Staff Hits
Fife High School Weekly Updates
11/4/19-11/8/19
The Opening Statement
Dear Staff,
Some some great teaching this week, I caught Brandon Howard doing some good work with annotation, did you know that every 10th grader by the end of the year will be fluent with the concept of annotative bibliography? What a great foundation for our students. I watched how Brandon's civics students seamlessly incorporated quotes from these bibliographies into 2 minute speeches, then watched peers of the presenters utilize a summary strategy to identify claim. NICE!
Its not news to staff that we are upping our social emotional learning game this year. All of us have been getting in the trenches with Fife Strong, but not as widely known is this year we are doing a really in-depth social emotional learning class for the first time, Principles of Leadership taught by Kent Nevin. This class is essentially Fife Strong on steroids. This class teaches students what Fife High is all about, diving in deep to the Heart of the Trojan. One student who is in this class-- who has been a challenge at times for us, and who definitely is not someone that jumps off the page as a "leader," shared a note with Mrs. Carroll...unsolicited... when she was in observing the class...
"I wanted to tell you how I feel about Mr. Nevin. He is the first teacher that I feel has really impacted my life at home for the better. His leadership class is my motivation for coming to school because his class actually is starting to make me feel like a good leader."
Wouldn't it be great if we could all find one student who we can be the "motivation for coming to school."
Thanks for reading staff hits, if you have an extra couple minutes I'd be grateful if you would read the Principal's community message for November.
Thanks!
Brandon
Principal's Community Message
November
Embrace Your Journey!
By Brandon Bakke
“Four years ago I never would have believed I’d be going to college.” Senior Francis Bernarte was glowing as he shared his story a few weeks ago with a room full of architects, engineers, and designers who are working on the Fife STEAM Center (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) which will begin construction this coming summer. Francis is a student representative on a committee currently designing this building. Francis is truly a remarkable person. Four years ago, he didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life; he is now an honor student who is well on his way to being one of the first in his family to attend college next year.
Pende Kambale (pictured) came to Washington State on April 17th 2014 at 11:00PM. She knows the exact day and time because it was a long and challenging journey she will never forget. Pende was forced to leave her home in the Democratic Republic of Congo which was torn apart by war and violence. People in her family lost their lives, including her father, and as a refugee she had many stops along the way before finally getting to Washington. Despite not knowing English when she arrived, Pende will also be graduating this spring and plans to attend college next year to become a social worker. Why social work? So she can help other refugees during such a hard time in their lives!
Junior Faualo admittedly didn’t have it figured out in middle school. “I really didn’t apply myself, I honestly didn’t care about my academics, but this all changed during my junior year in high school. I am 100% headed to college next year. This is the bar that I have set for my life, and I am thankful for the Fife community keeping me focused. I know the odds are stacked against me. I am the youngest of seven children, and nobody in my family has ever gone to college, but I’ve reached a place in my life where that fuels me to achieve.”
All three of these students are a part of Fife’s first class that has gone through the AVID program. AVID, which stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination, is a college-readiness program designed to help students develop the skills they need to be successful in college as well as assist them in navigating the steps it takes to get there.
I hear stories like these weekly. Fife is blessed with students who have overcome much adversity while out-performing what the “odds” say they should be able to accomplish. These are students who demonstrate the daily commitment inside and outside the classroom. They do this in spite of challenges that most of us couldn’t fathom when growing up.
The real gift for Francis, Pende, and Junior, however, is their journey, the road they have traveled to this point that really makes them who they are and has allowed them to become laser-focused on their goals. Their respective journeys have also allowed them to develop a keen sense of humility and appreciation for people who have helped them along the way, people who have shown them that there are not many challenges in life that they can’t overcome.
On the wall in my office is a saying: Embrace Your Journey. It is there to remind me that I, too, am the result of the many pit stops, peaks, and potholes along life's pathway-a reminder that the person I am is, in large part, a result of many different people who have taught me, encouraged me, and challenged me to become the best version of myself. It is a reminder that while I might not have understood the importance of the journey at the time, I need to be thankful for it!
So, Fife, I encourage you to embrace your journey! Don’t get so caught up in your destination that you forget to embrace the road you are traveling, especially when that road feels like it's going uphill. That is when the real and future you is being formed. The amazing, beautiful, and uniquely-special you!
Some of my favorite costumes...
Mr. Corn Man?
Mr. Incredible
Mr. Ross!
Next Week's Events Overview
Home events and playoffs listed for athletics:
11/04 - Monday-Schedule A
Food Drive begins
Prep Fife Strong Lesson review/prep in PLC
Grade window opens
11/05 - Tuesday-Schedule B
Family: Fife Strong Lesson 10.5
College Financial Planning Wksp @ CJH 6pm
Soccer Playoff TBD @7pm
11/06 - Wednesday-Schedule B
End Qtr 1
Flex
ILT Meeting @2:30pm
11/07 - Thursday-Schedule B
- Flex
- Modified Lockdown @9:25am
- Volleyball WCD @ FPHS 5pm
11/08 - Friday-Schedule B
- Grading window closes
- Field Trip - AVID to UW T
- G Swim WCD Prelims @Hazen 5pm
11/09 - Saturday
- B & G Cross Country State @ Pasco
- VB WCD @FPHS 10am
- G Swim WCD Dive @LHS 10:30am
- G Swim WCD @Hazen 4pm
11/11 - Monday-No School - Veteran’s Day
Fife Flex This Week:
Tues. 11/5 Family: Fife Strong Lesson 10.5
Wed. 11/6 Flex
Thurs. 11/7 Flex
Fri. 11/8 Flex
Tues 11/12 Veterans Day Assembly
Info For Staff
Fife Strong Lesson 10.5 Real Life Respect
Reminder: If you haven't gotten the new lesson copies please get them in your box and replace the one's in your binder!
In this week's lesson, "Real Life Respect" students will dive into what respect means, and take ownership over their own definition, students will stumble across empathy. This lesson is fantastic, the ending activity really has the potential to get our students thinking about others. This is a very timely conversation for our students to be having, with the potential to reap immediate benefits for our school culture.
Latino Club helped Fife Celebrate and educate
eVAL TIP: Submitting Pre/Post Conference Prompt Responses
1) Remember to go into eval and fill out the pre-conference questions, these should be "shared" at least a day prior to your meeting with your evaluator so they have time to look at it. Following your observation do the same for your post lesson conference by using the "post" tab prompts.
2) After filling out your responses be sure to press the "share" button near the top right of a prompt section (don't be lured into pressing the share button at the bottom of the section/screen)
2nd Period Teachers: Food Drive Begins!
We kick off the 2nd Period Hunger Games next Monday. Points will be doubled on Monday and the class with the highest average points per student will be the winner. I will have doughnuts for the winner on Tuesday morning!!!
Our first dropoff to the food bank is Friday of that first week so we are really hoping to fill a few cars. In the past it has been a really light first delivery.
Cash donations also accepted and count toward the class totals!
Veterns Day Assembly Change
Reminder that the Veterans day assembly date has changed to Tuesday the 12th during flex.
If you are planning on creating a video thanking a particular Veteran who is coming to the assembly or can't be at school on the 12th Brian is also going to need your name and the video by next Wednesday November 6th in LANDSCAPE.
Construction Update
This week you will see construction continuing near the gym.
What are they doing? They are doing EIFS work and inspection (Exterior insulation and finish system (EIFS) which is a general class of "non-load bearing building cladding systems that provides exterior walls with an insulated, water-resistant, finished surface in an integrated composite material system." In other words... they are fixing our Stucco.
Why? All buildings at FHS that were built with stucco back in the 1992 remodel need to be worked on. Specifically, they need to have a vapor barrier installed to ensure the buildings remain in safe condition.
How will this effect you? Some parking spots near the gym are being used for construction staging. Scaffolding will also appear around doorways and exteriors in the gym. There might be some noise from their work, but other than that it shouldn't displace anyone.
STEAM building: Design for STEAM center is at a point where they are meeting with individual teachers and staff to get input on specs for different spaces in the building, so some of you might be asked to participate in this (heads up).
11/8 Holiday Poinsettia Sale to benefit Fife Scholarship Foundation!
Big Events On the Horizon
Good To Know Staff Info
Flex Points to Emphasis for staff:
- Just like any other class period, students should not leave class during Flex time without the use of your hall pass
- Students should stay in one place during the entire Flex period. The location that they are located when the bell rings to start Flex is where they should stay the entire Flex time.
- If a student is placed in a class for required flex, they are required to stay in that class the entire 4 weeks even if they get their grade up. You can work with another teacher to move them to that class if they have a low grade in more than one class. You just need to send an email with both teachers on it to Teri letting her know that the student needs to be moved for attendance and accountability purposes.
- Help remind students that the locations they can be in are: classroom, library, gym, or cafeteria. They need to be in a location when the bell rings and they need to stay there the entire time
Get Involved with the Fife High School Booster Club!
Click here to learn more about how you can get involved with the Fife High School Booster Club!
Something I think you'd enjoy...
CharacterStrong Podcast Season 2 just launched. This podcast features conversations on School Culture & Leadership. I really enjoyed being a guest on Season 1 and would recommend this podcast to anyone looking to find inspiration and nuggets from these short (approximately 10min) length podcasts! Here is the link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-characterstrong-podcast/id1454582540
Fife High School
Email: tgieck@fifeschools.com
Website: https://fhs.fifeschools.com/
Location: 5616 20th St E, Fife, WA, USA
Phone: 253-891-5500
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fifehigh/
Twitter: @fifeHSTrojans