Great educators are willing to grow and change. How do you know when it is time to grow and change? I would love to hear from you. It does not have to be profound or it can. Perhaps a small anecdote, guidance from a veteran teacher or the latest college research from a newer teacher. Please email me your advice or post to the comments section below. For those of you who do, your names will be put in a hat and there will be three teachers who win a prize...the newly published book on educational change, Start. Right. Now.
Enjoy your weekend. And for those mothers in the building an extra special shout out to you.
Health & Wellness
From Karen D’Abrosca
May 12, 2017
What would our Health & Wellness experience be like without the support of our Nurses (and assistant here @ NKHS!)? Thanks Barbara Seeley for the shout out to Linda earlier this week and for your smooth coordination of all clinic issues – Happy National Nurses Week!
Of course… Mother’s Day is Sunday May 14th. Happy Mother’s day to all of us – especially Mothers. At some level, we all “mother” our students, families, pets and each other and contribute kindness and support in this fabulous community called NKHS.
Continue to find time in your days for some type of pause as the speed of May intensifies. Refill the well!!
Ask yourself: “What makes me come alive?” then find 5 minutes - or longer – on Mother’s Day to do it. Happy Weekend!
Upcoming Events/Important Dates
May--Reflection
13 Junior Prom at the Newport Marriott
18 Senior Project Presentations, 5-8 pm
23 Chorus Concert 7pm
School Committee Meeting 7pm
24 Band Concert 7pm
25 Senior Athlete Night 6pm
29 No School - Memorial Day
June - Pride
1 Honors Night
2 Class Day
5 Senior Banquet
6 Graduation Rehearsal
Senior Prom
8 Dialogues in Democracy
11 Graduation (12pm Ryan Center)
13 School Committee Meeting
Good News!
From Janice Strain:
Week 2--Art Recognition is Alive and Well at NKHS:
Faith Bonn’s work was awarded an Honorable Mention at David Cicilline's High School Art Competition! Congratulations, Faith.
The Skipper Pride winner is Melissa Waterman, who was chosen from the last winner, James Bruneau
From James to Missy:
Missy,
I am happy to be able to pass along the Skipper Pride recognition to you. I think that you embody the positive outlook, willingness to help, and advocacy for students that defines pride in our NKHS community. Whether you are volunteering to work with students on graduation speeches or pitching in down in the front office when things get crazy at the end of the day, you seem to be always willing to help.
I knew you as an advocate for students even before I knew who you were. Well over a decade ago, I first heard your name from an NKHS wrestler, who spoke fondly of you and clearly viewed you as a supporter and mentor. Over the years that I have been your colleague, I have heard you speak up for students countless times. Often these are the students who have faced the most challenges in their time at NKHS and who have been the most challenging to work with. Just this week, I witnessed you calm down an upset young man in the hallway that needed your support. The rapport that you cultivate with your students is amazing and I know that you continually make a positive influence in the lives of your students, and your peers, at NKHS. For this, you deserve recognition.
Teaching and Learning
From Julie Maguire:
The Physical Education department hosted its third and final presentation for the 2016-17 school year. The presentation was titled Inside Mental Illness. The goal of the presentation was to identify how we can create positive change in our society by reducing the stigma associated with mental illness. The presenters shared personal stories which showed that hope and recovery are possible. The topics covered included: depression, anxiety, eating disorders, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
Scheduling News
Leslie Buckley finished up with AP testing this week. A big thank you goes out to Leslie for her first year of coordinating the AP Program and exam weeks; and to the Guidance Counselors for assisting with the proctoring for the last two weeks. All of this is going on during the height of changing over to the 8 period schedule.
Leslie has also been working behind the scenes with Sherri Briggs to add all of the new rules and setting priorities in ASPEN in order to create the 8 block schedule. Classes for each department are being read and double-checked during data entry. Department chairs have been a critical assest working with Cindy to balance the number of electives each period, and Donna to even out the number of Personalized Learning Time sections each period. Based upon feedback from admissions representatives we have changed the name of the Learning Centers to Personalized Learning Time to better reflect the period.
Finally, we are creating the document for rising seniors to use when/if they decide they would like to come in late or leave early. There are criteria that must be met to earn this privilege. The faculty will see the document and we will share what the students will learn regarding this privilege.
Tech Tip
From Mark DeLucia:
Week Ending May 12, 2017
EdPuzzle
For those of you who have already flipped your classroom, you'll love this. For those of you who haven’t but would like to, here is a great place to start. Head over to EdPuzzle.com. EdPuzzle allows you to assign videos to your students-- both ones that you've made or you can search thousands. Best of all? The video searches scour multiple platforms at once-- YouTube, Khan Academy, TED, and more. I typed in "Spanish Object Pronouns" and received myriad results. If you have an AppleTV, Roku, or Amazon Fire TV at home, it’s similar to searching for a movie and having it search Netflix, Hulu, HBO, iTunes, all at once.
Here is what else I love about it: Once you've assigned your video, EdPuzzle allows you to insert questions for students at specific points in the video with real-time results. The end result is something akin to an educational version of those old MTV pop-up videos (back when they actually played music). It also makes student management easier as you can see who watched, who fast-forwarded, what parts were skipped, etc. It even allows for student feedback and participation-- students can pose questions to be answered later during the video-- great for classroom discussions and socratic seminars. I highly recommend this for everyone, but especially for those looking to flip their classroom for the first time and aren't sure where to start. In my March 24 installment, I spoke about the flipped classroom and taking it slowly, so as to not get overwhelmed. This should give first-time flippers a great start with plenty of quality videos to choose from.
Articles Worth Reading
From Cindy Zito:
Such a great article! I personally use the personalized check-in notes! They do make a difference.
“All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother ” ~Abraham Lincoln
Until next time, Think, Create, Innovate...Denise
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