The Knight Times

Thomas Dale Faculty and Staff,

This week has been the most challenging week of my educational career. Each challenge, in isolation, would make any week seem difficult. But to have incident piled on top of incident left me tired, worn out, and feeling beat down. There were three things that got me out of bed each morning to give my best.

1. Amazing students. We have 2,350 teenagers who motivate me to give my all, no matter what I have to give.
2. Inspiring staff. You sacrifice your own well-being for that of students, and I am honored to work with you. You inspire me to be my best, no matter what I have to give.
3. Cohesive Admin team. Our admin team saved my you-know-what this week with their hard work, teamwork, and incident management. Their willingness to turn themselves inside out gives me strength to get better, no matter what I have to give.

Before I begin my message, I want to give a particular word of appreciation to 6 individuals: Beth Clark, Mark Fowler, Jeanine Grabham, Heidi Hicks, Karen Lee, and Clint Patterson. They saved me this week. I am not an easy person to work for, and I am demanding. Each day, this team gets after it with hard work and resilience. Thank you for pulling me through the fire this week and giving me the strength to make it out on the other side. I love you, and I appreciate you!

Our public-facing image is important to me. First, it is important that we tell the Thomas Dale story and not wait for our story to be spun and told by someone else. Second, we are a first-class school, and I want to appear that way. During this week, and into next, our department web site curators (with Chris Kelly's assistance) have given our school web site a serious face lift. I am grateful for their work to get our public-facing image to the next level. I have yet to see a school website (nationwide) that is as AWESOME as ours!

I want to take the next step in the improvement of our public-facing image, and it involves each of you tending to your email settings. Uniformity is a clear sign of unity, team, and cohesion. There are two things I need all staff members to adjust before January 28, 2019. This will provide you with more than a month to make this happen.

• I need all staff members to have a picture of themselves as their email icon. I am happy to come around to take a picture of you and assist you with adding the image to your email photo settings.
• I also need all staff members to align their signature lines in their email with the standard outlined below. The easiest way to do this is to use my signature line as a template; you are welcome to simply copy/paste (use any email from me) into your auto-signature block, and then change the necessary lines to match your information. I've hyperlinked our school and division to the corresponding websites for others to access in lieu of direct contact information. This standard also applies to all devices, including changing any other auto-signatures (e.g. "Sent from my iPhone"). The components you will need to include are:
• Name
• Position
• School (contact information optional)
• Division
• Professional Social Media or Web Site, if applicable
• Imagine Tomorrow Goals (integrity, equity, teamwork, ingenuity)

You have plenty of time to make this change, and it can be done in less than 5 minutes. I appreciate your attention to this expectation.

There is a lot going on this week, and I wanted to try a more comprehensive Up-Front Summary (by day):

Monday

• Pilot Testing the Proposed Bell Schedule
• Homeroom: Club and Activity Meeting; Please have students take the Grab-and-Go Lunch Survey in Google Classroom.
• Chorus Flash Mob in each cafeteria during lunches (Click HERE for the roster)
• Personalized Professional Learning Pathways Meeting. Please double-check THE ROSTER to ensure you are listed in the correct pathway.
• Exams due to Department Chairs (Exam Checklist)

Tuesday

• AP Teacher Forum (Main Campus Office Conference Room for both AM and PM)
• Academic Enrichment (students stay in or launch from 1st period - NO HOMEROOM)
• Deck-the-Halls competition judging (Main)

Wednesday

• Administrators in a full-day training for instructional coaching with Dr. Ray Jones. Teachers who will be observed will be notified ahead of time.
• Academic Enrichment (students stay in or launch from 1st period - NO HOMEROOM)
• Principal's Advisory Council Meeting (Main Campus - 509)
• Deck-the-Halls competition judging (West)

Thursday

• Optional Nutcracker preview during 1st period. Click HERE to reserve your spot!
• Academic Enrichment (students stay in or launch from 1st period - NO HOMEROOM)
• Caroling during Enrichment time

Friday

• Academic Enrichment (students stay in or launch from 1st period - NO HOMEROOM)
• 2E Exam during 2nd block (9:35-11:30am)

Links shared in this issue:

• KUDOS
• Tech Integrator - Janice Skipwith
  
• Hour of Code Certificate
• Big River Rivalry Flyer
• Main Campus Conference Calendar
• Bell Schedule for December 10-14 (Piloting new schedule with Enrichment every day)
  
• Proposed Bell Schedule for 2nd Semester
• December 18th Pot Luck Form
• Winter Exam Schedule
• Exam Checklist

#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 this week's:

• Senior year has started out rough. I miss Griffin, he should be here in our senior year. All of his friends want him and need him here. I know Ms. Heidi needs him here. I want to write a tribute to him, so he will never be forgotten. We need to raise awareness for drug use and I need students to know that you can never know what you are receiving and putting in your bodies. If you know somebody that is struggling, you need to do something about it and try to help them. My life will never be the same without Griffin and I don’t want anymore people's lives to be affected by drug abuse if there is a way to prevent it. --Vaylan Zerull

• As my senior year progresses, I find myself reflecting on my past 3 years at Thomas Dale and the progress I have made over those years. My first day at Thomas Dale I didn’t know anyone. I was confused, alone, and scared. I was afraid of what high school would hold for me. I was afraid of making new friends and being in Specialty Center. As time went on, I began to meet so many amazing people that have helped mold me into the person I am today. I am so thankful for the opportunities that Specialty Center and Thomas Dale has provided for me thus far. I have become very confident with my singing, my academics, and overcoming my shyness. For the remainder of my senior year, I would like for my fellow classmates and I to live in the moment. I don’t want to rush away my senior year even though it is already going by pretty fast. I want to experience and soak up all of senior year and of course continue to prepare myself for my future. Every experience hasn’t been great, but nonetheless, I have learned from each experience I have encountered and I wouldn’t be who I am if I hadn’t gone through those experiences. I am so blessed to have such an amazing support system of family and friends who will be with me as I embark on my journey to college. I am so excited for what the future holds and I will forever be grateful for everything Thomas Dale has offered me. --Kyra Trice
  

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 Jamarri Price:

You will never hear the words "I make a difference" ever come out the mouth of Kevin Goode. The reason being is that his actions speak louder than any verbal statement. On the outside Kevin has a tough exterior that would take a jackhammer to penetrate. Once you have bypassed it, you will see a kind hearted person that will give his all to ensure that each and every student is successful in the classroom and in life. He has taken on some of the most challenging students in the building and created a positive light once to be thought unattainable by majority of others. His selfless acts of kindness, compassion, and tough love are really what makes a difference with the students at Thomas Dale High School! I am honored to be his colleague and privileged to be his friend. This award is very deserving. Every Knight, every Day!

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

Submit your nomination for December'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 December'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.

• (Re-Print) Grab-and-Go Lunch During Exams (Action). Homeroom Teachers, please have your students take the survey loaded in Google Classroom indicating whether or not they intend to purchase a grab-and-go lunch during exams. Thanks!
• Scheduling Assemblies (Information). The grade-level assemblies for scheduling information will be moved to after the break. Thank you for your flexibility!
• Flash Mob at Lunches on Monday (Information). On Monday, December 10, 2018, the acapella groups, Meladies and igKnight will be performing during lunches to promote the Winter Concert. The students involved will miss 3E. Depending on weather, their make-up marketing scheme will either be Tuesday, December 11 or Monday, December 17.
• Nutcracker Preview. An optional preview of The Nutcracker will be offered during 1st period on Thursday, December 13. This is completely optional, and if you'd like to bring your class, you can sign up HERE.
• Tech Integrator (Information). Janice Skipwith is a wonderful resource for high-quality instruction. Please see her weekly newsletter HERE.
• Hour of Code Certificate (Information). Did you participate in the Hour of Code this week? Click HERE for a certificate of participation.
• Big River Rivalry (Information). Thomas Dale will have 3 players and a 2 coaches representing TD at the all star game. Players- Garrett Graves, Adam Hall and Harjit Kahlon. Coach Tiller and myself are coaches on the team. Hope to see you there! Check out the flyer HERE.
  
• Big Knights, Little Knights (Information). Shana Little and Meg Bryant are creating a program to support at-risk underclassman called, Big Knights, Little Knights. Students who have been selected as Big Knights will receive a letter through their first period teacher. Letters will be in first period teachers boxes by Wednesday morning of next week (12/12). We would appreciate if you make sure these letters get to the addressed students. Thanks for your help! If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Meg or Shana.
• Faculty Meeting (Action). Our faculty meeting on December 17 will begin at 1pm in the West Auditorium.
• Main Campus Office Conference Room (Information). Please click HERE to access availability of the Office Conference Room for Main Campus calendar.

From December 10-14, we will pilot a new bell schedule that incorporates Enrichment every day. The feedback to move forward with this has been overwhelmingly positive, and I would like to test it out and get feedback from teachers and students so that we can make any necessary adjustments before making it our bell schedule. Using this week to test is also convenient, as we will run additional Enrichment opportunities in preparation for Winter exams. On December 14, we will have an extended 2nd block class to accommodate the exam and will still build in an Enrichment to give us an idea of whether or not this schedule will work - I would like to get as good a "test drive" as possible.

The plan is to move to this bell schedule (adjusted according to feedback from this "test drive") when we start the second semester. If, however, feedback from teachers and students is to move to it (or a version of it) sooner or to not change it at all, then we will.

Here is the plan for the week of December 10-14:

• Monday will remain the same as we've always known it this year: Morning Meeting in the homeroom class; when we start the new schedule, all Mondays will remain as originally planned for the rest of the year.
• Tuesday-Friday will be Academic Enrichment, without the transition to homeroom. The 1st period teacher will become the "homeroom teacher" for students to launch to their academic enrichment setting. This will eliminate the additional transition/movement. It will also make Morning Meeting on Mondays much more meaningful and special.
• 1st period teachers should identify their A/B buddy partner as we have done with homeroom throughout the year so far.
• 1st period teachers SHOULD NOT treat this enrichment period as a continuation of their class; as such, 1st period teachers SHOULD NOT teach during this designated period of enrichment.

HERE is the schedule we will use from December 10-14.

Please click HERE for the proposed bell schedule for the remainder of the school year beginning on January 28, 2019.

Earlier this year, I asked that all staff complete THIS FORM to collect contact and emergency information. The data collected from this form is what I also use to announce birthdays in The Knight Times. If your birthday was "skipped" and not included in the newsletter at any point this year, it is because I did not have your information from this form.

If you have already taken this form (132 of you), thank you! If you have not, please do so before Winter Break. If you are unsure whether or not you've taken it, let me know. I will confirm either way.

The competition is on in Thomas Dale's 6th Annual Deck the Halls Jubilee! Doors will be judged in various categories during Enrichment on December 10 (main) and December 11 (West).

Staff Book Club will meet on Wednesday, December 12, after school in the main campus library. We will be discussing Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds. Hope to see you there!

Please do not send students to the library during Morning Meeting. The library is open the rest of the week during enrichment. However, students must have a pass from the library to visit the library during enrichment. Enrichment is the only time of day that we do not take passes from teachers.

Remember to use your librarians as a resource. We would love to work with you on any projects you are doing with your classes!

PSAT Scores from the October 2018 Test Date

Student scores from the PSAT October Test Date will be available online to students December 10th - 12th. Students who provided their email address on their PSAT answer document will receive an email reminder from College Board explaining where and how to view their scores. If a student doesn't see their scores when they log in OR they did not provide an email address, they will need to enter an "ACCESS CODE". Students can request this code from their School Counselor or Mrs. Lehman or Mrs. Faulkner in School Counseling. Students are welcome to come before/after school, during Enrichment or during their lunch. They should not be missing class instruction.

• Please click HERE for the exam schedule; this was shared previously, but I wanted you to have it again in this email.
• Exams are due to your department chair by the end of the day on Monday, December 10. Please click HERE to access the Checklist you will need to follow when constructing exams and submit with your exams.
• Senior exemptions will be applicable for Seniors with an A or B grade in your course at the time of administration of the exam and no more than 5 absences (1st period) or 3 absences (block). Waivers will be available for Seniors who make the grade but have excessive absences in your class starting Monday, December 3.
• NEW INFORMATION: Please inform Seniors if they are exempt or not during the last class period before exams, which would be the 12th (for 2E), the 13th for Odd-Day Exams, and the 14th for the remainder of the exams.
• NEW INFORMATION: We will also adhere to the following guidelines regarding absent or late students:
  • Absent students will have an opportunity to re-schedule.
  • Students who arrive late but before 9:00am will sit for the exam. Students who are late and after 9:00am will need to re-schedule.
• Your exams will need to be graded and entered into Synergy no later than the end of the day on Friday, January 11.

• The next Genius Hour will be January 28th. The catalog will be created December 10th-January 3rd, so please start thinking about potential sessions to host or to help students host.

• Also, please give me (Elizabeth_Clark@ccpsnet.net) feedback on any part of Genius Hour to let me know ways to improve it!! Next time, all Genius Hour links will be in ONE document for you on the TD Dashboard and they will each have an explanation, so hopefully it will be easier to locate what you need.

• No students should be in the Cafeteria or Commons during Monday Morning Meeting.

• During all Academic Enrichment periods, if you are working with students, you should send extra Homeroom students to your A/B partner. If there is no room there, you can send them to the Cafeteria with a pass.

• On the following form, please fill out the student you will be bringing to the Potluck Lunch and the food item that you wish to bring.

• December 18th Holiday Potluck

• If you would like an invitation to use for your student, see your administrator (they will have them for you).

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: December 4
  
• ILT: December 7
  
• Instructional Admin: November 27
  
• Community Partners Meeting: October 9
• Principal's Advisory Council: November 14
• Student Advisory Council: December 6
• ACTS Notes (from Cindy Waters): November
• English: November 19
• Math: Minutes Folder

Dennis Jones - December 10

Mariza Vehab - December 13

Enjoy your day!!!

Stay connected to OUR CALENDAR and mark yours!

Click HERE for our 2018-2019 meeting dates.

December 10-14 - Pilot the new bell schedule (Click HERE for the schedule)

December 10 - Pathways Meeting (Various Locations)

December 10 - Draft of Winter Exams due to your Department Chair

December 11 - Chorus Concert

December 14 - 2E Exam (Winter Exam Schedule)

December 14-15 - The Nutcracker

December 17-19 - Adjusted Dismissal for Exams (Exam Schedule)

December 17 - Faculty Meeting (1pm in West Auditorium)

December 18 - Superintendent Meet-and-Greet (at Thomas Dale, 6:30pm)

December 20-January 1 (maybe January 2???) - Winter Break

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

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

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