Week of November 27, 2017

I feel so blessed and fortunate to be part of Venture High School and the amazing work that happens here.  The work you all do is so much more than teaching. You care about kids, their families and their lives and the power of that caring opens up possibilities that might otherwise be impossible.  We all, individually and collectively, maintain a hopeful vision for each of our kids through times when they struggle to see potential in themselves.  I am so thankful for each of you!   I wish for you a Thanksgiving break that renews your strength and refreshes your spirit.
Happy Thanksgiving! 


Bus/Parking lot duty:  Levy and Mahoney

Monday 11/27:  8:00: Staff meeting- bring your School-Connect curriculum  9:00 - 12:00:   Resiliency III Training with Teresa Hurliman; 12:30 Math meeting
Tuesday 11/28:  
Wednesday 11/29:
Thursday 11/30:   
Friday 12/1: Last Day of Trimester

Bus/Parking lot duty:  Meeks 

Monday 12/4  Kaiser at PBEC
Tuesday 12/5:  Kaiser at PBEC
Wednesday 12/6 Kaiser at PBEC
Thursday 12/7:   Kaiser at PBEC  Holiday dine-in and conferences  3:00 - 7:00
Friday 12/8:  Celebration Assembly

Bus/Parking lot duty:  Meeks 

Monday 12/11 Faculty Meeting 8:00
Tuesday 12/12: 
Wednesday 12/13 
Thursday 12/14:   Holiday Dinner for students
Friday 12/15:  

Welcome Miller Gregory Meeks

Week of November 13, 2017

Bus/Parking lot duty:  Higgs and Hook
Monday 11/13: 7:00 Library Cross district Collaboration - Bring concerns, thoughts, suggestions for our 21st Century skills class.  This is a school day!
Tuesday 11/14:  
Wednesday 11/15:  Kaiser out - Data Summit II
Thursday 11/16:   
Friday 11/17: 

Week of November 20 - Thanksgiving Break

Bus/Parking lot duty:  Levy and Mahoney
Monday 11/27: Resiliency III Training 9:00   Please be ready to begin at 9:00
Tuesday 11/28:  
Wednesday 11/29:
Thursday 11/30:   
Friday 12/1: Last Day of Trimester

Holidays
It's time for my annual reminder that the holidays are often stressful and not fun for our students.  As families reach the limits of their emotional and physical resources, kids can become the casualties of dysfunctional coping mechanisms.  Hence, the unhappy memories.  Mix in the teenage tendency to believe everyone else has a better life than they do, add a sprinkle of unstructured time and a smattering of disrupted routines, and teachers become the collateral damage of 140 hijacked amygdalas.  

A few things to remember:

1. Don't make assignments based on the assumption that holidays are fun for all.  Don't ask them to reflect on, refer to, or tell stories about past holidays, plans for current holidays etc.  
2. This doesn't mean that you have to avoid festivity.  However, focus on themes that are non religious and common to most cultures.  Please don't add to anxiety with gift exchanges etc.
3. Keep your schedules as normal as possible.  Giving anxiety-ridden, stressed-out students free time is not helpful.  Unstructured time is not a teacher's friend.  Consistent and predictable routines serve to calm the amygdala and free up the frontal cortex for learning and decision making.
4. We already have reduced time at school.  It's really important to use every minute to learning advantage.  We can't show movies in their entirety (copyright laws, or something like that)  Activities should be tied to standards and learning objectives.

Lock Down Drill

The lock down drill went really well.  We rattle doors, opened some doors to make sure kids were hunkered down and quiet.  And it went pretty well.  

IMEN Visit

I wish I would have video'd the IMEN student interviews.  Five students were interviewed and they RAVED about how helpful their teachers were and how much they loved their classes.  When asked what they would change about the school, ALL of the kids said they would change nothing - everything is working well for them.  Kudos to all of you for creating a safe and accepting learning environment for all of our kids.  You guys are the BEST!!!

Week of November 6

Bus/Parking lot duty:  Fehling
Monday 11/6:  8:00 Staff Meeting, 9:30 Department meetings (if necessary) Senior projects
Tuesday 11/7:  3:30 Mandatory Training for all Special Ed staff
Wednesday 11/8: IMEN VISIT.  
Thursday 11/9:   
Friday 11/10: 

Bus/Parking lot duty:  Higgs and Hook
Monday 11/13: 7:00 Library Cross district Collaboration - Bring concerns, thoughts, suggestions for our 21st Century skills class.  This is a school day!
Tuesday 11/14:  
Wednesday 11/15:  
Thursday 11/16:   
Friday 11/17: 

Monday November 13 is a student day.... Everything that morning is exactly one hour later.  They catch the bus one hour later, come to school one hour later, eat breakfast one hour later...

Kids in the Office
Just a reminder... when kids are in the office, they are generally being managed by me, Connie, Matt, or Bryan. We're working with a broader network of community resources than we've had in the past and we have some students with a high level of needs.  Please don't send them back to class or ask them why they're in the office.  Sometimes students exhibit a range of behaviors that are counter intuitive and difficult to interpret, especially if we don't have all the information.  If you have any concerns, please feel free to come talk to me.

IMEN Visit
Reminder:  Kelly Brady et. al from IMEN will be visiting Wednesday morning from 8:00 - 11:00

21st Century Skills
The bouncy balls have arrived (remember - bouncy ball = resilience, egg = no resilience)
If you would like to do that lesson/demonstration with your class, come get a bouncy ball.

Eight Strategies for More Kid Talk/Less Teacher Talk