Update ~ December 11-15, 2017

CELEBRATING SUCCESS...
We have almost completed half of this school year.  Wrapping up a semester always feels like a relief and an accomplishment all in one.  Thank you for all that you do, for working so hard and caring so much. Thank you for helping to breath new life into assessments and helping students understand that assessments are part of learning and an opportunity to show what they know.  Did you know that, according to Mark Joraanstadt, students who feel happy before taking an exam outperform their peers?
Have a wonderful week, continue to be great for our students and good to each other.

FYI, STUDENT BEHAVIOR DATA...
Our minor infractions are up.
Last year at this time we had a total of 514 and this year we have a total of 543
It is interesting to note that 122 MIFs this year are categorized as Avoiding Task and Other.  This is likely due to grading practice changes, as some teachers who are implementing standards-based grading are using MIFs to document when students are not completing assignments.
The top three categories are still  Disrespect, Defiance, and Disruption 
Another interesting tidbit is that last year (2016) the grade level with the highest infractions was 9th and this year it is 10th grade.  We'll keep an eye on that class of 2020.

END OF SEMESTER GRADES...
In order for grades to be verified and finalized in Synergy before we dismiss for winter break, final grades are due to Jen Milius by 2:00 pm on December 15.  If you need an extension (for later on Friday), please talk to Jen before Friday. Any questions regarding end of semester procedures please contact Jen Milius.  Click here for step by step instructions for submitting final grades.

PLANNING AHEAD...
We have two Wednesday afternoon Faculty Meetings in January.  Please mark your calendars:
January 3 ~ Welcome back and all faculty PLC 1:15-2:15 pm Cafeteria
January 31 ~ Student based Health, Wellness and Safety Training 1:15-2:45 pm Mini-Theater

And way ahead...
February 14 ~ Faculty Meeting 2:15-3:15 pm
February 27 ~ SPED Law training 2:30-3:30 pm (Rescheduled from November)

THOUGHTS AND IDEAS...
In case you are looking for something to reinvigorate you for the rest of the year, here are a couple of interesting  education-related Podcasts:
The Cult of Pedagogy 
The Ed Podcast 

I hope you have the best holiday break ever.  Take it easy, take a break.   Rest and relax and enjoy the holiday season!
Cheers to a great new year!

Press on!  Panther Strong!

"Coconino High School,  where everybody is somebody, and a better somebody when they graduate"
                                                                                                       ~ Stacie Zanzucchi 

Please acknowledge you have read this post by clicking here

Update ~ December 4-8, 2017

CELEBRATING SUCCESS

BRIGHT LIGHTS...
And I'm not talking about holiday lights, I'm talking about the many points of light at CHS. As an administrator, I have the opportunity to observe teachers and students interacting and engaged in learning all year long, it's the best part of my job.   This year, all of you also have the opportunity to see the amazing things happening in our classrooms by participating in Instructional Rounds.  Thank you for opening your rooms and thanks for participating in the rounds. The team really wanted everybody to experience this at least one time.  The next set of rounds will be for those who want to continue.  Dates and details out soon.

EXCITING STUDENT NEWS...
CHS Student Anibaa Chee was selected as our Hugh O'Brien HOBY Ambassador this year. The HOBY award recipient is chosen for displaying integrity, excellence and dedication to creating a better world through service leadership and volunteerism. Anibaa will represent CHS at the HOBY Youth Leadership Convention at ASU in June. When you see Anibaa please shake her hand and congratulate her.
Also a big pat on the back to our Speech and Debate Coach Bryce Brothers and the CHS team members. In only their second tournament ever, they took home three trophies. Cameron Menein and Mya Trent came in first place in Dual Interpretation.  Cameron also placed fifth in Humorous Interpretation and Aidan Rhodes placed 6th overall in the Congressional Debate. Way to go team!
Winter Sports are in full swing and CHS is looking strong, Panther Strong!

CALENDAR...

This week

12/6 ~ Farewell to Officer Andrew Hoofman 1:30-2:30 pm in the Panther Cafe

12/10 ~ CHS Holiday Party 4:30p pm

Next week...

12/13, 14, 15 ~ Early Release Mid Term Exams

12/15 ~ End of the first semester and last day of school.  Grades, ELO's and Group Norms due. 

Press On!  Panther Strong!

Please acknowledge you have read this post by clicking here

Update ~ November 27-December 1, 2017

Welcome back! 
I hope you had a wonderful break and are ready for our gradual descent to the end of a successful semester.

THIS WEEK...
Just a reminder that we have our first day of Instruction Rounds on Tuesday, November 28.  Please meet your team in the mini theater at the beginning of your prep period.  Also please note, that because we are meeting on prep periods, we will NOT meet for a faculty meeting on Tuesday. 

ASSESSMENT...
One of our goals this year is to develop our collective philosophy, policies, and procedures about assessments.  A healthy assessment environment requires that we begin to see assessment through new eyes and put in place the mechanisms that will make a healthy assessment environment possible.  We want to help students build confidence about assessments and connect assessments (whether of or for learning) to our teaching and learning practices.  Our classroom assessment posters were created to help support this goal. Please remember to post the "Take a deep breath..." sign and encourage our students to understand that assessment is part of the learning process.

STUDENT SUCCESS...
If it has been a while since you have reviewed the IEP or 504 plans of your students, please take a few minutes to familiarize yourselves with these plans.  As you know many of our students require accommodations for testing and or modified grading plans and as the semester winds down, it is a good idea to review individual plans.  Should you need help accessing, or interpreting the plans, please contact Patty Harper.

COLLABORATIVE TEAMS...

Remeber to submit your subject area revised Essential Learning Outcomes as well as a copy of your Collaborative Team's group norms or working agreements. You can submit these via Google Docs to Cris and I or a hard copy will work just as well.  These are due on or before December 15.

LEAVE REQUESTS...
Please look ahead, and if you know in advance you are going to have to call off for any reason: Doctor's appointments, conferences, hunting, traveling, field trips, coaching, etc. Please, Please, Please submit your leave request as soon as possible. Thank you!

RINGING IN THE HOLIDAYS...
You are all invited to join us for our annual Holiday Party hosted by Cris Holmes, Steve Bonderud and Stacie Zanzucchi. An invitation will be in your boxes this week.
What: Holiday Happy Hour and Hors d' oeuvres
When: December 10 at 4:30pm
Where: The home of Martin and Stacie Zanzucchi 5150 Country Club Dr.

Please acknowledge you have read this post by clicking here

Update ~ November 20,21, 2017

CHS has the best teachers and staff in the world.  I am so grateful! 

Have a wonderful week and well deserved holiday break!

Update ~ November 13-17, 2017

CELEBRATING SUCCESS...

"To me, the sole hope of human salvation lies in teaching." - George Bernard Shaw

Thank you, CHS Teachers, for coming together last week during your prep hour to learn about Instructional Rounds. Your warm reception, willingness, and courage to embark on the next path of this journey is exciting.
The opportunity to observe and interact with each other in a non-evaluative way to improve teaching and learning means everyone wins.  Few would argue that when a collection of minds and hearts works together, great things happen.  We have so much expertise right here within our walls and participating in rounds will be a way to share this expertise and make great things happen.  There is no doubt that the journey of continuous improvement is hard work.  We have to remember that the fruits of this hard work are improved student learning and a better and brighter future.   I hope you find joy in the journey.
Go Us!
Please mark your calendars for Rounds on Tuesday, November 28 during prep hour. 

HONORING NATIVE AMERICANS...
November is National Native American month.  This week we will honor Native Americans with our CHS Native American Heritage week.

Also this week...
11/13 ~ CHS Gold Team invites you all to Hiking & Happy Hour.  Meet at 3:00pm in the North Commons to join the Hike and Downtown at Collins around 4:30pm
11/14 ~ Faculty Meeting Special Guest Presentation 2:45 pm

BELATED NOTE...
To all service men and women, you deserve all the honor, admiration, and gratitude. Thank you for serving and Happy Veteran's day!

Please acknowledge you have read this post by clicking here

Update ~ November 6-10, 2017

CELEBRATING SUCCESS...
This year's college application campaign was a great success.  Over 90% of our seniors completed a college application and those who knew they were going in the military or trade school completed one just for practice.  Thank you all for your support for this important event. A special shout-out to our counselors for organizing this event and to Laura Locke and her Interior Design students for bringing our halls alive to the sound of college and reminding students that anything is possible. Thanks too, to all the teachers who joined in the door decorating contest. It was really fun seeing all the creativity and enthusiasm and hearing students talk about college and life after high school.

TPEC Q & A...
(Old news for some, new news for others)
Q ~ Do I have to use one of the Lesson Plan Templates on the Blog?

A ~ No, the templates are there as a guide and include the components of an effective lesson plan and provide a framework for the flow of an effective lesson. I added one more this week, it is called Lesson Plan-Formative Assessment.
According to the TPEC:
" Lesson plan contains daily objectives that are aligned with current state adopted standards. Lessons must outline specific learning activities that include formative assessment. The teacher was clearly prepared ahead of time and materials were ready and well organized".

Q ~ Do I have to use the big white poster to write the Content Objective?

A ~ No, but the Content Objective is the heart of the lesson and should be visible and referred to throughout the lesson. More importantly, the students should know the purpose of the day's lesson or the "Where am I going?"  part of lesson.  The Content Objective helps describe clearly what students will know, understand, be able to do as a result of participating in the lesson, and is the learning goal or intention of day's lesson.  

NOVEMBER...

There's some research out there that says November is one of the hardest months for educators.  The pizazz and excitement of the beginning of the school year have worn off and the reality of grading papers, trying to make lessons exciting, difficult parents, and the holidays approaching, teachers, students, and administrators can get the blues. So what can we do about this? "Find your tribe," says Wendy Turner a teacher from Delaware. When you are feeling frustrated or down, connecting with colleagues or friends is important and can be a positive source of comfort and support.  Our CHS, True Colors Gold Team is organizing a get together to help us get the mojo back.  Hope you can join the Gold Team for a hike and happy hour on Monday, November 13.  Details out soon! Oh, and save the date for our annual CHS Holiday party, December 10, 4:30 pm. Cheers!

SPEAKING OF NOVEMBER...
Prep Hour meetings are this Tuesday, November 7. Teachers who have 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th-period prep, will go to room # 507 Laura Locke's room) and those who have 6th or 7th-period prep will go to room #306 (Derek Born's room).
ALSO...
We will have a faculty meeting on Tuesday, November 14 at 2:45pm.  Please mark your calendars. This meeting will be a special presentation by the attorney for Udall and Shumway. Cathleen M Dooley.  Cathleen's presentation will focus on educating students with disabilities for general education teachers. Please let me know in advance if you are unable to attend this meeting. 

Press on!  Panther Strong!

Please acknowledge you have read this post by clicking here. 

Update ~ October 30-November 3, 2017

CELEBRATING SUCCESS...
Wow, what a week! And, how bout them Panthers? The most talked about news around town is the city championship upset, woohoo Panthers! if you haven't heard our Panthers beat the Eagles Friday night in the Football City Championship game. Click here to read the article in the Daily Sun. Congratulations to Coach Smith, his coaching staff and, of course, our Varsity Football Players.
The pre-game show with our amazing band, cheerleaders, dance team and student council, helped set the tone for the big win, thank you to all who helped showcase CHS on Friday night.
Speaking of showcase, congratulations are in order, also for our very own CTE Department who showcased our school on Wednesday. Our CTE students, teachers and programs really shined for the 30 plus community leaders who came to CHS last week to learn more about CTE, way to go team!
There's more...
The Career and College Day was a smashing success as well, thank you to the counselors and Kira Blair for the behind the scenes hard work to bring and host 40 colleges or post-secondary opportunities for our CHS students.
And more...Last week Russ Randall was recognized by the NAU Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences and received an award for being the 2017 outstanding community partner. Great work Russ, congratulations!
One last note here, the halls and doors are awesome!  Thank you, Laura Locke and Interior design students for adorning our hallways with college knowledge and teachers thanks teachers for joining in and decorating your doors for the college application campaign.

WELCOME TO THE PANTHER FAMILY...
Please join me in a warm CHS welcome to our new math teacher, Kristina Hover.  Kristina is teaching geometry and we are fortunate to have her here at CHS.  Welcome, Kristina!

HALLWAYS AT LUNCH...
Historical Perspective
Six years ago our halls were open during the lunch periods. Students roamed, conversed (often loudly), ate, drank, stood at doorways waiving at their friends who were in class, played music, etc. The learning environment was disrupted and we knew we needed to make a change.  The decision was made to close the hallways at lunch. We knew in order to make this change we would need additional manpower to help monitor the halls, so we assigned lunch duty attendants. We also asked that teachers who were expecting students to their classrooms at lunch would give students a pass. This seemed to work for a few years, but for some reason, the passes idea has deteriorated. The hallways are still closed and monitored and the only way to know if students are supposed to be in the hall heading to, or coming from a teacher's classroom, a meeting, study hall etc, is if they have a pass. We have discovered that more often than not when students don't have a pass, but they say the teacher knows they are coming,  they are not completely honest. (we have accompanied students to the classes, and the teachers were not aware the student was coming to their room). If they have a pass, it makes it simple, no argument, no confrontation and just all around more pleasant and positive for all.
Becky is creating a lunch pass template which will be in your boxes this week. Feel free to use this template or create your own, but please issue passes at for lunchtime visitors. Thank you!

LAUNCH FLAGSTAFF...
Several CHS teachers made to one or more of the recent films, during the Launch Flagstaff Film Festival, and found the film to be excellent and relevant.   The next school related project and film series are regarding the impact of personal technology devices on learning. The date for the next film festival has not been confirmed but looks like late January. This film, Screenagers, is relevant for us and a topic of conversation in 90% of the conversations regarding student motivation in school.  If you have a couple of minutes, I highly recommend you take a peek at his movie trailer. I will share details about the upcoming film festival and related works as I learn more.  Click here for the trailer to the movie Screenagers

WHAT'S UP THIS WEEK?...
10/31 ~ College Application Campaign Day

*Halloween note ~ Each year, some students come to school in costume.  Please remind students that that full face paint, masks and head dress or head adornments, such a cat ears, rabbit ears etc., are not permitted while at school, even on Halloween. 

NEXT WEEK...
11/7 ~ Prep hour meetings

Press on! Panther Strong!

Please acknowledge you have read this post by clicking here

Update ~ October 23-27, 2017

DELIBERATE PAUSE...
Sometimes in education, and I suppose in other fields as well, we use catch-phrases or “buzzwords” in our conversations without really pausing to talk about what the word really means. It dawned on me last week as I was writing some evaluations that I use the phrase, "This teacher supports our school's continuous improvement efforts," quite frequently. However, I’m not sure if we take enough time to define what the continuous improvement cycle really is. So I thought I would share my thoughts about this catch-phrase with all of you here in the Blog.

I see our school as a place of learning (more formally as a learning organization) and as such, our community of educational professionals continue to learn, change, evolve and maybe even transform. This continuous learning is paralleled in our hope for our students. We are futurists; we have a long-term perspective to prepare students and our school for the future, explore what's possible and work together to make it happen. As a learning organization, we set goals, we identify barriers, find solutions, and we make it better; that's the cycle.

We know learning is an ongoing process. Learning is inherently additive and socially constructed, therefore, we work together and continuously learn from one another. That’s what motivates me as a learner, and hopefully, that’s part of what motivates all of you as well.

It is a great pleasure working in a school where teachers are willing to take risks with one another (and in their classrooms) and where we share the common purpose of creating better learning opportunities for the students that we serve. This is where our common vision is born: To create a vibrant school culture that exemplifies academic excellence and model global citizenship. As we continuously work towards making this common vision a reality, we have a multitude of ways to get there. Collaborative teams and committees serve as intentional spaces in which we can work together to learn, grow, reflect, critique, and improve upon our practice. While some of these groups have already met, some will be meeting for the first time in the upcoming weeks.  I am excited about the work we are planning for this year and beyond.  Thank you for being who are and for being part of the Panther community,

This year's  committees: PBIS, Masterboard, Department Chair, Safety, IB Exploratory, Purpose and Direction, Governance and Leadership, Teaching and Assessing for Learning, Resources, and Support Systems, Using Results for Continuous Improvement and International Baccalaureate Exploratory. 

You can expect an email invitation for committee meetings in before the end of this semester. 

REMINDER...

This week we have two days with different bell schedules; Monday and Friday.  Please note, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday will follow the regular bell schedule for those days. Please view last week's PantherReport to view the bell schedules and check Schedule Star for Rivalry Week Sports Schedules. 

Also...

10/26 ~ CHS College Fair in the Main Gym 1:00-2:30pm
10/27 ~ PEP Assembly 9:45-10:40 am

10/27 ~ College Door Decorating Contest
10/27 ~ CHS & FHS Tailgage party at the NAU Dome 4:40pm hosted by KAFF Radio 

10/31 ~ College Application Campaign
This week, all week long, if you eat at Chick-Fil-A, mention CHS and the proceeds will go directly to our school. 
Go Panthers!

Press on! Panther Strong!

PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE YOU HAVE READ THIS POST BY CLICKING HERE

Update ~ October 16-20, 2017

CELEBRATING SUCCESS...
Welcome back all y'all - Hope you had a nice mini holiday.  If you have a chance to meander up to the gym during lunch this week, I think it will put a smile on your face.  With each passing week, more and more students are showing up for open gym.  The regular open gym schedule is new this year and we are so pleased to see it has been so well received. Shout out to Theresa Freas for making it happen!

TIS THE SEASON...
For formal observations.  By now most of you have already participated in the pre-observation conference with your evaluator, if not, please schedule this soon.  First semester observations have begun.
What are we looking for?...
We are looking for sound lessons, effective instruction and high levels of learning. According to a cadre of researchers (Hattie 2009; Marzano, 2007; Popham, 2008; William,2007; Schmoker, 2016), excellent instruction is based on the basic features of a good lesson.  Good lessons should begin with a clearly written and prominently posted learning objective that establishes the purpose of a lesson. Each lesson should include step by step teaching accompanied by ample opportunity for practice and or application, checks for understanding and adjustment of the instruction accordingly. These basic moves are fundamental to highly effective instruction and these routine components should be present for every lesson in every classroom in every subject.  We know you do many other wonderful things in your classrooms and we enjoy seeing that too - we also know that sound instruction will have greater benefits for our students than anything else we do.  That's the heart of the matter, and Steve, Cris and I look forward to observing in your classrooms in the next few months.

CALENDAR...
This week, October 16-20 ~ Regular schedule all week
LOOKING AHEAD...
October 23 ~ 27 ~ Last week of fall athletics. Fall spirit week
October 23 ~ Combined Lunch, class periods remain 55 minutes long. Schedule below.

October 27 ~ Rival Week Pep Assembly. Schedule below


November 7 ~ Prep Hour Meetings.

Have a great week everyone and press on, panther strong!

Please acknowledge you have read this post by clicking here