Update ~ August 25-29, 2014

Celebrating Success
The "Freshmen Refresh" and the twenty things every freshmen should know was a big hit.  Our LINK Crew Leaders have really taken pride and ownership in helping our new students feel connected and successful at CHS. A special thank you to these students and their sponsors.
CHS gets some positive press for hosting Medal of Honor recipient, Staff Sargent Ty Carter. His story is very moving and our students were genuinely intrigued as was shown by their reverent, respectful and courteous behavior.  Two of the military personal accompanying Sargent Carter commented on how impressed they were with our students.

Collaborative Teams (CTs)
Hopefully our meeting together last Wednesday helped you understand the heart of the PLC process.  It is hard to dispute that focused collaboration has a powerful impact on student learning. It is essential to remember that the focus of CT meetings is student learning and there are four questions that guide this work:
1.  What do we want students to know and or be able to do?
2.  How will we know if they have learned what we want them to know or be able to do?
3.  What do we do if they haven't?
4.  What do we do if they have?
All other topics should be considered "set asides" and saved for another time. 

 Guidelines and Expectations for CHS CTs 

• CTs will meet each Wednesday from 1:15-2:00pm.  Please plan department meetings and the like after 2:00pm
• The last Wednesday of each month can be used for vertical CTs (Working with other CTs within or outside of our building). 
• CTs will set specific student learning goals. 
• CTs will measure success of their goal/s by gathering and examining student learning data.

By following these guidelines I hope you find our work together productive and enjoyable.

Back to School Open House
This Thursday, August 28 5:30-7:00pm is our annual Fall Open House. I will open the evening with a Freshmen Parent Meeting in the mini-theater from 5:00-5:25pm. At 5:30pm Open House will begin.  The format will be a ten minute rotation throughout the evening. Parents will follow their students' schedule and visit each period for ten minutes with a five minute passing period. The beginning and end of each period will be announced over the intercom. The purpose of this event is for parents and families to become familiar with their student's teachers and learn a little about what their students will be learning in each of their classes.

Fond Farewell
Please stop by the large conference room this Wednesday, 8/27 between 2:30 and 4:00pm to help bid farewell to Lynette Hammit. Lynette is leaving CHS to join the CTE Department at the district office. Lynette will be dearly missed by us all.

Mark your Calendars
This week...

Tuesday, 8/26 Tech Cafe ~ Google Drive workshop 3:00pm Room 404
Wednesday, 8/27 Farewell party for Lynette
Wednesday , 8/27 Grades are due- Please check in with Jen Parker before Wed if you need help with grades and Synergy
Thursday, 8/28 CHS Back to School Open House 5:30pm
Thursday, 8/28 Freshmen Parent Meeting 5:00pm ~ Mini-Theater

Looking ahead...
September 1 ~ Labor Day No School
September 9 ~ Prep hour meetings

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Update ~ August 17-23, 2014

Celebrating Success
The song by the group Sade "Smooth Operator" comes to mind when I think about the first week + two days of school. Whoop Whoop! Thank you teachers for a wonderful start of the 2014-15 school year.  A special thank you to our CHS Counselors, our front office staff, Cris Holmes and the master board committee. Class loads are balanced, students and their parents are happy and the hallway by the counseling office is clear.  Excellent work everyone!

Climate 
Walking through the hallways and seeing so many teachers at their doorways greeting students has really helped set a welcoming tone tone for the school year.  Please continue to be in the halls and at your doors during transition times, it truly makes a difference.
In our effort to promote our classroom expectation "Come to class prepared to stay",  it is important that teachers refrain from giving hall passes during the first ten minutes of class.

Thursdays
Ohhh Thursdays...The no hall passes during the first ten minutes of class is especially important on Thursdays at the beginning of study hall. This time will be used for students to transition to intervention rooms and an announcement will be made asking you to release specific groups of students.  The official start date for Interventions and Enrichment Pathways is Thursday, September 4.  If you are calling students to your room for interventions please be sure they have a pass.

Department Chairs
Thank you to our outgoing Departments Chairs for your time and work within your departments and our school. Welcome to all of our new Department Chairs for this year.

Advanced Ed
This week the Department Chairs in each of the three Advanced Ed Accreditation committees will be meeting to plan next steps for our committee work. All member committee meetings will begin the week of August 25-19.  We will let you know committee meeting dates and times asap. Please take a few minutes to complete the Faculty on-line survey.  Click here to connect to the survey.

PLCs
We will meet this Wednesday as an all faculty PLC to kick off our Collaborative Team work this year. The faculty PLC will be in the Cafeteria at 1:15pm on Wednesday, August 20.

Dress Code
We will hold a Dress Code Violation Sweep this wednesday, during 1st period. You will hear an announcement asking teachers to send students in violation of the dress code to the mini-theater. The intent is to hold a non-confrontational meeting with these students to remind them of policy, and require that they change to school appropriate attire.

Panther Tracks
A word from the PBIS Team "Nine-Tenths of Education is Encouragement" - Anatole France, Nobel Peace Prize recipient.  If you run out of Pawsitive Panther cards, because so many of our students are exhibiting exemplary behavior, please see Krista Dobosh in room # 204.

CHS Fundraisers

• Saturday, August 23 Car Wash for X-Country.  Time and place will be in this week's announcements
• Saturday, October 4, 15th annual Coconino Classic Golf Tournament.  See Jen Parker for details 

Mark Your Calendars

• 8/20 Dress Code Sweep 1st period
• 8/20 Faculty PLC 1:15pm CHS Cafeteria
• 8/21 Links Freshmen Refresh during Pathway Study Hall

Please take a minute and acknowledge below that you have read this post. Thank you, and have a great week!

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Update ~ August 11-15, 2014

Celebrating Success
In an effort not to over use the word awesome (thank you English Teachers), I will replace it with awe inspiring.  What an awe inspiring two days back-to-school. Thank you all for your willingness to invest the first two days to complete all the necessary back-to-school tasks and help prepare our students for learning and decrease disruptions in the coming weeks. It was truly awe inspiring to have so many people and resources working together to accomplish so much. A shout out to everyone in the library who managed to get over 7000 text books in the hands of our students. Awe inspiring indeed!

Documents
Please remember to submit your Professional Learning Plan, Classroom Climate Plan, the I Have Read the Handbook form and the Highly Qualified Attestation form. Also third hour teachers please collect the Student Computer User Agreements from the students in your third period class and submit to Jen Parker by Friday, August 15.

Announcements 
Morning announcements will take place each morning at the beginning of First Period. Announcements should be turned in to Joleen no later then  2:00pm the day before the announcement is to be read.

Professional Learning Community ~ Collaborative Teams
For the sake of consistency and a common language, I will refer to our small subject area meetings on Wednesdays as Collaborative Teams (CT's) and when we meet together as a faculty I will use the term Professional Learning Community (PLC).   Many of you have already met and have begun to make your CT plans, that's great.  We will meet as an all faculty PLC on Wednesday, August 20 @ 1:15pm in the mini-theater to have a dialogue about CT work for this school year.

Hot Topics
We will have an optional  "Hot Topics" meeting on Wednesday, August 13 at 2:30-3:00pm.  The topic will be Dress Code. 

Study Hall
Study Hall will begin this Thursday, August 14.  Please note that study hall classes are assigned to 7th period teachers.  Study hall begins immediately following 7th period.  The primary purpose of study hall is to give our students regularly scheduled time in school to do school work: Reading or completing assignments for class, homework, process projects etc.  Study hall works best if the room is maintained as a quiet space.  If students appear to have "nothing to do" math work sheets, reading materials etc., can be provided.  If students use time in an effective manner, they will be more likely to experience academic success.
Interventions will begin in ernest next week and will take place during 7th hour study hall. More info in next week's Panther report. 

Mark Your Calendars
8/14 ~  Life Touch here all day for School Photos. We will also take an all faculty photo. Keep an eye out for an email from Becky with precise time and place. 
8/13 ~  Hot Topics Mtg 2:30pm Room 204
8/20 ~ All Faculty PLC planning 1:15pm cafeteria
8/21 ~ Freshmen Refresh. During Study Hall LINK Leaders will visit Freshmen Study Hall classes to review important school related information.  Following the lessons in the study hall classrooms, LINKS will accompany the freshmen to the cafeteria to sign the gigantic diploma and share a treat.

I sincerely look forward to our continued work together to create a vibrant school community that exemplifies academic excellence and model citizenship.

PRESS ON!  PANTHER STRONG!


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PantherReport ~ We're back SY 2014-15

Celebrating Success
Welcome to the School Year 2014-15.  If registration is a foreshadowing of the school year, it's going to be a fantastic year!  Lots of enthusiastic students came out for registration. The CHS staff worked their tails off to ensure that our students and their families felt welcomed, supported and well taken care of.  Smoothest registration ever-A big huge thank you to Pat, Becky, Joleen, Lynnette, Jennifer, Brenda, Cheryl, Dana, Carrie C., Cary M, Patty, Lori, Debbie, Ella, McKenzie, Ken, Denise, Joyce, LaShia and Karen.  What an awesome team!

Behind the Scenes 
Steve and Cris met with upwards of 40 students and their parent or guardian during the week of registration.  These students received a letter home stating that due to academic concerns they were required to meet with CHS administration prior to receiving their schedules. Each student signed a "conditional status" agreement and are aware that their progress will be closely monitored. If the student does not make improvements alternative school options will be next step.

This Week's Plan
I know you are all eager to be in your classrooms and preparing for students, so our back to school meeting will be brief and serve the purpose of celebrating our work together and highlighting some key points for a great start to the new school year.

Back To School SY 2014-15

Teacher Work Days

Agenda

August 4  

301 Day Workshop with Douglas Fisher @ SMS 8:00am-3:00pm.  (It has been suggested that we arrive by 7:30am and bring a lunch)

August 5 

8:00am Superintendent Barbara Hickman All District Welcome Address @ CHS Main Auditorium

9:00 -10:15am Work in classrooms
10:15 -12:00am CHS Welcome Back Mtg ~ CHS Cafeteria
12:00pm - Lunch Provided ~ CHS Cafeteria
1:00 - 3:00pm Work in classrooms
August 6
 7:30am Student Council Breakfast for CHS Faculty and Staff ~ cafeteria
 8:30 - 11:30am Work in classrooms
11:30am - 12:30pm lunch on your own
12:30-1:30pm Department Meetings
1:30pm - Work in your classrooms

Students come back to school Thursday, August 7
Our hope is to consolidate as much student business, that might otherwise disrupt learning, during the first two days of school. We will go over all the details and particulars with you all during our meeting on August 5.  Here are some highlights:

• Student will go directly to their 3rd Period, Homeroom classroom both days (August 7 and 8). 
• Taking care of student business: Required Internet Safety, school policies and PBIS information, brief overview of evacuation route, issue remaining student IDs, distribute text books, Club and Activity Expo, Admin meet and greet assembly.
• One Combined Lunch both days: 11:15-12:45
• Following lunch period 1 will meet for 30 minutes, and  2, 4 & 5, 6, 7  will meet for 25 minutes both Thursday and Friday. 3rd period meets both days for extended period for class time and student business stations. 

Period	Time Frame	Duration
Lunch	11:15-11:45	30
1	11:50-12:20	25
2	12:25-12:50	25
4/5	12:55-1:20	25
6	1:25-1:50	25
7	1:55-2:20	25

What's New? 

• Many great new teachers-WELCOME to the Panther Family!
• Building and Classroom numbering system
• Academic Intervention all day-Ted Lyons is the Academic Interventionist
• Success 101 class- A semester long class designed for incoming freshmen identified as "At promise" A.K.A.students needing immediate, targeted academic and/or behavioral intervention.  Janet Chavez-Vesely is our Success 101 Teacher.
• Bus Drop off and Pick up zone-Buses will stage along the west side of the building and unload and load at the North Commons Entrance Loading Zone. 
• Morning Announcements will be each morning during 1st period (Thursdays excluded because we do not have 1st period)
• Level 2 Media Technology Students will be available to help with teacher Website pages.  Stay tuned for details.

Mark your Calendars

• August 4 ~ Freshmen Orientation hosted by our CHS LINK Leaders and Sponsors
• August 4 ~ 301 @ SMS
• August 5 ~ Teacher work day (See schedule above)
• August 6 ~ "
• August 6 ~ CHS New Teacher Meeting 2:30-4:00 Room
• August 7 ~ Students' first day back
• August 18 ~ Window opens for administration of Common Summative Assessments (CSAs) 
• August 20 ~  School Wide Professional Learning Community Planning Meeting 1:15-3:00pm in the Mini-Theater. Collaboration Teams will meet every Wednesday thereafter. 
• August 28 ~  CHS Back-To-School Open House 5:30-7:00pm
• September 1 ~  Labor day-School Holiday
• September 9 ~ Prep Hour Meetings: Topic TPEC

On a personal note, I have bragged about you all summer.  You are a terrific group of dedicated professionals, and it is my sincere pleasure and honor to work with you and represent the work you do. Coconino High School is a special place because of all of you.  Have a great year!