Week of October 2

Bus/Parking lot duty:  Levy and Mahoney

Monday 10/2:  Non work day
Tuesday 10/3:  
Wednesday 10/4: Minds on Math (Kaiser and math teachers)
Thursday 10/5:   Minds on Math (Kaiser and math teachers)
Friday 10/6:  No School for Kids or Teachers

Bus/Parking lot duty:  Meeks and Patterson

Monday 10/9:  8:00 Staff Meeting followed by department meetings
Tuesday 10/10: 
Wednesday 10/11:  PSAT day
Thursday 10/12:
Friday 10/13:

Social-Emotional Learning

The School-Connect books aren't here, but the good news is that everyone has full access to the iPortal now so  you can start using and reviewing the lessons before the hard copies arrive.  If you go to http://www.school-connect.net/iportal/set-up-code.php and enter this code: Mods1-4-forVHCDA you will be able to start using the iPortal with all the PowerPoints, student handouts, and lesson extensions.

My  hope is that, with the training we all received, you won't need to have every day of the program laid out for you, but that you'll feel confident to dig into the materials a bit and pull out resources to make this a rich learning experience for you and the kids.

Here is the program I would recommend:  Tuesday and Wednesday are given over to School-Connect lessons and Thursday and Friday are for academic support.  We can discuss this more thoroughly during our staff meeting on October 9th.  The important, essential, 

More SEL...

• This website: http://www.casel.org/ has a wealth of information about SEL.  It is a strong possibility that you will be too busy to dig into the resource; however, I wanted to share the following clip as it helps clarify why this is a worthwhile investment of our time and resources:

• SEL Impact on Academic Outcomes

  According to a 2011 meta-analysis of 213 studies involving more than 270,000 students, those who participated in evidence-based SEL programs showed an 11 percentile-point gain in academic achievement compared to students who did not participate in SEL programs. Compared to students who did not participate in SEL programs, students participating in SEL programs also showed improved classroom behavior, an increased ability to manage stress and depression, and better attitudes about themselves, others, and school.

Here is another article from the Atlantic that is worth a quick perusal:
Here is an article to follow up with our SEL training with Keeth Matheney.  

Week of September18

Bus/Parking lot duty:  Adam and Whitney

Monday 9/18:  Non work day
Tuesday 9/19:   8:00 -11:00 More "Fun with Data" (Kaiser)
Wednesday 9/20: 9:00 - 4:00 Data Summit (Kaiser)
Thursday 9/21:  1:00 - 4:00 CTEMS training (Kaiser)
Friday 9/22:  8:00 - 3:30  ASCA model training (Kaiser, Flieger)

Monday 9/25:  7:00 Secondary Cross-District Collaboration (all Venture staff at Venture)
Tuesday 9/26: 
Wednesday 9/27:
Thursday 9/28:
Friday 9/29:

School-Connect Training
Keith Matheny from School-Connect will be training Venture staff  on 9/25 from 7:00 - 3:00 in the library.  We will provide QDoba in Angie's room at 11:00.
Visit the School-Connect website for more information.


October 6
Originally, October 6 was scheduled as a work day for Venture. However, since we had the Sound-Discipline Resilience day in August, we don't need to work Oct. 6

Video... The Impact of Cell Phones on Relationships.  Consider showing this in an advisory class:

Week of September 11

For the Week of September 11
Bus/Parking Lot Duty: Lena and Donal

Monday 9/11:  Non work day
Tuesday 9/12: 
Wednesday 9/13:
Thursday 9/14:
Friday 9/15:

Monday 9/18:  Non work day
Tuesday 9/19: 
Wednesday 9/20: 
Thursday 9/21: 
Friday 9/22:

THANK YOU FOR AN OUTSTANDING FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL!!!!
Thank you for your commitment to a school culture that supports academic, social, and emotional learning.  Thank you for the many, many ways you show the kids (and each other) that you care and that Venture is a safe place to learn and grow.

Teacher Individualized Learning Plan
In the coming week, I will be setting appointments with each certified staff member to talk about your own professional goals for the coming year and set times for your observations.  This year, we will all use this form:  Professional Learning Plan.  Note that it asks you to set at least one goal in at least two of the four domains. I think the form is self explanatory, but let me know if you have any questions.

Here is a short video of Tara Brown (she was our keynote speaker for our district Kick off day)

First Day of School... We Got This!

For the week of September 4
Bus/Parking Lot duty:  Angie and Kim... This week, please let's all try to be in the commons and/or outside to greet and direct students as they arrive and between classes.
Monday:  Labor day
Tuesday: 
Wednesday: 
Thursday: 
Friday:

For the Week of September 11
Bus/Parking Lot Duty: Lena and Donal
Monday:  Non work day
Tuesday: 
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:

Snacks
The staff room is stocked with some snacks to to sustain you through the first day of school.  To be clear, the humus, spinach dip, cheese and various chips and crackers are for all of us.  If you find a ham sandwich or can of soda, it's somebody's lunch and you probably shouldn't eat it.

Thank You, 21st Century Skills Team!
Angie, Christy, and Nick have graciously stepped up to the task of crafting and shaping our 21st Century Skills class.  The challenge is daunting.  One thing we all agreed on is that none of us has ever seen an advisory work.  That is not the sort of shared experience that builds optimism for a new project.  And yet, we also agreed that we need to make a way to build community and teach the essential social interaction and work place skills.  Here are some things to think about as we embark on this experience:

1. We have to all be "All In."  We have to commit to teaching the lessons with a whole heart - because our "whole-heartedness" can change the outcome.
2. We have to commit to honest communication.  If something isn't going well, let's discuss it.  If a lesson needs tweaking, take your ideas to the team.
3. We have to give the kids opportunities to practice and use the skills.  The 21st Century Lessons are made for life.  However, if students are going to generalize the information, they need to practice.  For example, during classroom discussions, could you review the norms of collaboration and encourage your students to practice paraphrasing?  Here is an excellent website with ideas to help your students learn and use the norms:  Students and the Norms of Collaboration
4. I will be visiting every 21st Century Skills class this week to see how things are going and what kids are learning. I want the students to see that the class is an important part of their day. 

Schools and Creativity: Worth watching

Welcome Back!

I hope this post finds you relaxed, rejuvenated and excited to start a new school year!  We have many successes to celebrate from last year and many good things are yet to come.  

You've already received the email about the district "Kick-Off" day.  I will resend it so you don't have to dig through your "in box", but the gist is that August 28 from 8:00 - 3:30  is our district professional development day.  Please register for 3 classes HERE

Here is a rundown of days and times:

8/22 -  8:00 - noon   Leadership Day - For department heads

8/23 - 10:30 - 6:00   Registration BBQ Open house- For all certified staff

8/28 -  8:00 - 3:30    District-wide PD at LCHS  - For all certified staff

8/29 -  8:00- 11:00   Staff meeting in the library- (Work day is 7.5 hours)  For all certified Staff

8/30 -  8:00 -11:00   Staff meeting in the library -(Work day is 7.5 hours)  For all certified Staff

8/31 -  9:00 - noon    Resiliency training in the library (Work day is over when training ends)  For all certified staff

9/5   First day of school

A few more updates:

Opening the Resiliency Window....This year we will continue our commitment to provide academically rigorous instruction along with high levels of support to ensure our students can access the instruction.  Most of us have received training in ACES, trauma and resiliency and we will  continue that training this year with three more resiliency workshops led by Teresa Hurliman from Sound Discipline.  These workshops will be on Mondays and Teresa is tailoring them for our unique needs.

Therapeutic Classroom....As you know, we decided to close the daycare because the need for that service has declined over the years.  In that space, we will be housing a Therapeutic Support Classroom, formerly called Pathways.  The space is ideal to provide fully contained services for some students in need of high levels of support.  

Advisory...This summer, Angie, Christy and Heather attended training in Austin for our new advisory program.  They brought back a tremendous repertoire of knowledge and skills which they will be sharing with us throughout the year.  The new advisory class will be called 21st Century Skills and this team will be talking about what they learned and how we will be applying the knowledge during our meeting on 8/30.

I hope you enjoy the rest of summer and look forward to seeing all of you!

School's Out for Summer!

Thank you for an outstanding school year! 

Rest, relax, be happy, be free.  Or teach summer school - the choice is yours.

I will be at Venture.  All. Summer. Long.  So, feel free to drop by if you need anything, have great ideas, or you're dropping off treats.  

Here is a reminder of summer etiquette when dealing with people who are working all summer.

Week of May 29

Bus Duty: Whitney Hamill, Ben Higgs

Monday 5/29/17 Memorial Day (No School)
Tuesday 5/30/17 
Wednesday 5/31/17 Senior Trip to Triple Play 9:30 - 2:20
Thursday 6/1/17-
Friday 6/2/17  Talent show/Yearbooks/BBQ/Field games - Activity Schedule  Please... everyone do bus/hall/cafeteria duty.  All hands on deck.

Bus Duty: Lena Cooley, Christy SmithMonday 6/5/17 Potluck Breakfast in Angie's room, bring something to celebrate for this year, something to think about for next year, and food... bring food.
Tuesday 6/6/17 
Wednesday 6/7/17 
Thursday 6/8/17 Senior Breakfast/Practice   6:00 Graduation
Friday 6/9/17    Last day of school...  Please... everyone do bus/hall/cafeteria duty.  All hands on deck.

Monday 6/12/17 Just a reminder that this is a full work day.  The building will soon belong to summer school, so please make sure your personal items are put away so your room is in a good place for summer school teachers and students.