CHS Staff Bulletin
October 1, 2018
Why...? It's about intentionality.
I know that the single greatest contributor to student learning is the teacher in front of the classroom. The relationship that a teacher has with their students is immeasurably powerful and impactful to the degree that a student learns. If that relationship is sour, that student will refuse to learn. If that relationship is nurturing, supportive and appropriately challenging, that student will learn beyond compare. I have seen this manifest over and over in my experience. At Churchill High School we have a strong list of Collective Commitments which focus on our values about how we receive and care for students. These are 'our' kids.
What we teach and how we teach matters. The recipe is simple. We start with relationships and we add rigor and relevance to the mix. Kids are smart. They know that somehow this material is important, but they are discerning critics. They want to know why it matters to them. They want to know how it connects to the world after high school. Our job is to make the purpose of what we do intentional.
Kids deserve a solid answer to this question. When we make that connection for them they buy -in. The join us in the journey. The next step is about making that work engaging. Providing feedback that is consistent, frequent, and immediate. When students see their progress and understand where they are headed they become engaged and driven. Take a video game for example. Video games are engaging (I'm not saying you need to have a video or a video game to be engaging), but they offer consistent, frequent, and timely feedback on performance. Even just little tidbits of information can go a long way.
If you want to know what kids want, ask them, survey them, ask them about how they learn, what interests them, what they like about teaching/instruction. They will tell you quite candidly - listen to them. There is gold in them hills.
CHS - Collective Commitments
We welcome, respect, and honor all races, all religions, all countries of origin, all sexual orientations, all genders, all abilities. Our diversity is our strength and we are united in our Lancer Pride.
1. We will maintain high expectations
This means:
- Holding students and ourselves accountable
2. We will cultivate a community of respect
This means:
- Letting students know they are important
- Modeling/honoring vulnerability and difference
- Practice listening to all voices
- Demonstrating humility (e.g., mistakes are ok, grow from failure)
3. We will include heart and humor
This means:
- We will be creative in how we use heart and humor to relate to students, staff and parents
4. We will approach students and staff with mindfulness
This means:
- Listening and really hearing
- Understanding and showing empathy
- Being present and engaged
5. We will encourage positive growth mindset
This means:
- It’s ok to falter/fail and make mistakes (This too shall pass)
- Act with persistence and creativity
- Hold high expectations for all (different for everyone)
- Empower students to challenge themselves
- Create many ways for student success
6. We will act with integrity
This means:
- Being consistent, fairness, keeping our work, keeping ourselves & our students accountable
7. We will extend grace to all of our students
This means:
- Allowing multiple paths and opportunities to succeed
- Maintain high standards
- Recognize the value of failure
8. We will act with kindness
This means:
- Knowing students by name and by their interests
- Making eye contact, smiling
- Welcoming
- Asking questions (about them etc)
9. We will inspire students to do their best
This means:
- Uncover their strengths and passions
- Provide safe and encouraging environment
10. We will seek out ways to hear student narrative and celebrate them
This means:
- Ask questions
- Celebrate them
11. We will maintain a steadfast focus on scholarship by working to close the opportunity and expectation gaps.
This means:
- We will focus on systematic response to interventions to include attendance, behavior and academics.
- We will provide clear and consistent expectations
- We will provide access to rigorous classes and access to academic supports for all
- We will focus on AVID strategies Schoolwide
- Acceleration instead of remediation
- Encourage students to take challenging courses
- All students take at least one college course at CHS
- No dropping hard classes
- Relationships with students who struggle
- Conscious effort to connect
- Every student deserves an adult that deeply cares for them
In The Know
Unit Plans - I wanted to make sure everyone knew why we are collecting unit plans. I hope to provide assurance that this is not a trite exercise in hoop jumping, but an opportunity to surface our current reality with respect to academics. We are taking a look at the unit plans as a sampling of our work to help guide and direct our professional development for the future. Questions to consider:
- How does the learning in the classroom reflect authentic ways of reading, writing, thinking, and reasoning in the discipline under study?
- How are we setting high expectations for rigorous learning?
- How do students communicate their understanding about what they are learning and why they are learning it?
Our curriculum leaders will review the unit plans and then begin discussions about how to support department PLC's.
Grades - Please be sure to update your Synergy grade books every two weeks.
Volunteers - Remember, volunteers must complete the background check and Safe Schools training before they can work with our students. If you frequently request help from your classroom parents, please encourage them to complete the volunteer application. Requesting volunteers from the volunteer pool gives you access to over 400 parents and community members who are committed to helping Churchill's students thrive. Sometimes there are things that we just do without thinking about the time and effort we put into them. Maybe a volunteer or two could help you organize your classroom storage, tutor students in your classroom, make personal phone calls to invite families to a special event, or help plan a field trip. They're ready. They just need to know what you need.
Non Use of Personal Leave - We have several weekends during the year where one might think using personal leave will help to extend the weekend. Take Veteran's Day for example. Using personal days on this weekend could create a longer weekend. Please note that this practice is not allowed by HR.
Staff Photo Contest
Looking Forward
Monday, 10/1
FAFSA AVAILABLE (https://fafsa.ed.gov/)FIELD TRIP — AVID COLLEGE FAIR
7:45 am — FOG Mtg
10:00 am — Coffee with the PrincipalTuesday, 10/2
10:54 am — Senior Class Photo at The Rock
3:45 pm — 9th-Grade Data Team
7:00 pm — IB Junior Parent Information Night at 200 N Monroe
7:00 pm — West End Music Parent Meeting
Wednesday, 10/3
7:30 am — Data Team
3:45 pm — Operations
6:00 pm — Club Showcase
6:30 pm — Open House
Thursday, 10/4
10/4–10/7 — FIELD TRIP: RACHEL CARSON HIGH DESERT
7:30 am — PBIS Mtg
3:45 pm — Equity Team
Friday, 10/5
ADVISORY SCHEDULE
0 Period 7:32 AM – 8:25 AM
1st Period 8:30 AM – 9:23 AM
2nd Period 9:28 AM – 10:21 AM
Advisory 10:28 AM – 10:58 AM
3rd Period 11:03 AM – 11:59 AM
Lunch 12:04 PM – 12:34 PM
4th Period 12:39 PM – 1:32 PM
5th Period 1:37 PM – 2:30 PM
9:00 am — Field Trip: Manufacturing Tour
2:45 pm — Staff Mtg
Saturday, 10/6
7:30 am — SAT Testing
Next Week...
NO MORNING MEETINGS (MIDTERM WEEK, Curriculum Council and Operations meet)
10/8, 8:00 am–1:00 pm — Picture Retakes
10/8, 4:00-7:00 pm — FAFSA Workshop
10/10 — COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS DAY
10/10 — WALK + BIKE TO SCHOOL DAY (walkbiketoschool.org)
10/11 — NO SCHOOL (MIDTERM GRADING)
10/11 — FIELD TRIP: LANE COUNTY CAREER EXPO
10/12 — SCHOOL CLOSED (IN-SERVICE DAY)
10/12–10/16 — JAPANESE STUDENTS VISIT
Kudos
Kudos to our Project Success team for the smooth and efficient transition to Churchill High School. Both Zac Scotton and Nina Wyngethrin have stepped into a large and comprehensive program with extensive needs and requirements. Thank you for stepping in and helping to meet each students needs. We are proud to have you here at CHS and excited for the future.
Campus Supervisors - Kevin Summerfield and Tiny Galago thank you for your daily vigilence and focus on keeping students in class and our campus safe. With our recent Lockout you were quick to respond, clear with communication, and brought concerns forward quickly to be resolved. Your presence and relationships with kids is at the core of what makes Churchill such a great place to work and go to school. Thank you!
Sherry Sterling - Thank you for your focus on implementing the pilot Read 180 program. While the implementation of anything new can prove to be clunky (at best), you have leveraged your teaching skills to back fill for student needs and providing for continuous improvement of reading skills. I recognize the breadth and depth of this implementation and I am proud of your grace under pressure and deep commitment to students that you bring to work each day.
Nita Halstead - Thank you for your constant focus on students. You have an enormous workload by working between two buildings. I am proud of how you follow your heart with kids, keep grounded in your practice and stay committed to your profession. Churchill is very lucky to have you, as are our students. Well done and thank you.
Churchill High School
Website: https://chs.4j.lane.edu/
Location: 1850 Bailey Hill Road, Eugene, OR, USA
Phone: 541-790-5100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChurchillHighSchool
Twitter: @CHSLancers