The Knight Times
Weekly newsletter for Kellam High School Faculty & Staff
October 23, 2017
Volume 2, Issue 8
Principal's Message
Our school is a family and with any family comes challenges and obstacles as well as support and encouragement. I have yet to encounter a perfect family or one that does not experience frustration and dysfunction from time to time. This past week challenged us in several ways and reminded us about the importance of a strong family.
As our family continues to grow and develop, it will require all of us to love and support each other while embracing each other as individuals within our larger family. This cohesion and family love must also extend to our students and community as we work to make a sustain and lasting impact our our larger world.
Floyd E. Kellam 2017-18 Staff
I Make A Difference
From Earl Walton
I'm writing this note of gratitude to nominate Ms. Laura Howell for the I Make a Difference Award, for making a true difference in peoples' lives. Laura brings a positive emotion to people in need of assistance. As an instructional technology teacher, her professionalism in classes is impeccable. In addition, her volunteer work in the community is outstanding. Laura Howell, thank you for making a difference at Kellam High School!
Kudos!
Congratulations to Amy Knight and Angela Parsons who recently earned their National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT) renewal! This is an incredibly rigorous and reflective profess and we are very proud of you!
Kudos to Mr. O’Hara, Mr. Hoffman and Mr. Neas who really stepped up to support others for uKnight this week!
A total of 333 soccer teams (118 boys, 215 girls) from throughout the United States have earned the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award for exemplary performance in the classroom as a team during the 2016-17 academic year. KUDOS to Coach Mario Hurdle, whose girls soccer team has placed among this number with a 3.71 GPA!
Kudos to Carrie Gantt and the Peer Tutors! If your students aren't yet using this service, check out the rave review, below:
Louis (not sure if I spelled his name correctly) was amazing and the kids really loved him. He was able to explain information in a way that made it relevant to some of my tougher kids. Donetta worked with some girls that have a hard time turning assignments in and they all stayed on task today. The other girls bounced around and helped kids who struggled with research and logistical problems with Schoology and Google. You guys are doing a great service and I’m so impressed with the program and the caliber of students involved. Thank you so much for spear-heading such a powerful program here at Kellam. I just love it!
From the PAC: Please be considerate of teachers who use the classroom before or after you! Be sure to leave the Lenovo laptop connected with all wires before you leave!
Unsupervised Students: Students who are in hallways after school need to be supervised by their club sponsors or tutors. Students can be brought to the cafe commons at 3:30.
Student Use of Copiers - Students are not permitted to use the school copiers and should not be in possession of teacher logins and passwords!
Activity Buses - Any teacher who keeps a student after school who plans to ride the activity bus home should sign a pass for that student to get onto the activity bus.
Professional Learning at Kellam High School
Every full-time teacher must complete 22 PLP points. At Kellam, these points are divided into 8+ division points (Schoology) and 6 site-based points (Engagement). All engagement points will be accrued through Learning Community meetings throughout the year. For more information regarding our Professional Learning Program (PLP), please take a few minutes to watch the following video.
- · Do you know the purpose of our Professional Learning Program (PLP)?
- · Do you know how PLP points for Kellam teachers are calculated?
- · Do you know where to find out how many points you have accumulated?
- · Do you know where to find professional learning workshops and sessions that are being offered?
https://www.playposit.com/play/648883/VBCPS-2017-18-PLP
Chrome is the best browser for this video. If prompted, choose “log in” with Google. You may need to select your school Google account and click “accept” on permissions.
College Night on Tuesday
Please wear your college gear on Tuesday (10/24) in support of College Night at the VB Convention Center (5:50-8 p.m.). Over 175 colleges will be present as well as financial aid presentations. Staff wearing college gear and showing their support of College Night may also wear professional jeans.
Save the Date – Registration Knight
On November 15, 2017, from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m., we will host Registration Knight, a program designed to prepare all of our students for the upcoming course registration process. This is an event that combines previously separate events into one (K)night! We will kick off the evening at 6 p.m. with Knights Rising, our program designed for our rising 9th grade students and their parents. This is our first opportunity to meet our newest students and their parents, and we want to welcome them in the Kellam Way! At 7 p.m., we will begin our Registration Fair for our current Knights. As part of the program, we will showcase the courses, programs, athletics, activities that are available at our school, and offer building tours. We will make tables and booths available in the café commons for the academic course Expo and in the gymnasium for the clubs and sports Expo. It is appropriate to prepare a tri-fold, handout, or digital presentation to augment your table/booth in a professional manner. Space will be made for:
- Each department
- Advanced Placement (AP), Gifted
- Activities, Clubs, and Athletics
- PTSA and refreshments
Specific information about the evening is forthcoming. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Jones. See you there!
Captains’ Council
Leadership is a critical element to our students’ development. The skills associated with leadership can be developed, strengthened, and applied to help students reach their full potential. Our Captains’ Council leadership program engages 70 of our student leaders in monthly meetings. The purpose of this experience is to develop our captains’ leadership capacity, to support them with becoming effective leaders for their teams, and to provide them with growth in skills to become even more effective at impacting the Kellam community. Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, October 24, from 9-10am in the Schola. During this session, we will explore a personal pathway to leadership! If you are free, you are welcome to join us! Click HERE for a roster to verify which students should attend. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Jones.
Feeder Elementary School Connections
Our partnerships with our feeder elementary schools continue to grow! On November 16, Chris Henry and Anne Jennings will take a group of students to the Military Aviation Museum to work with 5th grade students from Creeds ES as they host STEM activities. On October 25, eight of our students (Abigail Bock, Cam Hnatkowicz, Cameron Diedrich, Christian McNulty, Michael Shaw, Jake Blaha, Paddy McKechnie, and Austin Dinsdale) will travel over to Strawbridge ES to observe their composting program and create an effective lunch traffic pattern.
SCA News
Congratulations to all seniors as the fall sports seasons finish up!
A reminder that October 25th will be our Blood Drive in the gym from 7:30-1PM. If you are interested in giving blood, stopy by. You will be able to go to the head of the line.
From the LMC
We are still in need of Wii controllers, so if you have any at home that are going unused send them our way as a donation or loaner for the year.
Follow us on our reading journey here: https://somanybookskhs.blogspot.com/
ITS Tech News
· Book Study starting! Facilitated by Rich Kinsey and Jennifer DuPont(she liked the book so much she’s leading the study!). 5 Myths About Classroom Technology - 5 PLP points. We’ll have an introductory F2F meeting in B109 Wednesday, October 25 from 2:20PM – 2:50PM. The study will be online. It’s a great, practical approach and an easy read; we’ll take two weeks for each section to allow for plenty of time to complete.
· If you Linked your Schoology Courses(Sections), visit How to Use Linked Sections for tips and info.
· Remember Google Drawings is a great online tool, a virtual Swiss Army Knife of online files. Ask Jennifer Gilson how she had students graph equations using Google Drawings! Ask Laura and Rich to help to develop and convert learning activities using Google Drawings.
· AMP is being used at Kellam. Try and develop a five question exit ticket using the enhanced type items with your collaborative team. Go to Schoology Training: Kellam High School and find a folder with all the training information, along with some simple tips to help develop assessments.
Principals Advisory Committee (PAC) Updates
PAC met this past Thursday. Click here to access the minutes.
Here is the link to our new PAC Faculty Recognition Form! Recognize your coworkers today!
https://goo.gl/forms/TJWPobzrnIuwPo7k1
Please use this form to nominate a worker who deserves to be recognized for their hard work and dedication to Kellam High School. Please be descriptive in your response about the noteworthy deeds and accolade.
Teachers and Staff could be nominated for exceeding expectations in one / more of these areas:
*Outstanding work in the classroom
*Contributions to Kellam High School
*Positive impact on students
*Exhibits exceptional relationships with colleagues
*Engaging in partnerships with the community
PAC will review the nominations at each meeting and the staff member will be formally recognized.
The division's Teacher Assembly includes one teacher representative from each school. It meets three times during the school year. This group will engage in dialogue and problem-solving activities associated with the goals of Compass to 2020. If you are interested in representing Kellam at the Teacher Assembly, please let your Learning Community or Department PAC member know by Friday, October 27.
Division News
Share your feedback for the 2018-19 and 2019-2020 school year calendar options
Parents, students and school staff are encouraged to share their opinions on the school calendar options by visiting the e-Town Hall before midnight Wednesday, Oct. 25. All feedback will be considered before final recommendations are made to the Superintendent and School Board in November. A summary of feedback will also be provided to the School Board as part of the calendar adoption process.
Mandatory Benefits Enrollment
Happy Birthday!
October 23 - Teresa Harrington
October 24 - Juliana Caruso
October 25 - Freda Pohrivchak
Castle Events
Important Dates
Stay connected to our calendar and mark yours!
For all Beach District and VHSL sporting events involving YOUR Kellam Knights, click HERE.
October 23 - Faculty Meeting
October 24 - VBCPS College Night
October 24 - Captains' Council
October 25 - School Planning Council
October 26-28 - Fall Play: Antigone at 7 p.m.
October 28 - Band Competition
Second Printing
Peer Tutoring!
The Kellam Peer Tutoring Center is NOW OPEN!
The Kellam Peer Tutoring Center is now open and ready for individual students and classes during Block 1A in the Schola Balcony. Our 11th and 12th grade peer tutors have spent the past four weeks learning how to tutor students in grades 9-12 and how best to support the learning of their peers. If you have students in your 1A class who are in need of academic assistance, please request a Peer Tutor by clicking HERE. The Peer Tutoring Request Form is also located in Staff Bookmarks and on the Kellam homepage. Peer Tutors are excited to assist within your classroom and learning communities, and we also welcome walk-ins to the Schola Balcony. Thank you for your support of this new student-led learning endeavor at Kellam! If you want to learn more about our peer tutoring program, please contact Carrie Gantt.
Fall Baking Orders
Amy Pratt will be accepting orders for the following baked goods this fall:
Pumpkin Bread – full loaf $4.00/ small loaf $2.00
Apple Bread – full loaf $4.00/small loaf $2.00
Chocolate Chip Cookies – $4.00 per dozen
Snickerdoodle Cookies – $4.00 per dozen
Please see or email Ms. Pratt to place your order!
Follow Us
Email: Daniel.Smith2@vbschools.com
Website: www.kellamhs.vbschools.com
Location: 2665 West Neck Road, Virginia Beach, VA, United States
Phone: 757-648-5100
Twitter: @KellamHigh