Westwood Way
Happenings In Panther Nation - May 2017
Panther Pride
Happy Monday!!
Recently, I visited my orthopedic doctor, Dr. Steven Johnson, for a routine injection procedure. Over time, my knees have deteriorated and I suffer considerable pain if I do not have periodic cortisone injections.
As Dr. Johnson was preparing for the injections, he questioned as to how the last injections had worked and we visited about how it didn’t seem that I was getting the same benefit as I experienced with my previous doctor. He then dug deeper and wanted to know the difference I was experiencing and asked what specific medication my previous doctor had used. Dr. Johnson told me to find out the medication and he would be willing to try it since it been successful in the past.
I believe we all would love to have a doctor with this mindset! We want a person taking care of us to say “I like to try new things” instead of having a fixed mindset and continuing to do what they have always done.
This experience made me think about our mindset and the phrases we use as educators. Are we guilty of using phrases such as “Failure is the limit of my abilities” or “I don’t like to be challenged” instead of being open minded and embracing new initiatives? Shouldn’t our thoughts be filled with phrases such as “I am inspired by the success of others” and then collaborate with successful people to discover their techniques?
As a district, we must decide if our students, parents, and staff deserve to be a part of an organization that embraces and promotes a growth mindset. We must decide if our district champions those that believe failure is an opportunity to grow and embrace those that demonstrate that they believe they can learn anything they want! Our district must decide if we will not only believe this but will model it on a daily basis.
As your leader, my promise is that I will personally embrace a growth mindset and I look forward to us working together to have this mindset infuse our district!
Wade
School Board Update
During the May Board Meeting, the School Board had an opportunity to hear the following reports:
Sharon Watts presented the annual Immunization Report.
Sharee Satcher presented the annual Food Service Report.
Tiffany Carwell presented an End of the Year School Health Advisory Council Report.
The High School Life Skills classroom renovation project was tabled so that the project could be expanded and bids could be submitted.
The summer work schedule/hours of operation and Depository Contract were unanimously approved.
Wade Stanford was unanimously approved to be appointed to the Region 7 Advisory Committee.
The School Board unanimously approved fast-track hiring authority for Wade Stanford.
The following administrative contracts were unanimously approved:
Amy Little – Dean of Instruction - Westwood Primary
Christine Bedre – Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum/Instruction & Leadership
Michelle Carroll – Principal - Westwood Elementary
Brian Williams – Principal – Westwood High School
Professional contracts were approved as presented.
During the May 15 Special Board Meeting, the following items were acted on:
Don Rice and Ronnie Stanhope were administered the official oath of office by Brenda Bing.
The District of Innovation Plan was reviewed and unanimously approved.
The 2017-2018 Instructional Calendar was reviewed and unanimously approved.
The High School Life Skills classroom renovation project was tabled in an attempt to gain additional bids.
A 24 passenger special needs bus was unanimously approved.
The following administrative contract was unanimously approved:
Kyle Johnson - Assistant Principal - Westwood Junior High
Professional contracts were acknowledged as presented.
Curriculum
Hard to believe the 2016-2017 school year is wrapping up! This has been an amazing year! Planning and preparations for the 2017-2018 school year are in progress through various teams. The new Instructional Calendar has been adopted and provides opportunities for team planning and vertical alignment.
Welcome aboard, Christine Bedre! Mrs. Bedre will be an outstanding leader for this department and Westwood ISD.
Special Programs
Response to Intervention
Intervention is very important, and necessary, for several of our students to make progress in the curriculum. With the help of Quentin Woods, Region 7 specialist, and our district RtI team, we have been able to make great strides in our academic RtI process this school year. Mr. Woods has been in the district several times this year working with staff on each campus to ensure proper implementation of this process. He has assisted teachers in the overall concept of RtI, including the use of Universal Screeners, the importance of goal setting, progress monitoring, and movement within the tiers. Intervening at the student’s functional level will ultimately help the student reach success at their grade level. The foundation we are setting for our intervention processes will help many of our students in the years to come.
Business & Finance
It is definitely budget time. We have been working developing salaries and benefits for the 2017-18 Fiscal year for the past several weeks. This involves removing employees who have retired or moved on to another school district and adding all of the new employees.
We are looking at stipends as we prepare the budget to make sure that we are competitive with other districts in our area.
As other areas are winding down, at the Administration Office we are going stronger than ever to guarantee that our Budget is completed, employees are added to Skyward, and all invoices are received and closed out.
PEIMS
It’s difficult to believe we are at the end of this school year! Westwood ISD summer PEIMS submission is quickly approaching!
Summer submission is our largest submission of the year. It includes student data, staff data, attendance, course information, special programs and much more. Data is collected all year starting at the beginning of school. PEIMS data is a way for TEA to get a good picture of our district. Our data translates into funding for our district. And we all know funding is important!
We will continue to work through the summer to ensure quality data!
Food Service
Summer Feeding will occur at the Junior High from May 30th through June 30th. We will have breakfast and lunch.
Jump Start will also have breakfast and lunch at the Primary and Elementary School Campuses from July 24th through August 4th.
The Food Service Twitter Account is active! The handle is @WWPantherCafe
I hope everyone has a great summer! The Child Nutrition Department has a lot of exciting ideas and projects in the works for next year!
Facilities Services
Current Projects:
- Summer work preparations
- Schedule summer work with some contractors
- Changeover from rented to purchased custodial tools
- Sports field preparations and clean-up after events
- General spring mowing and maintenance
Completed Projects:
- Mowed property on loop
- Mowed retention area behind stadium
- Repaired electric gates at the High School
- Repaired many of the air conditioners
- Cleaned up Agriculture barn and field
Transportation
What a great year for our Transportation Department. The month of May has a lot going on with the end of the year trips and finishing the year. My department continues to do a great job with continuing “Doing What is Best For Students” and giving 100% every day.
Summer brings Summer School, bus maintenance, planning, and scheduling for the 2017-2018 school year. Hours of operation are 5am-1pm Monday –Friday. Have a great summer. If you have questions please contact 903-723-0425. See you in August.
Technology
The District Website Committee met on April 25th to make a final decision concerning our web hosting and website options. As a result of the hard work of everyone on the committee, the choice was made to select a new web hosting provider. We will have district and campus websites that are new from the ground up for the 2017-2018 school year. We hope that the choice of the new provider will lead to an easier update process and a more aesthetically pleasing web experience for all. Training for the new platform will be available at the start of next school year.
I want to thank the administrators, teachers, and staff members who have been patient this school year with the technology we currently have in place in the district. In spite of the problems we have had with aging mobile devices, we have seen the use of technology in the classroom increase substantially. We will provide additional training opportunities during the summer and at the start of next school year and I look forward to seeing technology use grow even more in the course of next school year.
Athletics
Xavier Billups will sign with Tusculum College in Greenville, Tennessee on Friday for a Track Scholarship.
We will be hosting a Regional Semi-Finalist Softball game this Thursday, May 18 and May 20 at the Lady Panther Softball Field. Woden High School will be playing Martins Mill High School.
7 on 7 Passing League started this past Monday, May 15th with Cayuga, Elkhart, and Frankston competing. The games will continue for the next 3 weeks on Mondays.
Our End of the Year Picnic is on May 22 at the football field for all high school athletes that competed this year.
Athletic physicals are scheduled for May 23, after school for all athletes playing athletics next year. The physicals are free.
Our Baseball Clinic will be held for incoming eighth graders and ninth graders on May 29 and 30th.
June 25th-30th the Westwood High School and Jr. High gyms will be closed down for resurfacing the gym floors.
Camp dates for the Athletic Program
July 10th-12th will be the Volleyball Clinic
July 17th -19th will be the Boys Basketball Clinic
July 18th- 20th will be the Boys/Girls Soccer Clinic
July 24th-26th will be the Girls Basketball Clinic
July 31st-Aug 2 will be the Boys Football Clinic
** All clinic forms can be picked up at the front offices of the Central Office, High School, Jr. High or at the Athletic Field House. You can also go on the Westwood ISD webpage and print one off.**