Mistakes
Making a mistake is part of life. Growing up, children watch their siblings and often learn what to do or not to do. It is not only human beings that do this, watch any animal show and often the narrator will explain that the older dog takes the puppy under his wing to teach him how to act in the pack.
If we grow from our mistakes, why then, do we lose the ability to admit when we fail? We should be rejoicing in our failures if it helps us to grow. Instead, we live in a culture where judgment and ego may prevent us from reaching farther than the safety of what we know.
I would like to shake this up. This school year is the ideal time to do it. We have many people working on professional growth goals, new student ideas in the classroom, technology apps for productivity and there are numerous opportunities to grow through failure. We know the saying, “If first you don’t succeed, try, try again”. It can be called many things, growth mindset, grit, tenacity but in the end, let us move the needle. It begins with failing forward. We shall celebrate both successes and failures at NKHS; reflecting on our mistakes and how we have learned. I will do my part and publish/celebrate your failures and mine in this blog or we can share before our morning meetings. This Tuesday would be a great first step. Let me know if you have a failing forward to highlight.
Health and Wellness
Karen was on a fieldtrip this week. I am taking the liberty of filling in for her.
Last week RI hosted a teacher professional development: Elevating and celebrating effective teachers (ECET). Alison Bologna was one of the presenters and a teacher was tweeting out how great it was to learn how yoga can be part of everyday wellness. It took me a moment to realize what the teacher was saying because we have had a wellness class at NKHS for years now. I hope I do not take it for granted that this class is the norm here.
Karen D’Abrosca has taken wellness to the next level. She is a certified yoga instructor and our students are fortunate to learn before college and careers how to deal and live with stress. Karen does not stop there, she has created community relationships and shared these relationships with her students on fieldtrips to local small businesses. Visits to the school, by professionals, to expand wellness and healthy living through drawing and nature journaling and finally, over the past two years she has committed her own time and resources to improving her craft, attending PD internationally.
Thank you, Karen, for taking care of our students and teachers’ souls during stressful times.
Students as Learners
From Matt Blaser:
Today, November 3, 2016, Milena Seemann, one of the GAPP students, offered an observation during a discussion of a musical rendition of the medieval ballad "The Demon Lover." I had asked the class how the music supported the ballad's tone and theme, and her response was basically this: The banjo sounds happy and carefree, which goes along with the character's expectations, while the fiddle sounds darker, almost melancholic, to match the dark nature of what is happening to the character. It wasn't that she mentioned the banjo (she kind of had to, based on the song), but it was the clear, analytically keen nature of her response; her willingness to speak up in a high-level class; and her rich use of vocabulary on the spot that earned her a superstar prize in my class and a Skipper Pride Buck. (Interestingly, her last name means "sailor" in English, which you could probably guess!) It is a pleasure to have this caliber of student join us for these few class sessions every other year during GAPP season.
From Ms. Mason:
On October 28th, it was a busy day in The Bunker. We were busy protesting taxation without representation forced upon us by those pony Brits and nasty King George III. After the Sugar Act, Tea Act, and the Quartering Act we'd about had enough. Then we endured a Massacre on Boston Commons. Well that was the straw that broke the monarch's back. We did however feel slightly better after dumping 243 boxes of his majesty's tea in the harbor. And there was that little affair in RI w/the Gaspee. Our class then mustered and formed the Warren Federal Blues. We grabbed our muskets, bayonets, lanterns, and canteens and prepared to take on "the lobsters..." Luckily our path was brightened by lanterns powered by candles from those Brown Brothers John, Jo, Nick, and Mo. We then loaded our frisson pan with gun powder, placed our musket tongue down to catch the flint spark, then dove into battle with The Crowns' troops. We had to be careful as we only are issued 16-17 shots each and then we have to run away, to fight again another day. Luckily our troops in D1P3 are experienced and can get off 4 shots a minute. Below is picture of the unit and their supporters wearing their best bonnets and waving their flags of support. We are confident that in the end, it will be the Upset of the 18th Century!
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Upcoming Events/Important Dates
November
8 No School - PD Day for staff
9 STEAM Night, 5-9 pm
11 No School - Veteran’s Day
15 School Committee Meeting, 7 pm
15 PTSO
16 National Honor Society Induction
December
Save the Date
Christmas Carol
Student Services Office
From Donna:
The Month of November’s theme is Accountability. This article from National Education Association’s Website is a great read. Offers strategies to keep students accountable.
From the Deans:
Just as a reminder, to avoid a disruption during period 3, students are allowed to visit the lavatory and lockers during advisory with a pass. Underclassmen are only allowed in the cafeteria with their full advisory; free and reduced lunch students should be getting breakfast before school. Students visiting another advisory for extra help should be provided a pass to present to the receiving teacher. Students who choose to not attend advisory, please put a cut in ASPEN for those students. Over the last two weeks there have been two fights in the hallway during advisory, which involved underclassmen that were out of advisory without passes. Please help us to keep the hallways safe and manageable. Thank you for your support.
School Culture
From Janice Strain:
2nd Annual STEAMing Ahead Evening
Hands-On Free Workshops
Open to All Students & Parents in Grades 6-12
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
5:00pm - 9:00pm
Hosted by North Kingstown High School
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Keynote Speaker: Congressman James Langevin
Join us for an evening of hands-on workshops, topics include:
Pen Turning, Squid Communication, Biomedical Illustration, Coding with Electronics, Boat Building, Raspberry Pi Universe, Cannibalizing Technology, Robot Picasso, Lego Mindstorms, and much more!!
Articles Worth Reading
On Tuesday the Scheduling group will be meeting. The following web article could aid the conversation:
Making a Flexible Schedule a Reality
This report, by Hanover Research, for the Eugene, OR school system is 2 years old. However, there is information that could inform our meeting.
Optimal Scheduling for Secondary School Students-
Making a Flexible Schedule a Reality
This report, by Hanover Research, for the Eugene, OR school system is 2 years old. However, there is information that could inform our meeting.
Optimal Scheduling for Secondary School Students-
Videos Worth Watching
High School Social Studies Teacher, Diana Laufenberg, presenting at TED MidAtlantic. How to learn? From mistakes.
Food for Thought
“Mistakes are the portals of discovery.” -James Joyce
Until next time, Think, Create, Innovate...Denise
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