Mustang Message
April 24, 2016
A Message from Jeff and Yolanda
School spirit was evident all week long as students dressed up on different theme days and participated in lunch time activities leading up to our culminating event of the Neutron Games held at the East Naples Community Park. It was great to see all of the decades represented on Monday, movie characters on Tuesday and the students dressed in suits, ties, and dresses on Red Carpet Thursday. Friday attracted the most attention as the students showed up in their class colors to support their grade level.
Our campus was bustling with school spirit on Friday. It began with the Pep Rally where the Step Team performed and the Neutron players for each grade level were introduced and ended with the cheerleaders putting on remarkable dance routines for the students! The games were great! The freshmen boys enjoyed their first Neutron experience and were such great sports. They enjoyed the activities and game and are already looking forward to next year. In the end, the seniors won the final game against a talented sophomore team that will be tough to beat in the upcoming years. There was a large turn-out of staff, students and families cheering on their favorite team.
Attending extracurricular activities is one of the favorite part of the job because it provides us opportunities to get to know our students better and connect with families. Thank you for those who came out to support the students and if you could not make it this year, make sure to put it on your calendar for next year.
On another note, LWTHS was ranked #93 in the U.S. News best high schools for the state of Florida. We were ranked #1264 in the country. The ranking looks at student/teacher ratio, student population, college readiness rates, Advanced studies percentages, etc. We are very proud of the work that our teachers do for our students and families.
Tech Corner
Did you know? Similar to the featured SOS, you can use texting (yes, a legitimate use of texting!) to help students demonstrate their knowledge of content by creating a conversation with ifaketext.com - its easy to create and then screenshot. The hard part is the thinking about an authentic conversation between two characters or objects. My example is simply an informational piece, but it could be much more complex.
Spotlight on Strategy: Allowing students to use their imagination and creativity to interpret content and demonstrate their knowledge is a highlight of “They Said What?” strategy. Using an image with embedded characters (think historical figures or characters in a novel), students create call out conversations among them that take the content to a deeper and, often, more meaningful level. But don’t limit it to people, you could create a conversation between two chemicals in science class or body systems in health science classes or tools in an automotive class. The key is to find an image that will help stimulate the potential conversation.
Web on Wednesday is scheduled for Wed, Apr 27th at either 2:00 or 2:35pm in 2-233. This session - Discover the World of Podcasting, Part 2 - will focus on creating your own podcast. Feel free to attend even if you missed Part 1. Please bring your charged iPad to take full advantage of this session.
Happenings
- This is Administrative Professionals' Week and we will honor our administrative professionals and support staff in recognition of their hard work, dedication and contributions to LWTC/LWTHS. They are the "heart and soul" of what we do each day and we are honored to have them as part of our family. Did you know, there are more than 4.1 million secretaries and administrative assistants working in the United States, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics, and 8.9 million people working in various administrative support roles? We are fortunate to have the best of the best on our campus.
The Collier County Chamber of Commerce is hosting its monthly meeting on our campus on Thursday, 4/28, 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Be prepared for visitors as they will be touring the school.
Please join us in Mustang Alley on April 28th during your lunch for yet another Student Connections! This fun event will run through both high school and adult lunches. We will have 2 photo booths with some amusing props for students to take memorable photos with their classmates.
Congratulations to Bruce Rutila who was hired as the newest administrator in Collier County. He will be joining LWTC as a Coordinator for Workforce Education.
Geometry and Algebra 2 testing occurs this week for students. Wish your students luck!
Reminders
- Thank you to all the LWTC Teachers who are sending their industry certifications. The final report will be sent to FLDOE on May 6th so keep sending them to Amanda.
- PLT reflections are due April 30, 2016.
- Don't forget to nominate a staff member for the month of April by clicking on the Padlet link. Type the name of the nominated staff member in the "Title" portion of the Padlet post and your reasoning in the body of the post. Also you can nominate by grade level a student for the month of April by clicking the appropriate link below. Follow the same protocol of putting the student name as the title and reason for nominating in the body of the posting.
9th grade Link:
10th grade Link:
11th grade Link:
12th grade Link:
Spotlight on LWTHS Staff Member
As a four-year-old child, Darlene knew she was going into the education field. On one family vacation at the Storyland Theme Park, Darlene was at the front of the “classroom” "teaching class" to other children visiting the park. Darlene grew up in New Hampshire and began her career as a special education teacher. She has "a passion for the underdogs and making a difference for all students." She loves to travel, and even worked in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates as a staff trainer for "best practices". She loved the one year experience, because she was able to meet people from around the world. She loves to travel and has visited , Oman, Jordan, Egypt, India, Sri Lanka, Morocco, Greece, France and Italy to name a few. Her dream is to travel to Alaska, Tahiti and Bora Bora in the future. She is most proud of the five marathons and nine 1/2 marathons she has run.
Spotlight on LWTC Staff Member
Did you know Jill Peterson was ranked 9th in the country at 18 years old? In fact, Jill competed in Equitation--the competitive horse show events judged on the rider’s ability not that of the horse. She even showed horses and rode at Madison Gardens and was able to meet and spend the weekend at one of the riders on the US Equestrian Team’s home. Once Jill became a nurse, she knew she always wanted to teach. LWTC is a perfect fit for her talents as a nurse and a teacher. She has taught patient education and nursing education in a hospital setting prior to coming to LWTC. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening and cycling (15-20 miles on a Saturday). Jill believes, “If all fails, we will have a good time,” and she creates this attitude in her classroom providing a safe environment for the students to take chances. Her favorite place is Anna Maria Island, Florida. Married with four children, Jill stays active not only with her family, but the family pet-Ruby, the golden retriever.
Kudos to . . .
- Sam Green for assisting in the absence of John Dreisbach and Shauna Kelly.
- Belynda Williams for organizing the activities for Administrative Professionals' Week.
- Joanne Cassio for organizing the Spring Spirit Week activities.
- Rick Ponton for getting the music ready and announcing for the pep rally on Friday.
- Dawn Peck for preparing the Step Team to "kick off" the pep rally.
- Dave Gabriel for being a Neutron referee.
- To Khris Betten-Jutasi, Jackie Hagerman, Lindsey Simmons, Bruce Rutila, Dawn Peck and Joann Cassio for coaching the cheerleaders and teams.
- Laurie Lattarulo for keeping track of all of the consent and insurance forms for the players and cheerleaders.
- Margot Dagher, Blanca Rodriguez, Sabrina Medal, Laurie Lattarulo for making the 150 welcome calls to the families of the incoming freshmen next year.
- Bruce Rutila for participating in the Data Dialogue Collaborative Planning video cast with the superintendent and cabinet members.
- Rick Ponton, Rita Kentros, Bruce Peters, Neil Fehr, and Laurie Lattarulo for coming out to East Naples Community Park to support the students in the Neutron Games.
- Rita Kentros for capturing the events of the week for inclusion into the yearbook and Mustang Message.
Happy Birthday
25 - Tiffany Hall
27 - Donna Lang
Upcoming Staff Meetings and Trainings
- See the lwcampus.wikispaces.com for the LWTC/LWTHS meeting calendar.
- See iBriefing 9619 if you are interested in taking Gifted Endorsement classes. They begin May 2 through June 26.
- See iBriefing 9663 if you are interested in partaking in an online gifted book study. 20 Master Inservice Points (MIPs) are awarded upon successful completion of the course. The book "Differentiation for Gifted Learners: Going Beyond the Basics" by Diane Heacox and Richard Cash will be provided to all participants. This book study will begin with a mandatory online orientation on April 20, 2016 at 5PM. Please contact Sharon Windey at windes@collierschools.com if you are interested in participating or have questions.
Upcoming Student Events
- Algebra 2 and Geometry FSA EOC are taking place this week Monday through Thursday.
- Three high school and one adult student are competing in Skills USA competition this week.
- Take Stock in Children graduation ceremony for our seniors will be this Wednesday, 4/27 at 6:00 p.m. at Moorings Park. We have several seniors who have been a part of Take Stock since 8th grade and have had mentors following them throughout their high school years.
- Friday, April 29, juniors and seniors who earned the quarter 3 goal will have an ice cream truck celebration with karaoke. The event begins at 1:00 in the cafeteria.