This school year has brought some big changes to WHS with our 1-1 Learning Environment. A lot has changed in the way we communicate with students, assign and collect work, assess students and deliver information. What does all of this mean? For most of you, that meant coming out of your comfort zone and finding ways to utilize the technology and adjusting your teaching style. This is still a work in progress as we find what works best and learn how the students respond. Things will change again.....and again ..... and again; but, it's about the journey. For most of you (I have heard you tell others) this journey has been a good one. I know a lot of you have come out of your comfort zone this year and the image below walks you through "10 things that will happen when you start stepping out of your comfort zone." I think you can relate to the picture.
Good Reads / Personal Growth How to Bring ‘More Beautiful’ Questions Back to School Using Google Docs for Rubrics School News Instagram - WHS has had an Instagram account for a while now but I have not used it on a regular basis. Twitter is still my go-to for social media, but more of our students and parents are using Instagram. If you are on Instagram, consider a follow and if you have pictures to share, send them to me or tag me/mention me in your posts. https://www.instagram.com/waldwickwhs/ On Thursday, our 9th Grade Language Arts Teachers will be sitting in on a few 8th Grade Language Arts classes and meeting with the 8th grade team to help bridge the gap from middle to high school relating to skills and expectations. Thanks to Mrs. Baskin, Mrs. Kish, Mrs. Pastore and Ms. Scheck for making this happen. Sticks and Stones - Periods 8 & 9 on Thursday 2/25/16. Next Monday, 2/29, there will be a senior class meeting during Period 2. Please take attendance and walk your students to the Little Theater. Two great trips took place last week. Thanks Mr. Apap and Mr. Opderbeck for putting them together.
Learning Environment Creating a positive learning environment is something I strongly believe in and have talked about in the past. This video does a great job highlighting what a "Flexible Learning Environment"can look like. We have started to make changes in our learning rooms with new furniture and the way traditional desks are arranged. We can have the coolest furniture, but like most things in education, it comes down to one thing, The Teacher. You DRIVE the ...........
Learning
Thinking
Atmosphere
Relationships
Mood
Spirit
Behavior
Connections
#Ownit each day for your students and make the learning happen in a way that they can't wait to come back for more!!
School News Big Thank You to Dr. Ling for being a great sport on Friday and getting the "Pie in the Face" as part of the LGBT fundraiser, which raised money for Garden State Equality. Congratulations to Dayna Orlak on being asked to present at the National SXSW Edu Conference in Austin TX in March. Last week we had administrators for Becton Regional HS here collecting information on 1-1 learning environments. Coming out of the meeting, I could not be more proud of what we have done over the past five months. Telling our story and getting positive feedback from educators outside of Waldwick reinforces what we are doing and the professionalism of the staff at WHS. Once again we will show the movie Sticks and Stones to the 9th graders and have discussion groups after the movie. The students will watch the movie on Thursday, 2/25, during Period 8, followed by breakout sessions during Period 9. Students should report to their Period 8 class for attendance and then classes should be walked to the Little Theater.
During the mid-year reviews last week, the supervisors and I had some great conversations that included discussions on teaching, learning, risk taking, Chromebooks, GAFE, students' performance, professionalism and so much more. Each year I say I'm not sure we need the mid-year reviews, but coming out of the conversations, I am glad we did it. Face to face conversations and hearing about the good things, as well as some of the frustrations, are very important to me. Your voice matters and always will. Since you all shared with me your areas to work on and areas of success, I thought it only right to share my list with you. Kevin Carroll, Self Evaluation Mid-Year Review 2016 What I am Proud of:
The first five months in our 1-1 Learning Environment. At this point what we all do with the Chromebooks, Google Classroom, GAFE, etc. Pretty Amazing!!
Collaboration among colleagues within the building - learning and sharing with each other
The process of exploring the "Rotating/Drop Schedule" which includes: The great discussions I have had with so many of you, the school visits and conversations with other educators and finding a common ground for what's best for students
Our students' ability to adjust and thrive in the 1-1 Learning Environment
The work Mike Clancy, Maggie Hart and Frank Clark have done with the STRIDES Program.
Areas to Work on:
Poor job on my part of getting observations written up in a timely matter. I never miss a post conference but it takes me too long to get you the official write up.
Always room to improve on communication - The Source, upcoming events, deadlines, vision
More feedback to staff and students. Voice notes, hand written notes, emails, face to face conversations. Feedback matters... positive and constructive.
Find ways to increase student's drive to take ownership of their learning. Learning can happen anywhere, anytime and how can I/we help support them.
News Schedule update - Last week I presented the new Rotating/Drop schedule to the curriculum committee which includes: teachers, administrators, parents, community members and BOE Trustees and received positive feedback. At Monday night's Board meeting the new schedule was presented to the full Board of Education as well as the public. Representatives of the WEA have been part of many conversations and we both want what's best for students. One way or the other, at the end of the month a decision will be made for the 16-17 school year, whether we stay with current schedule for now or make the change. I ordered some "Presenter Remotes" so if anyone would like one please let me know. Important Date No School Monday 2/15 & Tuesday 2/16 Thursday 2/25 - Sticks and Stones for 9th Graders (Period 8 & 9)
