I want to make sure we have ample time to talk about The State Of The School at our Faculty Meeting next week on Tuesday morning (that's also Centennial Statehood Day by the way) at 7:45. But, there are a lots other things I think you need to know about, too... Here's a quick rundown:
Bell Schedule Change
It's likely that our bell schedule will be changed a bit next school year to better accommodate buses and other scheduling concerns at the district level. If these changes are officially put in place, our daily start time for 2012-2013 will be at 8:50AM and our Monday through Thursday dismissal time will shift to 3:30. Friday dismissal would move to 12:35.
Calendar Changes
Pending board approval, next year's 2012-2013 calendar will likely be very similar to this year's calendar at the elementary level, but the high schools will probably see some major changes in the structure of their school day. However, for all of us, there may be significant changes made to the 2013-2014 calendar. The district is considering making a shift to a more "balanced" calendar that will allow elementary schools to align better with the pace of the Common Core standards, allow secondary schools to better accommodate finals, intervention, and collaboration time, and to potentially mitigate several other concerns related to student academic retention and progress as well. The balanced calendar would start earlier, in late July, and provide a two-week intersession between each quarterly grading period. School would still be in session 180 days, major holidays would still be observed, and the school year would still end in early June. Summer break would be shortened to about six weeks. I scanned some of the handouts that were distributed at our Admin Council meeting, so if you like, you can download a rough DRAFT of this calendar proposal to look over on your own.
Snow-Day Make-ups
Several of you have asked about how the district intends to use the built-in snow-day make-up days to cover days we missed in December. For the record: the way it works is the first snow-day is replaced by the first built-in make-up day. Therefore April 6 will be a regular day of school, as will April 9. Future snow days, should they happen, would replace subsequent built-in days on the calendar.
Promethean Boards
Our 10 new Promethean Boards have been ordered! They will be installed in your rooms as soon as possible. They will, in many cases, require the removal (and, should you so desire, re-placement elsewhere in your room) of whiteboards and pull-down screens. Mary Knight and Joe Martin will be involved in this process as well, in order to ensure we have everything installed per codes and cables and such. I know you're excited about your new technology, but please be patient as we work through all of this. And, for the record: never attempt to move or remove things in your classroom that the district has permanently installed without first submitting a work order with the front office.
Social Media
Just a word to the wise: remember that other people, including important members of our community and organization, can see and read what you post on online social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Like it or not, your conduct as a member of our staff in the public domain will always be subject to outside scrutiny. This is an unavoidable but manageable reality.
Aeronautics Expert
Scott Boynton, a longtime Marshall parent, would like to make himself available to you as a special speaker in your classroom. Scott is a pilot and an expert in aeronautics and he'd love to have an opportunity to instill a love of flight and flying in your students. Please feel free to get in touch with him at your convenience to schedule a time to get him into your room. You can reach him via email or telephone [928-607-5650].
School Leadership Survey
If you haven't already done so, please take the School Leadership Survey. This is your final notice :)
Calendar
- Monday, 13 Feb.
- Science Fair Set-up, 9:00-1:00
- Sack Lunch in Classrooms
- Science Fair Judging, 1:30-7:00
- Tuesday, 14 Feb.
- Faculty Meeting in the Library, 7:45
- Science Fair Classroom Tours, all day
- Sack Lunch in Classrooms
- Wednesday, 15 Feb.
- Science Fair Classroom Tours, all day
- Sack Lunch in Classrooms
- Science Fair Family Night, 5:30-7:00
- Thursday, 16 Feb.
- Science Fair Tear-down, 8:00-10:00
- Fifth Grade Ski Trip, all day
- Lunch in Cafeteria
Please acknowledge:
