CELEBRATING SUCCESS...
Thank you to you all for taking a deliberate "time out" on Wednesday. Our guest speaker Logan Weber, was very complementary about our students, our teachers and our school in general. Following the all school assembly Logan met with a small group of about 40 students during which time students shared their thoughts about the positives and and negatives of our school. The overwhelming positives coming from the group was the feeling that their teachers really care about their success. That's huge! I am so proud to be the leader of this school and so grateful for all of you. A special shout out to Maggi Loritz and Gaby Garcia for organizing this important event.
AMAZING CHS STUDENTS...
Congratulations to Sarah Norris and Sophie Weinzinger who both performed their Poetry Out Loud pieces this weekend in the final round of the regional competition. Sophie moves on to the state championships.
And, congrats also to our CHS Chess Club who came in 2nd place at the Northern Arizona Regional Chess Tournament.
STUDENT COURSE SELECTION...
Whew! Rising Seniors (Class of 2018) course requesting is now in the books, so to speak. Thank you to our counselors and junior class English teachers for making this happen. Up next, rising juniors (Class of 2019) will be on March 7 & 8 and rising sophomores (Class of 2020) will be on March 9 & 10.
CHANGING OF THE GUARD...
As we move full swing into spring sports season, I want to echo Russ Randall's sentiments and thank all of our winter sports coaches for their dedication to our student athletes. Thank you all!
WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOUR COLLEAGUES ARE WHISPERING TO EACH OTHER IN THE TEACHER'S LOUNGE...
So, who's the dude with the tie in the front office? That dude is Mason Lurvey. Mason is a retired high school administrator and has been working for us as our substitute attendance aide over the past couple of weeks. Our previous attendance aide, Melissa resigned and Mason stepped up to help us out. Mason will stay with us for one more week as we look to hire a new aide.
PBIS DATA...
As mentioned during prep hour meetings this month, our top three discipline infractions are Defiance, Disruption and Disrespect. The data also tells us that the "Perceived motivation" for these infractions are #1 Work avoidance and # 2 To obtain attention. The PBIS team is working to develop a plan to help decrease these behaviors at CHS. We need your help. During the next few weeks, should you find your students falling into work avoidance or calling negative attention to themselves, if you could please note the observable behaviors, we will be asking you to complete a really brief (two questions) survey in March. Thank you in advance for your help with this.
WHAT'S IN STORE FOR SPRING...
Talent show, Spring Break, testing, 8th grade visitation, testing, spring pep assembly, testing, field trips, testing, spring bash, testing, senior service day, testing, and...graduation!
It's going to be busy, thank you in advance for your patience, flexibility, understanding and willingness to stay calm and teach on.
Becky will be sending a spring events schedule soon.
This week we have a "lock down" drill scheduled for Thursday, March 2 at 9:00am. Please take a few minutes and review the lock down procedures prior to Thursday morning. If you have questions regarding the procedures contact Ed Vesely.
Press on! Panther Strong!
Please acknowledge you have read this post by clicking here
Sunday, February 26, 2017
Monday, February 20, 2017
Update ~ February 21-24, 2017
CELEBRATING SUCCESS...
CHS teachers and students making headlines again. Congratulations, once again, to Laura Locke and our FCCLA students for being recognized in the AZDaily Sun for their contribution to the "Chairs for Change" project and thank you for your work to bring education to girls around the world. Click here to read more.
Also, congratulations to CHS student athlete David Quick who was recruited to play football at Western State Colorado University. David accepted the scholarship and signed on the dotted line last week.
PBIS CHS...
OFF TOPIC, BUT JUST SO YOU KNOW...
We will be adjusting our school day start and end time next year (SY 2017-18) to 8:00am start and 2:30pm dismissal. Adjusting the bell schedule to a 2:30pm dismissal will decrease the amount of time students (and teachers) will wait for our buses to arrive at the end of the day.
Have a great short week! Press on! Panther Strong!
Please acknowledge you have read this post by clicking here
CHS teachers and students making headlines again. Congratulations, once again, to Laura Locke and our FCCLA students for being recognized in the AZDaily Sun for their contribution to the "Chairs for Change" project and thank you for your work to bring education to girls around the world. Click here to read more.
Also, congratulations to CHS student athlete David Quick who was recruited to play football at Western State Colorado University. David accepted the scholarship and signed on the dotted line last week.
PBIS CHS...
During our prep hour meetings earlier this month we talked
about PBIS at CHS. Here’s what you said…
What is our
definition of PBIS?
- PBIS is an intentional framework we use at CHS to help our school build a positive school culture by using using proactive rather than reactive strategies and techniques to reinforce desired behaviors and teach and re-teach students how to exhibit desired behaviors.
- PBIS at CHS is school of thought and practice that seeks to reinforce constructive and desirable behaviors while redirecting destructive ones in order to build a positive learning environment.
- PBIS is proactive approach to encourage positive behavior and provide support, tools and intervention when they’re not in place.
- PBIS helps create unity by replacing the I, Me, Mine attitude with an Us, We and Ours attitude
- PBIS creates a a consistent and positive culture – Pushing positive panther power in panther places.
What are some of the
ways you have successfully implemented PBIS (Common themes)?
Clear and Consistent Expectations
- My classroom management is geared around clear expectations rather than rules. When I redirect, I remind students of the expectations.
- I make sure my students know the expectations and have found that when they know them they are less likely to respond negatively to redirection.
- I think consistency with expectations is key; traffic light, red signs with respect, responsibility and integrity, behavior matrix, minor infraction forms, etc. ( I haven’t had to send a student out of my classroom for at least two years).
- Expectations, routines, protocols and procedures are clear. We practice these until they become the norm.
- Respect the system by completing MIForms when expectations are not being met.
Building Positive
Relationships
- · I greet and welcome my students at the door with a smile. This helps build positive relationships with my students.
- I emphasize respect in my classroom. I talk to students about what it looks like and I model the respect I expect.
- I work to build trust with my students. 1:1 chats really help. (Communication is the foundation for positive relationships).
- I focus on “what’s right” that way when it goes wrong we can talk about how to make it right again.
- I work to get to know my students, their interests, their strengths and their needs. My own program is: Listen-to-a-student a day.
- I ask students if they would be willing to save the disruptive behaviors for after school.
- I make positive calls home to parents.
- I treat my students with respect, support and kindness and as a result we have a positive classroom climate and my students are always willing to “Go the extra mile”.
· Using Pawsitive Panthers to help acknowledge
positive behavior publicly.
· I really try to point out and acknowledge
positive behavior.
· I use pawsitive panthers to acknowledge positive
academic behaviors as well as nonacademic or social behaviors.
I I make it my goal to regularly send positive post cards home.
Thank you everyone for your responses and for sharing your PBIS successes.
I I make it my goal to regularly send positive post cards home.
Thank you everyone for your responses and for sharing your PBIS successes.
As you know we will spend some time this Wednesday reminding our students about appropriate use of electronic devices among other CHS expectations. We will also be sharing information about Pocket Points (The phone app that encourages students to keep their phones off in class). I have added the Pocket points introduction script to the frequently used document section of the blog (Pocket Points Information). Please share this information with your students. If you would like to share a quick student created video, click here for the Link.
OFF TOPIC, BUT JUST SO YOU KNOW...
We will be adjusting our school day start and end time next year (SY 2017-18) to 8:00am start and 2:30pm dismissal. Adjusting the bell schedule to a 2:30pm dismissal will decrease the amount of time students (and teachers) will wait for our buses to arrive at the end of the day.
Have a great short week! Press on! Panther Strong!
Please acknowledge you have read this post by clicking here
Sunday, February 12, 2017
Update ~ February 13-17, 2017
CELEBRATING SUCCESS...
A School of VIPS...Congratulations to Colonel Morris for his well deserved recognition this weekend as the Veteran's of Foreign Wars 2016 Teacher of the Year.
Congratulates to our Varsity Girl's Basketball Coach, Martin Reyes. Coach Reyes was named the Grand Canyon Region Coach of the year.
Please join me in congratulating these members of our Panther Family!
SHOW ME THE MONEY...
Congratulations also to Russ Randall and the Transition team. On Friday TSW was paid a special visit from our superintendent and the FUSD's Foundation team as they presented a grant award for a little under $2000.00 to Russ and the TSW program. Congratulations!
BRIGHT LIGHT ON MATH MASH UP...
Twice a month our Block Algebra students take part in a "Math Mash Up". This a day when students re-group and have an opportunity to work in smaller groups to dive deeper into math concepts through enrichment or, if they have struggled with a concept, they participate in a re-teach. During this time students are highly engaged, focused and working hard. In the kids own words "My brain hurts, because I have been working so hard." This has been a very successful strategy for our algebra 1 teachers and they plan to incorporate more mash-up days next year.
CTE MONTH...
February is CTE month. We are fortunate at CHS to be the home of an excellent CTE program. Congratulations to all our CTE teachers for their many achievements and accomplishments and helping to prepare our students for high-skill, high demand careers. Click here for more information about CTE Month.
FEBRUARY 17...
I received the following message from H.R regarding Friday, February 17...
"Alert!!! Aesop Heavy Callouts for Friday, February 17. Just wanted to give you all a heads up. As of today (2/10/17) we have 122 employees called off for 2/17/17. At this rate, we will have a sub shortage for this day. Please talk with your staff and make preparations for coverage. On our end, we are asking our current sub pool to be all-hands on deck."
Also, just a side note, thank you to all of you who leave a "note to administrator" when calling off. Although I might not remember all the absences, it is nice to know the reason for the absence.
REMINDERS...
The annual Community STEM Night is March 6 at the NAU Skydome at 5:30pm. Hope to see everyone there.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT...
Getting ALL students in class to think about an answer to a question posed by a teacher might be a simple adjustment to the manner in which the questions is posed. For example, a teacher might say:
"Jeffry, What do John the Baptist and Kermit the Frog have in common?" Several hands slowly recede and all eyes are on Jeffry. Well, some eyes are on Jeffry. The rest of the students just breathed sighs of relief that their names were not called. In their heads, they may be thinking the question asked is not intended for them, and they need not answer.
Some teachers may say that while Jeffry is thinking of the answer, the rest of the students are, too. Wouldn't that be nice? Maybe one-third of the students are thinking about an answer, but the rest are just glad it wasn't them.
It might be better to simply ask the question " What do John the Baptist and Kermit the Frog have in common ?" pause for a few seconds, and then say the student's name. By posing the question first, then waiting to call on a student to answer, the rest of the students will be more likely to be thinking of the answer.
-Excerpt from Edutopia 2009. More info about The right way to ask questions in the classroom click here.
A School of VIPS...Congratulations to Colonel Morris for his well deserved recognition this weekend as the Veteran's of Foreign Wars 2016 Teacher of the Year.
Congratulates to our Varsity Girl's Basketball Coach, Martin Reyes. Coach Reyes was named the Grand Canyon Region Coach of the year.
Please join me in congratulating these members of our Panther Family!
SHOW ME THE MONEY...
Congratulations also to Russ Randall and the Transition team. On Friday TSW was paid a special visit from our superintendent and the FUSD's Foundation team as they presented a grant award for a little under $2000.00 to Russ and the TSW program. Congratulations!
BRIGHT LIGHT ON MATH MASH UP...
Twice a month our Block Algebra students take part in a "Math Mash Up". This a day when students re-group and have an opportunity to work in smaller groups to dive deeper into math concepts through enrichment or, if they have struggled with a concept, they participate in a re-teach. During this time students are highly engaged, focused and working hard. In the kids own words "My brain hurts, because I have been working so hard." This has been a very successful strategy for our algebra 1 teachers and they plan to incorporate more mash-up days next year.
CTE MONTH...
February is CTE month. We are fortunate at CHS to be the home of an excellent CTE program. Congratulations to all our CTE teachers for their many achievements and accomplishments and helping to prepare our students for high-skill, high demand careers. Click here for more information about CTE Month.
FEBRUARY 17...
I received the following message from H.R regarding Friday, February 17...
"Alert!!! Aesop Heavy Callouts for Friday, February 17. Just wanted to give you all a heads up. As of today (2/10/17) we have 122 employees called off for 2/17/17. At this rate, we will have a sub shortage for this day. Please talk with your staff and make preparations for coverage. On our end, we are asking our current sub pool to be all-hands on deck."
Also, just a side note, thank you to all of you who leave a "note to administrator" when calling off. Although I might not remember all the absences, it is nice to know the reason for the absence.
REMINDERS...
- Please remember the Copy Room/Mail Room is for faculty and staff only. Please do not send teacher aides to the copy room.
- Thursdays are still College Shirt Days.
The annual Community STEM Night is March 6 at the NAU Skydome at 5:30pm. Hope to see everyone there.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT...
Getting ALL students in class to think about an answer to a question posed by a teacher might be a simple adjustment to the manner in which the questions is posed. For example, a teacher might say:
"Jeffry, What do John the Baptist and Kermit the Frog have in common?" Several hands slowly recede and all eyes are on Jeffry. Well, some eyes are on Jeffry. The rest of the students just breathed sighs of relief that their names were not called. In their heads, they may be thinking the question asked is not intended for them, and they need not answer.
Some teachers may say that while Jeffry is thinking of the answer, the rest of the students are, too. Wouldn't that be nice? Maybe one-third of the students are thinking about an answer, but the rest are just glad it wasn't them.
It might be better to simply ask the question " What do John the Baptist and Kermit the Frog have in common ?" pause for a few seconds, and then say the student's name. By posing the question first, then waiting to call on a student to answer, the rest of the students will be more likely to be thinking of the answer.
-Excerpt from Edutopia 2009. More info about The right way to ask questions in the classroom click here.
Have a great week and hope you enjoy the upcoming three day weekend.
Press on! Panther Strong!
Sunday, February 5, 2017
Update ~ February 6-10, 2017
CELEBRATING SUCCESS
While about 3000 people were up in the north gym watching the CHS v FHS Basketball game Friday night, our CHS Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), students worked into the wee hours of the night to give our nurse's office and the large conference room an upgrade. Respect, Responsibility and Integrity in action. A special thank you to Laura Locke and her students for their hard work helping to make CHS the best. We are so proud of these students!
POSITIVE PARENT FEEDBACK
Sharing a quote about a success story about a CHS student who went through all levels of the Puente Language Institute...
"Just to update you on a Puente Student who went through the program from Elementary through high school-She (Danielle Goldman) has done very well at NAU with her Spanish-she is in Spanish III Gramatica this semester and did very well in Spanish III 'Controversial Issues' her first semester as a freshman. I think this is proof that the PDH Program really works. She is going to minor in Spanish, so whatever comes her way she will be ready. Thank you for the hard work and persistence with these kids through the years."
This CHS student skipped Spa 101, 102, 201 & 202 (16 credits) as a freshman at NAU. Panther Strong!
WINTER SPORTS
As we transition from the winter sports season to spring, please join me in thanking the dedicated head coaches and assistants for their hard work and for being a positive influence in the lives of our students. We are grateful for their dedication, hard work and for encouraging our student athletes toward excellence.
Still ahead...Girls (ranked #1 in the state) and boys basketball teams move into the regionals and our wrestling team will participate in the state championship.
Also...breaking records are the 41 + band and orchestra students who qualified for the upcoming regional competition. Congratulations!
A BIG HUGE SHOUT OUT TO OUR CHS COUNSELING DEPARTMENT
This is National School Counseling week. The theme of the week is "School Counseling: Helping students realize their full potential." Our CHS Counseling department is the best. Please join me in thanking our counselors (stop by and say hi) for everything they do to help our students achieve success while in high school and beyond! Happy school counseling week!
CLASS OF 2017
The senior class will be gathering for a group photo on Wednesday, February 8. Please dismiss senior students at 10:35am on 2/8. We will make an announcement as a reminder.
PREP HOUR MEETING
This Tuesday, 2/7 we have prep hour meetings. Period 1 and 2 prep hour teachers will meet in the mini-theater. Periods 3, 4/5, 6 & 7 will meet in the Links room # 204. The only thing you will need for the meeting is a writing utensil. Please note teachers who have 4th or 5th hour prep will meet at the beginning of 4 period (11:00am).
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT...
"Kids do well if they can, and behind every challenging behavior is either an unsolved problem or lagging skill."
-Ross W. Greene, Author, "Lost at School"
Press on! Panther Strong!
Please acknowledge you read this post by clicking here
While about 3000 people were up in the north gym watching the CHS v FHS Basketball game Friday night, our CHS Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), students worked into the wee hours of the night to give our nurse's office and the large conference room an upgrade. Respect, Responsibility and Integrity in action. A special thank you to Laura Locke and her students for their hard work helping to make CHS the best. We are so proud of these students!
POSITIVE PARENT FEEDBACK
Sharing a quote about a success story about a CHS student who went through all levels of the Puente Language Institute...
"Just to update you on a Puente Student who went through the program from Elementary through high school-She (Danielle Goldman) has done very well at NAU with her Spanish-she is in Spanish III Gramatica this semester and did very well in Spanish III 'Controversial Issues' her first semester as a freshman. I think this is proof that the PDH Program really works. She is going to minor in Spanish, so whatever comes her way she will be ready. Thank you for the hard work and persistence with these kids through the years."
This CHS student skipped Spa 101, 102, 201 & 202 (16 credits) as a freshman at NAU. Panther Strong!
WINTER SPORTS
As we transition from the winter sports season to spring, please join me in thanking the dedicated head coaches and assistants for their hard work and for being a positive influence in the lives of our students. We are grateful for their dedication, hard work and for encouraging our student athletes toward excellence.
Still ahead...Girls (ranked #1 in the state) and boys basketball teams move into the regionals and our wrestling team will participate in the state championship.
Also...breaking records are the 41 + band and orchestra students who qualified for the upcoming regional competition. Congratulations!
A BIG HUGE SHOUT OUT TO OUR CHS COUNSELING DEPARTMENT
This is National School Counseling week. The theme of the week is "School Counseling: Helping students realize their full potential." Our CHS Counseling department is the best. Please join me in thanking our counselors (stop by and say hi) for everything they do to help our students achieve success while in high school and beyond! Happy school counseling week!
CLASS OF 2017
The senior class will be gathering for a group photo on Wednesday, February 8. Please dismiss senior students at 10:35am on 2/8. We will make an announcement as a reminder.
PREP HOUR MEETING
This Tuesday, 2/7 we have prep hour meetings. Period 1 and 2 prep hour teachers will meet in the mini-theater. Periods 3, 4/5, 6 & 7 will meet in the Links room # 204. The only thing you will need for the meeting is a writing utensil. Please note teachers who have 4th or 5th hour prep will meet at the beginning of 4 period (11:00am).
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT...
"Kids do well if they can, and behind every challenging behavior is either an unsolved problem or lagging skill."
-Ross W. Greene, Author, "Lost at School"
Press on! Panther Strong!
Please acknowledge you read this post by clicking here