Teacher Credibility - Competence

Teacher Credibility - Competence

This month, we have been focusing on Teacher Credibility.  One of the four areas parts of being a credible teacher is being competent.  Below is an exert from an ASCD article that defines competence:  

Competence

In addition to knowing teachers care, students want to know their teachers know their "stuff"—and how to teach that stuff. They expect an appropriate level of expertise in terms of delivery and accuracy of information. Competent teachers clearly have a lesson plan in mind as they engage their students. Their delivery is well-paced, and the information is accurate, both of which contribute to her credibility.

Ways to signal competence:

▪ Make sure you know the content well. Be honest when a question arises that you're not sure about.     

▪ Deliver lessons cohesively and coherently. Using an instructional framework like the gradual release of responsibility can help with this.

▪ Consider whether your nonverbal behaviors communicate competence. Keeping your arms crossed and hands hidden communicates defensiveness, boredom, or that you're holding something in. Kids notice defensive body language and any posture or gesture that indicates you don't value what they are saying.

To help us continue to grow in our competency, this summer, everyone chose two elements from Marzano's Art and Science Teacher Framework.  We know that Marzano speaks about the importance of deliberate practice when working improve our craft.  Tuesday, September 7th is our first Professional Development Day.  We will provide a 30 minute workshops to help you dig deeper into your element so you can start to work towards your goals.   

To get us started, we are going to start on three primary elements that many of you had in common.  Below you can find the schedule for the workshops, along with a link to the list of elements chosen by each teacher.  More information will follow later this week!   We look forward to learning with you!    TEACHER ELEMENT LINK

Deliberate Practice Sessions  (Personal Goals): 

• 10:00 - 10:30  - Chunking Content Element  

• 10:30 - 11:00 - Using Structured Practice

• 1:15 - 1:45 - Examining Errors/ Examining Similarities & Differences/ etc.  

Important Information: 

* Junior High House Meeting - Tuesday, August 31st  7:30 a.m. High School Library for all teachers who are helping lead a house!

* PLC Rolling Agendas - I have added some items on the Rolling Agenda in the PLC folder.  I may not have every core (math, science, social studies, English) subject area  done by tonight, but will before you meet.  Please take a look at the agenda.  I will try to stop by during your meeting time this week.  

* Professional Development - Attached is a rough agenda for Tuesday, September 7th (HERE).  There will be some changes as we move forward.  Remember, we are very fortunate to have days for PD.  It is important to be present so we can continue to have them.  Students will have the day off - they will not have e-learning.  More details will come soon!    

* Testing Information:  As you are aware, testing for high school students has changed over the past year.  This year, juniors will be taking the SAT as their state exam in early March.  Below is a chart that shows us all tests and what grade level students will take the tests.  Hope this visual helps!  

* Congratulations to Girls Varsity and JV Volleyball for winning the Tip-Off Tourney this week.  Also to the Varsity Football team for a big win against Forest Park!    Go Commodores!

* THREE day weekend coming up!!!  Happy Labor Day!

Credibility

 Teacher Credibility

Two weeks ago, my mom woke me up in the middle of the night to tell me she needed to go to the ER due to extreme pain in her knee.  While at the ER, they needed to give her an IV, but they couldn't get one to stay in.  She had chemo several years ago and her veins were shot.  After three nurses, a doctor (who thought he was better than everyone), they called in their backup who was on the EMS team to help her.  In walked a guy with long hair, tattoos, a beard and a swagger of confidence.  He walked in with purpose, had great bedside manner and got the IV the very first time!  I knew when he walked in he was going to be able to do it!  He mentioned he was on the medic team in the military and he wasn't afraid to tell the rest of the nurses/doctors they were not as good as he was.  He was credible.  

When school started, we learned that the relational element of "Teacher Credibility" can have one of the largest impacts on learning.    

Teacher Credibility has four parts:  

* Competence (This teacher knows their stuff)

*Dynamism (They are passionate about what they teach) 

* Trustworthy (I know they will do what they say)         

* Immediacy (Accessibility)

It is not a surprise that Teacher Credibility has such a strong effect size on student learning.  After that nurse proved his credibility to me, it was easy for me to feel a level of safety when he was in the room and I was very in tune to what he said about the situation and how he reacted.  I knew that he was the guy that could help me - just like the students know that a credible teacher is a person that can teach them.

How credible do you think you are to your students?  What are your strengths and weaknesses in this very important relational element?  

Important Information: 

COVID Coverage:  Coverage continues to be a little bit of an issue, but thanks to all of you we are making it!  It really does take a village.  This week, my ultimate goal is to allow for core content PLC teams to meet during lunch/WIN.  If you have a coverage on your meeting day and need help finding someone to help you on your coverage day, please let us know.  I think it is important to have time to work with your team.  If I am not needed for coverage, I will be stopping in to meet with you as well.  If someone from your team could possibly let me know where you meet, that would be helpful!!

Unite and Connect Idea for the Week:  Ask Students: What is the worst think you have ever eaten?  (Share with a partner)/  Lazy 8s - make 8s in the air with your finger, breathing in and out at every turn.)  

Faculty Meeting:  We will have a short faculty meeting Tuesday, September 24th at 7:25 a.m.  Please bring your computers as we will be going through the seclusion and restraint training together.  A light breakfast will be served.  

School Pictures:  Danny Bolin will be here this week for pictures.  Students will be taking pictures on Thursday and Friday and we are asking that faculty and staff find time to see Danny.  He is here early in the morning before school, so you can catch him then, or if you have a morning prep.  He typically leaves school by 10:30 a.m.    Students in grades 7-12 will be called out by alphabet and grade level starting Thursday morning.  We apologize for the interruption but hope to make it minimal.  Thank you to Mary Jo Hagedorn for coordinating the event.

State Earn and Learn:  Jason Graves from the DWD visited PC on Friday to celebrate with our 5 State Earn and Learn Programs (CNA, Diesel, Construction, Adv. Manufacturing, Education).  Perry Central continues to be a leader in the state with our vocational programs.  Congratulations to our teachers. 

Have a great week!  Stay healthy - mentally and physically!  Self-Care is important!

Noise

 The NOISE of school.

If you remember, Trevor Muir presented to us on the first day of school and reminded us that our "influence as teachers is never temporary" and the importance of telling our story.   Trevor also created this short video about the Noise of School. His video is so engaging and powerful as we realize the noises that we missed during the pandemic.  This week, I did enjoy seeing so many students, their smiling faces, and excitement about being back to school.  Thanks for making PC a place students want to be!

Many of us were told that a quiet classroom is a good classroom.

Then we had a pandemic, and now so many of us miss the noise.

Important Information:

Great Start: Thank you for a great first few days of school! It had to come with a little bit of a surprise with our masks and the county being in the red, but with your help, the students handled it wonderfully. Thanks for all of your hard work. I am looking forward to getting into classrooms this week and watching our students learn!

Faculty Meeting Change: We are going to move our faculty meeting back to the 24th of this month, since we just started school. We will have more to share a little later in the school year!

COVID Update: We will continue with our mask mandate and lunch protocols until Perry County is out of the "red". Please remember we have cleaning supplies in the office. If you are out of cleaning solution, you can come to the office and exchange your bottle for a full one. Seating charts are necessary and spreading students out in the classroom is best. Thanks for keeping our students safe!

PLC Meetings: Core content PLC meetings will start this week. I know we have several coverages while we are in the red. If you have a concern about that, please let me know and I will try to get some help. Next week, I will stop in and visit and we will look at the playbook for each group and set some goals. We are really focusing on getting our scope and sequence in the right place and revisiting scales and common formative assessments for power standards!

Weight Room During WIN: Abe plans to start allowing students who are on his list to lift weights during WIN. He will share a list with you soon. Our plan is to code these students daily, but we will wait until 4th period to do so, so you have the the to grab students if you need them for academic purposes. After Abe communicates with you, if you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.

Technology: Gloria Olberding lost her mom last week, so she will not be at school this week. We have been able to ask a few students to help us in the tech room to take care of minor issues throughout most of the day. If you have a student that has an issues or need something yourself, please continue to use the tech support ticket system. We will do our best to take care of your request.

State Earn and Learn Presentation:  On Friday of this week, Jason Graves from the DWD will be at Perry Central to recognize our 5 Earn and Learn programs:  Construction Trades, Advanced Manufacturing, Education, Diesel Technology and Health Sciences (CNA).  This is not an easy task.  Thanks to Josh Craney, Tim Ball, Tara Bishop, Lauren Blake, Jill Little for all of their hard work - providing our students great opportunities.  

Evaluations: Last week, we placed your evaluation in your mailbox. If you haven't already, please sign and return them to your evaluator. The Standard for Success document has been rolled over so you can enter in your goals at anytime. Personal Goals around your teacher framework are due September 6th.

Pictures from our fun on Friday.  It was hot, but the kids had a great time.  Thanks!!

July Update

 Hello, Commodore Family!  Here we are - less than three weeks out before the first day of school!  It is an exciting time to think about new school clothes, new pencils, new students, deeper relationships and lots of learning!

As we get closer to inviting students into our classrooms, I think it is important to remember that the number one super power we all have is the power of RELATIONSHIPS.  Strong relationships help our students feel safe, which allows them to want to engage in the learning process.  John Hatti, education researcher, found that relational elements have the strongest influences on student achievement!  

We are so fortunate that everyone in our Commodore Family believes in building relationships and our students notice!  As we gear up for a new school year, I wanted to share this quick article from Edutopia on 6 quick practices that help you build relationships in your classrooms. We will be digging deeper into teacher credibility and teacher collective efficacy (relational elements) at our Back to School Retreat!  Looking forward to learning/growing with you!

6 Strategies for Building Student Relationships

Important Dates/Information: 

Mark Your Calendar! 

Special Education Team Meeting - July 28th  8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. - High School Library     Jennifer Mitchel will lead us in remembering the purpose of special education and how we can set and monitor goals for our students, along with tips for training our assistants to help us monitor progress!  We will also revisit goal writing.  

Readable English Review Training - Teachers who will be teaching Readable English will meet from 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. on July 28th for a refresher training.  

New Teacher Grading Practice Overview - July 29th 8:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.   New teachers to Perry Central will learn about Perry Central Grading Practices!   We will meet in the high school library.

English Teacher Team Meeting - August 2nd, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.  We are excited to be working with Carrie Rosebrock from CIESC and improving our craft when aligning to ILEARN and the SAT exams - and more importantly, student learning!

Back 2 School Retreat (Teacher Agenda):   August 3rd and 4th is our annual Back to School Retreat!  You can find a rough agenda of the event HERE.  Our Back To School Retreat is a day and a half of rich professional development and is a great way for us to reconnect and get ready for another great school year!  Each teacher that attends will receive compensation for their time.   Looking forward to learning with all of you!  (Daycare will be available - please contact Kim if you need it!)

    * Back 2 School Retreat (Assistant Agenda): We would LOVE for you to join us at the Back to School Retreat on Wednesday, August 4th  from 8:15 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.    Your agenda will be as follows:     8:15 - 9:00 -  Review of Brain Aligned Strategies/   9:15 - 10:30 - Special Education Training with Kim Waninger/  10:30 - 11:10 - Science of Reading Breakout Session/  11:10 - 1:30 - Work with your special education teacher to prepare for next school year!  (Day Care will be available if you contact Kim.)

Class Rosters - Teachers, you can log into Skyward and see your class rosters.  If you have a points based gradebook, you will have to set the grade book up first. 7th and 8th grade schedules are fairly set.  We need to maybe move a few more students around, but mostly they are okay.  If you have concerns about any of the students who are together, we can look at the situation together.    High School students have schedules, but like always, there will be many changes as we get through Back To School Night and the first couple of days of school.  Dana has been making schedule changes all summer long!   Let us know if you have questions/concerns!  Please know that scheduling is a very tedious process and we are doing the best we can!

Master Schedule - Just wanted to share the Master Schedule again, HERE.  We are out of space and some of you will need to share your classroom during your prep period.  We know it is an inconvenience, but necessary as we provide opportunities for our students. The following teachers do not have permanent classrooms and will need to use your classrooms.   Here is our plan for now: 

      Ruth Ory (Driver's Education):  5th Period - Debbie Dauby, 6th Period - Carol Schwoeppe,                                                                       7th Period - Ashley Hubert

      Jill Little (Intro to Health Science):  4th Period - Sean Schaefer

      Kelly Cash (Human Services):  6th Period - Jill Taylor

      Bill Dickerson (Seth Gehlhausen):  2nd Period - David Walters, 3rd Period - HS Library,                                                                                 4th Period-  Ty Guillaume 

Other Changes: 

      * We are eliminating mini-fridges in classrooms.  We have refrigerators in the following locations that can be utilized for your lunches, etc.:   Carol Schwoeppe's Room, Melissa Toothman's Room, High School Office, Yearbook Room

     * We do not have a teacher's lounge due to lack of space this year.  The Health Lab is not utilized except for 6th and 7th periods, so it is a quiet place to work or eat - along with the library during certain times of the day. We moved the copy machine and refrigerator that was in the teacher's lounge last year to the yearbook room. 

     *  We will have two nurse's offices this year - one for COVID/Sick students and the other for healthy students who need help.    

Back to School Night  -  Our Annual Back 2 School Night will be Wednesday, August 4th from 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.  in the bus parking lot.  This is an evening where many families make a trip out to school to meet their teachers, change schedules, see friends, etc.  We will have many booths and activities going on during that evening.  If it works in your schedule to be at school during this event, it is a great opportunity for community outreach!!!  

7th Grade Orientation -  Dana will be hosting 7th Grade Orientation on Monday, August 2nd at 6:30 p.m.  This is an exciting time for our incoming 7th graders as they transition to the junior-senior high school!  We would love for 7th grade teachers to join us and start building relationships with our students and their families!  Thanks to Dana for leading this important meeting.  

Teacher Day - August 9

First Student Day- August 10

June Updates

 

Brene Brown, in her book, Daring Leadership, reminds us that the one thing that people who can fully lean into joy have in common is practicing gratitude.  They keep a journal, make a note for what they are grateful for or share it with others.  

Today, I want to practice gratitude.  I am grateful to have a little more flexible time to spend with my family on our farm together.  I am grateful for the birds that sing in the mornings when I take my walk and remind me that even on cloudy, dreary mornings there are a lot of reasons to get up and sing.   I am grateful to work with a group of people that are not afraid of hard work and care deeply about students and the families that live in our community.  We get to work together to make a difference and it is a great feeling.

I hope all of you can find the joy in the summer and have take the opportunity to practice gratitude!   

Important Information

Welcome New Commodore Family Members: At our last school board meeting, we approved a few new faces and I wanted to share the news with you as well.  

     * Michael Jarboe - We are excited to welcome Michael Jarboe to our team.  Michael is going to get trained in Additive Manufacturing and start a new surveying career pathway.  He is also going to provide support for Commodore Manufacturing and Construction.  We are excited to have Michael on our team!  He is a PC alumni and his wife, Breanna, is an elementary teacher for us as well!

    * Youth First Counselor - We are happy to welcome Jordan Sprinkle back to Perry Central in a school counseling role!  Perry Central is partnering with the Golda Aders Foundation to pay for another school counselor through and organization called Youth First.  Jordan will be an employee of Youth First but will work at Perry Central full time and will focus on students grades 5-8.  We are excited she will join our team!

Also, Grant Doyle, Emma Hanebutt, David Walters and Ashley Hubert have been attending new teacher workshops and they are getting excited about the next school year.  

We have a great team and 2021-2022 will be the best year yet!

                                              Master Schedule: 

I know all of you have been wondering about the Master Schedule.  We haven't forgotten!  Please know it could change slightly as we move forward.  Also, students can see their schedules in Skyward- the schedules are getting close, but we do have a few more pieces to put in place before they are finalized.  If students ask questions, just tell them to give us a few more weeks.  Students will have the opportunity to make changes to their schedules later in July.  Here are a few notes: 

* Out of Space - with the addition of teachers, we are out of classroom space.  This means that some of you may be sharing your classroom space with a teacher during your prep period.  We will be working out those details soon.  I know it is not ideal, but we will just have to work through the bugs together.  

* WIN Classes - We will be offering Advanced PE to athletes during WIN as a way to provide flexibility in their schedules.  Academics will always come first, but we think this will be an opportunity to maximize time for some students.  Also, during WIN, we will have dedicated time to math remediation.  

* Back to Normal -  We anticipate our schedule going back to our original schedule with WIN in the middle of the day for all students.  This will allow for PLC work, Ron Clark Activities and more.  

*Still Work To Do: There are still a few question marks and blank to figure out with the schedule.  Let us know if you have questions/concerns.   Thanks for your patience as we move through this tedious process.  

Summer School Update:  We were fortunate to secure some extra money this summer to add to our Summer School Program!  With this grant, we were able to develop a career apprenticeship program where students come to school and work on academics for a couple of hours and then work in a career pathway project - AND they get PAID $40 a day to be there!  Summer school now will run through all of June and July.  We have 30 students, mostly in the 7th and 8th grade participating.  I would like to thank our summer school teachers: Jason Barnett, Brennan Malone, Alyssa Howe, Sean Schaefer, Adam Stowe and Jane Goffinet for their commitment to our students.  The students are excited to be there!  

Back To School Retreat:  Just a reminder the Back to School Retreat will be August 3rd (full day) and 4th (half day). We are looking forward to the days of Professional Development and the opportunity to get geared up for the new school year!  Teachers that do attend will also receive a $250 stipend.  Hope all of you can mark your calendars!

Presenting In Indy - Last week, Ty and Vanessa shared your PLC work with the Rural Early College Network at a conference in Indy.   Their presentation was on rigor and how all of you develop rigor and relevance into your classrooms daily.  They did a stand-up job and many commented on the work that is happening at Perry Central.  Great job to all of you and thanks to Ty and Vanessa for representing PC so well!  

 

Well, this is our last Monday Moment for the 2020-2021 school year.  I am sure you are excited about that for more than one reason.  :-)  When we think back to August, it was a LLOONNNGGGGG time ago - but think about how much we have grown and the resilience we have developed.  

I just want to say, "Thank you", for giving so much to the students and families in our community.  

I found this visual about the nervous response system this weekend on Laurie Desautel's Facebook page.  It really hit home with me.  I am not sure about you, but there are times that I lay in bed at night wondering what we can do for some of our tough kids and why they act the way they act.  This visual helped me to see that most of the time their brains are reacting in a way that allows them to feel safe, but it comes out so differently!

As we start to think about next year, I think it is more important now than ever that we continue to learn about the brain and the way it responds.  Our students deal with a lot - their lives are tough.  We are giving them their greatest gift by working to understand them, providing to them skills for how to handle their thoughts, feelings and reactions - along with an education that will serve them the rest of their lives. 

Looking forward to getting through this week with all of you.  Thanks for making this school year so GREAT.

Important Information: 

Locker Clean Out - Sorry for the last minute communication on this!  We are going to clean out lockers on Monday. This should be a quick process We will use the following estimated schedule: 

8:45 - Seniors

9:15 - Juniors

9:45 - Sophomores

10:15 - Freshmen

11:15 - 8th Grade

11:45 - 7th Grade

Computer Returns -  By the end of the day on Wednesday, we will need to have picked up all computers.  If students say they are taking a summer course - they still need to take their computer to the tech room during designated times and we will check computers out for the summer there.  

      Senior computers will probably mostly be picked up by the end of the day on Tuesday.  Grades 7-11 will be picked up on Wednesday throughout the day for students who have finished finals.  If you have a 7th period class on Wednesday and can give them their finals on Tuesday or get them started on Tuesday so they can finish by 2:30 on Wednesday - that would be helpful.  Please talk to your students about the importance of checking them in!

Senior Walk Through - On Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. we will have our senior walk through.  Seniors will be making their final trip throughout the school as they travel through the elementary and around the high school one last final time.  At 9:00 on Wednesday, we will make an announcement by intercom for you to please send your students out to the hallway to wish the seniors well.  

Senior Schedule:  Seniors should be in class Monday and Tuesday.  Wednesday is graduation practice.  Practice will begin at 9:00 with Senior Walk-Through and then we will proceed to the football field for practice.  There is a picnic scheduled for lunch time at Leopold Park.  Graduation is 2:00 on Sunday, May 30th.  We would love for teachers to attend.  If you do plan to attend, please let us know so we can make sure there is enough seating. 

Thursday:  Thursday is teacher's last day of school.  We will have a retirement breakfast to honor Mr. Bob Linne at 8:00 a.m. in the cafeteria.  After that, teachers will have time to work in their rooms and finish up grades, etc.  Here are a few reminders: 

     * Grades are due by the 27th at midnight.  If you need extra time, please let us know.  We do need to finish them up as soon as possible.

     * Ivy Tech Grades - If you teach an Ivy Tech class, please do not forget to log-in and post those grades as well. 

    * Textbook Rental Excel File - Please remember to check this excel file for your classes to see if it is accurate or changes need to be made.  

   * SFS - Please remember to update your personal goals in the SFS system.  Also, it is important to make any changes you wish to Domain 1 and 3.  

   * Classrooms - Please remember that all materials need to be off of your walls for the summer.  Some of you may be moving classrooms, so make sure you have it ready to move if you are one of those people (we have talked to you if you are moving.)  Please let us know if you have any questions. Also, if you have a mini-fridge - remember it is important to take those home over the summer and keep them there.  

    * Have a great summer! 

Final Week

End of the School Year Be Like:    https://www.facebook.com/jody.french.90/videos/1200443516633907

Legislative Update - This week, the IASP sent out their final legislative update.  As you may be aware, the legislature was very kind to education.  Here are a few things that may be of interest to you:  

    * HB 1001 - State Budget  (All schools received more money.)  

            Education Saving Accounts - First ESA in Indiana.  These will only be applicable to Special Education students and they cannot be in a public school.  This would be used for services for a special education student, including tuition.  

           Choice Scholarships were expanded.   Family of 4 that earn $140,000 or less can apply for  90% of tuition support for private and charter schools.  It used to be a tiered system and now it is just a flat 90% of tuition rate. 

           CTE Funding- CTE funding stayed the same for Level 1 and 2 courses. This was a win!

           Early Graduates - We will NOT get funding for the second semester for Early Graduates.  We do not have many early graduates at Perry Central. 

           Virtual Students - Students who choose to learn virtually through our APEX program will only be funded at 85%  next year.  This is what the rate was prior to COVID.  During COVID, they raised it to 100% funding, but now they are moving it back to the original amount.

            Special Education Grants - Increased by 5% the first year and 10% the second year of the budget.  Good news for more funding on this front. 

            Increase for Public Education - Public Education did get a significant increase.    

 HEA 1040 Sudden Cardiac Arrest for students - basically an informational law that says we must share specific information on physical forms to all families.  

HEA 1266  School Efficiency - Request for Information bill that will explore opportunities to improve efficiency among schools.  Transportation is how this started, wanting schools to share transportation and create transportation hubs that would "save schools/tax payers" money.  There are no mandates at this time, just studying how schools can work together to save.  (We will see where this takes us.)

HEA 1313 - Mandates that Indiana Management Performance Hub gathers information about students who have graduated with disabilities and see if they are connecting to services available to them once they graduate.  

HEA 1384 - Civics Education Commission and charges them to create a civics standards that will be covered in one semester somewhere between grades 6-8.  The 23-24 6th grade class in that begins in  will have to have this course before they exit middle school - but right now they are creating the standards.

HEA 1514 - Accountability Legislation that will develop the skeleton that will develop the new accountability system.  There is no timeline on when it will go into place.  It does not remove the school letter grades and allows schools to include custom indicators and longitudinal data (test score data) on a dashboard.  2020-2021 - we will NOT receive a letter grade.   Waiver of GQE participation - seniors that couldn't take the GQE exam this year because of a COVID situation the requirement that they must take it can be waived. 

SEA 196 - Credits for CORE 40 - will allow schools to substitute elective courses with experiences that incorporate content and knowledge in STEM classes.  

        Important Information: 

Commodore Pride-  This week is our annual Commodore Pride Day and I think the weather is going to be beautiful (a little hot) but sunny!  Please see schedules below: 

        High School (9-12):  Will begin at lunch.  9th & 10th grade will report to the pavilion during normal time. - grades 11 and 12 should report to their WIN.  Once we have had time for the 9th and 10th to go through the line, we will call for 11th and 12th grade.  Phil and friends will be grilling hotdogs for the students and everyone will eat out at the pavilion.  After that, activities will begin.  Thanks to Vanessa Johnson for taking the lead for the high school.  Please see her for details.   (By the way, do we know what the teacher dress-up theme is?)

        Junior High (7 & 8):   Junior high students will start with community service, have pizza on the north side of campus with a kick ball tourney, then move to Commodore Pride Activities.  They will end at 1:30 where they will report to assigned locations for movies.  Please see the link HERE for location details.  Teachers will be free to participate with the high school students around 1:30.  

9th grade Debate:  Sean Schaefer and Alyssa Howe's students have been working hard to prepare for a debate - English 9 vs. Honors English 9.  This will take place in the high school gym during periods 5-7 on Tuesday, May 18th (if you have freshmen, they will not be in your class that afternoon.)  9th grade students will eat pizza around 12:00 to gear up for the event.  Thanks to Wendi Rich, Tara Bishop, Jane Goffinet, and Toni LaGrange for judging and Sean and Alyssa for pulling together such an authentic learning event! 

Senior class Trip:  Seniors will be going on their senior class trip this Friday, May 21st.  I-t is a -few days early due to Holiday World's COVID schedule.  Seniors will be expected to be in class next Monday AND Tuesday to make up the day.  Graduation Practice will be on Wednesday, May 26th.   

Final Days/Final Exams:  Even though we are down to the final days of school, there are still 8 days of academic work left.  The time we spend in the classroom focused on learning is important.  For final exams, we are not going to have a special schedule.  We ask that students have something important to do the last day of school.  If you feel like you have a 2-day final, please start on Tuesday during your class period.  If you do not have a 2-day final, please give it on Wednesday.  If we want students to stay focused until the end, we must provide them the opportunity to do so.   

    Grades:  I know this year has been harder to keep up with grades, but ensuring grade books are up-to-date these is very important as parents and students are looking and it is important feedback for learning.  Please continue to be diligent.  Final grades are due May 28th.  It is important that grades are wrapped up in a timely manner at the end because we have many state reports and colleges that are waiting for them.

Final Evaluations:  Please be sure to get into SFS and update your personal goals - letting us know how you ended up.  This is a percentage of your final evaluation, so important for our process.  Also, if you want to make any changes to Domain 1 and 3, you are allowed to do that during this time.  

Congratulations To:

Jill Little's CNA Class for earning a 100% Pass Rate for their CNA Certificate. 

Andrea's Clark and the Perry Central Band for earning the state Music Award.  This is a very prestigious award that only is awarded to a small set of schools across the state.