The Weekly Roar
Notes from Nick Novak: Thursday January 28, 2016
Kudos...
to the social committee for organizing a fabulous Chili Cook Off. Even with the delayed schedule throwing things off, this great event managed to warm our spirits (and our bellies!) Congrats to the winning chefs: Doug Kaplan, Demetrius Ball, and Mike Kaplan. When do we get the recipes to try out ourselves?
to our incredible custodial staff for a truly monumental effort in campus clean up from the snow. Close your eyes and picture yourself walking around the school grounds. Now add 2 1/2 to 3 ft of snow all around. It was a ridiculous amount of snow to clear off the paths, the stairs, and don't forget the roof. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your tireless efforts to get us ready to open.
FYI
1) I think we can finally plan to get midterms completed on Monday. The two bell schedule possibilities appear below:
REGULAR START TIME
7:25-7:55 Period 1
8:00-8:25 Period 2
8:30-8:55 Period 3
9:00-10:30 Period 5 Exam
10:35-12:35 Period 4A and lunches (includes study time for next exam)
12:40-2:10 Period 6 Exam
* ARL students get on the bus at their home school at 9:00, arrive at ARL at 9:20. Leave ARL at 1:50, arrive at the home school by 2:10.
2 HOUR DELAY
9:25-10:55 Period 5 Exam
10:55-12:35 Period 4A (Normal Lunch Shifts)
12:40-2:10 Period 6 Exam
* ARL students get on the bus at their home school at 9:25, arrive at ARL at 9:40. Leave ARL at 1:50, arrive at the home school by 2:10.
2) The new dates for the 2nd marking period are:
* 2/3-Grades due at end of contracted work day
* 2/9-Report cards distributed
3) Missed your midyear conference? Me too! The new deadline to complete your meetings is Wednesday 2/10. See your designated evaluator for more details.
4) Our next staff meeting is Monday 2/1. Eat a light lunch. We'll have some awesome food from Eggspectation to munch on!
5) Don't forget that there is a voluntary session with a technology representative on Wednesday 2/3 at 2:20pm in the media center. Come share your thoughts about the new laptops that teachers will be getting.
6) Friday 2/5 is 1/2 day PD in the morning. We will be engaging in an unconference. To get you ready for this unique professional learning experience, check out these two resources:
* Unconference Weebly- explains the format, day, etc and the site will be updated as the unconference takes place.
* Unconference Padlet- gives us an idea of what topics we might want to plan for.
Staff Birthdays
1/23 Michael Kellaher
1/24 Brian Gertzen
1/24 Patty May
1/27 William Tu
1/31 Doug Kaplan
Instructional Tidbit
Rethinking High School
I'll be facilitating a session at the unconference about "Rethinking High School," so if you want to discuss innovative teaching/schooling practices, be sure to attend that session. In the meantime, check out the book that inspired my session and think about innovative things you are doing or you've heard about related to these topics (and can discuss in our session):
* School/Class Size
* Climate
* Voice and Leadership
* Teaching
* Curriculum
* Community Experiences
* Scheduling
* Technology and Materials
* Assessment
* Professional Development
What Do Principals Do On Snow Days?
Mission
In partnership with families and the community, it is the mission of Howard High School to cultivate an environment of collaboration, empowerment, and engagement that exhibits world-class support for staff and inspires students to thrive in a dynamic world.
Email: nnovak@hcpss.org
Website: http://hohs.hcpss.org/
Phone: 410-313-2867
Twitter: @PrincipalNovak