Seven Elements of Trust

If you google the Georgia football team, you will find the words TRUST and CONNECTION over and over.  Their team is just a reminder of the importance of these two aspects and building relationships with each other and our students to find success and play at such a high level.  Steven Covey reminds us that trust = confidence.  We must continue to focus on trust between admin-teachers, teachers-teachers and student-teachers. 

Brene Brown reminds us of the 7 elements of Trust (above).  It takes BRAVE people to be willing to do this work - but if we are willing, we can really change the landscape of education and continue to make Perry Central a special place to learn and work.    

Why Kids Hate Christmas - This is a great video by Trevor Muir that reminds us of the struggles our students are facing and the power of caring, safe classrooms.  All of you create this space for our Perry Central students - you make school a place they want to be.  Thanks for all you do.  

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWpLjlNhg0U 

Power of Survey Information - The high school teachers are working on developing a mentoring program for Early College students with the goal of increasing the number of students that earn their first year of college and increase their academic success.  To kick off the mentoring program, the teachers asked students to fill out a survey (students in grades 9 & 11 in honors classes) to get to know them better.  The answers the students gave were very eye opening and helpful.  What a great way to be intentional about learning in the classroom - maybe it is a tool any teacher could use!  Thanks to Dana and the High School teachers for taking the lead on this!

     Survey Results:   https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1H6AqLlnnBtQJG7YLc2Dw4HzjK7ZXI0NMPUyYN0xJrEc/edit?usp=sharing

Important Information: 
 

* January 4th Professional Development Day - HERE is a link to our PD Agenda for teachers.  Assistants will meet in the elementary from 8:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. and then work with your special education teachers until 11:30 a.m.  Looking forward to seeing all of you!!!

*  Elevator Pitch Training - Juniors and Seniors will go through an Elevator Pitch Training on Thursday, January 6th.  Sarah Harrison from Conexus Indiana will be leading them through this training.  An "Elevator Pitch" is the updated version of "Tell Me About Yourself" in an interview or other situation.  It is an important skill for our students as they prepare to transition into the world on their own!    Here is the schedule:    12th Grade Students - 2nd Period High School Library/  11th Grade Students - 3rd Period High School Library.  

* Grades - Grades will "dump" on Wednesday, January 5th at midnight.  If you have any students that are not finished with the semester and need an incomplete, please let Phil or Jody know.  It is important we finalize grades for seniors as soon as possible as they are completing scholarships and job applications this semester that require this information.  Please let us know what help you need!

* MTSS Meeting - Our MTSS team will be meeting on January 13th.  If you have any students you are concerned about, please send names to Jody or Phil by Wednesday, January 12th.  Please take a look at our MTSS Framework to remember the supports that are available for students.  Remember, our deliberate practice work and professional development are important parts of the Tier 1 experience!  Everything we do, matters!!

Our Vision: 

      * Connect with Others

      * Collaborative Teams/Continuous Improvement

      * Creative/Authentic Learning Opportunities

      * Celebrate Success

Our Purpose:  1 Year or more of Learning Growth

Happy Holidays

 

I hope this list of reasons to "marry a teacher" will make you smile.  They are all SO true and also reasons you should get extra gifts from Santa, too!  The last year and a half has been a roller coaster of ups and downs; difficult times in our field.  What I do know is that I wouldn't want to go through it with any other team.  All of you are resilient, hard working, kind and true heroes in my book.  

I hope all of you have a restful break.  You deserve every minute of it!   Happy Holidays!!!!  

Important Information: 

    Professional Development Day:  Our first day back from break will be January 4th and it will be a professional development day.  We do plan to take some time to work in our PLCs to prepare for second semester, dig into state assessments, and get back to deliberate practice with our teaching elements (the goals in you SFS.)  As always, we will provide lunch and it will be a great day to prepare for the next half of our school year.  I will send a specific agenda next week.    

Testing Dates:  Spring time brings more tests!  We are not scared of tests because we have been doing the work.  I did want to share the test dates with you for your planning.  Please let me know if you have any questions.   HERE is a link to the testing windows.  We will send specific details closer to the testing window. 

       ALSO NOTE:  The SAT test will be given all in one day.  The window is available for students with accommodations who need extra time and it takes more than one day.  Most students will sit for the test just like a normal PSAT exam - 8:00 - 12:00ish.  Lunch will be later in the day for these students.  

Final Exams: Just a reminder that finals will be Tuesday and Wednesday this week:  Tuesday - 2,4,6 and Wednesday - 1,3,5,7.  Please have meaningful work for your students.  Seniors will be reporting to internships on Wednesday, so please make a plan with them.  

Grades Due:  Grades will roll over at midnight on January 5th.  If you need to give a student an incomplete, please let Jody or Phil know and we can make changes in the gradebook as we need to for you!

Holiday Celebration Lunch - Our Holiday Lunch will be Wednesday, December 22nd.  Come Hungry!  I know some of you like to eat in your classrooms together.  The Health Lab will be open during that time as well.  Looking forward to a great day!

Also, to celebrate the last three days - I think JEANS are appropriate.  

I get to return on Tuesday!  Looking forward to seeing everyone!!  

       

Authentic = Genuine

This month, we have been focusing on the first dimension of teacher credibility: TRUST.  We know that trust among teacher/student, teacher/teacher and teacher/principal is necessary for the best learning to occur.  Annette Baier, a New Zealand philosopher, says there are 5 elements that are important to build trust in our culture: 

   Benevolence: Assurance that others will not exploit one's vulnerability or take advantage when they opportunity is available

   Honesty: People of character, integrity and authenticity

   Openness:  Openness signals reciprocal of trust

   Reliability: Consistency of behavior and knowing what to expect from others

   Competency:  The ability to perform as expected and according to standards appropriate to the task at hand

Trevor Muir posted this YouTube video on his Facebook page this week.  It is a PERFECT example of what authenticity and trust can bring to the culture of the classroom.

Don't forget to turn your BINGO card in by Wednesday for another round of drawings!!!    

Important Information:

Leaders of Learning - Thanks to those of you who were willing to be vulnerable and give the Leaders of Learning a try!  I think you will find it to be a great Professional Development Opportunity.  Just a reminder we will meet from 5:15 p.m. - 6:45 p.m. this Wednesday, December 15th in the high school library.  See you there!

Lunch and Learn - This Wednesday, December 15th from 11:00 - 1:30 we will be hosting a Lunch and Learn in the Engineering Department for several state and local government representatives.  We are excited about the opportunity to share the great work of our students and school.  I will send a list of students who are involved in the next day or so for attendance purposes. 

Faculty Meeting - We will have a faculty meeting on Tuesday morning at 7:25 a.m.  For this meetings, we will be debriefing the lockdown situation we had last week and having a little Holiday Team Building.  For this meeting, we are inviting assistants if they are interested.  It is voluntary for assistants, but if you want to listen to the debrief, you are welcome to come in and do that.  We will have breakfast!  

Holiday Cheer:  The student council developed a list of Dress-Up Days to help spread Holiday Cheer this week!  Phil is also planning to have hot chocolate available to students on Friday.  (He will send some details for this in the next few days.)  

       Monday:  Holiday Pajamas

       Tuesday: Santa Hats, Reindeer Ears and Christmas Socks

       Wednesday:  Red (for Ed) and Green (for PC)

       Thursday: Grinches vs. the Whoville Who's

       Friday:  Ugly Christmas Sweater/Hot Chocolate

Other Dates: 

        

         December 22nd - Christmas Lunch - Merry Christmas from the High School Office

                                     - House Competition 6th & 7th periods

         

Marble Jar Friends

Important Information: 

Early College Mentor Meeting - Reminder to those who have received an invitation (basically individuals who teach high school all day long) - December 7th 7:30 a.m. 

Vulnerability BINGO - Don't forget to work on your BINGO cards!  We will have our first drawing on Wednesday!

COVID Update - We are seeing an increase in positive COVID cases.  Just a reminder that seating charts are very important.  All of you have been so helpful in making our quarantine process easy.  HERE is the COVID exclusion list.  There will probably be a few more added after the weekend, so you may check it a little later in the morning as well. Most students are able to use an 8 day quarantine which limits the number of days they miss.  If you have students that are getting behind and you are worried about them, please let us know so we can help make an academic plan.  Please let us know if you have questions!

Faculty Meeting - We will have our December Faculty Meeting on December 14th at 7:25 a.m. - Mark your Calendars!  :-)  

College Students Return - Dana is pulling together a great presentation as some of our college freshmen will return and share their college experiences with our juniors and seniors.   The rule is that you don't share anything that you wouldn't share with your grandma!   Students will be here on December 20th.  Seniors will go to the presentation during 2nd period and juniors 3rd.  More details to come!

Finals - Just a reminder that Final Exam days will be December 21st (even periods), December 22nd (odd periods).  We know that finals do not have to be cumulative, but there should be a meaningful assessment/activity for every class.  It could be a final test for the unit you are on, presentations that will hold all students accountable, or other ways to assess learning.  Grades will not be due until January 5th. 

Winter Break Lunch - We will host our Winter Break Lunch on Wednesday, December 22nd.  Something to look forward to!!!

Candy Cane Carnival - The Candy Cane Carnival is this Wednesday along with the High School Band Concert in the high school gym.  Be on the look out for times (sorry, I couldn't find them tonight.)

Nothing better than dissecting frogs!  Mrs. Walsh's students were all fired up about learning about the anatomy and physiology of these creatures!  :-)  

Vivian Galey traveled to Jasper Engines and presented her project to their leadership team.  She reversed engineered a door panel for them and found the stress points where the door was struggling.  She also used her 3D printing skills to print the entire door and make all of the parts to scale and functional.  It was a great project.  We are proud of her!

Vulnerability

 

This month we will continue to strengthen our understanding of vulnerability and trust!  Our SIEC team has challenged us to build trust between students and adults/ adults and adults/ and adults and students and find ways to really deepen our understanding of vulnerability and the role it plays in our careers and relationships. 

 Brene reminds us that vulnerability takes courage.  One of her favorite quotes is from Theodore Roosevelt: 

      It is not the critic that counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.  The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short                                                                     again and again. . .  who at the best knows the end the triumph                                                                  of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least                                                                          fails while daring greatly.   

To all of you: Dare Greatly this week!  

Important Information:

 House Morning Meeting - We are going to cancel our morning House Meeting for teachers this week.  Lauren will send the lesson like she normally does in an email.  We will be meeting soon to discuss our 2nd quarter competition soon!

Christmas Dance - Thanks to Mrs. Hagedorn and the student council for hosting the Christmas Dance.  The dance is this Saturday, December 4th!

Mental Health Coalition County Meeting - This Monday evening, November 29th, the county is hosting a Mental Health Townhall at the Perry County Courthouse to discuss the lagging resources in our community.  The meeting is open to the public from 5-7 p.m.  

Upcoming Dates:  December 8th - Candy Cane Carnival

                              December 22nd - End of the Quarter

                              December 21st - Finals for 2,4,6  (We will not block periods this year.)

                              December 22nd - Finals for 1,3,5,7

                              January 5th - Grades Due

Commodore Crew - The Commodore Crew showed up in full force Wednesday night as the Commodores took on the Marksmen.  We are proud of our kids and the support they give to each other.  Thanks to Ashley and Alyssa for leading them!  Go Commodores!  (Congrats to the basketball teams as well.)

Connect with Others - Thanks to Kelly Cash and the Key Club for raising money for the Isaiah House for Perry/Spencer Counties.  They raised over $100 for such a great cause. 

Create (Authentic) Learning Opportunities - Josh Craney and Michael Jarboe are looking forward to partnering with Habitat for Humanity in the near future.  The goal is to build a house out in the county for someone that could use a good home.  Habitat for Humanity has changed the income guidelines for a home.  It is often difficult for this organization to find someone to build for.  If you are interested let us know!

This group of young ladies are interning at the Perry County Health Department.  They worked on Wednesday at the vaccination clinic even though it was their day off.  They do a great job and we are excited about our partnership with Habitat for Humanity!

  

Vulnerability

At our faculty meeting last week, we brainstormed different ways that we can be vulnerable in the classroom, with the idea of bridging the trust gap between students and teacher and teachers and students.  Here are some of the responses: 

* Play a sport and fail miserably at my age!

* Sharing what is happening in life. 

*Sharing stories about my own problems through the years. 

*Tell students if they do certain things I will cry (not really) and then they get a laugh out of it while still trying to listen to me.  Tell the students you love them. 

* I let them know when things are going on that are hard for me. 

* I write in front of my students. 

* I play various instruments with my students. 

* A student asked for an example of "Is _____ always true?" and I had to admit that they have an inexperienced teacher who cannot come up with a counter example. 

* Admitting when something is not working and we do not have the answer yet, but we are trying. 

* I demonstrate activities from time to time to show my students that even sometimes I don't get it right. 

* A student asked me a question I didn't know.  I said, "I'm not sure, let's look it up!"

* I let my goofy personality come through.  I try new things that sometimes I fail at and admit when I do.

* I show them I am terrible at spelling and using google and ask the kids to help me! 

*I sing in front of my students. 

* Being able to admit when your wrong or when you don't know something. 

*I admit my weaknesses frequently!

What great ideas! I challenge all of you to take these next few weeks of the semester to take one more step to being vulnerable in the classroom! 

I look forward to growing in this area with all of you!   Here is a great article about trust from Brene Brown.  Hope you enjoy it!

Important Information: 

* Grateful - I am so grateful for all of you!  We have two days before Thanksgiving break.  I think we should wear jeans this week to help remind ourselves of the many reasons to give thanks. 

* Thanksgiving Pitch-In - Don't forget about the pitch-in on Tuesday!  Food will be in the elementary commons area. 

* Good Luck to the Boys Varsity Basketball team as they open the season Wednesday night at Tell City!  Go Commodores!  

Check out these entries from PC students to the American Legion Art contest.  Aren't they great!

Accountability Dashboard

The HEA 1549 has left Indiana with the goal of creating an Accountability Dashboard (now called Indiana Graduates Prepared to Succeed - GPS) as a way to provide a more robust view of student performance, so community members can see that our students are more than their test scores. (Yes, they are finally figuring this out!) 

The Indiana School Principal's Association has been reaching out to schools and allowing for feedback and an opportunity to learn more about this system, so I wanted to share what I know with you.  I think the easiest way to share is by giving you a few bullet points of information below.   I have also attached a power point that will dive into the potential dashboard in more details.  There are still a few things up in the air, but it is the beginning of a better use of data and a positive way to help schools improve.  

Dashboard Quick Facts: 

* The Graduates Prepared to Succeed Dashboard (GPS) will not replace the school letter grade at this time.  We will still receive a letter grade based on the same metrics:  test scores and college and career readiness scores.   (I am hopeful it will replace this in the future in some capacity.)  

* The GPS system is aimed to be learner-centered, future focused and prioritize individual student growth and opportunities. 

* There are 5 basic areas of growth: Academic Mastery, Career & Post-Secondary Readiness Credentials & Experiences, Communication & Collaboration, Work Ethic, Civic, Financial & Digital Literacy.  You can find examples of how each category may be measured in the power point below.  

            Overall, the goal of this data is to help communities understand what is happening in their local schools and provide a more transparent view of not only test scores but all of the work that goes into helping our students be more successful.  I would encourage you to take a look at this power point for more information.  I think they are hoping that this GPS Dashboard may be up for people to see by the end of this school year.  Please let me know if you have any questions/concerns about this or feedback you would like me to share with the School Principals Association. 

PowerPoint Presentation  

Important Information: 

Faculty Meeting - We will have a faculty meeting Tuesday morning at 7:20 a.m. in the high school library.  A light breakfast will be served.  

Field Trip - Dana Harris has arranged some great college visits for all of our students grades 9-10 on Wednesday, November 17th.  She is sending out important information and it is important you take a look at it.  Thanks to all of the teachers who will be attending to help chaperone!  Here are the rosters for the 5 groups: Sellersburg,   Evansville,   VUJC

Assistant Lunch and Learn - Wednesday, November 17th we will have a Lunch and Learn opportunity for our assistants.  Lunch will be provided in the Health Lab.  Many of the students are out of the building on Friday and our junior high houses will be meeting, so we shouldn't need too much help for WIN.  I will send some emails to see if we can get some help covering WINs on this day. Lunch will be at 11:24!

Lunch & Learn Classroom Management - We will have our 2nd session of Lunch and Learn Classroom Management Conversations.  Anyone is encouraged to attend.  Information will be shared and bring your own ideas!  We will start in the Health Lab at 11:45 a.m.  Bring your lunch - desserts will be served! This will be on Tuesday, November 16th!  

Thanksgiving Pitch-In - Joyce Foury is organizing a pitch-in for Monday, November 22nd.  HERE is the sign-up sheet!    

Jr./Sr. High School Happenings: 

 

       Connect with Others - Carrie Guillaume has been working really hard to make positive phone calls to parents.  This has helped her develop good relationships with her students and when things are not going well, she has a good relationship with the parent, too!  Positive phone calls can make a world of difference and foster great relationships!

      

   

Celebrate Success - David Walters and Ray Niehaus have created a fun and sneaky way to increase engagement.  They have created an in-house competition among teams in their classroom.  The winning group gets 2 pizzas, 2nd place - 1 pizza, 3rd place - breadsticks and sauce, last place - cheese and marinara sauce.    The kids think it is funny and are excited about the competition.

   

    Collaborative Teams - Working across the classroom lines, Josh Craney and Nancy Poehlein had their students team up to create a couple entries in the Perry County Habitat for Humanity Fundraiser.  Josh's team printed out these beautiful trees and Nancy's students painted them.  Janet Lautner purchased one at the event and loves it!    What a great cross-curricular project!