Welcome Back!

Welcome Back!

I know that many of you are dreading this message, but I wanted to be the first to tell you WELCOME BACK to another great school year!  As we wrapped up last school year with an iconic music video that took us in to summer, I thought it only fitting that we do the same to start this year.  I had to read through the lyrics to make sure there was nothing to inappropriate and they actually made a lot of sense for us in this situation:

"Welcome back

Your dreams were your ticket out

Welcome back to that same old place

That you laughed about

Well, the names have all changed

Since you hung around

But those dreams have remained

And they've turned around

Who'd have thought they'd lead you

Back here where we need you"

Our spring dreams of summer vacation were our ticket out of the school and in to the fun that awaits, but ultimately all of that fun has lead us back here, where you are certainly needed!  As a part of that welcome back, I wanted to fill you in on a few things and welcome some new staff.  

Calendar

At the bottom of the blog are the two calendars.  The first is for school events and the second is for athletics.  Both have been updated to reflect pertinent information.  All staff meetings and early releases, as well as confirmed events that will disrupt classes have been included.  Please take a look and maybe copy these events to your own calendars.  As I did last year, I will continue to provide the "This Week at LPHS" blog posts on Sunday Evenings (hopefully) or Monday Mornings (more likely).  If you would like anything included in those posts, just shoot me an email with exactly what it should say and I will gladly include it.  

September 4

As I am sure you are all aware, September 4 is the first day back for teachers and a good chunk of the rest of our staff.  The schedule for that day is as follows: 

8:00 Report Time

8:15 - 10:15 Opening Staff Meeting in the Media Center

10:15-11:00 Department Time (More info to come)

11:00-11:45 Barbecue lunch courtesy of food service in the cafeteria 

12:00-3:00 Trauma and Resiliency training in the LPHS Auditorium

New Staff

This summer, we were lucky to make some incredible additions to our LPHS staff.  Please join me in welcoming that new staff listed below: 

Paula Westerbur joins us from Garden City where she has taught for 20+ years.  She will be teaching Algebra 1 and Geometry and will be in room 209. 

Jason Rich is another new math teacher that will be working mostly in Test Prep courses.  Jason has experience in both Southgate and Redfrod and has worked a lot in alternative ed settings. 

Anastazia Wyborski will join the ELA department and also work primarily with Test Prep students, which she did in Romulus as well, where she worked for the last two years.  

Joe Szypula will be joining the ASD teacher ranks along with Kim Donaldson.  Joe comes to us from Berger and Kim has taught at Flat Rock HS and in Detroit.  Joe will be in room 605 and Kim will be in 601.  

Shekenia Mann is not new to Lincoln Park, she has worked in the special ed department, but is new to LPHS.  She will be teaching resource math classes and doing some co-teaching as well.  She will be in room 106.  

Silvia Rutowicz makes her return to LPHS as the counselor for students with last names that start with P through Z.  Her office will be in the counseling department.  Silvia comes to us from Lafayette, but has also worked at LPHS and LPMS in the past.  

Carrie Valchine will be the new school psychologist in our building.  She joins the team from Southgate and has a lot of experience working with special ed students and staff.  Her office will temporarily be located in the old attendance area of the main office.  Carrie is split between LPHS and Hoover.  

Bridget Salogar is a special ed social worker that will be working with our students and staff, and especially with the Student Success Team as we work to make sure all of our students' needs are met.  Her office will be in the main office, next to Sgt. Hammerle.  

Mandy Mercer leaves the Oakwood/Beaumont health system, where she spent the last 15 years, to join the LPPS staff as a Registered Nurse Consultant.  Her office will be here in the media center offices, but she will be working out of all 11 district buildings.  

and

John Masserant joins our intervention team.  John is a retired Trenton Fireman and has a wealth of knowledge and skill that he will be sharing with our students and staff.  

Starting the Year

We have spent a lot of time in the past year talking about building relationships with our students.  I will continue to stress that it is the most important thing that you do in your classroom.  The good news is that throughout the course of the year, I saw many of you embrace that with increased community circle times, engaging activities that create more conversation, and a whole lot of staff involvement in "extra curricular" activities.  You guys are awesome, but that doesn't mean that we can't all use a few extra tools in the tool belt.  Check out this link on A 4 Part System for Getting to Know Your Students.  There are some great ideas in it and if you add a little technology, especially in the way of a Google Form, it can be a really easy way for you to manage some really important data on your students.  I have had many experiences where I have been talking to a teacher and they have made comments along the lines of "I wish I knew the student was experiencing that."  This can be your opportunity to discover that information. 

Share Your Summer Pics

Finally, if you have a few minutes, please send me some pictures of activities or fun you had this summer.  I'd love to do a slide show to start off our meeting on Monday!  

Thanks for reading and see you soon!