Weekly Update: September 12-17

It’s been a fast start to the year.  While our focus divisionally is with development of a vibrant pastoral advisory program and of a cohesive assessment policy in the HS, there are other amazing things happening.  From our WWW preparation to college nights for students and parents, planning for our 11/12 graders during WWW, House Leagues, StuCo dance and much more there is a lot happening in our division at the start of the year.  All of this work is student focused and requires our time.  The more we work together the more successful we can be.  Please take the opportunity to acknowledge the collective work of your colleagues and offer a helping hand in the next few weeks ahead.  We are stronger together.

Have a great weekend,

Jacob

Friday, September 9
Day 5- CDAB
Study in the UK Presentation 12:45pm Room C307
StuCo – Dance/ Social, 6-9pm (Auditorium)

Monday, September 12
Day 6- GHEF
Advisory Day Schedule
Tim & Jacob at CFG Leadership Training (8am – 2pm)

Tuesday, September 13
Day 7- DABC
HSLT Meeting, 3:15-4:45 (Counseling Conference Room) Agenda Here

Wednesday, September 14
Day 8- HEFG
Advisory Day Schedule
University Visit: Linden Fair (During Advisory for Seniors)
HS Faculty Meeting, 3:15-4:30 (MPR)

Thursday, September 15
Day 9- ABCD
University Visit: Iowa, Colorado, Missouri, Suffolk, Lunch (Library)

Friday, September 16
Day 10- EFGH
Sunshine Committee’s Plastic Chair Extravaganza, 4-?

Saturday, September 17
PTA Family Fun Day, 9:00am-12:00pm (SSIS)

On the Horizon
WWW, September 18-24
Quarter 1 Ends, October 5 at 3pm
Quarter 1 Grade Verification Returned to Thao, October 6 by end of Lunch
Quarter 1 Grades Emailed to Parents, October 6
No School: Learning 2 Conference, October 7
Parent-Teacher Conferences, October 13-14
Post PTC Social, October 14
HS Block Party, November 25 (Save the Date)

Staff Action Needed

• 2016-17 Professional Goals (see below).  Complete by September 9
• Start writing comments for ALL students for quarter 1 (See department head for examples)

Sunshine Committee’s Plastic Chair Extravaganza– The Sunshine Committee invites you to some authentic Vietnamese cuisine served on metal tables, cold beverages (with ice) and plastic chairs on September 16 starting at 4:30pm.  Please RSVP here so the group can prepare to have enough food for everyone.

September 14 HS Faculty Meeting– This week’s faculty meeting will be primarily devoted to the sharing of our advisory plans for the next few weeks in grade level teams, as we stick to our commitment to prepare all of our teachers for a successful advisory program.

Schedule for Grade 11/12 During WWW– The Admin and counseling teams working in conjunction with the HSLT has been working to finalize the program for 11th and 12th graders during WWW.  Here is the program for the week.  If you have any questions please check with Jacob, Tim, Robert or Erin.

High School Block Party– The masses have spoken and November 25th will be the date for our block party.  Anh’s band will be playing, food, drinks and frolicking.  More info to follow, but mark your calendars.

First Quarter Grades/Comments Around the Corner– We are officially half way through the first quarter.  While many of you are trying to add some additional data points for our students/parents don’t forget that we also write comments for ALL students at each grading period.  General directions for comments are below.  Most teachers start their comments in a Google or Word doc, so they can easily copy, paste and edit before moving them to PowerTeacher.

Comments for each student will be necessary on PowerSchool reports as has been the practice.  Comments are to be personal and learning-focused and should allow for parents and students to understand areas of strength and areas in need of growth.  As this is an official school report, official PowerSchool names are to be used to reference each student.

For example: If mentioned in the formal way (“Quang Liu Tuan Gip), then (“Derek”) would be fine at the beginning of the comment and subsequent mentions may be the nickname, or formal name, only. This will conserve valuable character space.

More information about how and where to add this comments in Power Teacher later.  For now, make sure to keep to the grading deadlines here and in the “On the Horizon” section above.

House League Update– Thanks for your involvement on Monday’s aerial photo activities, there were some brilliant results. We have asked Jeff Nesmith to judge the winner and we will add points based on teamwork and originality too! See Hydra’s photo below for an example of how they turned out.

Group Meeting Day Wednesday This Week– Our normally scheduled advisory schedule will be switched from Thursday, September 15 to Wednesday, September 14, so our seniors can participate in the Linden Fair.  All other advisory lessons for grades 9-11 are also on Wednesday as well.

Support our PTA Family Fun Day- The PTA sponsored Family Fun Day is on Saturday, September 17 from 9am-12pm.  Please come out and support our parents even if for just a few minutes.  There will be a number of great activities and many HS student led games for other kids.