Lancer Connections
Issue No. 29, September 26, 2013
Lancer Staff,
It is hard to believe that progress reports and parent-teacher conferences are nearly here. This halfway point in term one allows us to continue to communicate with families and students regarding strengths and areas for growth in each of our classrooms. Many families participating in Back-to-School Night, Latino Parent Night, College Planning Night and Lancer LINK have been very appreciative of connections they have already made with many of you.
This point in the year is also an excellent time to reflect on our start as a professional learning community, build on what we’ve accomplished so far, and look ahead to where we are going next. This newsletter represents much of what we’ve done in just a few weeks of school. Please take the time to read about all of the amazing work your colleagues have been up to.
I’d like to highlight the work that has been occurring on Monday afternoons in our 26 content- specific teams. Most of us have already drafted and implemented a standards-based common assessment. Many have agreed on a common way to evaluate the work of our students and are already looking ahead. This work is intellectually exhausting, sticky, and occasionally quite slow. As we figure it out together, the strength we have as a professional learning community will serve us well. We will learn from each other and get better each step of the way. I look forward to the end of October when we will have two full days to share, learn, and continue on this promising path.
With purpose and pride,
Chad
Professional Learning Spotlights
ESL Department: Members of the ESL department had their first monthly, after-school meeting on Sept 12. Department members support English Language Learners (ELLs) and staff who work with ELLs. The department is working to develop strategies aligned to school-wide student achievement goals. Our sharp focus on data digs will be around the 4-year graduation rate as well as documenting growth of our students on the EPAS and ACCESS tests. Members of the department plan to provide staff with learning opportunities throughout the year. As our group solidifies strategies to support our goals we will be looking to survey staff to seek input on your needs.
Additionally, the Bilingual Resource Specialists (BRSes) are available to facilitate communications with families of ELLs. They will call, translate written communication or translate at face- to-face meetings. Please note that rush projects or large volume translations stress the capacity of our small but talented crew. Please build time into your project planning so that they can do their best work to support you. Members of the ESL Department include: Lisa Endicott, Denisse Guerrero-Harvey, Berta Hansen, Emily Offerdahl, Jim Pliner, Darcy Poquette, Carol Samuel, Berit Stevens, Hector Valdivia, Alicia Webb and Seng Yang.
Instructional Coaching Team: The Instructional Coaching Team (formerly CCV Team) had its first monthly meeting on September 19 and will kick off a round of Collaborative Classroom Visits starting Friday, September 27. Comprised of Andrea Anderson, Terry Meissen, Martha Olsen, Jim Pliner, Beth Steffen, Amy Wederath and Chad Wiese, the team focuses on supporting staff through Professional Learning Communities during PCT, Collaborative Classroom Visits and Walkthroughs. An emphasis on bringing to life La Follette's Theory of Action and 9 power Common Core State Standards for Literacy in All Subjects underpins the team's collaborative work with each other and with Lancer staff.
Instructional Leadership Team (ILT): Members of the ILT, primarily dept chairs, meet twice each month at lunch to learn and problem solve together. Assistant Principals join the team on a rotating basis. Meetings focus on the work being done by departmental Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) within the cycle of inquiry. Each PLC is using 2 or more common assessments and then making sense of students’ work to inform next instructional moves. There is plenty to focus on! The team’s first quarterly half-day away is scheduled on October 8. Members of the ILT include: Jena Acker, Andrea Anderson, Todd Faulhaber, Kelly Ferguson, Scott Fernholz, Carl Horstmeyer, Arlene Krueger, Laura McCormick, John Neumann, Brady Nichols, Levi Olson, Darcy Poquette, Ted Ryan, Phonekeo Siharath, Lindsay Simonson, Beth Steffen and Chad Wiese.
Lancer PRIDE Team: The Pride Team kicked off the year with its first lunch meeting on September 10 with a large group in attendance! What a dedicated and insightful group of Lancer staff, including – Andrea Anderson, Jill Aruguete, Kelly Ferguson, Patrice Hutchins, Kit Laibly, Terry Meissen, Raymond Rosing, Carol Samuel, Julia Sherwood, Beth Steffen, Lonna Stoltzfus, Tom Theisen, Jasmine Timmons, Agnes Valley, Kurt VanSomeren and Chad Wiese. Kristin Latus from the central office also joined the team in looking at La Follette’s behavior data, which reminded us just how important it is for us to teach and model positive behavior every day. If you are interested in joining the Pride Team, please email, Talitha Cushman, at .
Thanks to all homeroom teachers for teaching the first Lancer Lesson of the year! Juniors wrote meaningful SMART goals for themselves, and the Pride Guides did a fantastic job getting freshmen pumped up for homecoming week. All future Lancer Lesson dates are posted on La Follette’s google calendar. Hope to see everyone at the Pride Kick-off on Friday, October 4, in the courtyard at lunch for free ice cream and music!
New Lancer Instructional Staff: New members of the Lancer instructional staff met for their first monthly meeting on September 20. The group’s purpose is to strengthen relationships in service of learning more about all things La Follette. The first meeting focused on our Theory of Action, Collaborative Classroom Visits (CCVs), Infinite Campus and Lancer PRIDE. Members of the team will soon be involved in a CCV to experience LHS’s professional learning culture. Participants’ exit slip responses showed an appreciation for this type of meeting. Staff at the first meeting included: Andrea Anderson, Scott Fernholz, Mikaela Hagen, Anne Hank, Molly Hayes, Betsy Hood, Ryan Kelly, Scott Mankiewicz, Terry Meissen, Ignacio Retana, Raymond Rosing, Susan Stachowicz and Chad Wiese
Response to Intervention (RtI), Andrea Anderson: ~80 ninth grade students who are taking English 1 and/or Algebra are concurrently enrolled in one of 4 sections of a support course called Extended Literacy or Extended Math. Staff involved in the development of this intervention met last year to consider data for all incoming 9th graders and then recommended students for enrollment in the support courses which are aligned to standards and designed to build students’ career and college readiness skills. Pre-teaching occurs frequently to equip students for success in their content area courses. Progress monitoring of students’ grades, and thus credits earned, as well as EPAS scores, will provide important information when assessing the success of this tier 2 intervention. Similar interventions are in place at all other MMSD high schools. English sections are co-taught by: Marie Brown & Berit Stevens; Talitha Cushman & Liz Weller; or Mike Harris & Meg Randel. Math sections are also co-taught by: Theresa Breunig & Chris Jaramillo; Matt Nelson & Chris Jaramillo; or Carol Samuel & Hector Valdivia.
School-Based Leadership Team (SBLT): La Follette's SBLT met for the first time on September 25. Members include Andrea Anderson, Kelly Ferguson, Carl Horstmeyer, Wendy Johnson, Terry Meissen, Martha Olsen, Jim Pliner, Darcy Poquette, Ted Ryan, Phonekeo Siharath, Beth Steffen, Amy Wederath and Chad Wiese. Andrew Statz, the district's Chief Information Officer attended the meeting to learn with and from LHS's team whose task is to support and monitor the implementation of La Follette’s School-Improvement Plan (SIP). The team will focus especially on La Follette's progress toward our school-wide student achievement goals that staff were introduced to during the Welcome Back Conference.
Tech Lunch Bunch: Join colleagues, including LHS Tech Coach Scott Fernholz, and tech-savvy students on Thursdays in G12 to learn and share techniques and tools for using technology in support of students’ learning in your classroom. Contact Scott for more information.
All Sorts of Interesting Information and Updates
AVID/TOPS: The AVID/TOPS program is off to a great start this year. Adding three 9th grade sections to the program this year which means 75 new students who are committed to being focused on academic success and demonstrating leadership throughout our community. These students had a chance to get to know one another and work on their leadership skills during a recent field trip to the low ropes course. The AVID/TOPS seniors are working hard to complete their first college application. The enthusiasm and focus the students are demonstrating is fantastic. They recently "defended" their top 5 colleges to a group of peers and adults and the feedback they received about their thoughtfulness and preparation gave them increased confidence to complete these applications. On Friday, September 27, AVID-TOPS will host a Back to School BBQ and Information Session for students and families. We are anticipating over 300 guests and are excited to see/meet so many of our LHS families.
Please contact site team coordinator Lindsay Simonson for more information. Additional team members include: Jena Acker, Jamie Ames, Andrea Anderson, Colette Bina, Lauren Cabalka, Anna D’Amelio, Shana Dumbleton, Kim Griffin, Matt Nelson, Emily Offerdahl, Michelle Olson, Jim Pliner, Darcy Poquette, Meg Randel, Beth Steffen, Calvin Taylor, Jasmine Timmons, Brian Webb, Chad Wiese and Serena Yu
Blood Drive: On Sept 25, La Follette High School, in partnership with the Red Cross, hosted the first blood drive of the 2013-14 school year. 65 donations were collected, each of which will be used to help up to 3 others in need. Thanks to staff supervisors: Andrea Anderson, Jill Aruguete, Talitha Cushman, Shana Dumbleton, Kim Griffin, Ashley Hebl, Arlene Krueger, Kit Laibly and Tom Nickerson. Thanks also to HOSA and NHS students for their help throughout the event. If you are interested in coordinating future blood drives, please contact Chad Wiese.
College Planning, Jena Acker: ~50 Lancers participated in College Planning Night on Monday, Sept 23. The purpose of the evening is to support students, primarily seniors, and their families with college application logistics, including: completing applications, sending transcripts, sending ACT scores and registering to take or retake the ACT. Families appreciate the opportunity for an overview of the process. Individual senior conferences have begun and will take place until mid-December. Additional support from counselors is available at lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays in G12 until October 16. Seniors can log into college websites and start the application process or begin their personal statements.
Endowment Grant: For the first time, all MMSD schools have an endowment fund that generates income annually to support a creative or innovative project not funded within the school’s core budget. Any interested Lancer staff member or student can submit a grant proposal seeking up to $962 to support their project. Paper copies of proposals are due to Alice Bach in the Main Office by 3:45 on Monday, October 14. An LHS Endowment Fund Grants Committee will then review all proposals. Grants will be awarded in mid-November. Additional information is attached. Please direct questions to Andrea Anderson.
Golf Outing, Ted Ryan: September 13 provided a beautiful evening for a full slate of 72 Lancer staff and community members to enjoy the 11th annual Golf Outing at Monona Golf Course. For the third straight year the event was filled to capacity. After golf, silent auction items and prizes were awarded. The night was capped off with a gathering at the Pizza Oven.
Proceeds from the event go toward the Chris Stafslien Memorial Scholarship in memory of former La Follette student and math teacher who left us too soon. At the end of the year, three deserving seniors choosing education as their career path will each be awarded a $1000 scholarship.
Staff members were well represented on this year's winning teams. Overall champions included Chad Wiese, Scott Fernholz, and the newly retired Rick Rogness (obviously he's been working on his game). Kim Griffin, Eric Nelson, Shane Adams, and Matt Nelson took home the hardware as co-ed champions. Thank you to everyone! Darrin Graham is now on the clock for the Spring Outing!
Go To School Night, Jim Pliner: ~500 Lancer family members found their way through our halls and into classrooms on Monday, Sept 16. The purposes of Go To School Night are to give families glimpses of their children’s day at LHS, to connect families and staff and to open lines of communication for ongoing support in service of students’ achievement. Over and over comments were made about the nice, warm and positive vibe at La Follette. Thanks to all staff for being here to make this event possible, and special thanks to Levi Olson and all orchestra students for the lovely musical entertainment.
Latino Parent Meeting (LPM): We had a great turnout at our first Latino Parent Night of the year. We offered an Infinite Campus tutorial for parents to learn how to better navigate and monitor their students' attendance and grades. Belen Martinez, LHS Summit Credit Union Representative, introduced herself and offered financial education for parents. Parents engaged in a brainstorming activity to generate future, relevant topics. Meetings are held at 6:30pm in the LMC on the 3rd Tuesday of the month. Thanks to members of the LPM Planning Committee: Marie Brown, Denisse Guerrero-Harvey, Berta Hansen, Emily Offerdahl, Darcy Poquette, Hector Valdivia and to staff who attended: Ann Brown, Terry Meissen and Jim Pliner.
MSCR Community Learning Center (CLC): Students who need help with homework or a quiet space to study can come to the LMC Mondays from 2:30-4:00pm and Tuesdays-Thursdays from 3:30 -5:00pm. Students are able to access computers, get help with homework from teachers, including Janice Chan, Pete Opps, Michelle Roe, Tom Theisen and tutors. We are looking forward to sponsoring a wide variety of clubs this year, 4 of which are starting in September/October: Co-ed extramural volleyball, break dancing, salsa dance and Project Unify which brings together students of all abilities through unified sports to create a greater sense of community. This is just the beginning of what we have in store for Lancer students! For more information regarding clubs or after school homework help, please contact Molly Hayes, CLC Director, by phone 204-3625 or email or please stop by the CLC, located in the back of the LMC, anytime!