Principal's Corner
Volume XX - March 23, 2019
WELCOME TO RHS!!!
We are THRILLED to announce that he has chosen to become a teacher, and will be serving students through inclusion and EC general separate. Congratulations Mr. Mowell!!!
Shout Outs - Submitted by RHS Staff Members
Thank you to Tiffany Rhodes for having Beta students show appreciation to the teachers last week- it was thoughtful and appreciated.
Shout out to all the CTE teachers who train and guide students for the CTE Showcase!
And a huge THANK YOU to all the staff that filled in during their planning periods this week! You are the best!
This week's winner is.......
Keep up with RHS happenings
There is also a RHS staff only calendar in Outlook. You'll find important dates, meetings, testing information, etc. Click on the calendar Icon at the bottom left of Outlook, then look for the Staff Calendar on the left.
NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Teachers, we have seen a slight rise in student discipline. This is normal in a long stretch before a break. Please be sure you are in the hallways during all class changes. Your presence may help to stop something before it starts.
- This LONG stretch between breaks also generally leads to more teachers and staff being out. We have had exceptionally higher numbers the last couple of weeks, especially on Fridays. Unfortunately, we are maxing out on the available number of substitute days we can use, so teachers are being asked to cover classes for others on a regular basis during their planning time. This is something we don't like to have to ask for, as we know how valuable your planning periods are. We know that there are unavoidable and unexpected situations that require us all to miss a day from time-to-time. But if it is something that can be avoided, please try to be here.
Interact Club Advisor needed. We are in need of someone to take over as advisor for the Interact Club. The Interact Club is sponsored by the Richlands Rotary Club and is a service club. See Mr. Staley if you are interested.
- This week, on 3/26, we will honor the service of Mr. Brock Ridge to the students of Onslow County and the Richlands Community. There will be a ceremony preceding the soccer game. There will be no gate charge that night for anyone. Please help spread the word.
- We have FOUR slots that have opened up the AP summer institutes. These slots are open to Non-NMSI areas. The partnership will pay the tuition for these institutes. If you are interested, please see Mr. Staley soon. Names have to be in to the county office by April 1.
- From guidance: If students didn't turn in their registration sheets this week, please have them do so first thing Monday morning. If a student doesn't turn in a registration sheet, their class will be selected for them. We have to start inputting data to start building next year's matrix. Thank you for your help and understanding!
Draft calendars are posted below. A copy of these calendars will be in room 107. Please note this is for the 20-21 school year. We already have an approved calendar for 19-20 school year. See Ms. Moore to provide feedback for the district
Onslow County IF... Now What? From Mrs. Tucker
In the Instruction Domain, the second concept is Engagement.
This concept is all about using research-based, high-yield instructional strategies to help students learn.
What are your tried and true go-to strategies/tools that work to engage students and show results in their learning?
Please share your answer in the Padlet: (just click on the background to enter your response)
Instructional Rounds
In the following weeks, the entire staff will team up in groups of 3-4 and visit classrooms for the same purpose. This will allow us to begin some important dialogue about our instructional focus as a school. Following the rounds, our groups will get together and discuss what we saw, and talk about both powerful practices and room for improvement as a school.
It is important to understand our purpose:
What the instructional rounds are.....
-A glimpse into what is really happening with instruction on our campus
-A chance to make low-inference observations, and understand trends
-The catalyst for important dialogue about instructional practice
-Focused on what the students are doing, not what the teacher is doing
-An opportunity to find best-practices to showcase
What the instructional rounds are not.....
-An evaluative tool
-A critical analysis of teacher effectiveness
We can't wait to see you in action next week!!
What will the first instructional rounds focus on?
Learning targets at RHS
Here is a GREAT article about making learning targets relevant for your students.
WHY STUDENTS DON’T CARE ABOUT YOUR LEARNING TARGETS
October 1, 2016
Kenneth McKee
So, this post is about a pet peeve.
I am a firm believer in the thoughtful use of learning targets to foster learning. When I shifted to using and improving my use of learning targets in my classroom, I noticed that I became a more effective teacher. My students’ learning improved by all measures.
As an instructional coach, I have seen many teachers artfully drive lessons with their learning targets, and I have seen other classes, often without the effective use of learning targets, where students were confused, frustrated, or completely off-task.
I hear some educators totally dismiss the power of learning targets, saying…”My students don’t care about them.” So, in this post, let’s analyze why that might be the case.
Students may not care about learning targets because…
1. There are no learning targets.
There may be great and engaging activities, but the teacher has not defined the goal of the lesson. So things just move from one activity to the next. Some students may really enjoy the lessons, but they do horribly on assessments. Some students may not see the point of the class.
2. Students haven’t seen the targets.
It’s hard to meet an expectation if you don’t know what it is. Many of us have the experience of having a teacher or boss who we never quite knew their expectations. How does that feel? In my case, it often causes anxiety or resentment. You may have clearly defined what students should know and do, but if they don’t know, it could result in similar problems as having no targets.
3. The teacher still thinks the targets are for the administration and doesn’t understand that they are for the students.
I get it. Your administrators my expect to see learning targets in your lesson plans or on your board during walkthroughs. And, compliance is important sometimes to avoid unnecessary conflict in the workplace. But, the bottom line is that sharing and actively using learning targets in your class helps students’ confidence, motivation, and effectiveness. Simply putting them on the board may please an administrator, but it will not assist learning in the classroom. Students must actively use the targets.
4. The targets are essentially the standards.
It’s great that the instruction is aligned to the standards. However, standards are not targets. Standards are often broad goals for instruction, while targets are measurable outcomes for students over the course of one or two class periods. While posting a standard like…
“Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text…”
…may be impressive to colleagues (or administrators), this language really means nothing to students. A better target might be,
“Describe Okonkwo’s feelings toward Ikemefuna, and cite quotations from the text to support your assertions.”
This target is more specific and meaningful to students.
5. Students don’t understand the language of the targets.
This is also the problem of essentially using standards as learning targets. Targets need to be comprehensible to students. Learning targets in student-friendly language are often most empowering for English-language learners and students living in poverty. Student-friendly targets make the teacher’s motivations for class activities less mysterious. They also create a bridge from social language to academic language. Targets should include content vocabulary, as the teacher and students can discuss the meanings of the vocabulary by unpacking and discussing the language of the targets early in the lesson.
6. The targets aren’t assessed.
How do we know if we have met the learning targets? Sometimes informal assessment like a thumbs up/thumbs down does the trick. Other times students should reflect and self-assess on the targets, perhaps with a Likert scale and explanation for their ratings. Other times it’s appropriate for students to complete an exit ticket or a short quiz. But, targets and formative assessment go hand-in-hand. Targets tell students what they should learn, and formative assessment helps them and us see if they learned it!
7. The students just don’t care.
It’s true sometimes. However, we should not make this the default explanation of why learning targets are not working in our classrooms. Saying this really insinuates that we have little to no influence or responsibility in the matter.
There are many ways that we can each use targets more effectively, and most of the time, effective learning targets and formative assessments are the most powerful components of our instruction. So, if your students don’t seem to care, honestly assess the other six points to see if there is an area where you can super-charge your use of learning targets!
School Social Worker News - From Ms. Harmon
Good morning,
RHS and the Interact Club will hold a pudding cup drive next week for CHEW. CHEW stands for Children Healthy Eating on Weekends. Currently, 96 students in the Richlands area receive CHEW weekly.
The 3rd period class that collects the most pudding cups will receive Dairy Queen gift cards valued at $5 for each student in the class. In addition, the teacher of the winning class will receive a gift card too.
The Interact Club will be collecting pudding cups from classrooms during 4th period each day. Totals will be announced daily beginning on Tuesday.
In addition, RHS and Trexler Middle will be competing to see which school can collect the most pudding cups. Please encourage your class to participate. If you have questions or concerns, please contact me.
Tammy Harmon, BSW
School Social Worker
Heritage Elementary School
Stateside Elementary School
Richlands High School
910-548-1944 - cell
ESSAY CONTEST!
To those high school students interested in writing about North Carolina's sustainable future:
The North Carolina Bar Association’s Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Law Section is pleased to announce that it is again sponsoring a sustainability essay contest.
First prize: $750; Second prize: $500; Third Prize $250! A flyer providing details about the contest is attached to this email.
The deadline for submissions is Friday May 31, 2019
Please feel free to forward this email to any of your contacts who might be interested in the contest or who might know folks who are interested.
If you have any questions, please direct them to: mskenned@email.unc.edu
Sincerely,
Maria Savasta-Kennedy,
North Carolina Bar Association, Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Section, Sustainability Committee Chair
Maria Savasta-Kennedy
Clinical Professor of Law
Director, Externship Program
UNC School of Law
Chapel Hill, NC
(919) 843-9805
Please complete the 2019 Annual Surveys
RHS Staff-Student-Parent Surveys 2019
The purpose of these surveys and inventories are to learn about student, staff, and parent experiences at RHS. Responses will be completely confidential and will inform the Strategic Planning Team’s work as the ensure the Strategic Plan is implemented with fidelity, and adjustments are made as needed. You should find these to be shorter and more user-friendly this year.
THE SURVEY WINDOW WILL OPEN ON MARCH 4, AND CLOSE ON MARCH 31. PLEASE SHARE THE PARENT LINKS THROUGH YOUR COMMUNICATION CHANNELS. STAFF WILL COMPLETE THE SURVEYS AT AN UPCOMING FACULTY MEETING, AND STUDENTS WILL COMPLETE THEM AT ONE DESIGNATED TIME (TBA).
PARTICIPATION TO MEET OCS REQUIREMENT:
STAFF – 85%
STUDENT – 85%
PARENT – 20%
SURVEY AND INVENTORY LINKS
(PLEASE NOTE THAT STUDENTS AND TEACHERS WILL NEED TO COMPLETE TWO)
Administration and Support Staff (all employees on campus who are not teachers or teaching assistants):
Teachers and Teacher Assistants:
Students:
Parents:
OCS Weekly Update
Hello OCS Family! It was an eventful week here at Onslow County Schools. You can find the latest news and updates below!
STUDENTS EXPLORE CTE AT SHOWCASE
Tuesday was an exciting day for more than 1900 Onslow County 8th graders as they got an up-close look at the many options available to them as they enter high school.
For 15 years, the Onslow County Schools Career and Technical Education department has held the CTE Showcase, where 8th graders can explore the CTE programs offered in Onslow County high schools. This year, the booths students could visit included carpentry, automotive, masonry, agriculture, AP Computer Science, Microsoft Office, law enforcement, firefighting, HOSA, and more.
Each booth was run by current OCS high school students enrolled in the respective programs. The high school students gave 8th graders a closer look at what they could learn in CTE courses through interactive activities and experiences. Students interested in medical fields could learn to insert an airway on a patient, while students interested in masonry could lay bricks and those interested in carpentry could drive nails and build bird houses.
Ethan Starzynski, a senior enrolled in the carpentry program at Southwest High School, said that he attended the CTE Showcase as an 8th grader, and it really played a role in his decision to take the class. That, he said, is why he was excited to share his experience with current 8th graders who may be interested in CTE courses.
MIDDLE SCHOOL SPELLING BEE
Thursday night, the county’s best middle school spellers came together at Southwest Middle School to put their spelling skills to the test. Sixteen students representing the district’s middle schools competed in a total of 7 rounds to see who would come out on top.
In the end, Swansboro Middle’s Hannah Marie Tokiwa took home first place after correctly spelling the word “inaudible.” Southwest Middle’s Emily Rice came in second place.
Congratulations to the winners and a job well done to all who competed!
NEWS FROM THE BOARD
A summary of the Onslow County Board of Education Funding Committee meeting on March 21, 2019 can be found here: News from the Board.
HIGH SCHOOL REGISTRATION
We would like to remind our high school students and their families that class registration for the 2019-2020 school year is still happening. The district deadline to register for next year’s classes is April 26, 2019. Please check with your school for more specific and individualized deadlines. You can find more about registration and class offerings in the Secondary Course of Study.
FOLLOW OCS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Keep up with even more OCS happenings on the following platforms:
Facebook - @OCSNC
Twitter - @OnslowSchools
Instagram - onslowcountyschools
YouTube - Onslow Schools Television
(Go Heels!)