Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

 

Today, we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  We thank him for his leadership, vision and willingness to put others first and make a difference that has impacted our lives forever.  

Legislative Update: Below you will find a podcast from the Indiana Principal Association (if you are interested in the weekly update) and an amendment to HB 1134.  It seems that SB 167 is going to merge with HB 1134 and the House Bill will be the bill we should track.  The podcast is an excellent, quick overview of the items that are still a major concern for education.  

        Podcast

        Amendment HB 1134

Important Information: 

Faculty Meeting - We will have a faculty meeting on Tuesday, January 18th at 7:25 a.m. in the library! A light breakfast will be served.  See you there!

COVID List - We are still adding to the COVID exclusion list.  Please let us know if you have concerns about students and their academic progress.  Here is a link to the list.  Thank you for your continued flexibility and hard work during this most difficult time.  

Our Purpose:  1 Year or more of Learning Growth

Our Vision: 

      * Connect with Others  

      * Collaborative Teams/Continuous  -Improvement 

      * Creative/Authentic Learning Opportunities  

      * Celebrate Success -  So much to Celebrate this weekend!!!!  Go Commodores!

What a great Pep Block at the boys basketball game Saturday night - they cheered the JV/Varsity boys to a victory!  

Early College Night celebrated 30 students that will earn their ICC this year.  That is nearly 40% of the Class of 2022.  We also celebrated all of the teachers that make it possible - all of you should pat yourselves on the back!

The band earned 1st place at their pep band competition in Orleans.  Congrats to Andrea and our students!

Josh Craney's Commodore Manufacturing students received their pay checks for first semester.  Many students earned $1,000 or more!

Both 7th and 8th grade boys won their basketball tourney this weekend!  Shout out to Mr. Schaefer the 8th grade coach!

Legislative Update

 

Each January, we go through another year of trying do make sure the legislative process is positive for public schools - both students and teachers.   I am a part of the advocacy group for the Indiana Association of School Principals so I get some updates on the bills the principal association is tracking.  Below you will find a list of bills that may catch your attention.  I encourage you to be aware of the legislation proposed for education and not afraid to reach out to your legislator if you have concerns!  IASP does believe that some of the language will be changed for the better, but also warned that some version of the bill will be passed.  

If you reach out to your legislator, they are advising that the legislators are tired of people saying that some of these ideas are too much work, so use your words carefully.  

HERE is a list of all bills that pertain to education. This document contains ALL of the education bills this session.  Below are a few that are of most interest (and some concern).  Please let me know if you have questions.  

Senate Bill 167/HB 1040 - Education Matters (Both versions of this bill have a lot of the same language)

              * Parents may "Opt" their children out of wearing masks (House Version)

              * Creation of a "Curricular Materials Advisory Committee" - must be led by a parent                  (appointed by school board member) and they must approve all curriculum/textbooks for a school corporation. 

              *  Posting of Education activities and curricular materials (including worksheets, assessments, videos, etc.) must be on the school website for parents/community to view.  Also includes an opt-out procedure for parents if they do not want their children to participate in part of the curriculum. 

             * Limits ongoing/recurring SEL services.  (For example, students would  have to have a written consent to participate in our House program in the junior high because we are teaching SEL)

             * Materials Harmful to minors (a definition of what is harmful is not included so it is open to interpretation) currently, individuals working at public and non-public schools cannot be prosecuted under this law, but this would remove that language and would allow teachers to be prosecuted for disseminating "materials that are harmful" to minors

SB 2 - Allows for virtual students to receive full ADM funding instead of the recent 85% change. 

SB 17 - Removes schools and public libraries from specified defense to criminal prosecutions for "disseminating material harmful to minors"  (Doesn't really define what is harmful to minors - I can give you an example they used)

SB 81 - Requires cursive writing in the curriculum.

SB 82 - Requires FAFSA completion for graduation.  (Sounds easy, but getting tax documents from parents is very difficult.  Currently around 50% of our students file a FAFSA.)

HB1013 - Designates the mastodon as the state fossil.  (Thought you could use a fun one!)  

HB 1094 - Requires the DOE to provide employer liability and worker's compensation insurance to for high school students in internships/apprenticeships

SB144/ HB 1042 - School Board Matters (several things in here, but one is that school board members that are running for the position must declare if they are democrat or republican in HB and in SB it is optional) The Senate version says that candidate may request to have their political affiliation listed on the ballot if they would like.  

Important Information: 

Drama Club - We are excited to welcome Donna Vaal to our team.  She will be leading the school play and maybe some type of writing club.  She will be meeting with students after school on Monday at 3:00 in the high school library. 

MTSS Meeting - Our MTSS team will be meeting on Thursday at 9:00 a.m.  If you have any students that you are worried about academically or otherwise, please send those names to Jody or Phil by Thursday!  If you want to share some of the accommodations you have already tried, that would be helpful.

PBIS - The PBIS team met and they have developed lessons for second semester along with bringing back Commodore Cash!!!  Please look for an email from Phil with details.  We will be asking everyone to teach the lesson first period on Tuesday!  

REACH Grant - We are VERY excited about our new REACH grant!  There are several great resources and supports for students after school.  Below are some of the supports we will have available to students and families.  If you have students that would benefit from these services, please share those names with Jody and Phil as well.  

          After School Tutoring Director - Annette Lawalin will be working with families, students and teachers to help bridge the gap for students and help us make tutoring more meaningful.  A lot of times, students don't know what they need help with and tutors don't know what to help students with and it is not as productive as it could be.  She is there to fill that gap!  If you have students that could use tutoring let us know. 

       Mentoring - Holli Highfill will be leading a mentoring program for Jr./Sr. High School students.

       Community Service - Tonya Bryant will be leading community service activities for students. 

       Family Coordinator - Tony Keown will be another support for families and school. 

COVID - Just a reminder to check the COVID list.  We received several new notifications from the health department while we were off.   HERE is the link to the list. 

 

Dates: 

  Monday, January 10 - School Board Meeting 6:30 p.m./Report Cards will be distributed

  Monday, January 17 - NO School  

  Tuesday, January 18 - Faculty Meeting - 7:30 a.m. 

Our Vision: 

      * Connect with Others - Unite and Connect!!

      * Collaborative Teams/Continuous  -Improvement - Continue your intentional conversations this week in PLCs!! 

      * Creative/Authentic Learning Opportunities - Excited about our new business partner, Boston International!  You may know Paul and Pam Metz - they are working with engineering, advanced manufacturing and art students on projects in the near future!  

      * Celebrate Success - I am EXCITED about the curriculum work all of you have done!  All of you have a list of 8-10 kids that you want to focus on moving forward - we are well on our way to increase the positive vibes in our data!

Our Purpose:  1 Year or more of Learning Growth

 

 

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!