The Knight Times

Thomas Dale Faculty and Staff,

It's LOVE DALE WEEK!!! Feel free to wear jeans each day with your spirit wear.

Enjoy!

Up-Front Summary (by day):

Monday

• Morning Meeting in Homeroom during Enrichment
• Senior Rally during Morning Meeting for Senior Homerooms
• Meme Monday Spirit Day
• Professional Development Pathways Meetings - If you are interested in joining the Planning Group, I will be facilitating their session in the Library

Tuesday

• Tropical Tuesday Spirit Day

Wednesday

• Way-Back Wednesday Spirit Day

Thursday

• Valentine's Day Spirit Day

Friday

• Early Release Day - 12pm Dismissal for Students (BELL SCHEDULE)
• Love Dale Friday Spirit Day

Links shared in this issue:

• TD Staff Dashboard
• KUDOS
• Tech Integrator - Janice Skipwith
  
• WIDA Testing Calendar
  
• Digital Learning Day Lesson Menu
• Girls and Boys State Nomination Form
  
• Knight's Cafe Order Form
  

#EveryKnightEveryDay

Each week, I will include writing from our students. This started as an idea to include student voice in our newsletter, and I think has the potential to be so much more. If you are interested in having your students write about their Thomas Dale experience for inclusion in The Knight Times, simply submit them to me...and I will include them.

Here are two more responses to the prompt: "I wish my teachers knew..." Most students wanted the responses shared but preferred anonymity.

• I wish my teachers knew that I do not know what I am going to do in life.
  I wish my teachers knew that I can feel myself slipping back into a stage in my life I thought I escaped from.
  I wish my teachers knew that I am stressed out every week and I am losing motivation
  I wish my teachers knew that I want to go to college but I don’t want to burden my family with debt
  I wish my teachers knew that I choose sleep over anything because everything goes away temporarily when I am asleep
  I wish my teachers knew that I don’t have time for homework or studying
  I wish my teachers knew that although my family values education, no one helps us with our schoolwork at home
  

• I wish my peers knew that words hurt. Gossip travels and even gets back to the person you were talking about behind their back(s). Making fun of or being rude to someone who hasn’t given you a reason to be rude or make fun of them is unacceptable. You, as the “bully” are breaking down someone emotionally, and sometimes physically. You, as the “bully” are tearing apart relationships for this person that you just can’t seem to stop talking about. No one deserves to feel less than perfect, because everyone is perfect in their own eyes. No one deserves to develop anxiety in social situations, or even depression, which we all know could lead to the unthinkable situation, or thinking less of themselves or that no one wants anything to do with them, because of people who just cannot keep their comments to themselves. Think about what you want to say next time before you actually say something. Would you want to be treated this way/feel terrible about yourself?
  

The I Make A Difference award is a weekly recognition for a staff member going above and beyond the requirements of the job. Each week, the previous I Make A Difference award winner will select one member of the faculty/staff who displays excellence, goes the extra mile, and makes a difference and "pass" it on.

From D.A.:

I have had the privilege of spending the past 37 plus years in the field of education. I have been blessed to work with many wonderful people over the years. It is always exciting for me to see individuals that I had in the classroom join the teaching profession. I am honored to announce a former student of mine as this week's recipient of the "I Make A Difference" award......Scott Hueston.

Scott excels in his role as a teacher here at Thomas Dale. He is engaging, fair and compassionate all rolled up in one. Scott has flourished in his first year with our Success program. He treats each student as if he or she was his own child. He constantly checks their progress in class. He talks and listens to his students daily to encourage each one of them to do his or her best. He is constantly on the move checking with teachers, guidance counselors and administrators looking for anything that can help his kids.

Scott Hueston you are a gentleman and a scholar.

The purpose of our weekly KUDOS is to give public affirmation to a faculty/staff member for a job well done. Anytime you witness something that you think deserves KUDOS, you are invited to fill out THIS FORM with the staff member's name and a little about why he/she deserves KUDOS. You will notice a difference in the form. We have added a layer that will send each individual recipient an email with attachment shortly after the KUDOS has been submitted! The list of teacher names and valiant acts will be published in The Knight Times. At each faculty meeting, those nominated for KUDOS will be entered into a drawing for a special prize! Be alert to the wonderful actions of your colleagues and give a shout out when you see something awesome!

Please enjoy this week's KUDOS by clicking HERE!

Each month, we will celebrate and recognize one teacher as the Teacher of the Month and one staff member as the Staff Member of the Month. We were so excited to celebrate our Teacher and Staff Member of the Month recipients so far!

• September: Jamie Barrack and Michelle Kimenhour
• October: Rachel Langston and Steve Davies
• November: James Thompson and Bridget Lehman
• December: Heather Walker and Lisa Neal
• January: Laurie Gholson and Jason Owen

Submit your nomination for February's Teacher and Staff Member of the Month by clicking HERE.

Each month, we will celebrate and recognize one student from each grade level as the Student of the Month. This student will be publicly recognized in front of classmates and on social media. Additionally, we will place a yard sign at each student's place of residency indicating that they are a Student of the Month for the appropriate grade level. Each student will be able to keep the yard sign. Each student who is nominated but not selected will also be recognized publicly.

Please think of a student you feel is deserving of February's Student of the Month and submit that student's name HERE.

The Culture by Design team has come up with several ways for us to celebrate our awesome knight students, as they exemplify the pillars of the Knight Code. Please take a moment to read through the awards and methods of nomination.

Additionally, we would like to ask that all Homeroom teachers encourage their students to come up with spirit-oriented Genius hour sessions. Ideas to jump start the conversation include: poster painting, face painting, relay races or candid photos... but we'd love to make their ideas come into reality.

• W2s (Action). Friday is the last day to pick up your W-2 in the office at Main. After 3:30 pm, they will not be available and be mailed to the address listed on file with payroll.
• Blood Pressure Checks (Information). On February 14th, Sara and Jeannie, our school nurses, will be doing blood pressures for any staff members who would like to be checked. You may come to the Main clinic between 8am - 11am or to the West clinic between the hours of 2pm - 4pm.
• Tech Integrator (Information). Janice Skipwith is a wonderful resource for high-quality instruction. Please see her weekly newsletter HERE.
  
• Honor Roll Certificates (Action). Honor Roll Certificates were placed in teacher boxes today (2/7) and should be distributed tomorrow (2/8) during first period.
  
• Positive referral ice cream passes (Action). Positive referral ice cream passes were placed in teacher boxes today (2/7) and should be distributed tomorrow (2/8) during first period. The party will take place tomorrow from 2:30 - 3:00 in the cafeteria at Main campus for students who have earned a pass. West campus students with passes should be released to come over at 2:25.
  
• Update to Field Trip Permission Request Form Confirmation (Information). From Kathleen Clark: Please let your staff know that our department is currently updating our Field Trip Permission Request form. Anyone who has submitted a form for the FY19 school year may be receiving confirmation emails that are automatically generated. This will include past trips. Please disregard the emails (unless it is for a trip entered today.) We apologize in advance for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding as we continue to update our form!
• (Re-Print) Junior Assembly - Job Shadow Day (Information). 1st period teachers of juniors: On Wednesday, February 13 there will be a junior assembly during Enrichment. Please release your juniors at 9:10, before the Enrichment bell, giving them instructions to report to the large auditorium for a Job Shadow Day presentation. If you’re a teacher of all juniors 1st period, please accompany your students to the auditorium.
  
• (Re-Print) Senior Assembly (Information). 1st period teachers of seniors: On Thursday, February 14 there will be a senior assembly during Enrichment. Please release your seniors at 9:00, before the Enrichment bell, giving them instructions to report to the large auditorium for a senior presentation. If you’re a teacher of all seniors 1st period, please accompany your students to the auditorium. If you have any questions, email me. (laura_deck@ccpsnet.net) Thanks for your help. --Laura

WIDA testing starts next week! This is a federally mandated test. Our testing window is February 4th - 14th. ALL WESTTEACHERS, please share with students that we are testing at West in W309, W209, and W2. We will be posting signs around these halls to help students be aware, but we really need staff to help maintain quiet during transitions and lunch periods, especially around W2, as it is near the cafeteria. Students who are testing may have down time where they can either read a book or work on classwork. Please be considerate in planning quiz and test days and flexible with students getting in their work. All teachers need to check the WIDA testing calendar to be sure they know which days and times their students are testing. It would also greatly help if teachers could email us (Emily_Castledunn and Alexis_Manuel) during 1st block if their student(s) who are supposed to test are absent.

February 28th is Digital Learning Day! All CCPS schools will take part in mandatory activities in order to meet both the VDOE and ISTE standards. All enrichment classes will participate in digital citizenship lessons during the week of February 25th to March 1st. You can access the lessons for each grade level by clicking here. Each grade level has six lessons from which to choose. It will be up to each individual class to decide in which order you would like to complete the lessons. The expectation is that each class attempt to complete five of the lessons during the week, but no fewer than three. Please email clinton_patterson@ccpsnet.net if you have any questions.

This is a reminder to senior homeroom teachers: on Monday, Feb 11 during Monday Meeting we will be having the Senior Rally. Dress comfortably, bring your sign (poster board you can hold up, paper attached to a stick, etc) with your name on it to help keep your students with you as you travel from station to station; it may get hectic at times. Hopefully you can get lots of your students to participate, along with yourself! Meet your students in your classroom, then bring them to the Commons at the beginning of homeroom. Reference the email I previously sent you with details, and email me with any questions or concerns. -Laura Deck

• The main campus library paper cutter is still missing. Reward offered. We really miss it.
• This is research season! We will be happy to come to your classes and help your students with finding and citing sources for research. Also, we can booktalk any fiction, historical fiction, nonfiction, or biography titles related to your subject area. If students are creating posters or need craft materials, the makerspace is available for classes to use. See us or send us an email to schedule time.
• If you need to use the computer labs 209 or 309 on the west campus, please use the following links to sign up. Make sure to include your first and last name as well as the times you will need the lab. There is also a link on the TDHS West Library web page.Lab 209 Lab 309
• Learn to use Noodletools on Tuesday, Feb. 12, after school in the west campus library. Find out how you and students can create projects, cite sources, and organize research with this online tool. Sign up in SDRWeb.

The Knightly News is working hard to tell the Dale story with accuracy and interest, and we need your help! We know that our faculty works hard to create learning activities for students that make learning interesting. We want to know when you have an interesting activity planned, like a dissection, art project, skit performance, or project presentations, so we can visit your class and take pictures or shoot video. We want to engage and interest students in what is happening at Dale, what better way to do that than cover classes? Please, use the form link: https://goo.gl/forms/pfCoAK5qKd4aBK7n1 to send in information!

The Knightly News student editors/leaders : Mariah Granai, Lorielle Bouldin, Julia Malady, Lauren Mantzouris, and Rebecca Ellinger.

Please enter your nominees HERE for both Girls and Boys State. These are leadership programs that are FREE of charge to our students. The American Legion and its Auxiliary, who sponsor Girls and Boys State, will interview interested students and select approximately 6 to 10 representatives from Thomas Dale for each program. PLEASE ENTER YOUR NOMINEES BY FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8th. If you nominate a student, please make sure that student knows that she/he will need to fill out an application as well. If you have questions please let Gonjoe Winn know. THANK YOU!

Delivery with be on Thursday this week due to the 3 hr early release this week.

This week the Knights Cafe is offering Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate KIND bars, Caramel Almond & Sea Salt KIND bars, blueberry streusel muffins, chocolate chip muffins, Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese icing and Funfetti Cake with white icing. Click HERE for the order form.

As part of our intentionality to strengthen trust, communication, and relationships, we will include agendas and minutes from our meetings in this section of the newsletter.

• Admin Team: January 29
  
• ILT: February 1
  
• Instructional Admin: January 22
  
• Community Partners Meeting: January 8
• Principal's Advisory Council: January 16
• Student Advisory Council: December 6
• ACTS Notes (from Cindy Waters): November
• English: January 23
• Math: Minutes Folder

Kelli Powell - February 12

Enjoy your day!!!

Stay connected to OUR CALENDAR and mark yours!

Click HERE for our 2018-2019 meeting dates.

February 8 - Ice Cream Social for Positive Referrals (2:30pm)

February 11-15 - Spirit Week

February 11 - Morning Meeting in Homeroom

February 11 - Senior Rally

February 11 - Personalized Learning Pathways Meetings

Febuary 12 - PTSA Meeting

February 13 - Junior Assembly

February 14 - Senior Assembly

February 15 - Adjusted Dismissal for Students (12pm, BELL SCHEDULE)

CLICK HERE for all things February

Click below to access previous issues of The Knight Times, our weekly staff newsletter:

• Week of August 13
• Week of August 20
• Week of August 27
• Week of September 3
• Week of September 10
• Week of September 17
• Week of September 24
• Week of October 1
• Week October 8
• Week of October 15
• Week of October 22
• Week of October 29
• Week of November 5
• Week of November 12
• Weeks of November 19 and 26
• Week of December 3
• Week of December 10
• Week of December 31
• Week of January 7
  
• Week of January 14
• Week of January 21
• Week of January 28
• Week of February 4

Click below to access previous issues of From the Castle, our monthly parent and community newsletter:

• August 2018
• September 2018
• October 2018
• November 2018
• December 2018
• January 2019
• February 2019

If you have information you need to share, input you seek, or dates you need to communicate, please send it to me. As we improve our communication structure, The Knight Times will become an increasingly collaborative document.

Please email me what you'd like to share - just ensure you have The Knight Times as part of your subject line. I will just need a title, body of text to include, and a picture attachment (if you have one to add to your piece).

Email: christopherm_jones@ccpsnet.net
Website: https://sites.google.com/a/ccpsnet.net/tdhs/
Location: 3626 W. Hundred Rd. Chester, VA 23831
Phone: (804) 768-6245
Facebook: facebook.com/ThomasDale
Twitter: @GoTDKnights