The Knight Times

Thomas Dale Faculty and Staff,

I love you. Friday is going to be an AWESOME day, so feel free to wear Jeans with your Thomas Dale spirit wear!

Have a great week!

Up-Front Summary (by day):

Monday

• No School

Tuesday

• Normal Day

Wednesday

• Normal Day

Thursday

• Normal Day

Friday

• Jeans Day!
• Cheer on our students as they arrive at the bus loop and student lot!
• "Registration Rally" (BELL SCHEDULE, DIRECTIONS SHEET, GUIDED VIDEO)
• Pot Luck Luncheon and Faculty Meeting!

Links shared in this issue:

• TD Staff Dashboard
• KUDOS
• January 25th Pot Luck Form
• Tech Integrator - Janice Skipwith
  
• Electronic Absence Form
• Test Security PPT

• theknightlynews.press

• “News You Can Use”

• “K News”

• The Knightly News

• Human Trafficking Awareness Day Student Article

• 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.

Here are three more responses to the prompt: "I wish my teachers knew..." Most students wanted the responses shared but preferred anonymity.

• I wish my teacher knew that I am a Muslim. While I haven’t experienced some here in Thomas Dale, I know that Islamophobia and other forms of discrimination is real. Islamophobia and discrimination anger me because people don’t even want to know about or acknowledge someone just because of their faith, or how they look.
  

• I wish my teacher knew that I love to write and most importantly I love to write about history and things that affect my life. I love Medieval and 90’s history is just something about those timelines that can make me smile. I also love to write reviews and our fan fiction about shows or movies I watch, and I even love to write about political things as well. Now by what my teacher can tell I am a avid Conservative but there has been something affecting my life beyond the sides and that is the government shutdown. I may not know if I can live in my house or by food because both of my parents aren’t getting paid, and that is a big deal. I see the life draining from my mom each day that the shutdown continuing, and I see my dad becoming more and more bitter with the system. I wish my teacher knew I would love to write about this problem but I am scared that nothing will happen and I will be made a fool.
  

• I wish my teacher knew that although I am quiet, I have a lot going on in my mind, and I do take in everything. I don’t talk to some of my peers because most of them annoy me. I like to receive help along the way to know if I am doing something right or not. The less I talk in a class, the less apt I am to ask for help. I know I am quiet, but it’s not because I don’t have friends. My friends know that I never shut up. I have bad anxiety. When I am presenting or reading aloud, my face turns red and gets hot, I start sweating profusely, my heart pounds and I can feel it in my ears, I start to get light headed or dizzy and I often forget what I am saying. Although I have bad anxiety, I don’t mind presenting. Every teacher I have ever had teaches differently, and wants us to write a different way, which makes it hard to learn how to write. Specific rubrics help me in projects and other assignments because then I can know exactly what the teacher wants. I wish my teacher knew that I am not a good test taker. I am very smart but tests are a weakness for me. Tests make me so nervous that I feel like there is a wall in my head and the information I have studied just will not come out. My home life is pretty good but very stressful. A lot is expected from me, my life is very hectic and I don’t get a lot of me time or down time.
  

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 Shana Little:

The next I make a difference award goes to... Meg Bryant.

It is no doubt Meg and I connected so well when we first met due to our love for restorative practices! Her drive and passion to help students achieve their goals is truly admirable. One of the things that inspires me the most about Meg is her willingness to give and help others without expecting anything in return. As an intern, Ms. Bryant allowed me to interview students from her class for my thesis on restorative circles. It was no question the impact she made on her students as they could not say enough amazing things about her! She is genuine, honest, and accepting. Her creativity and innovation constantly inspires me to think outside of the box and has a positive influence at TDHS.

Meg's ability to build relationships and make connections with students is a quality she has truly mastered! She has created a learning environment where students feel safe and welcomed. Students leave her class with more than academics, which is evident by how much students love visiting her classroom- even students she never taught! In the short amount of time I have known Meg she has made a difference in my life, and I can see the difference she makes in each of her students lives. It is an absolute privilege to call her a colleague and a friend!

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 February'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.

• Tech Integrator (Information). Janice Skipwith is a wonderful resource for high-quality instruction. Please see her weekly newsletter HERE.
  
• Key Log (Information/Action). This is extremely important and mandated by the Office of School Safety and Security. You may have already received a Key Log in your mailbox, if not there are blank key log forms in the mail room at both campuses..The information on these logs may be incorrect, if so please update it to reflect the current keys you are in possession of and what it is used for by filling out the Key number and Unlocks columns. Once you have updated the information, please return these to the front office at either campus. Thank you!

This is a copy/paste from the email I sent separately regarding this plan.

For the first time ever, our students will be able to select their course requests for next year online! There are many benefits to this experience, and we want to create a support system that will help them navigate and transition to this method of selecting their courses. To add some "flavor" to the experience, we are going to create a "Registration Rally" on the early release day Friday! In addition, to better inform our students of all their options, we will incorporate an Electives Fair for all students to visit!

Over the past week, teachers have discussed possible course options for next year with their students. Friday's "Registration Rally" will be the next step in our process to inform and communicate with our students What's Next! During the registration process on Friday, students should use the Google Doc they've been working with throughout this week to assist with speeding up the registration process.

First, I want to say that I will be available to talk through this plan with anyone before school on Tuesday, January 22, and before and after school on Wednesday, January 23. I've set aside that time on my calendar, so if you'd like to meet just let me know. I know it is a lot on short notice, and I want to do everything I can to ensure what we will do is effectively communicated.

THIS VIDEO is an explanation to go along with the written plan below.

On Friday, January 25, we will have an "All Day" adjusted schedule, with the 1st period being extended to provide students with an opportunity to engage in an "Electives Fair" in the Main Campus Gym.

How we open school that day will be the most hectic. In the same manner that we welcomed students off the bus for the pep rally we did in the early morning on a Monday earlier this year, we will welcome students as they arrive. All students and teachers will be at Main for arrival on Friday. As an added bonus for our students, I invite you to the Main Campus bus loop to help welcome our students with pep and enthusiasm!

• Teachers and students with a 1st period at West will report to the Auditorium at Main to be seated by class.
  
• Teachers and students with a 1st period at Main will report to their classes like normal.
• Teachers with electives to promote should be set up in the gym with the same or similar materials used on November 27 for the Registration Knight, please do not re-create anything. I am asking our leadership team to ensure coverage for those teachers.
• As part of 1st period, we will rotate the entire student body through the Fair in 15 minute increments beginning West students and teachers in the Auditorium.
• After rotating through the Fair, classes will return (or report, if they are West classes) to their 1st period classrooms to begin registration. Teachers should use THIS DIRECTIONS SHEET and THIS GUIDED VIDEO to assist students with registration.
• We will follow the adjusted bell schedule and go to all Odd day classes first, and then even day. When students arrive to their class, they should log back in and register for next year's class based on the class they are in for that block (e.g. if my 3O class is English 10, I should register for my 11th grade English class during the 3O class period).
• We will finish our day at 11:50, so that students who wish to grab a bagged lunch can do so.

We will use THIS BELL SCHEDULE. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions. As the week progresses, we will continue to communicate with you any improvements we make to this plan. Let's make this a FUN and EXCITING day and experience for our students!!!

In an effort to simplify the process of obtaining absence sheets, we have developed an electronic absence form. This form will eliminate the paper copy of the absence form along with the strenuous leg work of obtaining signatures. It will be much easier to fill out a form electronically rather than having to physically deliver it to the appropriate offices. It is still imperative that you submit this form before, the day of, or the day after your absence. Your submission of this form will serve as your electronic signature without the need for a wet signature. Kirsten Graham will forward you an electronic copy for your records. Your administrator (which you will select) will be automatically sent a copy and then once received at payroll, your form will be entered. Punctuality will help the whole process run smoothly.

Please save THIS FORM and bookmark it. We will also provide access on the TD Staff Dashboard.

CCPS Test Security Requirements PPT: It is required by the CCPS Office of Assessment for all CCPS Staff to review this Test Security Requirements PPT. All Teachers and Staff (including non-CORE Teachers) must review this Security PPT and your signature is required once you have reviewed it. This Test Security PPT does NOT take the place of training that is mandated BEFORE EACH TEST ADMINISTRATION. The deadline for reviewing this PPT is Monday, February 25th.

Where to sign? A bright "PINK" folder will be in Mr. Lewis' mailbox on West or in my mailbox on Main. Find your name, your signature and date is required once you have reviewed it. Only one signature is required if you work on both campuses. If your name was left off, add your name on the last page. Please let me know if you have any questions.

CCPS Test Security Requirements PPT

Upcoming Test Dates:

As we know, once we return in January, we are off and running with many different testing opportunities for our students. I encourage you to review the Testing Calendar (located on the Dashboard) on a regular basis as you plan for the year. Also, a list of students testing on a particular day will be included with the Attendance Report the day before testing. Please take the time to open these attachments. Thanks for your support and cooperation. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Upcoming test dates: (No adjustments to the Bell Schedule).

• Thursday, January 24th (Main): SOL Academy Testing (students that attended the Academy at Monacan (January 15th - 23rd).
  
• Friday, January 25th (Main): Business WRTG (25 Juniors)
• Tuesday, January 29th (Main): NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress): 75 Seniors randomly selected by DOE. More detailed information will be shared next week.
• Wednesday and Thursday, January 30th and 31st (Main): W!SE Testing for "At-Risk" Seniors. (25 Seniors or less).

The initial grade file build will be TODAY, Friday, 1/18. It helps a lot if you do an initial send of your files as soon as the marking period opens. That way, Jill has plenty of time to see errors caused by things you may not be able to see right away. The most common problem is with students whose grade is over 100. You have to override the grade with a 100, though their 100+ is used in the semester average. The other common problem is with transfer grades. If you have received a student from another school/class during Term 2, you will need to find out from the student's counselor what the transfer grade is. If they came during Term 2, you should have a Term 1 grade AND a Term 2 grade. Enter the Term 1 grade ONCE in any column under Term 1 that is worth 100 points. If they arrived during Term 2, enter the transfer grade in as many blanks as you have in Term 2 prior to their arrival. If you need help with this, Jill is happy to assist. She is in 1007 or may be reached by cell at 804-980-1323. Other points to remember:

• Should you need instructions/checklists/guidelines for sending MP2 grades, they are available on CNet, under Synergy Report Cards.
• Grades can be sent from any internet connection - grades do not have to be sent while on the CCPS network.
• All assignments must have a non-zero Points value.
• When you override the calculated grade for the marking period, please do so using a numeric value, NOT a letter grade (the exceptions being "I", "N", or "P"/"F" - those are the only valid letter grades to use as overrides by teachers).
• To override a grade, there must be a numeric average in the grade book.
• 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).
• If a student is exempt from an exam, and everyone was, leave the value as a blank (which will show as "N/A" when they go to post grades). DO NOT enter a value of "N" for an exemption. If a student CHOSE to take the exam, or if you teach a dual enrollment class, enter the exam as we usually have in the past.
• The absolute deadline for having all grades sent is Monday, January 28 at 3:30.

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"). Please see picture below.

Jill will start running this report on Monday, January 21st and will run it a million times, checking to see where we are. It's so nice when the errors can get cleaned up well before the 3:30 deadline on Monday, January 28th. This can happen if teachers will post all grades early and then continue editing, adding, calculating to your heart's content until 3:30 on the 28th.

Check out the online student newspaper –theknightlynews.press – for up-to-date Thomas Dale information and news. Help us promote the paper by making the URL available in your google/canvas classroom or in your physical classroom.

We started a new feature on Jan. 15 called “News You Can Use” in which we post the script from the daily morning announcements for that day, along with a quote of the day & a feature photo. If you want to find them quickly, click on the tab “K News” and you’ll find these posts gathered in one place.

We can always use photos or videos of happenings around the Dale community. There are links to the announcements folder for photo & video, as well as the daily announcements google form, in the TDHS Faculty / Staff Dashboard.

You can also sign up to receive an email alert whenever we have a new post in The Knightly News. Scroll down & you’ll see the place to sign up for alerts.

The Knightly News would like your help recruiting student journalists for next year !!

Know any curious, determined, energetic students who’d like to help produce Thomas Dale’s student newspaper, online news site, or daily broadcast? We’d love to have them join the staff next year.

Student news program = researched, written, taped, edited, and designed by students. Help us make Dale’s student news program the best in the region by encouraging students you think would excel at student publications to sign up for a journalism elective next year.

For more information, contact Lee Bloxom at patricia_bloxom@ccpsnet.net or stop by my room, 505 Main.

THANKS !!

A senior on The Knightly News staff is working on an article about human trafficking, and she's posted a survey in an article in The Knightly News online. If you could share this with your students, or draw their attention to it and encourage them to complete it, it would help her collect research for her article.

Here’s a link to the post with the google form :

https://theknightlynews.press/2019/01/11/today-jan-11-is-national-human-trafficking-awareness-day/

Thank you,

Lee Bloxom, The Knightly News adviser

Main Paper Cutter Still Missing - If you borrowed this before winter break, please return it the main library ASAP! REWARD OFFERED!

Wandering Knights

Calling all travelers, all those consumed with wanderlust. We’d love to see where it is our wayfaring friends traverse. When next you depart, come by either Thomas Dale library and pick up a Traveling Knight to accompany you. Take a portrait of Sir Thomas or Sir Dale as you trek, and post to Twitter with the handles @GoTDKnights, @TDHSReads, and #oneCCPS.

Remember to return the Wandering Knights back to the castle in each campus library.

Wednesday, January 23 - West Library hours

The West Campus Library will open at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, January 23. Please be mindful not to send students to the west library on Wednesday until after that time.

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 Knight's Cafe is offering blueberry streusel muffins, chocolate chip muffins and Bonner's monster cookies. We are now offering KIND Bars! This week we will deliver the cafe on Thursday! If we are out part of the week we will do the Cafe on the following week. 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
• Principal's Advisory Council: January 16
• Student Advisory Council: December 6
• ACTS Notes (from Cindy Waters): November
• English: November 19
• Math: Minutes Folder

No Birthdays this week.

Enjoy your day!!!

Stay connected to OUR CALENDAR and mark yours!

Click HERE for our 2018-2019 meeting dates.

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; Bell Schedule)

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

January 28 - Genius Hour during Enrichment

January 29 - NAEP Testing (Selected Seniors)

January 29 - Live Twitter Chat on Social-Emotional Learning (8pm, #VASCDChat)

January 30 - VHSL New Region 6A Planning Meeting

January 31 - Senior Assembly during Enrichment

January 31 - Bermuda District Town Hall Meeting (7pm in Large Auditorium)

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

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