Clark High School
Monday Memo
***Campus Technology Updates all week***
Monday Nov. 16
(7:45 am & 4:30pm) – Mandatory Staff PD
(3rd Period) – Fire Drill
(6:30) – Boys Wrestling vs. McMillen @ McMillen
Tuesday Nov. 17
8:00 a.m.-PTSA is hosting a Continental Breakfast for all staff in room 120
(6:00/7:30) 9th Boys Basketball vs. Keller @ Clark
Wednesday Nov. 18
(5:00) – Homework Club - Library
(7:00) - Dance Fall Concert
Thursday Nov. 19
Part 2 of Sped 101-professional development on modifications during your conference period-required for all teachers
Friday Nov. 20
None
- If you would like to participate in Secret Santas, please complete the form Tracy Helms sent out last Friday and return it to her by Wednesday noon, November 18th. We will be drawing names on Thursday afternoon, November 19th, before we leave for the Thanksgiving break on Friday.
- November 23-27-Thanksgiving Holiday!!
- The deadline to complete the mandatory SafeSchool Videos is December 18th.
Kyle Hercules-Nov 23
Karen Stanton-Nov 24
Marsha Thompson-Nov 27
Baby Wallz has Arrived!
Stand up to Bullying Week
This week, Clark High School will take a stand against bullying! AVID, our Counseling Department, Yearbook, & the library have partnered together to bring awareness, safety, and empowerment to all students.
There will be a few activities going on this week including dress up days, study hall videos, a photo booth, and an activity in the cafeteria.
Please check your email Monday morning to view the Anti-bullying Google PowerPoint link that you will use with your students this week. On the Google PowerPoint, you will notice different quotes/discussion questions/activities/videos for each day of the week. Please show all the slides that fall under the Monday section on Monday, all the Tuesday slides on Tuesday, etc. during study hall each day. There are also helpful notes typed in bold red print under many of the slides for your convenience. If you have any questions, please email or see Ms. Kent in the Counseling Center. Thank you for all of your help and support this week!!!
PTSA Hosts Breakfast this Tuesday
Extended Library Hours Again This Wednesday
AVID Teachers of the Month
Freshman Student of the Month-Ammarita Sorenson
Ammarita’s teachers had the following comments about her:
She always give 110% of attention and performance
Incredible leadership skills during marching season. Learned and marched an instrument she does not play.
Helpful, supportive of others, always pleasant
Ammarita always has a smile on her face! She is a great student - hardworking and responsible, and she is also an amazing young lady! She is kind and has a great sense of humor!
She is a very hard worker and excellent student. She is always smiling and a ray of sunshine in my class.
Sophomore Student of the Month-Sarah Loeffler
Hard working
Sarah is an outstanding student and accomplished singer.
Kind to all, always prepared, works hard, willing to try new and difficult concepts
She is hardworking, dedicated, and involved
The PISD Education Foundation Grant Prize Patrol Stopped by this Past Thursday to Award Grants to Humanities Teachers, Bethany Poston and Christina Kraft, as well as Agriculture Teacher, Savannah Deegan (They had to FaceTime Savannah because she was at Disney World on her Honeymoon!!)
Fine Arts Brags
Orchestra Student makes All-State!
Each year thousands of Texas public high school orchestra students prepare for and compete in the TMEA All-Region and All-State competition. Students who place high enough in their local All-Region competitions have the opportunity to audition again for the prestigious TMEA All-State ensembles.
From more than 300 violin players who qualified to audition for All-State, Clark High School’s Raymond Jow, a sophomore, placed 85th in the state and earned 5th chair, 1st violin in the 2016 TMEA All-State String Orchestra. Raymond will travel to San Antonio in February with 34 other Plano orchestra students (the most of any Texas school district!) to perform among the best high school musicians in the state. If you are one of Raymond’s teachers or see him during the school day, please be sure to congratulate him! Raymond is pictured below.
"She Kills Monsters" Impresses at this Weekend’s UIL One-Act Play Competition
Art News
In 2015, schools in the AP Strategies’/O’Donnell Foundation’s AP Fine Arts grant program were ranked 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in Texas based on the number of qualifying AP scores by schools with comprehensive College Board AP Fine Arts programs: AP Studio Art, AP Art History, and AP Music Theory. Based on the State’s total number of 2015 qualifying AP Fine Arts exam scores, the APS/ODF 10 grant schools represent:
• 19.2% of Texas’ qualifying AP Fine Arts exams;
• 29.2% of Texas’ passing AP Art History exams;
• 25% of Texas’ passing AP Music Theory exams;
• 13.5% of Texas’ passing AP Studio Art exams
We applaud Plano Senior High School and Feeder High Schools: Clark and Vines.
PSHS was 2nd in Texas with 193 qualifying exams; 90% of Plano Sr. High students taking an AP Fine Arts exam received a qualifying score.
Plano Sr ranked 8th in AP ART HISTORY with 47 students taking the test, and 40 qualifying.
Plano Sr ranked 3rd in AP STUDIO ART with 68 students submitting portfolios, and 66 qualifying.
Plano Sr ranked 4th in AP SA 2D DESIGN with 37 students submitting portfolios, and 36 qualifying.
Plano Sr ranked 2nd in AP SA 3D DESIGN with 15 students submitting portfolios, and 14 qualifying.
Plano Sr ranked 5th in AP SA DRAWING with 16 students submitting portfolios, and 16 qualifying.
According to Daren Causey, Clark students make up the majority of AP classes at Senior.
We are very proud of our art department!
The pictures say it all...Fun was had by all at Cougar Chow!!
Band Pasta Concerto was a great success this past Saturday
Library Corner
This week I had the pleasure of observing the AVID 2 classes as they researched scholarships for college. Students quickly learned that in the information age, they have to be discerning when looking for and applying for scholarships online. Many students came across “scholarships” that simply had them play a game or answer one question to qualify.
Ms. Jordan pointed out to the class that the pool of students applying for these easy opportunities would be a large group, and therefore the chances of a student “winning” a scholarship from such a source would be much lower.
Now I don’t know about some of you, but when I was applying for college scholarships, my search started in my high school counseling office. In this “old school” process before computers were in wide use, the school counselor vetted the scholarship catalogs which vetted the scholarship opportunities printed therein. Boy how things have changed! Watching the AVID students made me think about this: in the digital age of quick and easy information, are our students discerning the real from the unreal when they go online? Do they know to be skeptical; do they know to ask questions? Are we as teachers using opportunities that arise to model a thinking process that might make them more discerning consumers of the web?
We need to help students question where information comes from, and why an organization might give away scholarship money just for filling in some contact information. Clearly the AVID students were beginning to get this message.
For more information and resources on this topic, check out this Education World article I Read It On the Internet: Teaching About Web Literacy.
Faculty Council Updates from Mike Mathis
1. Dr. Binggeli shared some updates about the district’s strategic plan. There have been multiple groups that have had input on this, and he really emphasized this. There will be eight operational expectations, and these will be a big part of the district’s vision moving forward. Parents were able to have a voice in this as well. Dr. Binggeli also shared that there are committees working on the current bond package that should go forward to the board in the spring. He again emphasized that there are lots of voices in how this bond money will be used, and these committees want to ensure that both Plano’s tradition of excellence continues and that the bond money is used well. Dan Armstrong also shared that over $80 million of the bond money is being suggested for technology, including $50 for replacements.
2. Karla Oliver shared that a draft of the next year’s calendar will go to the board in December for adoption in January. If there are any suggestions, input, or other concerns, please email Casie Gall or Mike Mathis and we will share it with the district calendar team.
3. Dr. Kary Cooper gave an update on T-TESS, which will be the new teacher appraisal system that begins implementation next year. Frisco ISD has been running a T-TESS pilot, and our district leadership got feedback from them. He emphasized that teachers will be given more information in the spring as this comes together, well before the official training that will take place in August. There will be a goal-setting component as well as a pre-conference with the teacher’s appraiser. The teachers piloting have said that the rubric is clear with very specific requirements. If you have questions or feedback, please email Casie Gall or Mike Mathis and we will share it with the district team.
4. Dan Armstrong gave a quick update on technology issues. There have been some projectors and printers that need replacing, and there are some new teams that he recently put in place to try to speed this up.