The Bobcat
Week of February 4, 2019
Vision: Academic Excellence and Success
From Mr. Rs Desk
Please read the following blog by John Wink @JohnWink90.
The Key to Unlocking Student Engagement
Engagement means something different to just about everyone. What engages one student fails to engage the next student, and one teacher’s idea about optimal engagement varies from the teacher next door. So how do we know if we are truly engaging our students?
Before we get to that answer, I’d like to analyze engagement through the lens of student outcomes, and for learning that means retention. Engagement should lead to retention, and if students aren’t retaining what they’re exposed to, then can we say that they’re authentically engaged?
Exam the graphic of learning retention by The Active Learners Institute [below]. What’s interesting about this graphic is what happens when students start leading themselves in their learning. Students retain 50% of the information through discussion with others. Their retention increases to 75% when students practice by doing the work themselves, but they retain a whopping 90% of what they learn when students teach one another. When we expect students to take more ownership of the work, learning retention increases exponentially.
As we reflect on our efforts to increase student engagement, let’s answer the following questions:
- What are the predominant retention rate activities that students undertake in our classrooms?
- What activities are dependent on me and which ones push students to do the work?
- How can I provide students more access to higher retention activities?
- How do I gauge students retention to determine the actual engagement in my classroom?
We learn best by doing, and we retain more information when we are more cognitively engaged in the learning. The key to student engagement is not busyness, and it’s not about flashy, aesthetically pleasing activities either. Optimized engagement guarantees that all students retain as much as possible, and that happens when we evaluate the result of our efforts rather than intent of them.
Define yourself! This week's reflective questions...
- Aside from lectures and worksheets, how do I engage my students?
- What is my daily go-to student engagement activity?
- Are my students engaged out of compliance or for real learning?
Faculty Spotlight: Mr. Edward Owens, Principles of Law Teacher
~Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Q. What is your favorite movie?
~Gone With The Wind
Q. What is your favorite app?
~Words with Friends
Q. What is the best advice you can give our students?
~Love yourself!
Bobcat of the Week: Justin Flores, 12th Grade
~My brother, Julian Flores
Q. What is your favorite subject?
~Math
Q. What is the best advice you can give our teachers?
~Give respect to earn respect!
Q. What college/university do you plan to go to?
~Texas A&M at Kingsville
Here it is... The Deep River Dive Podcast: Episode 3
Thank you Mrs. Wilmoth for teaching us about EdPuzzle!
Big shout-out to our counselors!
2019 National School Counseling Week, "School Counselors: Providing Lessons for Life," will be celebrated from Feb. 4-8, 2019, to focus public attention on the unique contribution of school counselors within U.S. school systems. National School Counseling Week, sponsored by ASCA, highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career. National School Counseling Week is always celebrated the first full week in February. We ask you that you help us in recognizing our Rio Hondo High School counselors for all their hard work.
AP Chemistry students learning how to conduct a titration to determine the concentration of a solution. They used their new skills to determine the actual percent of hydrogen peroxide in an old bottle of H2O2.
PLTW PBS students testing food items to determine how much energy is in food by using food items from Anna Garcia’s food diary and conducting a calorimetry lab.
Rio Hondo HS recently toured TSTC Harlingen. Our students got the opportunity to meet some Rio Hondo alumni who will graduate this semester from TSTC.
The Bobcat Power-lifting Team competed at the 3rd Annual Idea Tres Lagos Powerlifting meet in Edinburg, Tx.
Bobcat Baseball season is underway.
Upcoming Events
Monday, February 4
GBB vs. Port Isabel AWAY
BBB vs. Port Isabel AWAY
Baseball vs. Los Fresnos HOME
Tuesday, February 5
GSoccer vs. Lyford HOME
Department Chair Meeting
Wednesday, February 6
Lead4ward Planning: Math and Social Studies
Thursday, February 7
Lead4ward Planning: ELA and Science
Friday, February 8
UTRGV Tour - Mr. Ramirez
BBB vs. Progreso AWAY
BSoccer vs. La Feria HOME
BSoccer vs. La Feria AWAY
Saturday, February 9
Baseball Alumni Game
Tweet of the Week via @AndreaGoetchius @EdElements
The best professional athletes have coaches, but somehow receiving coaching in education has been distorted to indicate a sign of weakness." We're here this week to bust some myths about coaching in education! https://www.edelements.com/blog/5-common-coaching-misconceptions?utm_campaign=Blog&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social
Rio Hondo High School
Our MISSION is to create experiences and opportunities for our students. We have established a culture of high academics and a future-ready curriculum. At Rio Hondo High School, we focus on the arts, athletics, and on educating the whole child.
Email: asael.ruvalcaba@rhisd.net
Website: http://www.riohondoisd.net/
Location: 22547 State Highway 345, Rio Hondo, TX, USA
Phone: 956-748-1200
Twitter: @RHHS_Bobcats