The Last Normal School Year

 

Last week, we were reminded about how heavy our work can be, especially coming out of a pandemic (or the pandemic that never seems to end.)  Our students are struggling with social skills and getting back into the routine of school.  We are not alone - there are articles all over twitter and Facebook about this same national struggle.  The picture to the left reminds us of how long it has been since our students have had a normal school year - it is staggering!

We are seeing our students struggle to interact appropriately with each other, finding it difficult to make it through a classroom setting all day long and feeling very overwhelmed by the amount of work and accountability that goes with it.  It makes teaching very stressful, too!  In situations like this, I think we have to stop, take a deep breath, and determine if we need to make some changes to our current activities or pace and remember that we may need to teach some executive functioning skills along the way.  I also think we can't forget that we are allowed to make learning fun!  All students are overwhelmed - but we can help them enjoy it!

At our faculty meeting on Tuesday, we are going to watch a clip that will get us thinking about the current situation our students are in and maybe some ideas for how to move forward in a way that is beneficial to the student and the teacher!  ;-)   

Here is an article that goes well with the Accelerating Learning article that we read last month to build your background knowledge.  I don't have the answers to this current puzzle, but I know we are a strong team and together we will create ways to find success!  

Article:  My Students haven't Lost Learning.  They have Lost Social/Emotional Learning.  

Important Information: 

*PSAT Testing - Dana has been working hard to organize our PSAT testing on Wednesday.  This year we will be testing students in grade 9 and 10 to provide us data for the new SAT exam that all students will take their junior year.  Testing will occur from 8:00  - 12:00 (possibly) on Wednesday.  Teachers who will be proctors have been notified and student rosters have been shared.  We will have a brief discussion at our faculty meeting on Tuesday morning - please let Dana know if you have any questions/concerns.  Thanks to Dana for all of her work! 

* Pep Session - We will have a pep session this Friday, October 15th on the football field.  Students will be released around 2:25 p.m.  We will have a map where students will be standing - I think we are going to have everyone circle up on the football field if the weather allows.   It will be a great time!  You may be asked to be on a relay team - winning team gets to put a pie in their bosses/coaches face!  (I hope you pick slow teachers!)  

* Spirit Days - This week we will celebrate our sectional teams with spirit wear:  Monday - Tie Die, Tuesday - Country vs. Country Club, Wednesday - Color Wars (Teachers - Red), Thursday - Throwback (Dress your favorite decade), Friday - Jersey Day       Teachers are allowed to wear jeans all week.  

* House Competition - This Friday we will have our first House Competition.  If the weather allows, we will have a kick-ball tourney outside and if it is raining we will play 4 way volleyball.  We will release students after they take attendance by intercom.  A bracket will be emailed out prior to Friday so you can gather your teams.  After the tourney, we will allow teams to gather together and process the activity - and enjoy a popsicle.  :-)  We will then walk over to the football field for the pep session.  Students may want to take their belongings with them so they can head to the bus after the pep session.  

* Faculty Meeting - Reminder, we will have a faculty meeting this Tuesday, October 12th at 7:20 a.m. in the high school library.  Several important things on the agenda:  Test Security Training from Jamie Guillaume, PSAT update,  PD Day details, Trevor Muir information and more! 

We have been making our vision of the school year come alive!  Here are some great examples:

          Connect with Others:  Who says you can't play Tug-Of-War in the cafeteria at lunch?  Lauren Blake and House Leaders led a quick house competition.  The students loved it and it was a great way to connect!  

          Collaborative Teams:  SIEC Accelerated Learning team met this week to make some plans for faculty collaboration.  The team is working on a teacher outing (information will come soon) and a fun lunch activity on our PD Day!  Thanks to Abe, Heidi, Brennan, Sean and Abbie for your work!

          Creative (Authentic) Learning: Michael Jarboe, David Walters, and Ray Niehaus invited a CAD expert to their classroom so students could learn some extended CAD skills.  Students loved the day and really gained a lot of knowledge!  They even got to put good use to the new smart board in the room!  Thanks to all of them for their leadership and creative (authentic) learning.  Now students will use these skills to help draw up designs for the Container Cabins being made in Construction class and more!  

          Celebrate Success:  Abbie Brockman's class celebrated writing memoirs last week!  All of the students did a great job!!