
The Knight Times
Weekly Newsletter for TDHS Faculty and Staff
Volume 1, Issue 28 (Week of March 11)
Principal's Message
Please watch THIS VIDEO.
Enjoy!
Up-Front Summary (by day):
Monday
- Club/Activity Meeting during Enrichment; Morning Meeting in Homeroom for students who do not report to a Club Meeting
- Pathways Meetings (Locations Vary)
Tuesday
- PTSA Meeting (6pm, Main Library)
Wednesday
- Adjusted Bell Schedule for Testing (BELL SCHEDULE and LUNCH ASSIGNMENTS)
Thursday
- Site Visit to Salem HS in Salem, VA
Friday
- Normal Day
Links shared in this issue:
- TD Staff Dashboard
- KUDOS
- Job Shadow Day Information
- Sponsor a Band Uniform
- Tech Integrator - Janice Skipwith
- Genius Hour Catalog for 3/25
- ACTS on C-Net
- West Campus Room Assignments and Duties for 3/13
- Virginia Dance Festival Tickets
- Knight's Cafe Order Form
#EveryKnightEveryDay
"In Our Eyes"
- In our eyes love is very special, it is a once in a lifetime feeling. Being born on Valentine's Day really brings out the inner love in myself. Leaves me hoping for that special connection, hoping it won’t just come and go. Hoping that it sticks around, like the taste of a cough drop when you have a sore throat. Love brings purpose to ones life, gives us all something to live for. We live to make that special person happy and hope to have a permanent impact on their life. Even if they do end up moving on, hoping they will never forget the times that the spent with you. There might as well be such a thing as true love, and it comes in all shapes and sizes. Unlimited possibilities. (Leave anonymous)
- If underclassmen want to succeed in their high school career, there are a few things that they should do. For one thing, doing all of your work and getting it turned in on time is crucial. It seems obvious, but it’s very important; once you start getting behind on assignments, it is very hard to catch back up because the works starts to pile up. You should also respect your teachers, whether or not you like them. Having a good relationship with your teachers is important because then you can go to them for extra help and they will be glad to help you because you are respectful in their class. It’s also important because once the time comes for you to start applying to college, you will want to be on a teacher’s good side so that they will write a letter of recommendation that makes you look good. Finally, you should try to have fun during high school. As you progress through high school, it might seem to get harder, and you should of course be staying on top of your work. However, it’s important sometimes to know when you need a breather, or just when it’s time to do fun things like go out with friends and goof off for a little while. High school shouldn’t always be stressful; you should have a good balance between your academic and social life so that your high school experience is fun. Four years go by very fast, but they can be some of the best years of your life if you choose to make them so. --Zachary Williams
In Our Eyes - Teacher Edition
Click HERE to add your voice.
Here is an anonymous one for this week:
Things I wish my students knew: I want my students to know that I desperately want to be here for them, that I care so deeply for every single person who walks into my room and takes a seat. I want my students to know that I sometimes plan for weeks for one day’s assignment, because I need that time to get everything into place. I want my students to know that they need to advocate for themselves. There are 20 of you, there is one of me. I will forget to write you that Enrichment pass if you do not follow up with me. I want my students to know that I hear everything they say, including their mean and hurtful comments about me. I want my students to know that I am living paycheck to paycheck and that sometimes, I don’t have enough food to bring for lunch and all I have are leftover treats in our Resource Room or a cereal bar. I want them to know that, despite that, I would give up my lunch to feed them. I want my students to know that some weeks, I spend more time with them than with my own husband. I want my students to know that I care.
I Make A Difference
From Sebastian Jackson:
Thank you, Mr. Nigro, for your kind words, especially coming, as they do, from you. Who knew? Your words humble me. If ever there were a teacher I felt was ready for anything in any circumstance it is you. And your rationale for acknowledging me, teacher to teacher, made my selection for passing the torch of ‘making a difference’ on to another an easy one. This one’s for you, Scott Young.
As was stated last week, I have never seen Scott working in a classroom directly, but I have seen his easy interactions with students on a regular basis. I have seen his welcoming smiles and heard his soft ‘good morning’s. Keep in mind, we are of very different temperaments, Scott and me. When I slap a student on the back to encourage or congratulate, Scott, I divine, gives a gentle tap. When I challenge a student who is struggling to keep pushing, Scott suggests alternatives. We have shared many teaching anecdotes over the years, but there is one that repeats from time to time and says a lot I think.
In talking with students, struggling students in particular, I sometimes hear, ‘That sounds like something Mr. Young would say. Not ‘you look like’, ‘talk like’ or ‘sound like’ but ‘. . . .like something he would say’. This is different. This is a mindset. They are listening. What strikes me most about this is that, despite our many differences, the kids are getting the same message from the two of us; the same assurance, the same permission to make a mistake, the same hope. As long as I get these moments, Scott, not frequently enough but not rare either, I know I’m doing something right. On behalf of all the students you’ve ever taught and will teach (and I include myself in here), thank you Scott Young and good on you.
Kudos
Please enjoy this week's KUDOS by clicking HERE!
Teacher and Staff Member of the Month
- 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
Submit your nomination for March's Teacher and Staff Member of the Month by clicking HERE.
Student of the Month
Please think of a student you feel is deserving of March's Student of the Month and submit that student's name HERE.
More Student Recognition!
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.
Announcements
- (Re-Print) Job Shadow Day (Information). Please click HERE for information about our first Job Shadow Day.
- Sponsor a Band Uniform (Information/Action). Please click HERE if you would like to support the Thomas Dale Marching Knights.
- Full Spectrum - Dance (Information). The 8 Seniors of the Specialty Center Dance Company present "Full Spectrum", featuring their Senior capstone projects. The concert also features the 35 student dancers of the Specialty Center Dance Company. CCPS employees get in FREE with their ID and tickets for family & guests are only $5 each. Hope to see you there!
- Tech Integrator (Information). Janice Skipwith is a wonderful resource for high-quality instruction. Please see her weekly newsletter HERE.
Genius Hour - March 25 (Action)
The next Genius Hour is 3/25, please read the following information about it:
Please read through the entire catalog with your Homerooms during Morning Meeting on 3/11. The best way that we get participation in Genius Hour is when they look through the entire list. We have some great additions this session because we took specific requests from students.
We also have the POLICE CHIEF coming in for a session. Please encourage students to take advantage of this opportunity!! He has been really involved in the community and wants to connect to our students.
Other community members coming in include: representatives from CVWMA for a Recycling Presentation, University of Richmond students to speak to students about rocks of Virginia in Spanish, and Mr. Weese to talk about how to turn your passion into a business. We really appreciate community members coming in to work with our students, so please encourage students to sign up for these sessions!!
SIGN UP for Genius Hour: I will open the Google Form for students to sign up on Tuesday, March 12th (I will add the link in here, on Google Classroom, and on the TD Dashboard on Tuesday morning). Please remind your 1st period classes to sign up!
Thanks!
ACTS Notes from Cindy Waters (Information)
"Hot topics" were 2020 budget, school calendar, Canvas, and transportation.
If anyone has questions or concerns for ACTS, please send them to me by April 8 for the April 15 meeting.
Thanks!
Short Takes (Information/Action)
Testing Information
(Short and Lewis)
Main and West Campus Teachers and staff, a simple "thank-you" is not enough for your help with testing yesterday. As expected with every test administration, there can be test/computer issues, but adjustments were quickly made and as the professionals that you are, you handled them with ease and kept our students calm as the issues were resolved. What an AWESOME team!!!
Moving forward to Wednesday, March 13th:
Bell schedule for both campuses: The Testing Block will END at 11:25 a.m. (Shortened by 5 minutes to allow students travel time to report to Block 1 by 11:35 a.m.)
Main Campus: Part 2 of the English 10 Writing SOL (Short Paper) will be administered on the Main Campus.
West Campus: The new English 9 PBA will be administered. Since this is a new test, additional directions have been updated from the CCPS Secondary Literacy Team. Mr. Lewis will share this information with you on Monday in a separate email and it will also be posted on the Dashboard, under the English 9 PBA Folder. Our English 9 Teachers have done an amazing job preparing our students for this assessment. More detailed information regarding testing locations and duties will be shared in a separate email on Monday.
Again, thank you for all of your cooperation and support. Please let us know if you have any questions.
Student Support Team (Information)
The student support team is a school based problem solving team composed of a variety of staff members who provide support to teachers by generating intervention strategies for use with students who exhibit academic and/ or behavioral challenges. The current members of the team include, Karen Lee, Jeanine Grabham, A. Cullen Lewis, Sheila Pope, and Shana Little. Teachers and counselors will be asked to participate as appropriate. The team is currently working from a predetermined list and are currently not accepting referrals. However, if you have a student in mind that is of pressing need, please reach out to one of us. Moving forward, if you receive an email or a form in your mailbox, please complete the form and return it to Karen Lee.
We appreciate your support and patience as we begin this process.
Volunteers and Chaperones (Information/Action)
Please see the message below from maria O'Donnell from the Office of Safety and Security.
This message is very important regarding processing of volunteer applications. I will be taking a week off during spring break and I will also be out Apr 29-May 3. During these weeks, I will not be processing ANY applications. Please pay attention to deadlines for applications for school events during designated dates.
1) Volunteers/Field trips April 8-12: Applications must be submitted for processing no later than Thursday, May 28.
2) Volunteers/Field Trips Apr 26-May 10: Applications must be submitted for processing no later than Monday, April 22.
Please plan accordingly so that all chaperones/volunteers are processed before your event date.
Fee Collection (Information/Action)
Phase 1: Teachers will begin collecting class fees during each period on Monday, March 4.
Phase 2: Teachers complete the "student fee(s) due" pink card in their mailbox with the student's name, id#, and course code (not the class name) to send with student when paying. This card will ensure proper fee posting. Fees will be collected Tuesday, March 12 through Friday, March 15. Collection at Main will be during lunches in the Cafeteria. Collection at West will be during lunch periods in the main office.
Please encourage students to have the exact amount due as we may not be able to make change. If you did not track which students paid, there is a google doc available for reference for seniors and juniors (Sr Class Student Fee 2018-19 and Jr Class Student Fee 2018-19). We will be creating one for the Sophomore and Freshmen classes also.
Prom Update (Information)
Prom theme will be revealed Monday! Our theme this year is Carnivale di Venezia and we will be decorating prom like a Venetian Palace Ball. Tickets will go on sale March 18th during all lunches.
- I am working on the Prom Guest form now. We will have those available at lunches, in the office, and I will include a link in the Knight Times for printing to avoid students having to hunt for them.
- New this year! Dance Competition and Best Dressed! Please encourage students to participate.
- Chaperones are needed! Please save the date if you know you can chaperone. A spreadsheet will come out next week for sign-ups. Feel free to bring your significant others. It's always a great time to see the kids dressed up and they love seeing you attempt to "bust-a-move".
SCDC at the Virginia Dance Festival (Information)
Knight's Cafe (Information/Action)
WE WILL DELIVER ON THURSDAY!!!!!
This week the Knights Cafe is offering Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate KIND bars, Caramel Almond & Sea Salt KIND bars, Cinnamon Streusel Muffins, Banana Nut Muffins and Grasshopper Brownies. Click HERE for the order form.
Agenda and Minutes Corner (Information)
- Admin Team: February 26
- ILT: March 1
- Instructional Admin: February 26
- Community Partners Meeting: January 8
- Principal's Advisory Council: February 20
- Student Advisory Council: February 27 (Minutes forthcoming)
- ACTS Notes (from Cindy Waters): November
- English: March 1
- Math: Minutes Folder
Upcoming Events
Click HERE for our 2018-2019 meeting dates.
March 8-9 - Senior Dance Concert
March 10 - Daylight Savings Begins (Spring Forward)
March 11 - Department Chairs Draft the Master Schedule for Departments
March 11 - Personalized Professional Development Pathways Meetings
March 12 - PTSA Meeting (6pm, Main Library)
March 12 - School Board Recognition - Jen Ray!
March 13 - Writing SOL - Short Paper (10th Grade) and Writing PBA - Persuasive Paper (9th Grade); Adjusted Bell Schedule
March 14 - Site Visit to Salem HS in Salem, VA
March 16 - STEAM Team for Science Club (CTC@Hull)
CLICK HERE for all things March
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
Click below to access previous issues of From the Castle, our monthly parent and community newsletter:
Is there anything you need to communicate?
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).
Thomas Dale High School
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