The Reds Tale
November 14, 2019
Newark High School
Email: thomas.roote@newarkcsd.org
Website: http://newarkcsd.org/Domain/84
Location: 625 Peirson Avenue, Newark, NY, United States
Phone: 315-332-3240
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nhsreds
Twitter: @Newark_HS
From the Desk of the High School Principal-Mr. Tom Roote
Recently, a high school in the greater Rochester area cycled through the news as they sought to place better boundaries on student expression on Halloween. Specifically, there were concerns with a group of white students posing as black rappers. This story is not unique as a similar narrative often follows Powder Puff Football events and Redneck/'Merica days that are becoming a thing of the past. While many, with their school experience in mind, pivot to teenager wants and needs and a desire to express one self, we should also pause a moment and acknowledge that times have changed. Most notably, schools and similar organizations strive to be safe and welcoming amid an increasingly diverse student body and faculty.
At Newark High School most of us strive to be allies. That is to say we support disenfranchised and underrepresented groups of people. We accomplish this both directly in word and action and indirectly. Directly, we are active in setting guidelines for all of our students that maximize allyship. We do this irregardless of the awareness/readiness level of our students and therein lies a challenge. Indirectly, we are thoughtful and reflective and seek to understand ourselves as we work to understand others. For example, in our Multicultural Studies class seniors recently worked on a social biography. The project asked each senior to write a narrative about their key lived experiences that had the most bearing on their current self. Some kids wrote about family, loss, poverty and race. They explored key identifiers such as race, gender, socio-economic status etc. More on this topic can be found at Creating a Learning Environment Where All Kids Feel Valued, “'Diversity is our strength' cannot really be true unless individuals with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences are earnestly valued, humanized, and respected. This lesson showed me that students are willing to empathize with others but sometimes need assistance from teachers to understand who they are, how they are unique, and how they can understand and support people who are different from themselves."
Contact me at thomas.roote@newarkcsd.org or 315-332-3250.
From the Desk of the Assistant Principal-Mrs. Robyn Ross
Teachers are in a unique position to have a direct impact on their students. Teachers can see their work in action, see the changes they affect, and in so doing they witness firsthand their goals coming to fruition. Sharing learning outcomes prior to learning can increase students’ motivation and engagement. Learning outcomes gives learners a sense of purpose for their learning, answering the frequently asked question, “Why am I learning this?”.
Learning outcomes help students feel connected to the course material and perceive the content as useful. When students understand what is expected of their learning, they are more likely to feel that they can be successful in meeting those expectations.
To help with student engagement, take a moment to read the following article where the teacher explaining the intentions behind a lesson plan can boost engagement and help students get back on track when something isn’t working.
Contact me at robyn.ross@newarkcsd.org or 315-332-3270.
From the Desk of the Administrative Intern-Mr. Jason Dentel
The end of the marking period is an excellent time to reflect and goal set. Students and staff look back at the first quarter at things that went well and led to success. Also, as part of reflection is items that did not go well and created challenges. For me, my first ten weeks as an administrative intern was full of moments I reflect on. I was proud of the work the seniors did on personalizing their parking spots. I also look at some opportunities missed in the areas around cutting classes. It is also an excellent time to goal-set for the upcoming quarter. I know I have created a goal to contact ten parents each week to ask them, how are we doing? It is an opportunity for feedback that can help me do my job better.
One of my roles as an administrative intern is to monitor our growth in the area of attendance. Some of you will receive an attendance letter based on the percentage of times your student has been absent. Data supports the connection between presence in school and future success. Below you will see our data for first-quarter attendance. Any student absent over 10% of the time is considered chronically absent.
Perfect Attendance:
- 9th grade - 48% of students
- 10th grade - 46% of students
- 11th grade - 40% of students
- 12th grade - 30% of students
Above 10% absenteeism
- 9th grade - 13%
- 10th grade - 15%
- 11th grade - 13%
- 12th grade - 24%
Contact me at jason.dentel@newarkcsd.org or 315-332-3255.
Mash Up
On Tuesday, November 26 we will run a normal bell schedule until dismissal at 10:15 am.
Staffing updates: Renee Sharrow has left her monitor role to become a teachers aide. She is predominately a study hall monitor. Filling her vacated monitor role is Kelly Kotvus. Congratulations and welcome!
Parents: The ten week point of the school year is a perfect time to bone up on graduation requirements. Parents of freshman, be sure to look at Algebra I and The Living Environment requirements closely!
A note from our Athletic Director Mr. Corey, "I wanted to clarify the norms and expectations for students to access the downstairs locker rooms during the school day. Students are only allowed into those locker rooms with their class:
- For example, Mr. Gage might take his PE-9 students down for Yoga or Mr. True might take his Sport Science class for fitness testing.
- Students are never allowed in that space individually during the day. They are not allowed get ice, their forgotten materials etc. This would require an adult to physically escort them (not send them)"
Fall 2019 Drama Club Newsletter
Check out edition 2 of our Counseling Office News: The Fox Files.
The Reds Tale Archives:
From Hochstein’s Marketing & Communications, "Dear School Principal and Music Faculty: We are delighted to inform you that student(s) from your school are members of the 2019–20 Hochstein Youth Symphony Orchestra, the highest-level youth orchestra in The Hochstein School’s four-tier youth orchestra program. We congratulate you and your student(s) in achieving this high honor. Below is a photo of the HYSO student(s) from your school district. They include: (L-R) Joshua Mercer, Rachel George and Elijah Malach.
Rachel is the HYSO Principal Horn and was awarded the Gretchen Snedeker Memorial Endowed Scholarship for Principal Horn. Her photo is attached in case you want to include this also in your publicity. Students compete annually for a seat in the orchestra, performing professional repertoire in at least four concerts throughout the school year. The HYSO’s first concert of the year is coming up on Sunday, November 10 at 3:00 pm in Hochstein Performance Hall. The program includes Felix Mendelssohn’s tempestuous Hebrides Overture (“Fingal’s Cave”), the zestful symphonic work Open the Door by Vermont contemporary composer Gwyneth Walker, Camille Saint-Saëns’ evocative Danse Macabre, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s dramatic Romeo and Juliet Overture Fantasy.
This season, we have students from 27 different schools coming together every Saturday morning for an accelerated musical experience. Since 2000, the HYSO has performed in cities in Spain, Portugal, Austria, France, Germany, Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland, and Ireland. The orchestra made its Carnegie Hall debut in 2002 and will tour in Germany and the Czech Republic in Spring 2020. In 2020, The Hochstein School celebrates its centennial and, as part of the celebration, the Hochstein Youth Symphony Orchestra will perform a special concert on the Live from Hochstein concert series on March 18, 2020, which will be broadcast live on WXXI 91.5 FM. We are excited to provide HYSO students this special opportunity. One way in which Hochstein supports our community and invests in public and private school music programs is by requiring each HYSO student to participate in their school music ensemble. Even when there is an irreconcilable scheduling conflict for a student, we still encourage them to participate in their school music program in whatever capacity they may be able to contribute."
Social Emotional Learning and the Plan for Excellence
Instructional Corner
An adult presence is enough many times to ensure appropriate behaviors are occurring and can help with specific students and areas that have a high prevalence of behavior concerns. When this adult presence is unpredictable and frequent, inappropriate behavior incidents decrease. Walk around without a specific pattern or predictable route or routine, continually scanning with your eyes, and interactive frequently with students. As a result teachers will be able to:
- Make positive contacts with students while walking around, saying “hi”, “how’s it going”, “how was your weekend”, etc
- Reinforce good behaviors by making positive remarks to students about it, for example “I like how you are walking down the hall, good job” or “that was very nice of you to pick up that person’s books for them, great job!”
- Correct bad behaviors by approaching the student in a non-threatening and non-imposing manner. State the rule they are breaking, get their acknowledgement that they are breaking the rule, and ask them to correct it
- Give appropriate consequences for bad behavior when appropriate and necessary
- Not allow students to draw you into battles or fights when you address them, instead, if they try to, tell them you will talk to them later about it or have them go to the office where you can address them one on one and away from other students.
- Make interactions with students brief and to the point and keep moving and scanning
Active supervision verbally and non-verbally communicates to students the certainty that you do inspect what you expect.
Moving Effectively - When supervising work or activities, circulate among students
- Continuous movement
- Proximity with students
- Random or unpredictable
- Include moving close to noncompliant students and possible targeted problem areas
- Demonstrate interest in students, assist with learning tasks, provide feedback— both positive and corrective. Periodically move and supervise when providing individual or small group instruction
Scanning Effectively - Frequently and intentionally look around at students
- Looking students in the eye
- Visually sweep all areas of the room while looking directly at students nearest you
- If working with individuals, position yourself so as to scan the entire room or get up and scan occasionally
Positive Interactions Frequently - While moving and scanning, you should also frequently interact with students
- Communicates care, trust, and respect, and helps build relationships
- Creates positive climate and increases likelihood of accepting correction if needed
- Teacher behavior remains the same when teaching, encouraging, or addressing problem behavior
- Include proximity, listening, eye contact, smiles, pleasant voice tone, touch, and use of student names
- Use a continuum of responses to address inappropriate behaviors, including proximity and touch control, signals and nonverbal cues, and reteaching
- Provide precorrection, noncontingent attention, and specific positive feedback
“The goal of effective classroom management is not creating ‘perfect’ children, but providing the perfect environment for enhancing their growth, using research-based strategies that guide students.” (Sprick, Knight, Reinke & McKale, 2006, p.185)
1:1 Device News and Notes
Welcoming our newest member of the IT Department, Sherif Bashir (pictured at right).
Parents: When you have a laptop question or concern, please have your child visit the library for service and questions. We've been receiving phone calls from parents and their child has not visited the library, and these fixes can be remedied there.
From Aaron Sweet, Technology Integration Coach and Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert: "In an effort to ensure that your laptop will be safe and ready to use every day we are asking that you do not remove the screen protectors and do not remove the tethers from the styluses. This also includes not cutting or burning the stylus tethers. The Student Device Handbook states, 'Students may be subject to disciplinary measures if gross disregard of school equipment is to occur. Damaging, defacing, or endangering the laptop or accessories is considered vandalism and property damage.' The district chose these devices for their durability and by removing these items compromises the durability of the laptop. If you remove any of these items, and your laptop becomes damaged or no longer works correctly, further action or discipline may result. If you need to get your laptop serviced, please visit the library at appropriate times."
Document Sharing Space
Calendar Share
Tuesday, November 19. After School PD Hour. Contact: T Roote
Tuesday, November 26 from 10:30-3:00 pm. Half Day Conference Day. Contact: T Roote
Monday, November 18. #NeighboREDS A COMMUNITY Twitter initiatve. Contact: T Roote.
Wednesday, December 11, January 15, February 12, March 11, April 15, May 13 and June 10. College Wear Wednesday. Contact S Gardner.
Friday, December 20 from 7:00-7:45 am in the auditorium. Script N Student and Staff Recognitio Ceremony. Contact: T Roote.
First Tuesday of each month. Staff Meeting. Contact T Roote
Thursday, April 30. Capstone Day. Contact D Barry, K Ganter or R Ross
TBD. NHS Program/No WTCC Program. Contact R Ross
Upcoming Field Trips
- Wednesday, March 4: Monroe County Math League meet. 7:30-3:00 pm. Contact: Lori Reed.
- Wednesday, March 18: Child Psycology Class to Roosevelt Children's Center 7:50am-10:50am
- Monday, May 18. Physics Day at Darien Lake 9:00 am-6:30 pm. Contact Aaron Harrington.
- Friday, November 22 and Monday, November 25: Global 9 Multiple Faith Locations Field Trip. Contact: Dan Micciche.
Wednesday, January 8: Rochester Museum & Science Center 9:00 am-2:30 pm. Contact Aaron Harrington.
Close Up/Share a Pic
BitMoji of the Week: Who is it?
The Newark High School Mission, Vision and Values
The Newark High School Mission: We are a school community with deeply held hometown pride, committed to readying young people to be life-long learners with experiences aimed at continuously motivating us to hone our skills in the complex tasks of teaching and learning. Our community is devoted to providing supports for the aspirations of our adolescents as they mature into adults with ambitious plans for college and careers.
The Newark High School Vision: Staff embody the school values and impart confidence while providing an inviting classroom environment with clear expectations and specific academic and behavioral goals. Students embody the school values through intellectual and emotional perseverance. Families embody the school values while remaining actively involved as advocates for their children and supporters of the school programs and staff.
The Newark High School Values: Safe, Responsible, Respectful and A Community.
Email: thomas.roote@newarkcsd.org
Website: http://newarkcsd.org/Domain/84
Location: 625 Peirson Avenue, Newark, NY, United States
Phone: 315-332-3240
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nhsreds
Twitter: @Newark_HS