Staff News - Week of 3/28/21

The start of the 4th marking period! I'm not sure where the year went.  

Please take time this week to reach out to parents for any of your students that are struggling or have lost focus.  The counselors, CST, Mr. Clancy and I have been reaching out to students that needed a reminder about the importance of school and the hole they have dug themselves.  Unfortunately, we will have students failing classes and even a few retentions.  Everyone this year has gone above and beyond for their students.  Some students choose to do nothing, for which there will be consequences.

Habit # 3 - Ditch the easy Caricature

The Seven Habits of Highly Affective Teachers

Spend some time to start the 4th marking period getting to know your students even deeper than you already think you do. Make connections, make sure students know you care. 

Ask them some of the following questions:

What do they love to do outside of school?
What brings joy to their life?
What's one thing they wish you knew about them? 
What are their goals after high school?

When a student becomes more to us than the class clown, mean girl, drama queen, geek, or jock, it is easier to remember that each student matters and is worth our time. They are not just one more paper to grade. We think of them specifically as we plan our lessons, and we look forward to watching them progress. Time in their company is time well spent.

Referendum Updates 
Town Hall Meeting tonight at 7pm.  See link for all the details. 

Here are all the social media posts related to the Referendum

Leadership Opportunity (Please mention this to your female students)

Junior Achievement's Women's Future Leadership Academy is a free weekly virtual series open to all NJ high school students. Students register themselves for as many sessions as they like. Info is attached or visit janjacademy.org

Weekly topics build confidence, financial acumen, and employability skills through JA's curriculum.  Guest speakers are from NJ businesses and industries.
Sessions held Tuesdays from 2-3pm beginning March 30.
Provides a high quality extracurricular activity students can include in their college applications or resumes.
Students who attend five or more sessions and submit a final project receive JA's Certificate of Leadership.
Schedule: (PDF of all sessions)
March 30: Becoming a Leader (celebrating Women's History Month)
April 6: Executive Career Panel featuring women leaders from BMS, Janssen, ADP, Commvault, and AIG
April 13: Goal Setting for Success
April 20: Networking with Confidence
April 27: Financial Empowerment / Special Session with CNBC
May 4: Ace the Interview
May 11: Women in STEM
May 13: Special Session with Johnson & Johnson
May 18: Collaboration and Design Thinking
Plus optional weekly Friday reflection sessions led by JANJ Intern from Princeton University

Recent WHS Principal's Blog Post 

Celebration 21 (March)

WHS News - Week of 3/22/21

Happy Spring! I hope everyone had a great weekend and was able to enjoy the sunshine.  I was at a soccer tournament all weekend and got some sun. I now have a "Mask" face tan.  lol Something all of us will need to deal with moving forward. 

I saw the quote above on Twitter last week and though it connected with habit #2.  The struggle is real for some of your students. Keep that in mind as we finish up the marking period and you think about Habit #2.  

Habit #2 - Cultivate Perspective and Reframe (Weeks of 3/15 & 3/22)
From the Seven Habits of Highly Affective Teachers

Phase 2

Next week we start Phase 2.  Please familiarize yourself with the schedule and remind your students about the switch.  

Blog Post regarding - Return to School Plan - Phase 2 

March/April Monthly Calendar 

April Monthly Calendar 

The two major changes are cohort days for Pride and Spirit and the periods rotating 1,3,5,7 and 2,4,6,8 every other day. 

Pride students will report for in-school learning every week on Monday and Tuesday. Every other week they will also report on Wednesday. This would begin on April 7th.

Spirit students will report for in-school learning every week on Thursday and Friday. Every other week they will also report on Wednesday. This will begin on April 21st.

Next week will feel like September all over again, but we will get through it. I will be sending daily Remind messages (which I do every day) with the bell schedule and which cohort should be in.  Also, remember that the first week is a four day week, no school on Friday! 

Senior Portraits - Class of 2022

This is going on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week in the Greenberg Center.  The appointment schedule is posted on Google Calendar.

Master Schedule for 21-22 School Year 

We have begun working on the schedule for next year.  Nothing is finalized yet, we are looking at numbers, sections and trying to make it work.  This week we will be posting on Genesis the student recommendations for their academic courses.  

Positive Referrals are always welcome. I have been giving out Ownit pins and cards over the past two week.  The students love getting them.  Thank you to those who submitted referrals. 

End of Year Items 

Next week we start End-of-Year meetings for the non-tenured staff.  Please make sure you have your PD hours updated and PDP plan is complete.  This is a good reminder to all staff to think about your PDP and make sure you are on task to complete it and your PD hours are up-to-date. 

WHS News - Week of 3/15/21

Strive to be Mr. Jensen!!!

 

 Habit # 2 - Cultivate Perspective and Reframe (Weeks of 3/15 & 3/22)

From the Seven Habits of Highly Affective Teachers 

Think about whether it's better to be right or to be kind in our interactions with students and colleagues. Sometimes our students need a win more than they need a correction, so we might be kind today and right tomorrow. Perspective provides hope where there is little and it helps us commit to the long haul. Teachers who have seen formerly frustrating students come back to visit as successful adults trust in the whole enterprise of schooling and growing up. Setbacks are momentary flashes of concern, not dictates of a locked-in future.

Don't forget about Habit #1, Find the Joy in others success! 

Wednesday, March 17 - All staff can work virtually (Happy St. Patrick's Day)

Update on student's returning 

As of this morning we have close to 100 students returning for the 4th marking period. 

PSAT and SAT coverage schedule (4/23 & 4/27)

Here is a draft of the schedule.  I am only using grade level teachers and some elective courses to cover.  April PSAT/SAT Coverage (Draft)

For each testing day we will run a full virtual day for all students not testing (AM and PM classes). The expectation is that you will be teaching your classes synchronously as though it were a normal day.
4/23 (Spirit B) - 2, 4, 6, 8 PM 3 & 7
4/27 (Pride B) - 2, 4, 6, 8 PM 1 & 5

Referendum Social Media Posts - All social media posted related to the referendum can be found here.

Mental Health

Andrea Hused has been working with a some of our alumni regarding mental health support that we have been doing in our senior health classes.  One of the groups, PAT (People are There) put together an amazing Bio sheet for some of their members.  I share this because it was pretty cool reading about them and what they are doing now. 

PAT - Bio Sheet 

WHS News - Week of 3/8/21

I hope you found time to read The Seven Habits of Highly Affective Teachers by Rick Wormele.  We are heading into week two of focusing on Finding Joy in Others. 

In addition to the suggestions listed below, please consider nominating a student or two for a positive referral.  I will make sure they get a Warrior Ownit pin. 

WHS Positive Referral

Finding Joy in Others (3/1 - 3/12) (Some examples/ideas)

Send a friend or colleague a positive note/text
Make a positive call/email home
Write a positive note to a student
Celebrate individual student success, in the classroom or on Meet call
Reach out to a student that has been struggling, not participating, change in behavior
Spend five minutes talking to someone about how they're doing (Give your time)
Bake for a friend
Positive words of encouragement

PD Schedule for Thursday, 3/11
Dr. Elias will be posting the schedule either Monday or Tuesday.
All staff will have the option to work from home.

Schedule for 4/23 (PSAT 10) and 4/27 (SAT)
For planning purposes ... for each testing day we will run a full virtual day for all students not testing (AM and PM classes). The expectation is you will be teaching your classes synchronously like normal.
4/23 (Sprit B) - 2, 4, 6, 8 PM 3 & 7
4/27 (Pride B) - 2, 4, 6, 8 PM 1 & 5
I will post the draft proctoring schedule next week.  I am only asking grade level teachers of the students who are testing and elective classes as necessary.

Referendum Update 

The referendum is moving forward with an April 20th vote. Information is being shared via social media.  For those not on social media, I will be adding all posts onto the WHS Principal's blog - Referendum Page. There is also a site created just for the referendum - Stronger Schools for Waldwick

WHS Staff News - Week of 3/1/21

Happy March! With the exception of the rain, the weather seems to be turning springlike! Let's hope it stays. 

Schedule for Thursday, March 11 (PD Day)

Wednesday, March 17 - Staff can work from home  

Schedule Change for 4th MP 

Communication with parents/students related to the 4th marking period schedule change will be sent out tonight. Here is what will be sent:

Blog Post Doc - 4th Marking Period Schedule Change 

Over the weekend I was at a soccer tournament and in between games I was scrolling through Twitter. No surprise there. I came across a tweet with an article written back in October of 2015, The Seven Habits of Highly Affective Teachers by Rick Wormele.

What could an article from October, 2015 have to do with education today? Things change so quickly in our world, that this can’t be relevant. As I read it three times in the car, I felt this article needs to be our focus for the rest of the year. Why? Why more work? Why something new to think about?

The why is easy, SELF-Renewal and a positive mindset!

This year has been hard for all of us. I have watched school moral and school spirit disappear. At times I feel like relationships have been affected because of COVID related decisions that were made in the best interest of all.

All of this happened to no fault of anyone. Priorities shifted to safety and health, new protocols and just finding a way to get through each day.

This article talks about The Seven Habits of Highly Affective Teachers (Before COVID was a thing)

1. Finding Joy in Others
2. Cultivate Perspective and Reframe
3. Ditch the Easy Caricature
4. Explore the Ethics of Teaching
5. Embrace Humility
6. Value Intellect
7. Maintain Passion and Playfulness

Over the next fourteen weeks I would like to focus on these habits as a staff. The idea is, we will focus on one habit for a two week span and then move on to another. Hopefully establishing a new positive habit that enhances us as educators.

Week 1 (3/1 - 3/12) Finding Joy in Others (Some examples/ideas) 
Send a friend or colleague a positive note/text
Make a positive call/email home
Write a positive note to a student
Celebrate individual student success, in the classroom or on Meet call
Reach out to a student that has been struggling, not participating, change in behavior
Spend five minutes talking to someone about how they're doing (Give your time)
Bake for a friend 
Positive words of encouragement

The secret to happiness is helping others ...
There is a Chinese saying that goes: “If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.” For centuries, the greatest thinkers have suggested the same thing: Happiness is found in helping others.

WHS Staff News - Week of 11/23/20

First, I want to wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving! I am so grateful for all of you and how hard you have been working the past three months. We all know this is not easy. Take a break this upcoming long weekend from school work, as best you can. It’s important we take care of ourselves and the people around us.

I received 27 responses from the concurrent teaching survey and everyone of them had a yes answer to using concurrent teaching. I appreciate the feedback on the pros/cons and think we have made great strides in finding ways to make this work. Based on talking with teachers around the building and the feedback I received from the survey, starting Monday, 11/30, concurrent teaching will be required for all classes. Before you react, this means a few things - nothing really major.

Concurrent teaching will help you with planning and workload!

The number of students who have opted for full-time remote learning keeps growing every day. 

A big reason for this shift is student accountability. This will give students structure by having them log in for each class and more importantly, streamline class attendance. With this move, students will no longer have the option of checking themselves in via Genesis. We will turn that feature off. Teachers will be expected to take attendance via Meet each period for all students in every class. This honestly should make it easier for you because you control it. No more are they virtual, FT remote, etc. If a students is on the Meet they are present - if not, they are absent. The automatic Google Meet attendance report seems to be working well from what I have heard and can be used for attendance verification.

For the hundredth time, concurrent teaching does not mean teaching online for the entire period. Ideas …. get the class started with a short lesson, have students present projects, have students work in groups, conference with individual students, use breakout rooms, etc. These are all things I have seen used by our teachers that are working really well.  If anyone needs help or wants to brainstorm ideas, Dianna, Mike, Susie or I are more than happy to sit and talk with you. 

I will put something out to the students and parents before Wednesday so they know what to expect for next week. 

No Homework Break

There should be no homework assigned over the break. This will apply to the holiday brake as well.

Referendum
As you saw last week, the BOE is moving forward with the referendum, which will go out to the voters on January 26. The project is 90% focused on the High School. We need this to pass.  So for those of you on Twitter, please RT my post related to the referendum so we can get the message out.

The website they created has all the information related to the projects.

Stronger School for Waldwick

Fall Season comes to an end 

What a great Fall Season! Special thanks to all the coaches, Boz, Mrs. Esteves and Mr. Mayer for making it all happening during these crazy times. As a group you gave our students and families some normalcy when so many people needed that.  

Couldn't be more proud of this team! Battled to the very end & left everything on field.I have never had a team sacrifice & persevere harder due to Covid than this team.Thank you Waldwick once again for raising such fine young men, we are honored to be their coaches! Love my guys pic.twitter.com/TVqU1NTFEr

— Waldwick Boys Soccer (@whs_boys_soccer) November 21, 2020

Thank you again to everyone who made this season happen. Seniors you girls are amazing. #DRWHNC #TLS pic.twitter.com/fH2Al1qPOi

— Waldwick Soccer (@WHSGS) November 20, 2020

A big thank you to Paul Bernhard, Abby Weldon, Carly Forrest, Casey James, Ellie Mangler, Ryan Bennett and Michael MacFarran as they have run their last cross country race for Waldwick. I truly appreciate all the you have done for the program and accomplished as individuals. 👏

— WaldwickHSTrack (@WaldwickHSTrack) November 15, 2020

What a 3-2 win over a solid Emerson team! Our ace Shannon is playing her best tennis of the year, Michele & Carly had awesome second set comebacks, and doubles played well too. All on a perfect 70 degree day in November! Congrats girls!! So very proud of you

— WaldwickGirlsTennis (@_GirlsTennisWHS) November 5, 2020

Football beats Pompton Lakes 30-21 today! Punch their ticket to the NJIC Conference Championship game next week 🏈 #WarriorNation pic.twitter.com/bcHwQ3hH90

— Waldwick Athletics (@WHSWarrior_ATHL) November 14, 2020

WHS Staff News - 11/16/20

Focus on the SMALL wins! 

I know how hard these first three months have been on so many of you. To be totally honest with you, this past month I have struggled at times with my energy, my focus and mostly worrying about the health and safety of all of you and the students. It's a lot. What keeps me going is focusing on the positives and embracing those moments. Whether it's reading positive tweets, watching our teams play, writing positive notes, time with family or just talking with students, those small moments are saving me and keeping me going.  All of those SMALL moments in each day make all of this manageable. We all need to find ways to get through this and be there for our students. Give the small wins a chance, I really think it can help and bring some joy to what we are going through. We need to stay Warrior strong, we need to remain positive for our own mental health and for our students.  

Please consider sharing how you are doing and if you need anything from me via the 

Mindset Check In form.  

Focus on the positives people, it will help YOU more then you know. @ Rebel ... your actions are selfless and inspiring. You are amazing!!! You go kid!!! @HHSComets https://t.co/knLv99rwfg

— Kevin Carroll (@Kevin_Carroll_) November 15, 2020

 

This is the 2020 Coca-Cola Christmas ad.

Directed by Oscar-winning director Taika Waititi.

Break out the tissues...pic.twitter.com/QbeqEHv4vN

— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) November 15, 2020

Budget Items (2 Things)

#1 Big Ticket Items (Thank you to all those who already submitted)

This link below is to be used for any requests that you have for your program/classes that need to be budgeted for the 21-22 school year. This should be used for ALL Digital Resources, large items or program needs. This form is NOT to be used for basic school Specialty Supplies and other items purchased yearly through Ed-Data. 

All requests must be submitted to Mr. Carroll by 3pm Wednesday, November 18th for approval.  Please note that these are requests and will be reviewed, but your submission does not guarantee that they will be included in the budget. We will inform you either way when the process is finalized.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Qur1J7xd023ZjbBeWz3Go17Gjh0_5XZIxHdHeD8bSLo/copy  (This link should force you to make a copy)

#2 General Supplies Order - Due December 4th

Below is the spread sheet for all of your general budget items by department. Please enter all of the items you wish to purchase in the spreadsheet.  This is not new, we have done this in the past. 

For the most part budgets are staying the same so keep that in mind.  If there is something new that you want and you are not sure money-wise, see me. We might be able to get some of these items with this year's budget. 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Bd4v6cyYbXGUvAmRtjgnF8Ko7pPdMOKNnU1_8s4rd8Q/edit#gid=1152990437

News 

Warrior Gear Sale is up and running.  Samples of some of the items will be in next week.  Because of COVID, trying on the samples will not be allowed. 

 http://whsprincipal.blogspot.com/2020/11/2020-warrior-gear-holiday-sale.html

FYI - Next Monday, 11/23, there will be a film crew around campus taking video for the referendum. They will be here in the afternoon. The referendum will be moving forward with a January 26th voting date. Fingers crossed! 

Wednesday 11/25 (Minimum Day) for all. The day will be optional to work from home or in the building. No office hours, the day ends at 12:44.  

December Calendar - Hybrid Schedule