Scarlet News and Notes
October 13, 2019
Assuring Learning Excellence and Readiness for a Changing World
“You can take the boy out of Mankato, but you can't take the Mankato out of the boy.”
Bob Volk, president, Class of 1949
Thank You for an Amazing Homecoming!
Our Hall of Fame banquet also had a record attendance, with six amazing Scarlets being inducted. If you have someone you believe should be in our Hall of Fame, please use this form to nominate an individual.
I am deeply grateful to all of you, as we would not be able to pull off this special week without everyone working together. Whether you were directly involved in organizing events, or you provided active supervision, you all played an important role in the success of Homecoming 2019.
I am humbled and honored to lead this school. While I love coming to school every day to work with amazing kids, incredible staff, and supportive families; Homecoming is an awesome reminder of how lucky I truly am.
Hall of Fame Class of 2019
Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame
Door Decorating Winner
Ms. Baker - Dress Up Day Twitter Poll Winner
Mr. Patenaude - Dress up Day Twitter Poll Winner
Let's Get to Know...
Ashley Hawker, Business Education Teacher. She grew up in Fairmont and ventured off to MSU and WSU to study education. Ashley is excited about “anything and everything business and DECA!” In her 8th year of teaching, her 4th at West, she is inspiring students in Accounting, Scarlet Broadcast, Entrepreneurship, Intro to Business, Sales and Marketing and Business Leadership. Ashley enjoys boating, swimming, being outdoors, and spending time with her husband Nate, their two kids--Hudson, 4, and Hadley, 1--and their dog, Toby.
Brianne Wiese from the Special Education department. Brianne grew up in Northfield, MN. She earned her undergraduate degree in Communicative Disorders from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. She completed a Master's Degree in Special Education from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. This year, her 8th at West, she is teaching Geometry and Organizational Concepts. She shares a cat, Elwood, with her husband. They married in August 2018. They are expecting their first child in December.
Ashley Iverson from the Social Studies department. Last summer, Ashley attended district-wide leadership training. This year, her third year at West, Ashley will be teaching World History and a new-to-her course, Human Geography. She says, “I am really excited to work with the staff as we continue to make the move towards a new grading system. It is going to be a great year for collaborating and learning from one another.”
She grew up on Lake Washington and graduated from Cleveland High School. She has a B.S. in Psychology from MSU, Mankato and a M.Ed. in Social Studies Education from the U of M. Ashley taught students at Columbia Heights & Patrick Henry in the Minneapolis area prior to moving to Mankato with her husband Eric.
She says, “I love teaching in my content area, but I am also very passionate about working to close the achievement gap and making education more equitable for all students.”
In her free time, she enjoys reading, going to the lake, spending time with extended family, and spoiling her puppy, Jett.
Reminders
There is still time to call and invite your Champion student's parents to conferences tonight!
Social Media
More and more of you are sharing our story. Thank you! If you haven't, you are missing out on an opportunity, please send your posts to socialmedia@isd77.org.
PD Opportunities
AVID - Culturally Relevant Teaching: Transforming Educators
November 6 and 7 in Austin, MN
Please let me know if you would like to attend. This is a strand that I would like many of our teachers to attend.
Staff Meetings
Thank you for your engagement in our staff meeting last week about our Champion Students. There were many good strategies shared as to how to support our students who are at risk of not graduating on time.
Remember the goal is to have all of our identified Champion Students to pass all of their classes.
Conferences
Teachers will have a half hour off for a supper break. Here is the schedule we will use:
1st floor and Annex - 5:00-5:30
2nd floor - 5:30-6:00
3rd floor - 6:00-6:30
Please record the number of families and the names of parents and/or students that come in to meet with you using this form. The number is required, names are optional (but would be helpful if you could submit names). The form needs to be submitted by noon on Tuesday. Thank you!
United Way
It is our goal to have 100% of our staff participate in United Way. You can contribute as much or as little as you want, including the ability to have your contribution deducted from payroll. You can also choose which agency you want your money to go to, such as our own Project for Teens!
Tuesday is our first opportunity to get involved. Monday will be a long day with conferences, so why not be comfortable Tuesday and wear your pajamas. It will only cost you $2 to come to wear your jammies. You can pay your $2 in the office.
GIVE AWAYS: Drawing will be held November 1, 2019
Scheels Card
Aveda Card
All Donations no matter the amount will get a 5.00 gift card to Pub 500!
FUN EVENTS!
10/15- Tuesday Pajama Day $1.00 Kids $2.00 Adults
10/21-Monday JEANS DAY Pay $2.00
10/28-Monday JEANS DAY Pay $2.00
Department Wars: Whichever department raises the most money will have coffee and donuts delivered to their department. We will divide per person per department so it is equal.
Last But Not Least- IF EVERY STAFF FILLS OUT THE UNITED WAY FORM TO DONATE EVEN $1.00 (100% PARTICIPATION). Some or all of the District Cabinet team will be serving our building breakfast.
Molly will send out reminders each week with some cool impact stats. The last day to donate will be November 1, 2019! Thank you for your support and giving! It makes such an amazing impact that we see every single day!!
The Week at a Glance
Monday
Conferences 3:30-7:30
Events: Fall Montage Band Concert 7:30pm - Auditorium
Tuesday
Pajama Day $2
PD Requests Due
Events: Section Boys' Soccer 5:00pm - Caswell
Wednesday
College Wear Wednesday
Seniors measured for Caps and Gowns
PSAT
Events: Jug Game East/West Football 7:00pm - MSU
Thursday and Friday
Enjoy some well deserved time off!
Coming Soon
October 29 - Link Crew Freshmen Retreat
October 31 - New Course Proposal deadline
November 7 - End of Quarter
November 7 - Learning Academy
November 8 - Teacher Work Day, Staff Meeting 10:00 - 11:30