Weekly Update May 5 – 12, 2017

Hi Everyone,

Last week I went to Nansha, China to be part of a WASC Accreditation Visiting Committee.  It was a great professionally and personally.  Helping another school get better is a very positive expereince and I would encourage you to get involved next year if you are able to.

Tim

(The May flower is the provincial flower for the province of Nova Scotia, Canada.)

Friday, May 5
Day 5- CDAB

Saturday, May 6
SAT at SSIS

Monday, May 8
Day 6- GHEF
Advisory Schedule

Tuesday, May 9
Day 7- DABC
HSLT Meeting, 3:15-4:45 (C300) Agenda Here

Wednesday, May 10
Day 8- HEFG
HS Divisional Meeting, 3:15-4:30 (Room C322)

Thursday, May 11
Day 9- ABCD
Advisory Schedule
G rade 8 and 10 Student Film Festival  6:00 – 8:00pm HS Levels 3 and 4

Friday, May 12
Day 10- EFGH

On the Horizon:
Thursday, May 11- Last day of classes and ASA’s for all Seniors       
Monday – Tuesday, May 15-16 Senior Exams in non-AP/IB courses
May 17, 2017 MS/HS Art Show
Friday, May 19 – 8am Final grades for Seniors submitted by any teacher of a 12th grader.
HS Commencement, Saturday, May 27th at 4:00am

Staff Action Needed:

• Check your grade book as we are 5 weeks into the 4th quarter
• Start your report card comments for quarter 4
• Complete Graduation Transport Form by May 12
• Complete the Sunshine Committee Feedback Form by Friday, May 5
• Complete the club advisor and ASA Google form and make your intentions known (not binding) for the 2017-18 school year by Friday, May 5

Club Advisors 2017-18– Please complete the following Google Form, so we can collect information about clubs and ASA’s for the next school year.  Here is the folder of clubs and ASA’s that Shelley put together last year as well.  There is some shuffling of interests and responsibilities of our staff and we’d like to make sure we know where the changes are and can find other teachers that might want to step into these positions to support our students.  Please complete this by Friday, May 5.

IB Predictive Scores– Thomas Redfern has set up meetings with IB Y1 teachers this week to discuss how to share IB predictive grades with our students and parents.  Reporting this information to families is something that IB requires, but is also a best practice for university guidance.  Starting this semester, we will be reporting our predictive grades at the end of IB Y1, again around October and then again around March for final predicted IB grades to IBO.  The only thing that is new is the end of Y1 reporting in June.  This information is essential for families and our university guidance office to determine the right schools to research, visit and complete applications for.  Families need to know if their child is likely to get a 32 versus a 40 as a final score.  These predictions change the types of schools that are appropriate for admissions.  Thomas Redfern will be training the Y1 teachers this week on how to best make this predictive score and Thomas Galvez how to report this within PowerSchool for parents to access.

Sunshine Committee Feedback–  The Sunshine Committee is seeking input from the staff to find out how we can improve for next year. The SC mission is to increase staff morale and cohesion by planning opportunities for us to come together outside of our normal work duties. Since we have had varying levels of success the past few years and have had issues with turnout at our events, we would like to hear your ideas. What works? What doesn’t? And, where would you like to see us focus our attention? Thank you for taking the time.  Please complete this form.  Sincerely, The S.C.

Faculty Work Room Closed– The faculty work room will be closed during IB/AP testing from May 1 to 18.  We will be using the room for IB conflict exams.  If you need items from the room, you will need to access them before or after school.  Thank you for your support.

HS Principal Survey Reflections– I have spent a lot of time already wading through the data from my HS Principal’s survey.  I am just waiting to have my meeting with the HoS before finalizing my reflections.  Between WASC and strategic planning it has been hard to find a common time.  My hope is to share my reflections with you by the end of next week.

Quarter 4 Comments– Please start writing your quarter 4 comments.  May is a super busy month, so the sooner you get started the easier things will be in June as you close out the year.

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.

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.