Weekly Warrior
March 12, 2018
This Week Supervision
Location A----B. Murphy
Location B----R. Trobaugh
Location C----J.Dorrance
Location D----K. Jensen
Location E----M. Nevin
Location F----B. Holdman
Office---- M. Cleary
All faculty should be supervising the halls at 7:20 am, outside supervision begins at 7:15 am Thank youPARCC TEST--- TEST- Monday March 12th during Advisory
Very important EVERYTHING else should be off.
Courtney, Daniela and Johnny Team Meetings
- Monday, March 12th 7:45- 8th grade
- Monday, March 12th 9:45 7th grade
- Monday, March 12th 11:30 SPED -Conf room(DHH) can you join this session?
- Monday, March 12th 12:20 pm 6th grade
- Tuesday, March 13th 2:00 pm PE/Encore
SLT Agenda- Marh 21
March 14th- Please read in Advisory on Tuesday
Once again, each pod will be open and we will communicate the location that students should congregate should they choose to walk out. The advisory Reps made this google Slide presentation it is almost finished we will show this and read the names during the 17 minutes in each pod. Below is an example of a letter written by a teacher to share with students. Discuss with students to listen to thier thoughts after the letter is read.
I know you. I am a retired teacher of 24 years. I have taught you as 7th graders all the way through 12th grade. This is not a tweet or a text. It’s called a letter; lengthy and substantial. Do you really want to make a difference? Are you sincere about making your schools safe? Don’t walk out, read this instead. Walking out of school is easy compared to what this letter will challenge you to do.
First of all, put down your stupid phone. Look around you at your classmates. Do you see the kid over in the corner, alone? He could likely be our next shooter. He needs a friend. He needs you. Go and talk to him, befriend him. Chances are, he won’t be easy to like, but it’s mainly because no one has tried to like him. Ask him about him. Get to know him. He’s just like you in that respect; he wants someone to recognize him as a fellow human being but few people have ever given him the chance. You can.
Next, see that kid eating lunch all alone? He could likely be our next shooter. Invite him to eat lunch with you. Introduce him into your fold of friends. You’ll most likely catch a lot of flack from the friends you eat with because they don’t want him upsetting the balance of their social order. After all, who you hang out with is critical to your status, is it not? If status is important to you, don’t you think it’s important to him also? The only difference being that he has no status because generally, shooters have no friends. Are you serious about wanting to make your school safe? Invite him to your lunch table and challenge your friends to do something meaningful with thirty minutes of their lives each day.
Lastly, are you completely frustrated by that kid who always disrupts your class and is consistently sent to the principal’s office? He could likely be our next shooter. Do you know why he causes so much trouble? He initiates disruption because that’s the only thing he does that gets him attention, and even bad attention is better than the no attention he receives from you and your classmates. You secretly wish he would get kicked out of school or sent to the alternative disciplinary school so that he wouldn’t disrupt your classes anymore, that somehow, he would just disappear. Guess what? He already feels invisible in a school of thousands of classmates, you included. So, before he acts out in your next class, why don’t you tell him you’d be willing to help him with the assignment that was just given? Or why don’t you ask him to join your study group? If you really want to blow his mind, ask him for help on the assignment. He’s never been asked that. Ever.
If you’ve read this far, you probably really do care about the safety of your school. Don’t trust that walking out of school will bring an answer. Gun control or more laws is not, and will not, be the answer. You are the answer. Your greeting, your smile, your gentle human touch is the only thing that can change the world of a desperate classmate who may be contemplating something as horrendous as a school shooting. Look past yourself and look past your phone and look into the eyes of a student who no one else sees. Meet the gaze of a fellow human being desperate to make contact with anyone, even just one person. You. If you really feel the need to walk, walk toward that person. Your new friendship can relieve the heartache of one person and in doing so, possibly prevent the unjustifiable heartache of hundreds of lives in the future. I know you. I trust you. You are the answer.
And teachers, my fellow guardians of our youth, I know you too. I know the desire of wanting to make a difference in a young person’s life. I know the thrill of stepping in front of a classroom of students but simultaneously intimidated by the trust bestowed upon you. I also know the crushing, sometimes unbearable responsibility that your shoulders are asked to carry. But that’s why you got into teaching, because you have big shoulders. And a big heart. You’re overworked (I would add underpaid, but you didn’t get into teaching for the pay, so it needn’t be said), underappreciated and exhausted. May I add one more item to that list? You’re also a miracle waiting to happen in the life of your worst student. He could likely be our next shooter. The next time (and there’s always a next time) he’s ready to wreak havoc in your classroom, I challenge you to pull him aside and ask him if he’s ok, if there is something bothering him and is there anything you can do to help? Your genuine concern for him may be just the miracle he’s looking for. The miracle we’re all looking for. I know you. I trust you. You are the answer.
A former teacher who is as heartbroken as you and trusting you not to walk out on the real answer,
David (yes, teachers really do have first names) Blair
March/April Faculty Meetings
- March 7th- Bagels or Brownies w/ the Board/ Teacher Device Selection
- March 21st- Grading System Review and Vertical Articulation
- Apil 4th PARCC testing training(Testing Plan will be communicated to staff prior to Spring Break)
Next School Year Events
On March 20th, we are going to begin planning the Calendar for next school year: Plays, musicals, band performances, parent nights, NJHS ceremony, Student Council activities... Please send dates to me in advance to help avoid the district hosting two events during the same evening. We also coordinate with LHS to avoid conflicts as well.
Faculty Basketball Team 3/23
7:30-7:40 Advisory
7:43-7:58 Period 1
8:01- 8:16 Period 2
8:19- 8:34 Period 3
8:37-8:52 Period 4(6th grade go to cafe) Shirley/Johnny + paras(teachers help on way back)
8:55-9:10 Period 5(7th grade got to cafe) Shirley/Johnny + paras(teachers help on way back)
9:13-9:28 Period 6(8th grade go to cafe) Shirley/Johnny + Paras(teachers help on way back)
9:31-9:46 Period 7
9:49- 10:45 Advisory Called down by grade level/teams(seating chart to follow)
Team Leader Meeting -March 14th
1. Adrienne Landgrave Presentation- School Safety
2. Discuss Advisory- big topic in comments to help the school run more smoothly.
3. PARCC Testing Questions
4. Honor Roll/Students of the Month
5. March 23rd SIP day
6. Items from Teams