Phew…
I am tired. It hit me this week like a ton of bricks. This morning (Friday) I told anyone who would listen that I could fall asleep on the tile, rug, concrete below my feet. I could not wait to get home and take a nap before returning to the game against Mt. Hope. It is always around this point in the year, after discussing SLOs with the departments, planning events with students, solving crises that arise that blow up my perfectly scheduled day, that on this Saturday I did not do anything until the afternoon. (Yup, I did not post this yesterday because I could not finish -- my brain shut down.) I am sure everyone reading this knows exactly what I am referring to because we are all in the same boat. So my hope for you the rest of this weekend is that you find a moment to enjoy an outside fire at the firepit, you take a nice long walk along the beach or in the woods, listen to some live music or lay on the couch and do nothing but watch the game. Peace.
Octoberfest
Beginning on Tuesday, October 18, the German exchangers will integrate into our daily lives here at NKHS. For those newer teachers, every other year for the last 14 years we have received students from Burgau- Gymnasium in the city of Dueren; and on the alternate year our students go to their school in June.
Frau Baker, our German teacher, spends many hours, along with parents in the community hosting the students so that our German partners have a wonderful experience. Over the next few weeks, Ruthann will be sending opportunities for all to get to know our guests. Feel free to jump in and learn more about the German Culture.
Auf Wiedersehen!
Health and Wellness
From Karen D’Abrosca
FRIDAY OCTOBER 14, 2016
Connecting with nature is one of the most important things we can do to keep our health in check.
Clare Walker Leslie is an internationally known naturalist, artist, educator and author of 12 books on connecting with nature, including Keeping A Nature Journal, The Nature Connection, Drawn to Nature and the latest The Curious Nature Guide. Clare has kept approximately 50 ongoing journals which have been the foundation for her books and for her life as both an urban and rural naturalist. She has taught for more than 40 years in schools, nature centers and colleges nationwide and in Canada and has received awards for several of her books, which have been widely translated.
Clare spent this past Wednesday with students from our Wellness classes and AP Art classes sharing her passion for nature. She spent time sharing her skills and how anyone with the interest could do the same. The students were explorers outside on NK grounds and without digital technology they learned how important illustration and text was to the discoveries that each made for the Queen back in the homeland. Without any photography to share it was the journals that were so important to the explorers for future funding from the crown.
Good News
Financial Literacy Education for the NK Community
We are pleased to announce that Mr. Michael Abbood, a certified financial advisor and member of our Academy of Business and Finance Advisory Board, will be offering classes to the community on financial literacy in the form of eight classes ranging from the basics of wealth planning through preparing estate plans. Mutual funds, stocks, and tax free investing are just a subset of the topics Mr. Abood will cover.
The first class will be offered on Thursday, October 20th from 6:30 pm to 8 pm in room 110 of the high school and on Thursday's following. The flyer containing the dates and topics was sent in the NK Listserv and copies are available in the faculty mailroom. Please call Michelle at 401-294-6308 to register and secure a spot.
A big thank you goes out to Mr. Abbood for caring about the financial wellness of our community!
Students as Learners
- During the summer, Dr. Mancieri was contacted by Dr. John Sears, Assistant Vice President at URI and the director of Housing and Residential Life in their Division of Student Affairs. Dr. Sears is managing the project of "architecting" new dormitories and support facilities at the university with the intent of providing a more comfortable learning and living environment for students. The project is planned to start as early as next spring with completion in 2019. His request was for a representative set of students who could act as a focus group and critique the dormitory before URI moved further on the project.
With the help of Julie Maguire and Rich Garland, five students who they felt represented the high standards we place on our student body were identified to act as that focus group and on Tuesday, October 11th, Dr. Sears came to NK to present URI's plans for to Nicholas Gaudreau, Liam Gamon, Lucas Deslauriers, Kelsey Dellinger, and Gabrielle McAlister - who are also members of our DECA Business Club..
- The results - Dr. Sears was extremely pleased with the input he received and with the level of participation and maturity expressed by our students. As for our team - they clearly enjoyed the experience, especially given they had an opportunity to influence a project that will benefit many.
- Hats off to Gabrielle, Kelsey, Nick, Liam, and Lucas!
From Rich Garland:
"NK Students Selected to Present at RIDE's 'Innovation Powered by Technology Conference' "
After reviewing a number of proposals submitted by schools across the state, NK was selected by RIDE to present one of our examples of how our school leverages technology to inspire learning.
On September 7th, at RIDE's 'Innovation Powered by Technology Conference', William Cross, Joshua Neronha, and Rich Garland staffed a booth during the conference's Sharefest session "sharing" how they leverage game development to inspire greater interest in STEM/STEAM.
The turnout was tremendous in terms of attendance from teachers and administrators from schools across Rhode Island and from disciplines ranging from Math through English, looking to introduce games for learning in their curricula.
The conference took place at the Providence Convention Center and is attended each year by over 400 professionals in education, government,and industry.
Upcoming Events/Important Dates
October
17 Faculty Meeting, 2 pm, cafeteria
18 German students arrive for 7th GAPP exchange
East Providence v. NK--Unified Volleyball Game, Day 1, 9:30 am
School Committee Meeting, 7 pm, Admin Bldg, Romano Vineyard Way
19 Unity Day (Everyone wear your orange)
PSATs (during the day, 10th/11th grade)
Senior Parent/Financial Aid NIght, 6:30 pm Q & A, 7 pm Financial
20 Candidate’s Day, Media Center
24 Student Flu Clinic
25 Chorus Concert, 7 pm
26 Powder Puff Game
27 Band Concert, 7 pm
28 Pep Rally, Homecoming Game
29 Homecoming Dance, 7 pm - 10 pm
Student Services Office
Deans Corner
7:15 to 7:20 Tardy documentation
Please be sure to document any student arriving to your class between 7:15 and 7:20 using the following steps. If attendance has already been completed before a student arrives tardy, please update the attendance by choosing edit under the class attendance column. Please remove the check mark from the "Is Absent?" box, place a checkmark in the "Is Tardy?" box, and put the arrival time in the comments box. Kris Anderson will correct the Daily Attendance by 9:15 am. If the student has arrived tardy before submitting attendance, simply mark the student tardy and double check to make sure the time accurately reflects the the time the student arrived. Again Kris Anderson will correct the Daily Attendance. Students that are in the office after 7:17 that are sure to arrive at class after 7:20 are recorded as Tardy to school at 7:21 and provided a yellow pass. Those students are NOT being told to try and get to class; we understand the difficult situation that this would create if the student gets there at 7:21.
Teaching and Learning
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AM Finley, our Student Assistance Counselor, was invited into the freshman health classes this past
From Jonathan Quinn: “A big shoutout and Special Thanks to our Student Assistance Counselor AM Finlay who made her classroom visits to every scheduled 9th grade health class this week. Through her collaboration with the PE department AM was able to introduce herself and her role to a majority of freshmen in the building this year.
AM is our student assistance counselor and her office is in room 252.”
School Culture
Kiara Oliver received a big surprise this past week when the entire 12th grade class surrounded her in the spine on all three floors. Together they cheered as Mr. Hague unfurled her Gatorade Player of the Year for 2015-16. Her parents and sister were so proud as they listened to Coach Laliberte speak to the audience on Kiara’s abilities on and off the field and her character that makes her a leader on the team and into the future. Watching Kiara humbly accept her praise and hug her teammates was NK character education at its finest. Thank you to Coach Libby and Howie Hague for making a memorable moment for Kiara.
From Adam's speech: The Gatorade award embodies more than just physical play but also involves character, integrity, service and contribution. Not only is Kiara one of the best softball players I have had the opportunity to coach, she is also one of the best people I know. She is kind, friendly and outgoing. She is charismatic, passionate and giving. She is loved by her teammates and respected by her coaches and by her opponents.
Videos Worth Watching
Technology Can’t Replace Love
Articles Worth Reading
Food for Thought
“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Until next time, Think, Create, Innovate...Denise
Don't forget that the Choral Concert on October 25 also includes the fabulous NKHS Orchestra under the direction of Norma Caiazza... and I'm guessing that this concert will feature the very first performance by the ninth grade orchestra, formed this year because the regular orchestra was growing too large! Come out to hear some wonderful choral and strings music.
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