Mr. Tonagel's Weekly Memo for Staff
Week of March 14 2016
New Staff Suggestion Box (anonymous)
Slicer Resource Time
Just a reminder that we will be doing a CCR activity on March 30. We will review in the March staff meeting and I will provide all CCR materials for you.
- March 23 Multi-resource SRT
- March 30 CCR (My PSAT Plan & Dress for Success)
LP Chamber of Commerce Expectations
We surveyed the LP Chamber of Commerce membership to obtain the most important employee expectations and skills. We hope to incorporate this into LPHS expectations and communications. Here are the preliminary results:
1. Honesty
2. Work Ethic
3. Uses time wisely
4. Follows Directions
5. Be Punctual
Plan Period Workshops
Thanks to Mrs. Nesmith and Mrs. Dames for hosting this week's PPW. And thanks to the teachers who took advantage of this PD opportunity. There is still time to sign up for the next PPW in March (Google). These professional development opportunities are created to support continuous growth and improvement.
Community Partnerships
Earlier in the year we started a new endeavor with Swanson Center at LPHS and now we are starting a new partnership with juvenile probation services. We hope to increase collaboration to improve student attendance and behavior. In this partnership a probation officer will be assigned to LPHS on Mondays and Fridays.
Additional OCR Surveys
The Office of Civil Rights has notified us that they expect additional surveys to be administered at LPHS by March 31. These need to be administered online as previously done. We will follow the same format used in the past. A separate email with instructions will be sent with directions. Thank you for your cooperation and patience in adhering to these requirements. Here is the plan:
- Staff OCR Survey March 18-21
- Student OCR survey March 23
Accuplacer
We will be administering the Accuplacer to a small group of students on Tuesday, March 22nd @ 7:50 AM in the B.11 computer lab.
Odds and Ends
1) Last week's staff attendance rate was the 2nd lowest week of the school year. As we head into spring please remember to maintain adequate lesson plans and dept. communications.
2) Reminder: Tuesday March 22, 2016 at 9:15 a.m. the corporation will conduct a district wide Severe Weather Drill.
3) Please remember to make your reservation for the Employee Recognition Dinner by April 29. This is a nice celebration.
4) The New Teacher Academy will meet for a rescheduled meeting on Thursday, March 24th at 3:30 p.m. The topic for the evening is Focusing on Parent Communication.
Grant Opportunity
LPHS has been successful in securing LEDF grants and wants to continue to find creative ways to improve classroom learning. Teachers should consider applying for a LaPorte Educational Development Foundation grant during the month of March (March 1-25). Details from the LEDF has been sent to all teaching staff. You can also visit their website.
New this year from the LEDF is a school-wide grant opportunity which will probably be opened in May. Details are still forthcoming, but we already have a small committee exploring some ideas for LPHS. If you have any ideas you would like to share for possible school-wide grant thoughts, please don't hesitate to contact Emily Veen or Carolyn McGuire.
School Year Success Banner
Please take a moment to add to this school year's banner of celebrations, successes, and achievements. It's important to recognize and document all the exciting things that happen in a school year. All staff members are invited to submit content for the banner by editing the following shared document. This is a shared working document; please remember to not delete previous entries. https://docs.google.com/a/lpcsc.k12.in.us/document/d/13oflS4QWlNrFNYUoS-6f4ao8auQj04XhzpYUoH-c7Z8/edit?usp=sharing
As You Head into Your Weekend..
Take a moment to consider this statement from Superintendent Francesconi:
"Continuous improvement starts with realizing that we all have room for growth within our five domains. If we are not growing, then we are stagnant. If we are content with being stagnant, we are in the wrong business, as it is our charge as educators to model lifelong learning for our students and colleagues."