Week Ending March 24, 2016

Our Model Classroom teachers visited the West Warwick School Department last week to see how teachers who have had a 1:1 environment are integrating technology. I spoke to a couple of the teachers who attended and received some great ideas and advice for us. One teacher shared that we should meet our teachers where they are and have them try one thing to be comfortable and go from there. Also, allow teachers to target the apps they would like to learn for their content. Additionally, I learned about their faculty meetings and how they are set up like an “unconference” and that reminded me of what we have done on our PD days but not for our faculty meetings. You will be hearing more from Mark Delucia regarding our April 4th faculty meeting. As I reflected upon what had been shared with me I couldn’t help but get excited. It seems we are making our way through the SAMR Model. For those of you who may have forgotten we have discussed this Model previously but it may have been out of context for those of you who had not been comfortable using/integrating technology. The SAMR Model was introduced by Ruben Puentedura, PhD, in 2006 in collaboration with the Maine Department of Education. I have included a video describing the concept below. This Model describes the life-cycle of technology integration. Have a great long weekend.

Good News

Now that Sandie is resting comfortably, let’s keep her in our thoughts as she is home recuperating..

Chris Lyons has returned to school this week and in great physical health. So happy you are back, Chris!

Students as Learners

On Wednesday evening the RI Department of Education, held the first of four community meetings around the state to gather feedback for the updated Diploma System. On the panel there were two NKHS students: James Lawless and Jessica Antaya. Their opinions were favorably received by the audience and RIDE. As members in Mr. Mooney’s Student Government, they were well prepared to discuss the topic and share their views.

Our Music Department held the Spring Concert on Wednesday, March 22nd

in the evening. Toni Silveira showcased the Concert Band, a Clarinet Concerto by Erica Smith, who was a finalist in the The Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra concerto competition, and the Symphonic Band. This picture shows the Symphonic Band tuning up and getting ready to begin their trio of compositions.

On Thursday, March 24th, Sophomore and junior girls were invited to URI for the annual Grrl Tech (Girls Reaching Remarkable Levels). This Program is in it’s 15th year reaching out to girls to give them an up-close and engaging look at dynamic, technical opportunities. Each female student signed up for hands on workshops to learn from industry mentors about careers in STEM. Girls from over 25 RI high schools participated, including NKHS. Joy Tavano and Susan Eriksen chaperoned and learned with the students and Donna Hutson provided this opportunity to NKHS through her CTE position.

From Susan: We took 20 girls to GRRL tech at URI today.  Wonderful experience for them.  So much positive energy around women in STEAM careers!

Sophie Girard (10th grade) was a scholarship winner.  Out of 45 applicants they selected 3 winners this year.  The essay/scholarship idea was to plan a STEM 1-hour workshop on a subject of your choice for girls ages 11-14.  They had to state the goal and why the topic is important and work within a $100 budget. Sophie's winning idea was a hands on workshop about making home-heating more sustainable and green.  (you might get more details from her).

The scholarship is for $4000/year for four years.

Congratulations to Sophie!!!

We had another fieldtrip today to the Marine Trades Career Fair at New England Tech. John Owens and Fran Dempsey (thank you!) chaperoned 18 students from the 9th and 10th grade Success Academy Team. From Fran: Some of the presentations that we saw included a demonstration on welding,  fiberglass repair, and marine navigational charting. We also saw presentations from MTTI, Electric Boat, and the Naval War College. Students had a great time learning about the career opportunities in the Marine Trades industry.

Health and Wellness

From Karen D’Abrosca

So Spring is here.  We’ve been discussing new beginnings, new rituals or new habits.  This entry was tricky …  I was drawing a blank.  Then, it hit me … drawing, or more precisely coloring!!

Adult Coloring Books are all the rage.  Bookstores, art supply stores and gift shops can’t keep them on the shelves.  It is a great way to get back into art and it’s great “me” time.  Designs run from soothing shapes to intricate patterns.  Our art department put together books for sale (in the media center) and The Current Wave will be publishing an article on the many benefits of slowing down with coloring.  Coloring books not your style?  How about coloring Easter eggs!!  There are many ready-made kits on the market or research innovative designs online!  Happy Easter Long Weekend and Happy Coloring!!

Upcoming Events/Important Dates

March 25 – No School – Good Friday

March 28 – RI Orchestra Festival

March 31 – All Town Concert 7pm

April 1 -- Hussey Bridge closed

Student Services Office

Congratulations to Tholerme Alriche for being nominated for this week's Skipper Pride for Excellence Award by last week's winner, Liz Parvo-Brown.  From Liz:

I choose to continue the positive chain of pride inspired by the Skipper Pride for Excellence Award by

nominating an individual who cares for our school on a daily basis. This person continues the legacy of genuinely caring for the NKHS facility, staff and student body, as did his predecessor Jackie Fagan.

Tholerme Alriche, who oversees the custodial staff and responsibilities, is one of the most dedicated and hard-working people I know. He often assumes overtime hours to compensate for understaffing or turnovers in the custodial staff, frequently giving up his days off to work over the weekend.  Tholerme performs his job with a smile and is quick to offer teachers a hand in times of need, perhaps steam cleaning a coffee stain from a carpet, locating a spare desk for a classroom or fixing a broken window screen to keep the hornets at bay in the spring.

Tholerme is a team player who quietly assists us in pulling off the many events we hold in the evenings, like Freshmen Orientation, Open House and Post-High School Planning Night. When I see Tholerme training a new employee, which unfortunately happens much too frequently, I hope that Tholerme’s exemplary work ethic and attention to detail will be ingrained in the newbie.  I also love that Tholerme was reluctant to accept this individual award, asserting that his entire team was worthy of recognition—and this is exactly why he is so deserving!

School Culture

On April 1st the Hussey Bridge in Wickford will be closed for renovations and that is not an April Fools joke. All traffic will leave out the exits to Annaquatucket and there will be delays, a bit of a bottleneck and perhaps frustration while waiting in a car line to get out. John Horan, from the Transportation Department, has the unenviable task of getting our busses out of the circle, left on Fairway, right up  Annaquatucket to Tower Hill. No busses will go right onto Fairway. Therefore, in order to assist the bus drivers to keep to their time could everyone allow the busses to leave first (around 1:55 pm) I know most people are still in the building at that time but I do not want to make assumptions of who needs to leave when. I will be asking our student drivers in the senior lot to do the same or take a left out Annaquatucket to Boston Neck Road.

The school department will also be working with the NKPD so there may be police details on the corner of Annaquatucket and Fairway.. As of right now, I do not have any definitive answer on the police details, I am trying to get ahead of it for the bus drivers. It may run smoother to sit tight for 10-15 minutes. Thank you for your cooperation on this.

Videos Worth Watching

SAMR Model explanation

|Food for Thought

Enjoy your long weekend!

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

Week Ending March 18, 2016

Two years ago NEA and Better Lessons partnered to launch a site where master teachers would share their lessons all featuring Common Core State Standards. It started with over 3,000 lessons to help our students become college and career ready. Fast forward 2 years and the lessons have increased exponentially. Every grade is represented, standards for ELA, Math, Next Generation Science Standards, Reading and writing in social studies and now including Blended lesson resources. It is through the lens of teachers for teachers. Watch the original video introducing this project below.

Students as Learners

Thank you to Sydney Culbertson and Keith Higgins and a big shout out to our peer partners for our Adaptive PE class this past Wednesday. They hosted students and families from Hamilton during their third period class. I asked Sydney how this opportunity came about and before she did she wanted to make note of how it was so nice to see some of my students take on the role of a partner and mentor!

Additional background from Sydney:

Ashley emailed me and said she was doing a basketball unit with her students and could they come on a field trip here and get a chance to play with some of our students or Best Buddies. I thought APE would be a great class to invite them to since we would have the gym and our peer partners are just so great! Keith welcomed the idea and it progressed from there. Ashley and I agreed that the trip was great for both of our groups and we are hoping to do it again later this year!

This past Thursday, students in Mrs. Hammersley’s Advanced Foods class made Irish Soda Bread. The "soda" in the soda bread comes from using baking soda instead of yeast, the traditional leavening agent. Look at this picture; it is better than a professional bakery. Maybe next year we can put in our orders!

Teachers as Learners

This past Wednesday the ILT, consisting of Department Chairs, our Senior Project Coordinator and our Media Specialist, gathered to use the Success Analysis Protocol. They prepared a success they had had and the caveat was to give a success where they had to use a Growth Mindset with a student, colleague, in their job, or something of this nature. In the past, we have circled around the table before to share what is going on in each department but never having to prepare in this way. Everyone divided into triads and all were able to analyze and understand the circumstances and actions that made them successful and hopefully apply this understanding to future practices. There was not much time to debrief as a whole group but we did have some consensus on the following: the most growth happened when we stepped out of our comfort zone. If anyone is interested in reading the article or the protocol we used please ask your department chair or email me and I will get the links to you. It can easily be done during a CPT or maybe wait for next year.

Health and Wellness

From Karen D’Abrosca

Almost here …  Spring Equinox is Sunday March 20 (12:30 AM)   It the first day of spring in the Northern hemisphere.  With sunrise at 6:48AM and sunset at 6:58PM we have almost equal day and equal night.

Psychology Today suggests the following spring renewals:   simplify your life, plan a trip or spend time outdoors.  In Japan, people remember their ancestors on this day.  How will you celebrate?

Upcoming Events/Important Dates

March 22 – Band Concert 7 pm

March 23 – E-Cig & E-Vap Presentation for parents 7 pm

March 25 – No School – Good Friday

March 28 – RI Orchestra Festival

March 31 – All Town Concert 7 pm

Student Services Office

Congratulations to Liz Parvo-Brown for being nominated for this week's Skipper Pride for Excellence Award by last week's winner, Melissa Waterman.  

From Missy: 

I choose Liz Parvo Brown for the Skipper Award for Excellence. Liz and I have worked together for sixteen years. In this time, I’ve had the honor of being her colleague. She’s always exuded a confidence I admire. She was an all-star teacher in the classroom; she is just as effective as a guidance counselor, too. What I like about her in this roll is that I get to work more closely with her and see first-hand, the positive effect she has on her students. One’s stress level drops just walking into her office; she’s managed to create a haven for both faculty and students.  I like that she will come to a classroom in order to find a student in need.  Students who have Liz as a counselor know how lucky they are to be in such supportive hands. For these reasons, and so many more, I nominate Liz for this award.

School Culture

From Steve Janelle:

I am adding a new section to our Annual Budget this year to recognized any Academic awards students and schools may have won in School Year 2014-15 and 2015-16.  If you would like to add any recognitions from your school please forward the student name or group and the award they received (I.e.  Spelling Bee, Robotics, math, debate team, etc).  Thanks.

We do not want any team or individual to be left out of the high school entry. Donna and Barbara are creating a Google spreadsheet to add the names of the students and their awards. They will share it with you. Please feel free to enter any award that may have not been added. If all of us look then all of the students should be included.

Quote from John Owens, “That’s got love written all over it.” I know it is not pretty and it will be dolled up soon. We hope you can appreciate that Linda is responsible for creating the transactions in the Munis Software for the Student Activity Budget that runs on average over 250,000 dollars and over 120 categories. The district has moved our schools from Quicken to what the town uses, Munis. She has been teaching herself over the last few months as we were the first school in the district to move over to this software. While we know the main office is the hub for the school, she must also find the time to work on this system uninterrupted. Since there is no where to hide, we had to create a wall. For those needing reimbursements or other checks please have your check requests in by Wednesday of each week, Linda will enter into Munis for approval on Thursday and they should be ready for pick up on Friday. Thank you very much for your support.

From the Deans
We are sending an email to all students to remind them of the cell phone policy; this email will be copied to the teachers as well.   Hopefully this email will provide a point of reference to assist you in enforcing the policy in your classrooms; we keep a running list of violations in the Student Services Office. The policy states that students will receive a one hour detention for the first offense and a two hour detention for each subsequent offense; the phone will be returned to them at the end of the day for the first and second offenses only.  After each offense, a phone call will be made home to alert the parent that on the third offense, the phone will be kept in the Student Services Office until a parent picks it up.    

Additionally, we have recognized a problem with 18 year old students signing themselves out of school for early dismissal; they are required to provide documentation for the dismissal to be excused.  Students who are abusing the privilege will receive detentions similar to the tardy policy.  They will receive a one hour detention for the 4th and 5th unexcused dismissals per quarter and a two hour detention for any subsequent unexcused dismissals.  The dismissals and tardies will be treated separately and will not be combined.  We hope this helps to keep the students in class for the entire day as the weather improves.

Videos Worth Watching

The Power of belief -- mindset and success | Eduardo Briceno

Articles Worth Reading

“Don’t Get Defensive: Communication Tips for the Vigilant”

Food for Thought

Don’t praise intelligence or talent, praise the process. ~Carol Dweck

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

Week Ending March 11, 2016

Happy Friday Everyone.

Good News!

One more baby to celebrate in the NKHS family:

Elizabeth (English) and Tom Kenworthy welcomed Jackson Thomas this past Wednesday, March 9.

Congratulations!

Teachers as Learners

On Monday afternoon we had a building filled with teachers learning by themselves or with one another. I have received many Google Slides with multiple tech tools and how they either are currently being used in your classroom or role or how they could be used. I will organize the slides and working with our in-house technology teacher, Mark DeLucia, and Donna and Barbara, we will set up a follow up technology hour for the next faculty meeting, too. I learned that for some it was the first time for using Google Slides. Great work. Perhaps in the weeks between now and the next meeting, the new tool you discovered on Monday will then be integrated into your class. If not, know that by the end of the next faculty meeting you will have one, maybe two, tools added to your repertoire. Stay tuned.

Students as Learners

Here is a sampling of all the important activities going
on at the high school this week.

Chemistry--Mrs. Silva's class

ELECTRON PROBABILITY ACTIVITY

Since the position of an electron in an atom at any given moment cannot be predicted, scientists speak more of the region of space, called an orbital, in which the electron can probably be found.

In this activity the students used a marker and a target to investigate the probability distribution of marks (representing electrons) about a central point (representing the nucleus).  The denser areas (places where there are more markings) represent areas where there is a greater probability of finding an electron.  This two-dimensional model was used to help the students better understand the three-dimensional distribution of the electron in the ground state orbital of hydrogen.



Rick Gagnon's Physical Science--The objective of the lab was to use Vernier Lab Software to collect data about the velocity of the students' "toy car."  They were to analyze the slope of the position versus time graph using the software slope function. After several trials, students recorded the velocity of their car. Since the slope of the graph created by the software was equal to the velocity, they were able to predict how long it would take for the car to achieve a known distance. They did this using the formula derived in class.  Next step for them will be to perform an error analysis on the calculated times versus the actual times. From what I observed the margin of error will be very small.  Most teams hit the target within 1/10 of a second.  

PE Guest Speaker--Kira Manser. The objective of the activity was to teach the students that stereotypes are a way we simplify and organize information when we meet new people.  It is a part of everyday life.  Unfortunately, it often makes us ignore differences among people and make generalizations.The activity was a lead-in to a lesson about natal sex, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. Kira Manser was very well received by the students.

Can you please share these resources with the faculty and staff?

http://www.transstudent.org/graphics

Can you please share these resources with the faculty and staff?

From Rich Garland for DECA--I have the scores from Friday's competition and 14 of the 24 members from NK placed in the top 3 of various business events receiving medals and in some cases money towards college at J&W (scholarships - ranging from $750 to $1K).

From Jordan Albernaz--Happy Friday!  I wanted to share a photo with you from our Pi Day Celebration today.  Feel free to use it in the weekly Blog.  (Although Pi Day is on Monday, my Day 1 geometry class celebrated today.)  Students presented Pi Day t-shirts, Pi Day posters, and recited the digits of pi in a Pi Digit Memorization Competition.

We will be doing a class vs. class pi day competition on Monday.  (Albernaz, Brayton, Garcia, Hoffer).  Please stop by if you have a chance.  It will be Day 2 Period 3 in the Cafeteria.  Thanks,

Health and Wellness

From Karen D’Abrosca

Spring Ahead: Sunday March 13  @  2:00 AM.   Ahh,  later sunsets ~ a sure sign of spring!!.  Like January 1st, spring is often associated with the “new”.  New growth in nature, birds return, homes get “spring cleaning”, spring high school sports begin and lots of energy everywhere!

What new healthy habit can you try? Maybe a more colorful meal, 5 minutes of quiet, a walk outside or more sleep.  Official spring (equinox) is only 1 week away!  Enjoy the weekend.

Upcoming Events/Important Dates

March 14 – LINKS Night Out--Carriage Inn 7 pm

March 22 – Band Concert 7pm

           School Committee Meeting 7 pm

March 23 – E-Cig & E-Vap Presentation for parents 7pm

March 25 – No School – Good Friday

March 28 – RI Orchestra Festival

March 31 – All Town Concert 7pm

Student Services Office

Congratulations to Melissa Waterman for being nominated for this week's Skipper Pride for Excellence Award by last week's winner Christopher Carty.  From Chris:

I would like to pass on the Skipper Excellence award to Melissa Waterman this week.  Her positive attitude and enthusiasm for every person she comes into contact with is an invaluable commodity in our school community.  Missy has has the ability to energize those around her, and it is clear that students and faculty members alike truly enjoy, trust and appreciate her.  She is a model for me professionally, especially in regards to  making an active effort to have positive and balanced outlook in a profession that can be challenging and stressful for different reasons. She sincerely cares about all of those in her life, puts others first, and forms strong relationships with all she comes into contact with.  All things that I consider to be fundamental qualities in our profession.  In addition, Missy and her son were a great part of the boys basketball teams experience over the course of the season, the team will always have great memories of "Shaqy" cheering his heart out on the sideline and being part of their senior night celebration.  Thank you Missy for everything that you do for NK!   

Regarding Parking and bridge construction in Wickford--Donna sent out the following message to students.

Good morning,

Please note that 100 Fairway Drive is not an acceptable area for student parking.  The town has taken domain of that area and will soon begin construction.  Aside from that, parking was never allowed there anyway.   : )

Also, please note that beginning April 1st, the small expansion bridge in Wickford will be closed to traffic until June 24th.  Therefore, we expect that Annaquatucket will be more heavily traveled because cars and buses have to reroute if they normally come through Wickford traveling south.  We anticipate that Annaquatucket will be more congested.

Please plan accordingly by leaving earlier if you drive to school.  If you drive in from points south or from Jamestown and park in the lower lot, please avoid Annaquatucket all together and come in via Fairway Drive by Boston Neck Rd, that will help greatly.

Thank you,

Mrs. Sweet

School Community

From School Committee Member Bob Jones:

Ms. Caiazza,

   I wanted to thank you for the note and invitation to the matinee musical performance of Fiddler on the Roof.

    Impressive is insufficient to describe the wonderful performances and enthusiasm of the cast, orchestra, and crew as well as all aspects that must come together to put on such a production.  

    Congratulations to you, the students, and all the other participants who came together to produce such a wonderful show.

Regards,

Bob

School Culture

As seen in several classrooms around the building, a cell phone life hack!  As demonstrated here in Mr. Propatier's classroom, students have an assigned pocket for their cell phone.  It relieves the temptation for students to peek at their phone, but yet it is safely stored during class.   In an observation of Leah LaPorte's classroom, students used a similar caddy.  At the bell, all phones were in, then students used them for a Kahoot activity.  Without prompting, students placed their phones away as they moved onto their next exercise.

Donna followed a student for a day last Wednesday and she sent an email to him asking to follow up on their experience. Here is what Griffin emailed back:

Hi Mrs. Sweet!

           I would love to come tomorrow to talk. The email that you sent to my parents was one of the most amazing things I've seen so far in my high school career. It made me feel such a sense of purpose and I was trying to hold back tears not only because I felt so happy, but because I saw how proud my parents are of me. My father cried reading that email, and I've been thinking about that day and the message ever since. I could come during advisory tomorrow if you have time then! Thank you so much.

                                                                                  Griffin Keeffe

Details from Donna:

On Wednesday, March 2nd, I participated in a National Shadow a Student Shadow Day.  My gracious host was sophomore Griffin Keefe.  I arrived to school, PE clothes in hand ready to take on the day.  I literally jumped right in.  We shot hoops, jumped rope, participated in a (very long) warm up and finished with team building brain challenges.  Thank you to Coach Higgins for resisting every urge to laugh at me.

While I saw many great things, I acknowledged some challenges.  I took 16 pages of thoughts, notes and observations.  Many were my own thoughts.  Personally, I felt challenged by the seating arrangements and I wondered if it bothered the students.  Most classes had seats 2x2 or 2x3 and I felt claustrophobic.  Was it me?  The kids certainly didn't seem to mind, but I wonder if they have ever been asked?

From my journal:  

I am not sure if it is because I am old or because my day is usually so hectic, but these classes are long.  I loved teaching in the block, it gave me so much time to dig deep into literature, but I wonder if kids like learning in the block?  Have we ever asked them?  Maybe I am not use to sitting still for this long, perhaps that is what I need to focus on?"

Another entry:

This day is harder than I thought, I wish I had something to do, straight up sustained observation is hard to do. My group is having awkward forced conversation, the group behind me is killing it, I want to turn my chair.  Must stayed focused.   

There were a thousand other thoughts and while the break from technology tweaked me out for part of the day, by the end of the day, I rather enjoyed just sitting still and listening.  Next week I will meet with Griffin to get his thoughts.

If you have the chance, I encourage you to walk a day with a student, all day, by their rules.  You might be surprised by what you see. And as tweaked out as I was about the dozens and dozens of e-mails/phone calls that were waiting for me, it was worth every second.  

Ferrris Bueller nailed it:  "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it."

From the Deans

At the start  of the 3rd quarter, the Student Services Office rescinded the restriction of lockers and restrooms based on the feedback from teachers regarding the impacts felt at the start of period 3. Students are allowed to visit the restroom and/or lockers with a pass.  Please, make sure that any student leaving your advisory for any reason has a pass indicating their destination.

Some of you may have noticed a couple of students entering the building from the teachers parking lot; these students have been our monthly winners for the PBIS Raffle that has been very successful.  For the last 3 months, PBIS has been holding a raffle to raise funds for the weekly pride buck prizes.  The two parking spots closest to the entrance from Fairway Drive, numbered 1 and 2, have been the raffle prize.  The students purchase raffle tickets in hopes to be allowed to park in that spot for the month.  Our winners have included Nicolette Naya, Zachary Boettger, Michael Ferris, Ella Valatka, Jeff Panek and Jacob Easter.  If you see these students entering the building, maybe give them a small congratulations to recognize their participation in the PBIS initiatives.

Videos Worth Watching

A principal met a student she expelled, and it changed her approach to discipline

Articles Worth Reading

“Want to go to College in the US? Show Compassion Not Test Scores:Proposal.”

Food for Thought

"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see." ~ Mark Twain

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