March 8 & 13 - Welcome back

Welcome back and I hope you had a relaxing and enjoyable break.

March will be a very busy month with specials, ODWP, YRBS, SBAC, etc. Look closely at the calendars provided below and use them to help with your planning. As we get closer to these dates appropriate announcements, locations, etc will be released. If you have any questions, please come to the office.

I wanted to draw your attention to a few upcoming things that I need your help with in the next week.
 FIRST, we have class meetings this Friday, March 10th during TA time. Please go to one of these meetings and help support the facilitators (please do not use this time for personal business).

- 9th graders will go to the GYM (led by Rebecca and Lindsey)
-10-11th graders will go the Auditorium for a tech center 'road show'. (Carrie & Phil)
               * Phil will keep 11th graders after the meeting to discuss the upcoming SBAC tests *
- 12 graders will go the LIBRARY  (Michele & Amy Grant)

SECOND, we have ODWP on March 14th. We do not have TA prior to this event. Please make a reminder to your A block classes on MONDAY March 13th of the change in schedule on the 14th for ODWP....and while you are at it....you can also remind them that on the 14th the schedule will be changed additionally for the ONE ACT PERFORMANCE that afternoon.

This week's link: Check out this Cool PA Student Project

Calendar

3/10 - NO TA - class meetings
3/14 - ODWP - amended Schedule (NO TA)
3/14 - One Act Performance during school
3/16-17 - One Acts in the Evening
3/20 - BP (PBL - Scholarly Habits)
3/23- Early Release (ODWP Scoring)
3/24 - Conferences
3/30-31- Newport Music Festival
4/10 - BP (PBL - Content Proficiencies)

SBAC SCHEDULE
3/16 - ELA SBAC training B/D block
3/20 - MATH SBAC training B block
3/21 - MATH SBAC training C block
3/29+30 - MATH SBAC  TEST C-Block
4/3-6 - ELA  SBAC TEST B/D block

TA Calendar for March
TUESDAY                                                                         FRIDAY                          
3/7 - No School                                                                 3/10 - Class Meetings
3/14 - No TA  (ODWP)                                                      3/17 - Academic Check In
3/21 - Academic Check in- conference reminder                    3/24 - No School
3/28 - YRBS Survey - extended TA                                     3/31 - Climate Survey Reflection

Important Staff Update:

I regret to inform you that Kascinda Fleming has decided to resign from her position at the conclusion of this year school year. Kascinda has worked tirelessly and creatively to support some amazing students. Below is a statement she wishes to share with you. *Please be aware that students will not be made aware of her departure until later in the year for transitional reasons.*
'In a difficult personal decision, I am resigning my position as special educator at PA. PA is the best school ever, for many reasons but the number one reason is because it is truly an inclusive school community where everyone is welcome and belongs.  My current job duties require me to work in the most restrictive setting. which has been a dramatic change from three years ago when I took my position.  I have tried my best to perform my job in this setting and find it goes against my personal and professional philosophy.  I have nothing but the highest regard for PA and compliment and thank everyone for making this school what it is.   I am sad to be leaving and ask for privacy in regard to my departure, especially concerning the students I work with.  I will share later in the year my plans, as to minimize their anxiety during the transition.' 

Schoolwide Happenings

US History Mock Protest

9th grade English share R & J projects 

Chemistry Lab

Lit Traditions

Food for Thought: 

What the Future Holds

            In this article in Principal, Gary Marx (Center for Public Outreach) lists ten downstream realities faced by educators and the public at large:

• Every institution is going through a reset. The question is not, “When will things get back to normal?” but “What will the new normal look like?”

• Lifelong learning is available any time, any place, any way, and at any pace. Teachers should take advantage of the Web’s incredible resources to craft their units and lessons.

• Everything that happens in the world has implications for education. “If it isn’t already, international learning should be among our basics,” says Marx.

• The future is in school today. Kindergarteners who entered school last fall will turn 65 in 2076 and 89 in 2100.

• People entering the workforce today can expect to hold up to eleven jobs and go through several career changes during their working lives.

• If we don’t constantly take the initiative to create the education system we need, someone else will. ESSA is pushing more decisions to the state and local level.

• If we manage our diversity well, it will enrich us. If we handle it poorly, it will divide us. Our students must learn to thrive in a highly diverse nation and world.

• Gross inequity will increasingly be seen as unfair, unconscionable, and unsustainable. Educators are among the first to see the impact of poverty on students, and they’re in the front lines of the battle against inequality. “When we neglect children, we all pay for it,” says Marx. “Morally and economically, that cost is invariably greater than the up-front investment.”

• Polarization is standing in the way of progress. Shouting too often replaces civil discourse. We all need “to exercise empathy and ethics, respect others despite differences, resolve conflict peacefully, and listen to others’ ideas,” says Marx.

• Future-focused leadership is essential if we hope to prepare students for life in a fast-changing world. Such leaders are creative, imaginative, curious, optimistic, visionary, passionate, active listeners, issue-definers, nurturers, trend-spotters and trendsetters, conceptual and brainy, mobilizers, implementers, managers, and problem-solvers.

“The Future Is Now: Ten Realities for Educators and Communities” by Gary Marx in Principal, January/February 2017 (Vol. 96, #3, p. 32-35)

Thanks Rebecca, Reeves, Moira and others for helping with Winter Carnival logistics. 

Celebrations:

Way to go, Katie!

Congratulations to Aiden Lodge and Emily Hess who were both accepted into the 2017 New England Young Writers Conference at Breadloaf in the genre of Poetry (May 18-21).

Check out page 70 in 'The VOICE' YWP publication; Edward Habek writing featured.

Congrats to Emily McCormick who was selected as Local Honoree for the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards for her volunteer services.

Happy Birthday: Matt Yoskowitz (3/2), Anna Couture (3/10)