Scarlet News and Notes
November 17, 2019
Assuring Learning Excellence and Readiness for a Changing World
“When teachers emphasize student's interests and abilities, students begin to see themselves as capable.” – Catherine P. Hart
Welcome to the Winter Season!
On Friday, I was able to see the state swim meet preliminaries and cheer on our Scarlets. Congratulations to Sarah Patenaude, Olivia and Sophia Leonard, and Annika Younge! And just as the swimmers were finishing up on Saturday, girls' hockey had their first home game. Winter is here!
I want to share with you a message I received from one of the professionals who was here with the inflatable lung. "We heard many compliments about the behavior of the Scarlets during the event from people who typically don’t interact with them. One of the gentlemen who travels with the lungs said he was at an event in Sioux Falls last week that was at a high school and said that the behavior of the students at that school made him very concerned for the events in Mankato. He was very pleased and surprised at how respectful and engaged the West students were, so kudos to the students and staff at West. The rest of the professionals at the event repeatedly remarked on how receptive the students were, how engaged a lot of them were, and how respectful they were."
Our kids are the BEST! (Be respectful, Engage in learning, Show integrity, Take responsibility)
Let's Get to Know...
Amy Forseth-Thielke from the Special Education department. Amy is originally from Wisconsin. She grew up in Hudson and attended college in River Falls. As an educator she says she enjoys “making connections with kids and parents and the community, and watching my students grow as they learn new things.” She’s currently working on a master’s degree in Special Education.
In her free time, Amy can be found painting, biking, swimming, or snowboarding. She also likes to spend time at parks with her family. She is married to her best friend, Troy. “We have two awesome kiddos,” she says--Ruby, 4, and Elijah, 7 months--and a dog, Owen.
Eric Koser from the Science department. In the summer, Eric loves to fish and scuba-dive at the lake. In his free time, Eric likes to build and fix things.
Eric is married to Pastor Erica Koser. They have three children: Josh, 21, a student at the University of Minnesota; Zach, 19, a farmer; Ben, 16, a West junior, and Meron, 12, a DMMS 6th grader. He grew up in Bloomington and went to college at Concordia, Moorhead. He’s been in education for 26 years, 21 of which have been at West. He currently teaches Physics 9, Physics X, and AP Physics.
Claire Baker from the Music department. Claire has been a teacher for seven years. She is originally from Osceola, WI and had not heard of Mankato until she met the guy who is now her husband.
Claire graduated from Wartburg College in Waverly, IA with a dual degree in K-12 Music Education and Music Therapy. After graduation, she moved to Troy, NY, a suburb of Albany, to complete a music therapy internship at a special needs preschool. Then she moved to Amery, WI to teach K-2 general music, 3-5 adaptive music, and 9-10 choir. She also served as the children's programming director for a local theater.
Last summer, Claire took classes for her Master's in Music Education at Kent State University. She is on track to graduate after the winter 2020 semester. Before coming to West in 2017, she taught elementary general music at Washington, Bridges, and Rosa Parks. She currently teaches Concert Choir, Scarlet Choir, and General Music.
She says, “Picking repertoire is a love-hate relationship. It's so time consuming, but when I find pieces that click, it's magic! I love getting to know my students and find what pieces really speak to them and challenge them.”
Claire and husband Patrick welcomed Eliza in March 2019. “Figuring out this whole parenting thing has definitely consumed most of my free time lately,” she says. Before parenthood, she had more time for traveling, visiting wineries and breweries, and playing cribbage with Patrick. She also enjoys baking--and eating--all kinds of desserts. She sings in the chamber choir Musicorum.
This fall, Claire is collaborating with other West staff to create the production of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, The Musical.
Help Address PA Issues
Accessing ILPs and WIDA ELP Standards Reports
ILP and WIDA ELP Standards Reports have been uploaded for the current school year that contain valuable information for our EL students. The ILP contains information on ACCESS test scores, instructional information related to the students language development, goals, and modifications. The WIDA ELP Standards Report provides descriptors for what students are able to do and descriptions of language expectations at varied levels. Please use this link for directions on how to access these reports in Infinite Campus.
Kevin Haggerty, School Psychologist
No Shave November
Staff Meetings
The staff meeting this Wednesday is with your Life Journey group. The assignment is in google classroom and is a group discussion on the questions listed in the assignment. There is nothing to submit with this assignment.
It's here! K-12 ELA Academic Standards Draft #1
MDE is updating Minnesota's K-12 Academic Standards in English Language Arts and wants your feedback! Draft #1 of the new standards and instructions on how to submit feedback is available at https://education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/stds/ela/.
Public Input: Town Hall Meetings
MDE is hosting a series of Town Hall Meetings to collect public input on Draft #1, with a Town Hall offered right here in Mankato! Please consider attending this Town Hall Meeting on Thursday, November 21, 2019, at the Cambria Gallery in the River Hills Mall, Mankato. Additional Town Hall dates and locations can be found at https://education.mn.gov/MDE/DSE/MDE089114.
Reminders
Shining Scarlets
November 18 - Essays due to Jodi
November 22 - Breakfast begins at 7:00am, program begins at 7:15am in the cafeteria
Registration Guide Updates
Please review course descriptions and revise as needed. All updates need to be submitted (via email) to Tracy Corcoran by November 26. Our current Registration Guide can also be found on the High School Curriculum homepage (and on our staff website).
Career Creations
They are now offering greeting cards.
Grading
Please have your grades updated on the 15th and the 30th of each month. Thank you to those of you who keep an updated grade book!
Required Presentations
If you have not already done so, please complete these two required presentations: Homeless and Highly Mobile Youth and Mandated Reporting.
The Week at a Glance
Monday
NHS Induction Ceremony 7:00pm Auditorium
Tuesday
Events
Girls Hockey 7:30pm at ASA
Wednesday
Pay $2 to wear jeans - No Shave November
Staff Meeting 3:15pm with your Life Journey groups
Thursday
Game On Thursday
Events
Girls Hockey - East/West 6:00pm ASA
Friday
Shining Scarlets Breakfast 7:00am, program begins at 7:15am
High Five Friday
Events
Fall Jazz Concert 7:30pm Auditorium
Saturday
Events
Girls Basketball 2:30pm Gym
Birthdays this Week
Happy Birthday to...
Tom Woodside - November 20
Things I have been reading...
AVID 11/12 with their E-mentors from Federated Insurance
The students have been e-mailing their mentors for a month and will continue to e-mail them for another month or so. Federated took time to talk to our students about job skills needed in the workplace. Not all Federated eMentors were headquartered at the Owatonna location. A couple drove down from the cities to meet their student and an eMentor headquartered in PHOENIX, AZ flew in. Monera McMahon and Sydney Ottmar spoke to the whole group about the value of the experience.
Coming Soon
November 22 - Shining Scarlets
November 22 - Stuff-A-Truck ends
November 26 - Deadline for Course Revisions for Registration Guide
November 27-29 - No School
December 5 - AVID Demo visit