CSHS Weekly Bulletin
October 17-22, 2016
Be More Dog: Be More Awesome
Dear Cougar Family,
When I was a new teacher, one of my instructional coaches shared the "bus metaphor" with me, and, honestly, it took me a few years of teaching to fully grasp what she meant. She described the teacher as the bus driver, focused solely on the destination, not paying attention to students who were bounced off the bus along the way. When the teacher arrived at the destination--the last day of school--she had lost most of her students, but she had "covered the material." Admittedly, I recall sometimes pressing on the gas and moving on, even though I knew some of my students needed more time to practice a skill. In retrospect, I cannot produce a clear reason why I didn't carve out the time. So I pose this question to you, are you more focused on teaching students the skills they need or on plowing a bus through TEKS and curriculum? And, even more importantly, how are you doing both--maintaining high expectations while also ensuring students are retaining content and applying skills?
PSAT Day is this Wednesday. Along with the testing and Senior CPR training, October 19th will mark the first time our Recovery of Credits program is expanding beyond our math department. Cougar teachers are creative, innovative problem-solvers, and pausing to make sure students have the required skills before moving to the next unit through our ROC program is a prime example of this. When the math department piloted this program three years ago, they did not cognizantly step back and see themselves as pioneers in our field--they saw a need and found a creative way to solve a problem. These students who are "ROC-ing" are not getting a free pass. They are getting another chance to learn content and skills that they need in order to be successful the rest of the year. They will have an opportunity to re-learn material covered during the first six weeks in a smaller setting, and provided they can pass their reassessment, they also have a chance to improve their first six weeks average. These teachers are choosing not to keep driving that proverbial bus without having all their students on it, and they are showing why we should thoughtfully reassess what we are doing in the field of education.
They are "being more dog!" Please take a few moments to watch the commercial below, so you can see what I mean by that.
Thank you for all the work you do for our Cougars! And, let's work to transform this idea from being more dog to being more Cougar. Have a fabulous week thinking creatively within the constraints we are given!
And as always, COUGAR PRIDE!
Tiffany
October 19th!
We will be administering a practice EOC to our 9th graders, the PSAT to our 10th and 11th graders, as well as have some special activities for our seniors on October 19th. This is an "all hands on deck" type of day so we need you here.
Make sure you review all training materials.
One Last Show--Monday Night!
Wednesday PM Faculty Meeting
If you are responsible for students during that time (ex. athletic practice, club meeting, and so forth) please let me know, and we will make alternative arrangements.
Thank you!
Grade Due Dates
Announcements
Please make sure you are showing the Daily Announcements each day during Advocate.
Duty Schedule
Upcoming Events
10/24 Progress Report Grades Due
10/24 Make-up Senior Portraits
10/25 Volleyball vs. Waco University
10/25 Choir Concert
10/26 Decades Day
10/27 9th Football vs. Temple
10/27 Orchestra Concert
10/28 The Catamount- 2nd Issue
11/4 End Second Six Weeks
11/5 Drums Across the Brazos
11/7 Report Card Grades Due
11/10-12 Senior Class Panoramic Pic
11/10 Cougar Comedy Corps
11/17 Mr. CSHS
11/23-25 Thanksgiving Holiday
11/29 Theater Festival Showcase
12/1 Orchestra Concert
12/20 End Third Six Weeks/First Semester