The Knight Times

Thomas Dale Faculty and Staff,

What an awesome week! We finally had a full week of school. I am not really sure how far back we have to go to find the last time we went to school for 5 out of 5 days! What I've learned about educators is that we are always "on," and it is difficult to find moments during the days, weeks, and in our lives outside of school to just breath. Our job is not always easy. In fact, there are times when it feels impossible. I invite you to take a moment right now and just breath.

The purpose of this principal's message is to shift the focus of Instructional Planning away from What am I teaching? to What are the students learning? I have lost track of how many classrooms I've visited so far this year. In most of my visits, I've noticed there is clear attention given to the instructional design of what is taught with less attention paid to students' learning. It is imperative that we find ways to measure whether or not our students learned what we intended them to EVERY LESSON, EVERY DAY. To be able to identify who reached the target and who did not is a critical piece of information for adjusting, responding, and ultimately, planning the next lesson.

As we engage in further conversations about high-quality instruction, we will continue to shift our focus on the learning rather than the teaching. After all, you cannot call it teaching if there is no learning.

Have a great week!

Up-Front Summary (by day):

Monday

• Morning Meeting in Enrichment; have students make a copy of the course selection form in Google Classroom
  
• Begin talking to your students about the courses they could possibly take next year (5-10 minutes of class time) and have students make their marks on their Google Doc worksheet (downloaded in Morning Meeting)
• Professional Development Pathways Meeting after school (Locations vary by Pathway group)

Tuesday

• Continue talking to your students about the courses they could possibly take next year (5-10 minutes of class time) and have students make their marks on their Google Doc worksheet (downloaded in Morning Meeting)

Wednesday

• Continue talking to your students about the courses they could possibly take next year (5-10 minutes of class time) and have students make their marks on their Google Doc worksheet (downloaded in Morning Meeting)

Thursday

• Medford League vs Powhatan (11:45am)
• Continue talking to your students about the courses they could possibly take next year (5-10 minutes of class time) and have students make their marks on their Google Doc worksheet (downloaded in Morning Meeting)

Friday

• Continue talking to your students about the courses they could possibly take next year (5-10 minutes of class time) and have students make their marks on their Google Doc worksheet (downloaded in Morning Meeting)

Links shared in this issue:

• TD Staff Dashboard
• KUDOS
• January 25th Pot Luck Form
• Tech Integrator - Janice Skipwith
  
• Bell Schedule
  
• Admin Team Responsibilities
• 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.

For this week, I am including some student responses that one of our teachers shared with me from the prompt: "I wish my teachers knew..." Most students wanted the responses shared but preferred anonymity (I've included one below from a student who shared her name).

• I wish my teachers knew that I am exhausted. I want to graduate, and this is really frustrating. Being here everyday at the same time doing the same things. I shouldn’t rush it but I can’t help it, it’s so much piled on top one another, an endless “bunch of stuff” to do. I wish my teachers knew how hard getting up going to school, doing work, going home to school work and real work, then doing house work. I wish they knew that it’s almost that time where kids start to give up and have mental breakdowns. It’s so much work. Too much work. I wish my teachers knew they didn’t prepare me for the real world. Only a few teachers took me under their wing and gave me life guidance, but the rest didn’t seem to care. I wish they knew that being engaged in a student’s personal well being helps students more than they know. I wish teachers knew how hard it is making true friends in a place like school (Dale specifically). Students aren’t welcoming and it’s weird being the new kid. I wish my teachers knew how draining their classes are. I wish my teachers knew that homework doesn't help students. It makes the day seem longer, most people don’t do it, and it doesn’t help us learn. I wish my teachers knew that I sometimes get an attitude, but it’s only cause I’m drained. Each class draining me more than the next. I wish my teachers knew their smart comments/ comebacks or attitude doesn’t help any situation with a student. I wish my teacher knew that caring even a little makes all the difference. I wish my peers knew it’s ok to have school spirit, have fun. Most of them are boring, stuck up, judgmental or rude and make the school year harder than it has to be. I wish everyone would understand that high school is hard, we aren’t just kids and we can be stressed. I wish they all knew how much I am genuinely trying to make it and be something important, and to bare with me as I approach my adulthood.

• I wish my teacher knew that some days are great and some are rough. I wish they knew that some days I just need a break. I wish there was a quiet room that I could go to to get my work done without being bothered by my peers.

• I wish that my teachers knew how much human connection means to me in the classroom. I personally learn better when real life stories and experiences are added into the classroom. I feel more comfortable around my teachers knowing that we have shared experiences between us. Having that human connection makes the difference between having a great day at school and a bad one, even if my day outside of school has been bad. I wish that more teachers knew that it’s okay to share stories and experiences to help students in a class, and that it really does help in any situation.
  --Amber Cofield
  

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 Sheila Pope:

The next recipient of the “I Make A Difference Award” is Shana Little. Shana is our School Psychologist. She joined the TDHS staff this year and has become a valued member of each team on which she is a participant. She is valued for her ideas, her energy, and her ability to solve problems. She is kind and thoughtful. Both students and staff relate easily with her. She is energetic and always willing to lend a hand. Shana’s creativity has been instrumental in developing new programs designed to promote our students’ success and well-being. Her smile is contagious and she hardly ever gets asked for her hall pass anymore. It is a treat to work so closely with her. If you have not yet met her, please seek her out, you will enjoy getting to know her. Her enthusiasm and efficiency are inspiring.

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

Submit your nomination for January'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 January'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.

• ACTS Concerns (From Cindy Waters). If anyone has concerns or questions for ACTS, please send to me by January 15 so I may pass them along before the next meeting.

  cynthia_waters@ccpsnet.net

• Teachers of Collaborative Classes (Action). Please forward emails you receive about students assigned ISD, students who have received a suspension, or emails from guidance and administration to your special education collaborative partners. Special education teachers do not show up in Synergy and therefore do not always receive these notifications. It is important that this information is relayed to them as soon as it is sent out to ensure that we are within compliance of IEPs and special education regulations.
• Beta Club (Information/Action). Do you need extra help in your classroom, or tutors for a subject? The outstanding members of Beta Club would love to help out teachers, coaches, and anyone else who needs a hand! They are required to earn 5 volunteer hours that benefit Thomas Dale. Feel free to email Chad Seay chade_seay@ccpsnet.net or Laura Neff laura_neff@ccpsnet.net and we will let the Beta members know!
• Crochet Materials for Genius Hour (Information). Do you have yarn and hook to donate? Please contact Carrie May for details. Thanks!
• SOL Changes (Information). The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) has elicited changes to the VDOE SOL requirements for our students. As these changes continue to emerge, we are working through the implications, along with a communication plan. We will communicate over the course of January what this means for students, teachers, parents, and Thomas Dale to all stakeholders.
• (Re-Print) Staff Parking Passes (Action). All staff parking passes should be displayed in vehicles by Monday, Jan. 14. If you are located at West Campus, please complete google doc. by Thursday, Jan. 10 so they can be sent over for pick up in the main office.
  
• Tech Integrator (Information). Janice Skipwith is a wonderful resource for high-quality instruction. Please see her weekly newsletter HERE.
• (Re-Print) Positive Referrals (Action). As we transition back to school please continue to look for reasons to "write students up" on a positive referral. We currently only have 70 students who have earned one for the second marking period.

We will use THIS BELL SCHEDULE from here on out.

There may be smaller, less disruptive tweaks we can make that will be more of experimentation and piloting. These "experiments" will not cause us to change the bell schedule.

Thank you for your patience and willingness to fail forward. I am also extremely grateful for your support as we endeavored in the risk of changing a bell schedule halfway through a school year.

In order to better improve the way we hold students accountable to the expectations, support teachers in their efforts to run smooth and effective classrooms, and to maximize our administrative processes, we will make a slight change to our system for discipline.

This is a minor change that we, as a team, believe will increase our capacity to tackle what we aim to improve. Beginning Monday, January 14, all West discipline and referrals should be sent to Clint Patterson and Jeanine Grabham. Students with last names A-G at Main Campus will go to Karen Lee (no change from before). Students with the last names H-N at Main Campus will go to Mark Fowler (change from before). Students with the last names O-Z at Main Campus will go to Beth Clark (no change from before).

Another small administrative change will be the attempt to have all administrators "rotating" between campuses. After a half year of this attempt, we will change it so that our administrators will be campus administrators to free up their schedules to better meet the needs and unexpected issues that arise on any given day. The administrators are still responsible for their supervision of departments and personnel. Jeanine and Clint will be our West Administrators, and Mark, Karen, Heidi, and Beth will be our Main Administrators.

For your reference, I am also attaching the admin responsibilities chart with the updated changes to discipline HERE. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. As always, I welcome your feedback as we continue to improve in all aspects of our school.

WIDA Testing is coming up!

We will be testing February 4th - 14th. We will need to see all EL students with their Chromebooks who need to take the WIDA (students below an overall score of 4.4 and including students who have refused ESOL services) during Enrichment on Jan 15 at West. For your reference, the calendar is HERE; additionally, we have added the calendar to the ESOL Corner website.

In case of school closing due to inclement weather next week, we will meet with students during Enrichment on our first day back.

The testing schedule is found on our ESOL Corner website and linked HERE.

Library Paper Cutter Still Missing

If you borrowed the main library's paper cutter before the holiday, please return it to the library ASAP!

Noodletools - What is it? How can it help me and my students?

Learn how this online tool can help students organize their research and cite sources! Also, see how teachers can access student projects, and monitor student progress. Your librarians are conducting a professional development session at Thomas Dale's West Campus Library on Wednesday after school. Sign up for LIB NOODLETOOLS, EXPLAINED in SDRWeb.

Need games for Morning Meeting?

Check out the West Library Website and click on the Games tab. If you click on the picture, you will get rules for play or more information about the game. We have multiple copies of a few of the more popular games like Uno. Also, check out the World History related games available.

Help us promote The Great Chesterfield Read!

Create a flipgrid on a book that was meaningful to you at the link below. We would love to share your favorites with students.

https://flipgrid.com/62443211

BowTie Tuesdays is back for the year of 2019! The purpose of BowTie Tuesdays is to have all males within Thomas Dale demonstrate global solidarity on our campuses (Main & West). It is also designed to cultivate within and demonstrate to our young men a level of K.L.A.S.S. (Knights Leading Achieving Striving & Succeeding) that society at large will respect and appreciate. We are asking all Thomas Dale gentlemen to join the Knights PathWays Center and K.L.A.S.S. each Tuesday by wearing a bow tie and encouraging your students to participate as well. Please note that free bow ties are available for students who do not have them. See Mr. Lewis or send your students to W211 to secure a free bow tie! Supplies are limited so, first come, first served. We ask that you take selfies of each other and your students and forward them to Mr. Lewis via email so that they can be posted on the PathWays Centre Google site. BONUS: We can always make this a competition and see who has the most participation between East and West campus or a class to class competition with a monthly prize of a popcorn or pizza party for the one class with the most participation each month. We will have posters displayed on each campus to advertise this event, however, please get excited with us so that our students will get excited as well!! We support Every Knight, every day! Thanks in advance.

Last call for hosting a Genius Hour on 1/28:

1/28 Genius Hour Hosting

I will be putting the catalog together this weekend. Students will be able to sign up next week for the sessions (1/14-1/17). Please check in with your homeroom and 1st period students to make sure they are signing up! They will get their assignments at the beginning of the next week (1/22) so that they will know where to go earlier. The passes will still come the day of Genius Hour (1/28) so you can give them directly to your 1st period class before they go to their location. All students will be given a location this time (they will be assigned holding areas, the Commons will not be open).

This is a copy/paste from the email I sent on Thursday evening:

School counseling continues traveling the 2019-2020 scheduling path. Grade level sessions went extremely well at both campuses. We commend our students for their respect and attentiveness during the presentations. The purpose of this email is to communicate next steps and describe your role in the process.

On Monday, January 14th during Monday Morning Meeting, we ask that you have your Homeroom students go into the appropriate grade level Google Classroom and make a copy of the posted document for course selections (not yet posted in Classroom). Students will use this electronic document throughout the week as a worksheet to make their tentative selections for the courses next year. As stated in an earlier communication, teachers will not make level recommendations this year but instead guide their students through this new registration process and coach them on appropriate selections.

For your reference, here are the Google Classroom codes:

• Class of 2019 (Seniors): qdpxews

• Class of 2020 (Juniors): aitbjqt

• Class of 2021 (Sophomores): 816xqic

• Class of 2022 (Freshmen): uxfpb8

During the week of January 14th, we ask all teachers to take 5-10 minutes of class time to describe future course options, levels, and course requirements/expectations to your students in your content area (core and elective). After going over these future course options, have your students select their core and/or elective (if appropriate) choice(s) on the copy of the course offerings document they made in Monday Morning Meeting.

On January 25th, we intend to make the half day a “Registration Rally” and will include an Elective Fair (similar to the course fair we held in the commons during Registration Knight on November 27th). We ask that elective teachers use their presentation materials from Registration Knight to create a similar experience (without re-creating anything new). Following their visit to the Elective Fair, students will log into StudentVue and register following THIS process. Multiple documents, including the video will be shared to assist in the process. Once we finalize our plan for this day, we will share it with you; for now, the logistics of the “Registration Rally” are a bit blurry :).

The next step in the process will be for counselors to meet with each student individually through US History (11th) and H/PE I or II (9th and 10th) beginning shortly after the 25th.

As we all know, weather has the potential to completely derail this plan and require us to adapt and create a new timeline and process to continue. We will cross that bridge when we get to it.

Thank you for your invaluable assistance during this process. We cannot do this without you!

There were a few concerns about the scheduled luncheon brought to my attention, and I wanted to include some additional information. We will host our Pot Luck Luncheon on January 25 at 12:30pm. The purpose of this luncheon is three-fold:

• Allow us as a staff to enjoy good food and fellowship.
• Allow us as a staff to build stronger relationships with our students and to also understand our school through our students' eyes.
• Allow us to include faculty meeting activities so that we can cancel the January 28 faculty meeting.

The luncheon will last approximately 1 hour, and we will include our Faculty Meeting activities within that hour. This will allow us to cancel the regularly-scheduled Faculty Meeting on January 28. Grades will be due at 3:30pm on Monday, January 28. Because the luncheon is geared toward building relationships with students and empathy, it is in line with the PD we would have done during the faculty meeting. This activity allows us to feed several birds with one feeder.

Also, if you are finding it awkward to invite your student, I recommend framing it in a student voice manner. For example, you can explain to the student you intend to invite that "as a school, we are working to better understand the Thomas Dale experience from the student perspective. Dr. Jones has asked that each of us invite a student so that we can learn more about our school from our students. I would love to invite you to join us for a luncheon..."

If you still have questions or need support in working through this, please let me know. I am happy to work with you.

Please invite a student of your choice to join us! In particular, select a student you are either having difficulty finding a connection with or a student you feel we (as a school) could benefit from learning their perspective on TD. Please sign up HERE.

This week the Knights Cafe is offering lemon poppy seed muffins,chocolate chocolate chip muffins and Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache 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 3
  
• ILT: January 11
  
• Instructional Admin: November 27
  
• Community Partners Meeting: January 8 (Notes Forthcoming)
• Principal's Advisory Council: November 14
• Student Advisory Council: December 6
• ACTS Notes (from Cindy Waters): November
• English: November 19
• Math: Minutes Folder

Darrin Zoller - January 16

Enjoy your day!!!

Stay connected to OUR CALENDAR and mark yours!

Click HERE for our 2018-2019 meeting dates.

January 14 - Morning Meeting during Enrichment (Students make a copy of scheduling sheet in Google Classroom

January 14 - Professional Development Pathways Meetings

January 14-18 - Teachers talk with classes about scheduling options for their courses

January 15 - Student Exchange Day with LC Bird

January 16 - Instructional Coaching Learning Walks with Admin Team

January 21 - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (No School)

January 24 - Site Visit to Wakefield HS in Arlington

January 25 - "Registration Rally" Half Day (12pm Dismissal)

January 25 - Pot Luck Staff and Student Luncheon (12:30-1:30pm)

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

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

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