The Knight Times

Thomas Dale Faculty and Staff,

GAME ON!

Here we go! The school year is upon us, and we are in final preparations for your arrival! The summer has been fast and furious, and I am excited to welcome you back on Monday!

As part of our preparations, we've brought some new faces to the team. So far (we still have 5 more hires to make), we have 25 new Knights in our family!

During the 2019-2020 school year, we will have a new roof installed on Main Campus. This is a very exciting time, and it will require additional coordination. The path between campuses has undergone a transformation. In addition, an updated fitness room and an urban garden are just some of the redesigned spaces. In the student parking lot, we've added some safety measures along with trashcans. We've taken four of our classrooms and started to transform their spaces with flexible seating. As we continue to re-imagine and redesign the high school experience, there will be other transformations that take place to ensure that our school facilities are part of our instructional program!

I cannot wait to see you on Monday to get our year started!!! Yesterday, today, and tomorrow are all great times to be a Knight! And this is a great time for the BEST YEAR EVER!!!

Enjoy!

Links shared in this issue:

• In-Service Week Agenda
• TD Staff Dashboard
• KUDOS!
• Online Store for TDHS Gear
• Staff Parking Pass Form
• Staff Contact and Emergency Information Form
• Course Expectations Template
• Chromebook Deployment Volunteer Sign-up Sheet
• Genius Hour at Main Bell Schedule
• Genius Hour Department Rotations
• Tips for "Floating" Teachers
• Libraries Newsletter
• September 3 Bell Schedule (West Schedule and Main Schedule)
• September 4 Bell Schedule (West Schedule and Main Schedule)
• Main Campus Bell Schedule for September 5-13

#EveryKnightEveryDay

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 Chris Kelly:

Thank you, Jason Owen, for those kind words, and ALL of the work you, Brenda Manson, and Angela Yanoska do for me and CTE! We, at Thomas Dale, could not do what we do without all of YOUR support.

The second recipient of the I Make A Difference award is Sonja Mix. Sonja, is a technological forerunner and excels in her everyday educational practice. Her advice, technological expertise, class management and relationships, artistic and cultural knowledge, innovative lessons, and willingness to help others is admirable. Her passion for art, music, and literature is evident in every lesson, and her innovative ideas, courses, and curricula, she introduces her students are an asset to their experiential learning. Regardless of her busy schedule, she will not hesitate to stop what she is doing to offer guidance and advice, technological services, or just listen, if faculty or a student is in need. Her educational leadership, professionalism, and, most of all, her friendship go unsurpassed. Sonja, thank you, and you make a difference!

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. Each individual recipient will receive 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!

• Get Your Swag from Our Online Store! (Action). Don't miss out on your opportunity to represent Thomas Dale! Order your fan gear at the link below! Don't wait, all orders must be in by August 29th! Click HERE to enter the store.
• After-School Supervision (Information/Action). We offer after school supervision for students who attend other specialty centers from 3-5 each school day, and we are looking for teachers who are willing to provide this supervision. Please let Dr. Grabham know if you are interested in doing this or if you have any questions. The obligation can be split among multiple teachers and you will be paid for the time you supervise.
  
• Staff Parking Pass Distribution (Information). Faculty Parking passes will be distributed at both campuses between 4:00 and 4:30 on Monday, August 26th. You must have completed the google form. The form is just below this announcement in case you missed it!
• (Re-print) Staff Parking Passes (Action). Please fill out THIS PARKING PASS FORM. All staff will need to have a hang tag to assist us with monitoring parking issues. After completion, Main campus faculty may pick up their pass in the front office. West campus faculty should go to the West campus front office to pick up their passes. Thanks!
• (Re-print) Contact and Emergency Information Form (Action). Please take a few moments to fill out THIS CONTACT AND EMERGENCY INFORMATION FORM. Thank you!

Please reference THIS AGENDA for our in-service week! Details regarding each day was shared in last week's issue of The Knight Times.

In an effort to make our course expectations throughout our school clear and consistent, we will use THIS COURSE EXPECTATIONS TEMPLATE. When you click the link, you will be asked to make a copy. Please do so and use the template as a guide for outlining your course that you will share with students and parents.

Additionally, the course expectations sheet can be shared electronically with your students and parents, with an option for an electronic signature!

Chromebook deployment will take place Thursday, September 12th from 8:30-10:00. A schedule with the time each class should bring their students down will be shared next week. Deployment will take place in the commons in front of the Ring of Champions at main campus and in the auxiliary gym at west. We will distribute the Chromebook cards to first period teachers once they arrive. We would greatly appreciate any volunteers that don't have students during this time to help with the deployment process. Here is a spreadsheet to sign up. Lastly, only students new to CCPS will have to go through the onboarding process. Details of how we will onbard these students will be shared next week as well. Please email Clint Patterson if you have any questions clinton_patterson@ccpsnet.net.

As part of our work to establish a positive, healthy, and joyful school culture and to provide more opportunities for connection, collaboration, and academic assistance, we will experiment with One Lunch on 27 days throughout the year. The first one will be on September 25 as part of our Genius Hour Bell Schedule at Main. (NOTE: The first Genius Hour at West will be September 24, built into the 1E block without the need for an adjusted schedule.)

Please access the Department Rotations HERE. This includes September 25, October 9, October 16, October 23, and November 6.

One of my favorite advantages of One Lunch is that no child in our school has to eat alone!

Beginner Faculty/Staff Yoga Class:

Wednesday, August 28, 3:30-4:30p.m. Room 1009

Feeling stressed? Are you looking for a way to take some time for yourself and practice some self care? Do your thoughts run away with you and you can’t get your brain to “be quiet”? Do you want to learn how to stay in the present moment? Do you have tight muscles? Are you curious about yoga? If you answered yes to any of these questions then please join us for a free weekly faculty/staff yoga class! Yogis of all levels are welcome! Please click HERE to learn more and register.

Do you work with a co-teacher? CCPS is offering a two-day academy (September 17 and October 21) for collaborative pairs of teachers to attend. We will work this year to support our co-teaching teams to strengthen relationships between the pairs and the quality of instruction for our students in those settings.

This is a great opportunity!

With the wonderful opportunity to keep our students from traveling back and forth comes the challenge of several of our teachers who will need to "float." Sometimes that is between classrooms, sometimes between campuses, and sometimes both!

We are fully aware of the challenge this presents, and something that we will be mindful of throughout the year. In a very timely relase, Education Week published an article on surviving this very thing.

If you are a teacher who will "float" this year, take a moment to read the tips in this article: https://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teaching_now/2019/08/tips_for_floating_teachers.html

The Chesterfield Education Association was busy last school year working for the rights of every single person at Thomas Dale--member or not. We made history in Chesterfield County: we were able to pass a Resolution (signed by the Superintendent and all School Board members) to support all #Red4Ed activities which has never happened before. We lobbied our state legislators, rallied on the steps of the state capitol (a #Red4Ed activity that was supported by Central Office), and got an additional 3% increase in pay for this year.

What’s in store for this year? We have three goals, but we will share two with you now: first, we will join forces with ALL Chesterfield County employees and push for a 5% increase in pay (no ifs, ands, or buts) and second, if a teacher loses their planning time to cover for a class, they are compensated with time or money. If you would like to know the third goal, come see one of us and we can chat. We are the solution seekers and problem solvers for all CCPS employees including instructional assistants, substitutes, classroom teachers, administrative leaders, cafeteria staff, and bus drivers. We are here to support you all year. Our first rep council meeting is September 17 and if you have anything you would like us to bring up or if you are interested in being a building rep (we can have a few more), please let me know.

• Ruth Loop, Main campus room 1001 (and West campus room 310 after school on even days)
  

Welcome back! How can the library help you and your students this school year? Click here.

During the new roof installation at Main Campus, the Library will be closed until further notice.

There is only one first day of school each year. This year, we actual get two first days of school!!!

On both first days, we will make it the best day of our students' lives! On both first days of school, we will build relationships, establish trust, open lines of communication, and connect with each other and our school. ALL teachers will see ALL of their students, and ALL students will see ALL of their teachers...on the first day! All class assemblies will be part of the first day to set the tone and expectations for an AMAZING year! To end our day on September 4, we will rock out at a PEP RALLY!!!

Let's make our first day of school count (both of them)... making it all about relationships, connections, excitement, and joy! An overwhelming feeling that school really is an AWESOME place!

To do so, we will adjust our bell schedule so that students attend all of their classes on the first day. Logistics regarding the day and specifics regarding the pep rally are forthcoming. This day is not an "Even" day or an "Odd" day...it's an "ALL" Day. Let's make September 3 and 4 AMAZING!

This year, our first week of school will look much different than it has in the past. On the first day (September 3), only our 9th grade students will report to school. Please find the bell schedule for the first day of school below. We have one for West and one for Main (Specialty Center). Any teachers who do not have students in their classes (upperclassmen courses), I ask that you assist with supervision, escorting students to their classes, and being fully present to make our students' first day of school AWESOME!

On the second day (September 4), all students will report and will follow the bell schedule posted below.

After the first two days of school, we will follow THIS BELL SCHEDULE at Main Campus. Students will report to homeroom every day. We will not begin Engagement (the "new" Enrichment, change in name only) until Tuesday, September 17.

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 Retreat: August 5 and 6

Upcoming Birthdays:

Dick Anthony - August 28

Miriam Bonner - August 29

Mike Walker - August 30

John Diebel - August 31

Brett Fish - August 31

Enjoy your day!!!

Stay connected to OUR CALENDAR and mark yours!

Click HERE for our 2019-2020 meeting dates.

Click HERE for the 2019-2020 SCA Calendar.

Upcoming Events:

Click HERE for all things August for School Operations.

Click HERE for all things September for School Operations.

Click HERE for all things August for Activities.

Click HERE for all things September for Activities.

• August 26-30 - Teacher In-Service Week
  
• August 30 - Dale-gate and Football vs Cosby
• September 3 - New Students First Day of School (West Schedule and Main Schedule)
• September 4 - All students report (West Schedule and Main Schedule)
• September 9 - Professional Development Pathways Meeting (Main Campus Commons)
• September 12 - Chromebook Deployment (8:30-10am)
• September 13 - ILT Meeting (10:15am, Art A - Main Campus)
• September 16 - Back-to-School Night: Open House (6-7:30pm)
• September 19 - Cal Ripken Foundation, Niagara Bottling, Home Depot, Scott's Turf Project Unveiling and Dinner
• September 20 - Beautiful Tomorrow Assemblies (by grade level, more information later)
• September 23 - Faculty Meeting (West Campus Auditorium)
• September 24 - West Campus Genius Hour during 1E (9-10am)
• September 25 - Genius Hour and One Lunch at Main Campus (Bell Schedule)

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

• Week of August 12
• Week of August 19

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

• August 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