May Day, May Day

Bus Duty: Heather Chase, Randy Patterson

Monday 5/1/17 Non Work day
Tuesday 5/2/17 
Wednesday 5/3/17 Retirement Dinner
Thursday 5/4/17-   
Friday 5/5/17  

Monday 5/8/17 Collaboration Day
Tuesday 5/9/17 
Wednesday 5/10/17 
Thursday 5/11/17-   
Friday 5/12/17 

Big Shout Out to Heidi and Marsha

Thanks to both of you for everything you do for the staff, students and families of Venture High School.  You're both amazing and we appreciate you!

Week of April 24

Bus Duty: Christy Smith and Lex Levy

Monday 4/24/17 Non Work day
Tuesday 4/25/17 
Wednesday 4/26/17 
Thursday 4/27/17-   
Friday 4/28/17  Plummer Calibration Visit

Monday 5/1/17 Non Work day
Tuesday 5/2/17 
Wednesday 5/3/17 
Thursday 5/4/17-   

Friday 5/5/17  

The Prom was WOW!!!!
A huge thanks to everyone who participated in making a fun and positive experience for the kids.

Week of April 17

Bus Duty:  Angie Beck, Whitney Hamill

Monday 4/17/17 7:00 secondary x-district collaboration  Agenda: here 8:30 CPR training (bring $10 for card)
Tuesday 4/18/17 ELA SBAC testing
Wednesday 4/19/17 ELA SBAC testing
Thursday 4/20/17- 
Friday 4/21/17  PROM DAY!!!

Bus Duty: Ben Higgs, Lena Cooley

Monday 4/24/17 Non Work day
Tuesday 4/25/17 
Wednesday 4/26/17 
Thursday 4/27/17-   
Friday 4/28/17  Plummer Calibration Visit

Week of April 10

Bus Duty:  Sue Thomas, Tony Hook

Monday 4/10/17 Work day: Schedule here
Tuesday 4/11/17 SAT
Wednesday 4/12/17 Beck, Flieger prevention conference
Thursday 4/13/17-  Beck, Flieger prevention conference
Friday 4/14/17  Beck, Flieger prevention conference

Monday 4/17/17 7:00 secondary cross district collaboration  8:30 CPR training (bring $10 for card)
Tuesday 4/18/17 ELA SBAC testing
Wednesday 4/19/17 ELA SBAC testing
Thursday 4/20/17- 
Friday 4/21/17  PROM DAY!!!

Please Phone Home:
Often people will ask us, or we will ask ourselves, "What makes Venture alternative".   This is a surprisingly easy question to answer: we have smaller class sizes, better communication with our students, more opportunities for at-risk learners to receive personalized instruction, and a longer day in which to deliver both the main content and academic interventions.  

At VHS, we have about an 8:1 student teacher ratio.  This affords us an amazing opportunity to keep tabs on students and intervene when they are not learning  and passing classes.  Additionally, we have time at the end of the day to work with students and staff members scheduled until 5:00 for even more help tutoring students. 

However, if we aren't all committed to phoning home and making those arrangements with parents, then we really aren't doing what we can to help students.  There isn't much point to this very small student teacher ratio if we aren't using it ensure that students are not falling through the cracks. 

No student should ever fail or receive an incomplete at the end of the term without at least 2 phone calls home with a plan to get the student back on track.  I am happy to make the second phone call if you don't feel like your communication with parents has been effective.  The first call needs to be made early enough to make a difference.  In the first term we had 84 failed grades, in the second term we had 109 failed grades.  Anecdotally, teachers have shared with me success they've had with students when they've phoned home and made arrangements for them stay after school for additional help.  This issue is more significant for term 3 when there won't be any additional time for students to make up missing work at the end of the quarter.

To sum it up... please phone home!  Please let me know if you need additional assistance to get students to show up after school.  If you have any questions or concerns regarding this policy, please come see me.

Week of April 3

Bus Duty:  Nick Meeks, Donal Doering

Monday 4/3/17 No School
Tuesday 4/4/17 
Wednesday 4/5/17 
Thursday 4/6/17-  
Friday 4/7/17  

Monday 4/10/17 
Tuesday 4/11/17 SAT
Wednesday 4/12/17 Kaiser, Flieger prevention conference
Thursday 4/13/17-  Kaiser, Flieger prevention conference
Friday 4/14/17  Kaiser, Flieger prevention conference

When Is It Not Great to Feel Good?
I subscribe to the The Greater Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life, an ebulletin that often has articles pertinent to education.  I especially liked an article this week on the notion of happiness and times when "feeling good" isn't all that beneficial.  It's a quick read that you might find has some relevance for the classroom:  Five Ways Feeling Good Can Be Bad For You

Helpful Video:
The brownie mix and tongue depressor would be especially appreciated by CS.