The mission of Venture Academy is to equip students to achieve their highest potential through individual, flexible and structured educational experiences that enhance their academic growth and prepare them for lifelong learning and success.
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 studentsgo 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:
Thursday, June 6, 2019
Monday 6/10: We are required to work a full day
As we wrap up the the 2018-2019 School year.... Thank you, everyone, for a great year of learning and growing with each other and with students. A special thank you to Susan Thomas for her many years of helping students. I have literally lost count of the adults who have shared with me that Sue was the reason they graduated from high school. Sue, you have been a life changer for many, many young people. Your confidence in their ability to learn and succeed gave them the courage to keep moving forward when they had doubts in their own ability to grow beyond the struggles they faced. This year, you made a difference in the lives of all of our seniors. Your guidance, support, and gentle cajoling pushed and coaxed them through the senior project process. My words are inadequate to thank you for a career-long mission to guide and support students. I know I speak for the whole Venture staff when I say my best wishes for your future success go with you where ever your life may lead. Godspeed and good luck to you! Marsha, I am so thankful to you for your ENDLESS patience when I joined Venture. You taught me so much and made my transition so much easier. Beyond that, you've made sure that we all had the supplies and materials that we needed for teaching and learning to go forward. Thank you for organizing our trips and sorting out the confusion of P.O's, reimbursements, and grants. You took on the headaches and everything ran smoother because of you. From all of us at Venture, best wishes to you for a fun and happy retirement! Godspeed and good luck to you!
And a final word as you head off to your summer break...
Friday 6/7: Monday 6/10: We are required to work a full day
Congratulations Jessica Gaynor, Coeur d'Alene School District's Rookie of the Year!!!!
Really good teachers understand the connection between quality instruction and the students’ ability to learn the material and allow the new learning to change them in some way. They get the importance of well-planned, standards-aligned and engaging lessons. They create classrooms that are cognitively busy places with high levels of intellectual interactions among students. Jessica does all of that and takes it a step further. She understands that student learning happens within the context of relationships.
Building strong relationships with students can be a tough place to be because it can leave us feeling vulnerable as our teens learn ways to communicate their satisfaction and, sometimes, dissatisfaction, with life, school, classes, and, specifically, what's happening in our classrooms. Excellent teaching requires that we open ourselves up to that vulnerability so that we learn along with students to grow and improve on our own best practices. Jessica's willingness to participate in that learning WITH students and engage with them in the ongoing give-and-take is among the greatest gifts she shares with the young people in her charge.
But...Jessica takes it even a bit further than that. She understands that her influence extends far beyond the confines of a particular content area… that her task is to empower young people to embrace the totality of the human experience and to respond to their own highest calling for themselves. In her classroom, students aren't just learning the standards. They pursue their own interests and use the standards to do that skillfully, empowering them to influence their community in positive ways. Jessica's students are focused on things that are important to learn, not just on things that are easy to test.
And, of course, her learning also happens within the context of relationships. Those relationships, forged with colleagues, compose the fiber of school culture and set the stage for an education that matters. Jessica, we celebrate you for your courage to reject education's status quo. And, as we celebrate you, we celebrate Venture High School's community of learners and our commitment to doing things that matter for our students and for ourselves. Thank you, Jessica, for your hard work, for your insight, and for your courage.
Rising Temperature, Rising Tension
Another school conundrum: Just when everything should feel better, it actually gets worse.
The sun is shining; daylight hours exceed work hours; and tempers get shorter. While there is no magic bullet for keeping things calm and productive as the school year winds down, here are a few tips I've picked up through the years:
Keep the schedule. Free time and boring work is not a friend to teachers or students. Maintaining a schedule that is reasonably rigorous and keeps kids productively occupied from bell to bell is possibly the best way to ward off behavior issues.
Take care of yourself: Maintain healthy boundaries (You don't have to do everything you're asked to do. Prioritize those things that matter most) Move (Most of us don't move enough anyway and we move less when we're busy with lesson planning and grading. Take a walk, play a game, garden, fish, whatever, but move) Give yourself some space (A five minute walk between classes or with kids, a personal day, an afternoon to yourself, take the time to fill your own bucket) Ask for help (you don't have to do everything yourself and, sometimes, two heads and four hands work better)
Take a time out (breathe and count to ten). We've probably all learned the hard lesson that it's easier to avoid saying something than it is to undo the damage of harsh words. If regrettable words are spoken, own it and repair the relationship as quickly as possible. As imperfect human beings, we can model for students how to fix things when we fail.
You're not perfect. Neither am I. Let's just accept it and move on with our flawed selves and do the best we can together.
The Power of Words
A Note From the District Office:
Long Range Planning Committee Needs Members: We are looking for members to serve on the School Board's Long Range Planning Committee. The committee especially is in need of members representing the Borah Elementary and Venture High school zones. But anyone from any zone is welcome to apply.
This group of volunteers creates and reviews the District's long-range plans for facilities. Participation is a four-year commitment. The committee meets once a month, generally on Mondays, from 4:30 to 6 PM at Midtown Center. More information about this committee is available on our website.
To apply, complete and submit this form. All applications will be reviewed by a subcommittee of Long Range Planning.
Friday, May 3, 2019
Bus/Parking lot duty: Hamill and Higgs
Monday 5/6: Staff Work Day
Tuesday 5/7: Teacher Appreciation Day (Lunch from Caruso's for entire staff) Wednesday 5/8: School Nurse Appreciation Day; Dr. Cook mtg with students (11:00-12:00) Thursday 5/9:
Friday 5/10:
Bus/Parking lot duty: Levy and Eastman
Monday 5/13: Staff Work Day
Tuesday 5/14: Wednesday 5/15: Thursday 5/16:
Friday 5/17:
Bus/Parking lot duty: Mahoney and Meeks
Monday 5/20: Non work day
Tuesday 5/21: Wednesday 5/22: Thursday 5/23:
Friday 5/24:
Teacher Appreciation A decade's worth of research supports what anyone in the business already knows: once children get to school, the single most critical factor to their success is the teacher leading the class. Quality teachers lead students to become creative and critical thinkers and problem solvers capable of navigating a complex world. Their influence carries more impact than class size, curriculum, or social-economic status. The work is demanding, exhilarating and exhausting. Thank you for your commitment to teaching and all that the concept entails. You are making a difference and you are appreciated. School Nurse Appreciation Connie, thank you for your tireless dedication to the students of Venture. By supporting students, you help to ensure they are ready to learn both physically and emotionally. Thank you for the work you've done to bring the Heritage Mobile Clinic and Cope to our students. You are a wonderful support and we all appreciate you, so much! Monday Morning: 8:00 Staff meeting 10:00 Design Team meeting 1:00 Department meetings
Bus/Parking lot duty: Beck and Hook
Monday 5/27: Memorial Day Holiday
Tuesday 5/28: Wednesday 5/29: Thursday 5/30:
Friday 5/31:
Bus/Parking lot duty: Everyone, please be in halls, commons and outside every day
Monday 6/3: Non work day
Tuesday 6/4: Wednesday 6/5: Thursday 6/6:
Friday 6/7: Monday 6/10: We are required to work a full day
Tuesday 4/23: ELA ISATS Wednesday 4/24: ELA ISATS (Administrative Professional Day) Thursday 4/25: ELA ISAT Make ups (Kaiser and JoAnn on a school visit)
Tuesday 5/7: Teacher Appreciation Day (Lunch from Caruso's) Wednesday 5/8: Dr. Cook mtg with students (11:00-12:00) Thursday 5/9:
Friday 5/10:
Bus/Parking lot duty: Levy and Eastman
Monday 5/13: Staff Work Day
Tuesday 5/14: Wednesday 5/15: Thursday 5/16:
Friday 5/17:
Construction Combine
The Construction Combine and Hard Hats and Hot Dogs were wonderful experiences for our students. Of the 35 students who attended the combine, 12 were from Venture and, of those 12, six were offered jobs. Thank you to all of the teachers who pulled together to ensure our students were taking advantage of this opportunity. Next year, we need a school bus full of kids going. This is exactly the sort of experience that opens up new doors for young people.
Thank You to Our Administrative Professionals!
Marsha and Amy....
Thank you for being on the front line. You are the faces of Venture. You are the first to listen, to comfort, and to deescalate.
Thank you for knowing the kids and their families. You are often the ones to tell us the good news to celebrate and the difficult situations to prepare for.
Thank you for setting the tone for Venture's climate. With your welcoming smiles, kind voices, and thoughtful words you communicate that everyone at Venture is valued. We appreciate the difference you make for all of us at Venture. Happy Administrative Professional Day to both of you!
Tuesday 5/7: Retirement/Recognition dinner 5:00 - 8:00 pm Ticket information to follow Wednesday 5/8: EOC Science Thursday 5/9:
Friday 5/10:
Attendance Policy:
Here are some talking points to consider when students or families bring up the attendance policy:
Because of our 4 day week, students at Venture attend school for 29 fewer days than students at LCHS or CHS.
In exchange for being allowed to attend a school with fewer days, Venture students agree to regular attendance (no more than three absences per trimester)
Students who break that agreement are required to withdraw from Venture and lose credit for classes.
Providing the option of making up time after school allows us to keep students enrolled at Venture and to grant them credit.
Conferences:
Evening conferences are April 18th. Nachos and cookies will be available. If you have parents you particularly want to meet with, please contact them and arrange a meeting either that evening or at another time. I am happy to sit in on any meetings where you feel my presence might be helpful, however, I will be at the district office from 3:30 - 5:30 on the 18th but I can meet before or after that or on another day.
Tuesday 4/9: SAT testing: Juniors only come to school Wednesday 4/10: Thursday 4/11: Construction Combine
Friday 4/12: Construction Combine. Last day for purchase orders; Time sheets due Bus/Parking lot duty: Hook and Beck
Monday 4/15: Non Work Day
Tuesday 4/16: Math ISATS Wednesday 4/17: Thursday 4/18: Math ISATS Evening Conferences 2:30 - 6:30
Friday 4/19: Math ISAT make-ups Bus/Parking lot duty: Doering and Baker
Monday 4/22: Non Work Day
Tuesday 4/23: ELA ISATS Wednesday 4/24: ELA ISATS Thursday 4/25: ELA ISAT Make ups (Kaiser and JoAnn on a school visit)
Friday 4/26: Shout out to JoAnn! Congratulations, JoAnn for earning your Master's Degree - We are so proud of you!!!! SAT Testing Thank you Rachelle and everyone else who is working to ensure Venture students do well on the SAT tests. If you have any questions or concerns, see Rachelle today, because she will be in TBRI training next week and unavailable for help. Construction Combine We have several students signed up for the Construction Combine on April 11 and 12. This promises to be beneficial event to help students gain a better sense of the construction trade. A bus will pick them up in the morning and bring them back at 5:00. Amy will send a list of students attending out to all staff as soon as she has it. Monday Schedule: Our Monday workdays are 7.5 hours No staff mtg this Monday 11:30 CTE dept. meeting 12:00 ELA dept mtg. Bonnie will facilitate 12:00 Math dept mtg Kim will facilitate 12:30 - 2:30 Kaiser in a phone conference with SDE, please see me before then if you have anything to discuss 2:30 MDT mtg
