Week at a Glance
Marian Central Catholic High School Faculty Newsletter
September 15, 2018
What a wonderful, faith-filled week we had a Marian! The class masses were touching and quite poignant, fashioned perfectly to each of the grade levels. Class masses not only allow students to be together with their grade-level classmates, but provides that reminder that although we are in school to enrich our academics, our Catholicity is the spiritual basis for which we do everything in our lives. God's blessing to all our students, Staffulty, and the families and alumni of Marian Central Catholic High School!
Late start Tuesday provided our faculty with training on HP Classroom Manager. Looks like there are a lot of great features not only to oversee your students' use of their computers, but also assessments, presentation, and teaching tools! Our partners at Cloud Cover are finishing the set up and as soon as they give the go ahead, we will be letting you know that you can begin registering your students and utilizing this great tool! Stay tuned!
Tuesday's tornado drill went off without a hitch! Thank you to all of the students for moving quickly and quietly, and for the staff who ran through the procedures without fault. There were some good ideas and feedback about potentially safer locations and other strategies that administration will take into consideration. Thank you for that valuable feedback!
On Wednesday we had our first extended homeroom. The mentors did a great job coming in, playing a "get to know you" activity as well as sharing ideas on how to get involved at Marian, making a good impression, and getting ready for a great Homecoming week! Kudos to Mrs. Littner and Mrs. Hilton heading up Marian's amazing student mentor program. It really does make a difference!
The week rounded out with the posting of Midterm grades for our first quarter... can you believe it? Overall, we are on track with ensuring that students and parents have a clear understanding of their students' grades. A special thanks to the several teachers who made it a point to reach out to parents with grade concerns... but not just that, but there were some emails that shared how impressed the teacher was with a student's improvement, effort, or particular project or test grade. There is a theory that for every one negative parent communication, we should try to communicate 4 positive emails or notes of praise! What a great motivator for our students! Don't forget, we have Cane-O-Grams that are especially designed for these positive shout outs! You can get a stack from the office or in the teacher's lounge.
Looking ahead...
Senior Pictures!
A reminder that our seniors will be taking their portraits this week... students will be dressed in their best on Wednesday and Thursday! (always great to see them dressed up) The senior girls will be on Wednesday and the Senior boys on Thursday in the auditorium. Seniors are expected to be aware of their own time slots, which will be posted in main sections of the building, but here are the schedules for your convenience...
Preparing for Homecoming
As we gear up for our upcoming Homecoming festivities, there are a lot of ways you can get involved...
- The Executive Committee of the Student Council can always use help... as we have a Pep rally, Powder Puff football, and a volleyball tournament in the works. Reach out to Mrs. Cetera to see where you can pitch in!
- If you want to help out during the many sports activities, either ticket taking, supervision, or concessions, please contact Mr. Price
- Speaking of concessions, please continue to encourage your junior students to see Mr. WInkelman and Mrs. Dwyer, as the junior class is responsible for working concessions for all football and girls & boys basketball game. This helps to fund Prom in April!
Deacon Art Miller coming to Speak
Another exciting upcoming event is an all school assembly. Marian Central, working with the McHenry Deanery schools, have been able to secure Deacon Art Miller from the Hartford, CT Archdiocese to speak to both the Deanery middle school students and our Marian high school students about how we, as Catholics, are to face difficult issues such as poverty, racism, and mistreatment of ourselves and others in the world today. In addition, we have developed an evening speaking engagement for our Deanery parents to attend. The schedule is as follows...
- Tues., Oct. 2, Deanery Middle Schoolers will attend the assembly at Marian in the auditorium Noon to 1:00 pm, followed by a presentation for administration and faculty on available school products. (if you are free at about 1 pm, come on into the auditorium and check out the Benzinger products)
- Wed. Oct. 3, Marian students will attend the assembly at approx. 9:00 am in Lander's Pavilion (using All School Mass schedule).
- Wed. Oct. 3, Deanery and surrounding area Parents are invited to hear Deacon Art speak and engage in conversation 7:00 pm in the Marian auditorium to kick off Marian's 2018-19 "Conversations That Matter" series.
Please see the attached flyer for our evening event, and share it with others! (RSVP requested)
Opportunities to Nourish our Souls
Please know that there are many opportunities for each of us to take some time out of our busy schedules to spend time with Our Lord.
Father Twenty has provided the following in our chapel...
- Daily Mass 7:45 - 8:00 am (Yes, this is a complete mass!)
- Adoration Tuesdays during all lunches
- Confessions most days at 2:30 pm
Please check the calendar for more specifics.
Have a great week!
Did you know that Sept. 14 was the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross?
Grades and Gradebooks
Our teachers are doing a great job inputting grades on a timely basis, in order for students and parents to be as up to date as possible about the students' grades! Eighty-six percent of our teachers have 8 or more formative assignments logged in, not counting summative assessments! Remember, we are looking for an average of 2 formative assignments entered per week... not counting summatives. By making sure that there are ample formative assignments, the students are provided the opportunity to have enough practice on the new material without as much of an impact on their grade so that they can be better prepared for the summative assessments.
A couple other interesting statistics about our grade inputting...
- 53% of teachers have their gradebook set up with the ISP and/or medical alerts showing
- 27% of teachers are utilizing three or more annotations
When you have your gradebook set up to show the alerts, it helps in two ways... first, you are aware, at a quick glance, of any students who may need additional accommodations in order to be more successful in your class, given their identified disability. Second, when you use annotations, both students and parents are very clear about why the student received a reduced grade and/or received a zero for the assignment. You too can benefit from this because, again, at a quick glance, you know that when you receive an assignment after it was otherwise due, you will know if it requires a deduction for being late, or if it is an excused absence or other reason. If you need assistance setting up your alerts, feel free to reach out to Miss Gallagher, Mrs. Loy, or Ms, Novy and we would be happy to assist!
Finally, a quick reminder... as you are all aware, we made the collective agreement in the SIP Team to utilize zeros as a placeholder for ANY reason that a student has not yet handed in an assignment. The gradebook shows that many of you are, in fact, utilizing the zero appropriately, however, there are still several teachers who either leave the grade blank (with or without an annotation) or there is a mixture of zeros and blanks throughout the gradebook. It is really important that we keep this consistent. If there is an extreme circumstance (ie: an extended absence, concussion or hospitalization) then typically Guidance and Administration are aware and it should be noted as such. Please review your grades and make sure that there are no blanks in columns in which you had otherwise inputted grades (unless it is for extra credit opportunities). If you have excused a student from an assignment for some reason, you need to mark it as "ex" for excused or "x" for exempt. If you have any questions, please reach out to Mrs. Loy or Ms. Novy for additional assistance.
With regards to annotations, if there are any annotations that we do not have on the list, and you think we should add some to improve clarity, please email Ms. Novy with those suggestions!
ABSENCES & SUBSTITUTES
If you are ill:
Please contact Laurie DiSilvio as soon as you are aware that you will not be able to come into school. She will make sure that a substitute is secured for your classroom. Unexpected absences are virtually impossible to plan for. Know that you can either send the day's outline of lessons to your Department Head or Mrs. DiSilvio via email, or both. Please make sure you give instructions as to where to find items necessary to make your plans clear for the substitute.
It might also be a good idea to set up "emergency" lesson plans and activities, already developed, run off, and ready for that unexpected absence. You can use this opportunity to use an extension of what you otherwise teach as the subject of the activities so that it doesn't matter when it occurs, the students will be able to participate in a meaningful activity without being dependent on what was taught the previous day. Make sure you put these plans somewhere accessible and let both your Department Head and Mrs. DiSIlvio know where they are just in case.
Planned absences:
You might have a planned absence due to a personal situation or possibly a conference. In this case, please fill out the Request for Leave form at least 48 hours prior to your planned absence. These can be found in the teacher's lounge or office. The planned absence is much easier to ensure that your lessons continue as scheduled and provide your students with a continuum of their learning. Please know that if there are any situations that arise that you need to address that extend beyond the allotted personal time, you can always come in and talk with Ms. Novy and we will figure it out. Remember that we, as a Catholic school, should always try to put God first, then family, then everything else...
There is certainly no substitution for the actual teacher in the classroom, but we understand that things happen. We, in the office, have been building a stronger substitute listing to ensure that when you are faced with an absence, you will have a substitute who will follow through with your lesson plans, engaging the students and ensuring that the students are productive and behave appropriately from beginning to end.
We have also put two forms in place in order to ensure that our students are not experiencing much of a gap in their learning experiences within your classrooms during your absence.
Teacher Completed Form: This form is for you, the teacher to "rate" how the sub has performed in your class and followed your lesson plans. Your feedback here is very important to determine if maybe the subject area is not as conducive to the sub, if the sub has difficulty with classroom management, or on the flip side, if the sub is outstanding and we want them in more often!
Substitute Completed Form: This form is for the substitute to share their experience in your class. This includes providing you with information about your class' behavior during your absence as well as whether the lessons left were completed or not. It also provides information on whether you had left enough work for the students or not. This is valuable for you in your future planning for subs, as even though we might have planned an extensive activity that, when we are in front of the class, it would have lasted the entire period, but when the sub was teaching, we realize that the sub may not have enough background in and therefore the students were left with idle time. As many of us know... it is usually much better to make sure we leave MORE work than we think the students can get done within a class period than less... providing our substitute with a productive class and a good experience.
To ensure that the substitute has what they need during your absence, please make sure that you leave the following...
- up to date & accurate seating charts
- information on any students with special circumstances or accommodations (who they are and what the accommodations are)
- clear, step by step lesson plans indicating what they need to do and what is required of the students... for each period/course
- A heads up if there are any students that the sub needs to be made aware of for various reasons
- Ample copies of all the necessary handouts and resources required for the lessons you are asking them to facilitate
Certainly, most of us are seasoned teachers that already do the above and more... and administration and your substitutes are very appreciative of that! It makes for a relatively painless day while you are absent, and allows the students to have a good, productive day.
If you are in need of a simple template that you can use to fill out and leave for your substitutes, there are many different ones on the internet. Your department might even like to develop one that is consistent through your department. If you click here, this is a simple template that can be altered to meet your needs as well. Though there are no specific expectations to how you leave your sub plans, the clearer, more streamlined you can make it, the better it will be for your students, and for you when you return.
Thanks for all you do!
How can Ms. Novy Assist You?
As you know, I have been in training with the SAM Principal project. Being a SAM principal means that I am working to increase my instructional time with the teachers as well as with the students.
I've already shared many ways that I could potentially come into your classroom to do this... like watching/participating in an activity, lab, or discussion. I wanted to share that many SAM principals elect to do a third kind of observation, Work with Students
A Work with Student observation session engages me, as principal, in teaching while I watch the teacher teach. Most teachers love this as they get help two ways:
1. the immediate assistance with teaching the students in the classroom—an extra pair of hands from a passionate educator is like gold to a teacher and kids like it, too
2. the teacher knows I will later offer ideas, or lead a reflective conversation with them, as a result of what they experience during the session.
Although my strengths are in math and social sciences, I am certainly willing to jump into any subject area!
Yet another version of Work With Students is to have me come in and grade a set of papers while watching the teacher work with the class. (don't forget to give me a detailed key!) This can be really effective and allows me a connection with work of students. This often leads to great conversations that move practice forward.
Please know that I am willing to jump in anywhere you might need/want me to . Just let me know!
Catechist Certification Opportunities
Christ the King Catholic Church, Wonder Lake Saturday, September 22, 2018: Prerequisite Classes
St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church, Algonquin Saturday, November 10, 2018: Level I Classes
TECHNOLOGY CORNER
Please refer to the 18-19 Technology Guide for most of the information needed for log-ins, Wi-Fi, printers, saving files, and more!
PLEASE NOTE: There have been many questions about whether we are going to be shifting away from Google/Google Classroom. Please know that as we continue to work on building a more technology-based environment, that we are not turning away from what works, rather we are looking at ways to best 1) enhance what we already use and 2) improve upon and offer more options. We recognize that both Google and Office 365 are valuable.
If you find that there are a handful of students in your class with the same issue, like not being able to connect to a particular site, it is most likely NOT a device issue. Instead, have students wait a few minutes... it may be the site, or there is a brief time lapse as the device connects to our WiFi and through our filter. In these instances, please do not send the students to the library... the best action here is patience. Thanks!
If you or a student is having issues with a device:
1) click on windows symbol (bottom left of screen) and click on power button, choosing restart
2) if the screen is black, hold the power button down until it shuts down, then restart
3) if restarting did not work, send to Mrs. Varga in the library (preferably towards the end of the period so student doesn't miss much instruction)
4) submit on support@marian.com
If a device is found/lost:
Please deliver to/go to Mrs. Varga in the library
Please use the Educational Technology Request Form to request assistance from Kasey.
Department Technology Goals: Only 1 person from the department needs to complete this form. Each department is to identify 2 goals to achieve throughout the 2018-2019 school year. Once these goals have been submitted, please contact Kasey to meet with the entire department to discuss and plan. Please submit goals by the end of the day Friday, September 21st.
Professional Development Opportunities
Reading & Writing Seminars & Podcasts
ASCD Webinars: A variety of online webinars. Here you can access recent or archived professional learning.
This Week's Schedule
As you work through your plans this week, please note these events. For a more detailed list, check out our school calendar, 8to18 Athletics Calendar or Clubs/Organizations Page
>>> If you sponsor a club or organization and would like to have your events listed here, please provide Ms. Novy with your calendar.
Monday, Sept. 17, 2018
Novy & Loy out PM
7:45 am ~ Daily Mass, Chapel
9:30 am ~ Administrative Dept. Meeting
Lunches ~ Confessions, Chapel
Homecoming Tickets on Sale, Cafeteria
2:30 pm ~ Confessions, Chapel
2:40 pm ~ Fall Production Rehearsal, Auditorium
Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2018
Homeroom Schedule #3 (vote for HoCO Court)
Second Year Mentor Meeting 9:00 am
Classes start 9:45 am
9:25 am ~ Daily Mass, Chapel
Lunches ~ Adoration, Chapel
Homecoming Tickets on Sale, Cafeteria
2:30 pm ~ Confessions, Chapel
2:35 pm ~ First Year Mentor Meeting, rm 121
3:00 pm ~ Fall Production Rehearsal
7:00 pm ~ Parent Association Meeting, Annex
Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018
Senior Girls Pictures all day
7:45 am ~ Daily Mass, Chapel
Lunches ~ Homecoming Tickets on Sale, Cafeteria
2:30 pm ~ Key Club to visit St. Mary's
2:30 pm ~ Confessions, Chapel
3:00 pm ~ Fall Production Rehearsal
Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018
Senior Boys Pictures all day
7:45 am ~ Daily Mass, Chapel
Lunches ~ Adoration, Chapel
Homecoming Tickets on Sale, Cafeteria
2:30 pm ~ Confessions, Chapel
3:00 pm ~ Fall Production Rehearsal
6:30 pm ~ Athletics Booster Meeting, Cafeteria
Friday, Sept. 21, 2018
7:30 am ~ NHS Meeting, Auditorium
7:45 am ~ Daily Mass, Chapel
Lunches ~ Homecoming Tickets on Sale, Cafeteria
2:30 pm ~ Confessions, Chapel
3:00 pm ~ Office Meeting
3:00 pm ~ Fall Production Rehearsal, Auditorium
Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018
9:30 am ~ Fall Production Set Building, Auditorium