Staff Bulletins 2015-2016

Contents

Week of August 10, 2015

Week of August 17, 2015

Week of August 24, 2015

Week of August 31, 2015

Week of September 7, 2015

Week of September 14, 2015

Week of September 21, 2015

Week of September 28, 2015

Week of October 5, 2015

Week of October 12, 2015

Week of October 19, 2015

Week of October 26, 2015

Week of November 2, 2015

Week of November 9, 2015

Week of November 16, 2015

Week of November 30, 2015

Week of December 7, 2015

Week of December 14 2015

Week of January 11, 2016

Week of January 18, 2016

Week of January 25, 2016

Week of February 1, 2016

Week of February 8, 2016

Week of February 16, 2016

Week of February 22, 2016

Week of February 29, 2016

Week of August 10, 2015

I apologize I did not get this to everyone this past weekend. My hospitalization obviously put a kink in my plans. In no particular order, here are a bunch of reminders, responses to concerns, etc.

1. For tomorrow (THURSDAY) we will follow the schedule in the planner for Thursdays, but we will take the periods slightly out of order --- 1,2,3,5,6,4,7,8 --- in order to accommodate the cafeteria's concerns. I am meeting with them tomorrow morning and hope to have a more permanent solution worked out tomorrow.

2. Everyone should have their emergency backpack now. IF you are missing anything, please see Gina. ALSO --- please try to put your class lists on the clipboard. I realize class lists are a problem due to PowerSchool access issues. If you cannot print them, please ask the main office to do so for you and they will put copies in your mailbox.

3. Some teachers seem to already be assigning "lunch detention." Please realize, students MAY NOT skip the first half of lunch or with intramurals on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If you wish to require students to have detention, it cannot interfere with either of these AND you must go get the students at the lunch area so they have an escort on M/W/F to do detention with you the second half of lunch. To be honest if it were me, I would not bother with lunch detention, but if you choose to do so, please comply with those expectations.

4. If you do not have your login info for staff web pages, you can see Larry Morden or Mark for that info.

5. If you notice any problems with your rosters (students showing up who are not on the roster, or students on the roster who you think should not be there, PLEASE communicate that immediately to Kriscia Tejada in the main office (Kriscia is our wonderful academic counselor).

6. If you need any classroom supplies, please ask the main office. If they do not have something you need, send me an email and I will do my best to get it for you ASAP.

7. The copier in the main office is now working. FOR SINGLE SIDED Copies. I am very aware of how inconvenient the lack of printing capability is for everyone. We are working to rectify this situation, but please be as patient as you can, and use your projectors to project information you might normally have duplicated for students. I really do sympathize with everyone's plight about printing. I won't go into the horrid details about why things are so messed up, but just be as patient as you can in the interim.

8. Military staff will have their regularly scheduled 0600 meeting Friday in Delta Company classroom.

9. There are not many folks eating in the faculty cafeteria. They will likely close it down entirely as a result of our lack of use. If you would like to see it remain open to us, please patronize it. Otherwise, we will lose access altogether.

10. Yesterday, my 8th period TA asked everyone to list all facilities related concerns. Here are a a few responses to some of those listed:

  • Room 58 AC - put in trouble ticket to district today just before I wrote this bulletin
  • Bigger projector screen in 58 - currently none is available; we will try to see about a larger one, but since that involves installation of something on the wall, it is unlikely. We will have the Smartboards soon hopefully, which should negate this request I think.
  • Internet in portables is intermittent - we are working on this, but as I only half-jokingly said in PD, don’t count on it soon; also could someone answer if this is ALL portables, or just the ones in the 60's area???
  • Room 62 AC - put in work order last week and followed up with district this afternoon; they say it is on their work order list for the next 72 hours
  • PA System in portables - I am aware that the SVHS announcements seem to be going through to the 60 portables. I am assuming that is NOT happening in the 50 portables. I put in a work order today to have the PA form SVHS turned off in those 60 portables; that will likely take a few days at minimum to resolve
  • Double boards unable to move and broken cabinet in room 30 - Ms. Jackson will ask Mr. Enriquez to take a look
  • Room 56 back dry erase boards unusable - Ms. Jackson will ask Mr. Enriquez to take a look and see if we cna paste over some whiteboard material
  • Need 1 student desk/chair in room 60 - will ask Danniel and Noah to handle this in am
  • Need clock in room 60 - Ms. Jackson will ask Mr. Enriquez to handle ASAP
  • Room 32 -AC - put in work order last week and followed up with district this afternoon; they say it is on their work order list for the next 72 hours
  • Room 32 - needs 4 student desks and 2 chairs - will ask Danniel to handle in am
  • Room 32 - 1 ceiling panel missing - putting in work order to district now
  • Room 66 has extra chairs - will have Danniel handle in am
  • Room 54 - internet (see above
  • Room 54 - Projector screen - not sure what this means
  • Room 54 - AC Vent next to door doesn't work -- the vent next to the door is a "return" not an AC vent
  • Room 54 - file cabinet missing - will ask Danniel to handle in am
  • Room 54 - Broken furniture - need more specific info
  • Room 54 - Need 4 more desks and 1 more chair - will ask Danniel to handle in am
  • Room 41 - Electrical box and "doo hicky" to be removed - will ask Danniel in am
  • Room 41 - will take 13 tables instead of desks - Danniel will handle in am

11. Please continue to attempt to do roll on PowerSchool, but if it is not working, send a paper/post it (not the original roster) to the main office each period. I am sorry the rosters did not get printed as they should have on Monday. That was a task I was planning to do this weekend. I am sorry. If you need a current roster for any classes, Diana or Ceci in the office (or Kriscia) can help.

12. Curriculum Committee will meet in room 30 tomorrow at 0730. That committee is a rep from each department/discipline. ALL ARE WELCOME, but we need at least one person from each academic discipline there.

THANK YOU ALL for being so understanding and patient during these trying initial days of school. I know it is tough, and I am sincerely sorry that so many of you have been frustrated and angry at the lack of resources and support. Please keep communicating with me about your needs and I will do my best to address therm.

Have a good rest of your week.

Mark P. Ryan, Ph.D.
Superintendent
North Valley Military Institute
Office 818-368-1557 X 2215
Cell 323-217-4481

Week of August 17, 2015

KUDOS: A huge thank you to everyone for a great first week of school. I realize the internet connectivity and printing issues are very frustrating, and I assure you these are being worked on diligently, but I am VERY GRATEFUL for your hard work making the first week so successful.

KUDOS: to the following folks who have their personal web pages on novamil.org updated:

  • Cat Burns
  • Vanessa De Avila
  • Steve Diab
  • Ivy Diaz
  • Shannon Excell
  • Nancy Fung
  • Soledad Gutierrez
  • Jan Johnson
  • Tony Kirby
  • Zak Lara
  • Bertha Martinez
  • Johnny Padilla
  • David Perez
  • Chris Pulos
  • Jake Rand
  • Mark Ryan
  • Laura Stribling
  • Kriscia Tejada
  • Kathy Tran
  • Gina Wilson

ALSO HUGE KUDOS: to the high school math department: NANCY FUNG AND KATHY TRAN --- both of whom have their homework/classwork pages up to date.

REMINDERS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1. Please update your personal web page (all of you have one - evennon-teaching staff!) and if you are a teacher, be sure your classwork and homework isup to date andincludes LAST WEEK and THIS WEEK and all futureweeks of the school year.

2. POWER SCHOOL: We need to make sure everyone's grade books are properly set up. There are some tricks to it. So please be sure you touch base with DIANE FRENCH some time the early part of this week so she can check your grade book to make sure it is set up properly. NVMI uses a 40% Q1, 40% Q2 and 20% Final Exam weighting system. That requires special set up individually. We also want to make sure your quarter grades are properly set up. So please see Diane in the main office annex (Men’s Faculty Room) sometime during your prep period.

3. LESSON PLANS - Please be sure your lesson plans are in the red binder at the start of each week and that the binder is in some obvious place for me to see when I do walk through observations. Math teachers can just put their chapter lesson plans from CPM in the binder without using the NVMI form. English teachers using the ENY curricula as is can just put those in the binder without using the NVMI form. IDEALLY - I would love to at least see some notes on the CPM or ENY lesson documents showing how you will use graphic organizers, Study Team Strategies, Total Participation Techniques, etc.

4. TANDEM PARKING - Please be sure you use tandem parking henceforth as noted in my email of last week.

5. JERRY KLEINMAN - Jerry is known to "old time" NVMI staff as someone who helps with teacher support. ALL TEACHERS NEW TO NVMI - You are welcome to take advantage of Jerry's help in any way you need it. He is the NEW TEACHER SUPPORT PROVIDER for NVMI. He helps experienced teachers new to NVMI who have questions. He helps teachers new to teaching who need beginning teacher support. He will begin work again the first week of September, and can be reached via email at in the meantime. He can help with such things as:

  • classroom management problems, questions, suggestions
  • daily lesson planning support
  • ideas for differentiation
  • curriculum planning
  • support for special needs students
  • classroom set up
  • group work
  • total participation techniques
  • graphic organizers
  • study team strategies
  • DOK level
  • writing in the classroom
  • reading strategies
  • personal organization for students (or teachers)
  • and much more

Please reach out to him if you are new to teaching or new to NVMI --- or if you are an "old timer" who needs any support. His support is...

  • non-judgmental
  • non-punitive
  • coaching in nature
  • suggested not required
  • not something that gets included in your teacher evaluations
  • FREE

6. EMERGENCY ROSTERS - please be sure your emergency roster is on the clipboard with the black backpack.

7. SATURDAY SCHOOL - is assigned at a teacher's discretion beginning this week for students who have ONE OR MORE missing homework/classwork assignments. If you choose to assign students to Saturday School, write (or stamp) Saturday School in their planner with the start time of 0730 - and note they must be in complete and proper CLASS B (or Pledge) uniform. You can always make the kids write this in the planner and then you verify (or class leader verifies) it is there.

8. BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT - will run FOR ALL STUDENTS (different than what is written in planner) from 5:30-7 p.m.Teachers should plan a 7 minute brief introduction of themselves and their course (which in the case ofdouble block classes will bedoubled). Ideally, a student helperwill translate for you. Please try to find some volunteer to help with that if needed. The Schedule is as follows:

Period 1 -1730-1737

Period 2 -1740-1747

Period3 -1750-1757

Period 4 - 1800-1807

Period 5/6- 1810-1817

Period 7 - 1820-1827

Period 8 - 1830-1837

We will announce at 1845 that we are closing up and the campus should be cleared by 1900.

We will remind parents this is NOT PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES, just a group presentation and chance to meet the teacher and see your decorated classrooms.

------

THIS WEEK:

MONDAY

  • Alpha day, including teachers/staff assigned to Alpha who help support campus supervision
  • Before school HW help in Covered Eating area
  • School supply drive for the rest of the month - students encouraged to bring school supplies to donate to less fortunate students in the community; bring to company classrooms for unit community service credit ONLY - no merits or parent service hours
  • Entrance camp for about 14 students who completed Saturday and Sunday; they will begin classes tomorrow (Tuesday)

TUESDAY

  • Bravo day, including adults assigned to bravo who help with campus supervision
  • School supply drive continues
  • Girls VB coaches meeting for HS athletics
  • Intramurals
  • Before school HW help
  • Mark meets with community leaders at 10AM to discuss Sun Valley Gang intervention efforts

WEDNESDAY

  • Charlie Day, including adults assigned to Charlie who help with campus supervision
  • Before school HW help
  • Mark meets with President/AVP of CSUN to discuss partnership program
  • Mark has Dr appointment at noon

THURSDAY

  • Bravo day, including bravo adults assigned ot help with campus supervision
  • Fall Athletics Rally for 10 min at each lunch on field to recruit students for participation on athletic teams--- the band MAY play a fight song --- and if they do, they may have to be excused from a5th/6th period class --- Leighanna will let everyoneknow if they are performing and will missa class
  • Intramurals
  • Detention insmall gym at 0645
  • Before school HW help
  • Be sure you annotate SATURDAY SCHOOL in anyone's planner you are assigning Saturday school due to missing assignments --- that is the criteria for assignment to Saturday school
  • Mark meets with SVHS principal at 0900
  • Department meetingsat 0730-
  • English in room 30
  • Math in room 40
  • Science in room49
  • Social Studies in room34
  • (6th grade teachers split up which meeting theygo to)
  • SPED teachers/staff go with theirassigned teachers
  • Spanish and Music do not have a meeting
  • BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT - 5:30-6:45 PM

FRIDAY

  • Delta day, including adults who help supervise form Delta
  • Milstaff meeting at 0600
  • Admin at 0715
  • Before school HW help

SATURDAY

  • Saturday School - be sure you annotate Saturday School in planners of students by THURSDAY
  • Entrance Camp 0800-1800

SUNDAY

  • Entrance Camp 0800-1800

Mark P. Ryan, Ph.D.
Superintendent
North Valley Military Institute
Office 818-368-1557 X 2215
Cell 323-217-4481

Week of August 24, 2015

KUDOS: to all teachers for being so positive with the students and emphasizing merits over demerits. This has been a great first two weeks, thanks to everyone.

KUDOS: for a solid first fire drill. We obviously had some difficulty finding numbers on the ground, especially since they are not in bright, obvious paint, but we did well and hopefully now know where to line up.

KUDOS for a great Back to School Night. It was extremely well received by parents and students. THANK YOU.

KUDOS to our Camps Safety Team for their diligence and keeping us all safe.

------

REMINDER - We are very lucky to have a federal grant for high school after school programming through the Youth Policy Institute (YPI). I realize that is is a nuisance to have people use classrooms after school, but we need to try our best to work together to allow YPI access to the classrooms. The instructors for YPI are working hard to ensure that they leave a room better than when they found it. Please notify Yanesi Diaz () if there are ever any concerns. Teachers are absolutely free to work in their classrooms while YPI is in them.

QUESTIONS: Two questions have been asked regarding facilities:

1. When will floors be swept and mopped? Answer: Sweeping will happen ABOUT once a week. Mopping will NOT happen except once a year. If there is a spill that needs mopping, please notify Kellie who will ask one of our parent volunteers to help mop.

2. What is the status of the faculty dining room? Can we put a microwave in there? Answer: Right now, it will remain open for at least the next couple of weeks. We need more folks to try to patronize or we may lose the access. We can put a microwave over there if we want. Kellie will work on making this happen.

THIS WEEK:

MONDAY

*Alpha Day, including adults who are part of the alpha team for campus supervision

*Before school HW help

*Cadet of the Month nominations due - If you have nominations of ANY CADET (not pledge) who has embodied excellence in one of our pillars, send an email to Mark with their name and a sentence about why they deserve this recognition. Nominations can be for excellence in academics in any way (high test or quiz scores, improvement, excellence in homework, etc.), leadership (cadet duties, earning rank, strong leadership example, etc), citizenship (doing the right thing, treating others kindly, and making NVMI better), or athletics (intramurals, interscholastic, etc.).