This week at LPHS, January 29 - February 2

Hello All,

This week starts the second semester at LPHS.  Please make sure you are completing your Social Contracts and getting sub cards back to Michele if you have not done so already.

On Tuesday, we have an early release.  I am asking that you work in your departments to get assessments scheduled and written if they have not been do so already and work on any curriculum that still needs completed.  Department heads, please send me a copy of meeting minutes at the conclusion of the meeting.  I will get you sign in sheets beforehand.

Wednesday morning, we have a PBIS meeting at 7:10 in the media center.

We also have an assembly on Wednesday morning.  The details are as follows:

2nd hour = 9th and 10th graders

3rd hour = 11th and 12th graders

BTN will meet Thursday morning at 7:00 in room 145.

Also on Thursday, we have a lockdown drill at 10:30.

If you have not done so already, please complete the student checklist, found here, by the end of the day on Friday.  Thank you to the many of you that have done so already!

Don't forget, our Varsity Basketball team is playing at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday, February 4 at 10:00 am.  Please see Don McKenzie for information on how to attend.

Have a great week!

This Week at LPHS, January 22-26

Hello All,

We have a busy week as we wrap up the first semester.  On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we have half days for final exams.  A reminder that final grades are due before you leave each day. 

On Tuesday, we have an early release day, followed by staff meeting time.  We will all meet in the media center starting at 1:55 and will conclude before 3:45.  During this time, we will be focused on the Resilient Schools Project and the Trauma/Resiliency information that we received on MLK day.  We will do a brief review and talk about some practical applications in our classrooms.  Before we begin the meeting, I would like you to please take the ACEs survey linked here.  For this survey, I would like you to take the quiz once from your own history and also once from a student you have or have had.  There won't be any need to discuss either your experiences, or your student's, but it will be a good perspective for our conversation. 

Finally, just a reminder that we do have the wrestling tournament this weekend and are still looking for volunteers.  I hope to have an electronic copy of the sign up sheet on the blog by the end of the week.  One that is done, I will let you all know. 

Have a great week!

Welcome to the LPHS Family!

Congratulations to Lisa and Lee Kraft who welcomed Jackson Andrew in to their family at 1:23 this morning.  Jackson weighed in at 8 pounds and 3 ounces.  Both Lisa and Jackson are reported to be doing great! 

This week at LPHS, January 15

This week presents us with a lot of opportunity for us to learn and be more informed for our work with our students, starting with our PD Day tomorrow.  On Friday, you received the necessary materials for our PD day, along with the agenda.  Please look it over, and take a look especially at the resiliency quiz, before the training.  Staff should report to the auditorium by 8:00 and make sure that you sign in. 

On Tuesday, we will have a PSP meeting after school.  Remember that we spent some time during our last early release day to develop our plan to have meaningful data for this PSP.  Please bring that data with you to the media center following dismissal.  We will have a very brief update on some school events before beginning the PSP time of the meeting. 

We have a full schedule of extra-curricular events all week, including sporting events every day, the Orange and Blue Classic wrestling tournament on Saturday and a LPHS Choir Concert on Thursday evening. 

Our BTN will meet on Thursday morning at 7:00 am in room 145. 

I am looking forward to a productive week and will see you all in the morning! 

Courageous Classroom

On Monday, January 15, all LP staff will be meeting at LPHS for training on the Courageous Classroom from Starr Global Learning, beginning at 8:00 am in the auditorium.  Last week, all district administration was given the opportunity to learn about trauma and resilience from the same group.  I wanted to fill you in a little bit on what to expect tomorrow and where it fits in to our plans in the high school and throughout the district.

You have heard me say throughout the year that behavior is communication.  This training will focus a great deal on the causes of behavior, the experiences of our students, and the effects that their experiences have had on their brain.  It is also going to focus a lot on our reactions to our children.  Some of the information will force you to focus on your reactions and relationships with students, and if you are a parent, even with your own children.  As I sat through the training last week, I couldn't help but have a feeling of guilt for some of my past reactions to student behavior and that of my kids.  I know that there are times that I could have and should have been better.  My hope for tomorrow is not that you will experience that same feeling, but instead that you will be open minded and reflect and know that we can and should be better.  I have had the opportunity to witness a lot of good throughout the first semester and have said repeatedly how impressed I am with your commitment to our students.  I've also told you that I am always pushing for how we can be better.  This training and our focus on trauma and building resilience in our students is how I believe we can do that most effectively. 

In the coming months, we will continue to focus on tomorrow's training and continue to build towards our goal of making sure that our students are prepared for whatever life throws at them in their 13th year, their first without us to fall back on.  Please come tomorrow prepared with an open mind to what they are teaching us, and with at least one student that you are struggling with right now in mind.  Think about that student throughout the training and try to develop your plan for working with them for the remainder of the year.  I promise you will get some great ideas and I look forward to working with you as we continue to develop our plans to guarantee success for all of our students. 

January Adult Menu

This week at LPHS, January 8, 2018

Welcome back and Happy New Year to all of you!  I hope you were able to enjoy a restful break. 

I am excited to get back to work and to wrap up semester 1.  We do not have a lot going on during the school day this week, so it is a good time to get back to work with minimal interruptions. 

On Wednesday, all four administrators are required to be at a PD session at the board office for the full day.  We will be able to return in the case of emergency, but please understand that we will be out of the building otherwise.  We should all be reachable by cell phone or email.  If you work a lunch on Wednesday, we will have a radio at the podium.  Please make sure that one person has it with them to listen for communication from the office.  

On Thursday, we will have a meeting with all Early Middle College students during fifth hour in the auditorium to review some expectations moving forward.  This will include leaving after class or going to the media center/athletic wing to wait for their next activities.  Please do not have these students in your classroom unless they have made an appointment with you. 

Special Ed Final Exam Schedule: Please see the schedule here and make sure you are entering students in that will require their test be read to them on the appropriate time and day.  Please do this as soon as you can so that all students are accounted for and special ed teachers can be prepared. 

Hallway Expectations: As a reminder, we are implementing some new strategies to cut down on the number of students that are in the hallways during class time.  The first, and most important is that you provide any student that leaves your classroom with a written pass.  This is a must and we need everyone on the same page.  If students do not have a pass, they will be escorted back to your classroom.  Repeat offenders will be taken to ISS.  In addition to this, I am asking that all of you make sure that you are doing an accurate job recording tardies in your attendance.  This includes recording first hour tardies.  We are still working on how we will address the first hour tardies, but I would like you to let your students know this week that first hour tardies will now be recorded as if it is any other class.  We have too many students circling the hallways well past the start of first hour class.  Please also remember that students who are not on your roster are not to be in your room during any class period unless you have discussed it with their scheduled teacher. 

I realize that the majority of this post sounds negative, but we must address this glaring issue in our building.  You guys do tremendous work in establishing relationships with students and I appreciate the fact that they want to hang out with many of you well beyond the time they are supposed to, but we must leverage that relationship into an understanding that they can't learn unless they are in class! 

Thank you for all that you do and have done to this point in the school year.  It has certainly been refreshing to work with all of you and I am looking forward to a productive 2018 at LPHS!

Have a great week!