Monday, October 29, 2018

This Week at LPHS:

Our only outside of the schedule event this week, is on Friday, we have a lockdown drill at 9:00 am.  If you have any questions about what you should be doing during the lockdowns, please let me know. 


Starting next week, we will be implementing Mindfullness Mondays.  Please see the information from Mrs. Fry below:


Are you ready? Mindfulness Mondays is going to start on Monday, November 5th!  In order to celebrate this amazing endeavor, Tre Fry will send you videos or activities to show/do with your students on Mondays.  There will also be a Mindfulness Monday club that starts on Monday, Nov. 5th after school in room 143.  We look forward experiencing a mindful minute with you on Mondays!


Thursday:


Happy Birthday, Tre Fry! 


Saturday:


Happy Birthday to Sarah Jasso and Kelly Winnie! 

This Week's Trauma Informed Tip: October 29

What We Say Matters

Teacher language is what we say to a student and how we say it. Positive teacher language should encourage a student’s effort and future efforts. Below are some guidelines for teacher language.

CONVEY FAITH IN STUDENT ABILITIES

When our teacher language uses words and tones that display faith in student intentions, we show students that we believe in them. Using positive words and encouraging students to meet expectations allows students an opportunity to fulfill those expectations, or even surpass them.

BE HONEST AND DIRECT

The use of compassionate and straightforward language allows students to build trust in their teachers and fosters an environment of growth. Students who are spoken to directly and honestly are more likely to feel respected and safe, while also receiving the support they need to be successful both academically and behaviorally.

AVOID USING DON’T

Many times we teachers are quick to emphasize to students what they’re not supposed to do or say to others in class. A positive spin on this is to replace don’t statements with more positive ones. For instance, instead of saying, “Don’t use pens in my class,” you could say, “For practicing math problems, we’ll only be using pencils, in case we make a mistake.” Students will be more likely to bring pencils to class because they’re made aware of the expectation and reasoning, opposed to solely being told what not to bring.

FOCUS ON ACTION

Because children tend to be concrete thinkers, it can be effective to name specific actions rather than abstract terms. For example, rather than telling children to “be respectful,” it’s usually more helpful to tell them exactly what to do: “When someone is speaking during a discussion, it’s time to listen. That means keep your eyes on the speaker and avoid interrupting.”

KEEP IT BRIEF

It’s difficult for kids to follow long strings of words. “When you go to the assembly today, be sure to remember what we said about listening politely, because last time some kids had an issue with not listening and playing on their cellphones, and we’ve talked about this before.”

By the time we finish talking, many of the students are thinking about other things. Few have followed the entire explanation.

Children understand more when we speak less. “Who can tell us one way to be respectful during an assembly?” The children now have an opportunity to remind themselves of the positive behaviors. If the expectations for recess have been adequately taught and practiced, children will be able to make good use of such a reminder.

Monday, October 22, 2018

Trauma Informed Care Tip of the Week, October 22

Want positive behavior? Use positive language!

Positive adult language is the professional use of words and tone of voice to enable students to learn in an engaged, active way. This includes learning social skills. To guide children toward choosing and maintaining positive behaviors, school adults need to carefully choose the words and tone of voice we use when speaking to them.

To choose positive behaviors, children need to see themselves as capable individuals and responsible community members. Adults can use positive language to help children build that self-perception.

Suppose a principal says to an all-school gathering, “When everyone is quiet, we’ll start our school pledge,” or a lunch teacher says to a class entering the lunchroom, “You can look at our poster to remind yourselves what to do when you finish eating.” These words convey belief that children want to cooperate, listen, and do good work, while also giving them information about how they can follow through on those good intentions.

With our words, we convey our assumptions and expectations about children, which, in turn, influence children’s assumptions and expectations about themselves. Imagine Shayna bouncing through the school doors in the morning. She loves school and sometimes forgets the school rule about walking down the hallway. But today she remembers. As she starts toward her classroom, an adult in the hallway speaks to her. Compare these two statements:

(a) Shayna, don’t even think about running to your classroom this morning. I’m watching you!

(b) Good morning, Shayna! I’m so glad you’re here today. I see you’re remembering to walk safely in the hall.

These two ways of talking send very different messages:

(a) The first way communicates a lack of faith in Shayna’s ability to follow the rules. It also sets up the adult as an “enforcer,” undermining trust between the adult and the student.

(b) The second way communicates that the adult sees Shayna’s good intentions and responsible behavior and, most importantly, believes that she can succeed.

By using positive language to convey your belief in children’s abilities and intentions, you help them internalize a positive identity and develop more awareness and self-control. As a bonus, your language helps those within earshot form a positive perception of the child, which further enhances the child’s self-perception and helps to promote positive behavior.

Source: www.responsiveclassroom.org

This Week at LPHS, October 22 - 26

Thank you to everyone who helped to make the MDA fundraiser such a huge success.  LPHS Staff and Students, lead by the Marketing and DECA groups were able to raise over $16,000 for a great cause.  I am very impressed constantly by the generosity that you all show! 

Monday:

* Early Middle College Parent Meeting for Senior Class ONLY, 5:30 PM in LPHS Media Center

Tuesday: 

* Early Release, Agenda to follow

Wednesday:

* Progress Report Grades due at the end of the school day

Thursday

* Fall Band Concert, 7:00 pm in the LPHS Auditorium

* Happy Birthday Brent Tucker! 

Have a great week!

Monday, October 15, 2018

It's "Make a Muscle! Make a Difference!" campaign week for LPPS. 

All of the elementary schools (and middle school) have been working on gathering their own collections to donate to the district-wide goal of $15,000.00.    We will know our total raised by Friday at 3 PM.     The "giant check" will be presented at halftime at the GREEN OUT GAME 10/19  to the MDA representatives.
Additionally, we have been working here at LPHS during the 4th hour to raise money for the cause.

Here's what you can do to help this week:
Monday:  Vito's Pizza on Fort Street will donate 20% of dine-in, carry-out, or delivery if you mention the campaign.

Sometime between Tuesday & Wednesday the shirts you may have ordered will arrive.  As soon as we get them, you'll have them.   A few extras were ordered so if you missed out on the order, let Candy.Plohg@lpps.info know and we will see about getting you one.   Remember, Terry Dangerfield has approved these for 4 Wednesday jean days as a "thank you" for helping the cause.

Friday - before school, during lunch, and after school, there will be a bake sale to raise money for the cause.   If you are able to bring in baked goods, please bring them to Justin Lilienthal's room.   We will also have a baked goods sale at the game Friday night if you are good in the kitchen and wish to donate extra!

We have a plethora of green wristbands we do not want to go to waste.   If you are willing to sell them to your classes as part of your 4th hour competition, let Leslie Daunter, Ann Shannon, or Candy Plohg know.   We will send you as many as you need.

We very much appreciate everyone's help and look forward to reporting back on our final numbers raised for the cause.   This has been an amazing district-wide campaign and a wonderful opportunity for a written marketing-field project for our students. 

* Lots of people to thank for this week including (not certainly not limited to) all of the teachers helping with 4th hour competitions, Justin Lilienthal for bake sale coordination, Lisa Flanigan for cheer help/Miracle Minute collections, Carly Guyot for having the middle school cheer team assist with wristband sales at the game, Jamie Grignon for allowing us to sell special event jerseys to dress the team in (this endeavor made over $5,000 on its own), Robert Sherwin for donating the 50/50 from the band and having the band support the cause, Tina Mies and her classes for changing the outdoor flags to green for the cause, Mike Suchy and his classes working on the field design/ribbons to be painted for the game, and LPHS Administration for your continued support. 

Tips from our Trauma Informed Staff:

Coping with the Aftermath of Homecoming Week

After last week’s hectic schedule and high level of student excitement, most of us are ready to get back to business and jump right into our curriculum. However, it is important to remember that our students are not emotionally capable of putting thoughts of the dance or game to the side and instantly focusing on our content. Instead of fighting off the “Homecoming Hangover,” embrace it and try to learn more about your students in the process.

Ask Questions
Incorporate Homecoming-related questions into your daily greetings. Ask students that you know went to the dance: “Did you have a good time?” During “Good Things,” ask specifically for students to share good news from Homecoming week, the game, or the dance. Even better, ask students to reflect on the festivities in a quick write or some other way.

Allow students time to talk
Yes, we have already sacrificed precious moments of learning to assemblies, voting, and pep rallies, but giving students a few minutes to discuss the events of last week will do more good than harm. It will show that you respect their needs and are willing to meet them where they are developmentally. It doesn’t mean allowing a whole class period of Homecoming-focused talk. It means setting limits and parameters. For example, you can give them 5-10 minutes at the beginning, middle, or end of class. You could also hold a community circle allowing each student to share something memorable from Homecoming.

Don’t downplay student enthusiasm
Remember that each student has his or her own private logic - they may perceive Homecoming night as the greatest night of their life thus far, and that’s OK! It is not our job to give the students a reality check or remind them that “this will mean nothing to you in ten years.” Allow them to have their moment.

Remember that not all students went to the game or the dance. Some students, in fact, may have hated everything about last week. Don’t call attention to these students; send the message that there is nothing wrong with choosing to sit out school events.

LPHS Care Committee:

Attention Amazing LPHS staff! We are looking for staff volunteers to participate in our first ever LPHS Care Committee.   This committee's mission will be to come up with ideas to remind fellow staff members of their greatness and to encourage staff to take care of themselves and each other!  If you are interested in being part of this Rockin' Revolution, please contact Tre Fry.

This Week at LPHS, October 15-19

Good Morning LPHS Staff,

Thank you again for an outstanding homecoming week!  Your efforts in making sure the week was as awesome as possible for our students are appreciated!  If you did not get a chance to view my brief thank you, please click here

Special thanks to Ann Shannon, Leslie Daunter and Candy Plogh!  The work you do with and for our kids is incredible and it was an incredibly successful week! 

This week calms down pretty significantly compared to last.  Our only special event is a staff meeting on Tuesday afternoon in the Media Center. 

Thursday, October 11, 2018

"HEY!! Don't forget about me!" said PBIS.

In our first drawing, we had more than 70 tickets handed out by staff, which averages to slightly more than 1 from each of our staff members.  However, for our second drawing, we only had 20 tickets.  I will whole heartedly admit that I have given zero.  I will be better though, please join me!

Monday, October 8, 2018

New LPHS Family Member

Congratulations to the Kaminski Family on the birth of their handsome son, Jonas Oliver who was born on Thursday, October 4.  Jonas weighed 7 lbs. and 11 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long at birth.  The whole family is doing well.
 

Sunday, October 7, 2018

This Week at LPHS, October 8-12

I hope that you all had a very restful weekend and are ready for a busy Homecoming Week! The timeline for the week was shared with you on Wednesday, 9/26, but please see below for reminders.  Have a great week! 


Monday:

* HC Theme: Hawaiian Day


Tuesday:

* Early Release and Staff Meeting - Department Heads will be running these meetings.  Please see the attached chart for your meeting locations.  As a reminder, your attendance for these meetings is expected from 1:55-3:40.  Please make sure you sign in. 

* Meet the Candidate During all Three Lunches

* HC Theme: Twin Day

Wednesday:

* Assembly: First hour will end at 8:38 a.m. Students will report to 2nd hour. Attendance will be taken and dismissal of classes will begin by public announcement.  Roster classes will sit together. Teachers are expected to stay with their class and monitor behavior. A seating chart will be sent to teachers prior to the assembly.

* HC Theme: Disney Day

Thursday:

* Assembly: Homecoming assembly 3rd hour (2nd hour will be dismissed at 9:40 a.m. Students will report to 3rd hour. Attendance will be taken and dismissal of classes will begin by public announcement.  Roster classes will sit together. Teachers are expected to stay with their class and monitor behavior. A seating chart will be sent to teachers prior to the assembly.

* Online voting for King and Queen and Hall Decorating Competition from 11:00-3:00

* HC Theme: Class Color Day

Friday:

* Homecoming breakfast 7 a.m.
* Pep assembly 6th hour/football field
* Parade 5:15 p.m.
* Game 7:00 p.m.
* Court announced during half time

* HC Theme: Over the Top Orange and Blue Day

Saturday:

* Homecoming dance decorating 9:30 a.m.
* Dance 7-10 p.m.