Reflection is at the heart of our practice as educators. This blog highlights my reflections on life, leadership, learning, school climate and culture, and staff and student engagement.
It takes a village to raise a child and it takes collaboration to operate a school. Work with students, teachers, parents, and community members to provide relevant learning experiences for students.
I had the pleasure of co-authoring a book with Mark White (@MarkWhite55) titled, Leading Schools in Disruptive Times: How to Survive Hyper-change. In it, Mark White and I introduce a problem-solving framework we call, CAT: Cope, Adjust, and Transform. CAT helps school leaders successfully deal with change, especially the sudden disruptive events that often are sprung on schools without warning. In the CAT framework, school leaders do the following:
1. Recognize the disruptive event and cope with it immediately. When a crisis occurs, the goal is to resolve it as quickly as possible, usually within hours or days of its inception.
2. Adjust school practices and operating procedures in the days and weeks after the incident to prevent its reoccurrence or to handle it and other disruptions more efficiently.
3. Continue to transform lead staff through a process to adopt new philosophies and change school culture through study and reflection in the months after the incident. The ultimate goal is to transform thought processes, and adaptive strategies will be deepened in the future.
https://supplychainbeyond.com/disruption-or-digital-transformation/You would be hard pressed to talk to a teacher, secretary, or school administrator who would say we are not experiencing some disruptive times in education. Since 2008, public perception of educators, in general, has been less than favorable. One might say we face one disruption after another, yet we continue to find ways to meet the needs of our students, engage parents, respond to community desires, and do what is best for all stakeholders.
We explore seven disruptions educators face today and describe how to apply the CAT framework to each one. The disruptions are as follows:
1. The emphasis on student safety, including the fear of school shootings, the laser-like focus on social/emotional development, and efforts to combat high-stress levels in today’s students and families.
2. Accelerating technology advances that change how students learn and how schools operate, including the influx of smartphones, wearable technology, and the impact of social media.
3. A system of reform efforts such as A Nation at Risk, No Child Left Behind, Common Core State Standards, and the Every Student Succeeds Act that has resulted in complex school accountability ratings that drive instruction, learning, hiring practices and budgeting.
4. The generational challenges that occur when baby boomers, Gen Xers, Gen Yers, and millennials work together in the teaching force, and Gen Z’s demands and Gen Alpha that are leading to new types of teaching methods and spaces.
5. The explosion of knowledge and getting students global-ready, including the challenge of teaching global skills in a rigid, test-driven curriculum and attempting to answer the question, “What does it mean to be educated in the 21st century?”
6. Dealing with increasingly complex diversity issues, including racial tension, ethnic differences, political polarization, and LGBTQ issues.
7. The growing demand for transparency by parents who want access to school information, including 24-hour access to student grades; their need for prompt responses from educators to their questions and demands; and their constant examination of the school’s curriculum, clubs, and overall grades.
In the book, we share stories from 21st school leaders and educators who have faced one or more of these disruptions,https://feedingmissouri.org/seeing-hope/ we highlight what they learned, and emphasize what they would do differently in the future. Through their stories, the reader can reflect on their daily work using the guided questions and CAT Framework activities at the end of each chapter.
I encourage you to use the CAT framework as a guide to handling disruptions at your school and to share how you are embracing these disruptions on social media by using the hashtag, #CopeAdjustTransform. We need each other, and one of the best ways to learn from shared experiences is to connect with your PLN through #CopeAdjustTransform. I look forward to celebrating with you as guide your students and staff through these disruptive times!
The last couple of weeks, I’ve been invited to talk with our freshman Humanities classes about perspective. They are reading The Other Wes Moore for their unit on perspective and as part of the experience, the teachers invite several guest speakers to spend some time with their students.
I’ve enjoyed my conversations with our bright-eyed and eager scholars because it’s given me a chance to reflect on my life, the experiences that have shaped my perspective, and examine why I am where I am today. After sharing my perspective with two classes, which included stories about my childhood and people who have impacted my life, I thought about my mom. I sent her the following text message, “Why am I smart?”
After about 10 minutes, she responded, “Because you work hard.” I appreciate her answer, but she was wrong…
I replied, “No. I am smart because you told me I was smart. I work hard because you showed me how to work hard. I am successful because you believed I would be successful.”
My life, which includes my perspective and success, is a self-fulfilled prophecy that began when I was but a small child. My mom’s words shaped my thinking and my perspective on life. For that, I am forever grateful. Thank you, Charmel M Carter!
My name is Steven Kish and I am a junior at New Albany High School. On April 2, an exceptional team of students that I am lucky to be surrounded by hosted New Albany’s third annual TEDx event, which has evolved from TEDxYouth@NAHS to–this year–TEDxNewAlbany. We made the jump to TEDxNewAlbany this past year in order to move our focus away from a school-only focused event to a true community event, still completely organized by NAHS students. Read on to find out more about TEDxNewAlbany 2016 as well as the speakers and the team that brings it all together.
TED, TEDx, TEDxNewAlbany, and the Difference
TED is a global organization which stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design. There are 2-3 TED Conferences per year, one of which is always in Vancouver, and TED is the parent organization of TEDx events around the world.
TEDx events are community based, locally organized events that feature speakers on a range of topics. Talks are not quite speeches nor are they presentations, so to speak, but they are passionate, intimate, talks where speakers have up to 18 minutes to share their ideas.
TEDxNewAlbany is New Albany’s own TEDx event!
Our Speakers
On April 2, TEDxNewAlbany featured 13 speakers–each talk was astoundingly thought-provoking, and they will all be available on YouTube soon. If you want to watch one, simply search “TEDxNewAlbany” in YouTube and a TEDx Talks playlist will appear. Three NAHS students, Claire Klodell, Izzy Vendetti, and Aaron Westbrook, as well as two staff members, David Mitchell and Dwight Carter gave talks! Here’s the full list of speakers and topics:
Juan Alvarez – This Life Purpose Thing
Danny Barren – Think For Yourself
Doug Brennan – What’s Your “For Good?”
Dwight Carter – I Quit
Jodi Collins – Living In The Field
Brad Griffith – How Open-Source Software Can Shape Our Lives
Claire Klodell – Dear My Teenage Self
Jim Mahoney – Learning Without Limits
David Mitchell – The Bigger Picture In Our Kids’ Activities
Kerri Mollard – Ah, You Are So Rich
Izzy Vendetti – Owning Your Perspective
Aaron Westbrook – Change: It’s Not Out Of Your Hands
Shaun Young – Hidden Secrets Of The Uninsured
Our Team
Our organizing team is completely made up of NAHS students and is split into three different committees.
Our speakers committee (Kate Golian, Lauren Horton, Olivia Koller, Ila Lahooti, Miles Waytes, and Olivia Wootton), led by seniors and Co-Directors of Speakers Jessie Bernard and Sam Malik, trains new speaker coaches, and selects and trains all speakers up through event day. Each speaker receives personal, professional training on their talk from a student speaker coach, and it is truly amazing to see the talks that come out of this hard work each year–TEDxNewAlbany 2016 was no exception.
Our marketing committee (Linder Bozeman, Noah Bressler, Kennedi McDonald, and Jessica von Zastrow), led by junior and Director of Marketing Redd Ingram, is responsible for filling the McCoy Center on event day by using social media, interviews, magazine advertisements, our website, promotional videos, and much more to sell tickets.
Our logistics committee (Ellee Edman, Sujan Kakumanu, Sammi Kappes, and Akshar Patel), led by junior and Director of Logistics Prapti Dalal, organizes performers, coordinates vendors, and does–well–everything else! The logistics committee is home to our most detail-oriented student-organizers, and is vital to making sure that everything runs smoothly at TEDxNewAlbany.
While they aren’t technically part of a committee, I would be remiss not to recognize our Treasurer, Alexis Rudy, and our Ticketing Manager, Zach Furterer.
Character is revealed, not developed during challenging times. Needless to say, we’ve faced some challenging events that past few weeks, but I’m proud of the way we’ve embraced them as a school community.
These are formative years in the lives of students and I appreciate the opportunity to be part of our team. Let’s remember to not count down the days of school we have left, but to count up the number of days we still have to positively change lives and impact futures. Thank you for staying the course and remembering why we are here: to do what is best for kids.
A day will come in every life,
When appreciation is rendered.
And this should be taken seriously,
And given with love and tender.
Anyone who deserves appreciation,
Must have done something great.
So share with them the way you feel,
And always treat them right.
But keep in mind that appreciation,
Should be given again and again.
If you truly appreciate,
You’ll remind them how great they’ve been.
Do something special to thank the ones,
Who’ve made a difference to you.
But don’t forget to thank them again,
For everything they do.
Team NAHS, THANK YOU for everything you do! #NAHSCommUNITY
Staff News Congratulations to Concord Counselor Mrs. Brandy Smith and her husband on the birth of their first child! They welcomed Cohen Jameson Smith on April 11th! He is 6 lbs. 4 oz. 18 inches long.
Congratulations to Speech and Language Pathologist Mrs. Alicia Buren and her husband as they are expecting their second child! The baby is due to arrive in September!
Thanks to Prom Committee Chairperson Ms. Ashley Langenderfer, the students on Prom Committee, and a host of staff chaperones who attended Prom on Friday, April 15th!
Students As Learners
The Chamber Orchestra has finished a rehearsal series of Holberg Suite by Grieg and Lullaby by Hofeldt and submitted a recording to the National Orchestra Festival Competition taking place next March in Pittsburgh Pa. We won’t know the results until mid May, but the students showed an enormous amount of determination and perseverance in preparation for this opportunity.
On Thursday this week the New Albany High School and Middle School track teams put on a Track Meet for the community. This was headed by Coach Cricket Anderson and was assisted by Amy Glenn, Greg Flecher, Jenny Sage and countless other community members. Included among the participants were our Special Olympic athletes. It was tremendous to see our student athletes, teachers, and parents interact with all those involved. I am always impressed with our students who are willing to get involved and give up their time. It is truly a testament to the parents, as well as their coaches, who encourage our students to give back to our community.
In Mrs. Jessica Whitehead’s Physics class, students are determining what factors affect the period of a simple pendulum by testing amplitude, mass, and length. They are also looking for a huge grant to see if they can also determine if changing gravity will make a difference. In Physical Science, many students made extremely creative circuit diagrams to see if their peers could determine what loads in the circuit would work and which would no longer work based on how the circuit was diagrammed. They also spent a lot of time pondering a very difficult question: Based on a graph of data for two light bulbs, determine if they are wired in series or in parallel.
Our Science Olympiad Team continues to be a shining light for the New Albany Community! They recently competed in the Science Olympiad state competition and brought home the 6th place trophy! Coach Sudha Ganesan says, “The long hours your students put in studying/building/practicing for their events certainly paid off.”
Congratulations to the following students on their outstanding Science Olympiad performance: Shankar Pattabhiraman (1st- – Experimental Design, 2nd – Cell Biology, 5th – Protein Modeling, 6th – Anatomy and Physiology) Bhagee Ganesan (1st – Experimental Design, 2nd – Cell Biology, 6th – Anatomy and Physiology) Nikhil Pramod (5th – Chemistry Lab, 5th – Protein Modeling) Nishant Chittari ( 2nd place – Wright Stuff, 7th place – Air Trajectory, 7th place – Wind Power) Gunnar Wielinski (2nd place – Wright Stuff, 7th place – Air Trajectory, 9th place – Bridge Building) Aditya Mistry (5th place – Protein Modeling, 7th place – Wind Power) Jovitha Nelson (1st place – Experimental Design) David Tan (5th place – Chemistry Lab) Olivia Samson (10th place – Fossils) Wilson Wu (10th place – Fossils)
Our sophomore and juniors had the unique opportunity to engage in a conversation with three-time cancer survivor and CEO of Pelotonia Mr. Doug Ulman! Mr. Ulman was the guest at the annual Wexner Leadership Series event, which is organized by Mr. and Mrs. Tuckermann and features Mr. Les Wexner.
Upcoming Events
• Monday, April 25th- 4th quarter Interim Project Reports; Board of Education Meeting at 6:30 pm in The Jefferson Room
• Wednesday, April 27th- Administrative Assistant Appreciation Day; Staff Meeting
• Friday, April 29th- Staff Meeting Senior Environmental Science Research Presentations; MacBeth at 7:00 PM at the Mershad
• Saturday, April 30th- MacBeth at 7:00 pm at the Mershad
• Sunday, May 1st- MacBeth at 2:00 pm at The Mershad
Increasing student voice is a key topic discussed in education circles today. From Student Government to school town hall meetings, education leaders are implementing a variety of strategies to increase student voice.
Today’s students want and need to be heard. They are inventors, innovators, creators, and thinkers. They desire different experiences from school, in their social settings, and in their future careers. They are taking steps to create ways to learn more about their passions and interests. One example of one of these students is New Albany High School junior Joshua Rajakumar, founder of the New Albany Young Business Leaders Club. Following is the New Albany Young Business Leaders Club from Joshua’s perspective:
My name is Joshua Rajakumar and I am a junior at New Albany High School. This year, I started the New Albany’s Young Business Leaders Club. We have been active for about a month now and we have had two guest speakers thus far: Mr. John Kish and Mr. Bill Ebbing. We are excited about this partnership between the New Albany Community and the High School student body.
What is the New Albany Young Business Leaders Club?
New Albany’s Young Business Leaders is open to all New Albany High School students – from those who have a strong interest in business related careers to those who would like to know what business is all about. We provide exposure to all areas of business related careers, leadership development, resume building, and networking opportunities. Members participate in lectures, workshops, and community projects related to the different areas of business.
We meet every 2 weeks in the Jefferson Room on either Mondays or Wednesdays (currently Wednesdays) after school from 3-4 PM.
As the Founder and President of the club, I have been fortunate to have a team to assist me – Miles Waytes as the Vice President, Brian Schnell as the Media Manager, and Sudeep Ganguly as the Secretary working alongside me in this endeavor.
We currently have 45 registered members.
Past Speakers
On February 10th, Mr. John Kish, the SVP and CIO of Safe Auto Insurance, gave a presentation. He spoke about diversifying talents to be capable of performing many jobs and duties. He also addressed three of the most important skills to be successful in the business world: technical skills, people skills, and vision. He also addressed the importance of interviews and resumes and the major things to focus on in each, as he has hired multiple people for jobs and internships in the past.
On February 24th, Mr. Bill Ebbing, the President of the New Albany Company, gave a presentation. He spoke on the importance of community, creativity and perspective. He also touched on the positives and negatives of getting a masters degree/ MBA. The biggest thing he talked about was identifying your weaknesses early, so you can build a team around it and become stronger.
On March 9th, Mr. Andrew Klinger, VP Wealth Management at the Huntington Investment Company, gave a presentation. He touched on a variety of topics, including the importance of transparency when working with a group to enhance productivity. He also stressed that you should not expect to start earning a very high base salary, and that when you enter the labor force, experience and perspective is more important than money. Because Mr. Klinger used to be a stockbroker, and is now a wealth advisor, he also spoke on some stock related topics.
One piece of advice he gave was that even though you should buy low, to never buy a stock that is falling, and wait till it bounces back up. Other than low prices, he also spoke on the importance of looking at other factors such as the quarterly earnings, new management in the company, and the products they are making. He advised that that before you buy a stock, to always give yourself three reasons why you should buy it. In addition to this, he touched upon other topics such as derivatives, compliance and regulation, and commodities.
Future Speakers
On March 30th, Becky Jenkins, CFO and Treasurer of NAPLS, will give a presentation.
On April 13th, Adam Van Treese, Campus Recruiting Manager for PricewaterhoueCoopers, will give a presentation.
From left to right the students are Brian Schnell – Media Manager, Joshua Rajakumar – Founder and President, and Miles Waytes – Vice President
Thank you,
We held winter Parent/Teacher Conferences last week and I received a number of positive comments from teachers and parents about the quality of the conversations. The conversations were centered on strategies and enrichments to maintain or enhance student performance. The timing of conferences was perfect for our school counselors because we are in the beginning stages of course selections, so parents who had questions were able to schedule individual time to meet with them. This should make the scheduling process even smoother.
Students gained access to online scheduling Monday, February 15th. I want to thank Steve Gehlert, Jennifer Grand-Pierre, Beth Johnston, Shelly Santantonio, Lisa Stiles, our School Counselors, and Department Chairs for their hard work on this all-important process.
Staff News
Congratulations to College Counselor Stefanie Drugan and her husband who are expecting their first child!
Congratulations to Alspach for winning the Pennies for Patients Drive! Pleasant Hill and Wagner came in very close for second and third places. Congratulations to all houses.
The school yearbook is one of the best ways to preserve memories and purchase a piece of history. With the use of social media and other Web 2.0 tools, students are able to upload images that they would like to include in the yearbook so that it is much more of a collaborative process. The school yearbook is still a major artifact of the high school experience and one that is cherished years after graduation. English teacher and Yearbook Advisor Thom Cross has worked closely with students to increase advertisements, market The Eagle yearbook in more creative ways, and provide a way for students to remember their New Albany years.
There is still time to buy a NAHS 2016 yearbook! The last day to submit an order with a personalized cover is April 30th, 2016, and the last day to purchase a yearbook is July 30th. Please visit www.yearbookforever.com and address all questions to Yearbook Advisor and English teacher Thom Cross at cross.1@napls.us.
Students As Learners As part of her Physics class, Science teacher Jessica Whitehead is facilitating mini “How to Adult” chats. So far, they have discussed mortgage payments and the basics about home buying. They have also discussed business-casual verses business professional clothing and interview questions from top companies. Finally, she focused on the importance of a firm handshake. To do so, she invited members of the administrative team to greet her students outside her door to shake hands with them as they entered the room. This is a simple, yet creative way to embed “soft skills” into the curriculum.
I learned this week that several teachers provide opportunities for students to retake tests to ensure they can demonstrate what they have learned. This is a challenging concept for many to embrace because it goes against the traditional culture of school and deadlines. However, I support this approach to assessment because it makes learning the constant and time a variable. Additionally, it gives teachers an opportunity to discover what needs to be retaught based on the data gathered from assessments. With office hours, Academic Coaching Time (ACT period), study centers, and online learning platforms like Schoology or Google Classroom, there are many opportunities to reteach content in a variety ways before students retake takes or quizzes.
Something for us to consider is should students receive half or full credit for making test corrections or retaking a test? If a student does not show up for re-teaching opportunities, should they be given the chance to retake a test or make test corrections? These are simply points to consider and certainly are not something that will become an overall school policy. Considering how we use information gathered from testing to influence future instruction involves contemplating how we will vary approach. This is one consideration. It would be an interesting discussion to know how various teachers approach this and share ideas on this topic.
Seniors Ruthie Lewis and Miranda Derflinger facilitated a Teen Dating Violence Prevention presentation for our freshmen during ACT last Wednesday and Thursday. Ruthie organized this event last year and enhanced it even more this year by including a self defense presentation by Miranda and inviting Gahanna Lincoln High School senior Kaylah Casuccio to share her story. It was an engaging and relevant presentation for our students.
A couple of weeks ago, I was approached by a few students with large cameras hanging around their necks and iPhones in their hands. They proposed an idea to create an Instagram account called, Humans of New Albany (@HumansofNewAlbany). They were inspired by the Humans of New York (@Humansofny) Instagram account, which shares peoples’ stories in a visually, compelling way. They explained that they want to bring to light the fascinating stories of students and staff in our school community. They want to celebrate our unique differences and commonalities that unite us as human beings. So far, their work is impressive! If you have an Instagram account, I encourage you to follow them to learn more about the humans of New Albany. I appreciate their initiative, empathy, and desire to tell story visually.
Athletic Update
Congratulations to our Boys Basketball team for winning OCC Capital Division title! Congratulations also to a host of NAHS Swimmers and Divers for qualifying to the district championships after a successful sectional performance on Saturday!
200 Medley Relay Grace, Kelly, Emili and Lauren S.
Brennan, Jack G., Steven and Victor
100 Free Jessica Z, Blake, Olivia, Lauren S., Pearson, Harrison
500 Free Abbie, Jane
200 Free Relay Blake, Jessica, Lauren S and Olivia
Harrison, Pearson, Gage and Carson
100 Back Grace, Sydney, Isabel
100 Breast Kelly, Lauren L, Victor, Jack G.
400 Free Relay Blake, Jessica Z, Abbie and Olivia
Pearson, Harrison, Gage and Carson
Upcoming Events
Wednesday, February 17th- Department Meetings 7:15-7:50 a.m.
Thursday, February 18th- Department Meetings 7:15-7:50 a.m.
Saturday, February 20th- Winter Formal 8:00-11:00 p.m. in the Gym
Articles Worth Reading Stop Humiliating Teachers– The rhetoric around public education the last ten years has been toxic. The author of this article provides an historical account of what has led to the negative perception of teachers and identifies the root cause of the problem. The article is also inclusive of solutions to overcome it.
3 Huge Industries Facing Death Because They Won’t Embrace Radical Ideas– In the Information Age, change comes often and rapidly. Like Blockbuster, industries that refuse to adapt to new ways of accessing content and embrace change are less fluid. Therefore, they are in danger of no longer existing. What are the implications, if any, for education?
Video Worth Watching
I encourage you to watch the following spoken word video by artist Shane Koyczan. He tells a dynamic story about his school experience and that of others who may feel the same way. More importantly, he presents a way to eliminate the conditions that lead to students feeling as if they simply do not belong: empathy.
Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy lives through us all. He led during a time of great turmoil in our country and there were significant cultural, legal, and regional barriers that prevented unity from existing in our country. As we work to overcome some challenging times in our country, let’s remember the words and actions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Staff News
I was out of the building quite a bit last week, yet Assistant Principal Steve Gehlert and Kip Greenhill did an excellent job taking the lead. Mr. Gehlert worked with several teachers to find other classrooms to conduct class when faced with a water leak, they both met with a group of students to work through a conflict, and Mr. Gehlert attended an important meeting about the Global Scholars Program. I want to publicly thank them for their leadership!
http://highlanderdistrict.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/online-real-estate-classes.jpgEnglish teacher Ann Trotter, Physics teacher Greg Morris, and AP US Government teacher Kirk Hilbrands hosted several administrators from Worthington City School District to share their experiences with blended learning. Each presented a different delivery model for their blended learning classes, which is a unique component of differentiating how they meet the needs of students. The Worthington cohort was impressed by the variety of approaches, the focus on student learning, and what they heard from students as they shared they enjoy most about having a blended class. This form of differentiation is by no means an easy process, yet the collaborative support provided during the training has proven to be invaluable. It’s a reminder that to work in isolation is merely a choice and working together in a Professional Learning Network leads to significant learning for teachers and students.
Students As Learners Science Olympiad Advisor Sudha Ganesan provided an update on the resent success of our Science Olympiad Team after they competed at the Kenston Science Olympiad Invitation on Saturday, January 16, 2016. She states:
“Our two high school teams were off to a great start at the Kenston Science Olympiad Invitational. I am proud to share that our students’ hard work helped them win medals and ribbons in eight events and brought home the over-all Eighth Place Trophy! Our teams placed 11th and 37th out of 48 schools, including the top eight schools from Ohio and the top schools from Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Virginia. This is an amazing start considering we played with only 14 members on our Varsity team and 10 members on the Junior Varsity team. Even as we walked out of the Kenston High School building our students were already talking about what they needed to do to make sure they come home with a team trophy at the next invitational, too.”
Congratulations to the following Science Olympiad team members:
Medal Round:
· First place gold: Wind Power – Aditya Mistry and Bhagee Ganesan
· Ribbon (4th – 8th) Round:
· Fourth place: Anatomy and Physiology – Bhagee Ganesan and Shankar Pattabhiraman
· Fifth place: Protein Modeling – Aditya Mistry, Nikhil Pramod and Shankar Pattabhiraman
· Sixth place: Bridge Building – Parker Lehmann and Jonah Callinan
· Seventh place: Wright Stuff – Gunnar Wielinski and David Tan
· Eighth place: Cell Biology – Bhagee Ganesan and Nikhil Malakalapalli
Forensics – Shota Nemoto and Olivia Samson
Air Trajectory – Gunnar Wielinski and Nikhil Malakalapalli
Rigor/Relevance Framework Students in our Theatre Program participated in 24 Hour Theatre over the weekend! Theatre Teacher Elliott Lemberg gave participants three themes in which they had 24 hours to prepare a performance. The themes were: appearance verses reality, change, and order and disorder. Students selected their teams and applied everything they’ve learned first semester to create a number of skits that they performed in front of a live audience. This is such a unique learning opportunity and it exemplifies our students ability to think critically and creatively, communicate effectively, and collaborate to solve problems!
Athletic Update
Our Girl’s Varsity Basketball Team is coming off 2 big wins last week. First, they avenged an earlier loss to a 10-2 Mount Vernon team. Second, they upset a 12-1 Watterson team. Currently, their record is 9-5. The team is led by seniors Meche’la Cobb, Caitlin Coss & Liza Hernandez. They beat Olentangy Orange Friday night, but lost to Upper Arlington on Saturday.
Our Bowling Team is off to a great start! Coach Damian Hammond provided the following images of our bowlers in action!
Upcoming Events
Tuesday, January 19, 2016 First day of second semester
Wednesday, January 20, 2016 Department Meetings 7:15 am
Thursday, January 21, 2016 Department Meetings 7:15 am
Saturday, January 23, 2016 A Cappella Cabaret
I shared this image with my staff last week because it challenged my thinking about goal setting and starting over. As educators, we are given the unique opportunity to start over at the beginning of each grading period or after long scheduled breaks, such as winter break or spring break. As each new year approaches, we are encouraged to set resolutions, but the message in the image reminds us to focus on doing something BETTER, not necessarily NEW. As we approach second semester and 2016, I encouraged staff and faculty to continue to think about the ONE THING each of us can do better rather than adding something new to our plate. We had a great first week back, which is captured in this brief Storify!
Staff News
As we approach the second semester, it is a good time to review some general expectations and procedures.
Expectations:
-Be Punctual- Punctuality is a sign of respect.
-Be Prepared- Prior planning prevents poor performance.
-Be Present- Be here daily and also be in the moment.
-Be Professional- Professionalism is knowing what to do, how to do it, and
doing it in a high quality manner.
-Be Positive- To change your situation, change your attitude.
-Play- Don’t take yourself too seriously. Continue reading →
Staff News
Congratulations to Concord Counselor, Brandy Smith, and her husband as they are expecting their first child!
Substitute teacher Shannon Book shared with me the following information to let me know how our students feel about our Math Department:
“I was subbing for Mrs. Morlan’s AP Calc AB class this morning and as the students were working diligently on a small group assignment, they started an impromptu discussion about how our math department is “stacked” (their actual quote) with talent. I overheard one student say, “Unfortunately, I got an A- that year but I learned so much I can’t complain.” The students named all of the teachers they had up to this point and they had great things to say about each one. Many of these kids plan to become engineers and, although they pointed out many people drop out of engineering programs after the first year, they felt they would be well prepared.
The best part about this conversation was it wasn’t prompted by anyone. It was a very candid and reflective conversation the students had on their own about the quality of education they have received at New Albany. Priceless.”
Students As Learners
Chemistry teacher Mary Cook facilitated a unique lab for her students a few days ago. It included formative assessment strategies that guided her instruction and required students to not just acquire knowledge, but also apply it to unknown situations. She states,
“College Prep Chemistry students are starting our unit on gas behavior and these lab stations are the first activity where students explore relationships between different variables by taking observations at different stations. After students collect observations, they identify the variables and constants for each station and then develop a particle level explanation and visual diagrams that support their collected evidence. Students then present their explanations at the particle level during white boarding group discussion to come up with the best explanation and visual representation (particle level and graphical). They then apply these explanations to more real world scenarios.”
Spanish teacher Lisa Betts designed a lesson to help students apply the language to real-world scenarios during class last week. Following is a description of the activity:
“My students were given the task of creating a skit with at least a doctor, nurse and patient. The patient had to seek help for at least two ailments; the doctor and nurse had to gather information from the patient about what was going on, what symptoms s/he has, what occurred, what injury they might have, how it happened, etc. An exam had to be given to ascertain a final diagnosis, and then the doctor had to give some sort of course of action to help the person feel better. It was a total riot!”
Art teacher Juliette Montague’s students have made significant progress in their drawing ability! She recently shared a few artworks as evidence of student growth for her Student Learning Objective. I applaud the students’ attention to detail and perseverance. Check out this brief video that captures where students started and where they are now!
Intervention Specialist Taylor Pinnick used Veterans Day as an opportunity for her students to send a care package to her boyfriend’s unit in the Army National Guard, who are currently deployed. Students from the Special Education Department at New Albany, from elementary school to high school, as well as SLC F in the 2-5 building, wrote letters and created cards to send to the unit. Students collected over 100 cards to send, as well as some special treats to help with the heat!
Humanities teachers Sara Hric and Rachel Braswell celebrated Veterans Day by asking students to interview a current soldier or veteran and capture their experience. This assignment corresponds with their reading of Homer’s Iliad and The Odyssey where they are discussing the experience of the soldier/veteran. Students will also participate in a Socratic Seminar to discuss their findings. I observed a few groups of students perform skits about scenes from The Odyssey and a major part of the skit summary was to explain the connection to the soldier as they highlighted Greek values.
2015-16 School ThemeFall Sports Wrap Up by Athletic Director Kevin Reed
The New Albany Eagles completed another fantastic fall sports campaign with multiple awards, honors and team accomplishments. Coming off a 6th consecutive Ralph Young all sports award, all eyes were on the Eagles as New Albany athletics has become the envy of central Ohio athletic programs. Of the 11 fall sports New Albany offers, all but 1 finished with a winning record. 15 Eagle athletes were named to the First Team All OCC-Capital teams, 12 were named to the Second Team All OCC-Capital teams, 1 to the Third Team All OCC-Capital, 3 to the Special Mention All OCC-Capital and 11 were named Honorable Mention ALL OCC-Capital.
The boys golf team wrapped up their 6th consecutive OCC title by completing an undefeated OCC season (28-0). The boys golfers also wrapped up a terrific season by finishing 3rd in the sectional tournament and 6th at the district tournament. Girls tennis head coach Marc Thomas was named OCC-Capital Coach of the Year and Junior singles player Alex Cash was Sectional champion and a state qualifier. Cash was also named to the All State Tennis Team and Player of the Year in the OCC-Capital Conference Senior Amit Greenshtein was named Player of the Year in the OCC-Capital Conference for boys soccer. Four Eagle athletes were named to All District teams: Alex Cash- girls tennis
Maddy Largent – volleyball
MiCayla Nash – volleyball
Kiana Khorrami – girls soccer
The girls soccer team, under 1st year head coach Kelly Snead, had a great tournament run finishing as District Runner Up with a tough 2-1 loss to Upper Arlington in the district final.
Senior football player Alex Boffo was named an OCC football scholar athlete. Junior girls tennis player Taylor Selby was a sectional runner-up. Junior Christina Vitellas and Sophomore Makena Romagnano tennis players were sectional runners up in doubles while Junior Jessica Von Zastrow and Freshman Valentina DiLorenzo placed 3rd in the girls sectional doubles tournament.
Aside from the boys golf OCC title, the girls tennis team were OCC runners up. Football, girls soccer and boys cross country finished 3rdin the OCC-Capital. Field Hockey finished 4th in their league. Boys soccer, volleyball and girls cross country finished 5th in the OCC-Capital and the girls golf team finished 6th.
Despite the target on all Eagle athletic teams, New Albany ended the fall season 3rd in the Ralph Young all sports race with 45 points; 12 points behind leader Olentangy and 10 points behind Olentangy Orange. Congratulations to our fall sports coaches and athletes!
Upcoming Events
Monday, November 16th- #CelebrateMonday; BOE Meeting 6:30 pm Mershad Auditorium
Tuesday, November 17th- #BowTieTuesday
Thursday, November 19th-Kiss Me, Kate 7:00 pm McCoy
Friday, November 20th- Kiss Me, Kate 7:00 pm McCoy
Saturday, November 21st- Kiss Me, Kate 7:00 pm McCoy
Sunday, November 22nd- Kiss Me, Kate 2:30 pm
Video Worth Watching What Students Really Need to Hear
As a follow up to our rigor and relationships in-service on September 14th, we used our Faculty meeting to continue to examine what rigor means and looks like at NAHS. We have and will continue to maintain high expectations for students and Staffulty (staff and faculty) in regards to academic standards, effort, and professionalism. We are coming to understand that rigor in the classroom is based on a continuum of low to high levels of critical thinking. When examining the International Center for Leadership in Education Rigor/Relevance Framework, we understand that one quadrant is not better than the others because all quadrants are necessary for student learning. However, the overall goal is to create more Quadrant D learning experiences for students where they do the work, the thinking, and are asking questions.
English teacher Lynette Turner shared this one page article that provides more clarity. I forwarded this to Staffulty (staff and faculty) over the weekend to review. Our next steps include further examination of rigor by looking at it through the lens of thoughtful work, high leveling questioning, and academic work.
Staff News
Intervention Specialist Lori Cheney is currently mentoring one of her former students who is now teaching English to students in Japan. He is struggling with some behavior issues with his students, and also how to give constructive feedback. Lori shared how she and English teacher Katie Roberts uses “First Five” with their classes, discussing their and the students’ lives outside of school each day at the start of class for five or so minutes. He has implemented this in his class with great results. She also shared with him the list of relationship strategies generated from our in-service! So, not only are we adding to our own teaching repertoire, we are helping an alum and a teacher halfway around the world!
Several teachers continue to tell our story by posting classroom updates on Twitter or Instagram using our hashtag, #NAHSCommUNITY. Please click here to see week 6 at a glance!
Students As Learners
NHS member M. Pine painted faces for free at the home football game last Friday. She collected $30 in donations to benefit an NHS charity of their choice! It was a wonderful community building opportunity as she interacted with several elementary school students. Students Cassidy Platte, Jamie Schroer, and Sophie Ungless assisted her with this project!
Photo by David MitchellLibrary Aide David Mitchell shared how he enjoyed having English teacher Jacqui Loughry’s AP English 12 class in the library Friday morning. They familiarized themselves with the space and other resources such as out databases, new book titles, and more!
Our House Deans and House Leaders participated in a National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) student leadership training program called Raising Student Voice and Participation (RSVP). They worked through a number of activities focused on team building, taking initiative, and strategies to get input from all students to improve school climate and culture. The House Leaders seemed to grow in confidence throughout the day as they implemented a variety of strategies and dialogued about how to serve the student body!
Upcoming Events: Homecoming Spirit Week!
Monday, September 28th- Favorite Sports Team Day; State of the Schools Address 7:002015-16 School Theme PM at the McCoy
Tuesday, September 29th- Class Color Day
Wednesday, September 30th-House Shirt Day/Powder Puff Game/Bonfire
Thursday, October 1st-PJ Day
Friday, October 2nd- White Out Day or Eagle Spirit Wear
Saturday, October 3rd- Homecoming Dance 8:00 PM-11:00 PM in the Gym
