Wildcat Weekly
Week of October 12, 2015
Calendar
See https://www.smore.com/rysc1-plano-senior-high-school for this week's schedule of student activities.
Dress up days:
TUES: Holiday
WED: Disney World Wednesday
THUR: Thrift Store Thursday
FRI: Mums & Garters
Homecoming Week!
Happy Birthday, October 12-18
Math Cone – 13th
Karen Pelkey – 13th
Steven Nelms – 17th
Kim Murphy – 18th
Staff Reminders
2. Tardies -- Students who have missed more than 10 minutes of class should be counted absent. In the front office near the mailboxes, you will find Tardy Detention Hall Slips. Follow the procedure outlined on the slip for students with multiple tardies.
3. Buildings A, B, and D have staff bathrooms available. Be sure to keep them locked.
4. Homecoming Activities -- Dress up this week if you can. Join the Homecoming Parade by being a part of the faculty group if you are not with a student group. Bring your kids/dogs. Admin will be cooking hamburgers and hotdogs (leftovers) for you to enjoy before the parade.
5. Mid point of the six weeks is next Tuesday, October 20. Be sure to have your grades up to date by next Monday so that we can run progress reports and have them in your box by Tuesday.
Teacher Survey
Below are directions for completing the Teacher Survey. Please complete this survey and the recommendation portion by the end of the day, October 12. Thank you!
The first link is the staff survey for Equal Opportunity Schools. Some keys to taking the survey are listed below the link. In my experience this survey was less time consuming than the leadership survey we took last week. There are fewer open ended questions; however, some of the questions would not let me go on unless I added something in the “other” box.
Please note the difficulty with not completing the survey in one sitting. I would strongly encourage teachers to complete the survey in one sitting. This survey took me 20 minutes to complete.
Please consider the following details and instructions specific to the survey:
- Please click on the Plano ISD staff survey link below.
- Staff are logging in using their district email address. Participants are encouraged to complete the survey in one sitting, however, if they do not complete, the survey responses will be saved, and allow for a later completion.
- If a participant does not finish the survey and another participant uses the same computer to take the survey, the browser will take the second user back to the first person’s unfinished survey. There are 3 options to avoid this:
o Participants can take the survey on individual computers. If they are not sharing computers, the glitch will not occur.
o If participants are sharing computers, and they complete the survey before another participant uses that computer, the glitch will not occur.
· If a participant starts the survey but needs to complete it later, they can clear the browsing history on the computer and then the next user will be taken to the login page, not the first person’s incomplete survey.
Because I am not a teacher of record, I did not have any students in my drop down menu; however, I did have a place where I could type in students’ names. I would assume this is true for counselors, academic support specialists, etc.
Please consider the following details and instructions specific to the student recommendations:
The student recommendations are a very important component of the Student Insight Card (the apples on the card indicate the number of teachers who recommended an individual student). This can really be a confidence builder for students who may be on the fence about their ability to be successful in an AP course.
Here’s what teachers need to know about the Student Recommendations link and process –
- Please click on the Plano ISD student recommendations link called Equal Opportunity Schools below.
- Staff will login using their email address (just like the survey)
- They will be presented with lists of students in each of their class periods (this is helpful as it allows teachers to recall and select by their individual classes)
- They will ONLY be presented with THEIR INDIVIDUAL students in grades 9-11 who are not currently enrolled in AP courses
Conflict Management: Dealing with people who are upset
- Never use inappropriate language.
- Stay calm and avoid threatening body language (clinching fists, finger pointing, tensing shoulders).
- Be respectful.
- Don’t look down as if you are guilty of something.
- Speak slower and lower in order to have a calming effect on the other person.
- If you are standing, put a small amount of space between yourself and the distressed person.
- Say “I can see that you are upset.” Recognize the fact that the person is distressed.
- Listen carefully as the person expresses concerns.
- Nod occasionally to demonstrate that you are trying to understand.
- Paraphrase what they are saying in your own words so as to determine if you understand the problem.
- Address the problem. Fix it if you have the power to do so. Otherwise, direct the person to some other individual that might be able to help.
- Maintain eye contact so the person will feel you are sincere.
- Don’t roll your eyes or otherwise facially react in a way that might suggest that the person’s concern is not valid.
- Don’t cross your arms or lean away so as to suggest that you are not open to their concerns.
Upcoming Dates
10/12 -- Parent Conference Day
10/13-10/16 -- Homecoming Dress-up Days
10/14 -- PSAT
10/14 -- Homecoming Parade and Pep Rally, 6:30 p.m.
10/28 -- Next Faculty meeting
PSAT Reminders
Important to Know:
Regular bell schedule will be followed.
Zero hour classes will meet as usual.
Juniors will be taking the PSAT from 9 am – 12:40 pm.
Juniors not testing and Seniors should report to their regular classes.
Be sure your students who are not testing know where your class will meet periods 1 – 4.
Bells will not ring during testing. Teachers in regular classes will need to watch clock for dismissal during testing time.
Students Taking the PSAT…lunch
Report to assigned classroom by 8:55 am.
PSAT will last until 12:40 pm.
All students taking the PSAT will go to B lunch, to return by 1:33 pm to 5th period.
Follow regular schedule remainder of the day.
Students NOT Taking the PSAT….lunch
Follow regular schedule 0 – 3 periods.
If student has 4th period in Bldg. A or B, B2, go to A lunch.
Return by 12:36 to 4th period class.
If student has 4th period in Bldg. C, D, or E, go to class.
At 12:42, go to B lunch.
All students will follow regular schedule periods 5 – 7.
ATTENDANCE WILL BE TAKEN IN EVERY PERIOD. BE SURE YOU GO TO CORRECT LUNCH!