Woodlawn Principal's Blog 11/10/17

Friday is here Woodlawn Wolves!  Today was an early release for students but our teachers worked hard on planning for students.  I had the honor of sitting in with our Language Arts teachers who had a 90 minute conversation about pacing and getting maximum performance from students.  They followed that up with another solid hour of planning and data evaluation.  Here are some tidbits for the week:  


Parent Coffee

It is time for another parent coffee.  This Thursday, November the 16th, Mrs. Bird and I will be available in our Learning Center to talk about our new FLEX program.  Even if you do not want to discuss the flex program, there is free coffee.  What?!?  It is true.  I am also petitioning for some donuts but I cannot promise that.  Seriously, come in and get the latest information on where we are with flex and where we are going.  

The Parent coffee is from 9-10a.m.


PTO BLOG

Click here to visit the PTO Blog


Cultural Arts Assembly

We had an amazing all school assembly today about Harriet Tubman.  Our students (600+) gathered in the gym and were an amazing audience.  Ask your student(s) about this fantastic learning opportunity sponsored by our PTO and the Cultural Arts Committee.  


Conferences

Sign ups for conference started this past Monday.  Parents are asked to call the Woodlawn main office (847-353-8500) and set up one 15 minute conference with a teacher on the team of your child.  Conferences are an important time and I hope that everyone is able to come during the scheduled conference times which are Monday, November 20th from 5-7p.m. and Tuesday, November 21st from 2-7p.m.  Over the years, many families have taken the opportunity to go out of town for a family vacation over the Thanksgiving Break.  Because so many families do this, we cannot offer a face to face meeting with a teacher after the conference times.  Per our district handbook, “Should you be unable to schedule a conference during the conference times identified on the school calendar, a parent may request a brief phone conference with the student’s teacher and individual team members when appropriate.  It is not the expectation of the District that teams recreate the conference experience outside the dates/times identified on the calendar.”  Thank you for your understanding.


Current Patriot Consortium Mathematics Placement Process

Over the last few years, Stevenson High School and the feeder middle schools have created a scope and sequence and aligned the curriculum to the Common Core Standards for Mathematics, as well as created common benchmarks for the end of each unit for both the Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 courses. This year the consortium has created criteria that defines the four strands of mathematical proficiency to highlight the attributes of a proficient mathematical thinker. The criteria are grouped into three categories:

  • Procedural Skills & Fluency (How well you can correctly use mathematics.)

  • Conceptual Understanding (How well you utilize mathematical ideas, transfer your knowledge into new situations, and apply it to new contexts.)

  • Problem Solving with Adaptive Reasoning and Strategic Competence (How well you can apply strategies and sound reasoning.)

 

Over the course of the year, the mathematics teachers will be discussing these criteria with the students in class to create a portrait of each student. This portrait will be used to place the students into the mathematics course at Stevenson High School that matches their content knowledge as well as level of mathematics proficiency.

As a district and consortium, it is our vision that each student move on to the next course in the sequence providing that there are not significant gaps in content knowledge. We feel that this process allows a mathematical picture of the student to develop over time, which will provide a more informed placement, as opposed to a single score on a placement exam.


Band Concert

I am always impressed when our band students gather for a concert.  Each group did a great job as parents, family members and friends were treated to an outstanding musical performance.  Way to go Woodlawn Band.  (I feel bad that I didn’t practice my trumpet more when I was a kid.  I could’ve been something)


Daily Announcements

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Finally, it never ends.  My son graduates from college, he gets a job, earns a paycheck and really looks like a contributing member of society.  I might struggle with the clothes he wears to work but I am not in charge of his company.  They must have their reasons for their dress code.  I digress.  On Wednesday night, he gets off the express train (such an adult) and tells me he isn’t feeling well.  Instead of showing empathy, I decide that this is my moment to reinforce personal beliefs on work ethic.  “On average, I miss one day a year because of illness.  You need to be there because you can easily be replaced.”  There it is, I officially took on the role of my father and could finally say this while he was a paid employee.  That evening, he spikes a fever and misses work on Thursday.  He slept all day, woke up for a short time and still had a fever, was achy, was really sensitive to light.  Around 1a.m. this morning (as parents we have all lived this), the sound of a child rushing to the bathroom.  When I went to check on him, he was on fire.  Long story long, after consulting the internet (REALLY bad idea), I freaked out and zipped him to the ER.  Our children will always be our top priority as they take years off our lives because of worry.  I am ending the blog this week with a video from my favorite comedian, Brian Regan.  For any of us who have been to the ER, I find this to be hilarious.  Have a great weekend.