Blaze Bulletin
Edition 36
Greetings...
Teachers,
We've all been hurting this week. And I share below a few pictures of how our students expressed their concern. Post-it notes, letters, drawings, gofundme accounts, t-shirts, prayer circles. Teachers and counselors, you have been amazing in stopping and taking time to listen, talk, pray, cry with our students. Thank you for wanting to be at the funeral. Thank you for leading our students through this. If we ever needed connection, we need it now. Our kids are struggling. Knowing them, really knowing them, is a way to help.
I'd also like to share a notable call we received from Murfreesboro Funeral Home. The director called to express his pride in our Blackman student body. He stated that he has never been more impressed with a group of kids. They exuded nothing but love and kindness for each other, visitors, and the Turner family.
-lj
GUIDING BHS>>>
Counselor Corner
A-D Counselor: Ms. Charlie Borel, E-K Counselor: Ms. Christine Bryan, L-R Counselor: Ms. Shannon Barber, S-Z Interim Counselor: Ms. Elaine Allen, College and Crisis Counselor: Ms. JoJo Breiner, Graduation Coach: Ms. Kim Garrott, Counseling Secretary/Registrar: Ms. Marina Sadler
*This week has been heartbreaking, to say the least. Grieving is a long and slow process that looks different for every person. Please don’t hesitate to send a student down to see us or email us about someone. Our doors are open to anyone who needs us, including staff! Our students and staff have all experienced a loss this week and counselors are here to love and take care of EVERYONE in our building. No one is a bother to any of us…ever! We have shared two articles on grieving as a school.
Upcoming Events:
*Freshmen Meetings went well this week! Thank you, Kim Garrott for coordinating this!
*Next week we will have Sophomore Meetings on Monday, September 17 in Sophomore English classes and Junior Meetings will be on Tuesday, September 18 and Wednesday, September 19 in Junior English classes.
*Groups with Mrs. Breiner meet during Impact in the Counseling Conference Room. Tuesday: Anxiety Group; Wednesday: Mindset Group; Thursday: GRIT Group. If you have any questions regarding these groups or would like to recommend a student to attend these groups, please email JoJo Breiner at breinerj@rcschools.net.
We are so thankful to be part of this team! Go Blaze!
CTE Advisory Board Meeting
IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:
FACULTY MEETING
TIME: 7:30 am LOCATION: Auditorium
- October 9th
- November 13th
- December 4th
- February 5th
- March 5th
- April 2nd
- May 7th
CONGRATULATIONS DR. JUSTUS
On Monday, September 10th at the 2018 Volunteer State Book Awards ceremony at the Tennessee Association of School Librarians conference, Dr. Leisa Justus was awarded a spot on the Distinguished School Administrator Honor Roll. Mrs. Jenkins and Mr. Seadorf nominated her for her assistance with the renovation of the space, but also the support she has given the library to make it a vibrant learning environment.
-dorf
ESL Tidbits
Mark Your Calendar
All teachers are expected to work one of the following events: Homecoming Dance, Prom, or Graduation. The dates for each event are below so that you can mark your calendar.
Homecoming Dance - Jan (day tbd) 2019 at 7pm
Prom - April 12, 2019 at 7:30pm
Graduation - May 19, 2019 at 2:30pm
FIELD TRIP PROTOCOL
Teacher Requirements:
- Paperwork should be turned in for approval 3 weeks in advance.
- Teachers should be notified with a roster of attendees 2 weeks in advance (and then the day before as a reminder)
- A travel itinerary and parent permission form must be attached to each request.
- A statement on the field trip notice that attendance and academics preclude participation in field trips is required if students should not go because of grades or attendance. If this is the case, please let the sponsoring teacher/coach know.
Nurse Requirements:
- Please notify me 2 weeks in advance of any upcoming field trips. It does take time to gather information on each student to ensure that any medication or procedure is covered accordingly!
- If you are ahead or a part of any group of students before or after school please send me a list! I want to make sure that any medical condition is discussed with whichever faculty member is in charge of a particular group of students'.
Equipping Teachers to Empower Their Students
Feed the Children supports the teachers in our nation’s struggling schools by inviting them to shop for free classroom and school supplies at one of our three Teacher Stores. These stores benefit more than 525,000 students across the country during the school year.
http://www.feedthechildren.org/how/us/education/
Tennessee Teacher Store - LaVergne location (calendar/hours):
REPORT CARD INFORMATION
This year, the state report card will be giving us a score on a scale of 1 to 4 (remember, it was going to be a letter grade...). Remember, this is on the data from 2017-2018. Anyway, this is what we scored in various areas:
Success Rate (meeting all achievement goals) = 3 (we were very close to a 4 here)
Growth (TVAAS, which was a 5 for us) = 4
Chronic Absenteeism = 4
Ready Graduate (51% had a 21 or above) = 4
Graduation Rate = 4
ELPA (Language Learners achievement) = 2
So, overall excellent! Congratulations!
INSERVICE TRAINING AVAILABLE
Book Study Inservice
Title of Session: Professional Book Study for 6-12 teachers using Engagement by Design by Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey
Synopsis of Session: In this three part workshop, teachers will receive a copy of and use the book Engagement by Design by Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey as a focus for the workshop discussions and activities. Teachers will commit to three after school meetings, totaling five (5) hours of professional development. There will be short Bridge to Practice activities to complete prior to each meeting. Space is limited to 30 teachers. Please do not sign up if you cannot commit to all three sessions as you will receive a copy of the book at no cost.
Location : Professional Development Center, Classroom A
Dates and Time :
Wednesday, September 19, 2018, 4 :00-5 :00
Wednesday, October 17, 2018, 4 :00-6 :00
Wednesday, November 7, 2018, 4 :00-6:00
FIRE SAFETY EDUCATIONAL ANNOUNCEMENT
SportsCenter Spotlight
IT IS GAMEDAY!!
GO BLAZE!!
Kate's Tech Corner.....
Tuesday September 18th 3:45 to 4:45 pm (1 hour)
Twitter for Beginners: Becoming a Connected Educator
PD in your PJs on Twitter TUESDAY NIGHTS Topic: Changes weekly at 7 pm
Join us for another #rcstechchat live on Twitter from 7 to 8pm. We have a quick video to help you if you've never joined a chat before. If you have any questions please just ask me and I can help you get started! We hope you will join us! It will be a fun and fast hour that will help you grow your Professional Learning Network!! Click here to watch the video on how to get started!
Please incorporate Digital Citizenship into your daily lessons!
resources here https://www.commonsense.org/education/scope-and-sequence
Digital Citizenship Resources for Students and Parents
http://www.cyberwise.org/digital-citizenship-games
https://beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com/en/resources
beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com Be Internet Awesome is a multifaceted program that includes a fun and free web-based game called Interland and an educational curriculum to teach kids how to be safe ...
Technology Issues
Please send technology work orders to bhswo@rcschools.net and include your room number and phone extension if it is a phone issue!
Professional Development Opportunity
Back by popular demand, we are offering another year of our BHS Professional Development Series. These are in-service sessions presented on our campus - by BHS teachers, for BHS teachers. Our theme this semester is "Outcomes" as we look to focus on outcomes of student tasks, the outcomes of classroom relationships, outcomes of integrated technology, etc.
SEPTEMBER 18
TWITTER FOR BEGINNERS: BECOMING A CONNECTED EDUCATOR Learn how to unlock the power of social media to enhance your craft and impact your classroom. Presenter: Kaitlin Brown Time: 3:45-4:45 Location: D-17 Lab
SEPTEMBER 25
GREAT TEAMS: 16 THINGS HIGH-PERFORMING ORGANIZATIONS DO DIFFERENTLY BY DON YAEGER
PILLAR ONE: TARGETING PURPOSE Want to strengthen your team in your classroom? Your sport? Your school? Guybrarian Brian Seadorf will be using Don Yaeger's bestseller titled Great Teams to discuss ways to build a great team. The first pillar is titled: "Targeting Purpose". Learn how great teams in sports and business have connected to a greater purpose. You will learn to understand whom you are serving and why that matters. This will be the first session in a 4-part series. Presenter: Brian Seadorf Time: 3:45-4:45 Location: Media Center
To sign up, just click the session you are interested in and you'll be directed to either Microsoft Form or to SchoolStation (required for K. Brown's sessions).
Click here to sign up:
Picture Dates 2018-2019
Club Pictures - October 25 - All Day - Main Gym
Senior Picture Makeup – November 15 (Early Dismissal) - After Dismissal - Cafeteria
Spring Pictures - February 28 - 1 - 3 Periods - Auxiliary Gym
Cap and Gown Pictures - February 28 - All Day through English Classes - Main Gym Lobby
Junior Orientation (Upcoming Senior Portrait Info) - April 4 - Primetime - Auditorium
IN FINANCIAL NEWS...
Blackman High School Spirit Wear website is going live Wednesday, August 22, 2018. A direct link will be available on the BHS home page.
Shop to support our school and enjoy a 10% discount!
GO BLAZE!!
Be the first one to email me the name of this little one....
Let's play who is that? HIGH SCHOOL YEARS REVISITED....
Send Mrs. Brewer a high school or younger days picture (teacher & staff) to be featured in the bulletin. Be the first to email your answer and win a prize!!!! brewerk@rcschools.net
In the know....
Follow Dr. Justus on Twitter @bhsjustus
Sign up for Remind by texting @ljustus to 81010
SEND US YOUR NEWS!!!
Birthdays in August
9/01 - Michael Amaro
9/01 - Beth Stone
9/06 - Juliet Oncale
9/07 - Mary Beth Boston
9/07 - Benjamin Holl
9/07 - Sam Turner
9/08 - Cindy Brown
9/09 - Jennifer Watkins
9/15 - Noi Woodruff
9/16 - Shawn Jones
9/17 - Justin Smith
9/19 - Stacey Henderson
9/19 - Madeline Burford
9/20 - Landon Sessoms
9/20 - Jason Wooten
9/22 - Kirk Bagley
9/22 - Greg Jones
9/24 - Shandy Sewell
9/25 - David Comer
9/25 - Justin Cunningham