Washington DC Thoughts on Wednesday

For those of you that have been on this trip you can sit back and chuckle at me and my worries, for those that haven't gone and have younger kids, start planning now to go and for those that are going this week, get ready for an awesome time. A few things that came out of the meeting last night that I want to re-state. Please don't be late arriving to SCMS. I'm a pretty important guy but Northwest Airlines won't let me hold up a flight for anyone that sleeps in. I'm going to be meeting with the kids this week during their lunch to reemphasize the importance of behavior and that no one goes anywhere without talking to/asking their chaperone first and then they go in pairs. Also...one last thought for today that I did not bring up last night. Those students that are not going on the trip are expected to be in school on Monday and those students that are going on the trip are expected to be in school on Tuesday.

Remembering our Heroes and Victims on 9/11

I know I'm a tad off center on many of my posts, but on a serious note, today is a day to reflect and honor those that lost their lives eight years ago and to give thanks to those that continue to serve and protect our country. We had a moment of silence at 8:46. If ever there is a subject that would be a great topic to talk about with your kids it would be this one. Our current students, because of their age, probably have a tough time remembering. I still remember that day, where I was and all that went with it in the days/months following the tragedy, as I'm sure most of us do.

SCMS Student Council

We are very proud of our SCMS Student Council. Over the years it has been a great group to be involved with. Developing leadership skills, doing community service and helping to improve our school are just a few benefits of joining Student Council. Applications are available in our SCMS Office and we have extended the deadline to Wednesday, September 23rd. There are two sides to the application and a parent's signature is required. Please encourage your student to get involved.

Some Principal info for our new parents

Now that classes have started, I thought I should share a few things about me that some of our new parents might not know. First and most importantly, I'm a great guy. I'm also pretty tall. The reason I tell you that is, from my vantage point I don't always see someone if I'm looking straight ahead.....and....to add to what I'm about to say, my hearing has had better days. So if you happen to walk by me and say hi and I keep walking, it's not because I'm being rude or I think I'm better than you, it's because I didn't see/hear you. A few years ago, I had a student's grandpa go absolutely crazy on me, thinking I was too good to say hi back to him. So if you see me, don't hesitate to talk loudly and jump up to get my attention....I really am a nice guy.

Tweaking Our No Zero Policy

This will be our third year of our NO ZEROS policy. In those three years we have seen a dramatic raise in the number of assignments completed, grade point averages and number of students that have made our Honor Roll. Last year our Lunchtime Homework Help helped to complete over 1000 assignments that would otherwise zeros. This is how our process works:

If a student does not complete/turn in an assignment the teacher “red flags” it in their electronic grade book. A report is generated the next day and the student is given a homework referral reminding them that the assignment needs to be completed and turned into the office the next day. That night, an automated phone call goes home letting parents know that an assignment is missing. If the student does not turn their assignment in to the office the next day then they are assigned a Lunchtime Homework Help. If you are following our process, you will see that by the time the student has been assigned the Lunchtime Homework Help the assignment is already at least two days late.

This year we are tweaking the process to help eliminate a few problems that occasionally occurred. If a student either is disruptive during homework help, comes unprepared to homework help or skips homework help three times during a Marking Period they will be taken out of the Lunchtime Homework Help program and assigned after school detentions/Saturday Schools for the rest of that Marking Period. During that Marking Period they also will not be able to attend dances, Activity Nights, etc.

Obviously our main goal is to have our students complete the assigned work. A secondary goal is to help make the students accountable and responsible. The easiest solution to this problem is for students to complete their work on time. Any and all help you can give us at home, as always, is greatly appreciated.

First Day Meeting

Every year on the first day I meet with each grade level to discuss my expectations, rules, goals, etc. This makes for a GREAT dinner conversation when you ask them how the first day of school went. Instead of excepting the well thought out response of "it was ok..." (I have three sons...been down this path many times) you can ask them about my talk. Don't let them off the hook...dig for information. I'll be talking about behavior, our No Zero's policy, dress code, what a great guy I am, setting goals, etc..... The more that they know that you know, the better life is.

This is going to be a GREAT year.

A little Confusion on the First Day

One of the few things that I really don't look forward to the first week of school is the confusion that comes with catching the bus home. Happens every year regardless of how we try to prepare the kids. The confusion comes in two ways....either the student forgets what bus they rode to school on, or, they got a ride to school with a parent and have no idea what bus to get on. Regardless of the reason, rest assured that there will be a number of us outside with the kids at the end of the day with all the busing info to make sure everyone gets on the correct bus. You can help by checking out the transportation link on our ECSD website, http://www.ecsd.us/