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Weekly Update: December 12-16

| December 8, 2016 | Weekly Update | No Comments

This week I was reminded once more about the power of collaboration.  We saw this at the presentation from our Peer Collaboration Group that have been getting into each other’s classes and reflecting on their own practices at Wednesday’s faculty meeting.  Additionally, Tim and I were also very appreciative of our dialogue as a high school leadership team regarding how to best move forward on our work in creating the high school assessment guidelines for 2017-18.  Two completely different groups have yielded better outcomes as a result of this collaborative work.  I’m so proud of where this division is headed.

Happy Friday and last week of school,

Jacob

Friday, December 9
Semester Exams (Schedule Here)
November/December Birthday Celebration, 11:00 Between Exams (HS Faculty Rm)
Student Comments Completed and shared with a Colleague by 4pm

Saturday, December 10
Holiday Staff Party, 6pm-? (Cham Charm)

Monday, December 12
Semester Exams (Schedule Here)

Tuesday, December 13
Semester Exams (Schedule Here)
Student Comments Reviewed by a Colleague by 8am

Wednesday, December 14
Conflict Exams (Schedule Here)
No After School Meeting
Comments and Quarter 2 Grades Due by 3pm

Thursday, December 15
Special A-H Schedule
Verification Reports to Teachers by 8am
Verification Reports Returned to Thao by 3pm

Friday, December 16
Early Release Schedule
House League Activities
End of StuCo Semester Assembly
Faculty Reception, 1:30-? (SSIS Garden)
Report Cards Sent Electronically to Students/Parents by 3pm

On the Horizon:

Winter Break, December 17 – January 8
Professional Development Day, January 9
Students Return and Third Quarter Begins, January 10

Staff Action Needed:

  • Complete you section of the staff video with your department
  • Complete this assessment group preference form by the January 9 at 3pm
  • Contact Mark M or Chris B if you are interested  in joining the Peer Collaboration group in semester two
  • Please review this document which shares all of the semester exam, printing, grading deadlines, etc
Assessment Policy Groups Coming for January 11– The HSLT met this week to discuss the next steps in our process of developing common HS Assessment Guidelines for next year.  We decided that the creation of policy for the items below would be best handled at the department level with Tina and Jacob or Tim:
  • The high school division should utilize departmental moderation and encourage interdisciplinary collaboration with assessments/student work.
  • PowerSchool grade books should be set up similarly within departments.
The remaining FIVE items will be tackled as a HS staff.  The HSLT will take lead in this process. Our goal is to create common HS policies that benefit all stakeholders. As a teacher, you will pick one of the five policy groups to join from this Google Form.   Designate your top two choices of topics to ensure we adequate coverage in each area.
  • A late work policy.
  • A retake policy for assessments.
  • An extra credit policy.
  • A grading policy addressing the inclusion/exclusion of behaviors (tardies, following classroom rules, participation, etc) in a student’s grade.
  • An assessment policy that allows for students to be graded independently as well as collectively within group tasks.
At our January 11th faculty meeting, you will provided a brief article(s) and policies from other schools for the chosen topic.  You will meet briefly with your group to clarify the work and process.  This faculty meeting will be short, so you will have time to start reviewing the materials immediately afterwards.  You will have the entire January 25th meeting to discuss the article(s) and policy examples with your group.  Ultimately, your group will recommend a divisional policy.  More information about subsequent steps will be shared on January 11th.
Peer Collaboration– Special thank you to Mark M and Chris Byck with their leadership with the Peer Collaboration Group.  If you are interested in joining in for the professional fun for semester two please contact Mark or Chris.
Vietnam Tech Conference– The next tech conference we host is just around the corner after Tet.  It’s a great conference that brings together teachers from all over Vietnam and SE Asia.  Please consider attending this conference.  It’s here and only $100.  You can access the PD form here.
ELLSA Conference– The English Language Learning Specialists in Asia Conference is coming to SSIS on April 22-23.  The theme of the conference is: English Proficiency: Moving Beyond the Plateau with a focus on Academic Language, Fossilized Errors and Assessment. Early Bird registration has been extended to Dec. 16; cost $230 (and as always SSIS PD funds can be used for this conference).  If you have questions or are interested please contact Melissa Martin or Stacy Crowell for more information.
Welcome Ms. Huyen– Ms. Thao, Tim and Jacob interviewed a number of very qualified candidates to take over running the high school office.  Ms. Huyen was offered the position and has accepted.  She comes to us from the marketing and admissions office from the Australian International School for the last 10 years.  She is very excited to join our staff and looks forward to meeting you all.  While her official start date is after winter break, you will see her working alongside Ms. Thao on December 12 and 16.  Please give her a warm welcome when you see her.

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About The Author

Jacob Hendrickson

Jacob's 20 plus years in education have taken him from California to Seattle, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam as an educational leader. He is currently the high school principal at Saigon South International School.

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