Sunday, November 29, 2015

Update ~ November 30-December 4, 2015

Welcome Back!

This Week

  • 12/1 Master Board Committee Mtg 2:45pm 
  • 12/2 JROTC Blood drive
  • 12/3 Technology Committee Mtg 10:50am Shaddy's room
  • 12/3 CHS "How to Pay for College" Night 5:30pm Mini-theater
Have a great week!


Sunday, November 22, 2015

Update ~ November 23,24

Celebrating Success
"I had to tear myself from the classroom; I was enjoying the lesson so much I didn't want to leave."  This was shared with me by one of our recent visitors.  My response was that  I often find myself feeling the same way -it is a great feeling.
Educational researcher Robert Marzano says "Among elements such as well articulated curriculum and safe and orderly environment the one factor that surfaces as the single most influential component of an effective school is the individual teachers within the school."  In keeping with the theme of Thanksgiving week, I am grateful for the wonderful and dedicated teachers at CHS. Keep up the great work everyone!

A special thank you to the CHS Social Committee and Paul Pavlich for the delicious lunch they provided on Wednesday.

Have you seen the gratitude Tree in the South Commons?  The members of the Legion of Kindness gave out paper leaves for all who wished to display their gratitude.  They gathered the leaves and created the brightly colored gratitude tree for all to see. I hope you find a few seconds to pause and read some of the comments, they are sure to warm your heart.  I have included a couple of my favorites in the photo of this week's Panther Report.

TPEC
Re: Technology 
Remember during your formal observation, if your students are not using technology, fear not, you can submit a narrative explaining how your students regularly use technology to enhance learning in your classes.

Questions
Following the AdvancedEd classroom observations, the evaluators told us that they were looking for the use of questions in the classrooms they visited.  They asked how our teachers are trained in using questioning strategies to engage students and promote thinking.  Hmmmmm? This question led to a discussion with our PLC committee (Three CHS teachers and two CHS administrators).  As part of the reflection about the use of questions during instruction, we decided we would propose a challenge to you all.
In the remaining few weeks of the semester, pick a day and see if you can go the entire day without asking a Yes/No question in class.  There is a prize for anyone who meets this challenge.  This contest is on the honor system, so you will need to monitor the questions yourself and let Cris or me know how you do.
If you are in need of some bedside reading during the thanksgiving break, you might like to re-read the article about using questioning to teach critical thinking, it's a little long, but it's very good.  Click here for the article.

CHS Hotline
We now have a phone Hotline for students to anonymously report  bullying, harassment and/or other criminal activity. You will see the posters on the bulletin boards around school.  The phone line is called the Panther Hotline and the phone number is 928-286-7285.  Thank you to Ed Veseley,  The S3 Team, The CHS Safety Committee, Ben Proctor, Dean Shaddy and students, Seth Deapen and Meghan Parris for all your work to develop the idea, open the line, design the eye catching posters and most importantly, helping to make CHS a safe and supportive school.

Looking ahead
12/18 CHS Holiday Party 4:00pm, pot luck format.   Invitations with more details will be out next week. 

Fall Finals Schedule



Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Final Exams, Periods 1 & 2
EVENT
TIME
MINUTES
Period 1
7:50 to 9:15
85
Break
9:15 to 9:25
10
Period 2
9:30 to 10:55
85
Buses leave at 11:00 a.m.  SHARP
Collaboration in the afternoon for Teachers


Thursday, December 17, 2015
Final Exams, Periods 3 & 4/5
EVENT
TIME
MINUTES
Period 3
7:50 to 9:15
85
Break
9:15 to 9:25
10
Period 4, 5
9:30 to 10:55
85
Buses leave at 11:00 a.m.  SHARP


Friday, December 18, 2015
Final Exams, Periods 6 & 7

EVENT
TIME
MINUTES
Period 6
7:50 to 9:15
85
Break
9:15 to 9:25
10
Period 7
9:30 to 10:55
85
Buses will leave at 11:00 SHARP


HOPE YOU ENJOY TIME WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS OVER THE BREAK.  I AM TRULY GRATEFUL TO BE AT CHS AND FOR YOU ALL!  HAPPY THANKSGIVING!


Monday, November 16, 2015

Update ~ November 16-20, 2015


CHS Accreditation Progress Report
A year ago, you may recall, CHS went through the accreditation process.  Following the accreditation review the external review team identified three priority improvement areas requiring action.  During our back to school meetings in August of this year, we reviewed the three goals and have been working on developing action aligned with the goals. In preparation for the external review team return visit today, Monday, November 16 ,  I am including the required action goals in this PantherReport to refresh your memory.  The team will spend time with CHS administration and teachers and will aslo be visitng classrroms.

Accreditation Priority Improvement Goals:
1.  Develop and implement a comprehensive evaluation process that includes well defined levels of performance in student learning, professional growth and job performance and a system designed to provide regular follow-up of targeted areas of growth for certified employees.

2.  Develop and implement professional development to support and deepen teacher understanding and use of strategies that incorporate individualized instruction to meet student needs and promote the integration of academic student interaction, self reflection and rigorous tasks and activities.

3.  Develop and implement a comprehensive plan to systematically train professional and support staff in the evaluation, interpretation and use of data.

This Week
Please note, we will not have prep houe meetings this week.  We have a faculty and staff luncheon on Wednesday, Nov 18 at 1:00pm. The next faculty meeting is schedueld for December 8, at 2:45pm.

Press On!  Panther Strong!

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Monday, November 9, 2015

Update ~ November 9-13, 2015

Celebrating Success
Congratulations to the counseling department for a very successful 2nd Annual College Application Campaign. All of our seniors had the opportunity to fill out a college application and most did. Representatives from NAU,  CCC and the NACRC were on hand to our CHS counseling department support the students through the application process. The students were able to have all of their questions answered and get the help they needed to click "Submit". 

The students commented on how much fun it was to see the hallways decorated and they loved seeing the teachers get in to the door decorating.  Many said that completing a college application was not as daunting as it seemed and that if were not for this event, they may have continued to put off the process of applying to college or preparing their future. 
Way to go Mrs. Locke and the entire interior design class. Also a shout out to the door decoration winners: 1st place- Mrs. Penny 2nd place- Mr. Begay 3rd place- Mr. Suby. 
Thank you everyone for your enthusiasm and support for creating a college-going climate as CHS!

November 11
In honor of our country's veterans November 11 is Veteran's Day, a national holiday.  On behalf of everyone at CHS a special thank you to all of our veterans and current service men and women for their patriotism and willingness to serve and sacrifice on behalf of our country.

Looking Ahead
Monday, November 16 ~ AdvancedEd external review team returns to CHS for the required progress review.
Wednesday, November 18 ~ Faculty Luncheon 1:00pm
Friday, December 18 ~ CHS Holiday Party 4:00pm

Have a great week!







Sunday, November 1, 2015

Update ~ November 2-6, 2015 Really???

Celebrating Success

Our students are amazing...
  • Recently, our CocoNuts Robotics Team was challenged by NAU professor Jut Wynne to prototype a robot to explore caves on Mars. The CocoNuts did background research, brought in guest speakers from USGS, and took a trip to the Lava Caves before settling on a hybrid design between a climbing robot and the Curiosity Drive Train. The CocoNuts then submitted a formal scientific abstract that was accepted and they were invited to present their design and 3D drawings of their concept to an audience of professors, college students from elite universities and engineers from NASA and the Jet Propulsion Lab. The CocoNuts presentation was so well received that they are now challenged with the task of transforming the concept to a true prototype for further research.   
  • Our Cross Country Team ran strong in Holbrook at the sectional championship. The girls and boys both placed 4th to advance to the state championship.
  • Varsity Volleyball finished the season strong and the team is headed to the first round of the state championship on Tuesday.
  • Panther Football Teams worked hard all season and played strong to the end. 
  • Marching Band continues to bring tons of school spirit and is preparing for the winter music competitions. 
  • Numerous CHS students turned out last week to help pack over 380 shoe boxes for operation Christmas Child to provide for needy families in 3rd world countries. 
  • Our cheer leaders continue to volunteer their time to support various community events and fundraising efforts. 
Way to go Panthers, congratulations! (Please let me know of other successes and achievements to include in the Panther Report)

College Application Campaign

CHS has once again joined the National College Application Campaign. This Wednesday and Thursday, November 3 and 4, our seniors will be completing college applications.  The primary purpose of the campaign is to help seniors navigate and become comfortable with the complex college application process.  The students also benefit from the experience of completing an application and learning about post secondary options. By having students complete applications at school some of the barriers to college access begin to dissolve.  Although we know that 100% of CHS students do not plan to go to college, it is important for high school students to have postsecondary goals and to open doors for opportunities they may not have thought possible. College access is a major focus in our country right now and it is important for our students to know why. It is no secret that the economic health and viability of a democratic society is determined by the education of its citizens. I hope you will take a brief moment this week to talk to your students about their future goals and the importance of continuing education post high school, whatever that education might look like.  Thank you in advance for your support of this campaign. 

Informal Walk Through Observations
Cris, Steve and I will continue to pop in and out of classrooms focusing this month on student engagement.  I thought you might like the "Written Conversation" active participation protocol to add to your repertoire of strategies.  Click here for the protocol.

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