Eagle Express
LHS Staff Newsletter--Year 18, Vol. 31, 04/08/19
Principal's Message
I am so impressed with our students every day, but last week provided several opportunities to be exceptionally proud. The students who presented at our staff meeting last Monday not only presented their work with the Advisory Board, but also let the LHS staff know how much you are appreciated and how much the students value your participation in their events. We heard from Mr. Coulter and Mr. Hamaker about the awesome work our students did at Leadership Workshop. As they shared, this workshop was planned and led by our students!
We ended the week with 19 of our students attending the VHSL State Leadership Workshop where they represented our school with pride. On Saturday evening, our junior class held their Ring Dance. Our students looked amazing and they did a great job. A good time was had by all.
I hope you have had a chance to look over the Shared Leadership Model presented at Monday's staff meeting. There are opportunities for increased staff voice on our Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) and for more student voice. This structure promises to be the vehicle to guide us on our journey to high academic success for all of our students. Don't forget the deadline to apply for the Transformational Learning Leader and Leadership Liaison positions is April 22.
Please note that Mr. Gustafson's final day of subbing with us will be this Thursday. Tom has done a tremendous job in this short time he has been with us and we really appreciate everything he has done. Be sure to stop by sometime before Thursday and thank Tom as he heads off to enjoy some well-deserved family time.
When we return from Spring Break, Mr. George Korte will be subbing in the vacant assistant principal position. George is a very familiar face at Landstown and will be taking over the duties Mr. Gustafson has been covering.
Report Card Distribution
Report cards have been placed in your mailboxes for distribution during your 2A homeroom. Please be sure to PICK THEM UP and DISTRIBUTE them!
DON'T FORGET . . . Any grade changes MUST be given to Margaret Burgess. Teachers cannot make permanent changes to grades once the report card period has been posted!
Eagle Nation Advisory
This week’s Advisory will be SCA and Class Officer 2019-2020 Elections. Teacher notes, including a link to the slideshow which will have all election speech videos embedded within it for you and your students to view, will be placed in Schoology by the end of the day Monday in the LHS Eagle Nation Advisory Group. Remember, once in the group, click Resources to access the grade level folders and then the April 10 folder. Since students do not need to access the slideshow, you DO NOT NEED to copy this week’s folder into your own Advisory course; instead, you can simply access the Teacher Notes from within the LHS Advisory group. Students will need their Chromebooks this week (or they can use their phones if they have the Schoology app on them) as voting will take place electronically through the pre-populated grade level Schoology groups. The ballots will only be accessible during the Advisory block, so it is important to tell students this is the only time they will be able to vote. After you have reviewed the lesson, get in touch with Kelly or Krissy if you have questions prior to Advisory day.
**You will need audio and video capabilities to show the election speeches to your students; if you know these are issues in your Advisory classroom, put in an SD ticket right away or contact Rich McCollum.
Nominations for Eagle Nation Advisory Mentors for 2019-2020 Needed
Our Eagle Nation Mentors are an integral part of Freshman Orientation and Eagle Nation Advisory. We are so thankful for the hard work this group has put in this school year and now it’s time to recruit for next year.
In your mailboxes, you will find a purple sheet, which contains two mentor nomination forms. If you know of a current sophomore or junior who would make an awesome mentor to our upcoming freshmen, please give them one of these nomination notices this week. The nomination notice includes links to all information students need to know about applying and who to see if they have questions. As part of the mentor application, each applicant is required to secure two teacher recommendations. Applicants should supply you with the teacher recommendation link if they request that you serve as a reference, but you can also access it here if needed.
Remember, mentors of ALL kinds are needed; they do not necessarily have to be the “A” students, but should be students who work well with others, do not have attendance or discipline issues, and have the potential to be leaders who will mentor and relate well to our incoming freshmen class. If you need more than two nomination forms, please email Kelly Singer or Krissy Sanderlin and they can supply you with more.
April 8-12 is Assistant Principals Week
The National Association of Secondary School Principals, the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the American Federation of School Administrators have declared the week of April 8-12, as National Assistant Principals Week. The Assistant Principals here at LHS do a fantastic job and we appreciate their hard work. Please remember to tell Andria Chambers, Beth Pickett, Tom Gustafson, Wellinthon Muñoz, Jason Stanley, and Eva Melatti how much you appreciate them!
I Make a Difference
From Diana McAndrews
Thank you Margaret for recognizing me for I Make a Difference Award. I would also like to thank the school counseling staff for welcoming me with open arms. It is my privilege to be part of the Landstown family. I’m passing this award to Beth Pickett. She is an amazing individual. Mrs. Pickett always has a smile on her face. She goes above and beyond to make sure staff and students are well taken care of. Congratulations Beth!
April is School Library & National Autism Awareness Month
Medical Honor Society is selling stickers to raise funds for Autism Awareness. Stickers are $1 each and made of high quality, weather resistant vinyl. See a Medical Honor Society student or Ms. Wong in Room 205 to purchase a sticker and support Autism Awareness.
It's Spirit Week!
Monday: Class Colors
(Freshmen= white, Sophomores= gray, Juniors= blue, Seniors= black)
Tuesday: Mathletes vs. Athletes
Wednesday: Dress to Impress
Thursday: Frat Day
UPCOMING EVENTS
Monday, 04/08 (A)
Report Cards Issued
Girls Tennis vs PAHS, 3:00
Boys Tennis @ PAHS, 3:00
JV Baseball vs Kellam, 4:00
Boys Soccer @ Grassfield, 6:00
Tuesday, 04/09 (B)
Softball @ OLHS, 4:00
Baseball @ Kempsville, 4:00
Soccer @ Bayside, 5:15
Wednesday, 04/10 (A)
ADVISORY
Parent-Teacher Conferences, 2:15, Cafeteria
Girls Tennis @ FCHS, 3:00
Boys Tennis vs FCHS, 3:00
Track, 3:00
JV Softball vs Tallwood, 4:00
JV Soccer vs Tallwood, 4:00
JV Baseball @ Tallwood, 4:00
Thursday, 04/11 (B)
Softball vs Bayside, 4:00
Girls Soccer @ Grassfield, 5:15
Friday, 04/12
No School--Spring Break
April is the Month of the Military Child and Wednesday, April 10th is “Purple Up” day. Staff and students are encouraged to wear purple to celebrate our military affiliated students. Staff may also wear jeans on this day if they wear purple!
Announcements & Reminders
Personal Gmail Account Access: The Department of Technology has developed a Gmail Kiosk app that allows students the ability to sign in to their personal Gmail account. The Gmail Kiosk app will be made available to all High School Students April 2, 2019. The Gmail kiosk app can be accessed the same way they access testing apps on their Chromebook.
Once the student signs in, they can:
- Send and receive email (to include attachments that are stored in Google Drive)
- Access, edit, share, and create Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Calendar, Keep, and Task
- Preview PDFs, Microsoft Office files, and image files that are saved in the Google Drive
- Access to the internet is not available through hyperlinks or Google searching.
A short video can be viewed on the Stream demonstrating how the Gmail Kiosk App can be used.
Attendance reminder: Mrs. Everhart will code a student's attendance in Synergy in advance if the attendance office is made aware of a pre-planned absence. In these instances, please do not override the code that Mrs. Everhart loads into Synergy for a student's daily attendance. For example, if a student is coded as ACT when you open your attendance tab, do not change the code from ACT to UNV. If there is a discrepancy between a code that Mrs. Everhart inputs for a student in advance and their actual attendance, please email Andrea Everhart with the correction and allow Mrs. Everhart to make the change.
Education Foundation Grants: The Virginia Beach Education Foundation provides funding to Virginia Beach City Public Schools teachers and staff to support innovative learning that equips students with the skills they need to succeed as 21st century learners, workers and citizens. Innovative Learning Grants of up to $2,000 are awarded and you can find the application here.
The Foundation also awards schoolwide gants of $2,000 to $5,000. These grants must impact at least 25% of the school population or one grade level of the school. The application for these grants can be found here.
Congratulations to Alexis Philpot for her 2nd place award in the Art of Being a Military Child competition.
Kudos
Kudos to Chloe Bowman, Hadiya Burrow, Naya Burrow, Nash Euman, Effrain Guerrero, Emma Jenkins, Jaileen Myers, Ryan Popp, and Jacob Sekerak who volunteered to present at the Parkway Elementary Career Day event on Friday. They did a remarkable job!
Congratulations to Dawn Euman, Kate Lucas, and the Junior Class for a phenomenal Ring Dance event on Saturday night. They did a great job and our kids looked so good!
Congratulations to Landstown High School for recently being recognized as the comprehensive high school whose students earned the highest number of Workplace Readiness Skills credentials in 2017-18 (260 credentials earned)!
Kudos to T’Na Bell and the Counseling department for administering the Workplace Readiness Skills exam to seniors still in need of an industry certification required for graduation. We tested 52 students and 41 passed the exam and met their graduation requirement!
Congratulations to Jenny Hechtkopf and Jeanita Lawrence for coordinating the Spring into College Junior Day this past Wednesday, April 3rd. Nearly 40 juniors heard from admissions representatives from VWU, Regent, ODU, CNU & VCU, as well as ACCESS College Foundation.
Kudos to Brandon Gardner for his work on the senior scholarship slideshow that is displayed on the big screen in the Counseling office. It has inspired our students to turn in their acceptances and financial award letters and to apply to more scholarships. Be sure to check it out!
Kudos to our NJROTC cadets who recently visited the Coast Guard Base Portsmouth and volunteered at the Autism Bounce House.
April 8: Kara Barco, SIS
April 16: Cherry Abenojar, Cafeteria
April 17: Diane Hruska, Special Ed TA
April 17: Zarmina Miran, Cafeteria
April 20: Alese Herbert, Perm Sub
An Eagle in Need
HS SItes: Cox HS (morning and afternoon sessions), Tallwood HS (morning and afternoon sessions), Renaissance Academy and Virginia Beach Digital Campus (VBDC).
Secretary of Education’s 2019 Essay Challenge
The Virginia Secretary of Education in partnership with the Virginia Commission on Civic Education (the Commission) invites Virginia’s public high school students currently enrolled in a Virginia and United States Government course to enter an essay challenge. All public high school seniors across the Commonwealth will have the opportunity to demonstrate an understanding and knowledge of and commitment to engaged citizenship as it relates to the freedoms expressed in the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Students should use their knowledge of the First Amendment, to describe ways in which it protects or promotes engaged citizenship in no more than 750 words. The deadline for electronic submission is 5 p.m. Friday, April 26. Winners will be announced Friday, May 24. Secretary Qarni will present the awards at a ceremony and celebration on Monday, June 3. First Place — $500, Second Place — $250 and Third Place — $100. All individuals who wish to enter the 2019 Essay Contest must submit a Contest Packet (Attachment A) electronically to Senator Marsden’s office by 5 p.m. Friday, April 26, to civicsessaycontest@senate.virginia.gov. Questions may be directed to Kris Troch, secondary social studies coordinator.
Start Preparing for Next School Year with Schoology PL On Your Own Time and At Your Own Pace
Are you ready to start using Schoology with all of your classes next school year? While many of you have already made the leap from Google Classroom to Schoology this school year, as a school and a division, we will all be making that leap beginning in the 2019-2020 school year.
To help prepare you for this transition, Krissy and Erik have created Schoology Learning Boards full of tutorials and resources on a plethora of features that you will likely use within Schoology. They have created three boards that align with the categories established by the VBCPS Navigational Markers: Toes in the Water, Waist-High, and All In, terms used to depict comfort levels with Schoology.
Between now and May 31, you should review all three learning boards, beginning with the Toes in the Water board. When you feel comfortable with all of the features on this learning board, you should complete the required exit ticket reflection to earn 2 PL points and also gain access to the next learning board. Then, repeat that process, working through the next level boards completing each required exit ticket when you are comfortable with the features. You can earn up to 6 PL points, 2 per learning board. Please be honest about your abilities and in your reflection, as this will help us to create more effective Schoology training that meets everyone where they are and provide the support needed to make this transition.If you have any questions, get in touch with Krissy, Erik or one of our stellar Schoology Champions.
TalentEd Info
Principal's Advisory Committee
The Principal's Advisory Committee serves in an advisory capacity to address employee concerns as they relate to site conditions that negatively impact on high student achievement and high employee morale. The PAC is committed to resolving issues professionally and in a timely manner. The following staff members have been elected to serve on this year's PAC: Katie Bennett, Caroline Clark, Jae Clark, Terri Gayer, Woody Gehlert, Kay Gramling, Kathy Holbert, Suzette Johnson, Connie Martinez, Michael Robinson, Kelly Singer and Anne Marie Sprague. Use this form to submit concerns to the PAC.
Our Guiding Questions
- How do students determine and engage with their learning targets?
- What is the evidence that students are exercising their voice and choice throughout the learning process?
- What evidence is there that the teacher has planned opportunities for students to choose from a variety of tools/structures during their learning?
- How are teachers using assessment tools as part of their assessment strategy?
- What evidence exists that supports student collaboration, exploration, and creation efforts?
Landstown High School
Email: cheryl.askew@vbschools.com
Website: http://www.landstownhs.vbschools.com/
Location: 2001 Concert Drive, Virginia Beach, VA, USA
Phone: 757-648-5500
Twitter: @LandstownEagles