State Speech Champs?
If I am reading the MSHSL website correctly, three SPHS students have just been named state champs in speech. Aaron Smith, Emilee Elofson and Emily Jansen. Details to come, but if this is accurate, holy cow!!!
What a Gap!
It has been forever since I've checked in and posted what has been going on here at the 7-12 level. Sorry about that...I suppose the reason could either be a) there hasn't been anything happening worth noting or b) we've all been so crazy busy that time has just gotten away. I'm thinking b. So here are some highlights from the past month, and what is brewing for the coming months:
- The budget reductions will be finalized by the board of education at their next meeting (April 16). There have been some changes from the first plan, and it is likely that the board will take the 3rd grade teacher and middle/high school music teacher reductions off the list.
- MCA-II testing is quickly approaching. Except for seniors, all students will be taking some sort of state-mandated, high stakes test during the week of April 14. Letters have been mailed to families detailing the specifics, and class meetings with students are being held to make sure all are well prepared for the week.
- The school leadership team will be reviewing the advisory program during their spring retreat. The program has been implemented now for 2 1/2 years with the goal of developing quality relationships amongst all members of the school. How is it working? Is it worth it? If advisory isn't the answer, what else can the school consider? These are all questions that students, teachers, and staff will help answer during the review.
- It is never too early to start thinking about the 2009-2010 school year, and an important area to be addressing now is the staff openings that we are anticipating. Spanish and special education teaching positions have been posted, along with the head football coaching position.
That's all for now...I've got some things to share about concurrent enrollment (college-credit courses for high school students) and the future of Saint Peter High School. Let's hope the next gap isn't so big!
From Winter to Spring
Students are reminded at the beginning of each school year to think of the upcoming 9 months as a marathon, not a 100-yard dash. It is about this time of year (end of February, early March) when it becomes pretty obvious who has paced themselves for the long haul, and who is on the verge of running out of gas. Granted, there are still a few students who haven't quite found the track yet, but there is still time for that as well. Regardless of your student's energy level, here is what we know:
-
Three months of school is three months of school. If your student is exhausted, help slow them down by helping them to say NO, get sleep, eat breakfast, stay positive, and stay focused on their school work. Don't buy into the idea that learning slows down when the temperature goes above 40!
-
For 9-11th graders, the all-important graduation testing season is quickly approaching. Right after the Easter break, students will be taking the GRAD tests in written composition (9th grade), reading (10th grade) and mathematics (11th grade). Students must pass these exams in order to be eligible to graduate from any MN public high school.
-
There is still a lot of fun to be had during the last three months of the school year. Spring sports, the spring play and concerts, and of course prom are just a few of the things yet to come for the 2008-2009 school year.
2009-2010 Budget Reduction Plan
The comment section is open!
Academic Decathlon
Did you know that Saint Peter High School has an Academic Decathlon team? If you want the details on this academic competition program, check out the program's website at http://www.usad.org/.
Now for the great news...this year's high school team took 2ND PLACE AT THE STATE TOURNAMENT!! Congratulations to all team members and special thanks to team coach Mary Behrends for her leadership and commitment to the program. Here are the individual medalists at this year's state tourney:
- Dan Obermiller, Honors Division, Language and Literature (3rd place), Mathematics (3rd place), Social Science (2nd place), Music (2nd place), Economics (2nd place), Super Quiz (2nd place) and Overall (2nd place)
-
Maggie Morrow, Honors Division, Art (3rd place)
-
Isaac Dontje Lindell, Scholastic Division, Language and Literature (2nd place), Social Science (2nd place), Art (3rd place), Economics (1st place), Super Quiz (1st place) and Overall (2nd place)
-
Charlie Bushell, Scholastic Division, Language and Literature (2nd place), Mathematics (3rd place), Super Quiz (2nd place)
-
Andrew Vollmer, Varsity Division, Music (1st place), Art (1st place), Economics (3rd place) and Interview (2nd place)
-
Zach Lunderberg, Varsity Division, Language and Literature (2nd place), Art (3rd place) and Social Science (1st place)
Social Networking Sites--Risks and Rewards
I heard from a friend recently that social networking sites like Facebook are being abandoned by teenagers and 20-somethings because the sites are being flooded with older generations. There is a great article in the current issue of Time written by Lev Grossman that highlights this fact. Really funny.
The National Institute for Media and the Family has published two very good parent and educator resources regarding the risks and rewards of social networking sites. I found both to be helpful guides. Here is the link: http://www.mediafamily.org/.
Senior Project Scholarship Opportunity
Just got the attached press release from Nicollet Country Historical Society. Current seniors are eligible. For juniors thinking ahead, this is good to remember as they brainstorm project ideas for next year's Senior Achievement.
Did You Know...
that students are registering for next year's classes already? So far, next year's 7-9th graders are almost done, with most of the 10-12th graders slated for registration today, tomorrow and Friday.
February Conferences and Friday's Bake Sale
Second semester conferences are scheduled for two weeks from this coming Thursday (4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on February 26). We are changing a few things up this spring:
- There is only one night of conferences.
-
All conferences will be held in the gymnasium. This will allow parents to find available teachers and conference with them while they wait for teachers who have lines.
-
Conference night is scheduled for earlier in the semester. Attendance at spring conferences has been very low for the past few years (especially at the high school level). Hopefully the date change will work for parents' schedules a bit better.
Also, this Monday marks the beginning of Snow Week at Saint Peter High School. Student organizations will come together for the third straight year to sponsor a Snow Week Bake Sale. All proceeds from the event will go to the Saint Peter United Way. In both 2007 and 2008, student groups made a $500.00 donation! This year, the sale will be helped by Thrivent and Kohl's, both of which have agreed to provide matching funds. The sale is on Friday (February 13) at 9 a.m. in the gym lobby.
Wordle and Sixth Grade Registration is Done
First off, what is Wordle? Here is a definition from the wordle.net website:
Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text.
So a colleague here at school used my blog as the source text and plugged it into Wordle. Guess what word came out as the largest (which indicates most frequently used)? Budget. How depressing is that? My goal for February is to not use the "b" word. That might be hard given the unknowns with state funding for next year.
On the registration front, materials were distributed to students this past Wednesday in advisory time. Next Wednesday they will review transcripts and then course selections will begin February 11. One grade has already finished course selections for next year. Incoming 7th graders have been registered...including students who currently attend John Ireland. The current count of next year's 7th grade class is 119.
