Week Ending December 18, 2015

Courtesy of the Life Skills Program--
They have been very busy

With the holiday break upon us and the end of the semester not far behind, it is sometimes easy to become distracted with all of the functions, assemblies, field trips and holiday goodies. Students thrive on routine so there are a few good resources in the “Articles Worth Reading” area that may be a good refresher on ways to keep students engaged in your class, use formative assessment to make your assessment easier, and one article from a California science teacher who shares how she has the students help around this time so her load as a teacher isn’t too much, either. Students may think they are finished learning long before the quarter is over, but we know they have a long way to go.  

Enjoy the holiday and if you have time off I wish you a restful break.

Teachers as Learners

Missy Waterman is working hard to take her post as the Guest Conductor. I was under the impression it was a secret but was told all of the kids know and are very excited. I thought you may want to see her preparations. Be sure to catch her “live” on Wednesday morning.

Students as Learners

All three teams qualified for the Robotics competition. Congratulations, Rick Powell. I would also like to give a cheer for Jerry Simmons, the robotics students in his Engineering class used their design skills to win an additional award. Hip hip hooray!

 

URI IEP (International Engineering Program) students conversing with German ¾ students as part of the World Language Department/URI IEP in school field trip.



Health and Wellness

From Karen D’Abrosca:

TIPS FOR THE HOLIDAYS   part 2

• Just do your best to limit stress
• Don’t expect everything to go as planned
• Don’t let unexpected events ruin the holidays for you
• Be adaptable and flexible

Enjoy the holidays for what they truly are:  a time of joy, celebration, and peace with friends and family. HAPPY HOLIDAYS !

Upcoming Events/Important Dates

Dec 24th – Jan 3rd:  Holiday Recess

Jan 12th -- School Committee Meeting, 7 pm, Auditorium

Jan 18th – No classes

Jan 26th – 29th   Midterm Exams

Teaching and Learning Office

The 2016-2017 Program of Studies was approved at the last School Committee meeting.   The committee members complimented the comprehensiveness of the document and the many opportunities that are available to students.   The Guidance Department visits to each CPT, coordinated by Cindy Normand, to hear the teachers’ concerns and ideas for improvements was an essential part of the improvements.   The department chairs who spent numerous hours editing their portions of the documents was immensely helpful.   Although there were a few losses, I think the overall Program demonstrates the great things that happen for students at NKHS when communication and collaboration are involved.    In January, we will be creating and distributing a timeline which will include coordinating times for each department to complete their recommendations with the help of Leslie Buckley and the guidance counselors. 

PARCC scheduling is coming up and the success of the Program of Studies collaboration will be continued by involving the department chairs in the planning process. The hope is to present a schedule that accomplishes the necessary testing with the least amount of disruption to the teaching and learning process, and have it in the hands ofthe faculty in plenty of time to plan for the April 11 to May 27 PARCC window. If you have thoughts about effective and efficient improvements to last year’s schedule, please share your ideas with your department leaders so they can keep them in mind when wemeet.   Our task will be that much greater this year due to RIDE choosing our district to Field Test PARCC items which will add another Language Arts section to our testing units. Major changes to the PARCC test in the spring include reducing the number of testing windows to one (instead of two) and reducing the overall number of minutes of testing…however the length of each unit test has increased so scheduling will be more complicated.    

Community-School Culture

PTSO mini-grants are available for teachers. You can find the form on the North Kingstown High School website under the Parent Link or click the mini-grant link above.

The Leadership Academy (pictured on the right) adopted a group home and provided presents/stockings for the boys using the proceeds from the 2015 Annual Dodgeball Tournament.

Look who stopped by to visit! Liz Beisel bounded into school with her positive energy. I know she was able to get around the school to visit. I hope you had an opportunity to say, “hello” and catch up.


Articles Worth Reading

The following articles support you in supporting your students.

How to Keep Kids Engaged in Class

5 Fantastic, Fast, Formative Assessment Tools
Eliminating Holiday Distractions; How to Keep Your Students Focused and on Track

Food for Thought

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”

Mahatma Gandhi

Until next time, Think, Create, Innovate...Denise