Friday, May 30, 2014

Weekly News & Notes

And so it goes.

One of the busiest weeks of the year kicks off on Monday and Tuesday with the science MCAS for freshmen. Our students are prepared and ready to go. There are a number of staff involved in proctoring, which always lends to some craziness at the onset of the day. If you aren't proctoring, or you don't have immediate business with someone in the office, please steer clear - it's going to be a busy morning on Monday around the office area.

Scheduling

Most of the staff should have received a tentative schedule for next year. Guidance is still moving some students around, which will have some impact on class sizes, but some considerations that were taken into account while creating the schedule in terms of staff:

1. Common planning time: Working with Aubrie and Shanley, we identified several teams across either grade or curricular areas and tried to block out times for those people to be free to collaborate. It is difficult to do that and then still be able to satisfy the core course selections, since it becomes like a puzzle, but this is what the course selection numbers look like in the cores as of 5/30 (Keep in mind that this does not take into account the number of sections, or how many students per section, but just how many requests have been scheduled as of today):


crs_name request schedule Percent
ENGLISH I HON         49         48 97.96%
ENGLISH I ACC         98         98 100.00%
ENGLISH I STD         63         63 100.00%
ENGLISH II HON         67         67 100.00%
ENGLISH II ACC         84         84 100.00%
ENGLISH II STD         40         40 100.00%
AP ENGL LANG         93         92 98.92%
AMERICAN LIT HON         28         28 100.00%
AMERICAN LIT ACC         74         74 100.00%
AMERICAN LIT STD         58         58 100.00%
AP ENGL LIT         33         33 100.00%
DRAMA WRKSHOP ACC         12         12 100.00%
SPEECH-DEBATE ACC         65         61 93.85%
CREAT WRIT ACC         34         26 76.47%
INTRO JOURNALISM         21         21 100.00%
INTR FILM STUD ACC         13         13 100.00%
IND STUD CREAT WRT          1          1 100.00%
SCI FI/FANTASY ACC         24         23 95.83%
NONFICTION ACC         70         70 100.00%
MOD/CONT FICT ACC         82         82 100.00%
LIT/ETHIC SPORT AC         23         23 100.00%
MODERN DRAMA ACC         12         12 100.00%
US HISTORY I HON         48         48 100.00%
US HIST PT I ACC        104        103 99.04%
US HIST PT I STD         58         58 100.00%
AP US HIST         56         56 100.00%
US HISTORY II ACC        120        120 100.00%
US HISTORY II STD         31         31 100.00%
AP EUR HIST         67         66 98.51%
WRLD HIST II ACC         99         98 98.99%
WRLD HIST II STD         43         42 97.67%
CRMNL JUST SYS STD         84         70 83.33%
AP GOVT POLITICS         26         25 96.15%
GENOCIDE STUD ACC         57         53 92.98%
AP PSYCHOLOGY         60         60 100.00%
SOCIOLOGY ACC         60         60 100.00%
PSYCHOLOGY ACC         51         51 100.00%
ECONOMICS ACC         15         15 100.00%
AP MACRO/MICRO-ECO         46         46 100.00%
COM CORE MTH I ACC         87         87 100.00%
COM CORE MTH I STD         61         61 100.00%
COM CORE MTH I HON         61         61 100.00%
COM COR MTH II HON         56         56 100.00%
COM COR MTH II ACC         97         97 100.00%
COM COR MTH II STD         41         41 100.00%
PRE-CALCULUS HON         51         51 100.00%
PRE-CALCULUS ACC        100        100 100.00%
AP CALC AB         41         41 100.00%
AP CALC BC         22         22 100.00%
CALCULUS ACC         20         20 100.00%
STATISTICS ACC         46         46 100.00%
INTRO TO PROG ACC         49         49 100.00%
ADV PROGRAM HON         10         10 100.00%
ADV ALGEBRA STD         58         58 100.00%
PERS. FINANCE ACC         36         33 91.67%
STATISTICS STD         38         37 97.37%
AP STATISTICS         51         50 98.04%
INTRO PHYSICS HON         49         48 97.96%
INTRO PHYSICS ACC        104        104 100.00%
INTRO PHYSICS STD         58         57 98.28%
BIOLOGY HON         59         59 100.00%
BIOLOGY ACC         99         99 100.00%
BIOLOGY STD         34         34 100.00%
CHEMISTRY HON         49         49 100.00%
CHEMISTRY ACC        106        106 100.00%
CHEMISTRY STD         52         51 98.08%
AP PHYS B         27         26 96.30%
PROJECT PHYS STD         21         20 95.24%
AP BIO         50         47 94.00%
HUM PHYSLGY ACC         42         40 95.24%
SCI OF BEH ACC          1          0 0.00%
AP CHEM         16         16 100.00%
FORENSIC SCI ACC         42         40 95.24%
PRIN BIOMED SCI         55         53 96.36%
INTRO ENG DES ACC         35         33 94.29%
PRIN OF ENG ACC         18         18 100.00%
CIVIL ENG/ARCH ACC         25         23 92.00%
FRENCH II ACC         41         41 100.00%
FRENCH II STD         18         18 100.00%
FRENCH III ACC         23         23 100.00%
FRENCH III STD         31         31 100.00%
FRENCH IV HON         17         17 100.00%
FRENCH IV ACC         34         33 97.06%
FRENCH IV HS ACC          3          2 66.67%
FRENCH IV HS STD          1          1 100.00%
AP FRENCH          8          8 100.00%
FRENCH V HON          4          4 100.00%
SPANISH I STD         36         36 100.00%
SPANISH II ACC         61         61 100.00%
SPANISH II STD         69         69 100.00%
SPANISH III ACC         71         71 100.00%
SPANISH III STD         70         69 98.57%
SPANISH IV HON         46         46 100.00%
SPANISH IV ACC         34         34 100.00%
SPANISH IV HS ACC          1          1 100.00%
SPANISH IV HS STD          6          4 66.67%
AP SPAN LANG         17         17 100.00%
SPANISH V HON          6          6 100.00%
LATIN I ACC         27         26 96.30%
LATIN II ACC         18         18 100.00%
BAND HON          9          9 100.00%
BAND ACC         16         16 100.00%
BAND ACC MINOR          4          4 100.00%
CHORUS HON         13         13 100.00%
CHORUS ACC         24         24 100.00%
CHORUS ACC MINOR          6          6 100.00%
MUSIC THEORY STD          7          7 100.00%
BEG ACOUSTIC GUITR         20         18 90.00%
BEG PIANO STD         12         11 91.67%
MUSIC TECH ACC         14         10 71.43%
IND STUDY MUSIC          4          4 100.00%
BASIC ART STD         73         72 98.63%
FINE ARTS ACC         14         14 100.00%
ADV FINE ARTS ACC         13         13 100.00%
PAINTING I ACC         21         16 76.19%
CERAMICS I STD         92         88 95.65%
CERAMICS II STD         19         12 63.16%
GRAPHIC DES ACC         35         32 91.43%
PORTFOLIO ACC          4          3 75.00%
PHOTOGRAPHY STD         85         59 69.41%
WOOD TECH I STD         73         72 98.63%
WOOD TECH II STD         38         36 94.74%
ADV WOOD TECH         11         11 100.00%
VIDEO TECH I STD         35         35 100.00%
VIDEO TECH II ACC          8          8 100.00%
COMP DRAF/DESIGN         12         12 100.00%
INTRO WELLNESS-H        211        203 96.21%
INTRO WELLNESS-PE        217        213 98.16%
IPEC 10        191        164 85.86%
PERS HEALTH WELL        250        244 97.60%
TEAM/INDIVID SPORT         80         79 98.75%
AEROBICS/CARDIO         20         20 100.00%
FITNESS FOR LIFE         38         38 100.00%

2. # of preps: With only a couple of exceptions - which typically occur because of specific singletons - we really didn't want anyone to have four (or more) preps.

3. Class sizes: Class size will fluctuate as some moves happen with electives (and core courses), but we are cognizant of balance in terms of class size.

I'm happy to show some of the more inner workings of the schedule should anyone be interested - there have been a couple of suggestions that were explored this week to see if they made anything better. Some times those suggestions work, sometimes they don't - but they are all considered, typically.

Senior Week

Next week, we have a number of events that will take place both during the day and in the evening. The boat cruise sets off for Boston on Tuesday at 4, arriving home around 11, and then Wednesday brings with it graduation rehearsal and the Awards Night. On Thursday, the students and a few staff members will venture to the Vineyard, and then Friday is Class Day.

For those of you attending graduation, please plan to be here by 1:30; the procession will set off on time at 2:00. As for seating arrangements at graduation, I have been plugging folks in as they have RSVP'd without any real attention to who is sitting next to whom, or in what row. If you have a preference, are arriving with someone, etc. - let me know.

This week, thanks to all who got grades finalized early and got obligations sent in to allow us to notify families. If parents or students reach out to you, or return something to you directly, please make sure you let Officer Grimes know!

Summer Reading

We have just about finalized summer reading. A link to the summer reading site can be found here, and you can direct students both to that list and to Barnes & Noble in Bellingham, which has been apprized of our list and is updating its shelves to have these in stock. 

Some news:

Congratulations to Mr. Petrarca's students, who competed at the International Economic Summit and Stock Market Game against more than 700 schools nationwide! Coverage can be seen here.

Finally, Hawaiian Shirt Friday - Schoolwide for Mr. Nelson. Thanks to all who participated - by actually donning the colorful garb or just by stopping up to say hello! As a wise man says, it takes the same amount of effort to be nice.






Friday, May 16, 2014

Weekly News & Notes

It has been a few weeks since the Weekly News came out. First we had the week of vacation, and then I unfortunately wasn't here for a couple days. But I'd like to get back in the swing of keeping people in the proverbial loop though some weekly notices, which hopefully have some purpose in terms of letting you know what's happening!

Senior Exams and Class Elections

During the week of May 27, we will have a different period schedule due to senior exams and class elections. The schedule was posted to the conference some weeks ago and will be re-posted; also, the schedule for class elections will be that week.

  • Current Freshman class (upcoming Sophomores) will be held on May 28th- A period
  • Current Sophomore class (upcoming Juniors) will be held on May 28th- G period
  • Current Junior class (upcoming Seniors) will be held on May 29th- E period
  • The speeches for Student Government positions will run concurrent with each class’s speeches, however, voting will occur from 7:30-12:35 on May 30th.
The goal will be to have the speeches done within a half hour to allow class time. Keep in mind that the rising seniors will also have a presentation regarding Lifetouch.

For senior exams, we hope that grades will be posted quickly to allow us to intervene in places where students need additional support, summer classes, etc. For those of you teaching AP classes, if you could have the grades posted before exams start, it would make our identifying of graduation and Class Day speakers much easier!

Senior Week

Senior Week will be busy, to say the least.The science MCAS is Monday and Tuesday, a schedule to which also appears here. There will be graduation rehearsal on June 4, Class Day on June 6, and nightly events for the seniors. Your presence at any and all events, and the support and visibility of the staff at graduation on June 8, are all appreciated.

Thanks to those who participated in the graduation poll. No changes - though the request of many people to present the faculty in ceremonial cap and gown, which the school would have to fund/coordinate, is a great thought and something we will think about into next year.

We hope to have as many senior obligations collected as possible before Class Day; again, if you know of them, please start taking a log down so we can help. To that end, we will allow seniors some time on Wednesday and Thursday of this week to clean out lockers before/during the first few minutes of the day.


Two MCAS Down!

Thanks to all the proctors, teachers who moved, teachers who adjusted, and teachers who prepped students (you know, all of you) on the days of MCAS. They are hectic and scattered, but they went off mostly seamlessly.

Similarly, the coordination of all the AP tests, and the preparation of the students, was palpable in speaking with them. Regardless of the results, it was obvious that you all worked tireless to prepare them and put students in a good position to perform on test day.


Scheduling

Schedules have been turned to guidance for review, so counselors are looking at fixing student schedules, making adjustments to levels for rising eighth graders, and looking at places where some tweaks need to be made. That said, our hope is to give staff their teaching assignments (what classes, not necessarily what schedule) sometime in the next two weeks.

Where things have been in terms of the schedule so far:

1. Number of sections for each course have been identified.
2. What courses will or will not run based on staffing have been identified.
3. Where co-taught and support sections fall in the schedule.
4. Common planning periods, with some hope that those can be frozen.

What still needs to happen:

1. Some hiring. It could impact some sections here and there based on the staff.
2. Grade 8 level confirmations.
3. Students adding Elective course based on total credits.
4. Adjustments based on pass/fail for this year.
5. Finalizing co-taught section rosters.

Again, once we have the green light, which should be soon, teacher sections will be distributed, after which people can start the process of planning for next year in June of this year. I know, not the best way to spend June, but at least it's a start!


"The Binders"

Finally, for those of you who were taking the time this year to construct binders, finalize their SMART goal work, share their practices, and provide the massive quantity of information in support of the great things you have all done - wow. Sifting through the lessons, samples of student work, feedback to students, collaboration, PLC logs, outreach to parents, connections to peers, evidence of lessons - there have been so many great things that so many have done this year. We hope that the binders serve as some sense of validation for many of you, because it is clear how hard we are working... both to compile and to read them. Hopefully, with each year, the process will become less nebulous and easier to navigate.



Friday, April 4, 2014

Weekly News & Notes

Finally, spring has sprung.

I had a great video clip from Robin Williams about spring ("it's nature's way of saying, 'let's party'"), but the language was a little salty, so I left it off. You can find it on YouTube from his "Robin Williams: Live at the Met" routine. Trust me - it's funny.

As we prepare for the next few weeks - including the build-up to April vacation, there will be a great deal of activity, with the end of third quarter upon us and the final push in our many AP classes.

Here's a look at the calendar of what's happening for the next few weeks:

April 5:  Ring Dance
April 8:  Faculty meeting
mid-April: Evaluation evidence due
April 18: No School
April 21-25: Spring Vacation

AP Exam Dates:

Week 1

Test Date Morning (8 AM) Afternoon (12 PM)
Monday
May 5
              AP Chemistry
  
                 AP Psychology
Tuesday
May 6

                AP Spanish Language and Culture
                   AP Art History
Wednesday
May 7
                AP Calculus AB
                AP Calculus BC

Thursday
May 8
                 AP English Literature and
                                 Composition


Friday
May 9
                       AP English Language and
                           Composition
                AP Statistics



Monday
May 12
AP Biology

AP Physics B



Tuesday
May 13
AP United States Government and Politics AP French Language and Culture

Wednesday
May 14

AP United States History
AP European History
Thursday
May 15
AP Macroeconomics


AP Microeconomics



MCAS Dates:
May 13-14                MCAS Math Tests


We have been explicit with seniors that they are still required to attend class after the AP exams. Their last full day of classes is scheduled to be May 23, with exams following the week after.
You may have also heard a lot about PARCC testing. The good news for the high school is that we are done with the pilot - and have been since early last week.

Senior Week Calendar

Seniors will inevitably start asking about their requirements in classes. After third quarter grades close, we will be able to publish the exam exemption list. Students with a grade higher than 87 are exempt from taking the final exam.

Senior exams are scheduled to be administered May 27-30. Senior week will begin on June 2.

Instructions as to Senior obligations and collection of those materials will be forthcoming

The senior week calendar, and other information, can be seen here.

Scheduling Update

We are hoping to know what the budget situation looks like for next year, as well as the grade 8 selections, which will enable us to plan more thoughtfully around staffing and courses. We are closer to identifying the classes that are and are not running, and trying to plan thoughtfully around preps, period sequences, and common planning.

Special Olympics at Medway!

Many, many kudos to our many student volunteers who made the Special Olympics event at Medway Middle School this week. Speaking to many of them after the event, they indicated how exciting, rewarding, and exhausting the event was. It was truly spectacular to see so many participants, their proud families and teachers, and our students supporting the effort.

More than one person came to me to say, "The high school kids were awesome." We already know that about them, but if you see a student who was on the list forwarded by Ms. Brown, please let them know how much their energy meant to the successful and smooth running of the event.


Some resources:

This is for students, but with AP testing coming, a piece about test anxiety seemed fitting. This was sent by the College Board this week. 

And because we all need to laugh, and as a special thanks for those of you who this far in the notes, enjoy this one: http://happyplace.someecards.com/30182/teachers-lounge-full-of-memes-that-express-teacher-feelings





 



























Friday, March 21, 2014

Weekly News & Notes

What a week!

First, many, many thanks to all who participated in MCAS, had their rooms moved by MCAS, had to make quick changes because of additional spacing needs, who prepared and reinforced concepts for our students in advance of MCAS, proctored MCAS, or welcomed staff into their spaces because of classroom changes... so, basically, everyone.

We had an incredibly smooth testing week. There were a couple of hiccups which were fixed quickly, and we had one reported security incident that was determined by the state to be minor and did not result in a voided result.

Overall, great job. We have nine MCAS makeups for next week, after which we can turn our attention to the math test in May.

PARCC Pilot

The PARCC pilot will be given to about 80 students on Monday and Tuesday. The full roster was published on the high school conference. The only rooms impacted are on the main floor of the math wing, and the test is timed - so after 90 minutes we know it is over!

Assemblies

We rarely have full-school assemblies, so the respect and focus shown by our students today as our Student Government and Peer Buddies co-sponsored our speaker as part of the "Spread the Word to End the Word" campaign. We are hoping that this discussion opens up a bigger conversation about some other words that are used insensitively by our students.

At any rate, many thanks to Ms. Ryan, Ms. Brown, and Ms. Tighe for spearheading the effort!

Looking Ahead

The coming weeks will hopefully bring some more details in terms of scheduling - we are still waiting on final decisions in terms of budget, which remains in discussion at the School Committee level. Hopefully, we'll have some answers within the next couple of weeks - but we are starting to run some different scenarios that will give us a sense of what courses can and will run - and where.

If you have questions about evaluation portfolios, please see your evaluator. If you handed in a formative last year, and have questions about what your summative should include (if you are year two), feel free to ask. By the same token, teachers who are non-professional status should similarly confirm what is needed for the summative, as those deadlines are rapidly approaching.

If you haven't already done so, and you have an iPad or iPhone, download the Medway sports app. It is awesome! Many kudos to Mr. Pearl for making it happen.




Friday, February 28, 2014

Weekly News & Notes

So that's what a five-day week feels like... just in time for more snow Monday!

 MCAS and PARCC

Over the next couple of weeks, you can expect to see some of the instructions regarding MCAS and PARCC tests. The MCAS will be administered on March 18, 19 and 21. Thanks to all who caught the couple of errors in the instructions that were there and in advance for your flexibility with that week. Without question, the shifting of classrooms, the moving of students around the building, and the scrutiny with which we all follow the procedures that week is complex, so the cooperation we have from everyone is appreciated.

We will hold a sophomore class assembly the week of March 10, probably the morning of the 14th on the early release day, to review procedures.

As for the PARCC pilot field test that Medway is administering, there will be additional information regarding our procedures for that test administration forthcoming. That test will be given to only about 80 students identified from four randomly selected 9th grade classes. The complete roster and few classrooms that are being impacted for moving will be posted as part of a full procedure in the high school conference.

Scheduling

We are starting the scheduling process for 2014-15 and have looked at the course selections for the coming year already with the department leaders. While we do not, as of yet, have a sense of the incoming 9th graders or what our staff requests will yield, particularly as the budget is not yet approved, we are starting to see certain projections come together. Fortunately, many of the new electives included in our program of studies are currently looking like they have strong enrollments. Hopefully, we will be able to offer many of these courses, efficiently schedule our classes, and look at all the variables with some time to spare.

As always, as information becomes more readily available, we will try to keep you posted, particularly as the board starts coming together for next year. Please be patient and understand that right now NOTHING has been decided.

Finally...

The world lost one of my favorite comic minds this week, as Harold Ramis passed away. I'm not sure if this is mathematically or scientifically accurate, but it's worth a smile at the end of the week:

Friday, February 14, 2014

Weekly News & Notes

A few minor items of note:

1. The last day of school, right now, is scheduled for June 23. We think.
2. If you are at all interested in looking at grade distributions for specific courses or classes, or comparing mid-year exams to quarterly grades, or even looking at year-to-year performance (which is difficult to justify given the change in clientele), just ask. We can print out just about anything or export to Microsoft Excel. For a great template/method at dis-aggregating the data, Frank Hoek did some work with this last summer, and his analysis was terrific.
3. Thanks to all, as Dot mentioned, for the flexibility with scheduling. We know there were some hiccups and even some errors, but we have the basis for next year already being laid. The incoming 9th-graders will be presented with information the week after vacation, and by mid-March, the build will be well underway.
4. The 2nd annual Medway Clean Sweep will be April 12. Activity advisors: you can expect more information to be forthcoming!
5. To those who are traveling next week, do so safely. To those staying put, do so safely - and without much more snow to shovel!

Finally, just because we can all use a laugh at some bad reporting - pay no mind to the name of the young man coming down the hill on the sled:



Have a great week, all!

Friday, February 7, 2014

Weekly News & Notes

Another week, another snow storm.

These weeks are making life very difficult for classroom teachers in terms of building and sustaining momentum. Between weather, assemblies, and scheduling, there are no doubt challenges - and with vacation coming, there are a great many distractions for our students!

Coming Attractions


We have a faculty meeting next week scheduled for Tuesday. Also, we are planning to hold an optional meeting for professional status staff who are in year one of their process to outline expectations for the evaluation portfolio. Ideally, we can provide some tips and ideas for staff to make these more ongoing, so as to avoid cramming come May!

We have a tight scheduling timeline for these next few weeks, with the goal of being able to give more specific ideas to staff and students before school lets out. From a timeframe, we meet with the 8th graders the week after vacation, and we hope to have their course selections in March, which puts us several months ahead of schedule.
 
For those who plan far in advance, March 18, 19 and 21 will be the MCAS tests in English. A schedule for that will be coming next week. On one of the days, to avoid the same classes being impacted consistently across the week, there will be a change in one of the days' schedules/period sequence.

Scheduling Assemblies

For those of you who may have missed a scheduling assembly, one of the key points that was reiterated throughout was the concept of the developmentally appropriate schedule. There has been a concern raised from some students that five AP classes should be enough for a schedule, while other students have been vocal with us about the tension they are feeling in comparing their desired schedules to that of their peers. There is no one-size-fits-all version of scheduling. We want students to make appropriate schedules. But we also want students to build schedules that aren't designed to cause more stress than it's worth - or to pick classes because a friend took it, a parent suggested it, or because they believe it is next in the progression.

In short, make the best recommendations you can for your disciplines. At the macroscopic level, counselors, students and families will have to determine what is best for the student.

Finally, keep in mind that if a student does not agree with your recommendation, there is an override process, and we are explicit about the ramifications of that override - classes can't be "tried out," and then dropped if it isn't liked.   

 

Disciplinary Stats

We have been working over the past two years at simplifying and cleaning up the disciplinary statistics in MMS, which were often difficult to track because of repeat codes, complicated language, and other nuances that created more complexity in both tracking and reporting offenses. For example, in years past, the only suspensions that we were required to report to the state were those that involved so-called substance, criminal or violence complaints - tobacco, alcohol, drugs, weapons, vandalism, fights/assaults - or those that involved special education students, regardless of offense. Now, in anticipation of new laws governing school discipline (more on that to come), we are required to report all suspensions to the state, regardless of class of offense or student classification.

In short, the numbers are fairly consistent, with the exception of some outliers. For example, in 2010-11, there were 32 reports of vulgarity directed at staff, while last year that number was 20, and this year, the number stands at 8 at the mid-year point. An area where we have had a noticeable dip is the number of extracurricular/athletic chemical health violations, which was at 19 at the mid-year point last year, and is down to five thus far this year.

Some tips for writing referrals:

  • Focus on the who, what, and when.
  • The section of the referral that asks for a description of what occurred is the most important. Here it helps to think like an attorney: If this incident happens to result in some sort of legal action, the narrative will be the focal point of the inquiry. Write neatly and clearly and create a specific description of the behavior you witnessed. What you write should be factually correct and void of emotional statements such as, "this was really a stupid thing for Tom to do," or "Bobby is nothing but a liar." Also, avoid pre-judgment. The statement should read: "Bobby was not in class but marked present," not "Bobby cut class." In some cases (not all), the student did have a viable excuse as to his/her location - nurse, counselor, administrator, even a mistaken dismissal.

  • Be factual, to the point and unemotional!
  • Timing is important too: the sooner the problem behavior is discussed and consequenced, the greater the chances for an effective outcome. It is similarly helpful to refer problems one at a time -- not all thrown together in one behavioral lump sum.
  • In terms of interventions that you can handle - the single most important ally we have is the parent. Parents would much rather hear about misbehavior or an issue first-hand from the teacher than third-hand from us. If you want to conference with a student, the parent of a student, or both together, and you want support - we are happy to have that conversation, frequently with the counselor present as well. That team approach frequently has better results!
Most of our students do not find their way to the office. Some find their way to the top of write-up slips more frequently. If we see a pattern, which individual staff won't notice, we will try to identify an opportunity to meet with multiple staff, to ensure that we have some consistency in dealing with those students! Ultimately, it becomes the handful that cause us the most consternation - and the best way to deal with them is through cooperation, with student, family, counselor, etc.

If you have specific questions, just ask. If you need specific support, just ask. And if you run into a consistent issue with a parent, or want to script or practice a conversation, just ask! 










Next week, we have the Snow Ball Dance on Thursday evening (7-10). Remember to check the calendar on Doug's blog, the Student Activities Website, and the High School website if you are looking for ways to support the school beyond the classroom.  

Finally, the high school website (and district site) changed over, and we are really trying to get everything back and updated. Unfortunately, not everything moved from old site. It's quite frustrating, but it will get there!