WHS Staff News - Week of 1/28/19

This "Where's Waldo" picture is what I felt like as I wrote this blog post with all of the upcoming events and tasks ahead of us. There is SO much going on schoolwide. Trying my best to make it manageable for all. 

Thank you for all the support so many of you showed our students on Friday, during a tough time.  Parents have been emailing me, with thank you messages for all we do for their children.  It's what #OwnitWHS is about, which bring #WarriorNation together in goods times and bad. 

Monday's PD Day

I was part of some great conversations yesterday and heard good things from the different groups. I hope you felt the time was productive and meaningful.

Working Wednesday

We will be meeting tomorrow as a staff for 15/20 minutes. 

Agenda Items: 

Mrs. Gray - update on medical procedures

School Safety - Classroom window signs 

Daily/Period Attendance 

EDS orders  

Recommendations - AP/Honors/Survey 

Future Working Wednesday
2/6
2/13

Unit Plans 
As we pass the mid-year point of year, we are going to start looking at Unit plans.  Next week we be reviewing plans.  Dates/reflections

Scheduling Process for the 19-20 School Year 

This week, during the second half of the common lunch (11:30 AM), the guidance counselors will be meeting with each grade level to go over courses requests. The meeting might extend 5/10 minutes into Block 4.

Wednesday, 1/30 - Current 9th Graders
Thursday, 1/31 - Current 10th Graders
Friday, 2/1 - Current 11th Graders

9th Grade Assembly (This is part two of the three part series for the freshmen class http://www.scottchesney.com/ )

Monday, February 4 (12 - 1pm) in the Little Theatre

ASVAB Test 

Friday, February 8 (8-11am) The names of students taking the test are posted on Google Calendar 

EDS Orders Due (Email from Dianna)

All orders need to be submitted by Friday, 2/8.  

Positive Coaching Alliance  Assembly for Student Athletes 
Thursday, February 14 (12 - 3pm) in the Little Theatre. The list of athletes attending will be posted soon.  All Sophomore and Junior athletes will be attending.  

Recovery Day 

Thursday, February 14 - If we do not use any snow days, we will run a special schedule with all classes meeting.

Winter Break 

Friday, February 15 and Monday, February 18. (No homework break)

Recommendations (10th - 12th Grade AP/Honors/Survey/CST) 

Due Thursday, February 14 at 8am

PARCC Testing Dates and Schedule 

Thursday, May 16

Monday, May 20

Tuesday, May 21 

PARCC Everything you need to know 2019 (Proctoring schedule is not done yet)

*With this schedule, there are no AP review sessions built in.  All but one AP test will be given prior to the PARCC testing. 

WHS Staff News - Week of 1/14/19

Just because I like Eagles 

New Faces @ WHS 
Dr. Janet Testerman, Physics Teacher - Dr. Testerman took over for Mrs. O'Hara. Please stop by Room 303 and introduce yourself.  

Valentina Esteves is back, as I'm sure most of you have noticed.  For the new staff, Mrs. Esteves is the Secretary to the Athletic Director. 

Mid-Year Assessments 
We are off and running with the mid-years.  Since this is a pilot year, we need to collect data related to the assessments. Please add your information to this sheet. Each class should be listed separately.  
Data for Mid-Year Assessments

Students out of the Learning Rooms 
I am noticing a lot more students walking around, going to the bathroom in groups and not working productively in the hallways. Recently we have had a few issues in the bathrooms which are not acceptable. This being one of them. 

As a staff, let's all be more vigilant in who is leaving our room, for how long and if we have students working in the hallways, make sure we are monitoring them. 

A few "Little Things"we can all do:

• In most cases, only allow one student out of the room at a time. "Can I go with him"... NO!
• Feel free to say ... Is it an emergency? Can you wait till the end of class? 
• Note the time they leave. Let them know they have 2 minutes.  
• Have the student leave their phone. Phones in bathrooms is disgusting anyway!
• Be so engaging, that they don't want to leave your class. 

If you have "frequent flyers" who are giving you a hard time, send Mr. Clancy an email and those students will be spoken to. 

Communication with Parents - As we wrap-up the second marking period, please be sure you are keeping parents in the loop about grades and behavior.  Both negative and positive. 

Important Dates 
Monday, 1/21 - No School
Monday, 1/28 - Minimum Day/Professional Development 
Marking Period 2 Grades Due Monday, 1/28/19, at 8AM
Report Cards will be released Tuesday, 1/29

Good Cause

Junior, Tara Lambert, is holding a soccer cleat collection until Friday, 1/18. If you have any old, smelly soccer cleats around the house that you planned on getting rid of, please bring them in.  There are two bins outside the main office. 

WHS Staff News - First Post for 2019

I hope everyone had an amazing break and took advantage of the time off. 

Before break we had our 2nd Annual Alumni Day. We had over 40 graduates back at WHS and they shared some great insight for our current seniors. Special thanks to the ScIP Team for all of their work putting the event together. Thank you ... Danny, Kris Ann, Peggy, Ryan and Vanessa! 

We also had our staff holiday luncheon on Thursday before break. Special thanks to Terais and all of her elves for putting the luncheon together. We also had some help from a few NHS members. 

View this post on Instagram

Thanks to these five for covering the main office today during the common lunch. We are in good hands. #OwnitWHS KC

A post shared by WaldwickWHS (@waldwickwhs) on Dec 20, 2018 at 8:29am PST

Mid-Year Assessments (Schedule)
All assessments are scheduled for the week of January 14. Please keep the following in mind for that week:
*No Unit/Chapter Tests for your classes can be given during the week of January 14. Please plan accordingly.
*Please keep hallway traffic to a minimum and limit the use of the high top tables for the week.
Marking Period 2 (Ends Friday, 1/18)
The marking period will be over before we know it.  Please keep your grade book up-to-date and be proactive with students and parents if you have a student struggling or in danger of failing. 
Changes we made because of the mid-year assessments:
Grades Due Monday, 1/28/19, at 8AM (was 1/23)
Report Cards will be released Tuesday, 1/29

Some news over the break regarding PARCC.  Honestly, not sure what it means for us but hopefully, we will find out soon. 
Court strikes down PARCC requirements for high school graduation

Looking ahead ... We have an R-Day (Recovery Day) scheduled for February 14. If we don't have any snow days before February 14, we will run a special schedule with all classes meeting that day. 

Something to Consider
Some of you might be into New Year's resolutions and some may not.  Some of us keep them and for some of us, by February we have forgotten all about them.  This year I am trying the One Word.  The idea is to choose one word that represents what you want to focus on in 2019.  There is a book about it (I have the book, if any one wants to borrow it) and a  hashtag, #oneword2019  Some of our coaches have used the one word as a motivational tool for their teams.

I invite you to join me in picking your one word for 2019. Take some time to think about what you want to change, add, remove, or improve in your life. My word has meaning for me, personally and professionally. The choice is yours on what the word represents for you.  Once you have selected your word, consider posting it online, sharing it via email, drawing a picture, posting it in your room, etc. For those of you who decide to choose a word, I would be honored if you would share it with me so together we can help and support each other throughout the year. 

My One Word for 2019 is: Consistent