The Knight Times

Thomas Dale Faculty and Staff,

Please enjoy this special edition of The Knight Times. It is the "tell-me-what-I-need-to-just-make-it-to-Spring-Break" issue.

Enjoy!

Up-Front Summary (by day):

Monday

• Genius Hour during Enrichment (All information on 3/25 Genius Hour will be in this link)

Tuesday

• Job Shadow Day

Wednesday

• KnightScene Special Performance - 4O (Interested? Sign up HERE)

Thursday

• Normal Day

Friday

• Jeans Day!
• 3 Hour Early Release Day (BELL SCHEDULE)
• Pathways make up meeting at 12:30pm (Main Library)
• Talent Show @ 7pm (Main Auditorium)

Links shared in this issue:

• TD Staff Dashboard
• KUDOS
• Tech Integrator - Janice Skipwith
  
• Grade Change Form
• Knight's Cafe Order Form
  

#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 Barbara Cox:

I thank Scott Young for his glowing review of my career before I became a teacher and his too kind observations of my efforts to engage and connect with students. I often fear I fall short (and I know, I sometimes/often do); the positive reinforcement, from a colleague I greatly respect, gave me an enormous boost in confidence. I want to “pay it forward” by recognizing another colleague who daily models teaching excellence (much more than I do) and humanity as she guides students who need extra help.

Miriam Bonner adds light to all of her students. But, as a teacher who specializes in instruction of students who require special education consideration, she sets a bar of brilliance that has taught me about the impact of patience and perseverance to reach students who often have enormous difficulties that can frustrate them and threaten their feelings of self-worth and sense of their own possibilities.

Miriam is an expert at identifying individual needs of students and creating academic and social options that empower them to find their own success. Her eye is always on what she can do to help them build a foundation that will help them later- beyond the shelter of high school. She is a student “whisperer”.....Miriam listens to the students, learns their backstories-what’s going on at home-what’s going on in their hearts. Her influence extends beyond the school day. She takes the time to patronize a student’s workplace . It gives the student bragging rights : i.e. a “celebrity” guest -a teacher who thinks I’m great - came at my invitation. Miriam spends impressive hours tutoring homebound students who later return to class prepared and with the security that the return will be smoother because there is mentor at TD who cares and wants to help...and will help them in any way in her power.

Miriam has the organizational expertise of a professional home decluttering designer. She keeps impeccable records, folders, and systems for monitoring student progress. Her lessons always indicate exact goals and how to get there. She also always has a Plan B that incorporates flexibility-she can almost immediately identify what instruction for an individual student needs more attention. She is ready with new strategies that might better access the student’s unique talents to deliver best work and a feeling of delight in genuine achievement. In every single class she provides a one-on-one progress conference with individual students for specific assignments and possible adjustments. It’s her one-on-one that is her secret sauce.

Miriam’s calm but firm approach and compassion (for resistant students who have problems and for those who truly try their best but struggle with extraordinary learning challenges), that make her exemplary. She uses humor, common sense, and a proven skill set. She actively encourages any opportunity to give another chance for improvement - during enrichment, on her own time, or on the spot in class. In many cases it is the skipper or the student who “played” during class she encourages privately with no judgement. Miriam recognizes all students are special and have needs and that needs do not equate failure. She is that teacher who “walks the walk” -application of skills and knowledge consistently honed - character that informs care for others -it’s the essence and essential lesson her students learn organically..

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
• February: Kim Young and Barbara Harris
• March: Chris Johnston and Brenda Manson

Submit your nomination for April'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 April'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.

• Senior Spring Events Assembly (Information). In order to begin preparing the seniors for the pending spring season senior events, on April 10 there will be a senior assembly during Enrichment. Contact Laura Deck with any questions or concerns.
• Student of the Month Selection (Action). Please click here to vote for our March students of the month! Cast your vote by Wednesday, March 27th to help us recognize this month's outstanding Knights!
• Tech Integrator (Information). Janice Skipwith is a wonderful resource for high-quality instruction. Please see her weekly newsletter HERE.
  
• Positive Referrals (Information). Next Friday (3/29) is the final day of the third marking period. Please take this time to see if there is any student deserving of a positive referral. This quarter we have 180 students who have earned a positive referral.
• Knight Scene Performance (Information). On Wednesday (3/27) during 4O, the mixed show choir, Knight Scene, will perform their amazing show one time at 2:05. Teachers who wish to bring their classes, please sign up here.
• Thomas Dale History (Information). Thomas Dale has 113 years worth of history. Because of this rich history, which makes our school like no other in Chesterfield County, our National Social Studies Honor Society adopted an initiative this year to educate the faculty, staff and student body about this history. If you haven't already, please check out our displays: Main campus 100 hall, 500 hall and briefly on display in the Commons--later it will be moved to the 100 hall. (This display is of our many alumni faculty. We have an unprecedented number who returned to teach here. See them in a "that was then, this is now" format!) West campus teachers, take a spring-time stroll over to take a look.

  Any question or comments, contact Laura Deck or James Thompson, sponsors of NSSHS.

• Service Project Collection (Information/Action). The Knight Mentors will be collecting items for the VHSL Leadership service project, Operation Smile. Operation Smiles vision is to provide a new start to children who need access to safe surgery for cleft lips and palate repair. To support this organization the Knight Mentors are collecting Adult and child toothbrushes, coloring books and crayons. Please consider donating these necessary items during lunches next Tuesday and Wednesday, March 26th and 27th.

• All information on 3/25 Genius Hour will be in this link (it is also on the Dashboard)

• Passes for Genius Hour will be in 1st period teachers’ mailboxes on Monday, March 25th. Please hand them out to students. Students who do not have a pass will remain in their 1ST PERIOD CLASS. This is different than in the past, we are trying to cut down on students who are moving. If you are hosting a Genius Hour, please move your students to their holding location. Each teacher will have a few extra passes if student want to attend the Genius Hour with the Police Chief in the Small Auditorium at Main Campus.

• Take attendance with your students in with you for Genius Hour (even if they stay in your 1st period): 3/25 Genius Hour Attendance

• 3/25 Genius Hour Student Assignments

• 3/25 Genius Hour Teacher Assignments

• 3/25 Genius Hour Catalog

• Dates of Remaining Genius Hours

• -April 29

• -June 10

It's grade sending time again! I imagine the grade posting window will open early next week. Should you need help with grade sending, please refer to the directions for grade sending that are available on CNet, under Synergy Report Cards. Please follow the regular MP3 grade sending procedures. Just a few quick reminders:

• Grades can be sent from anywhere that you have an internet connection - grades do not have to be sent while on the CCPS network.
• All assignments must have a non-zero Points value.
• If you override the calculated grade for the marking period, please do so using a numeric value, NOT a letter grade.
  
• To override a grade, there must be a numeric average in the grade book. Now is a good time to go back to MP1, MP2, and Sem1 to be sure you have changed any INCOMPLETES to GRADES through a grade change form submitted to Bridget Lehman.
• Any calculated grade above 100 MUST be overwritten with a 100 for the report card (the calculated grade will continue to be used in semester/final year calculations).
• All grades must be submitted by midnight March 29, 2019.
  
• Jill Seal is happy to help you with any grade sending issue that might arise. Please feel free to contact her. She can be reached at her school Ext 6656 or by cell at 804-980-1323.

Once you have sent grades for all classes, please run the U-GBK407 - Secondary Teacher Posted Mark Verification Report - it can be found under Reports in the seating chart sub-menu. Due to state reporting requirements, ALL students must have a grade (even if that grade is an "N").

Delivery with be on Thursday this week due to 3hr 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 and Lemon Cake. 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: March 19
  
• ILT: March 1
  
• Instructional Admin: March 19
  
• Community Partners Meeting: March 12
• Principal's Advisory Council: March 20
• Student Advisory Council: February 27 (Minutes forthcoming)
• ACTS Notes (from Cindy Waters): November
• English: March 19
• Math: Minutes Folder

Barbara Harris - March 23

Peter Barringer - March 26

Mike Hanley - March 26

Chris Craig - March 31

Enjoy your day!!!

Stay connected to OUR CALENDAR and mark yours!

Click HERE for our 2018-2019 meeting dates.

March 22 - CASCOM STEM Tour - US Army (9am-2pm, Back of Main Campus)

March 29 - Early Release for Students (BELL SCHEDULE)

March 29 - Grades are due at midnight

April 1-5 - Spring Break!

CLICK HERE for all things April

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
• Week of February 11
• Week of February 18
• Week of February 25
• Week of March 4
• Week of March 11
• Week of March 18

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
• March 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