Teacher’s tenuous tasks involve the incredibly complex work of trying to avoid frustration, yet compel self-motivation. To do this, a teacher has to continually evaluate exactly where a student is, where they can go and what they can use to get there. And they must do this for 15-25 students all at once every second of every day. Because of this impossible job, teachers never reach their goal. There is never an ending to the pursuit. There is never a moment when a teacher can stop and say, “It is done.” Teachers do stand back once in awhile during the artificial segments we create. The end of a period, the end of a day, the end of a quarter, semester, year, graduation…and when they do, for a very brief time, they can take stock and try to make sense of it, try to feel that progress can be and has been made. But mostly, teachers just keep on – with a complete dissonance of time, task and worth. Can you imagine living like that? In a society that rewards product, teachers cannot define product. In a society that lives on a balance sheet, teachers live in a world without even momentary balance let alone a fiscal year. So, we try to quantify education, we try to sound-bite it into something that can be generally compared and conceived. But it cannot be done, the variability and vulnerability of each second confounds any experimental research to a chapter of limitations that dismiss the research as invalid. Even the simplest education scenarios are so completely confusing to understand, we can only ever see the product and have no inkling of how it arrived. And yet, teachers do this job with patience, with perseverance, and with humor and wonder. They do it while maintaining sanity, decorum, ambition and ideals. They do it with humor, sincerity and enthusiasm. The burden of this job would crush some. The giant weight of this work would frighten most into stress and retreat. But they do it with grace and courage and humility. Mr. Rollinger and I completed the first round of observations and evaluations of teachers this past week. Above is reference to all teachers. But Harrisburg's teachers are even more than all of the above as I consider them the very best. After watching them at work this past week, in random drop-ins to their rooms, it is astounding the quality of influence they extend to our students. I hope you find the time to say a thank you to a teacher that they likely will not accept any way. I hope you find time to and continue to support their toil and effort at home. I hope you realize that these professionals are the underpinning of all we hope for and are. We have the greatest system of education in the history of man and as it continues to evolve, be a proud participant in the process. Never stop thanking and never stop thinking.
Career Cruising is a free state-provided program that Harrisburg School uses to assist students in identifying future possibilities. This week and in future weeks our students participated, or will participate in a “matchmaker” program that lists jobs according to a 40 to 115-question survey. Students then select one or two and investigate the opportunity more closely, looking at required education, salary, etc. This will lead students to think in terms of what they may like to attempt for class choices. We are moving toward each student’s personal learning plan(PLP), which will allow students insight into clusters of employment and life choices. This can be accessed from home. Ask your son or daughter to show you what they have done. Ask our counselors for your user name and password if you wish to take a look. Simply email Susan.kooima@k12.sd.us or Lyle.Schmidt@k12.sd.us for a username and password. Ten tap groups began Thursday, 8-10 more will participate this Thursday and we will continue until all have this opportunity.
Texting and driving kills. This past week, there were at least two instances I know of, one fatality and one near fatality directly related to the use of cell phones while driving. Friday afternoon, two of our students Andrea Schoewe and Jessica Galinanes, as part of their FCCLA project, organized a "mock" crash in our parking lot. Local law enforcement, medical staff and EMT personnel, and even our local undertaker were present to add authenticity to the event. It was a "scared straight" kind of experience that seemed to really hit home with our students and staff. Thanks to all who participated and to Jessica and Andrea for raising our level of consciousness about this very preventable type of tragedy.
Early release Wednesday focused high school staff on Professional Learning Communities(PLC's). This idea has gained much momentum in the past several years as we continue to focus on results and on the learner. The practice is founded in the belief that the experts are among us, that if given the chance, our own staff can act on the best practices they already know work with their own collaborative efforts. Utilizing the research of Richard DuFour and Mike Schmoker, Harrisburg High will move forward with candid leadership and self-managing teams of teachers. Harrisburg High understands that the number one factor for academic achievement is instruction. Mortimore and Sammons(1987) found that teaching has 10 times the impact on achievement than all other factors combined. Marzano(2003) shows that teaching is the life-changing difference in numerous studies. William Sanders found that just three years of effective teaching account for 50 percentile points of testing improvement. Hanushek(2005) underscored the incredible gains and lasting gains of five years of above-average instruction. With due respect to former President Clinton, "It's about teaching, stupid." Researcher after researcher conclude that improved classroom instruction is the prime factor of student achievement. So, these professional learning communities will begin to examine and form a consensus, first of philosophy of mission, and then real change in instructional delivery. Two things frame this opportunity for Harrisburg High to go from very good to great:
1. Instruction has the largest influence on achievement.
2. Despite our best intentions, much instruction is not as effective as it could be but can improve significantly and swiftly through ordinary and accessible arrangements among teachers and administration.
To this end - we will investigate four things:
Literacy - students read and write only a fraction of what they need to think critically and to write effectively(Allington, 2001: Graff, 2003; Olson, 2005) - One program already in place is SSR and the accountability added this year.
Curriculum - Matched and coherent curriculum that gives priority to agreed upon purposes must be a priority(Popham, 2004: Hess, 2004) - This will be examined at length in the coming months.
Instructional supervision - Consistent and purposeful evaluation with response from instructors and plans for growth can lead to startling increase in learning(Elmore, 2000; Marzano, 2003). - Drop-ins and formal evaluation is and will continue to be learner-based and topical to refining and improving instruction.
Teamwork and Professional Learning Communities - Despite the universal agreement that teaming is incredibly important to improvement, teachers are not given opportunity to work in teams, develop lessons and assessments together or examine assessment results - this has got to change(Wagner, 2004: Schmoker, 2005).
Dr. Deb DeBates of SDSU helped us get started at our early release. Now it is time to do the work. October 12's in-service will be a continuation of that effort.
This scrutiny of who we are and who we could be is not without discomfort. Not without difficulty. But it would be criminal to stand on the possibility, opportunity and on the brink of greatness, and not try. I will keep you updated on our progress.
Fellowship of Christian Athletes meets periodically throughout the school year. Coaching leaders are Mr. LeLoux, Mr. Stoebner, Mr. White, Mr. Langerock and others. Coach Bob Young, the legendary retired leader of the University of Sioux Falls football program, spoke with coaches last week. His inspiration and true goodness create such enthusiasm for just doing the right thing. My personal life has been shadowed so many times by those like Coach Young who passionately provide us with a model of how much we can be. The "huddles" led by our students, teachers and coaches are another reach for the kindness and compassion we all have at our disposal. The meetings are very early in the morning, and, of course voluntary - we encourage any student or staff member to attend. A simple way to walk a path filled with the confidence of treating our fellow man with respect and love.
Bracelets urging our assistance and awareness of the terrible affliction of breast cancer were in the news for several weeks. In most of our surrounding communities, these bracelets, with good message intention, but perhaps a bit discomforting in their overt symbolism, were subsequently banned. In Sioux Falls, any student wearing such a bracelet has it removed and destroyed. I am certain other schools are making a statement of lack of empathy for the cause, however, there are some students who display the bracelet not in support but as a way to show off their misguided individualism. I am sure those who have had to share or suffer so much pain to this dastardly disease, do not support those who wear it more for the show than the cause. So, Harrisburg came up with a fair compromise. Students may wear the bracelets, as long as the anatomy depiction is turned inside. Students can show their support without the distraction. It is a good compromise and we are one of the few schools to allow this. Please show respect for our school environment and at the same time the passion for the cause by following the policy. Harrisburg High completely supports erasing this deadly and crippling disease. But we won't enable those who simply want to create humor in your cause by flashing these symbols in disrespect.
Homecoming comes once a year - this year's theme is "Once upon a Fantasy".
Monday - Make a Superhero Day - dress up as a superhero
Tuesday - Dynamic Duo Day - Dress up as a superhero tandem
Wednesday - Magical Madness Day - Dress up in connection to magic
Thursday - Generation Day - Fresh and Sophs dress like babies, Jr. and Sr. like elders - Teachers like teenagers
Friday - School Spirit day and Mr. HHS Day
Also Monday - Coronation in the large theater at 8:00 PM.
Friday - Dismissal at 11:35
Parade begins from the Middle School at 1:30 with pep rally at the middle school parking lot following the parade. (The route is at the bottom of this blog).
Game vs. Vermillion at 7:00
If you have any questions about any of the festivities - please call the office at 743-2567.
Study halls are NOT going away. However, they will become more scarce in the future and gauged more with student learning in mind and less with a filler in a student's schedule. There are students who need these study halls with the intense pressure they have on their time. In particular those who must work and those involved in several activities. Some students make terrific use of this time, others make zero use and it is a serious waste of resource, personnel and taxpayer money, to be frank. There will be a common study hall for all. This will enable students to see teachers if they need assistance. There will still be some study halls sprinkled about the day for those in need. They will never entirely go away, but the number and utilization of them at this time is counter-productive to improved learning. That is the long and short of it. We are here to assist learning. We will.
A student lost a kidney at a football game at Dakota Valley. Did it happen to one of the players on the field? Did it happen in an accident in the parking lot? Did the student fall from the bleachers? NO. It was some elementary students playing football. All across South Dakota and likely everywhere, one of the favorite Friday night past times is to have the parents standing around watching the game while their elementary and junior high children go wild at a football game. Fights. Kill the carrier. Full-fledged games. Tag. It is chaos. I must admit, I like it. My son played all the time at my past location, as did my daughter. I played until I became a football manager as a 4th grader and then I missed those nights. Most fields have some wide open areas where this happens. And the incident at Dakota Valley - obviously the exception - but now it is real and they are being sued. I wrote to my administrative colleagues on this part of the state to find out their policies and ideas. Most admitted it was like herding cats. No matter what you attempt, because it is tradition, and most parents see it as a rite of passage and encourage it, it is going to go on. However, it just can't at Harrisburg. We have too many places for students to get seriously injured. At the Tiger Bowl, after I just had asked some kids to stop running down the berms, there goes another, hit the fence, teetered on the top, and barely caught himself before falling 20 feet to the cement below. Had he fallen, we would likely be talking about something else here. But we need to prevent it: NOW. Signs will be posted in the upcoming weeks. Superintendent Holbeck will make an announcement before our game Friday. We simply do not have the facility to allow all the rolling, running, wrestling and tackling. It has to stop. We are going to have to start taking action, and some of that may include asking those who do not sit or stand and watch the game - asking them to leave. I have to admit I am very conflicted about this - I love to watch kids run and play and have a great time. Unfortunately, we just cannot do it at our facility. It does not work. And someone is going to be severely injured. Please help us keep this under control. We don't want to exclude anyone, and we want it to always be an enjoyable activity. But we just don't have the place for the kids to play. Thanks in advance for helping. And, any suggestions would be appreciated and will be considered.
Parent/Principal Connection(PPC) started last Wednesday night. Great quality, not a big crowd, but excellent in conversation and great questions. I will try to move this night around so more may attend. We will meet once per month. This month, it is scheduled for Monday, October 18th at 7:00 PM in the commons. I hope you can attend. And thanks to those who made it last week.
Parent/Principal Connection(PPC) started last Wednesday night. Great quality, not a big crowd, but excellent in conversation and great questions. I will try to move this night around so more may attend. We will meet once per month. This month, it is scheduled for Monday, October 18th at 7:00 PM in the commons. I hope you can attend. And thanks to those who made it last week.
Events this week in Harrisburg...
Monday - FCCLA Leadership Retreat - Rapid City
State Boys' Golf Meet - Rapid City
4:30 - JV football at Madison
Homecoming - Coronation rehearsal - first period
Make a SuperHero Day
8:00 Coronation - Large Theater
Tuesday - Boys' State Golf Meet - Rapid City
8:00 AM - Senior Class Meeting
4:00 - After School Novice Interp. - Sioux Falls
5:00 - Volleyball - HOME - vs. Elk Point
Homecoming - 6th and 7th period - Student Worker Auction - Large Theater
Dynamic Duo Day
Wednesday - Homecoming
Magical Madness Day
Sucker Day
Student Council out first and second period in all schools
Thursday - State Soccer Tournament - Mitchell
4:00 - Big 8 Cross Country Meet - Lennox
4:15 - Ninth football - Home - Madison
5:00 - Volleyball - Home - Dakota Valley
Homecoming - Generation Day
Royalty introduced during volleyball game
Friday - State Soccer Tournament - Mitchell
11:35 - Early Release
Homecoming - School Spirit Day
First Period - All students report for attendance
Mr. HHS competition - Large Theater
Mini-Olympics
1:30 - Parade - Middle School
Pep Rally - follows parade at Middle School
7:00 - Football vs. Vermillion
Have a great week.
Kevin
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