Mustang Message
August 23, 2015
Message from the Principal
What a great first week! A former principal always said, "A successful first day is measured by students making it to school, getting fed and making it home at the end of the day". Judging by those standards, not only did we have a successful first day of school, but an amazing first week. In case you missed it, there was an article in the Naples Daily News on Thursday on the renaming of LWTC. It took all of you to make the celebration possible from Multimedia/Digital design students setting up the audio to culinary arts students serving cake to support staff coordinating t-shirts, etc.
Also in NDN this week was a "letter to the editor" from a retired educator Dr. Terry Trimble who noted the academic accomplishments of LWTHS/LWTC:
"Rarely in the public view because there is no football team or nationally touring band program, the school quietly provides first-rate academic and technical skills to motivated and focused students. Whereas vocational school students are sometimes viewed as lacking academic skills in comparison to students in the general or collegeĀ prep curricula, LWTHS demonstrates that this is not the case at this institution as evidenced by:
- Having the highest passing rate on the Algebra I end of course exam.
- Having the highest passing rate on the English/language arts end of course exam.
- Rated an "A" school by the Florida school rating system.
- Ranked 128 of 911 high schools in Florida and 2,217 among high schools in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, earning a silver medal.
Recognition for success is well-deserved for the administration and staff at LWTHS. They quietly go about providing students with a top-notch education on a quiet street in East Naples, out of the view of most of the public. "
I also received a letter from Mr. Kevin Schulberg expressing his "appreciation for the quality, motivation and professional expertise of the student body and teaching staff" (Rick Ponton) in the Digital Media/Multimedia class.
What we have always known is now being voiced in the community. Thank you for believing in our students, our school and our commitment to student success.
Tech Corner
You are invited to the first Web on Wednesday (WoW)! Wed, Aug 26th at either 2pm or 2:35pm sharp for about 25 minutes in room 2-233. The session will focus on Discovery Education's Board Builder - learn how to build your own board AND 50 ways to use Board Builder in your classroom.
Digital Tools - In addition to Quizlet (a great online 'flashcard + more' tool), Vocabulist is a free online program that assists students in isolating and learning new vocabulary. You simply upload a document (or copy/paste text from a digital site) and the program provides definitions for each of the words. You can then modify the definition, delete words already known, and then either export to Quizlet for further study or to a printable PDF.
Photo credit to Ken Whytock CC licensed image on Flickr
Staff and Student Recognition Program
We are excited to implement a "Staff Member of the Month" driven by your nominations. Please take the opportunity to nominate someone who is a great representative of the Lorenzo Walker Campus, who has gone above and beyond, and/or someone who has done something that you appreciated. The sky is the limit! Based on the nominations, we will randomly select one Lorenzo Walker Technical College and one Lorenzo Walker Technical High School staff member each month. The winners will be recognized and receive prizes. Please click on the Padlet link to nominate a staff member for August. Type the name of the nominated staff member in the "Title" portion of the Padlet post and your reasoning in the body of the post.
We will also be implementing a "Student of the Month" using the same format beginning in September. Staff will have the opportunity to nominate by grade level. There will be a Padlet board for 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, and Post-Secondary. Feel free to start nominating right away but we won't choose winners until the end of September. Follow the same protocol of putting the student name as the title and reason for nominating in the body of the post.
Reminders
- 8/27, 9:10 a.m., We will have our 2nd fire drill as required within the first 30 days of school.
- If you have any news that you would like to share with parents via our monthly LWTHS Parent Newsletter, please send it to Jeff Rexford by 8/28.
- Evaluative classroom observations start August 24th.
- Have you thought about sharing your Science, Technology, Engineering and/or Mathematics (STEM) dynamic classroom activities, mini-projects, or STEM career knowledge with others? If you have, go to the District's website to submit a proposal for the 5th annual STEM Conference that will take place on Saturday, October 3, 2015 at Golden Gate High School.
- LWTC instructors - If you are interested in sponsoring a SkillsUSA Club for your program this year? Skills is a great way to showcase your students talents and abilities as they compete with students from throughout the state. There is a supplement involved, but also meetings, possible travel, and assisting your students to follow the skills USA curriculum to prepare for competitions. If you are interested, please let Denise Duzick know by Friday, 8/31.
- Please be visible in hallways between classes and greet you students as they enter your classrooms. It's a great way to start each class.
- Teachers - Deliberate Practice Plans are due September 28, 2015. We will be scheduling "open labs" to help you with this process.
- Please remember to enter your PLC meeting minutes into Data Warehouse after each meeting.
Kudos
- All instructors and staff for a great first week of school!
- John Mazzarella and his students for the beautiful art piece they designed and created in the welding class. I will share the picture and more information next week.
- Denise Duzick for organizing the 'Renaming of the School" celebration
- Shauna Kelly for preparing for the annual audit of both schools
- Carolyn Casserly for all the awesome balloons and all the hard work to make orientation and the dedication ceremony a success!
- Lynn Bedrava, Emily Bordner, Heidi Duff, Diane Long, Joseph Martino, Olivia Ralston, Lesa Veitia, Bob Waller and Debra Young for getting the last of our students situated during the drop/add period.
- Blanca Rodriguez for registering and welcoming our newest Mustangs. She always makes the best first impression on families that walk through our doors.
- Amanda Vasquez for her continuous effort in getting students entered into Focus.
- To all of you for being so welcoming to our new students as they entered Lorenzo Walker for the first time! Please read the email below that Blanca received from a student who was accepted last week:
"My mother and I were very happy and blessed to receive the phone call yesterday and to be honest this was the biggest dream for us because my mom is a single mother and she just wants the best for me. She asked me to thank you for everything you did to help me and I am very thankful and happy to be able to start high school at Lorenzo Walker."
Staff Meetings and Trainings
8/24, 1:00 -3:00 p.m. Operations Meeting, Conference room
8/25, 2:00 -3:00 p.m. LWTHS Leadership Meeting, Conference room
8/26, 2:00 or 2:35, Web on Wednesday, 2-233 (2 session offered to accommodate teacher schedules)
8/27, 2:00 p.m., Department PLCs, locations vary
9/2, 1:30 p.m., Support Staff Meeting
Happy Birthday
8/24 - Donna Erb
8/25 - Holly Rodgers
Upcoming Student Events
- 8/28, all day, Senior Portraits
- 8/28, during both lunches, Club Day!
- 9/10, 6:00 p.m., Annual Title I Open House/Curriculum Night
LWTC/LWTH
Email: floresyo@collierschools.com
Website: lwit.edu
Location: 3702 Estey Ave., Naples, FL 34104
Phone: (239)377-0900
Facebook: facebook.com/lwit.edu