Weekly Update: March 20-24

It will take a Herculean effort to get through the next week.  If the WASC visiting team was not enough, we have Parent/Teacher Conferences and 3rd quarter grades due.  It will really take us all working together to get through the week.  That being said, I have never been so confident of a group of teachers that can pull this off.  Thank you in advance for doing the heavy lifting for our school and HS community.

Indebtedly yours,

Jacob

Friday, March 17
Day 5- CDAB
Blue Dragon Movie Night, 6:30-9:30pm (4th Floor HS)
Share Quarter 3 Comments with a Colleague for Review, March 17

Saturday, March 18
Faculty Follies, 7-10pm (Auditorium)

Monday, March 20
Day 6- GHEF
Advisory Schedule
WASC Accreditation Visit
WASC Focus Groups B1, B2, B3, 9:45-11am (MPR)
University Visit:  University of Aukland, Lunch (Library)
WASC Focus Group D, 1:45-3:00pm (MPR)
Last Day to Complete the HS Principal’s Survey

Tuesday, March 21
Day 7- DABC
WASC Accreditation Visit
WASC Focus Group A, 9-10:45am (MPR)
University Visit: Marist College, Loyola Marymount University, Baylor University and Loyola University Chicago, Lunch (Library)
WASC Focus Group C, 1:45-3:00pm (MPR)

Wednesday, March 22
Day 8- HEFG
WASC Accreditation Visit
University Visit, University of Notre Dame, Lunch (Library)
NO AFTER SCHOOL MEETING

Thursday, March 23
Day 9- ABCD
Last Day of Quarter 3
WASC Accreditation Visit
Full Faculty Meeting, WASC Visiting Team Report 3:15-4:30pm (Auditorium)
HS Dinner, 4-5pm (Fitness Lab, HS Basement)
Parent/Teacher Conferences, 5-8pm (HS Gym)

Friday, March 24
Non-student day
Parent/Teacher Conferences, 8am-1pm (HS Gym)
Post PTC Happy Hour, 2-5:15pm (Pitcher’s)

On the Horizon:
Quarter 3 Grades and Comments Entered in PS, March 28 at 3:30
MRISA Assembly, March 29 (Advisory Schedule)- Advisory Schedule M, W, TH this week
Report Card Verification Reports Available and Returned to Huyen, March 29 at 3:30
IBDP Core Year 2 Exhibition, March 29, 6-7:30pm
Quarter 3 Grades Emailed to Students/Parents, March 30
IB/AP Arts Exhibition, April 12
Career Day, April 13 (special schedule)
Sunshine Service and Brewery Tour Event, April 15

Staff Action Needed:

• Complete HS Principal’s Survey
• Sunshine and Service Trips Transportation Questionnaire by March 30.
• Make sure to review Thomas Galvez’s Matrix carefully these week about grading 12th grade students at the end of the year.
• Start writing your quarter 3 comments, so they are ready for peer review on March 17
• Communicate with parents about students receiving D’s or F’s in preparation for PTC’s

Last Day to Complete HS Principal Survey– Thank to all of you that have taken the time already to complete the HS Principal Survey.  This information in invaluable to me and my growth as a leader.  If you have not completed this yet, please do so by Monday, March 20 when it closes.

Parent/Teacher Conferences–  PTC’s are held on Thursday, March 23 (5-8pm) and Friday, March 24 (8am-1pm).  We will be doing “Arena” style conferences in the High School Gym.  Since we have a WASC meeting right before our conferences, the HS will be hosting a dinner in the fitness lab in the HS basement.  A large variety of food and drink will be available to eat starting at 4pm.  On Friday morning, there will be some croissants, coffee and tea in the morning.  From 10:30 to 12:30, the caterers will have a sandwich and salad bar set up in the fitness lab for you to grab some lunch at some point during the conferences.

End of Year Important Dates– We have put together an end of the year important dates calendar for you reference.  While it does not have everything, it is a quick reference for you for planning purposes.

WASC Update– The WASC Visiting team will be arriving this Saturday.  The Senior Admin Team will meet with them on Sunday, but your first encounter with them will likely be on Monday.  Make sure to attend any assigned events and be prepared for visitors at any time.  While we have completed so much work in preparation for the visit, make sure to really understand our critical learner needs and be able to share them with the visiting team.  In a nutshell they are #1 (creating multiple path for student success and embedding our core values in our decision-making and programs), #2 (use data effectively to refine programs and address any achievement gaps) and #3 (develop stronger correlations between subject grades and standardized assessments and creation of intervention programs to improve student achievement).

WASC Coverage For Meetings–  Thank you to all of you that have volunteered to cover for your colleague’s classes during our WASC visit.  Make sure you review this chart and write down or add the dates and times to your Google Calendar, so you do not forget.

Grade 12 Issues with PowerSchool– Please pay careful attention to Thomas Galvez’s post in the Matrix section of the Dragon’s Lair about significant changes for grade 12 students this week.  Thomas, Tim and Jacob are also available to answer additional questions and/or provide technical support.

June 3rd House Build (save the date)– As I mentioned at our meeting this week, a group of students are going with Bill Fossgreen and William Medina to the Mekong Delta to build a house this summer.  This is a super exciting event for these participants and our school.  Bill and William are organizing a group of teachers to pour the foundation of the house on Saturday, June 3.  It will be an all day trip returning the same evening.  Save the date for this very cool event.  Bill and William will share more specifics later and you can always ask them questions.

Sunshine and Service Trips– Please complete this transportation form, so we can make arrangements to get everyone to the upcoming Service and Sunshine events.  See Bill and William if you have questions about the Ben Tre June 3rd project.  See Bilal, William or Evan for questions about the orphanage trip and brewery tour on April 15.