Presidents' Day was originally started back in 1885, in honor of our founding father's birthday, George Washington.  Over the years, the day has been changed to recognize all Presidents and to give working Americans a three-day weekend.  I believe Presidents' Day is a day to honor those individuals who served our country by leading the American people and often provided us with a moral compass to live by.  So in honor of this special day, I have left a few of my favorite Presidential quotes that have impacted how I view my role as an American!  Hope all of you enjoyed your long weekend!

"Whatever you are, be a good one." -  Abraham Lincoln

"We are the change that we seek." - Barack Obama


"We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone."  - Ronald Reagan

"If you believe you can, and you are half way there."  - Theodore Roosevelt

"Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly." - John F. Kennedy

"It is amazing what you can accomplish if you don't worry who gets the credit." - Harry Truman

"Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." - John F. Kennedy

"We need to live in a world with fewer selfies and more #otherpeoplies" - Kid President


School Notes: 

* We would like to welcome Kevin Koeling to Perry Central!  He was hired last week as an instructional assistant.  We are happy to have him as apart of our team!

* National FFA Week!

* Boys Sectional Draw: Feb. 28th - 1st game: North Posey vs. Mater Dei    2nd Game:  Perry Central vs. Forest Park (7:00 p.m. start)   South Spencer will play the winner of the first game on Friday and Tell City will play the winner of our game.  Come out and support the Commodores!

* We will have a pep session on Tuesday, February 28th to cheer on the Commodores!



Important Dates: 
Monday, February 20 - Presidents' Day - NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, February 21 - Faculty Meeting - 7:20 a.m. /  Commissioner Meeting for seniors - 9:00 a.m. in high school library

Thursday, February 23 - Perry Central Health Fair

Friday, February 24- Boys Varsity Basketball @ Heritage Hills  6:00 p.m.

- Countdown to ISTEP!!  Three weeks until the ISTEP window opens!  Students in grades 7,8 and 10 will be testing.  A testing schedule will be coming soon!  (Testing window: February 27 - March 10th)

This quote by Hellen Keller reminded me of our Trauma Informed Care training this week.  Teachers and assistants alike gained background knowledge of the impact of trauma on our brains and the why behind student reactions.  We know the demographics of our student population is changing.  We are seeing more students involved in the Foster Care System, a larger percentage of free and reduced lunch families and a larger percentage of students who have had at least one parent incarcerated within the past year.

Understanding our students is the first step in helping them overcome these barriers and give them the tools they need to be successful in life.  We must remember to stay calm, do not take what students say personally and always do our best to be a good listener.  We are so fortunate at Perry Central to have faculty and staff members that care so much about our students and are willing to go the extra mile to build important relationships with children.

I know the training may have left you with more questions than answers.  Please know we will be doing a follow up at our next faculty meeting on February 21st.   If you have questions between now and then, please ask!


School Notes: 

* Thursday, Feb. 16th is 8th grade and 10th grade Guidance Night for parents and students.  Thank you to Carol Schwoeppe, Julie Berkhouse, Sean Risse, Carrie Guillaume, Vanessa Johnson, Bo Gibson, Lou Ann Backer and Angie Lubbehausen for helping with the event!  We are trying something new this year, where families will be able to hear from business leaders in the industry as well as teachers.  The event will start at 5:30 and end a little after 7:00 p.m.  It is sure to be a great night!

* After School Programming - we continue to add after-school programming for students.  We have added math and English tutoring, student academic support groups (for students who struggle getting homework completed on time), guidance counseling sessions/activities, and social/emotion counseling as well.  Thank you to: Cheryl Linne, Abbie Brockman, Sean Risse, Diane Plassmeyer, Heidi Zellers, Dana Harris, Kelly Cash, Southern Hills Counseling Center, Maria Sweat, and Jamie Guillaume for making this happen!  Also a shout-out to Mary and Tara for making the funding possible.  These are important supports for our students!

Important Dates: 

- Monday, February 13th - School Board Meeting, 6:30 p.m. High School Library

- Tuesday, February 14th - Happy Valentine's Day!  Don't forget about the sweet treats in the high school office!  

- Thursday, February 16th - Freshman Orientation for 8th grade students and High School Planning for 10th grade students @ 5:30 p.m.

- Friday, February 17th - SENIOR NIGHT- Boys Varsity Basketball vs. Paoli 5:30 p.m./ NHS Silent Auction

- Saturday, February 18th - Boys Varsity Basketball @ Tecumseh 5:30 p.m.

- Countdown to ISTEP!!  Three weeks until the ISTEP window opens!  Students in grades 7,8 and 10 will be testing.  A testing schedule will be coming soon!  (Testing window: February 27 - March 10th)

  

Putting Community First

February is the month of communication.  There are many types of communication: verbal, written, visual and non-verbal (body language).  Effective communication is important as we work to understand and connect with the people around us.  It allows us to build respect and trust and resolve our differences. Communication is also a very important trait of leadership.  It is important for leaders to lead with their actions as well as their words in order to have the greatest influence on others.

At Perry Central, I believe we are fortunate to have many great leaders across our faculty, staff and student body.  We are constantly reminded by their actions the importance of putting others first and that kindness should be at the forefront of who we are.  As I reflect on the special environment that Perry Central embodies, I am reminded of the actions of kindness that our students and staff have exhibited over just the past few weeks:

* Mr. Walsh and Victor Vazquez participated in the polar plunge to raise money for special education

* Mrs. Ball's student led Fed-Ex Project that will be collecting items for children in Foster Care
* Zosha Roberson's Christmas Toy Drive for children in the hospitals
* Advocate's Club who are very active in supporting our students with special needs (even voting in three special needs students to homecoming)
* Student Council's projects to gather food and money for families in need
* Faculty and staff that come to school everyday with a belief that all students can learn

These are only a few examples of the wonderful ways we communicate at Perry Central.  I am so thankful to work in such a giving environment that promotes kindness and caring by their actions.  

School Notes: 

- Faculty Meeting after school today will be led by Lauren Blake, Jennifer Mitchell and Shelly Kunkle on Trauma Informed Care.  We are thankful they are willing to share their knowledge with us.

- On Thursday, we will be hosting schools from across the state and sharing our guidance program with them.  We were chosen as a model school for the Lily Counseling Initiative.  Schools across the state have been awarded money from Lily to research promising counseling practices.   Thanks to Tara, Phil, Lou Ann, Mike and Jody for welcoming our guests and sharing our program with them!

- Countdown to ISTEP!!  Three weeks until the ISTEP window opens!  Students in grades 7,8 and 10 will be testing.  A testing schedule will be coming soon!  (Testing window: February 27 - March 10th)

Important Dates: 

Monday, February 6th - After School Faculty meeting from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. in high school library

Wednesday, February 8th - Study Island Advanced Training - 3:00 p.m. in Mr. Linne's room

Thursday, February 9th - Lily Counseling Site Visit

Friday, February 10th - Assistant Training (Trauma Informed Care) Lunch/WIN  
                                      Boys Varsity Basketball @ home against Northeast Dubois  5:30 p.m.

Saturday, February 11th - Jr. High Valentine's Dance/ Boys Varsity Basketball @ North Posey 3:00 p.m.

February's Theme: Communication

The Perry County College Success Coalition is working to embark on a community wide campaign with the goal of connecting education, business, industry and non-profit organizations to promote good work ethic skills!  Across the board, all employers talk about the lagging work ethic (professional skills) new employees possess.  We cannot assume that everyone has been able to have a good model of these skills, so it is now necessary that we teach and model them in hopes of developing a stronger and healthier community.  

As we move closer to the month of February, we can start thinking about our next theme, which is Communication.  As we know, communication is the art of listening, speaking and the expression of different opinions and ideas. In education, we know that effective communication is a very important part of building relationships with our students and a key to effective team work.  What are some ways you can promote this theme into your classrooms and households this month?  

 

  

School Notes: 

- Girls Varsity Sectional Play: Forest Park High School at 5:30 p.m. CST - Perry Central vs. North Posey!  Come out and support the Lady Commodores!

- Congratulations to the Marching Commodores!  This weekend, students participated in solo and ensemble at Southridge High School.  Their hard work has paid off as 11 members will move on to State Competition!  Congratulations, Andrea!!

Important Dates: 

Tuesday, January 31st - Pep Session @ 2:35/ Girls Varsity Basketball 5:30 @ Forest Park

Wednesday, February 1st - Discussion Meeting 7:30 a.m. - Mr. Linne's Room

Thursday, February 2nd - Groundhog Day!  Hoping for an early spring!  (2nd Game of Girls Sectional vs. Tell City)

Saturday, February 4th - Boys Varsity @ South Spencer - 12:00 CST

Monday, February 6th - After School Corporation Meeting 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. in high school library

Life's Purpose

This week, our school community was saddened to learn about the loss of our former student, Victoria Jewel Martin.  Tori was only a student here for about a year and worked primarily with Jennifer Brockman.  Her middle name described her well, as she was certainly a jewel. Tori suffered from health issues, including reoccurring brain tumors that caused her severe pain from time to time along with many medical procedures.  Even though her health wasn't very good, you would never know that if you met her. Tori was a VERY strong willed young lady who would never back down from something she thought was right.  She enjoyed saying the pledge with Dr. Clark every morning and unless she was standing her ground, always had a smile on her face.  

Even though Tori was here for a short amount of time, she had a large impact on several, including me. No matter how much pain she was in or how stressful her life was, even in her youth, she taught me to always focus on the bright side.  Tori's smile and outgoing personality were heartwarming and contagious and something I will never forget.  She has reminded me how fragile life can be and that no matter what, we should always focus on the silver lining.  

Life has a way of constantly reminding me that we all have a purpose in life.  It doesn't matter if we are on this earth for 100 years or 12 years, the impact can be just the same.  I hope I can be half the jewel as Tori was.  

Have a great week!

School Notes:

- The girls varsity basketball team drew North Posey in the first game of sectional play on January 31st.    Good Luck Lady Commodores!

- Abbie Brockman shared a wonderful literacy resource at our faculty meeting last week - www.commonlit.org    Thanks, Abbie!!

 - Nancy Poehlein attended Advanced Placement training last year and will be offering our first ever AP Studio Art class next year!  Thanks for expanding opportunities for our students, Nancy!

Important Dates

January 24 - Girls Senior night - Varsity Basketball. 5:30 p.m.  (This is a varsity game ONLY and I believe senior night will be after the game.) 

January 27 - Boys and Girls Varsity only @Crawford County - Girls start at 5:30 p.m. and boys @ 7:00 p.m. /PLC Team meeting 11:25 a.m./ Special Education Meeting 11:25 a.m.

January 28 - Boys Varsity Boys @ Home vs. Lanesville  @ 5:30 p.m.

February 6th - After school corporation meeting - Trauma Informed Care presented by Jennifer Mitchell and Lauren Blake!  (I promise you will love it!)  3:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Kids Do Well if They Can!

This week, I have been invited to lead a book study session at the SIEC for all of the high school principals in the area.  This activity definitely fits my word for the year, "GROW", because even though I read a lot, leading a book session with my peers is very uncomfortable!

Our group decided to read the book, Lost at School by Dr. Ross Greene.  This is a book our admin team and junior/senior high school RTI teams have read.  Every time I re-read the content, it just reminds me of how important Dr. Greene's philosophy is.  In chapter 2, he asks his readers this question: "What is your philosophy of kids: what are kids about, why do they do what they do, what they're up to (if they are really up to anything.)?  He goes on to talk about how important it is for anyone who works with kids with behavioral challenges to have a philosophy because one's beliefs affect how they interact with kids.

Dr. Greene's philosophy is "kids do well if they can."  When kids with social, emotional and behavioral challenges lack important thinking skills, it can look like they lack motivation, lack respect.  Dr. Greene talks about the difference of "kids do well if they can and "kids do well if they want to."  Most of the time, I believe the latter belief is wrong. My belief is that kids really do want to do well but sometimes because of their brain development, lack of good role modeling, etc.  they do not have the necessary skills for them to be successful.  Once we take the time to dig deep into the "lagging skills" of our students, we can figure out how we can help them overcome their deficiencies and provide them the confidence they need to be successful.

As we move into 2017, I think it is important that all of us in the education field really think about our own philosophies of kids.  Being a teacher or a teaching assistant is more than helping students learn math, English, science, social studies, etc.  We also have to realize that we are helping develop a whole child.  If they came to us with all of the skills they needed to be successful in life, I am not sure in this world of information they would really even need us!!  I believe it is our job as educators to help all kids learn and develop the skills they need to live happy and successful lives. What are your beliefs?

(If you would like more information or a copy of this book, please see me.  Below is a link to a YouTube video where Dr. Greene is speaking - if you have a few minutes, this link will be worth your time!)

Click here for video. 


School Notes: 

• Mr. Linne will be teaching a math SAT/ACT prep course in his classroom every Wednesday mornings from 7:15 - the beginning of school for any student who wants to improve their test scores!
• Carrie Guillaume, Sean Risse, and Mike Bishop have been working with local manufacturers (mainly Jasper Engines and Waupaca Foundry) and learning how to start a Commodore Manufacturing program.  During this course, students will gain soft skills and technical skills as they actually make products for Waupaca Foundry and Jasper Engines!  The companies will out-source some of their work to our program.  We are excited about this opportunity to take project-based learning to a new level!  This opportunity is possible thanks to a grant written by Tara Bishop.  Great job team!  More information will be coming!
• Bill Borders will be a new face at Perry Central.  He will be teaching a small group of students Economics for dual credits. Welcome, Bill!

Important Dates: 

January 9th  - School Board Meeting 6:30 p.m.in High School Library/

January 10th - Boys Varsity Basketball @ Cannelton 6:00 p.m.

January 11th - Vocational Team Meeting 7:20 a.m. high school library/ PLC After School meeting 3:05 - 4:00 p.m.

January 12th - Girls Varsity Basketball @ Heritage Hills 6:00 p.m.

January 13th - RTI Team meeting 7:20 a.m. in Gary Hanan's room/ Boys Varsity Basketball @ home vs. Southridge 5:30 p.m. (Homecoming)

January 14th - Boys Varsity Basketball @ West Washington 5:30 p.m.

Visions for 2017!

Monday Moment:

Welcome 2017!

I hope all of you had a great winter break!  Every year at this time, most people think about how they can improve themselves and/or their habits for the new calendar year.  Many make new resolutions to exercise, be nice, lose weight, go see their mother once a week, etc.  As I was making preparations for the new year, I stumbled across a blog written by a life coach named Susan Hyatt.  The title of her blog entry was "What is your word this year?"  She encouraged her listeners to find a word that would summarize their goals and visions for 2017 and talked about the importance of setting goals and having a personal vision of where we want to go in life.

As I reflected on her post, I quickly realized this form of resolution was much deeper than my typical resolution of exercising (which lasts for about a month).  I also realized that I have never taken the time to really think about my vision, meaning I have been wondering around without a clear understanding of my own personal goals.  After much thought (and I am not good at this), I think my "word for the year" will be GROW.  I want to grow as a mother, as a leader in the school and in the community.  I want to take time to read articles, learn from other perspectives and experiences and be willing to keep my mind open to new thoughts and ideas.  I want to grow my own network of experts and never forget the importance of learning something new everyday.  I do not want to be afraid to accept new challenges and be willing to fail several times before getting it right - because that is how true growth really occurs!

My challenge to you is find your "word of the year" and post it proudly!  You can even share your word with us below in the comments!  Let all of us help you reach your goals and vision for 2017!!

School Notes: 

* Scheduling will begin soon for students in grades 11-8.  Mrs. Backer will be coming into classrooms later in January to speak with students.  If you have any scheduling ideas for next year, please see me as soon as possible!
* The Perry Central After-School program has been fortunate enough to receive some extra funding for student programming.  There will be several (extra) opportunities for students coming this semester.  As soon as we get the details finalized, we will be communicating this with you soon!  Thank you to Tara and Gary for leading the way!
* We will be continuing walk-through, short and long evaluations this semester.  Please do not forget your Domain 1 and 3 will be due the week after Spring Break. More information will be forth-coming!
* Grades will be "dumping" at 11:59 p.m. on January 5th!


Important Dates:  
January 3rd - Varsity Girls Basketball @ home vs. Paoli - 5:30 p.m.

January 5th - Vocational Meeting  7:20 a.m. in high school library

January 6th - Current college freshman to speak to juniors and seniors 3rd & 4th period (see email for deatils)

January 7th - Varsity Girls Baksetball @ home vs. North Posey - 12:00 p.m./ Varsity Boys Basketball @ home vs. Forest Park - 5:30 (Celebration of 1997 Boys Varsity Basketball Sectional Team)

January 11th - After School required PLC Meeting 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. - more details to come!