Welcome Back
Almost
August 2021
Dear Colleagues:
Thank you and great job. I have no idea what else say about the last 18-months. Everybody worked their tails off. I hope you are all having a relaxing and re-energizing summer. You all deserve it.
I do believe the summer vacation gods are laughing at me, as I have had an interesting July by tearing my quad tendon, needing surgery, and our long-awaited family trip in an RV was denied again. My mother always told me "Karma is a witch" (PG version), so I probably deserved that for something I did. Don't worry, I am laughing now. I share this only because some folks may have tried to reach me or ask questions in the past month and to be honest I really haven't been around physically or mentally. The good news is I will be available in August if folks need anything, which would not have been the case. (We would have been in the Black Hills of South Dakota with limited to no cell service right about now.)
In a few weeks, we will welcome new teachers and new incoming students.
On August 31st we will hold our Ninth Grade Orientation and our New Student Orientation. Students will be filling most of the academic classrooms during the first part of the day, so if you planned on coming in to do work it may not be a good day. New teachers will join us on August 25th and 26th for their orientation. All faculty and staff will return on Wednesday, September 1st. We will have two professional development days (9/1 and 9/2) before students return after Labor Day on Tuesday, September 7th.
Below is a link to our calendar so that you can prepare for upcoming events and evenings. Typically we post a school calendar on our website in late July. Unfortunately, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has not released the MCAS schedule for the spring of 2022. The Cape Cod Tech school calendar typically lines up our 10th graders to be in academics when they take ELA and math MCAS. Therefore, we can not determine Maroon and Gray schedules for the entire school year. We have attached the first 4 months of the school year to help make things easier to get started. This is subject to change depending on DESE's subsequent release of information. Here is the link: https://www.capetech.us/latest/school-calendar-through-december-2021
This year’s professional development will again focus on developing our Academies into collaborative and relevant small learning communities with integrated technical and academic subjects. Together we will cultivate this collaborative learning environment in Department and Academy PLCs. As you will see on the calendar we will continue our once-a-month Monday 2-hour early dismissals. These will be designated for Departments or Technical Clusters. This year we will also hold a 1-hour early dismissal on designated Wednesdays during the course of the year. These dates will be designated for Academies to meet and collaborate on supporting students and implement new learning opportunities. We will coordinate after-school meetings during the two types of early dismissals to maximize the amount of collaboration time available for departments and Academies. A detailed explanation stay after days and the scheduled dates are linked HERE
Last spring Melissa Andrade surveyed folks to select an Academy they would most like to be aligned with for the 2019-20 school year. Based on 90% of your selections, 5% administrative suggestions and 5% dart board chance, we placed everyone for this school year. Please click at the link (Academy Placement) to see those academies and who everyone will be working with this year. There is a good amount of diversity of teaching styles and philosophies to help each Academy become a successful “melting pot.”
We will be re-investing in our literacy program this school year. Mary Kew will continue to provide support to technical and academic teachers alike to help students bridge the learning gaps created from the last 18 months or previous to then. Literacy is not just reading, it is the skill to read, write, interpret, understand, create and effectively communicate. Literacy is essential not only for learning but more importantly to be successful in careers and beyond. We will be sharing expectations and supports to foster literacy in all areas of Cape Cod Tech.
Again, welcome back. I look forward to seeing everyone in a few weeks. This will be an exciting school year as we finally get to "open up" the building and see what it can do! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Billy