Week of November 25

As I celebrate this Thanksgiving season, I want to share how thankful I am for each of you.  The work we do stretches and challenges us daily.  Especially at the end of a term, we can feel pretty tired (exhausted?) from the efforts we've made to make a difference in our kids' lives.  I am thankful to work with a group of professionals that builds one another up, that sees the best in each other, and recognizes that our greatest achievements come when we work together.  Walking around the building today and watching kids involved in the messy work of learning and growing made my heart happy.  This good work is only possible when a team of people is committed to overcoming every obstacle and pushing forward through personal and professional difficulties to make school a place where kids and adults want to live and learn together.  My hope for each of us is a week that leaves us refreshed and ready to continue with our work that is much more of a calling than a profession.

Bus/Parking lot duty:  

Monday 11/25:  Non-Work Day

Tuesday 11/26: Non-Work Day
Wednesday 11/27 Non-Work Day
Thursday 11/28: Thanksgiving

Friday 11/29: Black Friday

Bus/Parking lot duty:  Levy and Eastman

Monday 12/2:  Non-Work Day

Tuesday 12/3: First day of Term 2
Wednesday 12/4 Kaiser, Smotherman, Haynes, Beck, Higgs at a conference
Thursday 12/5: Kaiser, Smotherman, Haynes, Beck, Higgs at a conference

Friday 12/6: Kaiser, Smotherman, Haynes, Beck, Higgs at a conference

Week of Nov. 11

The next staff meeting is on December 9th.  Chapter 7 of Onward is all about appreciation and "Focusing on the Bright Spots."  Please read all of chapter 7 before Dec.9.

Two minute video that explains the Negativity Bias:

Bus/Parking lot duty:  Gonzalez and Fehling

Monday 11/11:  Teacher Work day

Tuesday 11/12: 
Wednesday 11/13 
Thursday 11/14: Kaiser@Conference

Friday 11/15: Holiday Dinner;  Kaiser@Conference

Bus/Parking lot duty:  

Monday 11/18: Non-work Day

Tuesday 11/19: 
Wednesday 11/20: 
Thursday 11/21: 

Friday 11/22:  

Bus/Parking lot duty:  

Monday 11/25:  Non-Work Day

Tuesday 11/26: Non-Work Day
Wednesday 11/27 Non-Work Day
Thursday 11/28: Thanksgiving

Friday 11/29: Black Friday

Shout Out to Angie...  The "Bullying builds walls..." display is awesome!
Thank you for getting students involved in positive ways to make a difference in their school community.

Today is the last Wellness for Trimester 1.  These were wonderful experiences for kids and I heard so many positive things about them.  Kudos to all of you for creating this fun opportunity for students to explore new and fun activities.  Think about what you might like to do for next Trimester.  This time, everyone needs to write a descriptive paragraph so that kids know what they're signing up for.  We will discuss at the December staff meeting.

Bus/Parking lot duty:  Smith and Cooley

Monday 11/4:  PD day:  Agenda

Tuesday 11/5: 
Wednesday 11/6: IMEN visit
Thursday 11/7: 

Friday 11/8: 

Bus/Parking lot duty:  Gonzalez and Fehling

Monday 11/11:  Teacher Work day

Tuesday 11/12: 
Wednesday 11/13 
Thursday 11/14: Kaiser@Conference

Friday 11/15: Holiday Dinner;  Kaiser@Conference

Bus/Parking lot duty:  

Monday 11/18: Non-work Day

Tuesday 11/19: 
Wednesday 11/20: 
Thursday 11/21: 

Friday 11/22:  

Bus/Parking lot duty:  

Monday 11/25:  Non-Work Day

Tuesday 11/26: Non-Work Day
Wednesday 11/27 Non-Work Day
Thursday 11/28: Thanksgiving

Friday 11/29: Black Friday

Week of October 21

Bus/Parking lot duty:  Gaynor and Frame

Monday 10/21:  PD Day: Agenda

Tuesday 10/22: Kaiser out @am
Wednesday 10/23: Kaiser out
Thursday 10/24: NIC Field trip

Friday 10/25: Recover from the NIC field trip

Bus/Parking lot duty:  Doering and Baker

Monday 10/28:  Non Work day

Tuesday 10/29: 
Wednesday 10/30: 
Thursday 10/31: Boo Boo Q

Friday 11/1: 

Week of October 7

Bus/Parking lot duty:  Mahoney and Meeks

Monday 10/7:  PD Day Agenda

Tuesday 10/8: 
Wednesday 10/9: District Admin classroom visits
Thursday 10/10: Eastman, Meeks, Kaiser out of the building (Halloween decorations)

Friday 10/11: Eastman, Meeks, Kaiser out of the building 

Bus/Parking lot duty:  

Monday 10/14:  Non Work day

Tuesday 10/15: 
Wednesday 10/16: 
Thursday 10/17: 

Friday 10/18: Kaiser out

Week of September 30

Phones... This is a reminder that phones are not allowed during the school day, except for lunch.  If there is a specific academic reason to have them, an exception can be made.  The kids are not reliable reporters, but they are saying that it's okay to use them in some classrooms, or that it isn't a big deal if they use them.  On Tuesday, please reiterate the phone policy with your classes.  Nobody wants to make a big deal out of it, but the best place for us to be is united on this policy.  I appreciate the work you're doing with kids and phones shouldn't be a barrier to their ability to socialize and collaborate with the living, breathing peers that are sitting right next to them.

A Word From Our Mental Health Team...

Bus/Parking lot duty:  Levy and Eastman

Monday 9/30:  Non Work Day

Tuesday 10/1: 

Wednesday 10/2:  

Thursday 10/3: Parent/Student Conferences 2:30 - 6:30 

Friday 10/4: Staff Pd: Gizmo

Bus/Parking lot duty:  Mahoney and Meeks

Monday 10/7:  PD Day

Tuesday 10/8: 
Wednesday 10/9: District Admin classroom visits
Thursday 10/10: Eastman, Meeks, Kaiser out of the building

Friday 10/11: Eastman, Meeks, Kaiser out of the building

Week of September 23

Creating Cultures of Thinking: The 8 Forces We Must Master to Truly Transform our Schools.

This chapter explores why the culture of the school and classroom matters and how schools enculturate students into ways of being through the messages they send about learning and thinking. It looks at traditional messages schools have sent in the past, the dominant messages being sent presently, and the new messages we need to send as we think about preparing students for the future. The Eight Cultural Forces are presented as a grounded theory to understand the mechanisms of enculturation.

Pay particular attention to:

Page 17 and the "survival skills"

Page 21 and the metaphor of culture as a story we tell

Page 31 and 32 about the kinds of thinking we value

Trust-Based Relational Intervention is a model for interacting with students that is being adopted by our district and by the Kootenai County Juvenile Justice. Keith Orchard and Andi West are conducting trainings in every building. The first one is for 3 hours, followed by 1.5 hours once a month. We are sandwiched between other trainings that day, hence the late start time. Classified and certified staff are invited to this first session. Because of the weird time, we will serve lunch (Carusos)

Conferences are around the corner. Angie and Val are providing a sit-down dinner for the families. They did this a couple of years and it was quite well received.

What kinds of thinking have your students been doing? How can this be showcased for parents for parents to see and appreciate the hard work their teens have been doing?

Bus/Parking lot duty: Hamill and Higgs

Monday 9/23: PD Day TBRI training: Collaboration Agenda

Tuesday 9/24: 
Wednesday 9/25:  
Thursday 9/26: 

Friday 9/27: 

Bus/Parking lot duty:  Levy and Eastman

Monday 9/30:  Non Work Day

Tuesday 10/1: 
Wednesday 10/2:  
Thursday 10/3: Parent/Student Conferences 2:30 - 6:30 

Friday 10/4: Staff Pd: Gizmo

Week of September 16

Thank you for the AMAZING first two weeks of school!

Every time I visit your classrooms your courage inspires me.  Stepping away from traditional teaching and focusing on authentic learning truly makes you the man (woman) in the arena.  But, here is the wonderful thing I discovered... None of us at Venture is in the arena alone.  In EVERY classroom I've seen evidence of reaching beyond traditional "sit and get" into the realm of meaningful and authentic learning.  Let me know when you want to walk around classrooms with me so you can get an overview of what's happening.   We will ask Gayle or Marita to watch your class while we take a learning walk.

Speaking of Gayle and Marita... Gayle Mangis is our new Title I math paraprofessional and Marita Durk is our Title I English Paraprofessional.  Marita's time will be in the support room and Gayle will be roaming the math hall helping out as needed.

Lutherhaven: I heard very positive things from everyone about this experience.  To expand the learning, look for ways to talk to students about their experience.  Here are some questions to prompt conversation:

Did you feel supported by your peers during challenging activities? If so, how did they support you?

What did you learn about yourself during these activities? Were there things you tried to do even though it felt uncomfortable or scary?

Do you feel that this activity helped you get to know your peers and advisor in a helpful way?

Do you think Venture should continue to do this activity every year?  How could we improve this activity for you?

Safety Updates:
Accidental Lock down: If an accidental lock down were ever to occur, the person that triggered it could be the only person knowing that it was an accident--the rest of the staff should treat it as real. The person that accidentally set it off should immediately go to a Safety Hold by dialing 46097 (for Venture), and email all staff and the principal, letting us know what happened. Then the Safety Hold can be lifted, and the day can continue as normal.

Safety Hold vs. Lockdown: A Safety Hold is meant to be used primarily when a threat or event is outside the building, and could be used to bring all students inside the building. A Lockdown is meant to be an immediate response when there is an immediate threat inside the building. In this case, students who are outside would stay outside, evacuate to a secondary location and notify the District office. There may be some cases where we would initially go into a Safety Hold (to bring everyone into the building), and then a Lockdown, depending on the situation. We are currently working on a Safety Hold training video, and will follow it up with some FAQs.

Bus/Parking lot duty:  Gonzalez and Fehling

Monday 9/16: PD day Collaboration Agenda

Tuesday 9/17: Kaiser and Smotherman out all day
Wednesday 9/18:  
Thursday 9/19:

Friday 9/20: Picture day  Kaiser & Smotherman out in the am

Bus/Parking lot duty: Hamill and Higgs

Monday 9/23: PD Day TBRI training

Tuesday 9/24: 
Wednesday 9/25:  
Thursday 9/26: 

Friday 9/27: 

Week of Sept. 9

September 16 Collaboration day:  Please read Onward ch. 4  by Sept.16  and, for Sept. 23 please read Creating Cultures of Thinking pages 15 - 35.  Reading two books over a year rather than one book per semester is something we have never done before. The books are very different with messages worth exploring over the course of the year.  Creating Cultures of Thinking is meaty enough that it could provide material for two full years of study and implementation.  We will read it slowly and thoroughly to give ourselves time to explore the concepts.  

Visitors:  Because of our commitment to transitioning to student-centered, rigorous and relevant instruction, we will have visitors in the building throughout the year.  Dr. Cook, Dr. Caudle, a consultant from PEBC and others will be going into classrooms with me and offering feedback to help us hone our efforts.  When we are visiting, please ignore us as much as possible and continue teaching. This isn't evaluative, but rather intended to help us improve our collective instructional practices.  

Chromebooks:  Accountability with the Chromebook has been a challenge.  Marita has been numbering and trying to rearrange them so you have enough to check out to every class every period.    Please don't borrow or loan them from other classrooms.  Instead, talk to Marita so she can assign more to your cart.  Thank you for your patience as we hammer out a process that works.

Lutherhaven Field Trip

• Each teacher will be responsible for their own advisory students.  Please make sure that you have the permission slips for every advisory student on your roster.  Before you leave Friday, please email me the names of any students without a permission slip so I know who is staying behind.
• Christy and Diana are staying behind with any kids who don't go. Probably, anyone not going with us will not come to school at all, but we are ready if they show up :)
• Please take attendance for kids getting on the bus both ways using your advisory roster.  We don't want to lose anyone!  We may have a couple of kids who are not in advisories going with us.  If we do, I'll assign them to somebody on Monday morning.
• One or two adults need to be on each of the three buses.  Please email me if you're willing to ride a bus.  If we don't get volunteers, I'll draw names.  How much room there is will depend on how many kids don't show up.
• Participate in activities to your level of comfort
• Lutherhaven is giving us a significant discount, please talk to the kids about being polite, and gracious guests.  My hope is that the staff at Lutherhaven will be thoroughly impressed with our amazing students!
• Can you think of any details that I haven't thought of?  If so, please email me right away.  Thank you!!!

Bus/Parking lot duty: Smith and Cooley

Monday 9/9: Lutherhaven Team-building

Tuesday 9/10: Kaiser @ admin meeting am
Wednesday 9/11:  
Thursday 9/12: 

Friday 9/13: 

Bus/Parking lot duty:  Gonzalez and Fehling

Monday 9/16: PD day schedule coming soon

Tuesday 9/17: 
Wednesday 9/18:  
Thursday 9/19:

Friday 9/20: Picture day  Kaiser & Smotherman out in the am

Week of September 2, 2019

Welcome to the 2019-2020 school year!  One of my favorite things about our profession is that every year offers a fresh start and a clean slate and the promise of hope and possibility that accompany new beginnings.  This year we are implementing some important changes at Venture High School.  We are shifting roles, redefining our work, and, collectively, rethinking what it means to "do school."  

Recently, a school in Spokane had a reader board message that said "Fall in Love With School Again."  What would it mean if we all, students and teachers alike, "fell in love with school?"  What if school ignited our passions and curiosities and learning was connected to real issues that mattered to us beyond the school day?  These are the questions I would like all of us to explore this year with our students.

No one needs to tell you how important your job is.  It is YOU, not curriculum, class size, or funding, that most influence student achievement.  I hope that you are in love with school and the incredibly important work you do.  Of course, every day isn't going to be amazing, but if you don't leave school with a smile on most days, proud of the work you did with kids, talk to someone about it.  Come see me or talk to a colleague.  If we aren't happy, our students won't be either and that is a miserable way to approach learning.

My hope for all of us at Venture is that we all come to see school as a community of learners who gather to do interesting work that matters.  Roland Barth in Learning by Heart, 2004 said "Ultimately there are two kinds of schools: learning-enriched schools and learning-impoverished schools. I have yet to see a school where the learning curves of the adults were steep upward and those of the students were not. "Teachers and students go hand in hand as learners, or they don't go at all"

What is the story we will tell of this year? I hope we will share tales of helping kids to learn, to laugh and to belong. I hope we ask hard and interesting questions and try new things. I hope we have the courage to be vulnerable with each other and with our students. Together, we form the human infrastructure that supports rich and meaningful learning experiences for our kids... and for ourselves.

Bus/Parking lot duty:  Doering and Baker
Monday 9/2: Labor Day

Tuesday 9/3: 
Wednesday 9/4:  
Thursday 9/5:

Friday 9/6:

Bus/Parking lot duty: Smith and Cooley

Monday 9/9: Lutherhaven Team-building

Tuesday 9/10: 
Wednesday 9/11:  
Thursday 9/12: 

Friday 9/13: