Matt's Monday Memo
January 27, 2020
Good morning, Staff,
I wanted to share some of the work completed thus far and some remaining work as we look to develop a plan for next year's daily schedule. We have confirmed we will need to add 15 minutes to each day in response to losing some school days. Additionally, we have sought input and discussed with Department Chairs, PAC, Student Council (Students as Allies this week), and staff via survey. We will site visit (Lindbergh this week), draft options and solicit feedback next month.
While we have not firmed up any options, some information has become more clear:
- Adding 15 minutes is not enough time to craft a special time frame for advisory/academics each day with needed passing times.
- We will need to incorporate some added class time with the loss of days to the calendar.
- An "advisory period" received the most points in the survey with "time added to each class period" getting the most 5th place votes (the highest vote total of survey), and 48% of all last and second to last votes. That coupled with conversations over the last two years around student wellness calls us to consider options.
We will continue this process over the next several months and support in late spring any needed PD. Please know I am glad to have a conversation around this work.
Have a great day.
Best,
Matt
Peek at the Week
- January 27: Late Start, 8:57 a.m. (Day 1/2) Doors open at 8 a.m.
- January 28: The College Search (Juniors and their parents), 7 p.m., Auditorium
- January 31: Distribute Renaissance cards during 5th hour
Celebrations
Special thanks to the following staff members who planned and implemented a fantastic three days of 8th grade visits: Julie Simonson, Shannon Daniel, Zach Smith, Heather Koelling, Leigh McKittrick, Karen Verstraete, Joe Hepfinger, Alex King, Simone Cunningham, Ken Winingham, and Jennedy Lombard. Students were smiling when they left and (almost) ready for high school! Many other staff members took time out of their day to present elective options to our guests. Our student Crew and PACER members and Cheer and Dance teams were tremendous ambassadors to the building as well. Thanks to all for making this possible and successful.
We had the winter homecoming dance this weekend. Thanks to the all of the staff who supervised the event—I appreciate the admin team and student sponsors for making this a fun evening.
Did You Know?
The Testing Center is available for make-up testing.
The Testing Center is open in the Library near the north entrance in the nonfiction corner! This will only be run during school hours, and teachers will be free to send their students down to do test make-ups/retakes.
To schedule a testing session for a student, please use the link below:
https://forms.gle/sNdsfEZMepnUBtRC8
The form will prompt you on who the student is, the subject, the period, etc. If there is a hard copy of the test, you will have to bring the test down to me or leave it in my mailbox so I can get it before school. I will make sure that students have their cell phones locked up in a cabinet and have only the materials they need in the test room.
This is optional for any teachers that would like to take advantage. If there are any questions, please let me know!
William Wilson
Angst Screenings
February 4, 6 p.m., Auditorium: Community
February 5: We are showing the screening of Angst to all students on February 5 (Day 3) in the Auditorium. We are showing the film by grade level, and students will be released via intercom. Please see the schedule below, and reach out to your AP with any questions.
1st--Freshmen
2nd--Sophomore
4th--Seniors
6th--Juniors
Reminders/Announcements
Don’t forget to check www.statesmensports.com for the latest athletic news and scores. We have had much success from our winter athletes.
Upcoming Professional Development
- January 30: Staff Meeting (Preview of Angst)
- February 14: Full-Day PD