of this particular event.

 Above: Team Luxembourg collects signatures for its global campaign.

 Above: Team Luxembourg works on establishing global trade alliances.

Above: Panama executes its trade strategies.


Scheduling Calendar, 2014-15

Here are some dates to consider as we look at planning the Schedule for next year (yes, it's that time already)!

January 2:  Program of Studies finalized, School Committee Presentation
January: Discussions/norming of Honors and AP recommendations for 2014-15 for teachers
February 3-6: Discussions with students about course recommendations
Before February vacation: Course selections input by high school students

These dates are very raw (as you can see), but we want to be able to plan ahead!

Activities Updates

Right now, we have a bunch of service projects ongoing! Our SADD and Peer Counseling groups are hoping to "stuff a bus" with toys for the annual giving project. NHS is going to start collecting Pennies for Patients, and the 533 Community Service Club continues to collect coins for the victims of the tragedy in the Philippines.

Advisors - if you have something you want added to the calendar or website, there is a place for you to put those requests on the desk in the main office that our student service worker usually uses, in front of Lynda's desk. Just put what you want updated in one of the vertical black slots on the desk, and we'll take it from there!

Speaking of: Great result for Science O this week!

Theodora Bouman-Wozencraft and Alyssa Whitaker won a gold medal in rocks and minerals;
Alex Callahan took gold in Designer Genes;
Jess Morlock and Maggie Sheridan won bronze in water quality;
Josh Gittings and Lauren Getz took silver, and Jason Sutherland and John Williams won gold, in Maglev! (According to Wikipedia, maglev is a method of propulsion that uses magnetic levitation to propel vehicles with magnets rather than wheels, axles, and bearings - I had to look it up!).

Bad Weather

The snow and freezing temperatures will be coming, no doubt soon! Please remember to make sure that your phone numbers and emails are accurate; when delays or cancellations are made, and calls are put through from the district, we want to make sure that you know as quickly as possible. We will do our best to text, call, and Tweet to avoid people getting here and finding that there was a delay or cancellation - which sometimes happens, unfortunately. Be safe out there - it's looking like some tough weather in the forecast for early next week.


Weekly resources can be found here. I added two pieces - one a quick graphic about generation Z, of which our student body are members - and a piece called "what we can learn from the Wu-Tang Clan" - maybe even a few people will recognize the lyrics!